Pop Century Room Renovations

[DisneyMom93]

So where do you all keep your suitcases that you can live out of them?

Do you have to keep lifting them and opening and closing them? We have four suitcases and four carry-ons. We each have our own. I guess I'd have to pack by days instead of by person?

My other issue is I hate clutter. I don't like to see stuff that I feel should be "away." Especially clothes.

I am also afraid of palmetto roaches sneaking into our bags. They hitch rides home in suitcases. I would die. Almost literally. LOL. I keep all the zippers zipped tight.

I do live out of duffel bags when we go camping!

 

[DaisyJ]

To those touting packing cubes....I heard the hype and bought 2 sets. I couldn't even get a portion of my clothes in them and when I went to pack them it was all wonky in the suitcase.
As for the "bureau" suitcase, tried that too. It has a LOT of wasted space for the mechanics/design of it.

Packing cubes work best if you roll your clothes.

 

[mayshamp]

Hopefully the All Stars makeover won't be like Pop's. I'm finding myself disliking the refurbished rooms enough that I switched our reservation to ASMo for our Thanksgiving trip. I'm hopeful we'll like it there (we've never stayed there; it's always been Pop for us) and that it will stay similar to how it is now (carpet, a stand-alone table, and a tub/shower combined). The only thing I actually like about Pop now is the coffee maker in the room...which is not enough to keep me coming back, unfortunately.

I know All Stars is at a very slight disadvantage because it shares buses, but the Deluxe resorts share buses also so I don't see that as too much of an inconvenience. I'd much rather stay at a resort that works for my family than keep returning to Pop just for the buses.

I guess I'm just disappointed because I really wanted to like the remodeled rooms. I just don't see them working for my family. I still think we will stay at Pop in the spring, though, when we do a split stay. It will be fewer days there (because we combine our spring trip with three days at the Contemporary), but it should be just enough for us to decide if we're coming back or making a permanent switch to All Stars (assuming those rooms remain similar to how they are now...). I'm also guessing these "improved" rooms at Pop will come with a price increase, which could make them out of our price range for the times we need to stay at a more budget-conscious resort.

I don't like the refurbished rooms either, for the following reasons:
1. Cannot put in an air mattress anymore. Used to be able to squeeze in a queen, now even a twin won't fit.
2. The hanging rod got cut in half, not enough space to hang clothes.
3. Loss of the table.
4. Shower doors with their lousy metal tracks. Makes bathing baby difficult. Even the Grand Floridian uses curtains. Why would they do that??? They are much harder to clean!
5. Too many cubbyholes. What do you do with them? It's like living in a beehive.

What I like about the refurbished rooms:
1. the hard, non-carpeted floor. Easy for me to clean, especially if my kids should spill something. (That has never happened, but you never know.)
2. the USB charge ports.
3. the queen size bed.

I am still sticking with Pop, though. We are planning to make it work this way:
1. Get a single air mattress. They are even narrower than the twin mattress, so should fit. (I just recently learned by chance that there is such a thing as a "single" air mattress. They are barely as wide as a person.)
2. No longer hang most of the clothes, but rather keep them in bags, one bag for each person. (Cannot keep clothes or anything else in cubbyholes because my DS1 will pull them all right out.)
3. Keep the murphy bed up during the day to have the table. and put the single air mattress between the murphy and the queen for lying down.
4. Endure the shower door and its metal track. Ugh.
5. Ignore the cubbyholes.

 

[jessiegirl1982]

Oh, I *used* to do laundry mid-way through our stay but I didn't enjoy it. With 5 kids, we didn't always have the space in the van to be able to pack enough clothes for 10 days for 7 people. I *hated* doing laundry during our stay. I did not enjoy lugging our laundry to a different building. I could sometimes fit everything in one washer but usually needed to use 2 or 3 dryers for each washer load. We don't spend a lot of time in the pool, so if there were no washers immediately available I'd have to wait for the washer to finish up while DH & the kids would go off and do something else...and then I'd wait for dryers...it usually ended up being a 2-3+ hour project for me. Now that the kids are older (teens and adults) and we don't all travel in one car, we have space to pack more clothes. If the washer and dryer were in our room (or even possibly in our building), I'd probably do a few loads of laundry during the week. But it doesn't really feel like vacation to me if I'm still doing laundry or cooking. And my husband is pretty adamant that he wants me to feel like I'm on vacation and not just "working" in a different location. So I don't do laundry while we're at Disney (or anywhere else we go on vacation).

