Just Back- stayed at POP- my thoughts

[mic_key_mouse]

POP was a pretty nice resort, and the theming (especially the 60's) is great. BUT- I won't stay there again. It is too noisy in the room. I don't mind the bustle around the pools and main areas- but I think Disney forgot to hire someone to insulate the rooms.

They are quite a bit noisier than All Stars, and the All Stars are the second loudest of all the ones I have stayed at. I could hear the neighbors quite well at POP- it wasn't the case at All Stars.

To be fair to POP, after 3 days I tried to upgrade to a moderate but there was nothing available. The CM asked me why I wanted to leave, so I told her about the noise. She contacted the on-duty manager (Paige- who was wonderful BTW) and she moved me to a corner room on the lake. It was quieter, but still far noisier than any other hotel I have ever stayed at. Disney really blew an opportunity here by not insulating the rooms. You can hear every flush, every shower, parts of most conversations, and yes- the door bouncing off the lock as others have written about... (why don't people just wrap a washcloth around it- totally deadens the sound...)

I have read the other posts here saying noise is dependent on your neighbors- and that is true to an extent. But these rooms are simply not insulated. I have traveled extensively for business and pleasure and stayed at A LOT of hotels and motels- and the truth is Disney dropped the ball IMHO.

A couple other issues I have not encountered at other WDW hotels... The check-in line and guest services lines are intolerably long- I mean 15-20 minutes on a good day. One day we were on the way out to the park for the afternoon/evening and I needed a check cashed, and the lines were long. The song 'The Hustle' came on and most of the CM's left the desk to do the dance. They do the same thing in the morning to the Twist. Kind of cute the first time, a lot less cute when you are trying to get somewhere or are hungry... (the CMs in the food court do the same thing) This may sound 'nit picky'- but I am not paying significant sums of money on park admissions to wait until the dance is over before I can get my food or my check cashed or whatever. And remember, this happens during 'prime time' when lines for food and guest services are long. I wasn't the only guest in line not happy about this.

The lines for the buses are long, too. Plan on waiting for 2 during the summer months. They squeeze as many on as possible, but there never seemed to be enough room for everyone- especially early. They do have a second bus coming around fairly quickly- so this isn't a huge thing, but the time still needs to be allotted for if you have a PS.

So POP is a nice resort overall, and as I said the theming is great. If you don't mind the noise and lines I described by all means stay there- if you feel this will be bothersome stay at the All Stars as a value pick, or pay the extra 15 bucks (AP discount rate) per night for a moderate if you aren't pinching pennies. I know there are a lot of people that have posted that think POP is great- and that's fine. This is just my 2 cents worth- at least if you are considering a stay there you may be better informed now. Bottom line- if you want a quiet room- stay elsewhere.

Blessings,
mic_key_mouse

 

[gottaluvdis]

Thanks for your candor about POP. I was considering it for the fall, but I'm going to try for WL instead because the noise would bother me and the bus situation would bother all of us. I too would have been annoyed by the CMs dancing when there were long lines. Theming is cute...to a point. I've also read that there can be difficulties with parking as well. I think I'll wait a while on POP until it's open long enough to resolve some of these issues, although the noise situation could be difficult for them without major renovations. Time will tell.

 

[mic_key_mouse]

Parking was never an issue for me, and I drove somewhere most every day

I found one area next to the Disney vehicle parking that never filled- and it seemed like no one else (obviously) noticed it...

Blessings

 

[zalansky]

I agree with you on alot of things about POP. We waited on line 30 minutes to check in. That is just ridiculous. Luckily, we were spared the dancing desk clerks. I think if I'd been on line for a long time and the desk clerks started to dance I would have been more than upset. We found POP to be very busy. It was crowded and noisy everywhere we went...the food court was a madhouse at mealtimes.
Luckily, we didn't seem to have next door neighbors on either side, so noise was not much of an issue for us. Then again, we were only there one night. Like the original poster stated, I would spend the extra money and stay at a moderate before going to POP again. My favorite of course, is the Wilderness Lodge. You can't beat the serenity there.

 

[PrincessofQuiteAlot]

We loved the theming of Pop and weren't bothered too much by noise, but I don't think we had anyone in the room next to us. Our friends that were there were bothered constantly by showers and toilets early in the morning.

The thing that bothered me the most was on 6/14 we went to Disney and it rained and everyone left early. We got to the bus line at 9:00 p.m and did not arrive at the hotel until 10:30. Totally unacceptable and we had to stand the whole way back and it is a very long trip.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Is it really that bad? DBF and I are going the last week in September and I have never stayed at a value before, but since we are just starting out together it's really all we can afford right now. Now I'm so worried. We have really saved for this and I don't want to be disappointed. We live in an apartment so we are used to some noise night and day from 'neighbors.' Is it similar to apartment living or much louder? Help! Now I'm worried!

 

[frstimer128]

I have reservations for POP in October and I am going to hope that we have a quite room. I think I may just bring along earplugs for us so we won't have to worry about anything. Anyway... I'll be having sweet dreams of the money we saved!

