Just back fropm POP - any questions?

[DisneyDadNY]

Wow - this is pretty scary!

However.....I cannot help but feel there is something missing from this story. I was at the Pop Century (sitting at the Hippy Dippy Pool) that night when all the police were walking around. I have to say they definitely did not act as though something this serious had just happened.

I would also have thought that in some respect the guests staying there should have been alerted to this... I personally do not let my daughters walk around alone (even at Disney ) but there were plenty of children, women, etc that were.


I of course hope the victim is OK and this turns out to be less than what is being reported.....

 

[CanadianGuy]

I have heard the same rumors but was not able to find out anything at all. I asked many of the CM's if they knew anything and was always told no.

The whole week I was there I did not see any evidence of anything at all going on over there. It was kind of depressing and very 'un Disney like' to see those buildings every time we returned to the resort.

I've been following this closely. The last reliable source that I had on this indicated construction would start again in late 2008 for a finish sometime around 2010 or 2011. Take that with a LARGE block of salt.

Can you tell me how many buses you have to catch from POP to each park? I need to have an idea as to how long it is going to take from POP to each park so we'll know what time we need to leave each morning to get there by opening. Thanks!!

How many buses? You only ride one bus to each park, there's no 'bus changing' required for resort to parks.

I always assume an hour between waiting for the bus, riding the bus and walking to the park entrance. Usually it's much less, but if I allow for that, it seems to work out pretty well!

Knox

 

[DisneyDadNY]

I've been following this closely. The last reliable source that I had on this indicated construction would start again in late 2008 for a finish sometime around 2010 or 2011. Take that with a LARGE block of salt.

I have heard that also......I hope it turns out to be true. If not then maybe just go ahead and knock them down already! I think it is about 6 years or so they have been sitting out there.

I did find it interesting that when you walk out on the Generation Gap bridge and come to the 'blockade' you can see a well worn down path where people have continually gone over to take a look.

 

[Disney 'Ohana]

This is why:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/crime/orl-bk-disneyrapeattempt121807,0,1966382.story

How scary!

 

[Keri]

We stayed at POP Dec 9-14th. We had a great trip. Considering the amount of time we were in the rooms (with a 3 & 4 year old) we were perfectly content with the resort!! We got 2 adjoining rooms, which was PERFECT for us -- the kids could sleep & we could watch tv, eat dinner, ect. after they were in bed. Plus, the rooms are pretty small, so it was nice to have a little more room to spread out. Mousekeeping was great for us -- tons of cute towel animals for the kids & she even made a little "boat" for Lanie's binkies.

We had good luck with bus service, overall. We waited for a second bus a few times (leaving later than the original poster) but never more than that. It was a GREAT time of year to go. I loved the fact that it was just one stop at the resort v. what I've heard about All Stars (though I saw separate buses for those on at least one occasion). The best part was being the first off/last on for the airport, honestly! It was a HUGE bonus we never thought about.

We were in Building 10, the 70s. VERY convenient to the food court & buses and the Hippy Dippy Pool, though we never used it.

It's certainly no 5 star resort. The rooms are small and the carpets look like they have had wet feet on them many times, but there was NO mildew smell or anything (I am INCREDIBLY sensitive to that, especially pregnant), but again, for the amount of time we were in the room? Perfectly fine, especially for the price!!

I was pretty impressed with the food court, too. I had greek salad twice and parmesean crusted chicken, and my husband had the same chicken, a fried chicken dinner, and a chicken caesar salad as well, and enjoyed them all. Kids were happy with the chicken & burgers.

 

[mantysk8coach]

Nick,

One thing I like about the Pop is they have their own buses vs. the shared buses at the All-Stars. The entire week we were there I think the longest we ever waited for a bus was like 15 minutes.

There were a lot of families there but I did not get the feeling the place was over run with kids. I would advise you avoid the food court during prime eating hours and just after park closings as it can be a zoo!

We were in the 90's section and it was dead quiet pretty much all the time and the pool was never crowded.

The theming if bright and fun - especially for kids. A 4 story tall laptop greeted us every morning. There are some really good Pop Century picture threads on here that should give you a good idea of what the place looks like. I took a ton of pics and will be adding them soon.

