Pop Century Impressions

[skeletor40]

I will be staying at Pop Oct 4-11th and this is my first time staying there. I'm usually a moderate guy (Hello Riverside) but staying at Pop was the only way I could squeeze in another disney trip. For all of you who have stayed there, what were your impressions of Pop? Comments and advice are always appreciated.

 

[Sherrypooh]

is it is clean, fairly small and easy to get around. Icons are cute... if I had kids would prefer to stay here. I just returned and thought it was fine. My dream is to stay gf or polly but until that day... pop suits my needs.

 

[Ihave3daughters]

I've stayed there 3 times and loved it. I love the theming, pools are great, the spotless grounds, CM's are awesome... Food court gets a little crazy at peak times so I just get there early. I just love how you feel when you're pulling into the resort- I feel that 'Total Disney Immersion'...

It's not as fancy as some of the other resorts, but for the price I think it's great. Beats the heck out of not going at all...

-Eric

 

[Mickeefan]

I love Pop. I think that they took what they learned after building the All-Stars and improved on it. I find it to be less spread out. The food court can be crazy. The food is pretty good, actually. I love the greek salad and I can't wait to get there in 2 weeks to get one!

Enjoy your stay at Pop.

 

[dejr_8]

I love Pop. I think that they took what they learned after building the All-Stars and improved on it. I find it to be less spread out. The food court can be crazy. The food is pretty good, actually. I love the greek salad and I can't wait to get there in 2 weeks to get one!

Enjoy your stay at Pop.

I think this is a very fair statement. I think the POP is an improvement over the All Stars and it is a fine place to stay.

 

[HopperFan]

We can do moderate or deluxe but I have found that POP is just fine and I spend my money doing extras or adding on more trips. I initially didn't want to go there, but decided to give it a try for something different.

~ Small footprint, nothing is far, so I stay standard and save money
~ Always stay in an upper room facing the lake and it is quiet and peaceful
and been lucky to be able to watch Wishes, Illuminations and private DHS party fireworks, sometimes from inside our room
~ Lake with walking/running path is great for some quiet time, along with the bunnies and ducks
~ Bridge (to no where) is usually empty and great place to sit and relax
~ Lush landscaping throughout that is much nicer than allstars and closer to a moderate. they are always working and cleaning the grounds.
~ Super nice CMs on every single trip, they all speak and say hello, and Mousekeeping has always been great
~ Food Court, even when crowded I always find a seat. Food selection is great and cooked fresh to order. Have not had a bad meal there yet.
~ Has it's own transportation and the few times I used it - was great (I usually drive all over)
~ Pools nice and the two quiet pools are never crowded, we rarely share with more than a dozen folks
~ I travel with a disabled son and we go to parties at MK, even coming back at 1-2am I always feel totally safe walking around resort
~ Never had a noise issue with neighbors or people outside other than an occasional turbo toilet. Some trips we never even passed another sole on our walkway. We spend alot of down time in room for DS so I am very aware of the noise issue.

 

[Mickey country]

We have stayed at all the moderates, and Pop. I think that Pop is just fine! The rooms are a bit smaller, but they have good theming, and my kids loved it. We are also looking to save money and are staying at Pop.

 

[wolf2961]

Hopper fan summed it up very well. We split last year between Pop & POFQ and the kids (and myself) actually prefered Pop. We are hardly ever in the room, so size wasn't an issue. Pools, dining, lobby, parking are all close by. Also love Pop's location relative to everything else in the World. Quick drive to all Parks, shopping, DTD, Water Parks.

 

[Kim1964]

The kids and I spent a week there in August and liked it very much. It was clean and the food court was pretty good (as food courts go). We stayed at POFQ last year and we all preferred Pop. I love the atmosphere there.....it just screams "FUN!". If I were forced to choose between POR/POFQ and Pop, I'd choose Pop in a minute. I didn't miss the amenities offered at the moderate enough to pay more for them.

 

[poohfan]

I don't remember if you mentioned how many people are in your group. We've stayed at POFQ and WL. We just came back from our first time at POP. We really liked it. But I wouldn't recommend 1 room if you're 2 adults with older kids. This trip was just myself and DD so the room was perfect. If our DS came too the beds would have been too small. But that's probably the same at the Mods that have 2 double beds.

