Pop Century: A review (long, with pics) COMPLETE - dining & final thoughts

[abminer]

Overall:

I’m glad we tried Pop. We enjoyed the theme and it really is pretty all lit up at night. For this particular trip, it was the right choice. The budget was tight and staying value bought us one more night than a mod would have, coupled with free dining and it was a great deal! We also knew we’d be in the parks a lot and we attended a wedding too. I’d been interested in trying Pop for a while and wondered if staying at mods was really worth the extra money. I thought we might find Pop met our needs, but honestly, it just didn’t.

I hadn’t stayed in a value since college. At the time, I really liked ASMu, but I was 20. That was 14 years ago and I can now say I need more than the values offer. I was well prepared for what to expect from all my Dis research, but I couldn’t have predicted if these things would bother us or not. We know now that better pools (we only swam once, at the Hippy Dippy pool- it was fine), nicer décor/more interesting architecture, and certainly better food are worth our extra money. I also prefer the interior hallways at the deluxes (AKL is still my fave).

I love Disney resorts and would never stay offsite. All Disney resorts, Pop included, have gorgeous landscaping, creative theming and are well maintained, but you get what you pay for. I’d certainly stay value again if it was all our budget allowed. We did use our rental car to visit several resorts and thought POR, POFQ, BWV (loved BWI) and SSR all looked nice. I think our next step is renting DVC points, but if we do value again, we’ll try the new Art of Animation resort, which looks a little more unique and is slated to have gelato and other nicer options in the food court.

 

[KatieCollette]

Thanks for your review. We stayed there this last February, and I agree with pretty much everything you said.

 

[SarahD]

Any reports on the pool? I'm hearing that the heater in the main pool is broken, but WDW (in an e-mail) claims to be unaware of this.

 

[abminer]

Any reports on the pool? I'm hearing that the heater in the main pool is broken, but WDW (in an e-mail) claims to be unaware of this.

Sorry for the slow reply. We only swam once, in the hippy dippy pool, and it was a hot day. I found the water to be very cold, but considering the weather was so warm, it was easy to adjust to and enjoy. Not sure about heating...

 

[GrammyJudy]

We have stayed at POP twice but I prefer the All Stars for a value choice.

 

[momto2inKC]

Thanks for the review! We've stayed at Pop twice, but it's been several years. We arrive this Friday at Pop and can't wait!

 

[Patience]

Any reports on the pool? I'm hearing that the heater in the main pool is broken, but WDW (in an e-mail) claims to be unaware of this.

The pool heater was broken when we were there October 2-8 2011. My husband and youngest DD only used the pool one day and it was a hot day so it didn't matter that much but the water was definitely cold and one of the lifeguards told them the heater was broken.

OP, I agree with you on the room decor issue. The outside is so bright and cheerful but the interior room colors are dull and there is virtually no theme inside the rooms. Like yours, our mousekeeping experience was also great. We liked POP but we will choose a moderate next time for the extra room size. The rooms are small for a family of four.