Pop Century

[battymum]

I know I have been on here defending staying off site, I had visions of my family, pulling up outside our unit in our rental car, swimming in the private pool while I whipped up wonderfully healthy and nutritious meals and did the laundry in our private facilites, after an easy days stroll through the parks.

Well, I am not too proud to admit I may have been delusional, lets face it, cooking is a chore and grocery shopping even moreso. I have been reading some great restaurant reviews and I had always thought that we would eat out a couple of meals and as I will be paying for 5 adults, easily $150 per meal, which I resent as our teens eat very little and would quite happily eat from a childrens menu, any way I crunched the numbers once again and looks like I will book connecting rooms at Pop Century with Free Dining!!

If we lose the hire car, there is only a few hundred dollars in it, and I am sure we would have spent that OOP on lunches anyway, even after we have upgraded to regular dining. It seems to me that WDW is as much about eating as it is riding. If it werent for free dining it would have been a no brainer for me to stay offsite, so YAY for free dining for us!

I am a little concerned about using buses, DH and I are not fond of waiting around for buses, but if we are not coping we can hire a compact as we wont need the luggage space thanks to ME. He is also not fond of the whole idea of being herded by disney from the Airport and unable to escape, but hey, thats how it works right! Actually I dont think he is overly keen on the whole Disney thing, I have told him he doesnt have to come.

As we will be coming straight through from Sydney its probably not the safest thing to pick up an unfamiliar car, drive on the wrong side of the road, in an unfamiliar area after 24hrs of flying, right?

Will now have to study those disney dining board threads! Oh and put a ticker up!

 

[Snickals]

When are you going?

I'm staying at Pop Century But no free dining

 

[Kalice]

Congratulations I think you've made the right decision, so much easier not to worry about shopping, cooking, dishes etc. Also, the dining plan alleviates the worry about the cost of meals and meals not being eaten.

The buses drop and pick up pretty close to park entrances, often parking results in a long walk to the park. If you feel hemmed in, you can still hire a car when you get there.

We purchased breakfast cereal and ate in our room each morning, along with fruit etc. Garden grocer deliver, but I don't think Pop centure has a fridge in-room. There are fridge swap threads for Pop though. You might be lucky and get one for your dates.

Now dining that's a whole different area, enjoy the research.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Now it is time to look for the fridge swap at Pop thread.

 

[Travel Mum]

Yay, Battymum, that's great news! I had always wanted to stay onsite for our first week and knew I wanted to be on a Dining Plan whilst there because otherwise I would have been very stressed about how expensive the food is. However, even though I still booked it, a Disney Magic your Way package with QSDP was certainly more expensive than staying offsite and I was feeling a bit guilty about spending the $$ So, when free dining was brought out and we could get it by going two days earlier, I jumped at it and now feel so much less guilty However, I must admit that, because we get a free regular Dining Plan from staying at a moderate (POR), I know have this extra complication in trip planning called ADR's. I know QSDP with a few OOP character meals would probably suit us better, which is what I'd originally booked, but I won't "look a gift horse in the mouth" and so will try to make the best of the regular Dining Plan.


I'm really not sure about the Disney transportation (except to MK where that appears to be the best option) as I also don't like waiting for buses for very long but, at this stage, we don't have a rental car booked whilst we are onsite at Disney for our first 9 nights (will get one for our second week offsite). Seems a waste to pay to hire one only to have it sitting in a theme park parking lot for most of the time. However, like you say, perhaps we could hire one when over there if the waiting for buses is really bad. I certainly want to take the ME when we arrive (although I'm been reading lately and it seems that process can take longer than I'd realised!) because, after all that travelling, from Wellington-Auckland-L.A.- Dallas-Orlando, we will be shattered and in no state to start driving a strange car in a strange city on the other side of the road!!

Yes, yes, get yourself a ticker - it makes it feel really real and exciting

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great news BattyMum! I hope you'll enjoy the Food and on-site.

I have to say that Disney transportation is pretty good. In the times I've stayed at POR, BCV and CSR, I think the longest I've waited for a bus is 20 minutes.
DH said that he waited 35 minutes for a bus going to MK from BCV; but that was at 3.30 pm in the afternoon and I figure it was probably their off-peak schedule.

Most times, a bus has come along within 5 - 10 minutes of getting to the bus stop.

