Please tell me we will like Pop Century share the good and bad

[Jellybass]

A few posters have hit the nail on the head. We have stayed at POR, POFQ, POP and CBR. The biggest difference we noticed is POP is active 24/7. We would come back form the park at 10-11 at night and the pool and food court were as active as the middle of the day. We escaped the action by asking for a room on the top floor of a bulding that faced the new AOA, quiet as can be. While the buses have no other stops, sometimes the lines coming and going can be long. Other than that, it is what it is, a good place to lay your head at the end of the day and have nice, clean facilities and good people to help you out.

 

[kim929]

I love Pop.. it's my favorite resort. As pp said, go in with a great attitude and you will find you love it too..

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Ok I will say I love POP but cannot stay there with my family anymore because my kids are too big and the beds too small. It was great when the kids were young and probably hubby and I were a bit smaller too back then. Now we need at least queen beds if not a couch too. If I could only afford POP I would consider the DTD hotels like the doubletree and Hilton. We just can't do the small beds anymore.

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[photo_chick]

Having mostly stayed at Deluxes and a few times at French Quarter will we like Pop Century? Given my DD starts college Sept 1st and well living here in the Northeast with State Universities and private schools being ridiculously priced it was either stay value or don't go at all. The girls are really looking forward to Pop Century but DH and I are a little nervous. Can anyone share their experiences both good and bad and what not to miss at the hotel? Thanks all.

I disagree that POP is what you make it. We had already stayed at values so we knew what to expect. We went in excited to stay at POP.

I did not like POP at all compared to the other values I have stayed at. It's larger than the others and has more rooms. The food court and pools were always packed. The service wasn't as good as other values I've stayed at. It's not that it was bad service, just not the above and beyond make you feel special kind of service we experienced at other value resorts. We were there just after a big "refurb" and all they had done was make surface changes. The room still seemed a lot more "worn" than what I expected for just having been updated. Mousekeeping did an adequate job but did nothing special the entire 10 days we were there. Mousekeeping did loose one of my son's stuffed animals... it apparently was carried away in the bedding (we think anyway). I did file a report to have it returned if it was found, which the person at the front desk made it seem like it was an inconvenience for him to file.

The resort itself was fine. We did love the theming and the overall feel of it. Grounds were immaculately kept and pools were always clean.

 

[POOHsie]

We have always stayed at POR or POFQ. Lately, the budget is tight and we couldn't afford to waste the extra cost between Moderate and Value. So we tried Pop Century for a number of days, then switched to All Star Movies.

We didn't love ASMovies. Tiny gift shop with little selection, food court was OK but no espresso coffee. All 3 All Star resorts had the same basic set up for gift shop and food court offerings.

But Pop! My, we really liked that. We didn't ask for preferred, but we were on the backside of rooms facing the lake, so the water was very close. Across the water was AoA, which you could easily access over the bridge. Sometimes we took buses from AoA, sometimes from Pop, Ate at both resorts' food courts to mix it up. They both had espresso, and more interesting food offerings compared to All Stars. The lake was very pleasant to stroll along, the gift shop size/selection was good. Our room was small compared to moderate, but we kept focused on our budget goals. Frankly, we were thrilled to still be on-property and at WDW once again.

I would recommend Pop Century to OP.

 

[primrosea]

Our first couple trips we stayed at POR and swore we would never stay at one of "those" value resorts. Well, in order to be able to visit again we had to cut some expenses and the only way to save a serious chunk of change was to put our thoughts aside and go for Pop. I am SO HAPPY we did! The stay was just (if not even more) magical than our previous vacations.

We were wowed from the second we stepped off the bus, the cast members waving, the bubbles and the excitement on the kids faces as they began to see the huge decorations and colorful lobby. The staff was tremendous, food court was diverse and the room was very quiet and super clean. We often received towel animals and took time to get to know our Mousekeep who was wonderful.

The pools were super cute. My kids LOVED the computer pool and preferred to walk there even though the Hippy Dippy Pool was around the corner. I have to admit, I prefer the bus service at Pop over other places. Having the people stand in lines as they arrived stoppped alot of the pushing for first place that we saw at POR.

Please don't let the fact that it is a value scare you away, I will never make the mistake again of judging a resort by its classification

You can see by my signature that we have been back a couple of times even if we could have stayed anywhere

 

[Minnesota!]

We have stayed at Pop A LOT! We love it!

It's in your face 24/7 - until you shut your door. I love the theme, the vibe, the CM's, the pools, the food (even the new menu looks fantastic and dare I say BETTER than the previous...), the arcade (which we use A LOT over the course of the week), the grounds, and the bus service.

The rooms are smaller than moderates, yes, but completely do-able. I am tall and NOT thin, DH is 6'6 and NOT thin and we have 2 tall boys. Doubles work just fine, the size of the room works just fine.

We really love it all around. Only 13 days till I am back!

Go in with an open mind and see it for what it is - embodiment of Disney in bigger than life-form!

HAVE FUN!

 

[calnmace]

We absolutely LOVE Pop!! The staff there is awesome. We've stayed there every year for the past ten years (other resorts as well), we've tried the all stars but POP is our favorite. We've never had a bad experience yet.

The staff has gone over and above for us many times. Little things mostly, but they truly added to the magic of our vacation. In April we were booked in a Royal Room at POR but had to go to POP for at least a few days since we all missed it so much.

 

[cart-mom]

I've stayed Pop twice and loved it. I suggest a preferred room for sure unless you want to chance being easy far from everything. Happened to me once at as music. Very last country bldg. Never again. Go for it!!

 

[CapeCodMouse]

We LOVE Pop Century! We could afford a moderate and have stayed at a deluxe (BLT) but we realize that we always feel more comfortable at Pop Century. The 3 times we've stayed have been in the 70's building on the 3rd floor. Love it! The rooms are a little smaller but we have never experienced the problems with noise or other things that people have complained about. The bus's are dedicated so no stopping at 3 other resorts, no bus sharing, no stopping at multiple bus stops within a resort (like at CBR). It is not the Grand Floridian or the Yacht Club. It is fun, with comfy beds, nice CMS and mousekeepers and everything you could need. The other resorts are too "fou-fou" for us. We just feel at home at Pop. Hope you have a great time.