Tell me all about POP - the good, the bad and everything in between!

[The Hill Family]

We have never stayed at a value resort before and for some reason, I'm totally intrigued by Pop Century. We are currently booked for 8 nights at CSR but I am seriously considering changing to Pop Century - to save a little bit of money (which is always a good thing!) and to experience something new. If it makes any difference, we're a party of 4 - myself, my husband and our royal princesses (ages 9 & 2).

I want to hear all about it! I don't know what to expect and am not sure if it would be for us (although I can't imagine anything on Disney property not being for us!). We typically stay deluxe and decided last January to try a moderate (CSR) - we really liked it! I'm hoping the same would be true for Pop?

Are the rooms comfortable (size wise)? Are the walls paper thin? Is the bus transporation efficient or is it a nightmare (although I seriously can't imagine the buses being any worse than they were during our stay at AKL in May)? Is the theming as cool as it looks (or is it totally over the top - my husband seems to think it could be as tacky as South of the Border, for some reason)? What buildings are the best? Is it worth it to pay for preferred?

I'm perusing the POP threads - but some of them are 1000's of pages long (or so it seems) and I just don't have the patience to read through all of that right now... but I will! Any information would be much appreciated. I need to decide tonight!

 

[pubugg]

I've never stayed at POP, but am booked there 9/19-9/23 (and attending my first MNSSHP . Last visit down I did eat at the food court and found it to be wonderful. A bit more "healthy" choices than some other food courts, they have a frozen coke machine and their gift shop is attached to the store, so if you have kids that may keep them busy while waiting for people to get the food. Looking forward to actually staying there and exploring more.

 

[littleelvis]

Listening, I wait to tell my friends

 

[shoedog]

I know some people will think I'm mean as I dont want to say anything negative BUT.................keep in mind the rooms are not small..............................they are "miniscule"..............8 nights............I couldnt do it...............My opinion is to stay at the CSR...........or do a split.............4 nights at POP/4 nights at CSR............If you never stayed there keep in mind there are lots of kids so you may find your time there a little more noisy............For me and my family money is tight............I mean
REALLY tight, but I would rather spend the extra money and book a place where I now I will be happier.............Also if money is tight this time around you may want to stay off sight as there is a lot of competition out there and you would be surprised at what you can get for $69-$79 bucks a night!

 

[beckyb29]

We have stayed at Pop 3 times, and will be returning on Aug 9. Definitely a great resort for us(no kids, just me and my husband). Yes, the rooms are small. However, we don't go to Disney World to hang out in the room. As far as the walls being paper thin, I feel that they were no different than any other hotel, including the Poly. It really depends on your neighbors

The bus transportation has always been good. One plus, Pop does not share buses with any other resorts. We've never had waits that were unreasonable. The major exceptions would be, for example, leaving the Magic Kingdom directly after Wishes! You will wait for quite a while no matter where you stay if you're in this situation, as you already know.

The pools are great, there are 3 of them. The Hippy Dippy pool is the main pool, and there are 2 smaller "quiet" pools. All are supervised by lifeguards, and have cute themes. There is also an are for kids that is called "goofy's Pop Jets"(I think that's the right name!) It's got the soft ground and water jets squirting up randomly. Kids love it! There's also a small playground.

As far as the decor, we think it is pretty neat. Not even close to South of the Border!!! In the lobby, there are tons of shadowboxes that showcase era-specific memorabilia, which are great to look at. (Atari, cabbage patch kids, etc...all of the stuff is authentic.) There is also a lake at the back of the resort, with a walking path around it. You can see fireworks from certain points at the resort.

The previous poster is right, there is a really good selection at the food court. Burgers, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, flatbreads, ready-made items, desert, you name it.

For the price, we love Pop. However, there could be a few drawbacks depending on what your preferences are

1. Double beds. They are small lol.
2. Room size. If you plan to spend a lot of time in the room, they could feel a little tight, but if all you want to do is sleep and shower, it's fine.
3. Many people don't like the unfinished property across the lake... the consider it an eyesore. For $70-100/night, I look past it.
4. The food court can be rather busy and hectic at peak times, but that happens at any hotel.
5. The resort is fairly spread out. I can't advise you on the preferred section, as we've never stayed there...we figure we walk all day anyways in the parks, what's a few extra steps to the bus stop/food court.

Pop is definitely a great value resort! We can't wait to be back

Sorry if this was too much info...but I hope it helps
Have a great trip, no matter where you stay!!!

