Just back from POP--Review

[HugsForEeyore]

I love POP, but I totally agree with the OP about the buses. When I stayed there, every morning trying to get to MK was the same deal - it would usually be the 3rd bus that would come that I could finally get on, and 20 minutes between buses, it takes a lot of time. And I also totally agree on the ECV's - the buses can't handle the huge increases in them, and the number of people using them is only going to grow and grow. Some of the ECV people have to wait for bus after bus too, as I seen up to 8 ECVs in line at once. But there is no other way to transport them, so the longer waits are here to stay.

Nowadays when I stay at POP, I drive to MK, since parking, catching the tram, and then the monorail still seems quicker than waiting up to 40 minutes for the 3rd bus to come, then a 20 minute standing bus ride. But besides the bus situation, I really like POP - love the pool, food court, and just the lively atmosphere.

 

[joyjoy]

Wow ckmommy/Amy-

Reading your review sounded almost exactly what mine would have sounded like if I'd done one. We returned from 8 nights at Pop 3 weeks ago. I waited to see if my feelings about the resort would change once we'd returned, but I'm pretty much in the didn't hate it, definitely didn't love it camp.

Our Disney resort experience (other than this one) includes 1 value (ASMu, twice), 2 moderates (CSR and PO, twice) and one deluxe (AKL). I had nooooo delusional ideas that PC was going to be fancy or anything. It wasn't awful, it was just packed. The food court was a bee hive every time we were there. Although I will say, the lines moved quickly. Same with the buses, crowded - always. We always had the biggest line at the end of the day (or even in the middle of the day!) but the line did move. We had to stand up almost all the time.

Last year at PO-R if we went to the pool after a park day, it was pretty quiet and relaxing. We are 2 adults and 2 teenagers. At PC, the pool was CRAZY at 11 p.m. with adults AND little bitty kids. That surprised me.

The mousekeeping was FANTASTIC - towel animals and our beanies arranged every day. Even a note one day from our mousekeeper. Loved her. The resort was VERY clean and neat. Our room location was awesome. 2 min walk to buses, etc.

No offense to anyone and especially not the staff at PC, but it's not for us next time. Too crowded, loud and crazy.

 

[darlak]

I just got back tonight from a 9-day stay at Pop. I can't disagree with much that the OP has said. I will continue to stay there though. My kids all love it there, even though they're older, and it's starting to feel like home to me. We've stayed at moderates and deluxes over the years and in many, many ways, you do usually get exactly what you pay for. The reason I'll go back is that I want to go at least twice a year and stay 8-12 days or more each trip. I can do that at a Value whereas I could only go once a year for one 7-10 day stay at a more expensive resort. This year, I've been 3 times...so far, and may go back for one more shorter stay before year's end.

There main smoking area is located just outside the exit from the lobby area facing the Hippy Dippy pool, and that area often had 8-10 or more smokers at almost any given time. All around the pool, people were smoking at the tables located at the outside edge of the pool. The only actual DSA anywhere near the pool is located at the back edge of the Petals Pool Bar. A DSA was located in each decade around the lake walkway. None of the DSA's are covered.

I'm a smoker, so although I personally only smoked in the DSA's, I won't pretend that the smoking anyplace else really bothered me. The "beer pong" did get old after a couple of nights though. One night when I was doing laundry, my DD13 was sitting with me in the DSA at the bar while we waited on the clothes to wash and dry. The language at the ping pong table finally got so loud and so offensive, that I went over and asked the kids to please watch their language. They were nice and much better after I asked, but my DD was so embarrassed that I went over to ask at all, that she had already gone back to our room before I even finished asking them to watch the language. By the time I turned to nod my head toward where my daughter was sitting, my table was empty. They probably thought I had just invented an imaginary daughter!

The food court was wild, as usual, but pretty efficient. One thing I do really like about staying at Pop is the number of people from England we always meet there. It just seems we always meet more there than anywhere else. They are without fail, some of the most charming and witty people I've ever met. One woman's story/amusing rant of how she wanted really wanted a good steak, but no one had told her that she needed to make ADR's was just too funny. Someone told her that she could probably get in for lunch at the Concourse Steakhouse if she just went without an ADR. She decided that it would just be too much trouble to take a bus and the the monorail to get there, so she called a cab. Turns out that another thing no one told her was that they would close at 2pm for a while. She got there just after 3pm, so she called another cab to get back to Pop. She spent over $40 on cab fare and still didn't get her steak. She related this story while laughing at her situation the entire time.

