Pop century folks... reasons you like it or reasons you don't.... trying to decide

[Iya]

I like the layout of the resort. It never felt “massive” to me. The food court and bus stops are smack dab in the middle of the resort, and IMO, no room is a big hike to anywhere you might want to walk.

I found the housekeeping excellent. Our rooms were always immaculately, and the housekeeping staff was accommodating. The food court was very good, and we enjoyed the pools and walking near the lake. Bus service was decent most of the time.

My last stay there was in 2010, and I’m sad to hear that the pools are gated and locked at a certain hour. Hanging out late and swimming at the pool was lots of fun, and if you can’t do that anymore, it certainly is a bummer.

Lots has changed in 8 years.

 

[Huff]

We've stayed at Pop numerous times over the years and loved it every time. Walk to buses has never been overly long but depends on what building you're in. Landscaping is great, food is decent and easy to walk to AoA for more food choices.

Are all Values bus stops uncovered for the most part? We stayed at Caribbean Beach last trip and loved the covered stops when it was raining. Will be back to a Value this year as discounts like we had for CB are a thing of the past.

 

[dansdad]

Are all Values bus stops uncovered for the most part?

Art of Animation bus stops are covered.

 

[DaniMoon]

I like the layout of the resort. It never felt “massive” to me. The food court and bus stops are smack dab in the middle of the resort, and IMO, no room is a big hike to anywhere you might want to walk.

I found the housekeeping excellent. Our rooms were always immaculate, and the housekeeping staff was accommodating. The food court was very good, and we enjoyed the pools and walking near the lake. Bus service was decent most of the time.

My last stay there was in 2010, and I’m sad to hear that the pools are gated and locked at a certain hour. Hanging out late and swimming at the pool was lots of fun, and if you can’t do that anymore, it certainly is a bummer.

I agree, it has never felt massive to me, either. We've been in 2013, 2015, 2017 and will be back this August.

We don't tend to hit the food court at prime times, so it's never been loud or chaotic and have rarely waited more than 5 minutes in line for food (we don't do breakfast at POP -- we pack poptarts and granola bars). Housekeeping has always been spot on and rarely have come back from our early afternoon break to an unserviced room. They always do cute things with my kids critters on the bed.

Bus service has been awesome. Three trips; I can count on one hand the times we had to wait more than 15 minutes for a bus, and only once was the wait more than 30 minutes (downpour at near closing time, mad rush to the buses). We have also hopped on an AOA bus if it shown up before a POP bus, which is a nice perk. We always visit AOA at least once to eat at their food court and to walk around the resort.

Our favorite rooms are lake view in the 70s -- nice view, quiet and close to pools and lobby and busing. We have stayed preferred pool view (faces Hippy Dippy Pool) -- it is louder, but never kept us awake when the doors were closed. We like top floor, we think it's quieter -- but we've always had top floor, so not really sure if it's quieter or not. While there were groups, we never felt overwhelmed by groups in the pool, food court, lobby, etc. except as we were checking out our last trip (end of June) a Brazilian Tour Group was arriving.

The Hippy Dippy Pool can be crowded, but the bowling pin and computer pools are usually quiet. I also like that the bus stops are roped and there is not a mad rush when a bus shows up. I am excited to stay in a newly renovated room in August.

My only real complaint is that the POP bus stop at the parks is always the furthest walk, but then again, I'd be willing to hop a AOA bus and walk back to POP so I guess walking isn't that big of a deal for us.

 

[Shanti]

Hey! We have always stayed at the All Star's... but thinking of switching it up and trying something new either in the Fall or on an impromptu shorter summer trip. Those of you who have stayed at Pop- can you tell me some of the pros/cons about the place? Thank you so much in advance!!

Pros:

• It's affordable.
• The landscaping is nice.
• The giant statues on the grounds are cool.
• The dedicated bus service is reliable.
• The lobby/gift shop areas are cheerful and pleasant.

Cons:

• The room is basically a motel room: small, bland, exterior corridors, not very comfortable, etc.
• Teen groups like to stay here: we got the cheerleaders.
• No waterslides at the pools.
• Depending on your room location, it can be a long, uncovered walk to the lobby or bus stop.
• I just didn't like coming back to our room during our stay at Pop. That pretty much explains why we've never been back.

 

[HopperFan]

That was one of my worries- that it was so much bigger it may be a far hike to food area, and also may be a lot noisier... but the newer rooms and a different food area would be nice. (We thought the food offerings at All Star was downhill last year- not as many choices, and 1 whole section "closed off" so you could still order but had to order thru the register, so couldn't tell the person any special wishes (like swap a side for a different one etc). I'm leaning toward like you said- give it a try once and see what we think....

