Pop Century Review

[brownj15]

Hi everyone. Just got back from a 3 night stay at Pop Century with my husband and 4 yr old son. I wasn't sure what to expect after reading mixed reviews about it. I have to say that I don't think I would be too excited about staying there again. Let me also say that we normally stay at "Value" motels when we vacation. The first thing that shocked me when we got there was the line to check in. It took forever to get thru that line. I liked the room though. It was big enough for the three of us and was clean. The maid came everyday too. The next thing that was bad was the bus service. The buses did come quite often but sometimes the lines were so long that you had to wait for the second bus. If you did manage to get the 1st bus we almost always had to stand. I got offered a seat one time (I am pregnant). Standing was miserable especially after a long day at the parks. On our last day there we just grabbed a taxi because the bus line was really long and we were so sick of it. I did not sleep well at night and the walls in the room were very thin. It was really loud when other rooms were taking showers and I could hear a baby crying one night for about an hour and some people yelling one night. I also thought the food court was expensive and the food was not very good.

Anyway, just wanted to give everyone my thoughts. Thanks

 

[peacefulgirl]

I loved ASMO and am going to POP for 9 nights ... this makes me sad

 

[Poohbear123]

I loved ASMO and am going to POP for 9 nights ... this makes me sad

Don't be sad, I am staying at POP for the 3rd time this year, and KNOW I will have a great time. Right now, its a little busy, and the lines depend on what time you check in!

 

[Pinboys]

So, is there a good time to check in to hopefully avoid those incredibly long lines?

 

[momloveson]

We stayed at the POP the first 3 days of our November vacation and the lines for checkin were fine at about 5:30pm on a Monday when we got there. We did have a several minute wait at guest services when we wanted to put things in the main safe (and then when we wanted to get them out) but both times I think we were in line about noon or so. (when lots of people are either checking out, or hoping to get checked in early).

We were impressed with the lobby and professionalism of the front desk. Everything was decorated Definately Disney and started our stay right. Also, I had asked to have a centrally located room because of a disability, and we were accomodated with a room just around the corner from the concourse building so we had a limited walk to the pool and the food court.

Our room was a corner room on the ground floor and very quiet. We did not have a pool outside our door or anything like that so even though we had LOTS of people walking by our room, they weren't necessarily loud. I would NEVER choose a room with a pool view...way way way too many people able to swim up until midnight.

The room was petite, but served us fine for the 3 days. The beds were very comfortable (had that memory foam kinda stuff). I didn't see a hair dryer, but just called housekeeping and they brought me one. Maid service was excellent. Only problem was I needed specially rinsed bedding and that wasn't done ahead of time even though I was assured it would be. But housekeeping took care of that within a couple of hours. Plus, got a cute Washcloth Turkey on our 2nd day of the stay.

My longest line was actually at the POFQ where we stayed for the last 6 days of our stay. I think I waited about 15-20 minutes to add an extra day to our stay. They were having computer problems and only 2 CM's working the windows.

We ate at the food court as well, and the pricing here is a little bit less expensive than at POFQ and any of the other food court type places. Everything at disney is expensive, so we used vouchers a bit to save money...plus we shared meals.

This was my first trip to Disney in 20+ years, and I was not disapointed that we stayed at the POP (even though we spent several days checking out the Deluxe resorts) For a value resort it delivered more than I expected for the money, and there is SOOOOOO much to see besides your hotel room.

Of the 2 resorts, POFQ was my favorite....but POP was definately a disney resort with well kept grounds, friendly staff and nicely, if sparingly, decorated rooms. Be excited about your vacation. I have stayed at a lot of "value" and "moderately" priced hotels because we drive cross country quite a bit. POP was well worth the money we spent.

 

[Sydnoahmom]

We checked in to Pop on Sunday 11/28 at about 3:00pm. The line only had about 5 people in front of me and they had 7 or 8 people working the front desk. Our room was available right away.

The resort was nice, but the kids (5 & 8) just didn't get the theming. They did love the pools, though. The water temp was very warm, which was great at night. WE thought the food court was okay, just like any food court, with the prices being the same as the other Value Resorts.

We had great bus service, but I did notice one problem: most of the drivers took forever to load wheelchairs. One morning we waited almost 15 minutes for him to get one in and belted in.

The room was nice and clean and I have no complaints, but I think next time we'll go back to Movies.

 

[KSL0927]

Hi When Did You Stay At Pop? And Where Was Your Room? I Sure Hope It Wasn't My Baby That You Heard Crying. She Is 3 Months Old And Cried Almost Every Night There With Colic. If It Was I Am Deeply Sorry.

 

[brownj15]

We were there 12/2 - 12/5. Don't worry if it was your baby crying!! I know how hard it is to get a baby to sleep in a hotel room. I just thought the walls were pretty thin.

 

[disneymom2one]

We had a similiar experience at Pop Century when we stayed there for a brief stay a month ago. I thought it was okay. But we arrived at 9:30 at night and the line was just really, really long then. It was just way. way too many people for us overall. One thing I love about the DVC resorts and deluxes is that the resort capacity is smaller. We spend a lot of time at the resorts and I don't like to feel like one of the masses.


---MB

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I'm sorry you didn't have a great time at POP. Sometimes it's like that. Not every Disney hotel is going to be liked by everyone.

The bus situation can be bad at ANY of the WDW hotels, which is why we choose to drive to the park.(we drive down to WDW, not fly) When you stay at a WDW hotel, the parking is free. We didn't use to feel that way about the buses. We ALWAYS used them and they were fine. But then there were those times at the end of the day at MK and we would have to stand all the way back. Not fun with two or three children. We prefer not to chance it.

Unfortunately, long lines can be at any of them also. You just never know.

Now you can say you've tried POP and research which resort you will stay at next. Researching is part of the fun, right??