 

[David 1980]

WE booked two rooms at POP in June and really enjoyed it. I have 5 kids plus my wife and I and we had more then enough room. I went to DW to go to the parks and not to sit in our room? WE stayed in the 90,s section it was a bit of a walk to the food court but we never complained.WE went in June and never had to wait for a bus from any park and had to stand only once. I will never stay anywhere else but POP. I promise you will have a great time and do not let them tell you the walls are thin we never heard anything. I hope you have a g reat trip we sure did. Dave

 

[Cory's Gal]

We stayed at POP this past January. The rooms are a bit small but as others said, all we did was sleep and shower there. The bus transportation was great, except long lines at Mk after Wishes, as said before! The food court was GREAT, and I loved the frozen coke machines that you could use with the refillable mug. We had a preferred room in the 50's section. It was a great location near the bowling pin pool but not right outside. We were glad to be closer to Classic Hall and the buses. DH and I stayed at POR before POP, and like POP just as much and saved some dough! We would definately go back!!

 

[Sazuburns]

We stayed in Pop just over 2 years ago, with our boys who were then aged nearly-2 and 4. In addition to the two double beds and the rest of the furniture in the room, we also managed to fit a pack & play crib which stayed up the whole two weeks, a folded wheelchair and a hired mobility scooter. Yes, it was a tight squeeze, but it is just a room, it's just the place where we sleep. This time we won't have the crib, so it will be luxurious!

We stayed in the Dolphin on our honeymoon, but tbh I wouldn't bother staying in a luxury resort again at Disney because we spent so little time in the room.

Sarah x

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

I'm going to be honest because I like to know the good and bad of a resort also. This was my experience:

Good - It's very cute, loved looking at all the things from years past in the lobby area. Nice themeing in common areas and of course I love the Lady and Tramp sections. Kids enjoyed the jukebox pool over there as we found the main pool to be quite busy. Loved the cheesecake! Also a nice walk around the back side. We had a preferred room because after a long day in the parks I don't want to walk MORE unless I choose to! Pop is large so we thought it was worth it. We were in 50's but close to the main building, nice for refilling mugs and getting to the busses. As for preferred being better, how much you want to walk is a personal choice.

Bad - I guess we had bad neighbors but this is the only Disney resort in all our stays that we had noise problems - and we were facing a quiet landscaped area.

It was very crowded, peak times in the food court were a zoo and hard to find a table, especially breakfast. I don't know what the capacity is vs ASMo for example (four floors vs three, right?) but it seemed more crowded. Bringing us to the next problem - trash! Lots of it around the landscape and at time the pool areas, perhaps with more people the CM's can't keep up?

It's not tacky like South of the Border if you're talking about in S. Carolina. It is bright with characters from the movies but not tacky. For those who aren't familiar http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/SCDILsob.html

I'd give Pop a second chance sometime but it's not going to be for a loooong time, unless I don't have a choice. If the money isn't going to break you I'd keep CSR. That's the only mod I haven't stayed at but as for the others there's a big difference in atmosphere (more laid back and pretty) at the mods. Some people might like all the action and stimulation of Pop better - again it's personal choice. For those who don't spend much time at the resort I can see why they'd choose it, that's just not us. For us the resort is a huge part of the vacation. Which is more your style?

Just my 2 cents Good luck with your decision.

 

[momof2forever]

My family which consist of my husband and two kids stayed at Pop last Sept and liked it. We thought the rooms were good. They are like anyother hotel room, small. But, like another poster stated. You don't stay in the room very long, you are at Disney.

Housekeeping was great. We were on ground floor near pool. The only night we heard noise was at the pool and that was on the last night we were there.

The food court was crowded several times, but not bad. Great food choices.

Hope this helps.

 

[prmet]

Just returned from POP, and it was great.
In July and we did not had trouble with masses.
Transportation was good. Icons were great, not over the top.
We loved it.

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

We stayed at Pop last year. I always said I wouldn't go value but...I loved it. Our room was opposite the hippy dippy pool. Yes we could hear general pool noise at night, but we were so tired we dropped straight asleep and it didn't bother us. It was a great location for a room as it was close to everything, especially the food court (good for mug runs). The food court choice was ok, but after 8am it got really crowded (August). We enjoyed the pool, the bus service was great and the gift shop and lobby were nicely themed. We missed having a table service restaurant as we sometimes like a sit down breakfast and the food court items became a little boring after a while. Go for it, you will have a great time.

