questions on POP room comfort

[carly chloe]

The noise in the room was terrible. When I was brushing my teeth in the morning I could hear the conversation in the room next to us. Our beds were terrible. All 4 of us woke with backaches. Don't know about the pillows because I brought my own. We will never stay there again.

 

[Miffy]

I've never stayed at POP, but I have stayed at ASMu, which I think is comparable. The walls at ASMu are extremely thin. I could hear everything--and I mean everything--that the people in the next room were saying and doing, and I also heard everything going on in the hallways. I hardly slept, and I'm a city girl who lives in an apartment, so I'm used to a certain amount of neighbors' noises, but this was impossible.

It may have been that the room I was in connected to the room next door (I didn't think to look at the time), but that wouldn't have anything to do with the noise from the outer walkways, people going by the room early in the morning (I'm not the rope-drop type ) with their rolling luggage, luggage carts, crying babies, etc.

I've stayed at both mods and deluxes since, and have never had the noise problem there, including a stay in a room at AKL that had a connecting door to the room next door, where a pair of noisy twins were staying. I know they were noisy only because I ran into them in the hallway. I couldn't hear a thing from inside the room.

 

[catne]

have stayed at all levels multiple times, including several times at Pop (twice within a year) Frankly, we have decide we only stay at POP as a last resort (I know, pun.Sorry.)

Noise levels...way too much noise at POP: toilets, people walking by outside the door, crying, yelling, televisions: all that noise through the walls. POP is by far the loudest resort we've stayed at. Never heard toilet noises, crying or yelling in any other resort except when we've been in a room with a connecting door...some noise spills in, but not as much as through the thin walls at POP. But that was just once we heard noise at another resort. When we were in a non-connecting room, no noise from other rooms around us. Would highly recommend a white-noise machine if staying at POP, and eyeshades if you really need it dark...the curtains do a good job of blocking most light, but it's not total black-out.

Beds: very uncomfortable, at POP, IMO...hard as a rock, and small. Bedding is motel-quality everywhere except at deluxe resorts (where it's about on par with Marriotts.) Sheets everywhere are the same...plain white cotton, a bit scratchy.

Cleanliness: First time at POP (couple of years ago) the room was clean. This year, no. The bathroom/sink area was mostly clean, but dust-bunnies in the corners for sure. Furniture appeared dusted, but carpets were pretty yuck looking (we wore our shoes the whole time we were in the room.) None of the other hotels we stayed at looked as bad as POP rooms.

 

[justakrazymom]

Just returned from my 1st visit to Pop. We were in Bldg 6 70's section 3rd floor. We could hear our neighbors talking. They wer men with deep voices though. We could also heard the toilet flushing and showers starting in the morning. This didn't bother me too much.

The beds! What can I say about them except they are hard as rocks. So uncomfortable to me. Also, the pillows are very thick and firm. You can't squish them up and if you have a short neck like me they will be uncomfortable as well. The kids usually ended up flinging them on the floor.

We plan to drive next time and we will stay at Pop but will bring our own pillows.

we were in 70's building 6 4th floor .. had no mattress issues.. they were perfect.. I brought my Ipod and it's speaker dock and downloaded a white noise app..no noise issues!

 

[Taja]

We've stayed at Pop Century a number of times without any real issues. The turbo-flush toilets are every bit as noisy in moderate and deluxe resorts as in the value resorts. Some noise from inconsiderate guests in the corridors and the occsional slamming door, but most people are reasonably considerate of other guests. Of course, I have been known to sleep through an earthquake or two!

We actually had more noise on one visit at YC (CL Level) than we have experienced at Pop Century. Adults were allowing their children to run and yell in the corridors. Thankfully, we're pretty tolerant of excited little ones, and the noise tended to be after 7 a.m. and before midnight! *LOL*

At PC, we usually request a room on an upper (prefer top, but have stayed on 2nd and 3rd floors with no issues) floor, about mid-point between the elevators and the stairs, away from the pools. My favourite location is the Hour Glass Lake side of the 50s building. My BFF's favourite location is somewhere at the back of the property overlooking the parking lot. From the upper floors, you primarily see green vegetation from the trees unless you deliberately look down. It is a bit quieter there, although I don't have issues with limited noise closer to Centennial Hall--as long as I'm not near a pool! *LOL*

I believe the mattresses at PC are (or were--our last visit was in 2007) firmer than the Deluxe resorts. I tend to prefer a fairly firm mattress, while my BFF prefers more of a pillow top style. But she didn't have difficulty sleeping at PC, as long as she brought her own pillow!

