Just back from first POP stay...my thoughts

[michaelwilliammidd]

Hey everyone, I just returned home yesterday from a 7 night stay at POP. We have always stayed moderate before with stays at CBR,POR and POFQ leading up to this trip. We wanted to try a value and with the good discount package that was offered we decided to try POP. Check in was no problem, we arrived around 4:30 pm and didn't have to wait in line. Our requests were all honored except one.....we were given 50's bldg 4th floor pool view....we requested lake view but were happy with what we were given. We were given connecting rooms with DMIL and DFIL that were traveling with us. We found the rooms to be all they needed to be for a Disney trip....we, like everyone else don't spend much time in the room anyway and found the size and layout just fine for 2 people. We enjoyed the food court and shopping area and had no problems with it at all...it was pretty busy in the mornings but nothing overwhelming. The design and layout of the resort was great....we loved all the big icons around the resort and found the resort to be alot prettier than we thought it would be. Unfortunately there were some things that we didn't like about POP and they were all things that I had read here that others had problems with. The first is the bus service to POP, while staying at moderates....even one as huge as CBR, we rarely had a problem with buses...however at POP 9 times out of 10 there was a lengthy wait for a bus. Namely at the Magic Kingdom the POP line would go up and down the chained line area and then down the sidewalk the length of 2 more bus stops. At most park bus stop areas you could find the POP bus stop by looking for the one with a huge crowd of people standing. The only other issues we had were noise issues like others have mentioned toilets flushing, showers running and overall people noise seemed to reverberate through this resort unlike anyother I have stayed in and it became a little bothersome after awhile. Like I said.....we were very happy with our stay at POP, especially with the rate we got and if it came down to staying at POP or not going at all, we would gladly stay again....If it came down to staying at POP or staying offsite, we would gladly stay again. But, if they funds allowed we would stay at a moderate CBR is my favorite resort and POFQ is DW's. Hopefully when we go next time we can stay at CBR....it's been a few years since we stayed there and I would love to again. I'll be glad to answer any questions about POP if anyone has any...just let me know.

 

[boomhauer]

Glad you had a good time. I like Pop, but I agree - The bus situation kind of stinks. That's why I prefer All Stars.

 

[maryliz]

Glad you had a good time. I like Pop, but I agree - The bus situation kind of stinks. That's why I prefer All Stars.

ITA. We just spent this past weekend at ASMu. I stayed at POP in Aug with DSis and I had told DH about our horror story bus problems ... ie. Wishes at MK ended at 10:15PM, and we arrived back at POP at 12:05 AM While we certainly had to wait for busses this weekend, DH and I remarked at how many of the 3 All Star busses would arrive without even ONE POP bus coming. Disney has really dropped the ball on their bus service IMHO, especially for the values, CBR and PO. At park closing, there should be bus after bus. Our 1 1/2 hour wait to even get ON a bus back in August was the worst I have ever seen. The All Star busses this past weekend were pretty good.

MaryLiz

 

[WDWFAN9]

DH and I stayed at Pop from Nov 26th - 30th (room 3313), then we moved to the Boardwalk (room 4293). Honestly, the room at Pop was quieter. And, the bus service was great. But I did get to talk to Ernie Banks (Mr Cubs) at the Boardwalk while we were waiting for transportation from the Boardwalk to the airport yesterday.

 

[declansdad]

I guess we lucked out with the busses. The busses at Pop in July were much better than at ASMo in March.

 

[mom22boys]

I wonder why the buses were so bad at Pop last week?!? You are the thrid poster that has mentioned the terrible waits for a Pop bus last week. I am debating which value to stay at in February, and I was leaning towards Pop. The theme just appeals to me more than All Stars. Interestingly, a friend was staying at CBR the week of Thanksgiving. She commented that she would see several Pop buses as she sat and waited for a CBR bus. It sounds to me like the busing is not consistent.

Thanks for the input.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Thanks for the review.

 

[boomhauer]

I wonder why the buses were so bad at Pop last week?!? You are the thrid poster that has mentioned the terrible waits for a Pop bus last week. I am debating which value to stay at in February, and I was leaning towards Pop. The theme just appeals to me more than All Stars. Interestingly, a friend was staying at CBR the week of Thanksgiving. She commented that she would see several Pop buses as she sat and waited for a CBR bus. It sounds to me like the busing is not consistent.

Thanks for the input.

I've stayed at Pop on 3 seperate occassions. It's not that bus service is bad, or there are many less buses than All Stars. The problem is this:

All Stars is divided into 3 seperate section: Sports, Music and Movies. Whereas it is true that at slower times, they share buses, for the most part, they have their own buses (especially Movies).