 

[lynn46356]

We stayed at Pop this past February for the first time also. We've stayed at POR, POFQ and BC twice. It was myself, DH and DS8 and we loved it. I'll have to say it took my DH a few days to get the feel of the Pop food court, etc. but that happens any time you stay somewhere you haven't been before. We always managed to get to our meals before the masses arrived. We're early risers or I should say I am so I had us all at breakfast by 7:00 which is 6:00 here at home. Who said vacations were for sleeping! The buses were GREAT! As said previously you'll wait a short bit after Wishes at the MK but it wasn't at all bad. Three buses showed up at the same time so once one filled up and left another one started loading. I loved the theming of Pop. Bright, colorful, fun, etc.......! As for the size of the rooms IMO staying at the BC with five people including a crib wasn't much different than staying at Pop with three of us. We didn't book preferred. I thought alot about it. We were asked at check in what section we'd like and I told the CM just somewhere not out in tim buck too! We got 70's section, second floor, facing the foose ball table. It was a great location w/o having to pay the extra $. I've booked another vacation to Pop for next February since we had so much fun this year. As stated before, Pop's not for everyone but it was wonderful for us. Have fun deciding!!!!!

Lynn

 

[clownfish1452]

I've never stayed at POP, but am booked there 9/19-9/23 (and attending my first MNSSHP . Last visit down I did eat at the food court and found it to be wonderful. A bit more "healthy" choices than some other food courts, they have a frozen coke machine and their gift shop is attached to the store, so if you have kids that may keep them busy while waiting for people to get the food. Looking forward to actually staying there and exploring more.

I second the wonderful food court and I also loved the short walks to everything.

Sarah

 

[luvmyboys]

We stayed there for a week (end of Sept) 2 years ago. It was DH, DS (7 at the time) and DS (15 months). We loved it. The room was a bit cramped w/ the pack & play & stroller, but for the amount of time we spent in it, it was fine. We were in the 50's section, 2nd floor, right by Lady. Had no problems with noise, but as several other people stated, that is all due to the quality of your neighbors! We had more trouble with noise at CSR last Sept b/c of rowdy neighbors....

The food court was much more convenient at POP than the Pepper Market was for us last year, and much better "kid food." It was crowded a bit, but not unmanageable. The trick is to not have the whole family traipsing through the food court. Just send one person through the line while the other holds down the table with the munchkins.

The pools were great-- loved the spray jets. We rented a car, so can't comment on the bus situation. The kids really enjoyed the theming, and I must say, I really loved it too.

 

[PatsGirl]

My kids, 17 and 10 and the several friends of theirs that have accompanied us to the world all prefer POP over CSR and I think the staff are friendlier there. As for as room size, yes, POP is smaller but how much smaller I'm not sure -- it's not like we could hang out in either room for any length of time. I think if someone's looking for room to spread out, a hotel room just isn't gonna cut it. The big appeal to me for a moderate is only if we are staying for an extended time and plan to spend a few 1/2 days at the resort itself. There's not a whole lot to do at POP where at CSR the pool is great as is the playground and pool bar. You can also rent surrey bikes and other similar entertainment

 

[Quinn222]

I booked POP today for a couple of nights in December. We'll probably run into the POP warner crowd but that's ok. I almost booked CSR because we really love it but we've stayed there the last two Decembers and I wanted something different. We had a terrible stay at POR this past April so I decided to take this chance to try POP, I'm looking forward to it!

 

[The Hill Family]

Thanks for your feedback!

We don't spend a lot of time in the room either - so that certainly wasn't the biggest concern... I just didn't know what to expect.

It sounds great, really. I'm going to see if, by chance, it is available for our dates. If not, I think I'll most definitely give it a try on our next visit.

I think my kids would LOVE it (and I think I would too!).

 

[clownfish1452]

From what I can remember I dont think there was carpet in our room am I wrong for some reason Im thinking there wasnt. If there wasnt that was the thing I did not like.

Sarah

 

[moorekw]

bottom line, it's all what you make of it. kinda obvious, i know, but a fairly decent disclaimer.

the fams has stayed at ASMusic/Movies and POP, addressing a coupla your concerns hopefully as follows. Overall though, POP is the absolute favorite of ours from the value resorts.

1. as a stand-alone resort, you won't compete with two other resorts for disney transportation (if you so opt for the free buses). The All-Stars are a "ride share" for transportation due to their co-location. we did not notice any unusual problems with the busses. the usual end of night crowding, but the scheduling ran fine.

2. we don't stay for the resort time so, as long as the place is clean and the bed is not a rock, it takes alot to disappoint. for pure disney ambience, the ASMovies is hard to beat. POP is not south of the border kitsch, though and done with the usual creative disney flair. having stayed at CBR once before, it seemed to my DW and i that there was no real noticeable difference in rooms from the values to CBR. the differences are in the amenities.

3. with 9 & 2 y.o. princesses, i would try to opt for a room closer to the bus stops. as you know, after a long disney day, hiking to the farthest point of a resort with loved ones can be daunting at times.

it is definitely worth the savings IMHO and that of my dear DW. i truly hope that this post adequately aids you in your decision.