POP CENTURY REVIEW April 10-17

[jeffd101]

Just returned from a week at Pop and we were very satisfied. I will give you a brief rundown of our experiences.

Food
Decent menu, better quality than some of the reviews I have seen. My wife liked the Shrimp LoMein and I liked the cheesesteak wrap. Our kids, DS9 and DD6 got by on the chicken strips, nuggets and burgers.

Buses
Early morning and late night, the buses were quite prompt. We never waited more than 15 minutes, even at park close when many buses were required at the same time. Midday was a bit more sporadic, but overall we were very happy.

Just a note to folks - if you can stand (yes all of you able bodied men in your 20's to 40's) please do so. I never sat all week unless there were seats available for all, but my kids stood on many an occasion when some just did not seem to care. Very sad in my opinion.

Rooms
We asked for and received a 4th floor 50's room with view of both Wishes and Illuminations. This was great for the nights we were not in the parks. Also, this is a very quiet side with a view of Hourglass Lake and a sad view of the Legendary Years.

Mousekeeping surprised our kids every day with their stuffed animals and did towel animals twice. We were very fortunate and this made the long trip home each night easier on my DD who wanted to see what they did that day.

Very clean and a decent size for the four of us.

We spent all of our swimming time in the bowling pin pool. Relaxing each time until this week's spring breakers from the Northeast showed up.

Anyway, if you have any questions, let me know. I would recommend Pop anyday to those on a value-moderate budget.

 

[marksommerville]

Great review, thanks for taking the time.

We were at POP Mar 19-25 and I agree with everything you say, especially the people not giving their seats up.

People didnt give their seats up to the elderly and to pregnant women or women with very young (barely months old) kids.

Very disappointing in that respect, but POP was great !!

 

[wirki]

Thank you for a great review. We are leaving in 10 days for Pop and can not wait. It is sad to hear about people not giving up their seats. When we were on the busses in Feb. we had no problem with people offering us a seat. (DD was only 2 at the time) It was extra magic to me after a long day at the parks!!

Debbie

 

[minniegidget]

How far was it to the food court and the parking lot. My sister has handicap plates and a ECV so I think we will take the car instead of the buses. Also how far was it to the pool. I will be going May 1-7th.

 

[crow11ad]

Rooms
We asked for and received a 4th floor 50's room with view of both Wishes and Illuminations. This was great for the nights we were not in the parks. Also, this is a very quiet side with a view of Hourglass Lake and a sad view of the Legendary Years.


WHICH ROOMS FACE WISHES AND ILLUMINTATIONS?

Mousekeeping surprised our kids every day with their stuffed animals and did towel animals twice. We were very fortunate and this made the long trip home each night easier on my DD who wanted to see what they did that day.

Great to hear that even at a value, mousekeeping will still do the towel animals....


Well we went from CBR in April of 04 for our Disneymoon, to WL in DEc of 04, to Pop in October. We can't wait...

 

[jeffd101]

In response to a couple of questions posed here, at a leisurely stroll, we could get from our room to Classic Hall using the stairs in under 5 minutes, and we were about as far away as you can get in the 50's section. Our room was 3431, and the range is something like 3426-3440 (not sure of the real numbers, except our room). I saw one person in our section using an ECV and he was on the 2nd floor. Lots of room for them to maneuver.

I cannot speak for the parking lot distances as we did not use them, but the map is deceiving and everything is much closer than it looks on the map.

As for mousekeeping, I believe we were fortunate that it was a quiet week (we were told by a cast member at SM that they were at approximately 50% capacity). Still, we did see a number of rooms nicely decorated for the kids.

I hope all of your stays go as well as ours.

 

[mamalle]

thanks for the review. we are looking forward to our trip in May. Im still undecided if I need to upgrade and pay the $10.00 our not. I will be by myself with the kids and I would prefer to be close to everything and not on the 1st floor.

 

[taximomfor4]

Just had to sound in really quick on this. Not to say this happens often, of course, but be careful in judging who should give up seats. I am apparently healthy, and young but have a foot condition. I sit in LINE for the bus, I certainly sit ON the bus. In fact, we wait extra if a bus comes and there are no seats left for us. We just sit back down in the qeue and wait for the next one. My dh gets foot surgery at least 1x every other year for a foot problem. He is young also, and able-bodied. But he mostly sits on the bus too, holding up our stroller. He waits for another bus, with me. My kids (11, 6, 5, 2) take up seats too. My 11yo helps steady my 6yo apparently able-bodied but actually special needs dd. So they sit, clutching each other and a bar. My 5yo ds is given no choice (we let him stand 1x, but that bus nearly crashed TWICE). After that, he sat too. Every time. My 2yo sat in her own seat, so I could keep our diaper/supply bags steady on my lap and under my legs. ( I kept one arm around her and taught her to hold tight to the bar). We got many glares, especially the 2yo, me, and dh, but like I said, we waited extra time to get a bus that had 6 seats left for us.

