Just back from a holiday POP stay...any ??

[DonnaW]

Just got home from a week long magical stay at POP Century. We are from Chicago, so it was truly, truly amazing to experience the wonderful warm, sunny Florida weather at this time of year!

This was our second stay at POP..we were on the 4th floor in the 70's building with the Mickey Mouse phone in front. I loved the location, not too far from the food court, lobby, gift shop (gotta love that gift shop! ) From the balcony, we could see evening fireworks around the back side where the lake is located. We got towel animals!!! I loved that we could sit out by the Hippy Dippy Pool at 9 p.m. with an adult beverage in shorts and t-shirts during the last week of November!!!

Now that I'm back here in cold, snowy Chicago, would love to talk more about POP and the holidays at the World...

any questions, please ask!

 

[michaelwilliammidd]

Thanks for the great review of POP. We are headed down for a stay at Pop in 8 days and can't wait. We stayed there a couple of years ago during the holidays and I loved the Christmas tree in the lobby, missed it when I stayed over a couple of days in September. I agree with you on the gift shop, I love it. Some people complain about the food court - gift shop combo but I like the hustle and bustle of it all. I guess thats just part of the fun of being in WDW to me, being in the middle of everything. Glad you had such a great stay, just start looking forward to that next trip to get through the dreary cold, thats what I always do.

 

[kaysmommie]

I have questions. How were the beds? I have heard they are like concrete. Also wondering about noise, buses and crowds at the foodcourt. I'm booked at POP for quick trip with my DD. Thanks in advance .

 

[kgilchri]

Glad to hear you had a nice time. We'll be at POP next week and I can't wait!!! I'm from Indiana so I definitely know what you're talking about. I can't wait to be sitting outside on a nice December evening not freezing to death!

 

[dancin Disney style]

I'm going to be at POP for 2 weeks in July and can't decide if I should book a preferred room or not. I would love to hear some opinions on preferred vs non preferred. Right now both are still available.

Anyone ever stay in the 80's buildings? From looking at photos, the 80's appeals to me the most but I know it's not in the preferred part of the resort.


I also have read that what is considered preffered has recently changed. Any comments on that?

 

[Ukie Mouse]

This was our first time at WDW. We spent Nov 26-Dec 3 at POP and we LOVED it!!!
We stayed in the 60's building on the 3rd floor, lake view. We booked a standard room but I think we got upgraded. Anyway...
We were in the "playdough" building, room 4340. We could see the fireworks from Epcot at 9:30 p.m. Otherwise the room was very quiet.
The room was fine, the beds were fine, mousekeeping was fine. We got a towel animal
We ate there our first night and the food was good. We didn't eat there very much as our schedule didn't allow it but I can tell you the chicken ceasar salad, the pizza, and the ciabatta sandwiches were good.
We liked the food court/gift shop combo. DD9 liked it too. She was allowed to go down to get a drink or shop on her own and I didn't have to worry about her.
The hippy dippy pool was nice. There were 3 lifeguards on duty until 10 p.m. The pool itself was open until midnight. It was very clean. We noticed they cleaned the deck every morning.
You could sit around and have a beer by the pool. Temperatures averaged about 80F. Where we are from it is -7F right now. YIKES!
The buses were great. I was worried about having to wait for them but we found them to be very efficient.
All in all we were all very happy with the stay and we have even booked a trip there for next December.

 

[ckret01]

Glad you had a good time...


I am going in 4 days

Did you wear shorts during the day? And did you feel the need for a jacket at night? I have no idea how to pack..hahhahaha...I was planning on bringing all long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts but not with 80degrees

 

[Pinkgirly]

I just booked POP for next December, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Do they have a lot of decorations up around the resort? I was also going to ask about the buses but it sounds like they are pretty good.

 

[bsmcneil]

Another Chicagoan heading to Pop (next week).

 

[pines506]

We'll be there in a couple of days! Glad to see the good reviews, we loved it when we were there in '04!

And after a 3 HOUR train ride to get to work yesterday, all I can think is it's a shorter flight WDW!

 

[msgoofy]

More Hoosiers that will be there next week.

Looking forward to the warm weather. 3 more inches of snow tonight!!!

 

[spiceycat]

Glad you had a good time...


I am going in 4 days

Did you wear shorts during the day? And did you feel the need for a jacket at night? I have no idea how to pack..hahhahaha...I was planning on bringing all long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts but not with 80degrees

bring a little of everything.

don't live in Florida -but close - temperature varience is about the same.

today the low was in higher 20's - on sat, sun, mon - the highs will be in the 70's.

Orlando weather can change quickly too.

so bring one pair of long sleeves shirts and sweatshirts & pants.

but bring a couple of pairs of shorts and T-shirts.

definitely bring a jacket. sometimes the nights can get a little chilled. and the shows are all air conditioned - so they might be a little cold.

