We had a FANTASTIC visit at
Pop Century!!!!
For anyone not wanting to splurge on a more expensive resort and who is not expecting all the 'frills' but wants to be 'on-site' at DW and not just somewhere nearby, I'd fully recommend checking out POP!
The pools were GREAT ... and yes the petals
look like giant versions of the fisher price ones and they mist water ... and there is even a 'pool princess' ceremony in the morning when the sprinklers are turned on. Apparently the princess selects a guest to go around and magically activate each mister?!?!? I wasn't there to see the ceremony, so I don't know all the details, but my hubby and daughter told me about it. I'm guessing it occurs around 10:00 when the life guards go on duty (the pool is actually open 7 a.m. to midnight but life guards are on duty from 10 am-10 pm) Anyway ... my daughter enjoyed it and hubby thought it was a really neat touch!
The 'kiddie' pool which is near the petal pool is fabulous as well ... just a very shallow gradually deepening 'bowl' with water bubblers that jet up fairly gently around the perimeter. I'd say the water goes from 0" at the edge to maybe 8" or so in the middle. Life vests are available at each pool. Towels are not ... bring your own beach towels from home or take your room towels to the pool. You can request extra towels from housekeeping if needed.
There's also a 'bowling pin' shaped pool, a square 'computer' pool and Goofy's water jet area. None of these are as themed or have all the special features like the more expensive resorts, but for basic pools to play in and get wet they are fine. My kids would love water slides and water falls and volcanos and all that jazz, but I don't think it's worth paying twice as much for a room just to have those things (but of course you get more than just a nicer pool at the nicer resorts, so I'm not knocking them, I'm just thinking of just specifically the 'pool per $$$ value' for our family.)
The room truly is a basic 'motel' room ... two double beds (or one king), a nightstand w/ alarm clock & phone, a small table with two chairs, a plain entertainment cabinet to house the TV and provide drawers and shelves for storage, an open vanity/closet area and a small toilet/tub area with a door. There are several nice wood hangers in the closet area, some with skirt clips. There was a data port under the table and one in the side of the phone for dial up (not high-speed) internet access if you bring a laptop. Nothing extra, nothing all that special ... but a clean room that was big enough for us for the small amount of time that we actually spent in the room. We went with friends and had connecting rooms ... the girls really loved going back and forth between the two rooms and getting to play in both.
The in-room 'ammenities' are limited ... bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths, shampoo, facial soap bar, bath soap bar, plastic cups with the ice bucket, an iron and ironing board, safe. No lotion/shower gel/hair conditioner, no dirty laundry bag, no hair drier, no drinking glasses, no coffee cups, no coffee maker, no microwave, no fridge (unless you pay $10/night). I didn't care about the toiletries ... I always bring my own stuff anyway. We would have really liked to have had a coffee maker in our room ... and a fridge would have been nice too, but even without these things we had cereal with milk each morning. We brought a cooler and lots of frozen bottles of water for taking into the park) and this kept the milk cold all night and part of the next day till it was all gone.
We didn't eat in the food court very much, but I did grab a cheese danish and coffee
to take with me as I drove to my conference one morning and later that morning the rest of the group ate a very very late breakfast before going to the pool. The breakfast pastries in the food court were DELICIOUS ... and my 13 yr. old son raved at great length about the Fritata he had for 'brunch' one day. The girls enjoyed Mickey waffles. Drinks are expensive $1.99 for a cup of coffee ... but the food really is not that outrageously priced. ($3.99 for a kiddie breakfast of two Mickey waffles with bacon ... I'm not sure about the 'adult' portions.) We drank bottled water, capri suns and soft drinks which we brought with us most of the time, but I did give in an buy a cup of coffee one morning. Hubby bought a pinacolada on the rocks at the Petal's pool bar one night and reported that it was good. It cost $4.75 which to me seems about normal for a mixed drink ... not cheap but not hugely inflated.
Nothing in our room looked 'worn out' or battered or dingy. The room was clean, bright, and in good shape. Mousekeeping left washcloth animals in our window for the kids which delighted them. We also saw real live bunnies in the bushes as we walked along the sidewalk to our vehicle one night!
The busses seemed to be running like clock work. We took them everywhere and had no trouble and no super long waits. We rode on busses that were completely full with folks standing, but we also rode on busses on which we were the only family on the entire bus. Heck, I rode from Animal Kingdom to the TTC one time and was the ONLY passenger on the bus!! It did seem to me that the POP bus stop was usually the FURTHEREST from the gate at most of the locations ... meaning a noticeably longer walk, for example, from Epcot's gate area to the bus stop than from the gate to the stop for the more expensive resorts. It may just be coincidence, but I found it to be true at many different locations. And honestly it makes sense ... I don't think Disney is 'punishing' us 'cheapskates' but it does seem logical that they would want to make things most convenient for the guest who are paying the most money to be on site.
Now, if I ever find a fantastic super great deal on a more expensive resort, I'm sure I'll jump at it. But if we can get POP for $60-$70 and our next closest option is $130+ ... then we'll definitely be back at the POP! In the past for various work related trips and family vacations, I've stayed in everything from super luxury country club golf resort hotels to bare bones budget econo motels ... so I think I can appreciate the POP from a balanced point of view ... I'm not spoiled to only having the best in travel, but at the same time I'm not viewing it only from a 'motel 6' perspective. Anyway ... We enjoyed the time we spent there.
I'm no Disney expert, but if I can answer any questions or share any of our experience to help anyone else decide on whether or not to give POP a try, I'll be happy too!
He said to keep checking back, though 
Also, I asked about general public codes for the summer and he said they usually come out at the beginning of the season prior. He said that peak season begins on 2/17/05, so the summer codes should be out somewhere at the end of Feb or beginning of March 
Yes, I can see how that would make sense for most people...but..when were driving around last December the WWoS just got us confused! We kept taking the wrong turn!!!
