Pop century is not too magical

[lauradis]

Yes, actually I did say something to the concierge, all I got was a thank you foR pointing out what was bothering me, and that she was sorry that I felt this way. I love disney and have stayed at pop century before, but the service really went downhill. I know I'll never stay at this resort again, I should have just went with riverside like my wife wanted. Now I'm the bad guy.

Your not the bad guy... Tell her how much you love her and all the great mushy

stuff you feel... and ps if she like big public stuff do it in grand style down on

one knee... where every one can hear and see

 

[Marsheliz]

Jaisa- no. We were at PoFQ.. Beautiful resort but I think I mentioned my terminally ill mom came with us and I just didn't realize how small the room would be with 3 adults and two kids. I went to front desk and was very upset and wanted to see if I could move somewhere with a suite. I was more than willing to pay. The manager ended up sending is there with a free taxi and no. Disney definitely went above what I imagined. It was my fault for booking the room but they wanted to make sure we enjoyed ourselves.

 

[Blessedwithboys]

Jaisa- no. We were at PoFQ.. Beautiful resort but I think I mentioned my terminally ill mom came with us and I just didn't realize how small the room would be with 3 adults and two kids. I went to front desk and was very upset and wanted to see if I could move somewhere with a suite. I was more than willing to pay. The manager ended up sending is there with a free taxi and no. Disney definitely went above what I imagined. It was my fault for booking the room but they wanted to make sure we enjoyed ourselves.

Awe Marcie that is great they were able to accommodate you like that!!! Disney really can rock if you just let them know what is going on!
Good Luck OP!

 

[FortForever]

I won't stay at Pop again either.

The first time I stayed there was February or March of this year. I loved it. Went back and stayed again a month later. Once again, I loved it. It was the second value I tried (after Sports) and I thought I found my permanent resort.

The only things I didn't like about the food court were that it was always packed and they ran out of ice every evening. Neither thing was a deal breaker as we usually bring our own groceries anyway, so don't eat at the food court.

I went back for a ten day stay in May and booked Pop again. That time, the room was horrible. The bathroom door wouldn't shut right, the safe was broken, the water came out of the faucets in spurts like there was air in the lines ... every time, and the phone didn't work.

They did come and fix the phone on Day 2, so technically, I could knock that off the list. My biggest complaint was with housekeeping, or lack thereof. Not once, but TWICE they never cleaned my room. The first time I called the front desk who couldn't have cared less. She said I must have left my room too late or left the "do not disturb" sign on. Neither one was true. The second time, I didn't bother to call at all.

I had already decided I wasn't coming back again, when the final straw happened. Somewhere between late afternoon and late night, someone came into my room and opened my curtains. Not the sheers, just the heavy curtains like housekeeping always opens. The problem is, they shouldn't have even been in there as my room had been made up that day before I came back in the afternoon.

It was not a big deal to close the curtains again, just kind of irritated me. I was thinking, "Really? Twice this week you can't even come in to clean but you can come in at a random time to mess with my curtains?"

So, my most recent trip a couple of weeks ago I stayed at Movies. It was all good but was only there for two days, with very little time at the resort, so can't really give it a full review yet.

ETA: For informational purposes - both my great stays were building #5 in the 60's section. The bad stay was in building #2 in the 50's section.

 

[BibiSmart]

I have stayed at multiple Disney properties and my children prefer Pop or the Cabins. So for the price and a quick staycation, it's always Pop. Hopefully it hasn't declined since we were last there.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I wanted to post just to sympathize.

All 3 times I've stayed at Pop the folks making the food just didn't care. So after trying it for breakfast once each trip, I bought bananas and juice from that food court and ate those in my room for breakfast and didn't eat at that food court at all for the rest of the trips.

In my Dec. 2012 trip the sink was missing the stopper and it took 2 calls and a stop by the front desk to get that fixed and I was only there for 3 days.

I also think those rooms are only fit for 2 people. I can't imagine squeezing 4 in there. But then I've reached the point where even a normal hotel room with 2 queen beds isn't enough room for my family of 4 as the kids are teens and my husband takes up a queen bed by himself.