I'm not offended in the least if someone doesn't want to stay at a value resort. I'm not even offended by the "resort snobs". I just find them rather amusing as it usually seems like they're trying to convince themselves more than they're trying to convince me. (Let me add that I've read this entire thread and haven't noticed any posts by what I consider "resort snobs") Personally, I'm usually just looking for a clean room with good AC. Pop gives me that and more. If more amenities are important to you, then I'm happy that WDW also offers what you're looking for. I do have a trip planned for AKL in the spring of 2008 for myself and my 2 DD's, but next Sept. I'll be back at Pop but 10 days of free dining with the whole famdamily, all 11 of us in 3 rooms.

 

[minnie61650]

The buses did come about every 20 minutes, but the waits to get on were horrible (one bus coming every 20 minutes--if the first bus becomes full, we had to wait another 15-20 for another bus). This resort has so many people in the ECV's and having 4-5 per bus did get pretty old. I am not complaining about the ECV's or the people in them--I would not want to be in their shoes, but with there being soooo many of them today, WDW needs to find a better way to get people on and off the busses in a timely matter.

I love POP, but I totally agree with the OP about the buses. When I stayed there, every morning trying to get to MK was the same deal - it would usually be the 3rd bus that would come that I could finally get on, and 20 minutes between buses, it takes a lot of time. And I also totally agree on the ECV's - the buses can't handle the huge increases in them, and the number of people using them is only going to grow and grow. Some of the ECV people have to wait for bus after bus too, as I seen up to 8 ECVs in line at once. But there is no other way to transport them, so the longer waits are here to stay.......

I agree the ECV's do take extra time to load. I just want to point out that there are only 2 tie down spaces on each bus so even if there are 4,5, or 8 EVC's waiting to board a bus just the first 2 will be loaded on that bus. The others will have to wait for another bus.


Have fun planning your next trip to Disney!

 

[caracap]

Here is the thing with my stay. I would go back to POP in a heartbeat if it were for the resort itself. I had a very clean room with a sparkling tub & looked like a rip off shower curtain that was changed with each guest. I loved that! So, I think that is how the curtain worked. My room was in the 70's section, 2nd floor of building 6, I though that was close to everything! I would request that room again. Now, the only reasons I would not go back is because of the noise level (late at night, any other time would not bother me), the amount of people there (food courts, pools, bus lines (ended up renting a car), laundry lines (couldn't do laundry because lines for the machines were out the door at all laundry rooms), & smoking everywhere. So, as you can see I had not one problem with the resort itself, just what happened while we were there.


And, by the way new alarm clocks were put in the room last week, and they have sound machines on them for whoever that asked!!

 

[michelle1]

Also, on the subject of noise...does anyone know if you can request sound machines or fans for your room to help drown out some of the noise?

I have read somewhere that all of the rooms are getting new clock radios that have sound machines in them.

 

[THERESA522]

Okay, so now I'm a little concerned too. We have our first stay at PC for next April. I have ds 5 and dd 4. Last May we stayed at ASMo and had no noise problems. The resort was crowded, but nothing awful. So my concern is that if I get my kids to bed early is the noise going to be too loud and wake them up? Also, we only stood on buses to/from ASMo once on our last trip - can't even imagine making two small ones stand at the end of the day!

I have no problem with the value resorts - actually LOVED ASMo! But am I making a bad decision to move to PC? I'm worried about the size of the resort, the bus lines and the noise. Oh, what to do....

 

[minnie61650]

Here is the thing with my stay. I would go back to POP in a heartbeat if it were for the resort itself. I had a very clean room with a sparkling tub & looked like a rip off shower curtain that was changed with each guest. I loved that! So, I think that is how the curtain worked. My room was in the 70's section, 2nd floor of building 6, I though that was close to everything! I would request that room again. Now, the only reasons I would not go back is because of the noise level (late at night, any other time would not bother me), the amount of people there (food courts, pools, bus lines (ended up renting a car), ..... So, as you can see I had not one problem with the resort itself, just what happened while we were there.

We stay at All Star Music and my DH who is a builder remarked about how quiet the rooms are at All Star Music. We never our heard our neighbors and I only heard a toilet flush (softly) once when I was awake during the night.