I personally would not pay for or request a lake view. I think the lake is very nice but the abandoned Legendary Years resort across the lake would put a damper on it for me. It was very depressing to see those buildings every time we pulled into the resort.

The xmas decorations were pretty basic...a tree in the lobby, some wreathes and garland and an xmas music loop that could have used a few more songs!

Overall we really enjoyed the Pop and will be returning there for another week next October.

LOL! I know what you mean about the music! There are three songs I don't need to hear again this season:
1. I'm Gettin' Nottin' for Christmas
2. Christmas Don't Be Late (Alvin & the Chipmunks)
3. Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

I was there last week too...wasn't it a perfect week? It was so hard to leave!

 

[tina_la]

We will be staying in Sept '08 (paying my deposit today! ). Any tips or things you wish you had know before you stayed. For example I wish I had known that the POP had thier own buses before we stayed at All Star last year. It was ok overall but when the parks closed at night .. standing room only. Which was fine. everyone was so nice and the men(including my husband) were almost always gentleman and let the woman w/ small kids sit down. But little tips or things like that.

 

[DisneyDadNY]

LOL! I know what you mean about the music! There are three songs I don't need to hear again this season:
1. I'm Gettin' Nottin' for Christmas
2. Christmas Don't Be Late (Alvin & the Chipmunks)
3. Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

I was there last week too...wasn't it a perfect week? It was so hard to leave!

It was VERY hard to leave.......especially knowing that I would be landing in snowy 12 degree weather!

 

[DisneyDadNY]

We will be staying in Sept '08 (paying my deposit today! ). Any tips or things you wish you had know before you stayed. For example I wish I had known that the POP had thier own buses before we stayed at All Star last year. It was ok overall but when the parks closed at night .. standing room only. Which was fine. everyone was so nice and the men(including my husband) were almost always gentleman and let the woman w/ small kids sit down. But little tips or things like that.

The following thread contains just about everything you could possibly need to know about Pop Century. The user who started the thread put some serious time into gathering all the info in the first few posts.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1629396

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

Did you use DME and how long did it take to get your luggage?

 

[mom2rose&john]

I am glad you had a wonderful time DisneyDadNY!!

This will be my first trip with two small children and will be staying at the POP from April 20-26, 2008.

Can you fit a twin size air mattress in the room?

How long are the bus rides from POP to each park?

Is there a place to change into a swim suit if you can not get your room upon arrival?

Can you get food from the food court in take out containers?

Is is worth getting the refillable mug if you have bottled water, milk and/or juice in your room?

How is the concierge service? Is is a long wait for service?

How was mousekeeping?

Thanks for taking the time to answer so many questions.

Ann Marie

 

[DisneyDadNY]

I am glad you had a wonderful time DisneyDadNY!!

This will be my first trip with two small children and will be staying at the POP from April 20-26, 2008.

1) Can you fit a twin size air mattress in the room?

2) How long are the bus rides from POP to each park?

3) Is there a place to change into a swim suit if you can not get your room upon arrival?

4) Can you get food from the food court in take out containers?

5) Is is worth getting the refillable mug if you have bottled water, milk and/or juice in your room?

6) How is the concierge service? Is is a long wait for service?

7) How was mousekeeping?

Thanks for taking the time to answer so many questions.

Ann Marie

Hi there,

Will do what I can to answer your questions:

1) It can be done - you may have to move the small table and chairs but it will fit.

2) I did not actually time it but from what I recall:

MK - 15-20 minutes depending on traffic
AK - 10-15 Minutes
Epcot - 10 minutes
MGM - 5-10 Min
DTD - 10-15 minutes

3) Yes - Each of the pools have restrooms/changing rooms and there are some lockers available.

4) Yes - they have plastic covers that snap onto the various plates your food is served on.

5) It was for my family - was nice to grab frozen cokes after a hot day in the parks. They also have soda, coffee, tea, hot choc, apple juice.....

6) I did not have a need to go back to the front desk once I checked in but I do not recall seeing very long lines.

7) No problems with the 2 rooms I had. Always clean when we got home, plenty of towels, a bunch of towel animals.

Hope that helps!