Let me preface this review by saying that my thoughts and opinions are just that. I don't want anyone to read this and feel that their view of this resort is dampened by my recent stay, or that they shouldn't in fact stay there.
I think Pop is a wonderful resort. I think it has its time and place, and for me, its time and place has passed. I've stayed in my fair share of Disney resorts, almost all of them. Different resorts lend a different flavor to your trip. It can color your perception of your whole experience. How long you wait for a bus. How crowded the bus is. How crowded the food court is. How many people are staying there, whether or not you have interior corridors, the theming, the list goes on and on and on. This is what we all go through every time we try to pick a resort for our Disney trips, because they are part of making our own unique Disney experience. And again, they do flavor our trip, and our perceptions of it.
There are things that I love about Pop, and I'll start with those first.
Foremost, I love the food court. It has a wide variety of options to choose from, which I really enjoyed on this trip. And even though our beloved slushy coke machines were gone, I discovered a wonderful iced tea blend that I was in love with. That, plus a refillable mug had me in heaven. It also really helped me to stay hydrated. I have to say, I think I was the most hydrated on this trip than any other I've been on. DH and I purchased refillable mugs on our second full day, and every morning when we left, we would take them with us, and sip them as we were walking around whatever park. Every evening they'd be refilled once or twice, or if we went back to the resort. It was totally, totally worth it, even if I did cringe at the initial price.
I also the love the gift shop. It has a huge cross selection of items, and I ended up doing some of my shopping there.
I love that Pop is bright and colorful and can be loud. I love the Disney feel of it. It never fails to put a smile on my face.
But that emotion is pretty much used up after I start sleeping in the room and using the transportation system.
Now, let me say that we ended up renting a
scooter for Nana, so bussing wasn't necessarily an issue. It's not so much whether or not we got seats, since as her family, we were able to board with her. It's, quite frankly, not even the waiting. It's the fact that you're waiting out in the hot son with absolutely no shade to cover you. It makes the 5, 10, 15, 20, however many minutes feel twice as long. And let me tell you, if adults in my party weren't the one responsible for my DS, we were giving up our seats to those we felt would need them. And sometimes they would accept our offer, and sometimes they wouldn't. But we did offer, because I remember one bus ride where I was holding my then 2 year old son in my arms and having stand for the whole ride, and let me tell you, that was TOUGH!!! So suffice it to say, even if we did get on first, we were sensitive to the people around us.
I don't think we ever really had an issue with the timeliness of the busses, just that more often than not they were filled to capacity. And I think one of the hardest parts for me about staying at Pop was the ride to the Magic Kingdom. It seems to take so long. In reality it's about 15-20 minutes, but all I can think is, if I were somewhere else, it wouldn't take this long.
I learned to enjoy those bus rides, chat with my family, watch DS take it all in, so it's not a lost cause. I am the epitome of making things work, you know? But after a while, even though you know you picked the resort because everyone could afford it, you're starting to think, man, I wish I'd picked something else.
I can't really fault anything in particular with our room. It was clean. It was what it was. A small room at a value resort. With double beds.
Ten guesses as to who my little lovey wanted sleep with every night?
So, suffice it to say, I was a little cramped.
I don't want you all to think that I'm complaining. These are just facts. I knew what I was in for when I picked this hotel. And I'm not going to lie. I got there the very first day, and after having enjoyed it for a couple of hours, I thought to myself, I wonder if they have rooms at the Wilderness Lodge.
I'm not joking.
Let this be a lesson to you. When travelling with a large group, even if you are trying to be accomodating, stay somewhere that you want to stay. Otherwise, you'll spend your whole trip trying to make the best of something that you knew in your heart you weren't excited about to begin with.
Sure, you may have thought you were, and yes it was really, really nice to see your son enjoy all those big icons, and go swimming in the Hippy Dippy Pool and play with the Goofy Water Jets, but you know what?
You could have had that kind of fun anywhere.
More specifically, somewhere with bigger beds and interior corridors.
I could probably go on about why I'm done with values, but I think you get the idea. I do have to say, though, given the amount of touring my son was willing to do, being in a value for this trip was probably a good thing. He was game for almost everything, and we spent a TON of time in the parks. So, it certainly didn't feel like a waste of money to stay there. It was worth exactly what I paid for it, if that makes sense.
It just lent a flavor to my trip that I wasn't expecting and that I learned how to work with.
And it's a flavor that I'm not really interested in repeating at this point in my life.
When I go on vacation, even if it's to Disney, I want relaxation. Maybe even a little pampering. And I want to stay some where that, sure, is within my budget, but also has that relaxation and that pampering. And for me, that's at least a moderate, and for sure, the Wilderness Lodge. I'm in love with that resort. For so many reasons. When we stayed there last year, I was relaxed. When we got back to the resort, I was glad I had paid the money to stay there. And it was not bargain. It was rack rate during free dining, and you know what? It was worth every d--- penny.
I've learned my lesson. We're in a different place now. We're looking for different things.
And for our next trip, I know this. Even if it takes a couple of years to save for it, even if I go through some Disney withdrawals in the mean time, it will be so worth it to go big.
And that's the plan.
Go big or go home.
However, I'm not ready to discuss that tentative idea DH and I have been kicking around, because it's a couple of years away, and there's so much that could happen in between. Suffice it to say that this trip taught me a lot about how I like to do Disney, and I have learned my lessons well.
Next Chapter
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