Just back from Pop - 10/18-10/23

[leighe]

Hello everybody! We (DH and I) just returned last night from a great trip. We originally had reservations at POFQ but due to a mistake with either our TA or Disney we ended up at Pop. We enjoyed our stay but will probably not stay there in the future.

Things We Liked
1. The room was immaculate! Mousekeeping did a fabulous job! I also liked the subdued decor.
2. Every CM we encountered was wonderful. They were all very helpful and seemed to enjoy their jobs.
3. The food court was great. Normally we are not food court people and we really enjoyed this one. We ate breakfast there a few mornings and the day we left we grabbed a quick lunch. It was usually pretty crowded but we always managed to find a table. We didn't purchase mugs because we don't drink a lot of soda or tea or any coffee.
4. The theming is so cute. I love all the colors. I can really see why children would love the value resorts.
5. The pools were never crowded and are beautifully themed/lanscaped. We only spent a few hours in the Hippie Dippie pool but were very impressed. We strolled around and looked at the others and they seemed nice as well.
6. We never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus.

Things We Didn't Like
1. The beds are tiny. After the first night we each slept in our own bed! Of course, they might also feel smaller because my belly seems to get bigger and bigger every day.
2. While our room location was great ( 1st floor corner of the 50's building nearest Classic Hall) we could hear everything everybody who walked past said. It's not that people were being loud - the walls just seemed thin. However, part of that is due to being on the ground floor and so close to the main building. We just assumed that a little more noise was a trade-off we made for such a convienent location.
3. Buses were always super crowded. Again, this isn't really the fault of the resort - how could they not be crowded with almost 3,000 rooms? - but it just made things seem more hectic somehow.
4. The bathroom was so small. I get up earlier than DH and I also take longer to get ready but it was hard for me to get up and start getting ready without waking him up.

All in all we really did have a great time. I just really missed the size and atmosphere of the deluxe resorts (specifically the Epcot resorts). We did buy tons of stuff for the baby's nursery with all of the money we saved. I don't think we'll return to a value resort unless we decided on a spur of the moment trip. We are thinking about planning a trip for my Spring Break of 2007 (the baby will be about 15-16 months) and I've already kind of decided on splitting a stay between WL and BWI. BTW - DH is the one insisting on taking her when she is so little and this is the man who declared after our first trip together that there was no reason on earth to take a kid younger than 7 or 8 to WDW and we would never do it! Then he decided maybe a 3 year old would enjoy it. Now, I swear he had the nerve to suggest to me that we come down during this year's Spring Break - the baby will be all of 2 months old! Um, I don't think so but at least I've gotten him trained right!

Any questions?

 

[mandymouse]

Thanks for your comments leighe, we're off to the Pop for Christmas and we can't wait

 

[travel with kids]

Thank you for posting this thread and your opinions. We will be staying at the Pop Feb 15-19, 2006. My kids REALLY want to stay at the Pop (we have have stayed at moderate resorts in the past.) We visited friends in thier hotel room while they were at the Pop a few years ago and they flipped. We will be suprising them with an early trip to WDW before our DCL. I hope that DH and I will feel the same about Pop as our kids do. Your report actually made us feel a little more reasured---thanks

 

[MyGoofyfamilyandme]

Thanks for the report we are staying at pop for xmas even though we stayed a t Carribean last year love there bathrooms I hoping we will love this too and our 2 yrold and our then 7 month will love it too

 

[rflorek]

We were there at the same time you were. The only complaint I had (and I was forewarned by the posts on here) was the loud turbo-flush toilets. I swear we could hear every toilet within 5 rooms on any side of us (we were on the third floor of the 2nd 50's building.

The bus lines were long at times if you didn't leave early enough (the closer to 9 am, the longer the line), and the returns at park closing were also quite long (even after MNSSHP).

Had a great time, loved the bowling pin pool, and I would stay there again in a second.

By the way, we got 2 towel animals while we were there - no kids, just me & my DS!!! I guess the matching golden Mickey Ears and trick-or-treat bags fooled mousekeeping into thinking there were kids in the room!!

 

[blessedby3]

Thanks for the report. We are going to be staying at POP in only 28 days!! The last time we were there we were at CR so I am hoping for the best. Going from a deluxe with monorail service to a value might be difficult. I am just glad to be going to Disney so we will just make the best of long lines for busses and loud flushing toilets- not to mention TINY beds!!! EEK!!! Guess DH and I will each sleep with one of the kids. He can have our 10 yr old "octopus"!!

 

[PrincessKitty]

Thanks for your post--I always like to hear about people's experiences at POP! We were there for a long weekend 2 weeks ago and will be back for another long weekend next week. We loved it except for all the smoking at the Food Court. The rooms don't seem that small to us but that's probably because we spend so little time in our rooms!

 

[riu girl]

Excuse me, but smoking at the food court? That doesn't sound good. I thought all WDW restaurants are non-smoking????
Thanks
Suzy V

 

[arizonacolbys]

We were there at the same time you were. The only complaint I had (and I was forewarned by the posts on here) was the loud turbo-flush toilets. I swear we could hear every toilet within 5 rooms on any side of us (we were on the third floor of the 2nd 50's building.

We've stayed at POP 3 times now & really love it! We're planning our next trip there as well. Just wanted to give everyone a hint about the toilet noise - I have found that by closing the bathroom door in our room at night, we really don't hear anybody's toilets or showers throughout the night & into the early morning. This really helped. We also always stay on the 4th floor in the 50's facing the lake - really no noise over there at all!

 

[vickyBaby]

I must have been in the room next to you. I agree with your assessment and would like to add:

The Check in is reminiscent of an airport terminal

It is soooo noisy, I just couldn't sleep.

 

[LiteBrite]

Excuse me, but smoking at the food court? That doesn't sound good. I thought all WDW restaurants are non-smoking????
Thanks
Suzy V

They are, along with all other restaurants in the state of Florida. Maybe they meant to say outside by the pool? (Just a guess).

 

[PrincessKitty]

Excuse me, but smoking at the food court? That doesn't sound good. I thought all WDW restaurants are non-smoking????
Thanks
Suzy V

Sorry, I should have been more clear. People were smoking outside on the patio of the food court, where the tables are wall-to-wall and the air was thick with smoke. You have to walk a "smoke gauntlet" to get into the food court itself. It's not illegal to smoke outside, but it certainly is poor judgment on the part of Disney to let this go on.

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread. We generally love POP, but the smoking at the resorts and the parks seems to get worse and worse.

 

[alicenwonder99]

Are there coffee pots in the rooms at Pop? There was a thread here several months ago mentioning Pop may be getting coffee pots.

I need to know if I have to go out and buy a small one for the trip.

TIA.

Mary

 

[PrincessKitty]

As of a week and a half ago, no coffee pots.