Just back from POP- Any questions?

scubalisa

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 20, 2005
Messages
44
:flower: My husband and I just got home from a wonderful 8 day trip in the 50's section at POP with our DD5 and DD9. I'd be glad to answer any questions!
 
I would like to stay at POP June of 2006 with ds 8 & 11. What did you like, what didn't you like, and what would you do different?
 
We are going to be at POP in 45 days with our two boys ages 3 and 9!! We have seen on some of the websites pictures of the surrey bikes at POP. Do they still rent those do you know?? My older son thinks it would be fun to do that:)

Thanks:)
 
I did not see any of those bikes for rent. They did have hair wrapping and temporary tattoos by the pool. I did not know about that. There was hula hooping and sidewalk chalk outside, and the computer pool was full of beach balls provided by POP. Even without the bikes, there was more to do than we could do in 7 days.

What I liked:
1. bright, sharp theme- the grounds are beautiful, colorful and clean
2. fun pools with other kids for my kids to play with and enough pools so they were not overly crowded
3. great food court with Mickey ice cream bars and Mickey rice crispies
4. fun arcade with cute prizes for even 1-5 tickets (adorable daisy rings and lots of candy choices)
5. good gift shop with some inexpensive souvenier options like candy and Mickey bracelets- DD9 got addicted to the pins
6. Everything POP open until midnight for cola refills with lots of ice and Diet Coke for DH and me after the parks
7. Mousekeeping was over and beyond with towel animals- felt like a cruise
8. feeding the turtles on Generation Gap bridge
9. We lost our daughter's ticket on the first day (in a fast pass machine, we think). The concierge at POP replaced it cheerfully with no hassles whatsoever. This could have ruined our trip, but she acted like it was no big deal. Then, she tied our MYW passes to our room keys so we had less to carry around. It was also so nice to charge snacks, toys and character meals on our keys. By the way, they will print out a list of charges any time for you. It was easy to see how much damage we were doing.
10. lots of warm water in the bathtub both in the morning and at night after the parks- cute Mickey soap and shampoo, too
11. the CMs who stood outside giving park maps and show schedules each morning
12. apple juice and sugar free lemonade for the mugs for my DD5 who is allergic to corn syrup in Coke
13. the Twister game in 2 places
14. the fun decade music playing everywhere each afternoon
15. Disney TV bedtime stories and Mickey wake up calls
16. the fluffy, comfy pillows- I miss mine already
17. the fact that they often loaded 2 busses at a time after the fireworks
18. every CM was very nice at POP
19. the flower sprayers at Hippy Dippy
20. the fried chicken on Saturday nights- YUMMY!

What I did not like:
1. We arrived about 12:30 A.M. and were placed in a very strong smelling smoking room on the 3rd floor of the 80's after we had requested a nonsmoking room for medical reasons (DD has horrible allergies and asthma). They said this was all they had and that it usually happens for late night arrivals. They moved us to a great room on the first floor of the 50's by 10:00 A.M. the next morning, transported our luggage there while we were at the park, and gave us 1/2 off the previous night. We are happy with the way it was handled, but it was not the smoothest start to our trip. All's well that ends well, though. DD5 was fine, and our second room was lovely.
2. It usually took about 45 minutes to get to MK in the morning and once took an hour and a half to get back after the fireworks. They run multiple busses at a time, but there are so many people waiting that it just takes time. You need to be at the bus stop at 8 to make it to MK before opening at 9 A.M. Just know and accept that you will be waiting at night. At least there is TV entertainment at the bus stop in MK.
3. The frozen slurpee machine is still broken. No big deal, but my DD9 would have liked it. Also, the kids meals are kind of small. We got more food for less money by splitting an adult entree between two kids than buying two kids meals separately.
4. The beds are doubles and kind of small for 2 adults. They were cushy enough, but it was hard to sleep the first couple of nights (have king at home). After that, we were too exhausted to care!

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions. Lisa
 

OOPS! What would I do different? I would not change anything except arriving too late at night (Hotwire). POP is a great value for the money. My children thought this was the best hotel ever. What a happy place! I hope we get to go there again someday. :grouphug:
 
Hey,
Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I have a couple of more questions.
1) So, when you say it takes an hour in the a.m.? Do you mean total time of waiting to get on a bus with traveling to the park?
2) It seems as though the hotel was full from what you said. How was the noise in the room? Did you like bring on 1st floor?
And how is the food court:setting, time for getting food? Since the hotel seemed full?
3) Does POP have express check-out? How is checking out and getting to the airport? We have a sceduled flight at 11:00am when we go. When do you think we should get up intime to leave for the airport?
4) Any other tips you can think, please let us know.
Thanks again and glad you ended up having such a nice vacation!
 
scubalisa said:
:flower: My husband and I just got home from a wonderful 8 day trip in the 50's section at POP with our DD5 and DD9. I'd be glad to answer any questions!