 

[DonnaW]

<<I have questions. How were the beds? I have heard they are like concrete. Also wondering about noise, buses and crowds at the foodcourt>>

This was our second stay at POP, and actually, the beds did seem a bit more like "concrete" this time. I don't recall having any issues on our last visit, but yes, I think they may be hard on sore backs...I heard someone suggest maybe an air mattress might be helpful??

There is def noise all over this resort...when you go to the food court/gift shop area, there are a lot of people, so a lot of noise. Think about how a food court area is in a local shopping mall. But, if you take a short walk to the lake area, it is usually quiet and peaceful. They have benches to sit on by the lake, too, which is quite nice! As far as noise within the rooms, the walls are thin, so yes, you can sometimes hear noises from adjacent rooms. I travel with a portable noise machine, and turn it on at night so it drowns out any noises and I am able to sleep fine with that.

I am always impressed with the transportation system at Disney. It always amazes me that they can move people around as well as they do. But, keep in mind that this is *public* transportation, you have to go with their schedule which sometimes means a wait for a bus, a wait for them to load a wheelchair-bound guest on to the bus, finding the correct stops at the parks, and often standing room on the bus (not so bad at the beginning of the day, but not as easy after walking all day at the parks!) What I do love about the POP bus service is there is only ONE stop...the main stop, so once that bus comes and you are on it, you are going right to the park...do not pass go, do not collect $200. I know that some of the deluxe resorts make multiple stops before going to the parks. (and one night, my husband and I headed to the Magic Kingdom kind of late in the evening, and found ourselves the *only* ones on the bus...it was like being in a limo! )

Sorry this is so long...hope it helps!

 

[DonnaW]

<<Thanks for the great review of POP. We are headed down for a stay at Pop in 8 days >>

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[DonnaW]

<<can't wait to be sitting outside on a nice December evening not freezing to death>>

It was beyond wonderful!!! Enjoy!

 

[DonnaW]

I'm going to be at POP for 2 weeks in July and can't decide if I should book a preferred room or not. I would love to hear some opinions on preferred vs non preferred. Right now both are still available.

Anyone ever stay in the 80's buildings? From looking at photos, the 80's appeals to me the most but I know it's not in the preferred part of the resort.


I also have read that what is considered preffered has recently changed. Any comments on that?

Both times we were at POP, we were in the 70's section, so I don't really know much about the 80's buildings. It seems like they might be a longer walk to Classic Hall and the bus stop. Have a great trip!

 

[DonnaW]

This was our first time at WDW. We spent Nov 26-Dec 3 at POP and we LOVED it!!!
We stayed in the 60's building on the 3rd floor, lake view. We booked a standard room but I think we got upgraded. Anyway...
We were in the "playdough" building, room 4340. We could see the fireworks from Epcot at 9:30 p.m. Otherwise the room was very quiet.
The room was fine, the beds were fine, mousekeeping was fine. We got a towel animal
We ate there our first night and the food was good. We didn't eat there very much as our schedule didn't allow it but I can tell you the chicken ceasar salad, the pizza, and the ciabatta sandwiches were good.
We liked the food court/gift shop combo. DD9 liked it too. She was allowed to go down to get a drink or shop on her own and I didn't have to worry about her.
The hippy dippy pool was nice. There were 3 lifeguards on duty until 10 p.m. The pool itself was open until midnight. It was very clean. We noticed they cleaned the deck every morning.
You could sit around and have a beer by the pool. Temperatures averaged about 80F. Where we are from it is -7F right now. YIKES!
The buses were great. I was worried about having to wait for them but we found them to be very efficient.
All in all we were all very happy with the stay and we have even booked a trip there for next December.

I'm glad you had such a good time!

 

[DonnaW]

Glad you had a good time...


I am going in 4 days

Did you wear shorts during the day? And did you feel the need for a jacket at night? I have no idea how to pack..hahhahaha...I was planning on bringing all long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts but not with 80degrees

I had no clue how to pack. We drove down (I know we're crazy, but I HATE to fly and we visited family on the way back), so I was able to pack a LOT of stuff. I brought way, way too many pairs of jeans and capris, as I wore shorts all week except the morning we began our drive home as I knew it would get colder as we headed further north. I have like a sweatshirt type Disney jacket with a hood that I wore if I felt I needed it at night (one or two nights all week.) Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[DonnaW]

I just booked POP for next December, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Do they have a lot of decorations up around the resort? I was also going to ask about the buses but it sounds like they are pretty good.

There is a giant Christmas tree in the lobby, plus smaller silver trees in the windows in the gift shop, as well as Christmas wreaths all over, too. They play Christmas carols everywhere! It's really nice...

 

[kaysmommie]

Thanks for the review.