Then don't worry because the distance thing is a myth. POP is a larger resort room wise but the buildings have 4 floors vs the 3 floors at the AllStars. The foot print is not large. The farthest walk at POP is no farther than the farthest at ASMovies or ASSports and actually closer than the farthest walk at ASMusic. I never book anything other than standard at POP and the walks are a non-issue ... not like the standard walks at Music.

PLUS:
- The secondary pools (2) are larger than the ones at the Allstars, are never crowded with plenty of tables/loungers.
- The food court is good with a nice selection OR you can walk across bridge to AoA where they have a very good food court.
- Great mixture of Disney characters and Trivia of the decades.
- Standard rooms that open out to the lake are peaceful and beat some views at the deluxes.
- Able to stay or wander to spot to watch fireworks.
- Path around the lake is great for those looking to run or walk.
- Visit AoA for some of the best hotel imagineering on property and take awesome photos.
- Good location with no long bus rides anywhere.
- And the new rooms are TWO QUEEN BEDS, great bathrooms with lots of storage.

 

[AntJulie]

Anyone happen to know if dining place at Pop lets you trade your drink for a side/dessert item (since you already have the refillable mug) on the quick service dining plan? I know in the past some have said they could, and many have said they couldn't. Just curious- it won't make or break the decision, but it was always nice to get fruit or a side instead of having a duplicate drink- (especially since we always have a bunch of bottled water in the room anyway!)

I was able to get a small bottle of Beringer's white zinfadel instead of bottled water!

 

[Christinecinti]

I was able to get a small bottle of Beringer's white zinfadel instead of bottled water!

Hmmm.... while it's not cheesecake, it's a close 2nd- haha .... Problem with wine is it makes me sleepy- but may be just the thing to unwind before bed

 

[Christinecinti]

Thanks everyone so far for the comments- it definitely helps give me a feel for things! If we were to want a room that lets us walk over the bridge to AofA and eat there, what bldgs are best for that? And how far "in" is the dining area for AofA (like how long of a walk to the dining are).... And how far would that put us from the bus drops (or would our feet hate us if we did a room closer to the bridge to AoA)? Sorry to have so many questions!!

 

[HopperFan]

Thanks everyone so far for the comments- it definitely helps give me a feel for things! If we were to want a room that lets us walk over the bridge to AofA and eat there, what bldgs are best for that? And how far "in" is the dining area for AofA (like how long of a walk to the dining are).... And how far would that put us from the bus drops (or would our feet hate us if we did a room closer to the bridge to AoA)? Sorry to have so many questions!!

I promise it's not that large. Look here so you can see where all the categories will put you. Once you decide on a category, you can see which "decade" you'll want to "request" to hopefully get the location you want. [I've stayed all over. My favorite is 50's, but I also like 70's and 60's ... standard/lakeview. I don't care for 80's/90's.]

Generation Gap Bridge goes to AoA

 

[Minnesota!]

We have stayed here MANY times and we love it.. About the ONLY dislike is the uncovered bus stops - we go in the summer and it can be brutal..

We have stayed at Sports and Music, too, and after the first time at Pop, we never went back. Pop is much more lively, the food options are better, and the transportation better. I like the pools at Pop better, as well as the view along the lake.

I love the gift shop/food court set up - it is lively and fun. Sure, it can get chaotic, but everywhere at Disney can.

Petals Pool Bar is my favorite on property, and my kids love playing ping pong while we have a cold one and decompress.

We have stayed in the furthest rooms and have never had "too long" of a walk. I prefer 90's/80's for ease of the bus stops, but I wouldn't hesitate to stay in any building.

 

[tex1989]

We go back and forth between Port Orleans FQ and PoP. POFQ is our favorite but PoP is cheaper so we stay there often. I have no complaints about it but being fair we don't use the pools and try to get the 70s or 80's buildings to lessen the walks. AoA being so close helps as we will eat there once or twice a trip. I think that the fact that it is closer to things helps as well. Not off at the edge of property like All Stars. Pricing definitely reflects PoP being more popular since it is more costly in virtually every season than All Star. We really only sleep in the room and for just the two of us it is fine. We were there in November and stayed in the refurbished room and loved it. We will definitely go back.

 

[AntJulie]

We stayed in a standard room 70s lakeview on 3rd floor. Very quiet and close to everything. Would stay there again. Kids enjoyed this resort. Food court always had plenty of tables when we ate there (usually not regular dining times). Buses were good, rarely waited more than 10 minutes. Refurbished rooms were nice. As much as I would like to try different resorts each time we visit, I would definitely go back sooner than later.

 

[absolutmey]

Liked: theme, refurbished room was very nice, price was great, mousekeeping was good, front desk staff was helpful and pleasant

Disliked: crowded buses/long lines/long wait, food court was busy every time I was there, bus stop was not covered (we baked in the sun)

Did not use pools. We'd stay here again but would probably get a preferred room for proximity to the bus stop.

ETA: we stayed 80's section, top floor overlooking the water. Very quiet location.

