Patio
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2001
- Messages
- 1,694
I stayed at Pop Century from July 21-29 and these are my honest opinions about my stay. I'll break this up into separate categories to try to make reading easier. 
Choosing a resort
I would be traveling with my 2 kids, DD-16 & DS-11, a friend and her 2 DD's 9 & 2, and since our DH's preferred to stay home, I let my DD bring a friend, 16 yrs old. I had never stayed at a value resort before, but my friend stayed at Pop Century last summer and ASMovies the year before. Since her kids are small, we decided her 9 yr old could pick the resort. She chose Pop.
Booking the resort
I called in mid April and spoke to a wonderful CM named Melody Rose. I booked 2 rooms and made one request that if possible, we have rooms next to each other. I used AAA and paid $84 p/night + tax, totaling $93.44 p/night.
Checking into the resort
Our plane landed in Sanford at about 5:30pm on Thursday, July 21st. We got to the resort about 7:15 pm and had a CM named Kim, who was earning her ears. It took her about 15 minutes to get both of us on our way. She never asked for my AAA card even though I had booked both rooms.
Our rooms
We were lucky enough to get what I consider to be the ideal rooms. We were in the 50's, building 3, 4th floor. I had room 3454 and my friend was in 3455. We had the door that connected, too. The rooms were both spotless and I mean very, very clean. I had read over and over about how small the rooms were, but other than the 1 sink, I didn't notice any difference between my stays at POR, CBR or AKL. We had plenty of room. Our housekeeper, Blanca, was excellent. She left me towel animals about 5 days and my friend had 3 or 4. I'd leave her a note every morning to leave extra towels, along with a tip for her. The hair dryer was a 1500 watt and I used it every day. I had a nice large safe and there was an iron and ironing board, too. And the room was very quiet and there were people in all the rooms around us. If you stepped out the door, you could see the lake and the main building of the unfinished side. It was a great view.
The pools
We were on the backside of the 50's pool and really close to the 60's pool so we used both. They were really nice and we never had any trouble finding a chair.
The grounds
I walked all around one morning and loved the icons, they are really much nicer in person. The grounds were very clean, too. I didn't care for how far the 80's or 90's were away from the main builing and even though the 70's are close, for me, I really loved the 50's or 60's best.
The food court
We really loved all the foods we tried. For breakfast, we loved the child's pancakes, my kids loved the chocolate chip ones.
For lunch and dinner. we tried the chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, chef salad, pizza ( my DS loved it! ), and my favorite, the chicken caesar salad. The portions were large and very filling. The only downside was the amount of people in the food lines and then the checkout lines. Very crowded. I bought the mugs because they are a great value. I was able to get the frozen blue raspberry slushie a couple times, but, most times it was out of order. I have a funny mug story. I was filling my mug when I heard a CM telling a man next to me he couldn't fill his Big Gulp mug, it was really huge, but if he bought a mug like mine he could get unlimited refills. The big dope just stood there and finally he responded that noone ever told him he couldn't fill it before. DUHH!!
The buses
This was the first time I relied solely on the buses and we really didn't have any waits over 10 minutes. The buses were always crammed with people though. I do like having all the bus stops in front of Everything Pop. I did miss having a car to get to the BW and DTD.
My final thoughts
I really enjoyed my stay and would definitely stay here again. The only negatives for me would be the food court crowds and bus crowds. If anyone has any questions, let me know. If you've read all of this, thank you.
Choosing a resort
I would be traveling with my 2 kids, DD-16 & DS-11, a friend and her 2 DD's 9 & 2, and since our DH's preferred to stay home, I let my DD bring a friend, 16 yrs old. I had never stayed at a value resort before, but my friend stayed at Pop Century last summer and ASMovies the year before. Since her kids are small, we decided her 9 yr old could pick the resort. She chose Pop.
Booking the resort
I called in mid April and spoke to a wonderful CM named Melody Rose. I booked 2 rooms and made one request that if possible, we have rooms next to each other. I used AAA and paid $84 p/night + tax, totaling $93.44 p/night.
Checking into the resort
Our plane landed in Sanford at about 5:30pm on Thursday, July 21st. We got to the resort about 7:15 pm and had a CM named Kim, who was earning her ears. It took her about 15 minutes to get both of us on our way. She never asked for my AAA card even though I had booked both rooms.
Our rooms
We were lucky enough to get what I consider to be the ideal rooms. We were in the 50's, building 3, 4th floor. I had room 3454 and my friend was in 3455. We had the door that connected, too. The rooms were both spotless and I mean very, very clean. I had read over and over about how small the rooms were, but other than the 1 sink, I didn't notice any difference between my stays at POR, CBR or AKL. We had plenty of room. Our housekeeper, Blanca, was excellent. She left me towel animals about 5 days and my friend had 3 or 4. I'd leave her a note every morning to leave extra towels, along with a tip for her. The hair dryer was a 1500 watt and I used it every day. I had a nice large safe and there was an iron and ironing board, too. And the room was very quiet and there were people in all the rooms around us. If you stepped out the door, you could see the lake and the main building of the unfinished side. It was a great view.
The pools
We were on the backside of the 50's pool and really close to the 60's pool so we used both. They were really nice and we never had any trouble finding a chair.
The grounds
I walked all around one morning and loved the icons, they are really much nicer in person. The grounds were very clean, too. I didn't care for how far the 80's or 90's were away from the main builing and even though the 70's are close, for me, I really loved the 50's or 60's best.
The food court
We really loved all the foods we tried. For breakfast, we loved the child's pancakes, my kids loved the chocolate chip ones.
For lunch and dinner. we tried the chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, chef salad, pizza ( my DS loved it! ), and my favorite, the chicken caesar salad. The portions were large and very filling. The only downside was the amount of people in the food lines and then the checkout lines. Very crowded. I bought the mugs because they are a great value. I was able to get the frozen blue raspberry slushie a couple times, but, most times it was out of order. I have a funny mug story. I was filling my mug when I heard a CM telling a man next to me he couldn't fill his Big Gulp mug, it was really huge, but if he bought a mug like mine he could get unlimited refills. The big dope just stood there and finally he responded that noone ever told him he couldn't fill it before. DUHH!!
The buses
This was the first time I relied solely on the buses and we really didn't have any waits over 10 minutes. The buses were always crammed with people though. I do like having all the bus stops in front of Everything Pop. I did miss having a car to get to the BW and DTD.
My final thoughts
I really enjoyed my stay and would definitely stay here again. The only negatives for me would be the food court crowds and bus crowds. If anyone has any questions, let me know. If you've read all of this, thank you.
and like you I booked through 
Thanks for the info! Were the iron and ironing board there or did you have to request them? 
