The Groovy New Pop Century FAQ Thread!

[englishrose47]

what exactly are grits???? Sorry to be an ignorant English woman, but I have always wondered what they were??

They are something like cream of wheat,which is a finer oatmeal, it is served with eggs abd bacon and really more or less takes the place of potatoes, it's good with butter. I/m English and I like it DD who is American hates it!!

 

[Alesia]

what exactly are grits???? Sorry to be an ignorant English woman, but I have always wondered what they were??

They're made from corn. Similar to polenta. They're pretty good with cheese.

 

[PittypatBR]

Oh, NO! You make this southern girl's hair stand on end! Sorry, but grits are made from corn, not oats or wheat! They are a coarser grind of cornmeal. (When I was really young, we ate cornmeal mush, made in a similar way from the finer cornmeal!) Grits are boiled with salt added and served with butter. You can make fancy dishes with cheese and other additives, but I just love them plain with lots of butter!

 

[hidmickey:myantidrug]

I've heard people mention standing on balconys. What is the balcony situation?

 

[PittypatBR]

I've heard people mention standing on balconys. What is the balcony situation?

Well, from one Project Runway and Tim Gunn fan to another . . . . . The balconies are just the walkways around the rooms. There aren't any private balconies like at the deluxe resorts. They are wide enough to watch illuminations from, but not to spend much time on! There are lots of pictures around, but here is one of the area where we stayed last month.

 

[hidmickey:myantidrug]

Well, from one Project Runway and Tim Gunn fan to another . . . . . The balconies are just the walkways around the rooms. There aren't any private balconies like at the deluxe resorts. They are wide enough to watch illuminations from, but not to spend much time on! There are lots of pictures around, but here is one of the area where we stayed last month.

Thanks a bunch! You all may now "carry on" with your thread. (That was bad, I'm not going to lie...I get pretty dilusional at 2 am after reading hundreds of pages of a thread )

 

[tracipierce]

They are something like cream of wheat,which is a finer oatmeal, it is served with eggs abd bacon and really more or less takes the place of potatoes, it's good with butter. I/m English and I like it DD who is American hates it!!

Thanks for the replies! Well no matter whether they are made from wheat or corn,, they probably taste nicer than they sound,, 'grits' is such a strange name for a breakfast food!

 

[hidmickey:myantidrug]

Out of curiosity, from where can you see SE?

 

[declansdad]

Out of curiosity, from where can you see SE?

We could see it from the 50s Building C. This was taken just outside our room.

 

[Partridge4ever]

How much are the frozen cokes? We are going for 3 days and I'm trying to figure out how cost effective a refillable mug will be...but I don't think it will be a trip to Pop without those frozen cokes by the pool.

I wouldn't buy the mug just for the frozen coke. We just got back from an 8 night stay and I bought 3 mugs specifically for the icees. Every single time we tried to get one the machine was out of order. Didn't matter what time....before 9, around lunch, around dinner, late at night. I don't think the machines can keep up with demand.

 

[Partridge4ever]

I don't know when it happened, but I think I've become a hotel snob. I read all the great reviews of Pop here and was prepared to love it. We just spent 6 nights at the Hilton and 8 at Pop. Now I know it's probably unfair to compare a value resort to the Hilton, BUT... We used Hilton Honors points but I originally had a cash rate and the Hilton was only $10 more than Pop. I'll never stay there again unless there's a more significant price difference.

We were in the 50s area, 2 rooms from the end. Very long walk to the bus and food court. Lots of noise from the pool. Lots of foot traffic in front of our room. Doors slamming constantly. Instead of making me feel like I was in a Disney hotel, the 50s decor made me feel like I was in some seedy motel that hadn't been redecorated in years. Food court says it's open til midnite, but in reality everything but the Italian area closes at 11. Frozen coke machine was empty every time we tried to get one.

My only complaint about the Hilton had been that the bus ran only every 30 minutes and no matter how hard we tried, we always seemed to just miss it when leaving the park. And yes the bus at Pop does run much more frequently, but it was so crowded we almost always had to wait for a second one and then there was the 10 minute hike to our room, so the total time from leaving the park to being in the room evened out. We tried to leave Epcot at 10:15 and we had to wait for 4 buses before we finally were able to squeeze onto the 5th. We were lucky enough to actually get a seat 4 times in 8 days. The rest of the time we stood. When we did get a seat I always kept my 7 year old on my lap to make room for others. A few other mothers did the same, but we were the exception rather than the norm.

There were some good points...the huge ice cream sundaes have to be the biggest bargain at WDW. Service at the food court was quick and there was a big variety. The twinkie tiramisu was yummy. The bowling pin pool is adorable. The room was clean. I'd much rather be at a value resort than off property. And of course we were at WDW so it was still a wonderful trip.

 

[Augustheather97]

we just returned LATE sat night too from the POP and I would NEVER stay there again either...we were in 50's room 2315....smokers every where...smoking where they were NOT supposed to be either....very loud at night I had to call security one night still screaming kids slamming doors and running wild after midnight...it was HORRIBLE....we tried to switch to another hotel but everything was booked solid....so we had to stay.....I would never go to this hotel again.....guests were rude, never picked up after them selves hardly like at the moderates....the rooms were clean but tiny....miss not having two sinks and the privacy curtain.....no fridge is a pain too....If I can;t get a Moderate from now on I just won;t go....it was a last second trip so I didn;t have a lot of options......
bye pop-- never again

 