I know my experience may be different to some of the other Aussies and Americans on the boards.

And Magical Express from the Airport is FANTASTIC! Even my DH will swear by them. If it worries your DH, then the alternative to hiring a car is the Mears coaches; which should get you door to door from Airport to resort at a cost.

Just remember Bambi 1 (B1) is the level/location where you need to get to in MCO to take Magical Express.

 

[battymum]

Thanks all,
I have spent all morning looking at fridge swap threads and I think I will put that in the too hard basket, most of the fridges seem to go missing after a while.

With free dining I dont think we will need one but will try for a delivery of water and drinks and a foam cooler. Can I get beer delivered - might make DH a little happier

 

[HappyFingers]

what on earth is a fridge swap ?

 

[Jade+3]

Good decision! We are also planning our first on-site stay, and we have free dining too. I have spent the past 2 weeks looking at menus and reading dining reviews.

Your DH sounds so much like mine! I can't see him doing buses for very long. We have younger kids so will also have strollers, so to keep DH happy we will probably get a car.

 

[BrizMarc]

what on earth is a fridge swap ?

Fridge swap is a free way to get a fridge that is passed from guests staying at the pop at wdw and some other resorts. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1454053 has all the info. The pop threads are in post 3.


Its a fantastic idea. I will be using it on my upcoming trip.

 

[kyl]

You have made the right choice, we would of saved over $2000 in meals when we went for free dining. We did do the DDP though not quick service and it was so worth it. The character meals alone really add to your time in WDW. Any question I am happy to help.

 

[Snickals]

We purchased breakfast cereal and ate in our room each morning, along with fruit etc.

Can you purchase cereal at Pop? I would prefer to eat it in my room too, would save time & money. Or do you have to have it delivered? Or can you take it with you in your checked luggage...I know that's probably a silly question but this is my first international trip, still working out how things 'work'

 

[kylieh]

Actually I dont think he is overly keen on the whole Disney thing, I have told him he doesnt have to come.

As we will be coming straight through from Sydney its probably not the safest thing to pick up an unfamiliar car, drive on the wrong side of the road, in an unfamiliar area after 24hrs of flying, right?

I suggested to my DH that he shouldn't come, but then he saw me thinking of plans for just DD and I. He quickly changed his mind!

I agree on not driving straight away. Some people can do it, but we weren't them. Last trip we waited til the end of day three before getting our car, and that was just LA after 13 hour flight (arrived Wednesday, picked up car Friday night.. now I'm waffling.)

Get a car for the days you need it.

 

[Oz-kateer]

Have stayed at the Pop twice - in 2009 and in Sept/Oct 2010.

Transportation:

Buses are no trouble. You never wait more than 10 minutes if you travel at peak times, and Pop has their own buses, no sharing with other resorts, so it's always straight there and straight back.

If you're going to MK - USE A BUS. Buses take you right to the parkgate, whereas if you drive you have to park in the massive parking lot over at the Transportation and Ticketing Centre, and take either the ferryboat or the monorail to the park. Believe it or not, driving, parking and taking the monorial/ferry is a lot longer than a bus straight from Pop to MK.

If you arrive and feel "trapped" you can always rent a car on site - National cars are available from the Car Care Centre or the Dolphin hotel. I rented one for a few days with the kids and it was really cheap. If you get a car - GET A GPS. Rent one, take one, whatever - they are fabulous. The roads at Disney are flat, wide and highly visible, so navigating your way around is easy witha GPS. It also allowed us to go off property easily to shopping malls and Universal.

The Magical Express is great to and from Disney and I wouldn't recommend anything else. On no occasion have we waited more than a couple of minutes for a ME bus at Orlando airport. However we have always taken our luggage with us on the bus so we have our bags with us when we arrive at the hotel. 24 hours in a plane is long enough to wait for a shower - having to wait a few more hours for them to deliver the luggage is pointless when it takes 10 minutes to get it yourself from the carousel and take it with you. The driver stores it under the bus so it's not inconvenient - you won't have it on your lap in the coach.

 

[austraveler]

Breakfast cereal counts as a snack in the dining plan. We generally ate at the foodcourt on the way to the bus stop at POFQ. You do have to remember to brush your teeth as soon as you wake up to avoid that dreadful toothpaste/food combination.