Just got back from Pop Century 10/03/05

[PammyPoppins]

Hi Everyone
I know I may get slammed here and I love this website because I have gotten such great info and tips from it. We loved the dining plan but we were not crazy about Pop Century. I wanted to like it but after staying there a week I have to say I want to run back to Port Orleans where we usually stay. It was crowded and the food court was Packed!!! There were alot of kids running around unsupervised! The rooms were small and the walls were thin, very thin. The room was clean and that was nice. We stayed in the 60's section, preferred site and still had a walkj to the food court. The lines for the buses were unmanageable and buses so packed with no standing room let alone no room to sit. The lines to check for dining and ask questions were very long. am not trying to be mean but I got the feeling I was living in the middle of the candyland game, it just felt that way to me. The gift shop was so crowded and lines to check out everytime we went in. The food court lines were long.
Pam

 

[NancyK]

Welcome to the DIS boards. Sorry to hear you didn't like Pop. We just got back from Pop on Saturday and although the buses were crowded, we didn't see any unsupervised kids. We found the lines at the food court very manageable. I have to agree though - I would far sooner have been at Port Orleans Riverside. Maybe next time.

 

[Luv4Disney]

Hi Everyone
I know I may get slammed here and I love this website because I have gotten such great info and tips from it. We loved the dining plan but we were not crazy about Pop Century. I wanted to like it but after staying there a week I have to say I want to run back to Port Orleans where we usually stay. It was crowded and the food court was Packed!!! There were alot of kids running around unsupervised! The rooms were small and the walls were thin, very thin. The room was clean and that was nice. We stayed in the 60's section, preferred site and still had a walkj to the food court. The lines for the buses were unmanageable and buses so packed with no standing room let alone no room to sit. The lines to check for dining and ask questions were very long. am not trying to be mean but I got the feeling I was living in the middle of the candyland game, it just felt that way to me. The gift shop was so crowded and lines to check out everytime we went in. The food court lines were long.
Pam

I totally, 100% agree with you, in every aspect.

 

[SonicLogic]

Your right, the POP is even inferior to any of the All-Star resorts.

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

We came back at the end of August and Loved it!!!!! I enjoyed it more than our previous stay @ POR. Just loved the bright and colorful themeing ,very clean,piped in music @ the pools...would go back again to POP in a heartbeat!

 

[metsfan11]

on our next disney trip, (we only stay at value resorts) we were planning to go to pop. we went to all star movies and thought it was good. im not sure if we should go to pop or sports/music.

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

on our next disney trip, (we only stay at value resorts) we were planning to go to pop. we went to all star movies and thought it was good. im not sure if we should go to pop or sports/music.

Definitely give POP a try.. we loved it and have stayed at many hotels @ WDW as you can see....you'll also find many "positive" reports of POP on these Disboards....for the value, I think it's the best !!!

 

[scorpad99]

I`m getting nervous guys, we stayed at asmusic last trip and it was great. going to pop in nov, hope we`re not disapointed. After all , all we do at the resort is sleep. I go commando our whole trip, although i promised to slow down this trip, lets see if i have it in me to stop and smell the roses!


feeling like a princess already

 

[Beck's mom]

After all, all we do at the resort is sleep.

Then don't worry, you will be fine! That is all we used it for as well, and if you are exhausted after walking around in the heat all day, the noise of the flushing toilets won't bother you. Yes, I could hear toilets flush, but it was very faint. I really couldn't hear anything else through the walls. The pools are open til midnight so if you want to be asleep before then, don't get a room near the pool.
Avoid the food court at peak times as well. Just plan for the crowds and it won't be an irritation.
Have fun! And be sure to swim in the Hippy Dippy pool and find the giant Mr. & Mrs. Potato Heads!