ThankYou SOOooo much! This is EXACTLY why we are going to go to this hotel for our vacation!
*Question 1: Did you like the 50's section? I will be taking an almost 2 yr old and I'm thinking I would love to be close to the 'main' building and bus stops...what building do you think would be best?? (what floor?) Should we pay extra to be in the 60's building?
*Question 2: Was there a fridge in the room?
*Question 3: How long did it take you to get to DTD?

THankyou :wave2:
 
scubalisa said:
:flower: My husband and I just got home from a wonderful 8 day trip in the 50's section at POP with our DD5 and DD9. I'd be glad to answer any questions!

So glad you liked POP ...We do too.....Even last July those Frozen Coke machines kept on breaking down...I hope they are fixed a year later when we return this July.
 
We are considering POP for a trip this Fall. My main concern is the size of the room. We have infant twins so we need room to set up two cribs (pack-n-plays). Is that going to be possible at POP?
 
OMG an hour to get to MK! Thanks for sharing. Does anyone know whether this will probably be the case in early September Labor Day weekend and afterward?
 
Does Pop provide towels at the pool or do we need to pack them?

How many bus stops were there?

We are going at the end of Sept. Just booked it this week! :banana:

Thank for sharing1
 
DD and I are going to Pop for 10 days in Aug :cool1: So thanks for your very positive report!
Are there irons in the room??

Merylj
 
Hi Everyone! I'll try to answer these questions!

It took 1 hour from leaving our room to entering MK. That includes wait time. actual driving time is about 15 minutes.

The noise never bothered us. Once we heard some children running outside our room, but that was all.

The food court was large, colorful and well laid out. It never seemed crowded to us. Food service was faster than our mall at home, and we never had any trouble finding a table.

Express check out was smooth. We never got our luggage tags before we left, but it was no problem. ME met us at the airport (at 11PM), helped us with our bags, and drove us to POP. There was no wait to leave the airport. They did stop momentarily at 2 other resorts to drop people off before us. We did not mind, because we were enjoying those comfy seats and the Disney show telling us about all there is to do there. I would say the "magic" does start at the airport when you arrive. The trip back was nice also. They picked us up 2 hours and 20 minutes before our flight left. We were then at the airport almost 2 hours early waiting for our flight.

We were in room 1129 in the 50's. We loved this location! We were actually closer to Classic Hall than some of the preferred rooms. I would say that if you can get 50's or 70's, you will be as close as the 60's. If you have to stay in the 80's or 90's, the preferred room might be worth the extra monewy. However, if you get there and don't get the 50's or 70's (VERY FAR AWAY), ask to be moved the second a room comes open. They will move your luggage for you. We were very glad we did not pay the extra money for the 60's.

We did get a fridge. To us it was worth the extra money. We had www.wegoshop bring us groceries. It was a dorm sized fridge and worked great.

It took 1 hour to get to DTD on the busiest days. I'd say plan on 1 hour to get anywhere and just accept it with no worries. Sometimes you wioll be surprised and it will go faster. I do not think moderate busses ran any faster.

The size of the room was fine. We never felt overly crowded, and there were 4 of us who stayed for 8 nights. The size is somewhere in between a cruise ship room and a regular hotel room. We were not in there much any way. There was too much else to do outside the room!

Pool towels are not provided. We brought our own and just hung them to dry on the little clothes line in our bathtub.

There are 5 bus stops. They were all in a row in front of Classic Hall. One nice thing about POP is that you never have to share a bus with another hotel like some others. The stops were:
1. MK
2. Epcot
3. Disney Studios
4. AK and Blizzard Beach
5. DTD and Typhoon Lagoon

Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck to you all! Lisa :flower:
 
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions!
 
where the buses are located after a hectic, but fun day at the MK?
 
We will also be there in August. I also have a couple of questions:
1-I heard that they just finished putting blow dryers in the rooms. Is this true?
2-I should request the 50's/70's buildings that face the lake. And also request the 4th floor. Is this correct?
3-We are landing at 9:30am, do you think there will be such a wait checking in at this time?
4- After checking in we will go to a park. Are the buses running continuously throughout the day. We probably won't need a bus until 11:30am. Will we be waiting forever?
 
Yes, there was a wall mounted blow dryer in our room. :sunny:

When coming out of the MK, the bus stops are right outside the main gate. POP's queue is #18. It is maybe 120 yards from the gate entrance and the last one you will come to. I was mentally prepared for a hike to the bus stop, but it is really not that much farther than any other resort's stop.

Yes, I think the 50's or 70's lake view would be lovely. We faced the parking lot, but it was so covered with landscaping we couldn't see it. Any 50's or 70's location would be good IMHO.

We never saw much of a wait at the front desk, and there are always lots of CMs waiting to check people in. Even in the middle of the day, there was never a long line. I do not think you will be in for nearly as long of a wait for the bus at 11:30 as you would be when the parks first open or when they are about to close. Honestly, the only time I was discouraged about any bus line was coming home immediately after the MK fireworks. That is when all of the the lines are at their worst. We decided it was better to leave MK before the fireworks or wait until after 11:00.

I am very excited for y'all! Lisa :teacher:
 














Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE







New Posts







DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top