I know, we are not the typical early-thirties able-bodied adults and adventurous, steady children. We do what we must, and weather the glares.

 

[sbutkus]

Thanks for the info. I have been skeptical about our upcoming stay at Pop. We're leaving April 29 and staying until May 8. We have previously stayed at the Dolphin and I was concerned about the quality and bus rides. Doesnt seem that bad. Thanks for putting my mind at ease.
Stacy

 

[jeffd101]

Just a couple of thoughts on some additional points made since my last response.

Buses - I did not want to pass judgment on all people by their appearances. I know people who have similar issues as taximomfor4. In the case described, you were willing to wait for another bus to sit down. That is more than acceptable, and I'm sure that the people around you in line have heard you tell a driver your reason, so they know already. If they still had a problem, well, in my opinion that is their porblem at that point. We walked as quickly as possible but we made our DD6 and DS9 give up seats because they could take the ride. For those having to hold onto strollers, infants, etc. I don't think most people mind (I certainly didn't). I guess my point is that you sometimes get nearly trampled by people running to get in line in front of you so they can sit down. These are the people I am referring to.

Preferred Section - In my opinion, this was the loudest area of the was the 60's. Busiest pool, Petals was busy every night when we came home, and our building had almost the exact same walk as being at the end of the 60's building. Not worth it at all from what I saw.

 

[prm7496]

Could you see the fireworks from your room?

 

[jeffd101]

prm7496, yes we could see the fireworks from our room. We stood on the balcony to hear Illuminations as well, but you could see through the window if you wanted to.

 

[prm7496]

What Building?
Thanks for the advice. We will be there in 2 weeks. Yeah!!!!!!!

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

Great to hear that even at a value, mousekeeping will still do the towel animals....
..

The All Star Movies is the ONLY place we have ever gotten anything like that. AKL NEVER anything fun or cute like that and POR either for that matter. We have been to AKL three times and POR twice so far. At ASMo we got something each day!

 

[jeffd101]

prm7496, we stayed in building 3, or C, or Tramp - depends on which sign you see, map you read or CM you speak with.

Have a fabulous trip. If you have time, go read MinMate's trip reports. She was there with her family at the same time and has some fun stories to tell.

My wife kept an exhaustive journal, as well. I am not the storyteller, unfortunately, but we did have some very magical experiences.

 

[Ziggie]

People didnt give their seats up to the elderly and to pregnant women or women with very young (barely months old) kids.

Unfortunately, I think those days are long gone

Btw, we love POP Century as well!

 

[jeffd101]

Ziggie,
I did see a number of great examples of people giving up seats. It was almost always turned down by people, but those that accepted were openly appreciative to those that made the sacrifice for them.

I won't say anymore on the subject as I feel like it may become a refillable mug debate (which, by the way, was barely even an issue during our stay - I saw 2 or 3 non-Pop mugs during our week). However, my last point to make on the bus seat topic is this - if you have been fortunate enough to have a seat for the trip, please extend the courtesy of getting off the bus first to those who have had to stand for the entire ride.

Trust me in saying that this was not a rampant problem, but just a noticeable irritant at times.

 

[Ziggie]

Ziggie,
I did see a number of great examples of people giving up seats. It was almost always turned down by people, but those that accepted were openly appreciative to those that made the sacrifice for them.

I won't say anymore on the subject as I feel like it may become a refillable mug debate (which, by the way, was barely even an issue during our stay - I saw 2 or 3 non-Pop mugs during our week). However, my last point to make on the bus seat topic is this - if you have been fortunate enough to have a seat for the trip, please extend the courtesy of getting off the bus first to those who have had to stand for the entire ride.

Trust me in saying that this was not a rampant problem, but just a noticeable irritant at times.

I'm glad you posted further info on this My faith in *courtesy* for others has been somewhat redeemed

 

[taximomfor4]

However, my last point to make on the bus seat topic is this - if you have been fortunate enough to have a seat for the trip, please extend the courtesy of getting off the bus first to those who have had to stand for the entire ride.

Trust me in saying that this was not a rampant problem, but just a noticeable irritant at times.

Are you kidding? Now that one I hope NEVER happens when I am there, lol.

Beth

 

[jeffd101]

Beth,

I wish I was kidding. I hope I never see it again when we go back, as well.

I am sure that everybody does something that bothers someone, including my family. This one just went beyond any sense of courtesy for me. Again, not a continuous problem, but if you see it happening, don't be shy to hold your ground. Nobody did this directly in front of me or my family, but I saw it happen in front of others getting off before us (and not by others in the same party letting them go). Not good.

Jeff