Pop is a VERY large Resort and has only 1 bus stop. When we stayed there, we always, ALWAYS had a wait for the buses. Whether it be waiting for a 2nd (sometimes 3rd) bus, or standing, getting to the parks in the morning was always a pain. Returning at night - Forget it. Plan on doing alot of waiting. We waited 45 minutes on more than one occasion for a return bus to Pop.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Our Pop experience was exactly like the OP's. I would gladly stay there again rather than go off site but I prefer the All Stars due to the bus situation and the fact that Pop just seemed like a madhouse when we stayed there last January into February. The resort was nowhere near sold out but the food court and pool were always packed and wait times for buses, esp. MK were crazy. The parking was also a problem, especially on weekends. I think it is a fun resort with great theming and nice, fresh rooms but they just need a larger food court area and more bus stops and buses and more parking. Its a huge resort, much larger than any of the All Stars. We waited over 45 minutes one night at MK for a bus. The line was clear back to the first bus stop area. Pop buses kept coming, sometimes two at a time but with that many people it just took awhile. The weird thing was that was a slow day at the MK, we had little wait for anything for most of the day. The other bus stops were not crowded at all. I have no idea what the deal was it was like Pop was the only resort with people waiting for a bus. We were sorry we didn't just walk to the Contemporary and take a cab back!

 

[goinginsept]

We stayed at POP at the end of September and actually had no problems with the buses. We rarely waited more than 10 or 15 minutes for a bus, either on our way to the parks or on the way back. The only problem we had with a bus was trying to get one from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Magic Kingdom one evening after we ate at BOMA. We had to wait 45 minutes for a bus and were late to see Spectro.

 

[amarberry]

We stayed at POP at the end of September and actually had no problems with the buses. We rarely waited more than 10 or 15 minutes for a bus, either on our way to the parks or on the way back. The only problem we had with a bus was trying to get one from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Magic Kingdom one evening after we ate at BOMA. We had to wait 45 minutes for a bus and were late to see Spectro.

Things must have been running smooth at the end of September for the Pop buses because we thought that the bus service was great during our trip. We're going back to Pop in January and I'm getting a little nervous with all these negative posts. I hope they have all of these issues worked out. I can't imagine waiting an hour and a half for a bus with our 18 month old daughter!

 

[blessedby3]

I am someone who was at POP 11/25-12/3 and I also posted about the horrible bus situation. The waits were crazy. I have friends who went in early/mid October and they did not have the bus problems at POP that we had either. I dont know what the difference is, but next time we are there I am leaning toward having a rental car or staying deluxe again. (I prefer the deluxe option- I MUST start saving!!)

 

[alicenwonder99]

I'm leaving in 2 days and we're staying at POP. This trip is just me and my 2 younger children (7 and 5 years old). What do you think would be the best approach to the bus problem? Leaving the park at least an hour before closing? Or when leaving POP to get to the park...maybe getting to the bus stop an hour before park opening? Just trying to make a game plan. It will be too inconvenient to have to stand in line for over an hour to catch a bus.

Mary

 

[mom22boys]

I'm leaving in 2 days and we're staying at POP. This trip is just me and my 2 younger children (7 and 5 years old). What do you think would be the best approach to the bus problem? Leaving the park at least an hour before closing? Or when leaving POP to get to the park...maybe getting to the bus stop an hour before park opening? Just trying to make a game plan. It will be too inconvenient to have to stand in line for over an hour to catch a bus.

Mary

We will be at Pop in early February and I was wondering the same thing. I will be with my DM 58 and my DS 5 and my DS 2. This is a spontaneous trip. My DM still works full time and absolutely adores her two grandchildren and absolutely hates the cold. So after receiving a tempting PIN code, I asked her to go to WDW with us. She is so excited! Now after reading all of the posts about the busing situation at Pop, I keep wondering if I should spend a little more money and bump up to a moderate. I really want my mom to have a magical time!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

we are staying at pop in 10 days i have a rental car on hold
237 for the week for a convertible it was actually cheaper than a economy car
DH doesnt wanna get it
i keep telling him i dotn wanna deal with the buses
i know something is gonna happen one day and im gonna lose as i wait for a bus with my 2 kids age 6 and under 2 with no stroller as he only wants to rent a stroller at teh parks not bring ours
at this point im like whatever

 

[riu girl]

First trip to POP Dec 31.
My thoughts:
getting to the bus stop in the morning one hour prior to park opening and leaving the theme park one hour prior to closing.

This is what we have planned except Dec 31 when we we watch early wishes and then EWP at the POLY. I am worried that we will be in a huge mess to get back to POP after that since many families will probably watch early wishes Dec 31 (from MK) and then want to go back to POP to get young kids to bed. Since we will be at Poly watching 9 pm EWP, I assume by the time we get back to MK to get a bus back to POP, we will be at the end of a VERY long line.

Any suggestions on avoiding this???