I had read that the ventilation system at Pop is set up different than the system at the All Star resorts.
Apparently 6 rooms at Pop all share the same ventilation system.
That is why Pop had a lot of problems with guests smelling smoke when smokers would smoke in neighboring rooms.

I think the room noises are also traveling through the ventilation system at Pop.

So even though the walls may not be any thinner at Pop the rooms seem to be noisier there.
----------------------------------------------------------
`
Pop has more than 900 more guest rooms than each All Star resort.

Pop has 2,880 guest rooms. 4 floors in each building.
Each of the All Stars has 1,960 rooms. 3 floors in each building.

That means most of the time there will be more guests at the food court & longer lines at the bus stop at Pop than at each of the All Star Resorts.

Just my 2 cents

Have fun at Disney!

 

[ilovedisney_miami]

I think the POP is so cute. I loved everything. Me and DH went in May/2007. with the in-laws. I barely notice the smokers. I can't say anything about the buses because we drove from Miami and we had the car. I just prefer to be able to go were I want when I want with out having to worry about the amount of time of buses. And I'm proud to announce that in Nov/2007 we will be going back (for my b-day )

 

[HopperFan]

we still had a good trip.

I originally went to the value resorts kicking and screaming, but at some point I just was not getting the value in the difference in cost at the deluxe and even moderate (when no discount is available).

I went to my 3rd POP visit on the 13th for 10 days, and was concerned because I had read quite a few complaints on this board. It was possible time had taken it's toll on this busy resort. I just kept telling myself with the money I was saving we were doing Discovery Cove and other things.

POP was great ! We arrived not long after stated checkin time and walked straight up to a CM, no line. She was great, covered all the bases, gave me all the paperwork, including the room located where I requested. We moved to concierge, with a slight line....added to our tickets, checked our ADRS, he assisted with a RFC ADR and on our way. Our room was fantastic - excellent mousekeeping with extras every day, view of EPCOT & MK fireworks, quiet and peaceful and even though on the lake....walk to car was less than five minutes.

Pools were never over crowded and always tons of seating. Our pool (bowling pin) which we passed everytime we went to car (we did not use buses) never had more than 15-25 people in it (yes I counted). My DS is disabled with anxiety and panic attacks so numbers of people are always a consideration. I did laundry at 3 pm in the afternoon, a time I expected no availability because of peak swim time. Less than half the machines were in use - wow.

Food court stayed busy, and was surprised how many ate breakfast late (we leave later to avoid opening at parks). But we never had a problem getting a table or being served and paying in a time frame to still eat hot food.

Buses did have some lines, but they never looked terrible to me. The one thing I believe to be true is POP does not share a bus, but the three AllStar resorts do. So you may do no better transportation wise, especially if a later stop.

Noise - minimal. We had folks all around us and I never heard them, their TV or their young children. In 10 days I probably heard 10 turbo toilets and a door slam a couple times. We rarely passed anyone else on the building walkways or had to share elevator. We truly felt we had the place to ourselves even though we knew we didn't. DS needs down time often, I was able to nap a couple times, we were sometimes in room all evening. Totally enjoyed the quiet.

A few nights I did experience a couple smoking on the walkway/balcony (and they were Disers) and I found that offensive right down to their butts in cups of water all week on walkway. I felt like mousekeeping should have reported them given the evidence.....but I let it go. Smokers were doing a great job overall of staying in the designated areas, which there were plenty. I do think they need to move the one by main building......but we just made sure to by pass and go in door directly to food court so we didn't inhale

Overall the other guests were very polite and behaved. I have experienced rude guests at all levels, so there are no guarantees there.

Resort has some of the friendliest and most helpful CMs I have ever experienced. Better mousekeeping than AKL, much nicer CMs at food court than just about any resort we have stayed in, and ongoing maintenance and cleaning like I have never seen.

We took POP after being offered POR and AKL with the free dining for our dates. I have stayed at all and felt POP was the best value and just fine for this trip. It was....... We were then offered Bounceback and I am returning next year to do it again at POP again !

ps I will bring my own toilet paper next year

 

[Twende]

We love the Pop but we also understand that the rooms are small and the Toilet Paper is really sand paper!

I find the walk to my room at Pop much less than at some of the more deluxe resorts. I know at AK I thought we were walking dark hallways that would never end!

