Review of POP, Spring Break 2005

[WDWPartyof5]

Just a thought, but maybe they were so busy with Spring Break that they just didn't have time to do the towel animals. Wonder if other people got them that week? Thanks for your honest review.

We saw other rooms with towel animals and people were talking about them at the pool. We also saw many decorated windows. I even saw Mousekeeping doing one when we came in at midday.

I know they arent required to do it, but it would have been nice for my children. I tipped well thinking it would be a courtesy on their part to do something nice for the kids. We left our rooms fairly clean and picked up each morning before leaving, my children even made their beds most mornings actually. It just would have made our trip more magical if at least one time they had done it.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

...waiting almost an hour for a DTD bus is bizarre and inefficient.

I love using WDW transportation and don't mind the usual wait times. However, my experience at DTD was so bad I may never return. DD suddenly and unexpectedly spiked a very high fever, so we went right back to the bus stop to get her back to the air-conditioned room and some Tylenol. Over an hour later the CSR bus rolled in, after we'd seen at least two buses from every other resort come through. It seemed as though the CSR stop was the farthest one out there, isolated, and I didn't dare leave to ask for help or try to buy some Tylenol for fear that the bus would come and we'd be stuck there even longer. There isn't enough at DTD to warrant repeating that wait again, ever.

 

[mamalle]

sorry you were disappointed. we will be staying there for the 1st time over mother's day weekend. I have stayed in many of the onsite hotels over the years and not once did the kids receive a towel animal- on the DCL we did every night. the kids loved it! I think it will be fine for us. the chk fingers are the same all over at disney and as long as the kids get that and a pool- things will be fine!

 

[WDWPartyof5]

Just so you know. The fact is that no matter what resort you stay at, it is all the same bus service. The same vehicles, the same drivers, the same everything. While some resorts may seem to have better service then others, the fact is that every resort has good and bad times for buses. I am sure there was someone staying at the all-stars during your stay that noticed more pop buses than all-stars at some point. The fact is the grass may appear greener on the other side, but more often than not you only need to clean you glasses.

Excuse me, but I have stayed onsite before, as have other family members. I have stayed on site at Christmas, and not one time did I wait for a bus for more than 10 minutes. In fact, over the whole week it seemed POP got the worst service when it came to busses. There were other people staying at POP who had also stayed at other resorts that thought this as well. Not one time in the seven days we used bus service did I see other resorts waiting as long as we did. Not one day at any park.

 

[WDWPartyof5]

What was wrong with the bus service? We're staying at POP in October and we're not renting a car, so I'm curious. What was wrong with it? Did it not come on time, too crowded, took too long? Thanks for info.

At the resort: some mornings if you were up at the crack of dawn you could easily get on a bus, but some mornings even the early birds had to wait two to three busses to get to the park of their choice. One morning we spoke to some people going to Epcot, we were at the next bus pick up had been waiting there for twenty minutes and this was like at 8 in the morning, our bus pickuped before them. When we had stayed on site before, busses seemed to run about every ten minutes, sometimes sooner if the pickup had lots of people. This just wasnt so in the evenings -- there were often really long lines, and really long waits to go to every park by AK. Returning to the Resort was often just as bad if not worse. We would sit and watch 2-3 busses go to other resorts (including other value resorts) before we would even get our one. This happened more than once, and from talking to other guests it had been their experience as well.

 

[Lizzybee]

We just got back from a Spring Break trip at POR and every day but one we had the cutest towel/toy arrangements...including a towel Easter basket with a washcloth bunny. The first time it was a lil towel boat with some animals in it and a hammock made of towels and (clean) garbage bags with my son's Epcot Panda in it. The last day she was going to be taking care of our room she let us know in a very creative way. She used the multiple Stitch toys to put on a "concert" for the other animals. The Stitches had multi-level towel stages and the other animals sat in towel stadium seating. She wrote a little note on the back of a Mickey paper coaster "Enjoy the concert...see you on Thursday" (it was Tuesday). We found her next door and the kids took her picture and got her to sign the autograph books and we gave her a tip. It was a special touch, but I think if (when) we go back and the Mousekeeper doesn't live up to Zenia's high standard, I'll have to have a talk with disappointed kids or take a crash course on towel origami. lol

 

[DisneyAholic12]

I totally disagree with the "grass is greener ... just clean your glasses" comment. We've stayed at every level of resort at WDW and by far, by far the worst bus service is associated with the value resorts.

Do I see a correlation with this? Absolutely. You get what you pay for, no matter if it is at Disney or downtown Cleveland.

Anyone who disagrees, well, just needs to clean their glasses.

 

[Robundrh2o]

We stayed at POP the week leading up to Thanksgiving 2004 and already have reservations the week leading up to x-mas this year. The room was cleaned every day and when we came back to the room in the afternoon we always found DD's stuffed animals sitting there watching TV. We did have one towel animal left for us. As far as the busses go we had a small wait everytime (5 - 10 mins). The only time we had to wait longer than this was the night we stayed to watch wishes and then had to stand in line for 45 minutes waiting to finally board the bus (while this is to be expected at the end of the night my arm still hurts from carrying a sleeping 3 yr old and then holding her for 45 minutes, I think they could use some seats on the outside of the line). Next time we will drive our own car when staying for 'Wishes'. The food court was decent, I was not expecting gourmet food, just something quick and easy. I can eat pretty much anything so this is a moot point for me, DW is a little pickier and she didn't seem to have any problems with it. If you go during the peak times then I would expect long lines but we never encountered them.

 

[Valera]

I think the DTD bus service is highly lacking no matter which resort you stay at value to deluxe. Something trully needs to be done to improve this particular service.