We are trying the ASMU Family Suites on our next trip (yay for discounts!). I sure do wish the bed in the bedroom there was a king. I'll probably end up in the sitting room with the kids sleeping on the pull out chair.

I hope you were able to enjoy the parks while you were there.

 

[crzy4mickey]

I've stayed at Pop several times among other values and mods. I agree with the food court workers not being "magical" but when they made my sandwich wrong they were very quick to appologize and make me a new one. The food court is just that...a food court. Nothing special, always busy but it goes with a value resort. Other than that we never had any issues. The cast members are friendly and helfpul, one retired math teacher even helped our kids with their math homework one day! You just have to remember you are paying for a value and the accomodatinos are just that...value. that being said the customer service should not be less because it's a value.

 

[BeerMe]

We have stayed at all resorts except AoA and CS. Any more, when we stay onsite we pretty much stay at POP, POFQ or SoG. Last stay in February was at POP, during the Tour Group season and while the food court does tend to get crowded, it is also amazing to grab a seat, eat breakfast and watch the mayhem. We love watching families with their young kids getting ready for a day at the parks. It is one of the things we really enjoy! And watching the total lack of manners exhibited by members of the Foreign Tour Groups sometimes has me rolling on the floor in laughter. How these kids avoid getting attacked by people is beyond me.

That's why when we bring grand kids with us we stay in 3BR timeshares offsite so we don't have to provide entertainment for other old people like us!

I'm serious about people watching though. We really enjoy it, and watching the crowds in the value food courts at breakfast is one of the best times we have! It's almost as good as watching the drunks stumble around Epcot during F&W, but I happen to participate in that particular sport.

 

[goofy4tink]

We have stayed at all resorts except AoA and CS. Any more, when we stay onsite we pretty much stay at POP, POFQ or SoG. Last stay in February was at POP, during the Tour Group season and while the food court does tend to get crowded, it is also amazing to grab a seat, eat breakfast and watch the mayhem. We love watching families with their young kids getting ready for a day at the parks. It is one of the things we really enjoy! And watching the total lack of manners exhibited by members of the Foreign Tour Groups sometimes has me rolling on the floor in laughter. How these kids avoid getting attacked by people is beyond me.

That's why when we bring grand kids with us we stay in 3BR timeshares offsite so we don't have to provide entertainment for other old people like us!

I'm serious about people watching though. We really enjoy it, and watching the crowds in the value food courts at breakfast is one of the best times we have! It's almost as good as watching the drunks stumble around Epcot during F&W, but I happen to participate in that particular sport.

Now that's one terrific attitude!! What a great way to look at things! I will say that my dd, now 19, has had some learning situations while at WDW and watching what other kids are doing. She has actually said to me...'Well, there's behaviour that shouldn't be seen anywhere!!!' or 'Well, now I know how not to act out in public!!'.

 

[Megsie1000]

The value resort rooms are very small. But they are all the same size.

The food court offerings at POP have recently been re-vamped, which to me was the problem. The food was better before. The food court situation is the same everywhere. That is one reason I always get a grocery delivery for the morning meal. I have no desire to be a part of that mayhem. But the same is true for the moderate and deluxe resorts. Those places are also chaotic in the morning. It's a problem WDW-wide, IMO.

 

[drgnfly30]

I've stayed at POP twice & most likely would not return (unless it was JUST me & a VERY short stay).

My last visit was a comedy of 'errors' & unkept promises. I did ultimately get some satisfaction but it was only after escalating it to the Manager, in person @ the front desk.

On the whole though, I just wasn't feeling the 'Magic' there & came to the realization that I'm probably not cut out for Values But that's the beauty of WDW, there is something for everyone.

 

[FortForever]

came to the realization that I'm probably not cut out for Values But that's the beauty of WDW, there is something for everyone.

I so desperately want to be cut out for values. I don't mind the room size and don't care about the food courts so I'm going to keep trying.

They will allow me to take 6 to 8 trips per year without staying off property. If I could guarantee a certain building, I would even go back to Pop. Unfortunately, they won't do that.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

I've stayed at POP twice & most likely would not return (unless it was JUST me & a VERY short stay).

My last visit was a comedy of 'errors' & unkept promises. I did ultimately get some satisfaction but it was only after escalating it to the Manager, in person @ the front desk.

