What's the bid deal about POP?

[danielmorgan03]

We just got back from four days at POP. My family didn't find the resort appealing. The food court was crowded, people were always trying to run over my two year old while I was holding her hand, the pool was noisy until 2 or 3 am, maid service was almost non-existant, and the concierge desk wasn't competent. To top it off when we left to go to the airport the magical express was magically forty minutes late. Then one of the POP luggage yahoos took my bag that was waiting to get on the bus. The driver set them in a pile and told me to get on the bus. One of the hotel's people got the bag. I had to trapse all over the airport after I got to the gate to retrieve the bag. Over all the POP is over rated. I expected Days Inn or Hampton Inn qualitly, but I got Motel 6 if that. Go to POP if you want to wait almost 30-50 minutes for a bus to anywhere, not get your room cleaned, not have a table to eat your meal, walk .5 miles to get to the main hall.

I know some of you folks love this place, but we don't. This is my two cents. On the upside the parks were nice. We will go back just not to POP.

 

[allstarfan707]

Do you think it was that way because it's summer and the crowds are worse?
We go in Sept and Oct every year, it's usually not too bad. I'm sorry that you had a bad experience.

 

[HayGan]

I have to say that you could have experienced any of those things at just about any resort in the Summer months. I'm sorry that you had some bad experiences on your trip. We haven't had any of those problems at any of our stays at POP or any of the other resorts either.

 

[branv]

I apologize if you are sincere, but since this is your first post and it's one putting down a hotel so many people on here constantly praise (though I am not one of them), this post has some of the earmarks of a troll post trying to stir up the natives.

I would suggest people consider that possibility before responding...take a wait and see mindset.

 

[debsays]

I have to say that we've stayed there many times and have had no problem what so ever. We also have stayed at the Dolphin and moderates many, many times. When we want to stick another vacation in....it's Pop! Sorry to hear about your experience. Certainly hope it didn't take the magical experience away. All the more to return to WDW again and perhaps give another resort a try.

 

[monte]

LOVE POP...WILL BE STAYING THERE AGAIN IN JAN.08'

 

[G's mommy]

Unfortunately, the long lines and crowded food courts are the norm in the values and mods during peak travel times. We have stayed at all the All Star resorts and at Pop two or three times. On our last visit to Pop, I have to say I was also disappointed, the food courts lines were horrible, the beds were horrible, our room location was the pits, the noise level was to the point we could not get any sleep due to the thin walls and having neighbors that stayed up all night. We did not have problems with housekeeping. Since that stay, we have stayed at both CSR and POR and did not experience any of these issues at the resorts. The bus lines were not even near as bad, even at POR which is also a very large resort. Even my 11 year old son does not want to stay at Pop again. I won't say we will never go back, but I think we would even go back to All Start Music or Movies before going back to Pop. It's overrated on these boards and people expect too much. Remember, it is still a value resort, not a deluxe at a value price.

 

[eeyore45]

I apologize if you are sincere, but since this is your first post and it's one putting down a hotel so many people on here constantly praise (though I am not one of them), this post has some of the earmarks of a troll post trying to stir up the natives.

I would suggest people consider that possibility before responding...take a wait and see mindset.

Good call - I always enjoying reading the pros and CONS of each post - I pull the information and keep it for what its worth - every experience is valuable to me!

40 min bus waits is what concerned me - I had been most impressed with our one night stay last year at Pop because the Pop bus line was so very streamlined esp compared to our experience at POR (at POR there is more of an area to congregate waiting for a bus, and the longer you wait the more groups of people come out of the woods, then charge a bus... no matter who is waiting before - where as at pop, there is a definate line que)

My real question may be better asked on the Transportation board - I thought I read that the busses were now using gps systems to better monitor lines...

Overall our experience (even if it was one night) was positive enough for us to go back for 9 nights!!

 

[daisyduck123]

We loved POP....until we stayed at CBR for 10 days in May 2006.

Once we got a taste of a moderate...we were done with POP.

(and since CBR, we've actually joined DVC...so now we're in Deluxes)!!

**I will say that POP is better than the All Stars by FAR!!
Last week, we drove over to the All Stars just to look (we'd never seen them) & it was rather scary over there, IMO.

 

[eeyore45]

Unfortunately, the long lines and crowded food courts are the norm in the values and mods during peak travel times. We have stayed at all the All Star resorts and at Pop two or three times. On our last visit to Pop, I have to say I was also disappointed, the food courts lines were horrible, the beds were horrible, our room location was the pits, the noise level was to the point we could not get any sleep due to the thin walls and having neighbors that stayed up all night. We did not have problems with housekeeping. Since that stay, we have stayed at both CSR and POR and did not experience any of these issues at the resorts. The bus lines were not even near as bad, even at POR which is also a very large resort. Even my 11 year old son does not want to stay at Pop again. I won't say we will never go back, but I think we would even go back to All Start Music or Movies before going back to Pop. It's overrated on these boards and people expect too much. Remember, it is still a value resort, not a deluxe at a value price.

See - this is exactly what I was trying to say - they LOVED the POR over Pop, we had the opposite experience - no one is "right or wrong" each of us had an experience and have come away with "never again"...

for our family - we will never again do POR!! (personally I didnt think it was THAT bad, but dh, dd never again!!) The food court at POR was always so crowded and so unorganized to me - and far enough away I didnt even bother getting the refillable mugs!! Again, that was how it worked for our family!! Pop - we are planning on using the mugs - and the food court!