 

[suzannews]

We just stayed at POP for 2 nights for my DD's bday, her choice. We also heard lots of bathroom noise so I just closed the door and heard very little. We had noisy neighbors the second night who decided to sit outside the room at 11pm and talk. We didn't use the buses and the parking lots were full each day. The food court was fine and quick even during the dinner rush. Watch out for undercooked bacon sitting in a tub of grease during breakfast though.

 

[mic_key_mouse]

I hear and understand your concerns, folks. I had the same concerns before leaving as well. All I can do is report what happened to me, and tell you I won't be staying there again. Room noise aside, Disney has had more than enough time to iron out the other kinks. Given the way they threw the room together, I doubt there are plans to improve the issues with the lines- but that is just MHO.

Keep in mind many other Disers have gone and had a wonderful time, so you need to read all the reports and make up your own mind what you think is best. I saw a pretty decent balance of good and bad reports here on the boards, and decided to take a chance... Wish I had a 'do over' Oh, I live in an apartment, too- and still wish I had a 'do over'.

It really is a wonderfully themed resort- and it's too bad they don't address these issues somehow.

Blessings

 

[DCSingle]

One tip I can offer anyone who is staying at a Disney resort and is concerned about noise is to request a room with no connecting door. I haven't stayed at POP, but I've stayed at several other Disney resorts (POR, CBR, etc.) where I was assigned a room with a connecting door (although we were not with the party in the next room). I have found that you can hear right through these connecting doors, even when closed, much more so than the regular walls. Now I make "no connecting door" a standard request on all my room reservations.

This won't help with plumbing noise or noise from the outside, but at least it will help prevent a bad situation from becoming worse.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by SRUAlmn
Is it really that bad? DBF and I are going the last week in September and I have never stayed at a value before, but since we are just starting out together it's really all we can afford right now. Now I'm so worried. We have really saved for this and I don't want to be disappointed. We live in an apartment so we are used to some noise night and day from 'neighbors.' Is it similar to apartment living or much louder? Help! Now I'm worried!

Don't worry, it's not that bad.

We were there for 10 days this year during our Easter trip. We didn't have any problems with noise. My room was next door to sister's room. Her kids 5 and 6 do not know how to speak in soft voices. I never heard them.

The lines for the buses were long, but they came very quick. A few mornigs we had to stand. We could have waited for the next bus but were to excited for that. We always got seats when we were leaving the parks, because we would not get on a full bus.

Three nights during that trip we left MK at closing. The lines were very long. However, the buses came 2 at a time so the lines moved quick. The buses would pull off PACKED but no one forced people to get on. They could have waited for the next bus.

We had a great time at PC. I loved everything about the resort.
We'll be staying there again this Christmas.

 

[PrincessofQuiteAlot]

I must say, some of the hold up with the bus issue was a problem while the busdriver tried to load a handicapped person in a wheelchair and they had trouble with the tie down system. They couldn't load anyone in the front of the bus until this was fixed and the second bus was along side, and couldn't load until that bus had left. It took a good 20 minutes for them to fix the problem.

Overall tho, you really can't beat Pop for the price and theming. My boss stayed at the Gaylord while we were there and he seemed to have more problems with his room than we did and he payed a whole lot more!!

Ask for a room away from the steps/elevators, and away from the pools and twister games and you should be fine - oh, and you don't want a room by the 70's parking lot area, altho it makes for a quick walk to your car, everyone is coming past your room on that sidewalk!!!

 

[landmark]

I have a comment regarding the connecting doors as well. When we recently checked into POFQ we were not asked whether we wanted a smoking room. My bad.. I didn't state for it to be non-smoking. The first three days I had no clue we were even on the smoking floor... the last night when we got back from the parks the room smelled full of smoke when we called the front desk that was when we were notified that it was a smoking floor. The smoke smell was coming from the connecting door so if all that smoke was coming through that much then I'm positive that it would be a huge sound issue as well.

 

[F1Julie]

I'm glad I read this thread. I did have Pop reserved for our December trip until I read this. I don't care so much about the noise, but the lines at check-in and the buses do concern me. I'll be travelling alone with my 4 year old. There's just no way she can wait in line that long and I don't trust her to be watching TV by herself. I switched to POFQ. I hope this is a wise choice. It's more expensive, but hopefully will be worth it.
When I stayed at AS Sports, there were also long check-in lines. Luckily then I had other family with me to watch my daughter. When I stayed at CSR, I had no wait what so ever. Maybe it's just a value thing.

 

[sotoalf]

Everyone's overlooking a crucial point: the original poster went during a VERY busy time of year; these next few weeks rival New Year's for most hectic time to visit Disney. Long lines happen during busy times of year - that's a fact. If you have a visit scheduled for early December, or October, or even late summer, you won't encouter those lines.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

If you are worried about noise, just by one of those "white noise machines". You know, the ones that play that constant noise like the sound of a fan. Or do what I do and bring the fan. The machines are small so if you are flying, that would be the better choice. I NEVER have trouble sleeping because I sleep with "white noise".

My friend bought one for her bedroom when she moved to a new house and didn't realize she would be able to hear the sound of the trucks at night off the highway. She bought it at Walmart. Wasn't expensive either.

