Pop preferred, worth it?

[HiHoWeGo]

Was just wondering if the preferred rooms at Pop are really worth the extra cost? From the maps I've seen it looks like the resort is overall fairly compact. No one in our group has a disability, so I'm only considering a preferred for the convenience of not having a 15-20 minute walk in the morning for coffee or in the evening for a quick snack.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've been in some of the most distant rooms at Pop....50's, bldg 2 way in the back on the third level, and way over to the other side in 90's (I think it was 90s...Rubics cube vldg) and 60's, bldg 4, on the 4th floor on the backside facing AoA. The longest walk I had was maybe 7-8 mins in the 50's bldg. it's a very compact resort.
I did, just once, book a preferred room. Had a ground level room, facing the back of the food court building. I hated it! Way too much foot traffic going by.

 

[wilkeliza]

I hated the preferred rooms. They were so loud and had lots of foot traffic. We much prefer the slightly longer walk but quieter rooms.

 

[blackmamba10000]

We usually stay none preferred at Pop. I request top floor in 50's section in building 1 or 2. On more than one occasion, we've gotten 50's lake view, which is not preferred. It was awesome and a very short walk to the foodcourt. As others have stated though, it is compact, so you will never have too far to go. Once, we got a free upgrade to a preferred room. It faced the pool and was far less quiet and no closer to the foodcourt than any other rooms we had stayed at!

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Yes, for us it is. The shorter distance really helped my mom out when getting to/from the room, and it helped me out when I had to carry food for both of us back to the room. The only thing is, as other people state, the foot traffic isn't good but it's a simple fix… request a non-ground floor room.

Once, we had a second floor room on the very edge of the building 10, closest to main building. It was perfect, and I'm not sure we could have had a better room for us.

 

[olwyngdh]

I always get preferred, and always request ground floor. We have not noticed all that much noise, the rooms seem to do a pretty good job of blocking it out. With my scooter and my husband's hip with the pins in it, this is the best choice for us at the end of a long day in the parks.

 

[Bilierka]

I was in 50's bldg. 3 facing the lake, quiet and only a stones throw from classic hall, will be there again on July 13th and have requested the same. Hoping we get it!!!!

 

[WDGPCFR]

If anyone has a medical condition it would be worth it. If not we stayed on the second floor back side of the 70's building and it was a 5 min walk tops. We were behind the Big Wheel.

 

[JennyDrake]

I was in 50's bldg. 3 facing the lake, quiet and only a stones throw from classic hall, will be there again on July 13th and have requested the same. Hoping we get it!!!!

DITTO! I have stayed in the 50's lake view 3 times. BEAUTIFUL view, close to everything and quiet.

I was upgraded to preferred room last visit (Bowling Pin--whatever that is???) and while it was a short walk, it was not appreciably different.

 

[HiHoWeGo]

Thanks everyone for your help. We can do 5-10 minute walks no problem. And I hadn't thought about the extra foot traffic and noise in the preferreds (you guys are great!).

Sounds like I really don't need, or really want, a preferred and can save the money.

 

[Mousemom]

We have stayed at Pop several times and always get a preferred room on the back side of 60's building looking at the lake. I love this location, its a quick walk to coffee in the morning or a soda during the day. It's still really quiet since it's not facing the pool. We are staying here in October and have a standard pool room right now but I am going to see if we can upgrade to a preferred room. I don't mind a walk normally but after a long day at the park I want a room close to parking and food.

 

[lustergirl]

Having stay preferred at AS Sports I was a bit flabbergasted when we stay preferred at POP. We were in the 70's building way up on the 4th floor overlooking a parking lot I believe. If were ever stay at POP again I will book the pool preferred section instead. The noise has never bothered and I like the convenience of being right on top of everything.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Was just wondering if the preferred rooms at Pop are really worth the extra cost? From the maps I've seen it looks like the resort is overall fairly compact. No one in our group has a disability, so I'm only considering a preferred for the convenience of not having a 15-20 minute walk in the morning for coffee or in the evening for a quick snack.

We considered preferred when we stayed at Pop last year, but ended up facing the lake so my partner could be closer to the smoking areas. It worked out great--the thing about the far rooms, besides being the least expensive, is also that they are the quietest. No pool noise at all. We loved it. And really Pop is very compact. We were maybe a five minute walk to the food court. Not a big deal at all. *Nothing* is a 15-minute walk at Pop, really.

 

[Disneylover99]

We have stayed at Pop several times and always get a preferred room on the back side of 60's building looking at the lake.

These are actually standard rooms.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

These are actually standard rooms.

Correct. We stayed in a standard room in May - 60's section facing the lake (room 4456) . We had a beautiful view of AOA - could see fireworks from our room, 5 minute walk to the pool but no pool noise and a 5-6 minute walk to the main building. Loved the location.

This was our 4th stay at POP and we have never paid for a preferred room. Stayed near the computer pool, bowling pin pool and main pool twice. The only time we had a loud stay was when we were facing the computer pool - back then it was still considered a standard room - now I guess you have to pay for it - no thank you!

 

[HiHoWeGo]

These [back of 60's lake view] are actually standard rooms.

I was wondering about that! I did say anything because I wasn't sure that the preferred rooms hadn't changed over time or something. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Disneylover99]

I was wondering about that! I did say anything because I wasn't sure that the preferred rooms hadn't changed over time or something. Thanks for the confirmation.

We stayed in the 60's preferred last year and we had a room backing onto the pool view rooms (facing the 70's) and we loved this location.

Next month we will request a 60's standard lake view room.

 

[HiHoWeGo]

50's, 60's, or 70's lake views look about ideal for us at Pop. They don't appear to be preferred (cost), are a little more secluded (quiet), are conveniently located (short walk to main building) and, well, the view!

Has anyone ever made a room request for one of these buildings with a lake view? If so, I'd love to hear about it. My track record with room requests is the pits; I've never had a request granted despite being specific, being understanding about the process, limiting myself to 2 requests, and indicating that my first item is most important to my family. Maybe I'm just unlucky .

 

[Mousemom]

Our first visit at Pop we reserved a preferred room and paid for a preferred room. We ended up in the 60's building backside close to the end where we were a shot walk to the food court, front desk, etc... We loved this location so much that have always booked preferred and requested this building and location. Hopefully I was not paying for a preferred room and getting a standard room. I am wondering if there are locations in the 60's building that may be preferred because they are closer to the main building? I plan to call today and ask since I would rather have a standard in this building than a standard pool view - I'm not sure where these are located. We like to be close to eating, drinking, and shopping.

 

[marissamayhem]

I've stayed at Pop twice. First time I booked a standard room and was put over in the 90's building, which was not particularly a long walk. However, at night after a long day it could seem like an eternity.

The second time I booked standard again but was put in one of the 50's building and was in a room literally right next to the preferred rooms, so I sort of got to feel what it was like. I could definitely feel the difference. We felt right in the "action" of the resort. Pool right there, food right there, buses right there. It was heaven. I don't think I could ever book a non preferred room again. I don't feel the price difference is that steep either. Obviously if you're taking longer trips it'll be a bigger factor, but I find that the extra convenience is worth it.