We loved POP!!!!!

[bridgettesmom]

We just got back from Pop Century and we absolutely loved it!!

It was DG (who's turning 80), DN (4 years old) and me.Grandma who has always stayed offsite has now announced that she will never stay offsite again.Mind you, that I had to pay rack rate, since we booked this at the last minute.I swore that I would never stay at an All Star again, but, POP had something for all 3 of us!! Grandma was in shock when she saw her old ice cube tray, salt and pepper shaker and coin collection on display at the lobby. It made her so happy to see all that, I guess it brought back some great memories. While we were checking in she heard the song "Only you" and she almost cried.Grandpa used to sing that song to her. We stayed at the 70's building with a peaceful and a relaxing lake view. Grandma used to walk out of the room just to look at the lake. We had a huge Mickey phone in front of our building and everytime we went by it DN would tell Mickey that she loved him so much.Which, I thought was so cute and brought tears to my eyes every time.

The food was pretty good, but, the cheesesteak wrap and the beehive salad are amazing:happy1:

We did see this lady walking in and out of the food court with her POP mug continuosly for at least 15 minutes. When we looked out, her husband was sitting outside with at least five huge different mugs from Days Inn, Country Inn, Hampton Inn and the other 2 I can't remember right now. The reason she kept coming in and out so much was because she was filling her POP mug and refilling her mugs outside

The parks were a nightmare, but, luckily I was there with a 4 yr old and an 80 yr old so we took frequent breaks and used fast pass the entire day which worked wonderfully..Gotta love that Fast Pass!! The highlight of our trip was during the parade when Cinderella waved at DN and she got soo excited,since, that is her favorite princess.Yes, I had tears in my eyes again, the moment gave me goose bumps.We truly experienced the magic.

To sum it up we had a wonderful time and if I had to pay rack rate again to stay at POP, I would do it in a heart beat. As a matter of fact grandma has "ordered me" to make reservations for October, so, that the whole family can come with us. Yes, I have converted another family member into a Disney fanatic by showing them the light. DH gets a Kick out of this, as this has become my new hobby Since, Grandma is now twisting my arm to go back in October, I guess I have to call tomorrow to make a reservation

What's a girl to do ,but, respect her grandma's wishes!!!

 

[Disney Dee]

Thanks so much for your review! i am glad you had such a great trip. i can't believe your refillable cup story . Some people are amazing.

 

[dizneygirl55]

I am glad that you and your grandma had a great time! That trip is something that you will always remember!!! That is what Disney is all about-MAGIC!

We are going to be staying in the 70's area at POP and can't wait!

It is a shame that the 'mugger' was doing that but that is what people are all about-some are definitely rule benders----

What was the walk like to the catch the buses? Was the wait time long?

How about the breakfast at POP?

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Patio]

I really enjoyed reading about your stay at POP. It sounds like you had a very special trip.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Bridgettesmom, when I first started reading your post I thought that DG stood for "dear girlfriend" and had to do a double take when I saw the age. lol

I'd love to hear more about what it was like being at WDW with a 4yo and an 80yo. My 4yo son and I have APs and I've been half thinking about trying to get my mother to meet us at WDW some time in the next year. My mother will be 81 on this Sunday and has never been to WDW. She is fairly mobile and, on a relaxed touring schedule, should be able to do WDW. I'm experienced with going with children (I have 4 kids), but I've never been with an older person. I don't know what rides she'd be able to do, etc, etc. In her younger days we'd go to Disneyland and she did all rides, but that was 30 years ago. Any suggestions/hints?

I was at Pop last month with my 4yo and my sister and we enjoyed it.

T&B

 

[bjgrazi]

Thanks so much for the great review. We're going in August and my dh has never been nor has his children. I have been aprehensive about staying at POP.

I was excited when I hopped on the boards this morning, because I had just gotten off the phone with WDW. Now I'm even more excited.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by bridgettesmom
We just got back from Pop Century and we absolutely loved it!!

Glad y'all enjoyed your stay! We look forward to having you back again.

 

[floridafam]

How wonderful!!

 

[bridgettesmom]

Ooops!!, sorry it took me so long to respond, long first day back to work.


disneygirl55- The walk to the bus stop only took a few minutes, we would either go thru the food court and cut thru the gift shop or go across the other 70's building towards the parking lot and once we got to the side walk we would turn left and cross the street to the bus stop.In my opinion, it is certainly the shortest distance we had to walk to get to the bus stop in any other Disney property.We have stayed at AKL, POR, ASMU and the Dolphin. The variety at breakfast was unbelivable, they had pancakes (regular and chocolate chip), mickey waffles, scrambled eggs, omelettes, cereal, oatmeal all sorts of muffins and many other things that I can't remember right now. Trust me, you will leave breakfast satisfied.

