Pop Century - Diff Between Std. and Preferred

[TiggerKing]

Good Morning:

As the title says, I am trying to find out the difference between a "standard" room and a "preferred" room at Pop Century. I just want to find out if the difference is worth the money. It is just DW and I that are going. TIA!

 

[Nadjalu]

Not an expert, but I think it is just location to Classic Hall and the buses. I could be wrong, but most preferred rooms are the closest ones.
Others may give more info, but that is all I know.

 

[ssawka]

It's really just the distance to Classic Hall, not necessarily the buses. The one and only time we stayed in POP, we were in the 80's section and I think we were closer to the busses than some of the "prefered" rooms.

 

[Mason's Mom]

Our first year we stayed at Pop we were in a standard room. It was a hike to the front. My husband said we will always do perferred. If he said it was worth the extra money believe me it is!!!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Yes, I think preferred rooms are in the 60s and 70s buildings, closest to Classics Hall. Also the pool near those buildings has the pool bar.

As a PP mentioned, this is not always closest to the buses. If you plan to use the food court, arcade, shop, or registration services a lot, then preferred works great.

We were in the 50s building, quite a distance from the buses. It was fine. The kids said it was their favorite area. They liked the bowling pin pool.

 

[goofy4tink]

There are preferred rooms in 50's, 60's, 70's and maybe some 90's, but not really sure about that one. The only difference is the distance to the food court/bus stops.
I have stayed at POP many times. My favorite room??? 4441...60's bldg 4, fourth floor, facing the lake. It's about as far away from a preferred room as you can get, but it's only a 4 min walk to the food court. I have been in bldg 2 of 50's, way the heck at the very back of the bldg, on the third floor..but it was less than 5 mins to the food court.
A year ago, I decided to book a preferred room. We got the 70's area, bldg 10, ground floor. I hated it. Yes, it was convenient. But there was a ton of foot traffic at all times. People constantly walking by our room. Drove me nuts. I'm going down in again in Dec and I booked a standard room again.

 

[snookiedoodles]

Great advise...thanks!

 

[Keri]

We got a preferred room the first year, and standard last year, and I couldn't tell the difference at all. It's not that big ... I just didn't think it was really worth it, even with young kids.

 

[Randonie]

I think this will help you!!!

This information is post by Buckeye Gal.


Standard vs. Preferred

* Preferred Rooms
o "Preferred" refer to the location of the room on the property and nothing more; they do not refer to views, size, or amenities
o these are rooms in buildings closest to Classic Hall (500 ft or less)
o preferred rooms are not necessarily THAT much closer the bus stop; see "Property Info" section in this post and/or a wonderful posting from DISer Simba77 that maps out the distance from the center of the bus stop area to the center of each era
+ '60s = 840 feet
+ '80s = 945 feet
+ '90s = 945 feet
+ '70s = 950 feet
+ '50s = 980 feet
o typically $10-$15/night more than a standard room
o these room numbers are considered preferred rooms (note the first number denotes the Building Number, the second number (or “x” shown below) defines the Floor, and the last two numbers defines the Room Number)
+ Building 1: 1x01 – 1x36
+ Building 3: 3x61 – 3x72
+ Building 4: 4x01 – 4x36 & 4x61 – 4x72
+ Building 5: 5x01 – 5x12 & 5x37 – 5x72
+ Building 6: 6x01 – 6x12
+ Building 10: 0x37 – 0x72


Standard Rooms

* worse case, rooms furthest from Classic Hall will take 6-7 minutes to walk to the building

 

[Randonie]

I am not able to post links, so you have to write down.
0ww.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28076922&postcount=3567

 

[Randonie]

Sorry, I didn't write down in my last post... check this map too!!!
0ww.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17643531&postcount=2

 

[llqool]

We have stayed at POP about 5x and two of those times were in preferred locations (altho' the first time we stayed in preferred, it was in a section of the 50's that wasn't considered preferred at the time).

some things to consider about preferred:

-if you have a vehicle, there is a high likelihood that you will be *further* from the parking lot and said vehicle than if you were in a non-preferred section (we had this happen to us both times in preferred!)
-as previous posters have said, you may not be closer to the buses in preferred. many of the 80's locations are a lot closer to the buses b/c you can cut across the parking lot
-you may not be all that close to classic hall, either, if you are on the back side of one of the furthest preferred buildings

We did it last Christmas, only b/c our in-laws have mobility problems and wanted to stay in the preferred rooms, but we won't do it again...a total waste of $$ in my opinion, since we were at the back of the furthest 70s building, had a car that we had to unload and sometimes used the bus system.

 

[Baltazar]

I personally think preferred rooms are a waist of good money you could spend on booze, souvenirs or sugary snacks.

Plus the extra few feet walking will burn more calories.

 

[ashleighspeaks]

Doesn't sound like it's that great of a deal!

 

[TiggerKing]

Thanks for all the input folks! It is a great help. DW and I will be driving our on vehicle down from Atlanta, so the buses are not an issue. On our last trip, I actually preferred to drive to the Transportation Authority or to the specific park.

I may call WDW today and see if I can "downgrade" to a standard room.

 

[llqool]

i didn't realize you are driving and don't plan on using transportation. In that case, I would (personally) *definitely* not want a preferred room! We about killed my father-in-law walking back and forth from an interior 70's room to the closest parking spot. We just stayed in the 90's in October and parked *right* below our room. That's the second time we've stayed there and I would request it again. (I know the 80s are slightly closer to Classic Hall and the buses, but they are a vile red color that I don't like....kinda reminds me of a not-so-nice area of town)

 

[scoolover]

I have always been happy with a standard room.

 

[CandleontheWater]

If it is just two adults and you are planning on using your car, I wouldn't pay the extra money for the room. When you call you should specifically request the 80's or 90's buildings, because they are closest to the parking lots. The 50s building is also standard rooms, and it can be a hike to the parking lot. I like the 80s buildings the best because they are very close to the parking lot, buses and Classic Hall.

 

[crystaltink]

llqool...

I've never thought about the red color of the 80's section of Pop...but you are right!!! LOL! "Not very nice part of town"....

 

[llqool]

llqool...

I've never thought about the red color of the 80's section of Pop...but you are right!!! LOL! "Not very nice part of town"....

yeah, I was going to use a different word, but decided not to. There is something very lurid about the 80's buildings, tho.

Although on second thought, maybe I *should* ask to stay there -- because then I won't see them when I'm looking out the window. Hmm........