And those of you who are driving or renting a car. Just drive to the parks if you are worried about lines. We usually love Disney transportation, but last time we had three children including a toddler/stroller so we opted to drive to the parks. GREAT DECISION!! I would just look at those long lines when I was exiting the parks, and walk right by to my car.

 

[mic_key_mouse]

Hi sotoalf.

Her countdown clock says Christmas, so I assumed it was during the busiest week of the year. While it is true that the next few weeks are extemely busy, the first two weeks of June (when I was there) are not nearly as crowded as the rest of the summer through mid- August. It was beginning to swell the last couple of days we were there- and it was crowded- but not like it will be from now through the first half of August. Long lines or not, however, doesn't fix the most serious issue- which is uninsulated rooms.

Julie, I hope you and your 4 year old DD stick with POFQ- that was the first choice for my transfer out of POP, then Riverside, then Coronado Springs- but I would have gladly taken anything at any other resort if it was available. POR was really quiet- and I would expect POFQ to be the same.

I am a seasoned traveller, and I cannot get this point across any more clearly than this- do not stay at this resort unless you want to deal with in room noise. It is the worst I have ever experienced at any hotel anywhere I have stayed (business or pleasure)- including Motel 6, Super 8, etc.

I know there are many out there that had a good experience- but there are enough of us Disers saying exactly the same thing about POP that a red flag should be going up, and the place only opened six months ago. The warnings about this resort have been posted emphatically and often- I just don't see them in anywhere near this quantity as it pertains to any other WDW hotel on these boards. As the old saying goes: "proceed at your own risk".

Blessings.

 

[lenshanem]

Here's what I just posted about our trip to PC last week -

Last two nights we were in 70’s, room 6108, ground level. Yikes, I thought BWV was loud! Easily until two in the morning we heard teenagers yelling and screaming like they were inside our room. Finally, I got up once, dressed and went out to ask them to please be quiet. They were playing Twister. UGH. Actually they were polite, but the noise started back up shortly after.

Yes, there was NO sound proofing done in these rooms! I also called to see if we could move up to a moderate earlier in the week (We also stayed in the 50's section at PC at the start of our trip.) and was told no availability.

Cute resort, but I had forgotten how small those rooms are, too! Are PC rooms smaller than All-Stars? I just don't remember All-Stars being so small...

 

[sk!mom]

I agree! We were there 6/2-6/9 and while my kids loved the themeing the noise drove DH and I crazy. We were awake by 6:30 every morning because of the constant toilet flushing and door slamming. Dh says, never again, next time we will bribe DD with a better pool and upgrade to someplace quieter.

I will say that the noise didn't seem to bother my kids, but DS19 could sleep anywhere and my DD8 is a sound sleeper and an early riser.

 

[snyderla]

WOW! This is absolutely NOT what we experienced Easter Week of this year. And we were told by every CM we talked to that it was the busiest week, aside from the Christmas/New Year's week, that they had in 3 years! We stayed in the 70's section on the second floor lake side and heard nothing from any of our neighbors, and we were told at check in that we had gotten the last room available in that section! By the way, we had 1 couple in line ahead of us and check in took all of 10 minutes from the time we got in line until we were on our way to the room, with plenty of questions answered by the CM during our conversation at check-in. We checked in at 5 PM. We had a couple of lines for busses to the parks, but never waited long because the busses just kept coming. AND, we had hoped to see the CM's do the dances, had read about it on this board, but missed it everytime. We stayed at AS Music once and I hated it due to the noise, vowed never to stay at a value resort again. Well, DH talked me into trying Pop century and I'm glad he did. The theming is much better at PC and they don't have those stupid dispensers in the bathrooms I hated at ASMu, they had real soap bars and shampoo bottles. It was a very nice stay. The place is packed with families, so you expect noise, it has more rooms than any other WDW resort, but we didn't have any noise issues within our room. No slamming doors, no flushing toilets. (maybe the neighbors just didn't use the toilets when we were there???) And we even spent time in our room other than just at night. And we didn't have our TV on most of the time, so I would have expected to hear things. It was just DH & I most of the time in the room, but my dad came up from Bonita Springs for a couple of nights with us.

Please don't cancel plans for a trip to PC just because of one persons experience/report. Our experience was nothing like that, and we stayed there 7 nights, during the second busiest time of the year. Our worst bus experience was the last night at MK, when we waited 20 minutes for a bus and they brought us 3 busses going to our resort. That took care of the long line!

However, I agree don't get a first floor room on the way to the parking lots. We were 1 of many families that traveled past those rooms on the way to the parking lots. I would request 50's section or 70's lake view. And if you are looking for a peaceful resort to stay at, then I would say consider POFQ instead. But for Disney Icons and excitement, give PC a try. And you can't beat the price/value!

If anyone has any questions about our experience, please feel free to ask or PM me. (by the way, rooms at All Stars and Pop are the same size.)

Now for a real horror story for a hotel stay, I could tell you about the Travelodge we stayed in on the way down, or the filthy Comfort Inn in Ocala we had to stay in back in Feb2001.

Lori