Here's what impressed me:
- the room was spotless and I'm a germaphobe who is very picky about cleanliness in a room
- overall very well maintained grounds. I constantly saw people cleaning and trimming
- the beds were SOOOO comfortable! (small for 2 adults, but comfy, comfy, comfy)
- the food court had a great selection
- the gift shop
- bus service was fabulous going to parks, coming back the stops were further away than most/all other resorts but when it came it went directly to POP -- overall the best bus service I've had
- overall theming, DD said it really felt more like Disney than any of the other resorts we stayed at

Here's what I didn't like so much:
- ultra loud flushing (I've heard of toilets that can flush a bucket of golf balls, these could flush the golf balls and clubs too)
- 2 nights we could hear one of our neighbors... a child screaming about loving bubbles at 1 am... thankfully they must have only stayed 2 nights because all our other nights were very quiet... but honestly you could have noisy neighbors at a deluxe too
- towels aren't provided for the pool, you can use the room ones but if you forget to ask for extra towels you might not have dry towels when you shower... we avoided that by bringing our own beach towels
- no mini fridge included, but I paid the extra $$ for it and was happy I did.
- no coffee maker, but to be honest I didn't miss my morning cup of coffee as much as I thought I was going to

 

[LovesHauntedMansion]

The only complaint I had was that I heard every word that was said at the pool at all hours of the night. I knew not to request a preferred room, but I still heard the noise from my room.

Other than that, I have no complaints.

 

[tink1953]

Hey we are staying the same time as you..Oct 3-12th

It will be our 3rd time at the Pop...we love it there. We have also stayed at Movies...can't compare to moderates as we have never stayed at any LOL

I love the fact that it has its own bus system and the wait is usually not long.

The food court and gift shop are really nice and check in is great too.

We always seem to end up at the Pop..

See ya in October!

BArb

 

[lustergirl]

We will be there as well in early October- the 1st through the 6th, first time staying at POP!! I love the color and theme of the resort.

 

[skeletor40]

Usually most trips I spend some time at the resort and the pool which is why I usually stay at a moderate. Not so this time. What with F&W and MNSSHP going on, I will be spending most of my time at the parks. I'm a little bummed about paying extra for the fridge as I bring food with me. Pop Century does look cute and I'm glad it doesn't share buses with other resorts.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

My impressions:

small rooms
great music at 80s section
great theming
beautiful lake to walk along
great ice-cream/desserts
food pretty good
great gift shop
bus stop in direct sun
small safe
fun kid area
crowded pools
clean restrooms

Overall you will have a good time there.

 

[daisax]

I think Pop's a great, fun value. To me, some vacations are steak and lobster (if I'm paying $200-300 for a hotel room, I want more for my money than WDW's definition of "deluxe."). And some vacations are a nice dinner in a local restaurant (moderates). And some vacations are a couple of slices of great pizza. Pizza isn't the same as steak and lobster, but there's nothing wrong with good pizza, so long as you're not obsessed with the fact that it's not steak and lobster.

For a vacation where I wear shorts and a fanny pack and ride on roller coasters, Pop's a fun, comfortable place to stay. If I want a little more resort time, I go moderate. And if I really want a resort experience I go on a completely different vacation.

 

[skeletor40]

I like the analogies you give daisax. It's been a long time since I had some great pizza.

 

[Donna3271]

I think Pop's a great, fun value. To me, some vacations are steak and lobster (if I'm paying $200-300 for a hotel room, I want more for my money than WDW's definition of "deluxe."). And some vacations are a nice dinner in a local restaurant (moderates). And some vacations are a couple of slices of great pizza. Pizza isn't the same as steak and lobster, but there's nothing wrong with good pizza, so long as you're not obsessed with the fact that it's not steak and lobster.

For a vacation where I wear shorts and a fanny pack and ride on roller coasters, Pop's a fun, comfortable place to stay. If I want a little more resort time, I go moderate. And if I really want a resort experience I go on a completely different vacation.

Great perspective!!! Very well said! I've read so many complaints about the POP (made me nervous, as we are staying there Nov 3-10). But I think people are expecting too much for the price. Excellent analysis!

 

[rn448698]

I've been to Disney two times as an adult. Pop in January 2008 and POR in January 2009.

Pop is smaller, clean, loud, fun, and the rooms are small.

POR is spread out, calmer, has nicer rooms (imo), and feels more like a resort.

Bus service??? Pop wins simply because there is one bus stop.

Food court??? Pop wins due to the size and options.

Overall atmosphere??? POR... easily. It's just calmer and more peaceful. It helps you recharge after 12 hours running around.

Service??? POR. The workers I saw were friendly and a bit more experienced. But that could've just been luck.

Overall, I like both resorts. But since I need to have a king bed (and don't want to "hope"), I like POR better.

 

[Mamalisa58]

We have stayed at Pop several times. The staff is the friendlyist I have run into at Disney. The mousekeepers have always left us at least one towel animal. Love the waffles at the food court. Compared to the service we received at the BC, Pop is so much better and you pay a whole lot less! My kids (19 17) love Pop. We take a twin size aerobed and move around the furniture. Viola!
Hope you have a wonderful time.