The GROOVIER New Pop Century FAQ Thread Chapter 4! ~ Posts #1, #2 & #3 are MUST sees!

[Minnie&Nana]

Can someone help me understand the bus situation a little more clearly? The thought of waiting for a bus for almost two hours, twice a day, for ten days has me re-thinking the entire trip. Is it really that bad? I thought that POP had their own buses and it was supposed to be relatively short trips. We will be there in August, so I know it will be busy. We plan to be to RD every morning, then back to the resort for a rest, and then return to the parks for the evening. Does that mean we could be waiting for the buses for up to 7 hours? That seems very unpleasant. Our only other experience using the onsite transportation was a stay at the Dolphin in late November, when it wasn't busy and we were often the only people getting on the bus.

We've had 5 stays at POP (3 in Dec, 1 in March and 1 the 3rd week of August when free dining was going on) and never waited for a bus more than 20 mins - so I am not sure why the others have had such terrible experiences.

We always are there for RD, back midday and off to a park for the evening...we try to leave before park closing or take out time after IllumiNations or Wishes to stroll through the park in hopes of the worst of the park closing bus lines are over.

While we have enjoyed POP, will not likely return for awhile. Morning in the food court is usually incredibly crowded, so I always feel I must get up extra early to miss the craziness and be sure to miss meal times at any other part of the day...otherwise we love POP food court.

POP can be waring on the senses for sure - at least for us. It seems to always be up, never any down time - but that is the spirit of the resort.

I hope others will post their experiences with POP buses to give you a good sense of what to expect. I absolutely do not expect you will spend anywhere near 7 hours a day on a bus. We found the buses worse at deluxe resorts - waited what seemed like forever - we've stayed at just about every deluxe and the worse waits were at GF, Poly & BWI/V...best SSR and AKL. Years ago the Dolphin was great too, but last time at the BC we shared buses and it seemed to take forever before we even headed for a park.

Good luck and hope you have a wonderful time!!!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

So we all know that info from a CM can't be entirely trusted...

But I really hate the 50's in POP.

I am booked in January for "Pool Preferred" and wanted to know if there was a chance I'd get stuck by the bowling pin pool. Called, three times, and asked.

All three times I was expressly told that Pool Preferred = Hippy Dippy pool.

They said it by name. So I could be wrong, but I'm assuming they have something they're reading from or whatever.

So I'm happy! Totally worth the extra money to me!!

We went last December and got put in the 90's--- such a long walk around the parking lot, since our stroller wouldn't fit between the cars. Spending the extra money this time to know for sure we won't have that issue!!

I would make sure your have a room near the Hippy Dippy Pool as a request. Reservation CM's are notorious for having misinformation, so no matter how many times they told me, I would still want it listed as a request. 50's has preferred rooms and several face the pool.

Just got back from POP. Did not have a preferred room. Upon check in I asked for something close to the main building and busses. I totally loved our room. Very quiet and very close to the main building. It was room 6301 and it was in that courtyard where the big Mickey phone is. Totally loved it. Short walk when you get back from a long day at the parks. Close to Hippy dippy pool, but not so close that you can hear all the yelling and screaming. I would not want to be pool side!! It was a great location.

Scrapbookqueen
Kellie

Welcome back and that you for the review! What a terrific room location! I agree about being poolside - had a 4th floor room right over the HD Pool and boy was it loud at night. I was alone for 2 ngts due to a flight cancellation (my friend was able to leave, but SSR was sold out so had to move) but would not want to be there for an entire stay.

So glad you had a great trip!!

 

[FrankieDplus3]

We've had 5 stays at POP (3 in Dec, 1 in March and 1 the 3rd week of August when free dining was going on) and never waited for a bus more than 20 mins - so I am not sure why the others have had such terrible experiences.

We always are there for RD, back midday and off to a park for the evening...we try to leave before park closing or take out time after IllumiNations or Wishes to stroll through the park in hopes of the worst of the park closing bus lines are over.

While we have enjoyed POP, will not likely return for awhile. Morning in the food court is usually incredibly crowded, so I always feel I must get up extra early to miss the craziness and be sure to miss meal times at any other part of the day...otherwise we love POP food court.

POP can be waring on the senses for sure - at least for us. It seems to always be up, never any down time - but that is the spirit of the resort.