On the whole though, I just wasn't feeling the 'Magic' there & came to the realization that I'm probably not cut out for Values But that's the beauty of WDW, there is something for everyone.

..

Dh & I won't stay at POP anymore & we're AP holders & have stayed at all levels of their resorts. The treatment we received (from the front end managers) when we returned to the front desk after finding the room assignment to be totally unacceptable. I wrote CS at the email address and received a great telephone call from WDW and went over the many, many issues we had in December at POP. It was our 3rd time staying there over the years and the absolute worst trip ever. Food court itself wasn't bad, but the bus transportation, the room situation and the horrible treatment my the front end manager just capped off the whole thing. It was supposed to be a celebration for me after finishing chemo, but it sucked!! At least the parks were great.

 

[cab0ad]

just got back from a week stay. i thought my room was clean, comfortable, and free of bugs and critters. totally acceptable.

food court? terrible, I agree! people making the food were uninterested and never smiled. food was just plain terrible. slower than a slug for service. want pics? see my food report. http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3122398
there was one night that a manager was yelling at one of the cashiers in front of the guests. completely berating her in a demeaning way. I felt sorry for her! Noone should be treated so poorly by a manager.

and do you know what else I really hated? the stupid times they all come out to do the hustle or something taking them away from serving people! come on man! you are doing the hustle as my food is getting cold and I'm still waiting in a line to get something else or waiting to pay! and you don't even look happy to be doing the hustle! just hustle on back to your station and let me eat already!

 

[Brit_Jude]

We stayed at Pop this past Memorial Day weekend. This was our 5th time staying at Pop.

I have to add that my family thought the food court was much worse than any of our previous trips. We didn't mind trying some of the new food items, we mainly have breakfast anyway. The staff were not used to the new menu and had to keep checking what they were plating, which is OK and it will get better once they are used to the new items. However, while I don't need you to be all perky when serving, the staff were borderline rude, apathetic and certainly disinterested. I tried asking them how they were doing, were they getting used the new menu etc. and barely got a response. At the end of our stay I made a joking comment to my family that maybe they had taken all the good and happy people over to AoA.

The cashiers were slower than usual and I chalked that down to the new menu items and they were not used to finding the items on the register screen, it was frustrating to us as a customers. I also thought many of the staff seemed like they needed more training. For example we were in line and the cashier got the orders of the two people in front of us and our order wrong and she had to cancel the transactions and complete them again for each customer. She wasn't applying the dining plan correctly and charging the guests for some of the items that should have been covered. It took over 15 minutes to process the three sets of customers and our food was cold by the time we were finished. This was during a slower time as it was a late lunch on arrival day.

Having worked and managed customer service operations to me this points to a bigger problem with the catering management, if all you staff are unhappy, morale is bad, then something is wrong with the management, management style and/or training.

Our room was good as usual, no issues with housekeeping etc. we were left extra towels and plenty of supplies, the room was serviced each day. We did have a problem with our phone. The message light was continually on and each time we checked it said no messages. I called to report it but it didn't get fixed, it really didn't bother us anyway.

Pool and the petals bar were great as usual.

We are going back in September. By this time the staff should all be used to the new menu and have worked through those issues. We'll see if the morale of the catering staff is any better.

 

[Southern Bell]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I have been lucky so far in all my visits to Disney. We've done everything from camping in a pop up(no AC)and having to do after having everything rained on! to a travel trailer with AC at Fort Wilderness to staying at All Stars Sports and Pop Century! We've not made it at the Grand Floridian yet! LOL! But we've always had a magical vacation! Sorry to hear yours was so bad!

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thank goodness we upgraded..were originally going to stay at POP, then between a 20% off sale and juggling the trip around so we had one less night at Disney(staying in Daytona night before we checkin) I could justify upgrading to POFQ. Sounds like a wise decision!!