Edited to add:

They had the same scratchy, cotton sheets at the deluxe, moderate and value resorts as of December 2007. Unfortunately, they use flat sheets on the mattress, which creates a messy bed for anyone who is a restless sleeper. The deluxe resorts triple-sheeted the beds, which was much more comfortable. I believe they have upgraded the sheets at the deluxe resorts since then, but don't quote me on that.

The draperies at PC were fine--they hung properly and closed completely. If a little light might bother your wife, I would recommend taking a few clothes pins or binder clips to keep them in place. I haven't had any issues with the draperies not closing properly at WDW other than when staying at Club Lake Villas (Disney Convention Center) way back in 1981!

I don't recall any light being visible beneath the door at PC or CSR (only moderate resort we've stayed at). I'm thinking there may have been a space under the door at YC, BC and BWI when we've stayed at those resorts. They have interior corridors, which may make the difference.

Question kind of off the subject but, this is my first time staying at POP...Can you see any of the fireworks from Illuminations or Wishes from here?

Wishes, no. Illuminations, some of the higher fireworks can be seen from some areas. We watched them from the Hour Glass Lake are of the 50s a few times. There may be other vantage points at PC, but we haven't actively sought them.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

These were hidden in another thread, but I realized they deserve their own thread. Here we go:

- How noisy is it? Are earplugs necessary? depends on your room location and neighbors. We had 3 quiet stays and 1 VERY loud (facing the pool).

- How dark are the rooms? Can you see lights through under the door? Are the curtains heavy? Wife NEEDS full darkness like a vampire and I doubt she will be cool with eyeshades for 9 nights in a row... never had a problem..the curtains are heavy and close up tight.

- How comfortable are the mattresses? Any differences between values and deluxe in terms of quality? Size is not an issue. mattress are comfortable..not heavenly..but we are so tired at the end of the day we never minded.

- Are the sheets cotton or synthetic? And at deluxe? no idea..never noticed.

- Are the rooms as clean in a value as in a deluxe?

We have stayed at POP the past 4 trips and the rooms have always been immaculate.

We have stayed at 2 Deluxes, 2 Mods and 2 Values.
We have stayed at POP the past 4 trips. We have always enjoyed our stays. This past trip, for some reason, it wore thin on us. We too, are done with POP. Our kids are older and bigger..we need more space. The pool view room was incredibly noisy. I was up many nights until 1:00am listening to folks screaming in the pool. It is a bright, fun but HIGH energy resort. We are finding that we now crave a little relaxation during our vacation (shocking, I know)..the rooms are too small and the pools are too busy and loud to allow that.

 

[Cap'nJack'sMum]

We have stayed at POP several times.

Our rooms have always been immaculately cleaned. The mousekeeping is superior to any other WDW resort that we have stayed.

The rooms seemed quite dark. My DD is like your wife, cannot sleep with a speck of light. It suited her needs just fine.

The noise level does merit earplugs. I sleep like a brick at home, but there is noise 24/7 at POP. The walls are fairly thin and the turbo toilets are loud. You can shut the bathroom door to muffle the toilet sound though.

The food court is *always* busy. We have never found it dirty, but it is always hopping and crowded. I will say, they make the very best Greek salad there, though. I look forward to one every time we stay there.

We have stayed Deluxe, Mod, and Value and I have noticed a difference in the towel quality, but not so much the bedding quality. It's clean and feels fresh when you get in bed. That's what matters most to me. I'm so tired at the end of the day, but the beds seem as comfy as any other hotel bed.

As other frequent POPpers have said, we love POP, it is our favorite Value, but we are kind of over it. We stayed at POFQ on our last trip and were spoiled by the quiet and slower pace at the resort. Next trip we're staying at POR.

Don't get me wrong, if it was a choice between staying at POP or no trip to WDW, I would stay at POP with no earplugs, facing the pool, and wait in line at the food court for 1/2 an hour! POP is perfectly fine, it's just very high energy.

