Pop Centry resort

[GammaPro]

Anyone stay here before? We've never been and this is the hotel we will be staying at. Just wanted to see how it was. Thanks in advance.

 

[safetymom]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=698727

I suggest reading this thread all about Pop. Welcome to the DIS.

 

[declansdad]

We were there from July 6th to the 16th and had a great time. We stayed on the 4th floor of building C in the 50's section. We had a great view of the lake and of Spaceship Earth.

We had our own buses and this came in handy when the parks were crowded. It is a big resort and the icons are very cool to see.

If you have any specific questions let me know.

 

[DKx3]

We had a good stay. The food court was good. It was a fun environment. The bus service was awesome. Although, we were there at a slow time. The walls were quite thin and you could hear toilets flushing and water running in the other rooms. Take a few Tylenol PM's and you won't hear a thing, LOL. Overall, I would stay there again if I was going on a trip that I was spending a lot of time at the parks.

 

[bride03]

My DH and I stayed there December 2003 when it first opened and also in 2005 January and we are going again next month! We LOVE Pop Century. It's a great hotel with lots of memories around! Everything is pretty close and I agree you should read the info page posted above!

 

[sarahsmom73]

DD and had a Mommy daughter trip there in April... We loved it so much we changed our Thanksgiving ressies to Pop... We'll be there on Tuesday morning! I CAN'T wait!

 

[GammaPro]

Thanks so much everyone!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

We stayed at Pop last year and liked it. It was our first stay at a value and it wasn't bad at all. The disney magic was in full swing at Pop. I loved the large icons adn themed pools. Clean rooms, nice resort theming, large gifts shop, but just a so-so food court. Just a little more crowded and noisy than the moderates and a much longer walk to the bus stop. I personally prefer mods over values b/c less children, but I would stay at Pop again if I couldn't get the mod I wanted.

 

[Cmbar]

I see you have stayed at CBR and POP. Can you tell me which you prefer? We are trying to decide between the two resorts. Our main concern about staying at CBR is that their is so many bus stops and that it will take forever to get to the parks with all the stops around the resort. Also that it will take forever to get to the food court for a quick breakfast. At POP we loved that everything was right at the food court and that the bus was a one stop. Also, can you compare the food court at POP to the one at CBR?

Sorry we are just really trying to decide if it is worth the $300.00 upgrade to this moderate.

Thanks for any help!

PS. to the original poster. WE loved POP lots of fun and we loved the arcade and the convenience of the food court to the bus stop. We stayed in the 50's building and didn't think we were too far away from anything.

 

[#1DizGal]

I've stayed at ASMu, Pop, and all the mods except for CSR. Loved them all, but there's just something about Pop that sets my toes to dancing! I've stayed in the 50s, 80s and 90s eras, and will be heading back early next year to stay in the other two. No shared buses, great food court, super clean rooms, terrific Mousekeepers, neato pools and a pop-jet area. Cast Members are truly awesome (pun intended), too. When CMs all do the Twist in the morning, and the Hustle at night - how can it not make you smile?!?!

 

[Cmbar]

Just when I think I am going to try something new (CSR), you remind me why I love POP! I know I can spend that extra $300.00 on so many other things!

UGH

 

[Daisie]

We stayed there last January are returning this January!! You can't beat the "value" of a "value" resort....especially when we were only in our room to sleep!!!

 

[mickey58729]

We stayed there in December 2004 and loved it so much that's where we are staying this year.

Can't wait until next Friday!!!!!

 

[BethC1952]

We were there for opening day, have been there twice more (last Dec. for six nights) and I will be there tomorrow morning (for only one night on our way to our cruise). WE love it there. It's our "resort of choice" when we visit WDW with the intention of spending most of our time in the parks. If we're going to WDW just to relax, we usually choose a moderate, but only because of the hot tub!

 

[daisy_77]

I just wanted to chime in and say that we were going to stay at POFQ and changed to Pop and with the discounted package code we got a few months ago I saved enough money to buy the couch and loveseat that I had been eyeballing for months! IMO, if you are going for the parks and DTD, stay at a value, you really will save A LOT of money!

 

[luvsdiznee]

Stayed there last Dec and we loved it! We have stayed at all the value resorts and POP is our favorite. I really liked the lake and my kids loved the arcade! We also liked the fact that there was an indoor bar for a cocktail (allstars have pool bars). We would stay there again in a heartbeat!

 

[Ricky5]

Great info on the POP Century. Thanks.

WOW, I am so glad my friend recommended this site to me. I have been reading the postings here for the last 3 nights passed midnight each night. I am so sleep deprived, but I am getting so much great info.

My husband and I are planning our first trip to Disney with our three children. 2 1/2-boy, 5-girl, 6-girl. The last time I was at Disney World, I was 7 and my sister was 8. Now, this was back in 1978. Epcot wasn't even there. I remember just about everything about that vacation. It was AWESOME!!! We were planning on waiting until our children were a bit older so they would remember everything, but decided that we didn't want the girls to be out of the whole "Princess" thing. I wasn't sure about the 2 year od in diapers, but I am willing to deal with it to see all of their faces. We figured we would just do a 5 day, 4 night this time, and gear it specifically to the Magic Kingdom and MGM for Playhouse Disney. When the kiddies are a little older, we will hopefully try the longer stay. I cried while watching the Disney vacation planning DVD. I think I am more excited than anyone. I can't wait to go back to the attractions I experienced, like It's a small world, Pirates of the Caribbean, Dumbo, Peter Pan, etc....