 

[Christinecinti]

So looks like 60's would be closest to the bridge to AoA if wanting to eat over there.... although 50's or 70's don't seem too much further... so it comes down to choosing closer to the bridge for eating at AoA, or closer to buses. Probably makes more sense to choose closer to buses since it's something we'd do every day (and we eat in the parks and DisSpr a lot so only will eat at hotel(s) 4/5 times.)

But.... any suggestions on what bldg to be be a happy medium between buses and bridge to AoA? (or are buses at AoA close to foodcourt, how far from bridge? Could always hop a ride on those buses probably)

 

[Shellyb84]

So looks like 60's would be closest to the bridge to AoA if wanting to eat over there.... although 50's or 70's don't seem too much further... so it comes down to choosing closer to the bridge for eating at AoA, or closer to buses. Probably makes more sense to choose closer to buses since it's something we'd do every day (and we eat in the parks and DisSpr a lot so only will eat at hotel(s) 4/5 times.)

But.... any suggestions on what bldg to be be a happy medium between buses and bridge to AoA? (or are buses at AoA close to foodcourt, how far from bridge? Could always hop a ride on those buses probably)

I would request the 60s, we've stayed there twice and even on the end closer to the lake it's not a far walk at all. It's going to be the most central location between the two. That's our favorite section!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Pros- price - which depends on time of year/promos
Smaller kids love theming-our kids did
Transport- Having it’s own buses

Cons-

loud/chaotic - when we leave the parks we like a resort that feels like a refuge from the craziness and you never get that. Even in your room, you can hear people outside all the time.

Big resort- really depends what you consider a long walk to your room.

Food court- I thought the level of service
In the food court was subpar. I found many of the CM working in there to be about as happy as McDonald’s employees. That was really disappointing

I won’t say NEVER but my DH disliked POP so much I doubt we’d ever go back. For us if you just need a room to sleep and spend most of your days at the parks I think it’s fine but if you want to enjoy resort time I would not recommend it to anyone.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

One of the things I like most about Pop is that the buses only make one stop. There are no stops within the resort (like at the moderates) or bus sharing among resorts (deluxes). When we’re going for more than 3 days, we do a split stay. The first few days (going to AK, HS, and sometimes Epcot) we stay at Pop Century. We’d have to take a bus (unless we’re staying at a monorail resort or BWI/BC) to those parks anyway, and we prefer the bus service from/to the Pop Century. Maybe it’s because we travel to Disney at really busy times of the year, but we always have good luck with buses. I don’t think we’ve ever had more than a 10 minute wait, and usually it’s much shorter.

Also love the new rooms!! We’ve stayed in them twice. Our first time staying in them we encountered practically zero noise. Recently, though, I was really aware of toilets flushing at night. We go to bed pretty early. If someone flushed a toilet at the opposite end of the building, I am sure I heard it from the bed where I was trying to sleep (the non-Murphy bed). I finally closed the bathroom door, which cut down on the noise at least somewhat. We had loud upstairs neighbors (we’ve had a first floor room both times) our last night at Pop. My DD said it sounded like there were tap dancers staying in the room above ours. Luckily the noise died down before we went to bed. So I’ve experienced both a room with no more noise from before the refurbishment as well as one with increased noise. I feel like the lack of carpet probably had something to do with the sounds of tap dancing neighbors upstairs. Maybe next time I will request 4th floor instead of 1st.

 

[over50visits]

We love walking, and Pop Century is so much better than the All Stars. The outside circle walk is quiet, beautiful, and long enough that you can take an extended walk if you want, or veer off back into the resort area at any time.

The food area is crowded and noisy, a drawback compared with other resorts, and that's the only "drawback." Not enough to keep us away, though. It's expensive, but less expensive than other Disney resorts, so we get what we need (an onsite resort, clean, a place to sleep at night, a morning walk) at less expense than the other resorts. We'll be back.

 

[Paul Rodgers]

Hey! We have always stayed at the All Star's... but thinking of switching it up and trying something new either in the Fall or on an impromptu shorter summer trip. Those of you who have stayed at Pop- can you tell me some of the pros/cons about the place? Thank you so much in advance!!

Pop Century is certainly my favorite Value resort. I've stayed at Pop and All Stars and I think Pop is in that middle category between Value and Moderate.
PROS: Does not / very rarely shares a bus system with other resorts. It's not obnoxiously large and you can easily navigate. The food in their food court is delicious, and I think it's much better decorated than the All-Stars. It could've also been me or even the specific CM's but I've had better interactions with CMs at Pop than at All-Stars.
CONS: Still a value resort and it feels like a value resort. Rooms are a bit smaller, and it all kind of looks the same. There is no hot tub or jacuzzi, and their pool and such is very basic. There is no cover over the bus stops (unless you stand back against the wall of the lobby).
If I think of more I'll let you know.