Just back from POP

[littlesuitcase]

Hi everyone - thought I would post about our week at WDW - we stayed at POP and had a great holiday. The check-in was about 30 minutes (we checked in around 9pm) and the CM was wonderful - a really nice lady. I had planned to let my husband check us in but decided just to be sure (I had done all the planning) I would go to the desk with him. I am glad I did! I had requested a nonsmoking room because our children have asthma - we had also requested a top floor room not facing the pool because our son has special needs and too much noise can be a problem for him. I had called the hotel a few days before we were to arrive to make sure they knew our requests were not simply preferences but medical related requests. I knew checking in late was going to be a problem and it was. I am glad the lady who checked us in was so nice - as were we - but at that time of night they could not offer us another room but said they would move us the next day - and they did.

So for our first night we were bottom floor, smoking, facing the pool (60s building) but we got through it and were moved the next day to a great room facing the lake, top floor, non-smoking. Mousekeeping was great - they even left cute little things for the kids - everyday there was something new or what they had left was placed with the kids stuffed toys awaiting them on the bed, or in the window.

We really liked the 60s building because after a long day of walking (those busses seemed to be so far from the first bus stop) we just wanted to get to our room. IT was a short walk to the elevator and we were in our room. The room was clean and we didn't find it was noisy - the last day the people beside us were loud but nothing that bothered us that much. The beds were not like home but they were fine. The water on the other hand smelled and tasted just terrible - I would highly recommend bringing your own water. I found I could taste the water in the foutain pops and stuck with bottled pop and water to avoid it. My kids didn't really notice it and my husband did but it didn't both him like it did me. Maybe I have more sensitve taste and smell?

The buses were pretty quick but there were a few occasions when we stayed late that we had to wait longer. about half of the time we had to stand on the way back which was fine for myself and my husband but I was nervous about the kids standing and holding on. I was somewhat surprised at the number of families who had small children on seats - the few times I did get a seat I had my son on my lap to allow extra seating.

We didn't really eat at POP but did have the tiedye cheese cake and the cheese cake with the marshmallows on the top - tiedye was different but my daughter loved it and the marshmallow one was great but really big.

Overall we had a great trip but I don't think I would stay at POP again - we found the commute was more than we like and felt once we were at a park it was too much to go back and then have to wait for buses again. Not sure what our options are (affordably that is) but if we could afford to stay closer to magic kingdom I would be happy. I have a feeling if we stayed at a moderate we would still be waiting for buses. My husband was interested in the Disney Vacation Club - we didn't find out more because we just didn't have time so if you are a member maybe you can tell me more.

Not sure when we will go again but we will. It was way bigger than we expected and while we did see a lot we didn't see it all!

Thanks again for all your tips and advice - it really made the trip that much more enjoyable!

Helen

 

[fam4jc]

Thanks for your report! We leave for Pop in, well check my counter, days! I am going to be alone on vacation with my two dd's (5 & 8). Any suggestions about transportation with them by myself? I have requested a room close to the bus stop b/c I'm a scardy cat at night. did you request a fridge? Anything else I should look for or avoid? Thanks.,

 

[littlesuitcase]

We stayed at the 60s so I found it was close to the main building and transportation. I also found the transportation areas were busy and well light - so you should be ok.

We had a fridge for medication but didn't use if for food (we had a cooler). They are small and I did put some mini carrots on the top shelf and they froze! WE stopped at a store on the way and bought a sterifoam cooler and we filled it daily and it worked well. I don't think the little fridges are worth 10 bucks a night.

I would recommend brining some room deodorizer - I found the room a bit stuffy and sprayed it - it made it fresher when we got back each day.

The other thing we did was had a wish list for each kid the week we were there - and then a shopping day at the end. This kept our spending down to a minimum. We did buy a few things along the way, especially if I was sure we couldn't get it at downtown disney.

The other thing I would suggest is to bring enough clothes that you do not have to do a wash. Pop has a wash area but it was busy most of the time. I wasted an evening waiting for the washers and dryers when my kids were swimming with my husband.

Have lots of fun! Email if you want emmy1@sympatico.ca

Helen

 

[ElaineHN]

I posted on another thread, but I thougth I'd copy and paste my 'report' here too just incase anyone is gathering info to help them decide if they want to give POP a try ... (hope no one minds the repeat, I'm not trying to be a board hog, I promise) ... besides, I'll add some more info that I left out of the first one ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had a FANTASTIC visit at Pop Century!!!! For anyone not wanting to splurge on a more expensive resort and who is not expecting all the 'frills' but wants to be 'on-site' at DW and not just somewhere nearby, I'd fully recommend checking out POP!