I would have Loved to have stayed in the Magic Kingdom, but certainly could never afford the prices of those hotels. We most likely will stay at the POP Century because of price and after reading all your reviews. For those of you with little ones who have stayed at the POP, were you cramped. We are a family of 5, but the 2 year old usually ends up in our bed anyway, so the 2 beds isn't really an issue. I'm just worried about the overall size of the room. I was glad to hear you comparing the POP with the Caribbean Beach as that is the moderate we were looking at.

We are deciding whether to go in early March or early to mid May. It will most likely be in May since the flights seem to be much less expensive. Plus we will probably need the time to plan it all. We have not made any reservations yet.

 

[Ricky5]

We are looking at a few different options right now:
-Staying off site at the Nick Hotel,
-Staying at the POP (the only Value we were really interested in)
-Staying at a Moderate (which we are not sure about..Looking into the Caribbean Beach, POR, POFQ, probably not CS as I haven't heard much about it.)
-Staying at the Swan or Dolphin. (Read the beds were heavenly, but not sure about the transportation as it looks like all those hotels in that Epcot circle may use the same bus. Is this the case?)
-Final option would be to stay in the Fort Wilderness Campground in a camper/motor home. {Anyone know if there is still this option to rent campers? I did this as a kid back in 78, and it was so much fun.}

I know these are way too many options, and I have to get it down to possibly 2 options, but I could use all of your help. I'm looking for advice from those of you with young kids. We will NOT be pushing them to stay at the parks all day. I wish they had 1/2 day passes. We are hoping to pack a sandwich for the kids, get going early in the mornings, stay until 1 or 2 PM, then return to our room for a nap and relaxing by the pool, then one, maybe 2 evenings return to the Magic Kingdom to experience the park after dark.

 

[Cmbar]

Hi and Welcome to the DIS!! You will learn wonderful things here!
Just wanted to throw out one more suggestion for you.

Renting DVC points. We did that the last time we went and I have sent multiple friends and family this way over the past two years. It really is easy and the most cost efficient way to go to Disney and stay in the deluxe resort for moderate prices.

If you are going in May and can plan your stay to go a Sunday through a Friday you will be able to stay at Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Villas, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs or Wilderness Lodge Villas for about (or less) than a Moderate stay. These are known as Disney's Home away from Home resorts and they are wonderful resorts. Since you are a family of five with a Baby you will be able to rent just a studio which will give you a great deal more room than a POP room or slightly more room with a Kitchenette (microwave, sink, refridge and toaster & coffe maker)than a Moderate size room. The layout of a Studio is a Queen Bed and pull out double bed.

The best thing about renting DVC is that you get to go to those great location resort (especially Beach Club and Boardwalk for the Epcot area) By the way I think Swan/Dolphin have separate buses, but BWI and Beach Club share buses. Someone else will probably be able to answer. But both of those resorts have boats to MGM and EPcot. You would have to take a bus to MK and AK though.

Anyways. There are some cons to renting and that is you have to do the transaction with a DVC owner and not through Disney. We have rented with four different people and everyone of them has been great. There is a rent/trade board Under DVC Timeshare section of the boards. That is where you would start looking for a renter. Another Con is that you can't do a "package" if you rent DVC. You would have to buy your own tickets separately and you would have to do your own dining. SO if you had your heart set on getting Dining with your trip that would be out. We think the location of having easy access to Epcot at Night and MGM far outweights paying Disney for Dining, especially since we usually pack PBJ for our kids!

Just a quick look at a point calculator for May shows a Sun-Friday stay of 5 nights would equate to 65 points which most renters rent for $10.00 a night equates to 650.00 for your accomodations. Now that would be for the Beach Club, Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge for a Studio for any Sun-Friday stay in May. It would be only 600.00 for Saratoga Springs and Old KEy West (okw has two queen beds instead of a sofa, this is the biggest room offering for a studio, good deal for $600.00 for five night accomodations.)

Anyways I would check out the DVC forumn if you think you want to know more. Also Check out this link at Mousesavers.com to get a better idea of what I am talking about http://www.mousesavers.com/dvc.html#rentpoints

Hope this helps, and of course you can PM me with any questions.
I always feel the need to tell families that can fit into a studio and who would benefit from a quick return to the rooms about these options especially for the BCV, BWV and WLV! You could do the plan you mentioned except you can hop over to Epcot at night since it is just a quick 5 minute walk from BCV and maybe a 10minute walk for the BWV. Or the WL will give you a boat to MK! Also the pools and kitchenette are wonderful with small kids because we ate breakfast in the room (ceral, oatmeal, bagels-- loved having that toaster) Also, going back for nap is easy and great pools to hang out at! Also at BWV and BCV you can watch the fireworks from Epcot out at the Lake and that would be almost as exciting as hopping over there!


Hope I haven't confused you!
Cmbar

 

[allshookup]

I would have Loved to have stayed in the Magic Kingdom, but certainly could never afford the prices of those hotels. We most likely will stay at the POP Century because of price and after reading all your reviews. For those of you with little ones who have stayed at the POP, were you cramped. We are a family of 5, but the 2 year old usually ends up in our bed anyway, so the 2 beds isn't really an issue. I'm just worried about the overall size of the room. I was glad to hear you comparing the POP with the Caribbean Beach as that is the moderate we were looking at.

We are deciding whether to go in early March or early to mid May. It will most likely be in May since the flights seem to be much less expensive. Plus we will probably need the time to plan it all. We have not made any reservations yet.

We stayed at POP & loved it, but the rooms are a bit small. If you are considering a moderate, you might look into POR since they have rooms that comfortably sleep 5 with a trundle bed.

Keep your eye on the DIS boards for any discount codes that might come out for spring.