I guess I get you. I only have one child and a giant husband haha. We don't hang out by the pool more than an hour. I usually have a nice mixed drink by the pool and my husband and I fold the laundry together in a few minutes at the end of pool time so pretty stress free. Definitely doesn't feel like "work" to me!

 

[karly05]

Oh man, I forgot they started late! We're going May of 2017 and want a preferred room, so I'm just crossing my fingers they'll be ready by then! I suppose we'll have to make it more difficult by needing a tub also - though maybe they will specify that as a room type when 2018 opens up, I guess we'll have to wait and see.


Side note - this thread is my first time realizing that many people actually use hotel room dressers on vacation. I basically use my suitcase as a dresser and don't think I've ever fully unpacked it. Anyone else like that, or am I just weird?

I bet there are a lot of Preferred rooms open by May.

If tub or shower become booking categories for 2018, would booking a "shower only" room become a way to assure a remodeled room before they are all finished?

I really hope they don't make exterior changes. I figure adults at POP want to be at Disney, unlike a convention resort like CSR where some people are "stuck there" and want it to be more like a typical business hotel. As to further refurbs, the Computer pool was worked on just last fall, and wasn't there a Hippy Dippy refurb coming up during the room refurb period or am I imagining that? If they do anything to the food court, please add more seating.

I had a thought as to another reason for going to cubbies: My Dad hated putting anything into hotel room drawers because he was afraid we would forget things and leave them behind. (Only recently have I started using a drawer in the room.) I bet that happens a lot at WDW, and cubbies/open storage should make it easier for guests and housekeepers to see if items have been overlooked.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

From what I can see from this photo....


There doesn't seem to be a laundry cord in the shower any longer?

We tend to do a little sink laundry halfway through the trip and I'll need somewhere to hang the goods for drying.

Can someone check that out during their stay please?!?

EDIT:
Found a better photo. Yes, the cord is still there.

 

[scjo68]

Checking in to Pop in 6 days- Family loves new room photos, so hoping for a new room.
My original request was not for 90's, and now I can't seem to get it changed in MDE.
I did call and make the request for a renovated room, but my original 70's request is still in my details from my online check in.
I read in this thread that "90's" wasn't showing up in requests for a while, presumably because 90's rooms were not open yet.
Now that they are open, I still can't change my request in MDE. It lets me edit, but then when I check it again it's gone back to my original requests. Not only building location, but which floor, etc.
Are other people able to edit their room requests in MDE? And if they call with requests does that usually get reflected in MDE?

Really appreciate all the photos and reports from folks in new rooms. They are so helpful to us at home planning!

 

[katybugsmom]

Our travel agent put in a request for a refurbished room for our trip July 15-24. Is there anything else I can do to help ensure we get one? We booked a standard pool view room.

 

[Shelbizzles]

I'm honestly thrilled with these rooms. My husband and I hate sharing the smaller bed and my brother is going with us this year. He's pretty tall and prefers a bigger bed. Gives him more room to stretch out and we really wanted the queen beds at a moderate this year and it just didn't work out for us and we ended up back at pop. (which we loved before) I'm really hoping for a refurbished room! We are going end of September and are booked in a standard room. What would be best to request in hopes of getting a refurbished room? Maybe the 90's or 80's sections? I'm so excited

Edited to add. We also never unpack. My husband and I share one big suitcase and just live out of that lol

 

[wonderstruck88]

So where do you all keep your suitcases that you can live out of them?

Do you have to keep lifting them and opening and closing them? We have four suitcases and four carry-ons. We each have our own. I guess I'd have to pack by days instead of by person?

My other issue is I hate clutter. I don't like to see stuff that I feel should be "away." Especially clothes.

I am also afraid of palmetto roaches sneaking into our bags. They hitch rides home in suitcases. I would die. Almost literally. LOL. I keep all the zippers zipped tight.

I do live out of duffel bags when we go camping!

We don't have that many suitcases - I imagine it would be harder to do with four of them! My husband and I share a suitcase and the kids share another. They basically just have a spot in the room where we keep them laying down, and then flip them open when we're getting out our stuff for that day. It works for us with the exception of stuff that needs to be hung up to avoid wrinkles. We do have to be super careful with how we pack in order to fit everything.