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

I`m getting nervous guys, we stayed at asmusic last trip and it was great. going to pop in nov, hope we`re not disapointed. After all , all we do at the resort is sleep. I go commando our whole trip, although i promised to slow down this trip, lets see if i have it in me to stop and smell the roses!


feeling like a princess already

We came back at the end of August and thoroughly enjoyed POP...we stayed in the 50's building ,4th floor closest to the food court & buses, in room 1408...I think I would have preferred a 2nd floor room, so we could walk up to our room instead of always taking the elevators! DD9 really enjoyed it too...it's great for kids ! Happy Planning

 

[Luv4Disney]

I was really excited about trying the POP because I had heard so many good things. I was really disappointed that so many things were terrible for us. We would have rather paid the extra money to stay at POR, as we absolutely love it there. The savings weren't worth the aggravation for us. I should not know when my neighbor is going to the bathroom or taking the shower. Granted, the rooms were more than adequate in size for two people and very clean. The mousekeepers always did a great job. But the noise, confusion, crowded, buses, concierge, etc. was awful. It is a "fun" resort with the life size figures and the colors and music, but very hectic. And I go to NYC a lot so for me to say it was hectic, I definitely felt that way. I hope others have a good time however and have a better experience than we did.

 

[stemikger]

Sorry you had a bad stay.

For those of you who are getting scared off. Dont. You really have to try it for your self. I went two years in a row and am planning to go again 2006. The first stay was 11 days and the second was 8.

We have previously stayed in moderates and I will spring for the extra money for the moderates, but my wife and daughter truly like this place better. My wife is hooked and my daughter is begging to go back to Pop. So go figure. On our last trip this past August we visited CSR to see if we would like it for next year and my wife and daughter said noooo way. Pop seems so much more fun.

Try it for yourself and form your on opinion.

I had a great time each stay and can't wait to get back.

 

[SRUAlmn]

What's wrong with living in the middle of a candyland game



PS. We really loved Pop!

 

[SonicLogic]

The real problem with the POP, is that they cram too many people into too small a space. POP has a capacity of 2,880 guests while any one of the All-Star resorts (Sports, Music or Movies) only serve 1,920 guests. That's a 50% increase in the number of guests, yet the services at POP do not meet the increased guest load!

For example, take the All-Star Sports and add a 4th floor to each of the 10 buildings so it could accommodate 2,880 guests. Then enlarge the food court and gift shop areas by about 10%. Then reduce the parking lot area by 25%. Keep the bus transportation availability the same. Well, now you have the PoP Century resort!

Sure, POP gives you 27" RCA TV's to watch in your room vs. the Sony 20" sets in the All-Star Resorts, but otherwise they are the same rooms (yes, the All-Stars have done away with soap and shampoo dispensers, you now get little Mickey soaps and shampoo at the All-Stars).

The bus system at the POP is terrible only because they can't move all those people with the same speed as the buses at the All-Star resorts. I don't want to get too heavy into the numbers game but it's rather obvious that the All-Star resorts have a much greater capability to move guests via buses than does the POP.

No matter how you look at it, the POP crams 20 lbs. of "visitors" into a 10 lb. bag! When the second phase opens, it will be much worse! The POP was designed for "newbies" that don't know any better about WDW accommodations. It is the true "Motel 6" of WDW

 

[stemikger]

Originally quoted by SonicLogic
The POP was designed for "newbies" that don't know any better about WDW accommodations. It is the true "Motel 6" of WDW

I respectfully disagree. I have been visiting WDW since I was a kid (I am 41 now). When I got married 14 years ago I went there on my honeymoon and have gone 4 times since. Other than Pop I have stayed at The Contemporary, POFQ and CBR. I am far from a newbie.

I stayed at Pop for the last two years and I could afford to upgrade, but we truly like this place. I have never experienced the problems with the buses that other people have. I think the longest I waited was the first night of my first trip and that was 15 minutes. All the other times, I think we got a bus in 5 to 10 minutes.

And as far as being crowded, I have seen the food court crowded, but we never had to wait on long lines to get our food and we always got a table, so I don't understand your logic about it not being big enough (if it wasn't big enough I would think we would not have gotten a table, but we always found a place to sit). I think Classic Hall is huge and from what I experienced, it easily maintains the large crowds.