Check in wasn't bad at all! I didn't think to time my wait but it was definitely shorter than the wait for most of the rides! *lol* The actual check in process itself (once you reach the counter) however is a bit more lengthy than what I'm used to at most hotels. Nothing horrible, but just a lot of little details to take care of it seemed. It was early (around 9 a.m. maybe?) our room of course wasn't available but I was given the option of checking our luggage and having it delivered to our room. We opted instead just to leave everything in our van and unload directly to our room later that night. I didn't even look for the TV room but I wish I had thought of it ... instead hubby and kids just checked out the arcade, gift shop and food court while they waited on me.

The pools were GREAT ... and yes the petals look like giant versions of the fisher price ones and they mist water ... and there is even a 'pool princess' ceremony in the morning when the sprinklers are turned on. Apparently the princess selects a guest to go around and magically activate each mister?!?!? I wasn't there to see the ceremony, so I don't know all the details, but my hubby and daughter told me about it. I'm guessing it occurs around 10:00 when the life guards go on duty (the pool is actually open 7 a.m. to midnight but life guards are on duty from 10 am-10 pm) Anyway ... my daughter enjoyed it and hubby thought it was a really neat touch!

The 'kiddie' pool which is near the petal pool is fabulous as well ... just a very shallow gradually deepening 'bowl' with water bubblers that jet up fairly gently around the perimeter. I'd say the water goes from 0" at the edge to maybe 8" or so in the middle. Life vests are available at each pool. Towels are not ... bring your own beach towels from home or take your room towels to the pool. You can request extra towels from housekeeping if needed.

There's also a 'bowling pin' shaped pool and Goofy's water jet area. None of these are as themed or have all the special features like the more expensive resorts, but for basic pools to play in and get wet they are fine. My kids would love water slides and water falls and volcanos and all that jazz, but I don't think it's worth paying twice as much for a room just to have those things (but of course you get more than just a nicer pool at the nicer resorts, so I'm not knocking them, I'm just thinking of just specifically the 'pool per $$$ value' for our family.) The weather was in the low 70s and a bit cloudy one day and the kids were fine ... I sat on the edge of the pool with my feet in the water for a little while before heading off to UCF, but I probably wouldn't have swam even if I hadn't had to leave for work ... but the next day the temp was a little warmer and it was very sunny and I probably would have swam with them if I'd had the time. My son says the water was very warm.

We were in a first floor non-smoking room in the 50's bldg. We had connecting rooms with our friends who were traveling with us and our rooms were identical. The room truly is a basic 'motel' room ... two double beds in ours, a small table with two chairs, a plain entertainment cabinet to house the TV and provide drawers and shelves for storage, an open vanity/closet area and a small toilet/tub area with a door. Nothing extra, nothing all that special ... but a clean room that was big enough for us for the small amount of time that we actually spent in the room. We went with friends and had connecting rooms ... the girls really loved going back and forth between the two rooms and getting to play in both.

The in-room 'ammenities' are limited ... bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths, shampoo, facial soap bar, bath soap bar, plastic cups with the ice bucket, an iron and ironing board, safe. No lotion/shower gel/hair conditioner, no hair drier (though you can request one from housekeeping at no charge), no drinking glasses, no coffee cups, no coffee maker, no microwave, no fridge (unless you pay $10/night). I didn't care about the toiletries ... I always bring my own stuff anyway. We would have really liked to have had a coffee maker in our room ... and a fridge would have been nice too, but even without these things we had cereal with milk each morning. We brought a cooler and lots of frozen bottles of water for taking into the park) and this kept the milk cold all night and part of the next day till it was all gone.

We didn't eat in the food court very much, but I did grab a cheese danish and coffee to take with me as I drove to my conference one morning and later that morning the rest of the group ate a very very late breakfast before going to the pool. The breakfast pastries in the food court were DELICIOUS ... and my 13 yr. old son raved at great length about the Fritata he had for 'brunch' one day. The girls enjoyed Mickey waffles. Drinks are expensive $1.99 for a cup of coffee ... but the food really is not that outrageously priced. ($3.99 for two mini-Mickey waffles with bacon) We drank bottled water, capri suns and soft drinks which we brought with us most of the time, but I did give in an buy a cup of coffee one morning. Hubby bought a pinacolada on the rocks at the Petal's pool bar one night and reported that it was good. It cost $4.75 which to me seems about normal for a mixed drink ... not cheap but not hugely inflated.

