The Groovy New Pop Century FAQ Thread!

[jjan]

Ok, I have a logistical question for those who have been to POP. We are going the week of xmas & are going to request the 60's building, but the very back (along the lake). How far of a walk is it really? It's so hard to tell on the maps & I read varying reports of how big the resort is - some say "it's not that bad" while others say "it's a 15 minute walk". So any guidance you POP veterans could give I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks!

The buildings at Pop are very close togther. I think from the 90's section it would maybe be 15 minutes, but that would be if you were taking your time. Just rember that if you want the 60's section, that is a "preferred" room and you will pay extra for it and IMHO it isn't worth it. There are lots of ends of building with nicer views or that are closer to the Lobby/food court or whatever than the 60's. There really is no bad area in Pop.... it is all good!

 

[SRUAlmn]

I agree. It's not worth the extra $$ for preferred. We were in the 70s and were closer than some of the 'preferred' rooms. If you want to, spend that extra $10 a night and get a mini fridge in your room

 

[Disney_1derland]

Ok, I have a logistical question for those who have been to POP. We are going the week of xmas & are going to request the 60's building, but the very back (along the lake). How far of a walk is it really? It's so hard to tell on the maps & I read varying reports of how big the resort is - some say "it's not that bad" while others say "it's a 15 minute walk". So any guidance you POP veterans could give I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks!

it only takes us 15 minutes to walk the entire length of the resort from the 50's to the 90's. I would say it might be a 5 minute walk from the back of the 60's if you cut up through the pool straight into Classic Hall.

 

[Kimber1963]

I agree with the others. Paying for the 60's building is definitely not worth it. We were in the 70's builiding just a few weeks ago and our room was definitely closer than most of the 60's rooms. I really found it odd that they charge more for those rooms. JMHO.

 

[Condorman]

Just curious if anyone still requests rooms ahead of their arrival, or is that a thing of the past? I know they used to accept faxes, but they got overrun with requests. Is it still considered uncool to call ahead and ask for a certain floor, view, room #, etc?

 

[Kris & Steve]

I'm one of those dumb people who booked a prefered room! I wonder if it's to late to call & make a request to change to a standard room? I know the room lay-out is the same but is it any closer to the bus stops, pools & food court? Or did I just waste? $10 a night for over a week. Grrrrrrr some days I could kick myself.

 

[momloveson]

I'm one of those dumb people who booked a prefered room! I wonder if it's to late to call & make a request to change to a standard room? I know the room lay-out is the same but is it any closer to the bus stops, pools & food court? Or did I just waste? $10 a night for over a week. Grrrrrrr some days I could kick myself.

If you think its not worth it, then call to change. There is no harm in calling and asking. Because POP is by nature a little downscaled, I don't see the value added in getting a preferred room. We went last year during thanksgiving week and stayed our first leg at POP in the 50's. Because the pool area can be a little loud, we actually PREFERRED being away from it...even though a couple of the evenings were chilly coming back from the pool for our 4 year old. For the money, our standard room delivered.

Also, CM's worked with us to let us add days at our original deal price (a substantial savings) without needing to change rooms.

I am partially disabled, so we had requested an easily accessable room which was relatively close to the bus stop, but I could have handled any room in the complex I think. Don't get me wrong, the complex is big, but any average person is able to maneuver just fine, and considering the distance traveled during the week as a whole, the walk to the food court was a trivial portion.

BTW we stayed at POP for 4 days and followed up with French Quarter for 4. Son absolutely LOVED the atmosphere at POP and I loved having a lower cost official DISNEY option for the first part of our trip. While I don't think a $10 difference is worth it within the POP complex, a $10 difference to get onsite at a disney hotel as compared with a non-disney, orlando hotel was TOTALLY worth it. Our whole vacation was disney magical.

 

[momloveson]

Okay...I need some advice from all you POP vetrans!

I have two kids: an almost nine year old girl that loves all things disney and a six year old boy that bounces off the walls. I would like a building thats not too noisy at night and near the bus stops. I was thinking one of the 70s buildings b/c its near the playground. Recommendations?