Tigger&Belle- Sorry about the DG confussion, I guess I should have written DGM. First, let me start by saying that the park we did with DGM was MK. Since, the MK was open until 8pm on that day we arrived into the MK at 11am. That gave us plenty of time to have breakfast and relax before heading to the park. When we first entered MK we jumped on the train to Toon Town, so, that DN could meet Mickey.This way we avoided the long walk down Main Street. We waited for Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale with little or no wait at all. Then grandma waited in Minnie's porch while we went to get Goofy's picture. From Minnie's porch grandma witnessed someone steal a stroller. The poor family went into Minnie's house and inmediately a woman came over, took off the paper with the family's name and walked away. Grandma thought they were probably together ,since, that lady took the stroller as soon as the family walked into the house. When that poor family came back to look for their stroller it was gone. Grandma did tell them that a lady took it,but, she could not remember what she was wearing. The family was very surprised this could happen at the MK and were thankful to grandma for telling them.

Here's some hints for you..

1.Do not rush ,you will find out that a trip with an 80 yr old is very refreshing as you go at their pace. For some reason, I ended up enjoying myself more.

2.When you go to get the Fast Passes find a shaded and comfortable spot for your mother to wait for you. DGM really enjoyed people watching.

3.Forty five minutes prior to the parade go to Peco's Bill find a table outside to watch the parade while you are having lunch. I always eat fast and leave, so, that we don't waste any time.This time our lunch was for over an hour and I really enjoyed it and we even had dessert.

4.Take an ice cream break.

5.If you are going to see Cinderella's Gala ( the show in front of the castle) during the day and your mother is either tired or doesn't want to stand in the sun, on the right side of the castle there are a couple of benches in a nice shaded area where my DGM sat and read her newspaper while we watched the show.

These are the rides we did with grandma...
-Snow White
-Small World
-Winnie the Pooh
-Transit Authority
-Peter Pan
-Jungle Cruise
-Carrousel of Progress

We also watched ..
-Country Bears Jamboree
-Mickey's Philarmagic

Remember hint #1..Don't rush..go at her pace and enjoy yourself.

I forgot the one negative thing that I found at POP...Housekeeping. I did not find anything disgusting, the room seemed clean, except, the top of the dresser/tv/armoire was filled with dust.Maybe, our housekeeper was short and could not see it, but, there is no excuse. It would have only taken a minute to clean that up. I left a tip for her everyday.We did not get any towel animals,but, she did made an elaborated towel fan on top of the sink and a towel basket for our toothbrushes and toothpaste.As you can see, the housekeeping incident will not stop us from staying there again.

Tyler- I went to luggage services to look for you , but, they had not seen you. I guess we'll see you the next time. If it wasn't for your enthusiasm about POP I would have stayed offsite, since, I could not get a discount onsite this time. Thank You!!!

 

[zalansky]

Thank you for this trip report! We are going to POP at the end of April and got an unbelievable rate! $64.00 a night in the 70's building. Now seeing your post makes me want to add one more night.
I loved seeing the comments about DG enjoying herself. You three will cherish those memories a lifetime, they even gave me goosebumps!

 

[zalansky]

Thank you for this trip report! We are going to POP at the end of April and got an unbelievable rate! $64.00 a night in the 70's building. Now seeing your post makes me want to add one more night.
I loved seeing the comments about DG enjoying herself. You three will cherish those memories a lifetime, they even gave me goosebumps!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

That's ok about the DG confusion--I got a great mental picture of an 80 yo girlfriend.

Thanks for the tips. I haven't even ran my plan to ask my mother past my DH yet, but I think it would be fun.

My mother has one thing going for her that would make it a possibility--she has no problem going along for the ride and sitting down while we do things if she is tired. We vacationed with her in No. California/So Oregon one summer and she was really a trooper. Whatever we wanted to do she was willing to do to the best of her ability--Jelly Belly factory, wine tasting, Redwoods, motor boat, etc, etc.

What she doesn't have going for her is that she is a cheapskate. I'm not sure if I'd tell her that I was paying for everything, maybe let her pay for her airline ticket, etc, but she would make lots of comments about the price of everything. That might drive me a little crazy and I would need to figure out a game plan to keep my sanity. Also, she isn't great at getting going quickly in the morning. I might have to chill and not get there at opening.

Something to think about. We'd be staying for awhile and we'd hit all the parks since she's never been there, but we could plan on a no parks day in the middle, perhaps.

T&B

 

[Goof]

Originally posted by bridgettesmom
We just got back from Pop Century and we absolutely loved it!!


We did see this lady walking in and out of the food court with her POP mug continuosly for at least 15 minutes. When we looked out, her husband was sitting outside with at least five huge different mugs from Days Inn, Country Inn, Hampton Inn and the other 2 I can't remember right now. The reason she kept coming in and out so much was because she was filling her POP mug and refilling her mugs outside


Glad you enjoyed POP We will be there in July and are really looking forward to it! In regards to the lady refilling her mugs, that should be another "Pet Peeve" to add to the list.