The noise level is there but it was not bad a night. We also requested the second floor and I think that cuts down on traffic noise past the room.

The new clocks may be great but the light on the snooze button drove DH crazy. We finally put a towel animal over it to dim it a bit.

We found the food court very appealing. We stayed away from the busy morning crowds when everyone it trying to eat and get to a park. We just filled our mugs with coffee and kept walking through.

We did get a great deal on a rent a car so we did not have to use the buses this trip. We enjoy eating at other resorts and with the free dining be did a lot of eating. The buses won't go between resorts so we decided ahead of time that a car was a must for this trip.

Yes the Pop is busy and lively but that is what I like about it. If one pool area is too busy you can easily go to a different area.

The smokers did congregate outside the Pop's main lobby exit and it was annoying but then smokers annoy me anywhere! I especially hated the smokers near the Dole Whip stand in MK! They need to move away from my favorite treat area!

When our family returns again it will most likely be to the Pop.

 

[ckmommy]

I have to say thank you to evryone who read and responded to this thread. I was hoping that I would not get too flamed for this post. I do have to say that these our my opinions only, and if you are going to the POP in the future, your stay may be completly different than mine. Just being at WDW is awesome!! The POP was OK, but I will take an OK for a resort at WDW than a Excellent hotel pretty much anywhere else!!

I also have to add that the noise at POP did not bother us at all. We were in the "Jungle Book" section (4th floor) and our room faced the baby pool. While the pool area seemed to be lively all night, after a day in the parks, I was asleep when my head hit the pillow.

One last thing to add--we did meet many people that were on holiday from England and believe it or not Australlia. They were wonderful folks and always willing to chat!!

I am in WDW withdrawal right now! I am trying to convince my DH to go for a long weekend with out the kids sometime in the spring--maybe he will say yes!!!


Have a great Sunday everyone!!

 

[Disbug]

I had read that the ventilation system at Pop is set up different than the system at the All Star resorts.
Apparently 6 rooms at Pop all share the same ventilation system.
That is why Pop had a lot of problems with guests smelling smoke when smokers would smoke in neighboring rooms.

Ahhh! That makes sense. We had a horrible time with smoke in our room this past January, even though we were in a non-smoking room! I called several times to report that smoke was coming out of the ventilator in the bathroom... We ended up leaving the door closed to the bathroom. If a poor design is the culprit, I'm thinking they are going to need non-smoking BUILDINGS instead of just NS rooms!

All in all, we did enjoy our stay. Food court was busy, buses were busy... but everyone was so nice and the decor was very fun!

 

[lam]

Hi, I'm Soooo glad you posted this thread. I am going for my 2nd time to Disney , 1st time 6 years ago and we only stayed 1 night on-site at Contemporary.
I'm flying over from Ireland (I'm a Scot living there )with DS 10 and my mum.We've booked POP for 7 nights and POFQ for 5 nights. Were going March 13 to 27 next year.
POP was recommended to us but I've always had my reservations about it. I know the food court is good and it was 'sold' to us on the basis of its own transport but I always thought the 'theming' didn't look quite as good as AS Mu or AS Mo (maybe I'm wrong haven't stayed in either).Pics looked like there was lots of concrete and less shrubs/gardens! Although I just love Jungle Book!!

Anyway,I HATE too much noise at night (cannot sleep) and DETEST smoke even more!!!UGH UGH UGH
I think our dates co-incide with USA Schools Spring Break ? do they? If so, I'm told this is a really busy time so am wondering if I'm doing the right thing booking POP then.
Wonder if the AS resorts may be just as loud and busy??
Anyone who has been during Spring Break or (Easter hols in UK and Ireland)-I'd appreciate your views!!!
(or do i need a separate post for that?) sorry -haven't 'posted' much !!


regards


lam

 

[Samsma]

I wouldn't switch - give it a chance. I haven't stayed at the All Stars, but we've stayed at many deluxes, and we have just as good a time at POP. It was especially nice staying in Peak season for $68 per night. The rooms are a little small for 4 people, but for my two kids and I it was just fine. We didn't have any issues at all at the Pop. I think you'll be fine! We had a lot of fun.