Nothing in our room looked 'worn out' or battered or dingy. The room was clean, bright, and in good shape. Mousekeeping left washcloth animals in our window for the kids which delighted them. We also saw real live bunnies in the bushes as we walked along the sidewalk to our vehicle one night!

The busses seemed to be running like clock work. We took them everywhere and had no trouble and no super long waits. We rode on busses that were completely full with folks standing, but we also rode on busses on which we were the only family on the entire bus. Heck, I rode from Animal Kingdom to the TTC one time and was the ONLY passenger on the bus!! It did seem to me that the POP bus stop was usually the FURTHEREST from the gate at most of the locations ... meaning a noticeably longer walk, for example, from Epcot's gate area to the bus stop than from the gate to the stop for the more expensive resorts. It may just be coincidence, but I found it to be true at many different locations. And honestly it makes sense ... I don't think Disney is 'punishing' us 'cheapskates' but it does seem logical that they would want to make things most convenient for the guest who are paying the most money to be on site.

Now, if I ever find a fantastic super great deal on a more expensive resort, I'm sure I'll jump at it. But if we can get POP for $60-$70 and our next closest option is $130+ ... then we'll definitely be back at the POP! In the past, for various work related trips and family vacations, I've stayed in everything from super luxury country club golf resort hotels to bare bones budget econo motels ... so I think I can appreciate the POP from a balanced point of view ... I'm not spoiled to only having the best in travel, but at the same time I'm not viewing it only from a 'motel 6' perspective. Anyway ... We enjoyed the time we spent there.

One of the only possible 'negatives' I can think of to report would be an off-hand and I'm sure unintentional comment from the CM who checked us in. I had prepaid half of the room charges as a deposit via credit card on the web, but the friend we were traveling with had given me cash for his half. Instead of paying for the rest of the room with my credit card and pocketing the cash I'd been given, I just paid with the cash when we checked in. The CM had to calculate my change and unlock a cash drawer etc. He made a slight mistake in his math and he apologized and looked frustrated. I tried to laugh it off to keep from embarrassing him and I commented "Don't worry about it, I'm sure y'all don't have a lot of people who pay with cash" just thinking that most people do use credit cards when traveling. His response surprised me when he stated "Well, here we do ... but I'm usually at the XXXXXXXX (named another more expensive resort) and we don't have many people pay in cash there." He didn't really say anything rude, but to me the comment just seemed somewhat unnecessary and I inferred a slight 'classism' in his tone. I felt as though I needed to defend my financial status and pull out a platinum card or explain why I was paying in cash. But I didn't, I just waited for my change and we continued on. Again, he wasn't out and out rude or condescending, it was just awkward.

I'm no Disney expert, but if I can answer any questions or share any of our experience to help anyone else decide on whether or not to give POP a try, I'll be happy too!

 

[peter pan217]

i kind of like pop but i don't think it beats the all-stars we stayed at pop last march but missed the all-stars the 70's i think is the best

 

[areno79]

We're staying at the 70's in Pop when we go in early May...I'm psyched! I wanted to be as close to everything as possible (the pool and bus stop), but didn't want to pay the extra $$ for preferred. I'm glad you both enjoyed it! I've only ever stayed at the Holiday Inn in DTD, so I don't have much to base it on

 

[Abba98]

Glad you had a great trip,sounds like it was a lot of fun,we love POP ,enjoy planning your next trip!
Kirsten in Nova Scotia

 

[Unofficial Fan]

Just a quick thought - one reason the POP bus stops may be further away than they other (more expensive) resorts is that POP (and the other cheaper resorts) have been built the most recently. Thus, their signs would be at the end as they were added last ..... maybe?

 

[bear22]

Great to hear you loved the POP. We'll be heading there in April. It will be our first trip to the POP. We've stayed at all the All Stars and loved them too. Just being at any Disney hotel is great.

 

[ktink]

We stayed at Pop last Sept and loved it. We were in the 80's building right beside Roger Rabbit on the corner room 3rd floor. The only problem was that it was a long walk after a long day, if we ever stay at Pop again and I'm sure we will, we will stay in the 50's or 60's.