 

[katybugsmom]

Would the cubes from Dollar Tree fit under the vanity? They have different sizes and colors. These would also be very easy to pack in suitcases for those that are flying...

 

[karly05]

Definitely 90s (new rooms open now) or 80s (work underway, new rooms there should be done by Sept I'm guessing).

I'm honestly thrilled with these rooms. My husband and I hate sharing the smaller bed and my brother is going with us this year. He's pretty tall and prefers a bigger bed. Gives him more room to stretch out and we really wanted the queen beds at a moderate this year and it just didn't work out for us and we ended up back at pop. (which we loved before) I'm really hoping for a refurbished room! We are going end of September and are booked in a standard room. What would be best to request in hopes of getting a refurbished room? Maybe the 90's or 80's sections? I'm so excited

Edited to add. We also never unpack. My husband and I share one big suitcase and just live out of that lol

 

[Shelbizzles]

Definitely 90s (new rooms open now) or 80s (work underway, new rooms there should be done by Sept I'm guessing).

Awesome thanks!

 

[mommykds]

I like the look of the rooms but Im not sure how well Dh, I and my 2 teens will fit. We are booked this summer and I requested lake view. Was hoping for 50s because they have a pool and laundry close but i wonder if they will have the new rooms done in that section by july. Hmmm.

 

[hotblooded]

Hey @DisneyMom93
I always used to just pack my suitcase however and then put everything in drawers and on hangers and then "pack" as I wore things. Well, after several stays in hotels (not just Disney) where fire alarms have gone off, I now leave stuff in a suitcase. Yes, I am the person that's going to bring my stuff with me. I'm not flying home in my PJs with no wallet/ID and phone.
Anyways, now I just roll and entire outfit up and stack up the rolls. Then when I grab something it has bottom, top and undies all put together.

In a true evacuation, you're supposed to leave everything behind. The safety of others depends on unimpeded egress. Can you imagine how much longer it would take for everyone to get down the stairs if everyone insisted upon dragging suitcases with them? Cell phones and wallets can be replaced.

 

[Disneylover99]

I like the look of the rooms but Im not sure how well Dh, I and my 2 teens will fit. We are booked this summer and I requested lake view. Was hoping for 50s because they have a pool and laundry close but i wonder if they will have the new rooms done in that section by july. Hmmm.

Well since July is less than three weeks away and they will refurbish the 70's and 60's before they hit the 50's, I'd say definitely no. They probably won't even start on the 50's til the beginning of 2018.

 

[mikat]

AWESOME. I think a few people requested inside measurements of the cubbies. I guess I would like to know the width and depth of the dresser.

Yes, this would be great @2princessmomma ! I wonder if something like this might help to organize the cubbies into drawers: https://www.amazon.com/Peice-Fabric-Organizer-Foldable-Underwear/dp/B01NCLKZWW/

 

[stardam]

Checking in to Pop in 6 days- Family loves new room photos, so hoping for a new room.
My original request was not for 90's, and now I can't seem to get it changed in MDE.
I did call and make the request for a renovated room, but my original 70's request is still in my details from my online check in.
I read in this thread that "90's" wasn't showing up in requests for a while, presumably because 90's rooms were not open yet.
Now that they are open, I still can't change my request in MDE. It lets me edit, but then when I check it again it's gone back to my original requests. Not only building location, but which floor, etc.
Are other people able to edit their room requests in MDE? And if they call with requests does that usually get reflected in MDE?

Really appreciate all the photos and reports from folks in new rooms. They are so helpful to us at home planning!

I still have not been able to change requests to 90s. It's defaulting back to 80s on its own. I'm planning on calling next week (at my 5 days before checkin) to have them change it to 90s. Fingers crossed that works.

 

[karly05]

Something I keep meaning to ask - would our intrepid onsite reporters, current and future, please keep us up to date on the progress of construction at the other buildings? What's closed, what looks like it's getting close to opening, etc. thanks.

 

[Disney_traveler]

In a true evacuation, you're supposed to leave everything behind. The safety of others depends on unimpeded egress. Can you imagine how much longer it would take for everyone to get down the stairs if everyone insisted upon dragging suitcases with them? Cell phones and wallets can be replaced.

Spare me the lecture. I know the "rules" but what is the difference in me "dragging" a suitcase and a parent dragging their children. They both "impede egress" . You do what you like and I'll do what I like.