 

[jenseib]

Ahhh! That makes sense. We had a horrible time with smoke in our room this past January, even though we were in a non-smoking room! I called several times to report that smoke was coming out of the ventilator in the bathroom... We ended up leaving the door closed to the bathroom. If a poor design is the culprit, I'm thinking they are going to need non-smoking BUILDINGS instead of just NS rooms!
.
Alll in all, we did enjoy our stay. Food court was busy, buses were busy... but everyone was so nice and the decor was very fun!

all the buildings are NOW smoke free. So youi shouldn't have that problem again. I think it went smoke free in June.


I loved POP. We had a first floor room and never once had a problem with noise either. Smoking doesn't bother me, so I never noticed where people were smoking, but we went in March so things hadn't changed yet either.

I think the time of year you go makes a difference as well. But I have heard the buses are always busy there, and they were for us as well. Always standing room only. But they came faster than every 20 minutes.

 

[lunapnp]

As someone else mentioned, I believe a lot has to do with the time of year you are going. We are arriving this Saturday at POP...this will be our third stay. We really enjoy POP! I wanted to try somewhere different this year, but my DDs absolutely love POP. One of my main reasons for staying at POP is actually the BUSES! Most people give negative reviews of the buses, but we've never had a problem with the buses. And, as many people have commented about here, we are one of "those" families that has a wheelchair user in the group. The drivers have always been wonderful when loading my daughter. My favorite thing about the buses: they are a "one stop" deal. Many of the buses at other resorts have multiple stops within the one resort before actually heading off to the parks. The only problem we really had with the bus is when leaving MK after Spectromagic... but then again, EVERYONE is trying to leave at that time too. I guess a lot of how much you will like POP will depend on how much time you actually spend at the resort! We spend most of our time at the parks and usually only leave about 1/2 of a day for swimming at the hotel. If you're the type that likes to spend a lot of time at the hotel, then POP may not be for you. But, it all boils down to a matter of opinion and your personal likes and dislikes! I'm sure I will have a report to post in a couple of weeks when we get back from POP!

 

[maggs]

I am also one of those who wasnt keen on Pop. When we were there last August the ventilation system poured smoke through it night and day. During the 10 days of our stay our clothes stank of smoke and so did we. As for the buses, they were a nightmare. Sometimes there were enough people in line for 3 buses and we had an early morning wait of 40 mins to get to Epcot. One of the main reasons we went there was because of the dedicated bus service. In fact it was much worse than either Music or Movies. We had poor housekeeping in our section to the extent that on two occasions the beds werent even made. Oh - and the walls were so thin, or at least the noise carried much more than the other values.We went in August when there was free dining and the place was crazy. The shop/foodcourt was always packed. Granted the food was good but I wouldnt ever think of staying there again. It has nothing to do with likes or dislikes but everything to do with what went wrong when we stayed there. I wanted so much to enjoy Pop. I couldnt when so much went wrong. I would expect if someone had the same happen to them as us in a different resort that their complaints would be just as valid too.

Maggs

 

[wishesdocometrue]

I was just at POP from 9/12-9/16 and it was my third time at POP (for free dining). I have stayed all over Disney and while I really love the POLY!! POP suited us just fine. My DD and I had a first floor 'forest view' as someone called it in the 50's building and we never had any noise. Yes the rooms are smaller but we aren't there to spend time in the room, and as a PP said there is only 1 bus stop. Now this is why people think it is so crowded. I have been at CBR were they have too many 'island' stops. Now each one doesn't get crowded because they are spread out but those buses get extremely crowded.After a day or so at most of the other resorts you learn which is the first stop on the bus route and walk there to make sure you get on the bus! I like the Beach club for the ease of Epcot and even like the boatride to MGM but getting to MK was worse than POP ever is. I guess you make the best of where you are.To me a pool is a pool and as long as the room and beds are clean for the short time we arethere it is fine. Next year I have booked the BC (going with Dsis and BIL who love the BC) with the free dining but am thinking about changing to POR and upgrading to the DDDP as we always love eating at places like Cali Grill....just my two cents

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Just read a review on another website from someone from the UK who spent 21 days (!) at Pop.

She said it was noisy, specifically, "You can hear EVERYTHING from people next door. We did not request an adjoining room, but I'm fairly sure that the majority of the noise came from this door. If you do not want an adjoining room, make sure you ask at check-in."

This is my main concern and my understanding is that most rooms have connecting doors. Can you request a room WITHOUT a door? I see a call to Guest Services in my future....