Just Back from POP...NEVER AGAIN

[DisneyBride'03]

True...and I saw many strollers just being used to haul stuff around..Its disney not an expedition on everest

Thanks for the chuckle this morning!

 

[snykymom]

As far as the key and dining credits are concerned, please note that Disney is in the middle of a major computer systems upgrade. That's not an excuse for what happened, just that it happened at every resort when the upgrade occurred. It shouldn't have happened anywhere, but it's not POP's fault - same thing would have happened when CSR upgraded or when BW upgraded or any other resort upgraded.

 

[Colleen27]

Well, the key problems probably weren't the resort's fault. It seems to be happening a lot with this new system upgrade Disney is doing, and could happen at any resort right now. Hopefully they'll have the kinks ironed out soon, though I really question the wisdom of a major roll-out so close to the busiest time of year!

Did you book a preferred room? If being close to the main building's amenities is really important, I'd say that's a must at just about every Disney resort that offers a preferred category. And that's even more true at Pop because there's only the one bus stop; at CBR and POR our non-preferred rooms were a bit of a hike from the main building, but were close to the bus stops in their respective sections. You don't get that with a distant room at Pop.

I tend to agree with the poster who suggested that Pop (or any value, really) isn't the best choice for adults traveling without children. Too many kids, and with any group of families that large you're bound to have some who are rude, obnoxious, noisy, and messy. I know I'm less patient with other people's kids when I'm traveling without my own, and we tend to be pickier about seasons and resorts for adult trips because we don't want to be surrounded by strollers and rude kids on our break from our own! CSR because it is a convention resort tends to have a higher ratio of adult guests to families with children, and the moderates in general are quieter by virtue of being more spread out and more lushly landscaped.

 

[Funky Chicken]

Many of the problems with Values are solved by renting a car IMO. You can bottom-feed on priceline or hotwire.
I stayed in building 2 in September and parked my car very close to the building. No 15 minute walks for me if I can avoid that for $15/day.
Food courts can be the most unpleasant places at WDW.
People in every resort have complained about KTTW problems during the upgrade.
Sorry your trip was disappointing.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

While I am sorry you had a bad experience and I personally will not stay at a value again as I did not enjoy the frantic atmosphere I think that I am entitled to use my stroller however I feel fit including hauling all my purchases and while I do my best not to ram into anybody anywhere I have to agree with PP that many people do not pay attention to where they are walking and walk right into the stroller then blame the stroller..The stroller is not invisible..same with adults who run over little children because they never look down. Yes there is a lack of manners in SOME people all over but you generalize far to frequently in your post. Disney world is a family destination and is open to everyone but it shouldn't be a surprise that there are alot of strollers..Have you been to the Zoo??? or any other family destination...children and strollers everywhere....Perhaps staying at a resort in a different catagory would solve many complaints but then again Disneyworld is large and walking is part of the equation the hotels are large and so walking is expected...Perhaps a smaller resort like POFQ or offsite would better suite??? Good luck on your next vacation..Hopefully it will live up to your expectations

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Original post summarized: "Many problems"

One more general comment...we were in the happiest place on earth and NO ONE WAS HAPPY....just my 2 cents....want to flame me...BRING IT ON!!!!!

Sorry that RJO didn't enjoy his stay at WDW, this time.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

Sounds like you had a horrible time..sorry. Can't blame the resort for rude people though.. and as for room request.. it's just a request not a def. When we stayed at CBR we got the exact opposite of what we requested..oh well..wasn't going to ruin our trip. At Dixie Landings we got exactly what we asked for.. it happens.

Sorry about the stroller hits....man I can remember many a person hitting my stroller.. seems hard to look down and notice a child in a stroller for some.. so they end up running into it and I'd get the dirty look..sucks!

Yes a request is just that a request but if you tell them it is a medical request because of mobility issues they will usually move mountains to get you what you need.

 

[Pakey]

OP, I'm always sorry to read when people have less than magical vacations at WDW.

My husband and I have stayed deluxe or DVC for 20 vacations. The last time I went, I decided to try Pop and actually enjoyed it (adults only). There are as many inconsiderate people at the deluxe/DVC resorts are there are at any of the others. And the room at Pop was definitely one of the cleanest rooms I've had in years at WDW.

I think it's unfair to generalize that the value resorts have ruder people and/or less efficient/competent staff.

 

[Disfamguy]

I just want to comment on the stroller thing. We were there last year at the off season and the crowds were low. We had a great time. One incident that really ticked me off was with a lady and a stroller.

I'm in line to get a snack from one of the carts and I am the last person in the line. There is like two people ahead of me. I'm waiting patiently and this woman rams me from the side with a stroller. Hits my right ankle. It startles me and I kind of jump to the side. I look her right in the eye and she doesn't say a thing. She just moves on by.

