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

[labsrus1]

Englishrose. we had a great trip thank you for your well wishes. Going to CSR next year. As for the time to check your luggage, I would call the resort. We were able to check our luggage a couple of hours before our bus. It was nice we checked the bags went and had breakfast and then had time to relax and enjoy the last little bit of vacation. Keep us posted on your trip(s).

Does anyone know when the earliest is you can check in your luggage to return to MCO flying SWA??? We will be leaving for Mco around 8- 8:30 am!!!

 

[pjpoppins]

Does anyone know when the earliest is you can check in your luggage to return to MCO flying SWA??? We will be leaving for Mco around 8- 8:30 am!!!

I believe you can start checking luggage for any participating airline at 5am. We didn't until after 10am with a 2pm flight. We paid the extra $10/per flight/per person with Southwest and it was worth it. Though our boarding passes were printed 4 hours before the flight we were still like 23-27 in line and got to all sit together.

 

[angwill]

Does anyone know when the earliest is you can check in your luggage to return to MCO flying SWA??? We will be leaving for Mco around 8- 8:30 am!!!

It is 5am that they start with airline check in but I am not sure if it was 2 or 4hours before the flight that they needed to be checked in to make it on your flight.

 

[Alesia]

It is 5am that they start with airline check in but I am not sure if it was 2 or 4hours before the flight that they needed to be checked in to make it on your flight.

They must be completely checked in at least 3 hours before you flight.

 

[angwill]

They must be completely checked in at least 3 hours before you flight.

See what happens when you like even numbers better than odd. lol It was right inbetween what I thought I remembered.

 

[englishrose47]

r all your answers !!I have used the Pop CenturyLuggage check in before but always after 10 am and was hoping to be able to check in all (10 of us) bags at Pop by 7:30 am to give us time for breakfast before catching ME !!It sounds like it will work!!!!

 

[PrincessKate's Mom]

We are just back from our first stay at Pop and had a great time. Here are my impressions as a newbie:
I requested a refurbished room in the 60s or 70s, we got building 6 70s lake view 4th floor. I liked the location. It was close to the food court, close to buses and pretty quiet. The room was clean. The mousekeepers did a great job. We even got a couple of towel animals.
We did online checkin -- which probably wasn't necessary as flight delays caused us to arrive after 1 a.m. -- if you want to avoid lines at check-in, 1 a.m. is the time.
The food court had plenty of selection. We really liked the large pizza, two desserts and two drinks for 2 CS meal credits. Easily fed the whole family.
The pool was fine, unfortunately the love bugs were so thick, it kind of ruined the experience for me.
The buses were fine. I liked having one bus stop. It did seem like they should have someone out there looking at the lines and ordering up buses when they were necessary. Also noticing how many scooters/wheelchairs were waiting. I didn't see anyone doing this.
As for the thin walls -- well they are. At least in the bathroom. I got up early one morning and went to the bathroom, I could hear a woman humming. I was so surprised, I said (not loud) "oh my goodness" and she stopped. We shut the bathroom door while we slept and were not bothered by noises.
So . . . would we stay again. Maybe. Pop was crowded. At Pop we never felt like we got away from the rush of the parks. Even at 11 p.m. the food court was full and bustling. So if we decide to do again what we did this time, with days full of parks and just needing a place to sleep and eat, then definitely. If we are going for a more relaxing trip, I think we'll head back to a moderate.

 

[PrincessKate's Mom]

Just checked the weather for our trip next week and I am BUMMED all that rain forecasted is not making me very happy!!!

We just got back and rain was forecast for every day of our trip. I just unpacked our ponchos, they were never opened!

 

[angwill]

There are actually cameras where the central bus dispatch can see how many people/ecv's are waiting for busses. That doesn't necessarily mean they will call a bus in if there are lots of people. I found this out when we waited 1hr 15 minutes for a bus to DTD one day. I called the front desk and they put me through to bus dispatch 45 minutes after we got to the bus stop. He asked me if I was the one wearing what I was and said he could see me on the camera. I told him to rewind 45 minutes to see that I was standing there that long. lol He then said our bus was at TL and should be there soon. 1/2 hour after that it was.

 

[mauigal]

Does anyone know when the earliest is you can check in your luggage to return to MCO flying SWA??? We will be leaving for Mco around 8- 8:30 am!!!

When I worked at Northwest/Delta you could check bags in 6 hours prior to departure! You can actually do it longer but they don't 'tell' you that!!

 

[Scootersbabygirl]

So two dumb questions: just read that the 50's section, building 2 or 3 epcot view allows you to view the fireworks (so cool) - is it refurbished?

Also just read on here that if you have a medical condition, such as diabetes/ect, you can get a fridge w/o paying for it?

