Pop Century vs. moderate

[KTMEMOMMY]

Is it worth upgrading from Pop Century to a standard view moderate? We have a group of 11 in 3 rooms, with 5 kids 6 and under included. We were planning on POP as a cost saving measure, looked neat, and had direct bus service. But the Unofficial Guide 2008 seems to rate Pop pretty low.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[MisMikiNikiLynne]

I have stayed at POP in the past and was very happy there. Besides they have a kiddie spray pool like no other! Not to mention a GREAT food court! The kids will love it! Stay where you are and save your money...

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

I'm surprised they rated it low because it is the most popular value. We stayed there twice and loved it. This past trip after staying 4 times in the values we decided to stay at CSR and we loved it. Pop seemed to have more families with younger children like you have and a more fun type of disney theme, the grounds are very clean and pools are accesible from any building. CSR is a quieter and more relaxing resort with quiet pools and a hot tub and a sit down restaurant and lush landscaping the main pool has a nice theme with a waterslide. I would think the Pop is probably rated by its lack of ammenties but you pay more for these things at the mods so it may depend on what you are looking for. Linda

 

[PeachesDoesHair]

We were very happy at Pop. Our kids loved the kid's pool and they loved the Goofy Jets. We really liked the food court.

 

[spiceycat]

stayed at all the types and I also love Pop.

for the money it can't be beat.

that say, the 60's preferred view seems to get a lot of complaints.

ask for the 50's standard view and you get a view of the lake. - preferred view 50's is a pool view or one toward the parking lot.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Stick with Pop! I think you'll really appreciate how compact Pop is. The walks can be VERY long at the moderates. I also find the food choices at Pop are better for my picky children. I was at POR for 10 nights last month and while everything was fine I was missing Pop!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I would stick with Pop. I think for the age of your kis, Pop will be sheer heaven to them! And the money saved on a total of three rooms will really add up. I love the mods, but that theming is fun for adults and older kids who really need a slide for the pool. If your young kids can't swim, they can't use the slides at the mods which can really be aggravating!

As for the UG guide, it really doesn't give stellar reviews on any Disney resort or restaurant. I like it okay, but learned that their somtimes dismal view of needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Pop is a wonderful resort for families. Pure Disney magic, spotless rooms, fun pools and grounds. You won't feel like you are staying at a cheapo resort I promise.

I like the 60's section. I have paid for preferred and we were right above the kiddie pool. No noise issues, we were on the fourth floor however. You can't go wrong with any location in Pop, while its a good sized resort, its not so spread out that you are far from anything really.

Have a great trip!

 

[Disney Fans]

I just started a Thread today about just getting back from POP! I have always stayed at Deluxe resorts but after staying at POP, I would do it again.
We stayed in the 60's and loved how close we were. But to let you know we stayed at the 60's on the lake view side not the pool. I think the pool is TOO noisy but just on the other side it was peacefull and nice, maid service was just as good as other hotels we stayed in. And for only really sleeping in a hotel, POP is great!! I think that if there were any bad reviews it is mostly because the noise by any of the pools could keep people up at night.
I would go for POP and try it if I were you!

 

[spiceycat]

oh mousekeeping - there aren't many complaints in 50, 60 and 70's - but have been complaints in the 80 and 90's about housekeeping.

my 50's room was very clean - stayed there 5 different times and love it each and every time.

it is not a deluxe or moderate - no sit down restuarant, no room service, no slide, no hottub.

the unofficial guide is not always correct and many times it is just wrong.

for the money Pop is an excellent resort.

 

[stemikger]

I have stayed at Pop three times and I like this resort more every time I stay there. I love the atmosphere there. It reminds me more like one of the theme parks then a motel/hotel.

I always stay at the preferred 60s section. Here is a pic below:

 

[tmli]

I will offer a bit of a different perspective. I have stayed at POP many times (as well as many other resorts across all levels) and think it is excellent value for the money. It also has THE BEST food court and bus transportation on property in my opininon. That being said when we were going down with 14 people this past August I chose the POFQ (which I also love).

It worked well for us because it is a smaller resort and most of all QUIETER than POP. It was good for the small kids to come back to a more peaceful environment at the end of the day. POP's common areas are loud and busy.

If only I could take the food court and busses and combine them with the peacefulness and beauty of the POFQ....I would create the perfect resort!

Really, you will be okay at POP if that is what you choose.

 

[I Love Pluto]

We're Pop snobs. Why pay more?

 

[antmaril]

We returned from Pop last Saturday. It was our first time in a Value resort. We usually stay deluxe and have also stayed at the moderates.