I hope others will post their experiences with POP buses to give you a good sense of what to expect. I absolutely do not expect you will spend anywhere near 7 hours a day on a bus. We found the buses worse at deluxe resorts - waited what seemed like forever - we've stayed at just about every deluxe and the worse waits were at GF, Poly & BWI/V...best SSR and AKL. Years ago the Dolphin was great too, but last time at the BC we shared buses and it seemed to take forever before we even headed for a park.

Good luck and hope you have a wonderful time!!!

We had the same luck as Minnie&Nana when we were there the last week of August/first week of Sept last year. No more than a 20 min wait for a bus.

Our waits varied depending on when we got to the bus stop; the most we waited was when we got to the bus stop as it was pulling away, we just missed it.

 

[KELLY]

As far as people being concerend about buses. There really is no worry. You get the same bus service no matter where you stay. You aren't going to wait a hour for a bus. At least I have never. POP imo has some of the best bus service. The only time we waited long last year was in a Thunderstorm at TL but they was beacuse they picked up at DTD first and the bus was pretty full. So we waited for a second bus that came 2 minutes later. I just think the buses weren't staggered correctly. But this can happen anywhere.

Just like reviews on hotels you never know until you try it once. We never thought we would enjoy a value resort. We found pop and now we are hooked. I would rather stay at pop than any other resort we have tired so far. I could have been saving alot of money all these years.

 

[MickeyEars]

We just returned from 10 nights at Riverside, our first stay at a Moderate and I have to say I didn't love it like I thought I would.
Up until this trip we have always stayed at the Value Resorts (all 4 of them several times each) and I just knew I would love the Moderates and would want to stay there from now on but Riverside was just soooo spread out and our room was such a long hike to everything that I found myself wishing we were back at Pop.
When we got home last Sunday and noticed that Disney had already released 2012 dates and rates I booked Pop Century for our May 30-June 7 trip immediately!!

Carla

 

[zianha]

Can someone help me understand the bus situation a little more clearly? The thought of waiting for a bus for almost two hours, twice a day, for ten days has me re-thinking the entire trip. Is it really that bad? I thought that POP had their own buses and it was supposed to be relatively short trips. We will be there in August, so I know it will be busy. We plan to be to RD every morning, then back to the resort for a rest, and then return to the parks for the evening. Does that mean we could be waiting for the buses for up to 7 hours? That seems very unpleasant. Our only other experience using the onsite transportation was a stay at the Dolphin in late November, when it wasn't busy and we were often the only people getting on the bus.

I know it's possible to wait on a bus for almost an hour or more, but it's not the usual case. Buses from any resort are *SUPPOSED* to run about every 20 minutes to and from the parks. As all of us know, it doesn't always happen that way. I was just at Pop May 29- June 5th and our 2 longest waits for a bus were at AK waiting to go back to Pop and at MK also waiting to go back to POP. Each was about a 45 min wait. In the mornings on the way to the parks, we got to the bus lines about 8:00 or 8:30 and waited anywhere from 5 mins to 15 mins. When we left the parks mid day to take a break, there was very short waits and only a handful of people on most of the buses we rode back to Pop. With the busy season in August, I'd expect to atleast wait 15-20 mins depending on the time of day and what park you're going to. Personally, I never let the bus line waits affect my decision to go to WDW again or not.

 

[DizFan13]

We've had 5 stays at POP (3 in Dec, 1 in March and 1 the 3rd week of August when free dining was going on) and never waited for a bus more than 20 mins - so I am not sure why the others have had such terrible experiences.

We had the same luck as Minnie&Nana when we were there the last week of August/first week of Sept last year. No more than a 20 min wait for a bus.

This is very relieving to hear!

I know it's possible to wait on a bus for almost an hour or more, but it's not the usual case. Buses from any resort are *SUPPOSED* to run about every 20 minutes to and from the parks. As all of us know, it doesn't always happen that way. I was just at Pop May 29- June 5th and our 2 longest waits for a bus were at AK waiting to go back to Pop and at MK also waiting to go back to POP. Each was about a 45 min wait. In the mornings on the way to the parks, we got to the bus lines about 8:00 or 8:30 and waited anywhere from 5 mins to 15 mins. When we left the parks mid day to take a break, there was very short waits and only a handful of people on most of the buses we rode back to Pop. With the busy season in August, I'd expect to atleast wait 15-20 mins depending on the time of day and what park you're going to. Personally, I never let the bus line waits affect my decision to go to WDW again or not.