We stayed at POFQ this past December and the only bus problem we had the entire stay was the bus to DTD. First YES I know they have boat service to/from DTD to POFQ and POR but it was not open during the time we were there.

I went to DTD early one morning (was there at opening to beat the crowds into the Xmas store) and shopped most of the morning for a variey of Xmas presents. This was our fly home day so I wanted to be back at the resort by an approximate time to finish a few things. Well so much for that I timed it I sat at the DTD bus stop for 57minutes while buses came and went. For some reason many Disney buses marked "Special" came and went during this time. I was just about to try and call a taxi and the bus finally showed up. There was plenty of ticked off people waiting with me by this point.

Other than that we had no problems with the bus service and rarely used our rental car.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Next time we will drive our own car when staying for 'Wishes'.

Don't forget... you'd still need to wait in the enormous line for the monorail, and then again in another huge line for the parking tram... and then battle traffic.

 

[peter11435]

Excuse me, but I have stayed onsite before, as have other family members. I have stayed on site at Christmas, and not one time did I wait for a bus for more than 10 minutes. In fact, over the whole week it seemed POP got the worst service when it came to busses. There were other people staying at POP who had also stayed at other resorts that thought this as well. Not one time in the seven days we used bus service did I see other resorts waiting as long as we did. Not one day at any park.

I stand by my original statement. There is really no difference between the buses at one hotel compared to another. You don't have to believe it but it is true. The board’s resident Disney bus driver also backed up the statement. Disney does not have some conspiracy to make the pop bus service bad. Also remember that the bus you rode on from pop to a park most likely did not return to pop afterwards, but rather traveled to another resort. In other words like I said earlier it is all the same bus service. I agree that the transportation at pop may have been worse for you than in your previous visits to WDW. However the next time you stay at Pop the bus service could be the best you have ever had. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that Pop’s bus service is perpetually worse than all of the other resorts and likewise that the solution to the problem is to stay at another resort. I can guarantee you that someone on these boards could tell you a story of their horrible bus service at ASM, where you found it to be so much better.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I stand by my original statement. There is really no difference between the buses at one hotel compared to another. You don't have to believe it but it is true. The board’s resident Disney bus driver also backed up the statement. Disney does not have some conspiracy to make the pop bus service bad. Also remember that the bus you rode on from pop to a park most likely did not return to pop afterwards, but rather traveled to another resort. In other words like I said earlier it is all the same bus service. I agree that the transportation at pop may have been worse for you than in your previous visits to WDW. However the next time you stay at Pop the bus service could be the best you have ever had. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that Pop’s bus service is perpetually worse than all of the other resorts and likewise that the solution to the problem is to stay at another resort. I can guarantee you that someone on these boards could tell you a story of their horrible bus service at ASM, where you found it to be so much better.

I completely agree with you. A lot of it depends on when you go to get on the busses as well. Obviously right when the parks open and close, during the busiest time of the year, there will be longer lines everywhere. I understand that last week, a few days MK closed to capacity. That means the parks were even more SWAMPED than usual at that time of year and it's possible they were not prepared for that many people. As there were probably a lot of off site guests trying to get into a park as well, and/or being turned away from MK, there was probably more road traffic.

I've personally never had bad bus service at any resort...But I go during off peak times, and take the busses at off peak times. I have never had a very long wait. Once I waited for a bus at MK shortly after it closed and it was packed. So I just hung out and enjoyed the night until the crowds cleared.

 

[sarahsmom73]

DD 3 1/2 and I just got back form 5 days at POP! We had a blast!!! The longest we waited for a bus was 10 minutes! The longest bus ride was to the MK which was about 12 minutes!!! We had nothing but great luck with the buses and in fact a few times we rode back with just 1 other family on the bus!

 

[BostonRob]

This is not intended as a flame for the OP, because overall, that post was a good, comprehensive resort review, and those are always welcome.

But.

IF I READ ONE MORE POST ABOUT TOWEL ANIMALS, I'M GOING TO VOMIT!!!!!
Towel animals are a nonfactor. They have nothing to do with the maid's job. They should not be considered when chosing a resort, tipping a maid, or reviewing a resort. For some reason I don't understand, towel animals are discussed ad nauseam on these boards - it seems some people would rather a towel animal than a clean room.

Because I wrote the phrase "towel animals" 3 times (no, make that 4), I'm going to go toss my cookies.

 

[Sister Spooky]

We just got back from 9 days at Pop and we loved it! My two DSs were in heaven. It has just the right amount of Disney! We were on the second floor of the Lady bldg in the 50s section. We were super close to the main hall and to the bowling pin pool. We loved the food, I especially loved getting the frozen cokes with my mug! My DHs fave were the oatmeal raisin cookies.

The gift shop was great too. I bought my charm bracelet and charms, ice cube trays, t-shirts, picture frames, there.

While we didn't get any towel animals, I thought the mousekeeping was great. My two boys decorated our window sill with the robots they got at Innovations, their Stitch toys, etc.

While we did have waits at the bus lines, they were pretty much what I expected at WDW. At closing time at MK they brought sometimes 3 buses at a time!

 

[cjhentschel]

I have to tell you - I am going to POP in a month and we are renting a car. Now I know to some this may sound stupid but I would rather walk at my own speed, wait for the parking tram and battle the traffic. I know this may take some time but it shouldn't matter what time it takes because we are together. What difference does it make if you are battling traffic or buses or towel animals. This is my first stay at POP and it has to be better than my last stay at Grovesnor. Which I have to say was far worse than anybody's stay at POP. Again what difference does it make that we don't get towel animals - we are on vacation at WDW and we are together. That's all that matters. I just want a clean room to sleep in and anything else is a great extra surprise!!