We thought Pop was a great value for the money. We were in a preferred 50's location and thought it was great. Short walk to the food court and near the Bowling Pin pool. I was apprehensive about staying at Pop, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I decided after this trip that we would stay either value or deluxe. There is no real need to stay at a mod. Pop was just fine.

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

I decided after this trip that we would stay either value or deluxe. There is no real need to stay at a mod. Pop was just fine.

I couldn't agree more!

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

For very young children like yours I think they will be very happy there. That being said, not so sure about the adults, at least with my DH and myself the moderates are a waaaaaay big jump up from the values. The moderates are more resort like. All 3 moderates are fabulous! Not so much of a jump up from the moderates to the deluxes in our opinion, not for the price. We personally wouldn't stay at a value again, but thats just us, just like the moderates soooooooooo much better. But we also spend time at the hotels, its part of the Disney experience to us.

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

We loved POP. We were actually thinking about a moderate for the next trip but we decided against it. We are going to stick to what we like and we had no complaints on the last trip.

 

[RedRuby]

Is it worth upgrading from Pop Century to a standard view moderate? We have a group of 11 in 3 rooms, with 5 kids 6 and under included. We were planning on POP as a cost saving measure, looked neat, and had direct bus service. But the Unofficial Guide 2008 seems to rate Pop pretty low.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Hmm, in my experience, the kids will be happy at either place. There may be more of a "wow" factor for them at Pop. It's the adults who may appreciate the moderate, over the value. The moderates will likely be quieter, with more services (sit down restaurant, 24hr bell services, more/better gift shops). It's partly taste. My thumbnail sketch of thevalues is that they're like Disney motels, whereas the moderates are Disney *hotels*. That was the feeling we got.

For instance, I stayed at Coronado Springs and then ended up at Pop for one last night.Our then-almost-3 year olds liked Pop but I vastly preferred the moderate. During that stay, I found Pop too loud, with too many kids running around at midnight, and too many adults wandering around with open beer (and cases of more ....). What other people legitimately find to be 'fun', I find not to my taste. (Different stripes and all of that.)

I liked the extra services and amenities at the moderate. Basically, if a value were the only way for me to stay onsite, I'd do it. But, the longer the stay, the more likely I'm personally going to shell out for a moderate or higher. In fact, this time we're staying at a Deluxe (Contemporary) because DH said that's the only way he'd go back (he's not a WDW fan at all!)....and since we don't intend on going down frequently, it makes sense for us to splurge on better accommodations infrequently. For those going down every year, I can see how saving more money makes sense....

 

[Lorikr65]

We've stayed at all the values, POP, Coronado Springs and last trip was Caribbean Beach. IMO, our favorite was POP. We were a little disappointed in CB - everything was spread out. The only thing we did like was the 2 sinks, refrig, hat rack and privacy curtain - certainly not worth the extra $!!

We definitely will be staying at POP next time. We were laughing all vacation because we would be waiting for a bus and POP buses kept going by!! Best bus service for sure. Also, I didn't like that CB bus stops didn't have a line like the values. There really was no way to tell who was in front of you and you would always get someone who walked right up and was the first on the bus. I like the lines at the Values, you know where you stand!!

Lori

 

[I Believe n Fairies]

In Sept 06 we stayed at Pop. Last month, we stayed at POFQ. When we book our next trip, it will be at POFQ. Pop was LOUD. It was sensory overload for my dd. While she liked looking at everything, it was over the top. Also, our room at Pop was in the 80's section facing the parking lot and took forever to get to Classic Hall. When we returned from that parks at night, it was a long walk holding a very sleepy dd.

As for POFQ, we LOVED it. It was peaceful. The pool was great for the kids. Now, this past trip, it was only me and dh, but our kids would have loved it there. Everything was clean and the grounds were so beautiful.

Now, Pop does have a larger food court and shopping area. For us, it will be worth the extra money to stay at POFQ. Oh, and when you get to the parks using the bus system, the Pop drop off is always the furtherest away. I guess since it was the last resort built, it get the last bus depot.

It's a matter of what will work best for you. We found our rooms at Pop to be loud. We could hear neighbors, at POFQ, we could not. When we returned to POFQ from the parks, we felt relaxed immediately. At Pop, it too much to relax. Good luck with your choice!!

 

[rchampan]

I'll be staying at POP next May with my DD7 - a pre-celebration of her 8th birthday, and a post celebration that my 2nd biopsy came back cancer-free. Life is grand!!!

Can I request a Lake view? Can I request which building?

I would live to sit out on the balcony (walkway) looking at the lake and sip a glass of wine after DD falls asleep one night.

Which I guess begs the question - is there anywhere onsite I could buy some wine?