I think it's just a rude woman and decide to leave it alone. About a minute later she comes back. I'm just approaching the window and she rams into me from the other side trying to get in front of me and she interrupts me as I am trying to tell the CM what I want. She starts asking him a question.

This time her husband is behind her. Instead of talking to the woman I looked at her husband and said "Man, if this is what you have to live with the rest of your life, you have my pity." The woman gets mad and starts yelling like a freak from the circus. I told her she was the rudest person I have seen at Disney and since there are thousands of people here, that makes you pretty special.

I told her that if she ran her stroller into my leg one more time I would have her arrested for assault and she would probably be banned from Disney World. (I wouldn't have done that but it sounded threatening as heck at the time).

The whole time her husband doesn't say a word. She gets all in a huff because I dared to talk to her that way and leave.

Then the husband comes close to me and says, "I'm sorry. She's been that way her whole life."

I can understand a mistake and I can overlook stuff when it happens but at least have the courtesy to apologize and everything is good.

Ok, sorry about the rant.

 

[angierae]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience at POP. We stayed there in May and really loved it, but we had a room in the 70's that was fairly close to the main building.

I would agree tho that stroller rammers and rude people are everywhere, and that's not really the resort's fault.

 

[luckylady131]

I just want to comment on the stroller thing. We were there last year at the off season and the crowds were low. We had a great time. One incident that really ticked me off was with a lady and a stroller.

I'm in line to get a snack from one of the carts and I am the last person in the line. There is like two people ahead of me. I'm waiting patiently and this woman rams me from the side with a stroller. Hits my right ankle. It startles me and I kind of jump to the side. I look her right in the eye and she doesn't say a thing. She just moves on by.

I think it's just a rude woman and decide to leave it alone. About a minute later she comes back. I'm just approaching the window and she rams into me from the other side trying to get in front of me and she interrupts me as I am trying to tell the CM what I want. She starts asking him a question.

This time her husband is behind her. Instead of talking to the woman I looked at her husband and said "Man, if this is what you have to live with the rest of your life, you have my pity." The woman gets mad and starts yelling like a freak from the circus. I told her she was the rudest person I have seen at Disney and since there are thousands of people here, that makes you pretty special.

I told her that if she ran her stroller into my leg one more time I would have her arrested for assault and she would probably be banned from Disney World. (I wouldn't have done that but it sounded threatening as heck at the time).

The whole time her husband doesn't say a word. She gets all in a huff because I dared to talk to her that way and leave.

Then the husband comes close to me and says, "I'm sorry. She's been that way her whole life."

I can understand a mistake and I can overlook stuff when it happens but at least have the courtesy to apologize and everything is good.

Ok, sorry about the rant.

How rude of that woman!!

I won't talk about POP, as I've never been.

BUT, I was just there for 10 days, at all 4 parks, with a double stroller. I must say, I don't understand stroller rammers!! I am not used to a double stroller, I don't own one, and never have used one outside of pushing a few through a store trying to decide if I wanted to purchase one.

I had to rent a double side-by-side stroller at the last minute because my husband threw his back out right before our trip and couldn't push one of the singles I was planning on taking.

Never, not one time, did I run into anyone with the stroller, nor did anyone bump into me!! That included a sold out MVMCP night with tons of people.

I did witness a woman bump her stroller into another woman, almost makingher stumble and almost fall right in front of me. We both watch her haul a$$ away without a word, while our jaws were agape! Luckily the woman was okay.

I just tried to anticipate other people's moves around me, and I was able to avoid many potential stroller ram situations!

 

[SnowWtch]

DH and I have no kids but we enjoy POP. The key to the foodcourt is to go at odd hours. We did this last weekend and never encountered many people at all. Aside from the room being a double when we were told twice it was a king and me getting strep throat, it was a nice visit there. POP can be a bit of a walk regardless of where you're at. You're either closer to the foodcourt/buses or closer to parking. We were in the 50's and it was a shorter walk to the foodcourt/buses than it was to the parking. It was building 3 on the ground floor. We'll definitely go again b/c each experience is different. Sometimes it's a bad time staying there and other times it's perfect.

 

[Minnesota!]

I can not tell you how much I agree with this statement. Differences are night and day.

DH and I stayed at ALLSTAR music pre-kid and swore that we would never, ever stay there again. Next trip was at the BC-it was like being on a totally different vacation. I don't know why the differences are so big, I realize rude people can be found anywhere, I can just say that the difference was HUGE.

On the other hand we are friends with a family with 4 kids. They did 2 rooms at Music last June and really liked it. Maybe we just had a bad experience.

I think it's all in the experience you want. If you enjoy the hustle and bustle 24/7, you will enjoy the values (this is us!). If you want quiet after the parks, values aren't for you. I would go nuts in a place that seemed too quiet.

