Just back from 8 nights at POP, my thoughts, any questions?

[blessedby3]

Hey guys, just back from 8 nights at POP. First time at a value hotel.
We found the room to be very nice and clean. Roomy enough for us (I was expecting smaller from some other posts). Our mousekeeping was great. I had to call for extra towels a couple of times, extra pillows, and a bed rail after my DD7 fell out of bed the first night and everything was delivered within 10 mins. They were very quick and effecient. There were towel Christmas trees and ornaments in our window- very cute. I got all of our room requests, 50's section, non smoking, 4th floor and that was great. The only thing is we were in the farthest building (number 2) and that was a bit of a hike after a few days in the parks and our feet throbbing and legs aching. We were on the 4th floor room 2431 on the back. No great view, but we werent hanging over the balcony at anytime anyway. We did hear the toilets flushing a lot and water running early in the mornings and one night I even heard someone peeing- gross!! There was also a baby in the room next to us and we heard her/him the first couple of nights then they must have checked out. The pool was heated and fun. Only swam in the bowling pool though. The food court was okay. We had burgers there and nachos and my DH had a steak wrap that he said was good. We also ate breakfast there once and it was fine. Used the refillable mugs from there. I also noticed others using mugs from Wilderness Lodge, All Stars, etc. and nothing was said by cleaning crew in the eating area!? The one thing I can say that I hated was the bus service. We have never used the busses before, always had our own vehicle, but using the Magical Express (which was great) we didnt have that option. We stood waiting for busses a long time. It seems like we would get to the bus stop right when a bus was pulling out, or in the evenings we waited through 4 and 5 busses for our resort because there were so many people and so many wheelchairs because they take longer to load. We even waited at POP one morning for a bus to MGM for about 35 mins. We watched as 3 MK busses came and went, 2 DTD busses, 2 AK busses and 2 EPCOT busses. She finally came and was the SLOWEST driver we had. I can see why it took her FOREVER to get there. I hated the bus system and definately wont do that again. Also, our value resort bus stop was always the farthest bus stop to go to- more walking. We stayed at the CR last time and I kept telling my DH as we were waiting in line for the busses at MK, if we were staying there again we would already be in bed!! Next time I think we will stay at a Mod at least and have a rental car, but preferably a Deluxe, Guess I should start saving now!!

 

[DarkSideMoon]

Hey guys, just back from 8 nights at POP. First time at a value hotel.
We found the room to be very nice and clean. Roomy enough for us (I was expecting smaller from some other posts). Our mousekeeping was great. I had to call for extra towels a couple of times, extra pillows, and a bed rail after my DD7 fell out of bed the first night and everything was delivered within 10 mins. They were very quick and effecient. There were towel Christmas trees and ornaments in our window- very cute. I got all of our room requests, 50's section, non smoking, 4th floor and that was great. The only thing is we were in the farthest building (number 2) and that was a bit of a hike after a few days in the parks and our feet throbbing and legs aching. We were on the 4th floor room 2431 on the back. No great view, but we werent hanging over the balcony at anytime anyway. We did hear the toilets flushing a lot and water running early in the mornings and one night I even heard someone peeing- gross!! There was also a baby in the room next to us and we heard her/him the first couple of nights then they must have checked out. The pool was heated and fun. Only swam in the bowling pool though. The food court was okay. We had burgers there and nachos and my DH had a steak wrap that he said was good. We also ate breakfast there once and it was fine. Used the refillable mugs from there. I also noticed others using mugs from Wilderness Lodge, All Stars, etc. and nothing was said by cleaning crew in the eating area!? The one thing I can say that I hated was the bus service. We have never used the busses before, always had our own vehicle, but using the Magical Express (which was great) we didnt have that option. We stood waiting for busses a long time. It seems like we would get to the bus stop right when a bus was pulling out, or in the evenings we waited through 4 and 5 busses for our resort because there were so many people and so many wheelchairs because they take longer to load. We even waited at POP one morning for a bus to MGM for about 35 mins. We watched as 3 MK busses came and went, 2 DTD busses, 2 AK busses and 2 EPCOT busses. She finally came and was the SLOWEST driver we had. I can see why it took her FOREVER to get there. I hated the bus system and definately wont do that again. Also, our value resort bus stop was always the farthest bus stop to go to- more walking. We stayed at the CR last time and I kept telling my DH as we were waiting in line for the busses at MK, if we were staying there again we would already be in bed!! Next time I think we will stay at a Mod at least and have a rental car, but preferably a Deluxe, Guess I should start saving now!!

With your bus experience- WDW is in the process of upgrading the bus systems, and are putting cameras at the stations, so they can see who needs to go where. They will then re-route busses to the right hotel. Just as an FYI in case you might like to try again next time.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