So from your somewhat snobish comment that I quoted above, don't judge a book by it's cover and think that only the uninitiated, poor or simple choose this resort.

By the way, I like vacationing in Candyland.

 

[dyna]

We loved POP but did not care for the food court and gift shop being together the way they are only adds to the noise chaos and crowd.

Bus service was the best I ever got during any disney stay and I been on site at least a dozen times since 98. More often than not the bus was there waiting when we walked up park opening and closing. Never did we stand on a bus.

When we stayed at the moderate resorts we heard just as many toliets flushing it's part of being in a hotel very very few hotels I ever stayed in anywhere did I not hear toliets flush.

Room did seem smaller than rooms at All Stars but that is because of the 2nd bed being away from the wall and the bed next to the door being closer to the door. I do prefer the way the rooms are set up at All Stars but until Sports is redone we won't be back.

I was very nervous myself about Pop before my visit but we will be back. Before our stay at Pop I was really hoping DH would be ready to move back home to Sports next visit but now we looking forward to another stay at Pop.

 

[Planogirl]

It's always interesting to read how people's opinions differ. I, for one, intensely disliked the Allstar Movies so I have no plans to ever try Pop. But I would agree that everyone should at least give a Budget Resort a try because they are awfully cute and may just work out.

 

[goofy4tink]

It always amazes me to see how there can be such differing opinions on the exact same resort!!! Regarding Pop being basically for 'newbies'..ah, not so. We own DVC at BWV..have been to WDW about 8 times now...have stayed at every level of resort. I love Pop. My dd and I were there for 5 nights in August. The parks were crammed full of people, so it wasn't a 'down' time to go. But, we never found the pools to be overcrowded. However when we stayed at the Polynesian we actually stopped going to the pool because it was so crowded and there was no place to sit!!! We ate at off times....1:30 for lunch, 7ish for carrying breakfast back to our room, dinner around 6 or so if we ate there that night. We never waited in a line for more than 2 or 3 minutes. Sure it was loud and noisy, but it's a food court for crying out loud!!! We never had an issue with the buses. Only one time did we wait for 20 minutes for a bus and that was because as we walked out of the building the bus for MK was just pulling away. Sure we had to stand but I've had to stand when staying at all the other resorts too. And yes, the Pop bus stops at the parks are usually the last ones....it was the last resort built so it would figure that they wouldn't reconfigure the stops just to put Pop closer!!!

Nope, I'm sorry that some have had a bad experience at Pop. It is a value resort. You are not going to get the same amenities that you are getting at BWI or GF. But, we did have hot water, a good night's sleep (no excessive noise from anything for our stay), decent food in the food court, a nice room of okay size, decent bus service. WE didn't find the wallls to be paper thin or have excessive noise from flushing toilets....certainly not any more so than at the other resorts we've stayed at.

So, please....any of you out there that may be having second thoughts about staying at Pop....please don't panic. It is a decent, clean value resort. Most of us have had no issues. The terrific thing about WDW is that there is a resort for everyone....all price ranges and tastes. Just don't expect GF style and ameneites for a value price.

 

[tessqt]

I'm sorry about your stay. My dh wanted to stay in one of those value resorts but I did some creative numbers because I did not want to experience Candyland either, that is what the parks are for! LOL

 

[CheshireVal]

Sorry you didn't like your stay, but here's the deal:

If you wait until prime meal hours, every single food court in all the hotels will be busy.

There are unsupervised kids *everywhere*. Not just at Pop, not just at the values.

Bus lines can happen anywhere. Some of the worst bus service I experienced was at Contemporary and Poly. At least Pop doesn't share!

Rooms are small because it is a value resort.

Anyway, I love Pop. It seems to be quite a popular subject on these boards lately. Someone comes along and says they didn't enjoy their stay, and then everyone else with planned Pop reservations starts second-guessing based on one or two bad reviews. If you take a look at this forum, you'll see an equal number of good reviews to counter the bad.

For what it's worth, I'd pick Pop over POR or POFQ any day.