Thank you for the info. And I guess I should have clarified, when I said I was rethinking the trip I only meant whether or not it is better to rely on the transportation or to rent a car, not that I would not go!!! I reread my post and realized I didn't mention what I was rethinking.

 

[disneygirl15]

I hope others will post their experiences with POP buses to give you a good sense of what to expect.

We have visited 3 times during President's week and found most waits for buses to be in the 10-15 minute range. Buses can be crowded at park closing so avoid that if you can. We also found that the bus ride to and from downtown to be long because it makes a couple of stops but all the other trips were quick and direct. The Pop is not spread out like some other resorts so the bus stop is convenient to most room locations. We appreciated the ease of jumping on the bus, letting someone else do the driving and not hassling with parking at the parks. Hope it goes well for you.

 

[squirrel]

I might have waited more than 20 min. at the end of the evening for a bus or DTD.

I also don't like the 50's section of the resort. It's the smoking area. I had it as my one request not to be placed there. The CM checking me in assured me that I could get to and from the main building and avoid the smoking pit in the middle of the walkway. I could, however he did not know that everyone else will walk around with cigarettes in that section. I had to be moved after having asthma attacks.

I think I am going to request an area instead of not 50's section. I don't think the CM's actually read. They see the 50's and don't notice the Not in front.

 

[angwill]

We chose POP due to their good bus reputation over the 3 All Star Resorts. It was our first on site WDW trip, so maybe we had higher expectations? But if we were in line for a bus and ACTUALLY got on it we thought we scored big time and I (hope) that's not the Disney resort norm..??



When you drove yourself did you save time or just frustration? Did you walk more, like to the tram and back out to the parking lot both at the parks and then when you got back to the resort? And if you're staying in a WDW resort can you park at the parks for free?

This trip will be my best friend and I, no hubbies, no kiddos . woohoo! More than likely we won't even eat in the resort as we'll be dawn to dusk park hoppers. I'm soooooo excited to be coming back!

LOl I am one who picks All star Sports because I know I will get a seat going to the parks 99% of the time. ASResorts are individually smaller than Pop so IMO I don't feel it is as busy. ASMusic and Movies I have always been lucky in getting seats to the parks as well. To me making one extra stop while at music is not a big deal at all since it is only a couple minute delay. Then when we were at Movies we always had our own busses. It is all in personal perspective if we think the bus service is good or bad. Coming home from the parks at closing at any resort you will be waiting for busses to load up till you can get on one and they will all be sardine packed which is what doesn't work well for me. I can not stand being on top of other people with no personal space especially after a hot day in the parks KWIM. This is why I drive mostly anymore.

I would say at Pop leaving for the parks I have only had to wait for a second bus about 20% of the time coming home usually is a longer wait. If you want to do busses without much crowding and less wait leave for the parks about45 minutes to an hour before park opening and it will be virtually empty. This way you wait at the turnstyle and get to be first in the park vs waiting for the bus and getting crowded in and waiting in line at the turnstyle. Then coming home sit and talk and people watch or go shopping till the last of the stragglers are leaving and the wait will be much less but you will still most likely be sardined in.

You get free parking when staying at a Disney resort or if you are an AP holder. Just have your parking paper on the dashboard when driving to the park. When parking a car most times we are not too far from the tram and then all but AK and MK drops you off at the front of the park. AK is about as far as the busses and MK is in front of the boat and monorail that take you to the front of the park. If leaving at the end of the night at least you won't come out to a melting hot car in the afternoons in summer time too. I have never had to wait for a second tram. lol Try driving and the busses on your next trip if you have a chance and decide what works for you. I have never been parked too far from our room and always closer than it is to the busses at the front of the main building. I guess that would depend at a resort like POP though because if you are in the 60's building there is no parking lot right there. HTH I honestly think the bus issues vary depending on how many drivers are employed at one time and how off they get in timing. If they don't have enough drivers the wait will be longer.