 

[Sugardimples]

We've stayed at Pop at least ten times and have never had a noise issue.

 

[Polyluvr]

We have stayed @ POP 2x~ once 60's preferred and once in the 50's section.

Noise was an issue; We loved the food court; but the beds were horrible !!!

Loved the theming~ but can't see a longer then 4 night stay~ by that time mine and DH's backs were so sore from the beds.

And I am in no way a bed snob; but those beds

There has to be a difference in the beds between deluxes and POP; we have never stayed at the mods~ we are just more comfortable after sleeping all night in a deluxe.

Hope that helps !!!

 

[I Love Pluto]

We have stayed at Pop for 3 of our vacations. I have never been disappointed in the food court, the cleanliness and quality of the room, and the overall feeling of the resort. The Hippy Dippy pool is fun with the squirting flowers.

We did have one stay that was quite noisier than the others. All I can say to this is - You can't pick your neighbors.

I recommend Pop as a comfortable Disney resort.

 

[leebee]

We've stayed at POP four times.

NOISE: We request 4th floor rooms so that we don't have upstairs neighbors. This cuts down on neighbor-noise and toilet flushing. We keep the bathroom door closed at night also. We have never noticed any noise. We also have never had pool-facing rooms, which I suspect helps keep the noise down. ALSO... noise studies have shown that the highest in-room noise is at any of the deluxe resorts. Apparently the interior corridors hold the noise in the hallway, and there is an airspace at the bottom of the room doors which lets the noise into the room. At the values, the open-air walkways let the noise dissipate, and the room doors are flush with the doorjamb, so no noise gets in (no bugs either).

BEDS: I prefer a medium mattress and have no complaints with the beds at POP. DH prefers hard mattresses but also had no complaint. DD prefers a soft mattress... we found that folding a blanket and placing it under the bottom sheet helped make the mattress more comfy for DD. Unfortunately housekeeping removed the blanket most days, so we'd have to put it back under the sheet before bedtime.

PILLOWS: Bring your own pillowcases (not white!). POP uses pillowcases that are narrower than the pillows. This makes the pillows look plumper than they actually are. Unfortunately, it makes the pillows harder than normal, and put your neck at a funny angle. We just take off the white resort pillow cases and put on our own; last trip we brought orange pillowcases with lime green, turquoise, yellow, and hot pink daisies... very POP!

LIGHT: It's SO dark! The curtain tracks overlap so no light gets in, and the door is flush with the jamb so no leaks there, either. The room is so dark that I hang glow sticks on the bathroom doorknob so we can find the door in the middle of the night (put one in the bathroom, too, so you don't have to turn on that light in the middle of the night and fry your retinas!). HOWEVER... the alarm clock has a snooze button on the top that lights up brighter than day! A folded-up hand towel or face cloth solved the problem.

FOOD COURT: Noisy and busy, but never dirty. We found that there is a dining area over to the side, away from the cash registers, that is less POPulated. However, now there is a TV with kiddie chairs and tables in the area, so I fear that more folks will start using "our" dining room!

SHEETS: They seemed fine, certainly not 300+ thread count but not 200 count, either. I just wish they'd use fitted bottom sheets.

CLEANLINESS: No problem, mousekeeping's great! We had a sticky spot on the rug that I left a note about and it was cleaned and fine by the time we arrived home that evening.

Having said all this, POP is NOT a deluxe resort. Rack rate is also $400 (or more) a night cheaper than a deluxe resort. This money can go a long way for other things, but to each his own. Two nights deluxe or 10 nights value? Only you can decide...

 

[100%Disney]

We stayed at Pop 1 time and had to transfer to Contemporary in the middle of our stay do to noise. The people next door to us would rise with the chickens and their kids would flip the safety latch over on the door so they could go in and out without a key. That would have been okay once or twice, but they came in and out over and over, letting the door bounce off that latch every time. We moved to Contemporary, so much quieter.

 

[mom2val]

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[kat3668]

You know I really believe that it depends on what you want out of your vacation. Personally I really don't care for Pop.I've stayed there twice and find it way to stimulating for me. I guess that's why I prefer Coronado springs. My stays have been full of noisy neighbors, jam packed buses and hard as rock beds. Much prefer the moderates for the all-around comfort of my vacation.