Last year we went on first Disney vacation. 4 year old son LOVED Pop. I think there are a few more ammenities now (goofy?) but we got great use out of our 50's room which, although was small, was just fine for our needs. Also, our room was very quiet, and we were only a short stroll from the main pool.

Has anyone been in December? Did you make use of the pools? Are the pop jets on in Dec?

We were there last thanksgiving...at that time the first couple of days were only chilly by our midwest standards (hey, it was snowing when we left our house!) The pools were open and we used them. The weather heated up as the week passed and we used the pools A LOT. Wish I could tell you if the weather is similiar 1 month later. Sorry, I don't know about the pop jets.

The layout of POP looks largely spread out and confusing! Reassure me that its more condensed than it looks on a map.

Don't get me wrong, the complex is pretty big, but its totally manageable (and I have walking issues). The spickett designed can work in your favor. Just remember to take your time. Part of our vacation was hopping around for a day or so just visiting the different disney resorts. While POP is big, I didn't think it was nearly as spread out as a couple of the others.

Oh, one last thing....don't try to do everything. You've been before, so you know there is too much to see in one trip. We followed others advice to just take it easy and actually came back from a vacation NOT needing a vacation.

 

[momloveson]

delete by poster, see other post.

 

[geetey]

Well, count us in as one of the people that gladly paid the extra $10 a night for a preferred room. We were there in crowded June and didn't want to risk getting the 80s or 90s. Even though our friends were traveling with us (our ressies were tied together) and they requested being close to us in the 50s or 70s, they ended up in the 90s.
Remember - preferred is guarenteed because of the extra $10. The other locations are just requests - you may or may not get them.

 

[SRUAlmn]

That is actually a good point. I am one of the ones who feel the extra $10 isn't worth it, but if you are dead set on having a close room it is your only way to guarantee that. If you're feeling lucky and you want to save the extra money and chance it, the odds are good that you would get an alternatively decent location, but it's not definite.

 

[kimmbagley]

We are 2 families with a Grand Gathering#. It is imperative that we have connecting rooms. Not because of the child/adult ratio, but that is what we WANT. We may take turns having a couples night out, and would like the other to watch the kids. Would we have a better chance of connecting rooms if we did the preffered 60's bldg? Or do we have just as good of a chance because we have a GG#? We only have 26 days to decide. What do you think?

 

[SRUAlmn]

We are 2 families with a Grand Gathering#. It is imperative that we have connecting rooms. Not because of the child/adult ratio, but that is what we WANT. We may take turns having a couples night out, and would like the other to watch the kids. Would we have a better chance of connecting rooms if we did the preffered 60's bldg? Or do we have just as good of a chance because we have a GG#? We only have 26 days to decide. What do you think?

I have a friend who did a Grand Gathering at Pop in June. They did not do the preferred section and did request connecting rooms. They got some connecting, but not all. Anyone else have experience that could help??

 

[Kimber1963]

We requested connecting rooms in the 70's building and got them. I think there are a lot of connecting rooms at POP, so it's probably not a problem. I don't think you're guaranteed connecting rooms in the 60's building any more than you are in any of the other buildings. Anyone else know??

 

[geetey]

I agree... I don't think your chances of getting connecting rooms is any higher in a preferred building versus standard.

That being said... we had a group of 3 rooms at POP in January and booked preferred and 2 of the rooms were connecting. We had king/2 double connecting though, so I don't think that would help the OP.

My guess is that Grand Gathering will get you "more" than preferred. Just a guess though.

 

[jenelope]

I just returned from Pop yesterday. It was a great experience overall! I stayed in the 50s Jukebox building on the second floor facing the pool. If I was outside my room, the noise from the pool was incredible. Shrieking kid soup nearly every night. But the second I closed my door, I could barely even hear that I was near the pool. The only time it was a problem was when I needed to use my cell phone. I had absolutely zero reception in my room and had to step out onto the walkway to one end or the other to call anyone. The pool end was loud, but the lake end was fairly peaceful.