 

[angwill]

We've had 5 stays at POP (3 in Dec, 1 in March and 1 the 3rd week of August when free dining was going on) and never waited for a bus more than 20 mins - so I am not sure why the others have had such terrible experiences.

We always are there for RD, back midday and off to a park for the evening...we try to leave before park closing or take out time after IllumiNations or Wishes to stroll through the park in hopes of the worst of the park closing bus lines are over.

While we have enjoyed POP, will not likely return for awhile. Morning in the food court is usually incredibly crowded, so I always feel I must get up extra early to miss the craziness and be sure to miss meal times at any other part of the day...otherwise we love POP food court.

POP can be waring on the senses for sure - at least for us. It seems to always be up, never any down time - but that is the spirit of the resort.

I hope others will post their experiences with POP buses to give you a good sense of what to expect. I absolutely do not expect you will spend anywhere near 7 hours a day on a bus. We found the buses worse at deluxe resorts - waited what seemed like forever - we've stayed at just about every deluxe and the worse waits were at GF, Poly & BWI/V...best SSR and AKL. Years ago the Dolphin was great too, but last time at the BC we shared buses and it seemed to take forever before we even headed for a park.

Good luck and hope you have a wonderful time!!!

My worst wait was 1 hour and 45 minutes to DTD and I swore the guests were ready to riot when the driver finally got there. I know it was 1 hour 45 minutes because I got there exactly at noon and just missed the noon bus. The bus then showed up at 1:45. I talked to the transportation department while waiting in line and was told they were short drivers. Busses waits were especially long that whole trip. I want to say it was a September or October trip. Ask SG about the wait that was over and hour to MK the one night we were together at Pop. We were standing next to another Diser we met in line that trip and her husband timed the bus. Maybe I am just a jinks for long bus waits while at Pop. Not all of my trips have I had long waits there but the majority I have gone have had packed busses unless I left well before park opening or in the afternoon.

Who had 7 hour waits for busses? That would be scary!!!

 

[Celidh]

I am trying to find out whether the rooms at Pop are all non smoking. Someone told me yesterday they thought the 50s building was a smoking building. I looked ever the information at the beginning of this thread and all I saw about smoking was that there were designated smoking areas and that there is no smoking outside the room doors, I didn't see anything about in room smoking.

The 50s and 60s buildings were part of my room request but I have an asthmatic daughter and I don't want to end up in a room that had smoking in it. Plus the room stinks!

If someone could answer this for me it would be greatly appreciated. I never really thought about requesting non-smoking. Since there are so many smoke free hotels these days, the thought never even crossed my mind.

 

[KELLY]

I am trying to find out whether the rooms at Pop are all non smoking. Someone told me yesterday they thought the 50s building was a smoking building. I looked ever the information at the beginning of this thread and all I saw about smoking was that there were designated smoking areas and that there is no smoking outside the room doors, I didn't see anything about in room smoking.

The 50s and 60s buildings were part of my room request but I have an asthmatic daughter and I don't want to end up in a room that had smoking in it. Plus the room stinks!

If someone could answer this for me it would be greatly appreciated. I never really thought about requesting non-smoking. Since there are so many smoke free hotels these days, the thought never even crossed my mind.

All disney resorts are non-smoking. But yes the have the designated smoking areas. I have never had a problem with smoke. But if you are staying in the 50s or the playdoh building. you may want to walk around to the other side. Since there is a smoking section right when you head into the main building on the left hand side. It is kind of hard to avoid it when it is right there.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I am trying to find out whether the rooms at Pop are all non smoking. Someone told me yesterday they thought the 50s building was a smoking building. I looked ever the information at the beginning of this thread and all I saw about smoking was that there were designated smoking areas and that there is no smoking outside the room doors, I didn't see anything about in room smoking.

The 50s and 60s buildings were part of my room request but I have an asthmatic daughter and I don't want to end up in a room that had smoking in it. Plus the room stinks!

If someone could answer this for me it would be greatly appreciated. I never really thought about requesting non-smoking. Since there are so many smoke free hotels these days, the thought never even crossed my mind.