My biggest disappointment is the values dont have Frigerators - I mean come on - and as many posters have started frig swaps you'd think Disney should bite the bullet and just put them in!! ($10 a day now up to $15 a day from what I've read is highway robbery - imho! I'm bringing a collapsable cooler and will do my redneck version of a frig with the ice!!)

 

[kaytieeldr]

NO resort appeals to every person. That's why Disney has such a variety, and why there are so many hotel companies in general with different levels of properties to appeal to different clientele.
The food court would be crowded when everyone at a 2,880 room hotel tries to eat at the same time. There are ways to adapt (get up earlier, leave later, eat in the parks).
If the room is cleaned every day, maid service is fully existent; if the room is NOT cleaned every day, the issue should be addressed to the Housekeeping Manager while the Guest is checked in to the hotel.
It's difficult to believe other Guests were trying to run over a child.
Magical Express timing is in NO way the fault of any resort.
The luggage thing doesn't even make sense. Maybe the OP will clarify... then again, maybe not.
No room at Pop Century is more than 750 feet from the Center of Classic Hall. The rooms furthest from each other are about 1,500 feet apart. A mile is 5,280 feet.

 

[camdensmom]

Definately a seasonal thing. I would avoid summer at all cost regardless of the resort. Too hot. Too crowded.

 

[disneykate28]

Wow, I can't believe we were there at the same time! We had a very different experience- perhaps due to our expectations? We found the Pop to be suitable for what we used it for- sleeping and showering. The rooms WERE small & yes, we could hear toilets flushing but it wasn't to the point of being distracting or preventing us from sleeping. We did not find the hotel to be overly crowded- we were able to navigate through Classic Hall easily & always found a chair at the pool. The buses were quick and we found all CMs there to be friendly and helpful. We didn't love the food but we chose to eat all but one meal in the parks & at other resorts. This was my SOs first time at Disney- we visited some of the other resorts while we were there but we both agreed that, for the money you spend, Pop is still a very good value. Sorry your family had such a negative experience.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

for our family - we will never again do POR!! (personally I didnt think it was THAT bad, but dh, dd never again!!) The food court at POR was always so crowded and so unorganized to me - and far enough away I didnt even bother getting the refillable mugs!! Again, that was how it worked for our family!! Pop - we are planning on using the mugs - and the food court!

I'm with you - we didn't really enjoy POR either - overrun with the Cheerleaders & other sports during the spring we were there. Rooms were OK, but we don't spend much time in them except to sleep. If we want luxury & a little bit of Disney feel we stay at the Buena Vista Palace @ DTD & use their Disney shuttle bus, although one day I do want to stay at the Poly or CR. POR's Food court didn't have half the food that POP has - our room at POR was so far away from the food court that we didn't bother with the mugs either, but always do @ POP.

 

[dseth]

Definitely think it was a timing issue. Slower times of the year (when we always go) aren't like this at Pop. Yes, the food court is a little more croded in the morning but doable. The pool was quiet by 11pm. The resort is clean, bright and the CM's are great.

 

[MEK]

I'm bringing a collapsable cooler and will do my redneck version of a frig with the ice!!)

Me too! Do it everytime!

 

[bubba73]

I have stayed at POP for the last 2 years and loved both experiences. We were even there during the dead heat in the middle of Summertime. We just really enjoyed the large icons, the fun relaxing feel of the resort and really everything. We only used the bus once during each visit because we had our own car there but I was able to hit all four parks on the last day while using their bus system for the first two. I can't say anything negative about staying there but I will apologize to you for your bad experience.

 

[dburg30]

We just got back from four days at POP. My family didn't find the resort appealing. The food court was crowded, people were always trying to run over my two year old while I was holding her hand, the pool was noisy until 2 or 3 am, maid service was almost non-existant, and the concierge desk wasn't competent. To top it off when we left to go to the airport the magical express was magically forty minutes late. Then one of the POP luggage yahoos took my bag that was waiting to get on the bus. The driver set them in a pile and told me to get on the bus. One of the hotel's people got the bag. I had to trapse all over the airport after I got to the gate to retrieve the bag. Over all the POP is over rated. I expected Days Inn or Hampton Inn qualitly, but I got Motel 6 if that. Go to POP if you want to wait almost 30-50 minutes for a bus to anywhere, not get your room cleaned, not have a table to eat your meal, walk .5 miles to get to the main hall.

I know some of you folks love this place, but we don't. This is my two cents. On the upside the parks were nice. We will go back just not to POP.

LOL and I thought I could be grumpy .

Sorry, from reading other folks comments good and bad, I've never read one this negative about POP. Could it have happened? I guess. But I really believe this is a rather inflated account of your stay. Probably the closest thing would be the bus wait. If you had just missed one, I could see where 20-30 minutes would'nt be a stretch. Other then that I kinda agree with a couple of the other posters and call BS.

Thanks for the entertainment today though!!!

 

[poohluvr]

We were there the week before July 4th and didn't experience any of the problems you mentioned. Yes it was crowded, but we never waited for a bus more than 20 mins, there were always plenty of available tables in the foodcourt, and there was usually only a couple of people (if any) in the pool when we returned from the parks. We had such a great time, we plan on staying there again in 4/08. As a matter of fact, the friend I went with actually preferred Pop to CBR.

 

[eemmie1]

I love POP!