 

[texasroni75]

Can't speak for POP since we've never stayed there, but I can say that in ALL of the resorts we've stayed at (Mod and Value), we've always had issues with poorly staffed and SLOW food court service. It's not that we expect our meal to instantly appear on our trays, but when you have hundreds of guests getting breakfast, you might want to have more than ONE person manning just TWO waffle irons for the entire food court. I mean, nearly every breakfast plate comes with a Mickey waffle and it was a 10 minute wait just for OUR waffles at each breakfast - (multiply that times every other person in line!). Add in the dining plan confusion at the registers (sending every other person back to grab something that is included or exchanging something on their tray so that it's in-plan)...almost never had hot food. And ONE microwave for the entire food court. Ugh! We just grin and bear it cause we're just fueling up to spend the day in the parks, and not so much about savoring each bite. But...they could do a little better. Just sayin'!

 

[SmallWorld71]

just got back from a week stay. i thought my room was clean, comfortable, and free of bugs and critters. totally acceptable.

food court? terrible, I agree! people making the food were uninterested and never smiled. food was just plain terrible. slower than a slug for service. want pics? see my food report. http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3122398
there was one night that a manager was yelling at one of the cashiers in front of the guests. completely berating her in a demeaning way. I felt sorry for her! Noone should be treated so poorly by a manager.

and do you know what else I really hated? the stupid times they all come out to do the hustle or something taking them away from serving people! come on man! you are doing the hustle as my food is getting cold and I'm still waiting in a line to get something else or waiting to pay! and you don't even look happy to be doing the hustle! just hustle on back to your station and let me eat already!

Just went over and checked out the food you ate at Pop.
Eewwwwww! Eewwwwww! Eewwwwww! What the heck have they done? And, WHY! WHY! WHY!
We were there in April and DD10 had the kids' mac & cheese. It didn't look anything like that nasty garbage they served you. It looked just like the stuff you would find at CHH etc...
And I had the yummy chicken penne alfredo which was so popular (I saw person after person ordering it!) that they took it off the menu!

I swear there is an evil CM/ villian somewhere in the ranks who reports back to the higher ups telling them the opposite of what guests really like so that they will remove favorites from menus. It happens over and over....

I will say that our stay was fabulous. Our food court CM's were polite, though a little slow moving. Our mousekeeper was great and the room was in good shape.

 

[cab0ad]

I won't stay at Pop again either.

The first time I stayed there was February or March of this year. I loved it. Went back and stayed again a month later. Once again, I loved it. It was the second value I tried (after Sports) and I thought I found my permanent resort.

The only things I didn't like about the food court were that it was always packed and they ran out of ice every evening. Neither thing was a deal breaker as we usually bring our own groceries anyway, so don't eat at the food court.

I went back for a ten day stay in May and booked Pop again. That time, the room was horrible. The bathroom door wouldn't shut right, the safe was broken, the water came out of the faucets in spurts like there was air in the lines ... every time, and the phone didn't work.

They did come and fix the phone on Day 2, so technically, I could knock that off the list. My biggest complaint was with housekeeping, or lack thereof. Not once, but TWICE they never cleaned my room. The first time I called the front desk who couldn't have cared less. She said I must have left my room too late or left the "do not disturb" sign on. Neither one was true. The second time, I didn't bother to call at all.

I had already decided I wasn't coming back again, when the final straw happened. Somewhere between late afternoon and late night, someone came into my room and opened my curtains. Not the sheers, just the heavy curtains like housekeeping always opens. The problem is, they shouldn't have even been in there as my room had been made up that day before I came back in the afternoon.

It was not a big deal to close the curtains again, just kind of irritated me. I was thinking, "Really? Twice this week you can't even come in to clean but you can come in at a random time to mess with my curtains?"

So, my most recent trip a couple of weeks ago I stayed at Movies. It was all good but was only there for two days, with very little time at the resort, so can't really give it a full review yet.

ETA: For informational purposes - both my great stays were building #5 in the 60's section. The bad stay was in building #2 in the 50's section.

funny you mentioned that someone was in your room after it was cleaned. my dad was there last week and he said the maid came to clean the room but he declined service because he was tired. then an hour later a different man came in but his job was to clean the windows/mirrors... my dad questioned him about it because it seemed strange but the man insisted his job was to do windows/mirrors...not beds/bathrooms/trash/etc. if this is true maybe the 2nd person came in and opened your blinds because he was washing the windows? i know, sounds ridiculous...