As Kelly said, all Disney resorts are non-smoking and have been for several years, but guests do sometimes ignore the rules (as with any hotel) and will smoke in a room or more often outside on the walkway in front of their door or railing (on all floors), this is against Disney rules and you can report it to the front desk - but I would not call the front desk, as calls from the rooms go to a call center, just like if a guests were to call the resort number. Go to the front desk and let them know the room number of the guests smoking on the 'balcony'. If you call , you will likely have to call more than once. Unfortunately, Disney has not been great about enforcing the no smoking rule.

More important, you can call Disney reservations and ask them to contact special needs for you to have the room especially cleaned - explain to them your daughter has severe asthma. They will clean the room thoroughly and change the filters. I have severe asthma, so understand your concerns. We've experienced guests smoking outside the rooms at every resort - certainly not every trip, but it can happen.

Hope you have a wonderful trip and stay at POP! Do call reservations and ask to have your room cleaned for severe allergies.

 

[jenseib]

We chose POP due to their good bus reputation over the 3 All Star Resorts. It was our first on site WDW trip, so maybe we had higher expectations? But if we were in line for a bus and ACTUALLY got on it we thought we scored big time and I (hope) that's not the Disney resort norm..??
!

I would say during busy times it is very normal to have to wait for the 2nd buss to come. And standing is normal, again at busy times. The buses will be busy for a good hour or 2 after normal closing.

I have found the worst bus for Pop (and many reports of other resorts as well) is DTD. I have waited 45 minutes for one there before.
I have also taken a bus from GF to AK before and it took forever for the bus to come mid-day. So all resorts are not with out flaws. I stayed off sited 2 nights this last trip though and we went to Epcot on one of those day. I will NEVER stay off site again if I can help it. I hated the tram, and the whole parking lot in general. It's just not for me. It's so much easier to get dropped off at the front of the park and not worry where you left your car.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I would say during busy times it is very normal to have to wait for the 2nd buss to come. And standing is normal, again at busy times. The buses will be busy for a good hour or 2 after normal closing.

I have found the worst bus for Pop (and many reports of other resorts as well) is DTD. I have waited 45 minutes for one there before.
I have also taken a bus from GF to AK before and it took forever for the bus to come mid-day. So all resorts are not with out flaws. I stayed off sited 2 nights this last trip though and we went to Epcot on one of those day. I will NEVER stay off site again if I can help it. I hated the tram, and the whole parking lot in general. It's just not for me. It's so much easier to get dropped off at the front of the park and not worry where you left your car.

Absolutely, the buses to DTD from any resort are plain awful! Doesn't matter from/to and the stops at water parks don't help.

I am so glad to read of someone else who does not like the trams - I've been with friends who cannot be without a car and not only was it more of a pain driving, parking and taking a tram (imho), but it also lacked the immersion effect - when I'm at WDW I love being immersed in the enchantment.

 

[Disneylvr]

Sorry, but I don't find anything about being crammed into a standing room only bus enchanting. They just aren't for everyone, just like driving to the parks isn't for everyone. We don't mind parking and walking or using the tram. I can come and go on my schedule not Disney bus transportation's schedule. Driving to the parks also works much much better for our daughter with autism. We are looking forward to our first stay at POP Century next year and will be very happily renting a car.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Sorry, but I don't find anything about being crammed into a standing room only bus enchanting. They just aren't for everyone, just like driving to the parks isn't for everyone. We don't mind parking and walking or using the tram. I can come and go on my schedule not Disney bus transportation's schedule. Driving to the parks also works much much better for our daughter with autism. We are looking forward to our first stay at POP Century next year and will be very happily renting a car.

Did someone say being crammed into a bus is enchanting?

Please don't get defensive - we were simply commenting on why some of us prefer the bus, it was not a judgement on those who prefer to drive.

 

[KELLY]

Sorry, but I don't find anything about being crammed into a standing room only bus enchanting. They just aren't for everyone, just like driving to the parks isn't for everyone. We don't mind parking and walking or using the tram. I can come and go on my schedule not Disney bus transportation's schedule. Driving to the parks also works much much better for our daughter with autism. We are looking forward to our first stay at POP Century next year and will be very happily renting a car.

That is why there is options. We have never rented a car. That is part of the vacation for Dh is not having to drive and me also.

 

[DaniB]

That is why there is options. We have never rented a car. That is part of the vacation for Dh is not having to drive and me also.

My husband loved not having to drive for those 10 days.