[antmaril]

we just returned LATE sat night too from the POP and I would NEVER stay there again either...we were in 50's room 2315....smokers every where...smoking where they were NOT supposed to be either....very loud at night I had to call security one night still screaming kids slamming doors and running wild after midnight...it was HORRIBLE....we tried to switch to another hotel but everything was booked solid....so we had to stay.....I would never go to this hotel again.....guests were rude, never picked up after them selves hardly like at the moderates....the rooms were clean but tiny....miss not having two sinks and the privacy curtain.....no fridge is a pain too....If I can;t get a Moderate from now on I just won;t go....it was a last second trip so I didn;t have a lot of options......
bye pop-- never again

You guys are making me VERY nervous. I, too, am a hotel snob and I have two rooms booked at POP at the end of August. We usually stay deluxe (BWI to be exact) and I booked POP because this is our second trip this year and I need two rooms. I'm trying to economize. I tried to upgrade to any moderate, but there weren't any rooms available with Free Dining, so I'm kind of stuck. I had decided to just go with it, because most people seem to like POP, but you, and the other poster, both hated it. Oy!

Now what?

 

[DizzDoll]

I think that this is one of the busier times of the year, and the kids are ALL out of school now. That may or may not be a factor, but I'm gonna keep it in mind cuz we're gonna be there for 5 days at the end of August. Worst case scenario is that we'll never stay there again if it's still as bad as described by the OPs, but I'm still gonna keep an open mind. Waiting to try the shrimp lo mein

 

[lovesdumbo]

You guys are making me VERY nervous. I, too, am a hotel snob and I have two rooms booked at POP at the end of August. We usually stay deluxe (BWI to be exact) and I booked POP because this is our second trip this year and I need two rooms. I'm trying to economize. I tried to upgrade to any moderate, but there weren't any rooms available with Free Dining, so I'm kind of stuck. I had decided to just go with it, because most people seem to like POP, but you, and the other poster, both hated it. Oy!

Now what?

Look at my signature. I used to be resort snob too and still do enjoy a nice deluxe resort for a short trip but just can't justify the expense for a longer trip. I really love the Poly but my 2nd choice is Pop! It is a really fun resort. I stayed in 50's twice and didn't feel like I was in a seedy motel at all-I really enjoyed the fun atmosphere. I did request and received the top floor on both trips. Both trips were before the resort went non smoking so I didn't have any of those issues.

I really like the layout of the resort. It is much more compact than the moderate resorts so the longest walk to a room here is nothing like the longest walk at some of the moderates.

I also had pretty good luck with the frozen coke machines. I had just 1 time on both trips that I couldn't get one. One was early in the morning and the other was just before the food court closed for the night.

I have also been to WDW twice in late August and found the crowds relatively low.

 

[arizonacolbys]

I agree with the previous poster - I LOVED staying in a BWV, the Polynesian, Contemporary & WL, but for more frequent trips we LOVE POP!!!

August will be our 6th stay there since 2004 - if you're worried about noise being a factor ask for a 4th floor room so there is nobody above you & a room away from the pool. The back side of the 50's & 80's were VERY quiet for us.

The complaints about loud guests & kids running around after midnight can really happen ANYWHERE at WDW, not just POP. I think this is more common to see when the Resorts are booked to capacity (guests aren't spaced out at all like in the Value Seasons) & kids are all out of school for the year.

Sorry to hear that some guests weren't crazy about POP, but I spent more money for a room at CBR & Missed our room at POP! Try not to worry about it too much - you can find a negative review on every resort & restaurant - everyone just has different tastes.

 

[TruBlu]

You guys are making me VERY nervous. I, too, am a hotel snob and I have two rooms booked at POP at the end of August. We usually stay deluxe (BWI to be exact) and I booked POP because this is our second trip this year and I need two rooms. I'm trying to economize. I tried to upgrade to any moderate, but there weren't any rooms available with Free Dining, so I'm kind of stuck. I had decided to just go with it, because most people seem to like POP, but you, and the other poster, both hated it. Oy!

Now what?

Another resort snob here. We had our first and last stay at Pop last month.

That being said, it really wasn't that bad. There are some very good things. Especially the busses. They run about 4 to 1 compared to the deluxes. We moved to Saratoga Springs from Pop and the busses were terrible in comparison. You not only had to wait forever for the right bus, you then had to ride it around the entire resort!

The worst thing was the smoking. My son has terrible asthma, so even a small smoke exposure really bothers him. I guess that since people can't smoke in the rooms anymore they just do it in the walkway instead. I can't tell you how many people we saw (as we returned to our room very late at night) sitting in a chair they dragged out of their room, with the door proped open, smoking. Yuck!!!

Oh yeah, another bad thing was the wait in the front lobby. I waited for over an hour one night just to check for a package.

 

[Goofy41]

Wow, I am too a bit worried about some of the replies I have been reading. I guess as so meone said there are always ups/downs with every resort. This will be our 1st stay at POP. We arrive on 8/25. I have a few questions: 1. can I ask for a fridge, 2. Is there and Iron, hair dryer, coffe pot in the rooms. 3. if none of the above can any of these be requested.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Wow, I am too a bit worried about some of the replies I have been reading. I guess as so meone said there are always ups/downs with every resort. This will be our 1st stay at POP. We arrive on 8/25. I have a few questions: 1. can I ask for a fridge, 2. Is there and Iron, hair dryer, coffe pot in the rooms. 3. if none of the above can any of these be requested.

What did you think of ASMo? Pop is very simular. There are irons and hair dryers in every room. You can rent a fridge for $10/night. I think you may want to have that added to your reservation now. No coffee pots-you may want to bring your own as the coffee at the food court is horrible.

 

[declansdad]

I can appreciate that not everyone likes Pop but this thread is not a review of POp but rather a place for people to get questions answered. Maybe the reviews could go in review threads.