 

[wcpamotm]

I really wouldnt recommend POP to adults travelling without kids, too much hustle.

The Hustle is primarily at the 70s buildings.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[joybeth]

The Hustle is primarily at the 70s buildings.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

jb!

 

[Colleen27]

I think it's unfair to generalize that the value resorts have ruder people and/or less efficient/competent staff.

I agree. I think that perception is largely a matter of numbers - assuming a certain percentage of the population is just room and self-centered, that percentage represents a lot more in terms of actual numbers of people at a resort like Pop, with almost 2900 rooms, than at a resort like the Beach Club with fewer than 600. It isn't a question of the caliber of guests, it is just simple probabilities; you've got a higher chance of running into those rude people in a larger group than in a smaller one.

 

[verticalchaos]

I'll be staying in ASMu for Marathon Weekend. It'll be just me, and I'm not going to be in the room that much. Probably won't sleep a whole lot Friday night, and then will be too tired to care Saturday night. So I'm not too worried about it.

I am sorry you had a less than magical stay OP!!

I do agree with the stroller thing. There are a few who are very conscious of themselves and the strollers, and yes I'm sure there are some people who walk into them. However... The vast majority of the stroller incidents I've seen and experienced involved me (or the person I saw) being hit from behind or clipped from the back angle on the side when I didn't even see it coming. In some cases you could tell the person pushing just didn't care and wanted to get where they were going. In others, you could tell the person pushing really wasn't aware of how much more room they were taking with the stroller. And then there's my personal favorite...the kid who should be IN the stroller is pushing it in spite of not being able to see where they are going. And heaven forbid you make any comment because then you get yelled at about "stifling the child's independence". Yes, this actually happened to me. I merely turned around to see what was going on and the mother immediately lit into me, leading me to believe her precious little darling had done this before with no consequences. Sorry, but if they're independent enough to be trusted to push the stroller without correction, they're independent enough to not need the stroller. I know I jumped for joy when I read that they are NOT ALLOWED in the Marathon Weekend Expo. The last thing runners need is to be plowed off at the ankles the day before a big race!

 

[ElizabethB]

With respect to MVMCP and selling too many tickets, we were at MNSSHP and agree completely. We have enjoyed MNSSHP in the past, but we will not go again (and we were there on a slower night, a Tuesday with AP discounts available). They are selling too many tickets to these events, now.

 

[dskib]

Sorry your vacation sucked. We stayed at POP once and had a wonderful experience. Perhaps if you need a shorter walk, you should consider staying at a smaller resort - like the POFQ. We love it there. I recommend room 5101 - a first floor corner room that's SUPER close to the food court/lobby. We got lucky enough to be given this room this year and hope to take my 83 year old mother-in-law there next year. I'd never DREAM of taking her to a large resort.

I'd also not go at Christmas time if I were against crowds.

And now that I've been on both ends of the stroller war, I can tell you that more often that not, people who cut me off as I walk and then stop short in a crowd are hitting my stroller, not the other way around. And also - if I say excuse me SEVEN times and you continue to stand there without allowing me to get by, I might just run over your foot. I don't have a stroller because I want to. I have a little human who has the same right to mobility that you do. People who walk, people who stroller and people who scooter should just take care and respect each other. Stay out of each others way. Be considerate. It's not a race. It's a vacation.

And as for the people - good luck with that. They are often rude messes no matter where you go.

Hope you have better luck next time.

Deb

 

[dskib]

I'll be staying in ASMu for Marathon Weekend. It'll be just me, and I'm not going to be in the room that much. Probably won't sleep a whole lot Friday night, and then will be too tired to care Saturday night. So I'm not too worried about it.

I am sorry you had a less than magical stay OP!!

I do agree with the stroller thing. There are a few who are very conscious of themselves and the strollers, and yes I'm sure there are some people who walk into them. However... The vast majority of the stroller incidents I've seen and experienced involved me (or the person I saw) being hit from behind or clipped from the back angle on the side when I didn't even see it coming. In some cases you could tell the person pushing just didn't care and wanted to get where they were going. In others, you could tell the person pushing really wasn't aware of how much more room they were taking with the stroller. And then there's my personal favorite...the kid who should be IN the stroller is pushing it in spite of not being able to see where they are going. And heaven forbid you make any comment because then you get yelled at about "stifling the child's independence". Yes, this actually happened to me. I merely turned around to see what was going on and the mother immediately lit into me, leading me to believe her precious little darling had done this before with no consequences. Sorry, but if they're independent enough to be trusted to push the stroller without correction, they're independent enough to not need the stroller. QUOTE]

People are unreal. I use a stroller, but I try and respect those around me. What happens to some of these peoples brains when they have children?!?!?

Deb