This was the first time I'd stayed at Pop, and I was very happy with it. The jukebox building is the farthest 50s building from Classic Hall, but it was a quick, easy walk whenever I needed a snack or breakfast. I didn't use the buses much, because I rented a car, but when I did use the bus, I found it to be relatively quick and convenient. The Pop stop at most of the parks is a long walk, though. I usually stay at ASMu and I know that's pretty much par for the Value resort course.

The food that I tried was usually very good. Most of what I had was breakfast, but I did sneak a couple of dinners in there. The pizza is not good, but it is pizza. The breakfast sausage is oddly flavorless, but good with syrup. The waffles are absolutely delicious, as are the vegetable frittata, the ham and cheese omelet, and the chicken curry flatbread sandwich (which is a little more spicy than the server indicated, but I just drank more soda).

My housekeeper, Jose H. J., was exceptional. He always left me little things with the towels, like a towel toothbrush holder, and on the last day, I got not only a towel animal, but a towel tri-circle Mickey, and a towel heart with a bow. I've never expected towel animals, and never gotten any, so this was a great surprise for my last night. I met him a couple of times and he was the sweetest older gentleman. Very effusive! Also, very early! Housekeeping starts at 9:00 AM, so any morning I knew I was getting a slow start, I put the "do not disturb" tag in the keycard slot. It worked very well.

 

[littlestix]

Well (DS, myself and my parents), I just returned from my first stay onsite. We stayed at Pop for 10 nights and I loved it. We stayed in the 50's building(jukebox) with connecting rooms. We were on the first floor with a VERY short walk to the bowling pin pool. We were on the free dinning plan and had way too much food. I had a few meals at everything pop and agree with the other posters about the sundaes. They were wonderful and could be used as the dessert option with the dinning plan. We didn't swim in the large pool but my son loved the bowling pool as well as the kiddie pool. Our housekeeer was great and we received 2 towel animals during our stay. I found the bus transportation to be great and found the wait to be minimal. I know I'm rambling on now so I guess I better get outta here and get some sleep..........Would definitly stay at pop again!!!

 

[kessieann]

Just curious if anyone still requests rooms ahead of their arrival, or is that a thing of the past? I know they used to accept faxes, but they got overrun with requests. Is it still considered uncool to call ahead and ask for a certain floor, view, room #, etc?

I am also interested in this info. if anyone has an answer

 

[geetey]

We don't fax any more, but make sure all of our requests are listed on our reservation. One tip I did get - don't call 3 days or less to make/add any requests because it pulls your ressie when it is being transferred over to the resort and the room assigner won't see it with the others.

We have pretty basic requests though...
medically necessary - nonsmoking, refrigerator
request - close to the elevator, lobby

Hope that helps!

 

[disneysnowflake]

We had our requests put on our ressies during the first few months of this year when we booked for this past Oct.
We requested 70s, Non-smoking, 4th floor, facing lake.

We were given 50s Building, Non-smoking, 3rd floor, facing pool.
Our room was loud. I believe it was loud because we were behind the jukebox and there was a bad echo.
Even with our door shut and the tv on you could hear the kids playing at the pool very loud. The music being played you could here until it was shut off for the night (10 or 10:30, I believe).
We brought our noise machine.
We all had to use earplugs, too.
It's too bad the fan in the bathroom has only a 25 minute timer on it, or we'd have had that baby on all night to help drown out the pool noise.

Pop was nice. I'd recommend it for others, but next time we want a monorail resort, so we'll probably not go back to Pop. I walked all around the property one night and couldn't believe how silent it was in the non-pool areas. Too bad they wouldn't allow us to move.

I think if we had a different room it would have been better. Funny how we could walk right past the pool and it wasn't noisy, but up on that 3rd floor behind that jukebox with that echo they were about 10 times as loud. Odd.

Pretty nice resort though. Cute icons. Comfy beds.