Hey guys, just back from 8 nights at POP. First time at a value hotel.
We found the room to be very nice and clean. Roomy enough for us (I was expecting smaller from some other posts). Our mousekeeping was great. I had to call for extra towels a couple of times, extra pillows, and a bed rail after my DD7 fell out of bed the first night and everything was delivered within 10 mins. They were very quick and effecient. There were towel Christmas trees and ornaments in our window- very cute. I got all of our room requests, 50's section, non smoking, 4th floor and that was great. The only thing is we were in the farthest building (number 2) and that was a bit of a hike after a few days in the parks and our feet throbbing and legs aching. We were on the 4th floor room 2431 on the back. No great view, but we werent hanging over the balcony at anytime anyway. We did hear the toilets flushing a lot and water running early in the mornings and one night I even heard someone peeing- gross!! There was also a baby in the room next to us and we heard her/him the first couple of nights then they must have checked out. The pool was heated and fun. Only swam in the bowling pool though. The food court was okay. We had burgers there and nachos and my DH had a steak wrap that he said was good. We also ate breakfast there once and it was fine. Used the refillable mugs from there. I also noticed others using mugs from Wilderness Lodge, All Stars, etc. and nothing was said by cleaning crew in the eating area!? The one thing I can say that I hated was the bus service. We have never used the busses before, always had our own vehicle, but using the Magical Express (which was great) we didnt have that option. We stood waiting for busses a long time. It seems like we would get to the bus stop right when a bus was pulling out, or in the evenings we waited through 4 and 5 busses for our resort because there were so many people and so many wheelchairs because they take longer to load. We even waited at POP one morning for a bus to MGM for about 35 mins. We watched as 3 MK busses came and went, 2 DTD busses, 2 AK busses and 2 EPCOT busses. She finally came and was the SLOWEST driver we had. I can see why it took her FOREVER to get there. I hated the bus system and definately wont do that again. Also, our value resort bus stop was always the farthest bus stop to go to- more walking. We stayed at the CR last time and I kept telling my DH as we were waiting in line for the busses at MK, if we were staying there again we would already be in bed!! Next time I think we will stay at a Mod at least and have a rental car, but preferably a Deluxe, Guess I should start saving now!!

Hi, I guess we were neighbors last week, because we just got back from a week at Pop, as well! I have to agree with you about the bus service. I talked about it a little bit in a general "Just Back" post on Attractions and Strategies, but suffice it to say that the bus service was HORRENDOUS, especially at closing time coming home from the parks. As I said in the previous post, I don't expect top-notch amenities at a Value Resort, but I also don't expect to wait 30 minutes PER BUS (we were usually on the third or 4th bus, too!) when leaving a park at night. It was just insane!!! Hundreds lined up, chanting, "We want a bus!" Ridiculous, really. And we definitely noticed that no other resort had such a crappy system/long wait, too...so we will never stay at Pop again. All Stars paid the same money and had much more efficient service!
We were VERY happy with our room location. We have a baby (he doesn't cry at night, LOL, so that wasn't us you heard!) and asked to be in a very quiet ground floor room. We got just that...the room closest to the lake in the '70s building! Very quiet and of course easier stroller access, which is why we asked for the ground floor. I'm glad we were so far from the pools because there was one especially loud family swimming until 12:30 one night...the dad was just whoopin' and hollerin' along with the kids. VERY loudly! Guess some folks have no consideration for others! Mousekeeping did a good job...forgot our fresh towels one morning but we had them in about 20 minutes. Resort was a little crowded for the "off-season" but not too terrible. We were very pleased with everything other than the buses. Well, dh said the beds weren't fantastic, but he has a bad back so he notices things like that. I slept just fine and so did the baby. Ds loved loved loved playing in the Goofy fountain; I'll probably post a picture of him playing in it in my siggy soon! One other minor thing that was by no means limited to Pop but there were a few incidents there so I'll mention it...we found it difficult to communicate with several CMs in the gift shop who spoke very little English. We ended up giving up and asking at another gift shop in the parks for what we wanted. Not a huge deal but I do wonder about the hiring of so many people who don't speak English well at all. I am in no way racist or bigoted. I say anyone who will work is welcome to come here and give it a shot, but it can be quite frustrating to be fluent in the language of the country you're currently visiting, while the clerk is not. All in all, we had a great stay. The buses were the only reason we will never go back to Pop...at least not until I read here on the Dis that the system has drastically improved!!!

 

[Hugpug]

I know what you mean about many CM's not speaking English very well. This also is happening at the Eating places a lot and this makes it very difficut to order anything. As I had said in another post about McDonals by the All Stars. Worst McDonalds I ever went to.They could not get anything right. I also had one by the TOT once gave up with that one and walk away did not buy anything. More money in my pocket.

 

[riu girl]

With your bus experience- WDW is in the process of upgrading the bus systems, and are putting cameras at the stations, so they can see who needs to go where. They will then re-route busses to the right hotel. Just as an FYI in case you might like to try again next time.

Do you/or anyone else know when the upgraded systm will be up and running???

Thank you
Suzy

 

[DarkSideMoon]

Do you/or anyone else know when the upgraded systm will be up and running???

Thank you
Suzy

Not sure, the full article is at
http://www.wdw
magic.com/transportation.htm

Since we can't link there I copied and pasted it here.
16 November 2005: Bus fleet enhancements

It has been a long time since there have been any significant changes to the WDW transportation system, and it now seems that this department is about to get a big rehab. As part of the Magic in Motion system, the WDW bus fleet will see enhancements both backstage, and onstage, taking place over the next two years/

The control system will be enhanced with cameras at resort and park stops, so that central command can monitor queues, and dispatch buses as and where needed. GPS tracking of buses will also give the controllers the capability to know exactly where every bus is on property.

For guests, improvements on board will include onboard background music, audio/video messages, and new artwork on the busses themselves and the loading areas.

Whilst all this is good news for the bus fleet, it does further underline Disney's commitment to the bus

 

[PlaneJoy1]

Blessedby3: you reported that you were able to get a bed rail? I just wanted to make sure what you meant. Was it the ones that the "legs" go between the mattress and box spings?

We are going with a 3 year old, and falling out of bed has been a concern. This will be good news if we can get a bed rail.

Thanks!

 

[Magic2000]

PlaneJoy1 - I have gotten bed rails for my DD when she was a bit younger. Yes, its the kind that slide between the mattresses. Worked perfect!!!

Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[salmoneous]

I am the only one who thinks "onboard background music, audio/video messages," is a huge step *backwards*?

 

[blessedby3]

Yes Planejoy1, it was the type where the legs go in between the matresses. I only needed one, but you can request 2 if your 3 yr old will be in the bed by him/herself. I slept with DD7 so I was the "other" bedrail!