 

[PrincessKate's Mom]

There are actually cameras where the central bus dispatch can see how many people/ecv's are waiting for busses. That doesn't necessarily mean they will call a bus in if there are lots of people. I found this out when we waited 1hr 15 minutes for a bus to DTD one day. I called the front desk and they put me through to bus dispatch 45 minutes after we got to the bus stop. He asked me if I was the one wearing what I was and said he could see me on the camera. I told him to rewind 45 minutes to see that I was standing there that long. lol He then said our bus was at TL and should be there soon. 1/2 hour after that it was.

OK, I'll not complain about buses again. 1 hr 15 minutes is CRAZY! My kids would have been bonkers by then. OK, maybe one more time, in the spirit of a war story: We waited about 30 minutes until the Downtown Disney bus finally came. One of the scooter drivers was having a really hard time because the driver said she had to back onto the bus, so the scooter loading took another 20 minutes. (does the bus really have to beep the entire time the ramp is down?!?) Another Downtown Disney bus drove up while the scooter was loading and drove on, leaving more than a bus worth's of people at the stop.

 

[englishrose47]

Just to let everyone know Christine came thru the surgery fine !!

 

[jcarwash]

So two dumb questions: just read that the 50's section, building 2 or 3 epcot view allows you to view the fireworks (so cool) - is it refurbished?

Also just read on here that if you have a medical condition, such as diabetes/ect, you can get a fridge w/o paying for it?

Building 3 is all done with refurbs. No reports yet that building 2 refurbs have started, but they may be underway now, and probably will be done by your trip in late October.

 

[serene56]

Building 3 is all done with refurbs. No reports yet that building 2 refurbs have started, but they may be underway now, and probably will be done by your trip in late October.

I dont know what building we were in-- but we were in the 50's in room 3358 and that whole hall was refurbished- They were working on the second floor across the path from us.


The buses at Pop was something I disliked- although we were at the bus stop before 8am-- I have yet to see a rope drop.
(i think if we go again I will rent a car) I spent entirely too much of my vacation time waiting

 

[winterman]

Also just read on here that if you have a medical condition, such as diabetes/ect, you can get a fridge w/o paying for it?

If you take medication that requires refrigeration, you can get a frig for no charge. If you have diabetes and take insulin, there is no charge for the frig. If you have diabetes but do not take insulin (or some other med that should be refrigerated) then you are not entitled to the free frig. The medication, not the condition that is the determining factor.

 

[TinkerbellsMom0923]

Just returned from a 10 day stay at Pop. Here is my experience:

We arrived on a Sunday and got ground floor request in 50's section-room 1113. It was in building 1 and we could see they were renovating the 3rd floor but were finishing for the day. We checked in early and went to Epcot and our room wasn't ready until after 3p. We went to room for a short while and off to MK. Luggage was delivered late after 5:30 but before 10p. That was fine. Monday we returned from the parks at 1pm for a rest. I saw the workers going to lunch. My son was going to take a nap and the noise started. It was like they were drilling in our room, we couldn't even speak to each other due to the noise. I called the front desk and had to yell into the phone. They moved us to a room, ground floor in building 4, 60's area. We loved this room. It was quiet yet close to pool and main building.

I never saw a crowd at the dining area and rarely waited to check out for food. The pool was good and not too crowded. We never waited long for a bus except one day going to HS at about 4:30p. No bus came for a very long time. Going back from the parks to resort we never waited long.

If you're going soon please be aware of the heat. It was extremely hot and humid. I was sweating as soon as I left an air conditioned area. It was brutal in the parks and walking was twice as hard. The lines were short for everything. The most time we saw was 40 minutes for Splash MT and that was not 40 minute wait. Test track broke down Monday (twice while we were in line) and we waited for a long time in line there and when we got done, the wait was 90 minutes.

We had an awsome trip and I still love Pop Century...

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Whats the number to Dispatch??? Just in case we get stuck...

 

[DaParkers]

Just a heads up on the refillable cups at POP, no one was checking which ones you use. We seen people with old POP, blue generic and a bunch of other cups. We took ours from last year, put them in our carry on that way we could get coffee on the way to our room.

 

[jcarwash]

I dont know what building we were in-- but we were in the 50's in room 3358 and that whole hall was refurbished- They were working on the second floor across the path from us.


The buses at Pop was something I disliked- although we were at the bus stop before 8am-- I have yet to see a rope drop.
(i think if we go again I will rent a car) I spent entirely too much of my vacation time waiting

Room 3358 is floor 3 building 3, I think facing Hourglass Lake? Sounds like they were working on floor 2 of building 1 from your report "across the path", around the corner from your room?

Interesting your comment about the buses...Pop Century is supposed to have the most efficient bus service of all the resorts. But it can be really busy in the mornings, can't it.