Would I Hate POP?

[tinacaplan]

OK..so I am contemplating a trip over my April break, which is just past peak time. I have an AP this year that I want to use, and plane fare is super affordable right now. I'm hoping I can go with my co-worker who was "given" a free week at her aunt's DVC (not sure which one). Having said that, the whole thing got me thinking...a solo trip might be doable. It would be super doable if I stayed at Pop. It would be sorta doable if I went to CSR. I've stayed at CSR twice and loved it, Beach Club this past summer and loved that, and we're booked at Poly for our upcoming February trip.

Given that its just me and I know I'll spend quite a bit more time at the parks than I would with my wonderful family...would I hate Pop? I'm mainly concerned about the length of the bus rides.

Also, what values have been rehabbed recently.

Thanks.

 

[Tricia's mom]

I did not like POP.. Here is why ...It all depends on the location of your room. I stayed there 2x.. all due to the fact of $$$ . I always rent a car ( last time was 7 dollars a day) The car helps ! so I can't tell you about the bus rides everyday.
Now, I loved the hippy dippy pool...I was surprised I loved the food in the cafeteria !! It was really good. The rooms where neat an clean. Would I stay there again ?? Maybe
Give it a try ! It might just make you appreciate the Poly.. or Not ??? Many LOVE POP.

 

[JKB DIS]

We were at the Pop in July. We will not be going back to this resort. It was not because of the room or the food court, it was the noise from the pool. I could not believe how loud it was! We paid for a preferred room location, and we were placed in the 60's section. This was a mistake. The noise from the pool was horrible. I was up way past 2:00a.m. because of guests that allowed their children to scream at the pool.

We have stayed at the Caribbean, Beach Club, Yacht Club, Contemporary, and All Star Music. I can honestly say the Pop is the only resort I will not return to. I am sure I would have a very different opinion of this resort if our room was in a different location.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

We (family of four) stayed at Pop for a late evening arrival before checking into BCV.

Dh and I thought it was a great resort. The icons are super cool, and the food court was very good. The bus ride to HS was 5 minutes; I kid you not. (It was the only bus we took, but our friends stayed there and thought the buses were great to all of the parks.)

The only negative for us (me and the girls) was the size of the room. (We only stay in studios at DVC resorts, so it isn't that we are used to one bedrooms.) Dh didn't think the room was bad. This wouldn't be a negative for you if you are travelling solo, though!

My vote is for you to try it - if you aren't staying at BCV, BWV, BLT or AKV with the coworker. =)

 

[devonsmommy]

I've stayed at POP twice, and enjoyed it both times. We were not in a room facing a "main" pool, so didn't experience any of that noise.
We liked the food, and the fact that the buses didn't stop at any other resort...and only had one stop at our resort.
Last year we were in a totally refurbed room.

 

[2010_Bride]

I just had the opportunity to go on a my first solo trip in November. I have previously stayed at GF, POR and FW. So this was my first experience with a value. I loved it
It does lack some of the conveniences of the mods/deluxes but for a single person it's a great resort and a great way to save money. I too needed to take the buses everywhere and they were busy - but came very frequently. The longest ride is to the MK and it's a solid 20/25 minutes. As a previous poster stated, the ride to HS is about 5 minutes. I couldn't believe it when I saw the HS sign and we were there!!
I got a lot of information from the POP thread on these boards and requested a quiet room on an upper level facing the lake. This standard room view was WAY better than my obstructed preferred riverview room at POR!
I say give it a try

 

[Mrs D]

I have stayed at VWL, BWV, GF and Pop twice. For my first stay at Pop I went with low expectations- we just needed a place to sleep. I was so pleasantly surprised! It's dry clean & comfortable, good food, excellent bus service, fun theming, friendly CMs. It was everything we needed and more! My Mom has traveled solo and chosen to stay at Pop- she feels very safe there.

 

[Sue M]

I'm admittedly not a value fan, but if i were doing a solo trip I'd stay at Pop. Or think about it anyway, I would request a quiet location as a poster said. Pop can be loud. We stayed 1 night checking in late, before our WL stay. I was in the building with the big cell phone. I had requested a location near parking as we were only staying over night, and didn't want a far hike with our luggage. It was pretty quiet. Can't say anything about food court, it closed by the time we got there.
The only thing I'd miss is not having a coffee pot or fridge in the room.

 

[kerplop]

Face away from the pools and you'll be just fine. Pop is a very nice resort and we would definitely go back again - this coming from three adults over the age of 30. The food was good, the grounds were fun/nice, and the rooms were smallish but honestly if you're just there to sleep and shower and you're alone? You will have a ton of room. I'd say go for it!

 

[kristinemomof3]

After reading this I need to make a change to my reservations. I have a HUGE problem sleeping & cannot afford any outside noise. With that said, we booked a preferred pool view room. I need to change that ASAP & get a quieter location.

Can you previous POP guests tell me what location is quiet but kinda close to the pools & the food court? Thanks!

Oh & just my 2 cents....I haven't stayed at POP yet but I say try it! If you don't mind having a ton of room or a coffee pot, it's perfect. For us, that doesn't matter & we are only coming in for 4 1/2 days so it's good for us!

 

[McKelly]

We just returned from Pop and would definitely stay there again. The amount of money I saved staying over the holidays, made it even better. The room size was fine. I was really nervous about that, not an issue, and we had four people. Mom and Dad each took a bed and we had our DD13 and DS11 in separate airbeds. Yes, two airbeds fit in there fine and we didn't move any furniture.

The room was super clean, food court was adequate, bus service was GREAT (best we ever had and we have stayed at Poly, POR, AKL, WL, FW, CSR, AS-Movies). Our room was quiet. I requested the 70's section (no possibility to face a pool), top floor. Both of those requests were met. We also brought a fan to drown out noise at night.

Landscaping was great, as are all Disney resorts, and the fun icons reminded me of where I was 24/7. LOL.

The 70's section was both close to the Hippy Dippy Pool and the quieter, 80's computer pool. We chose the quieter pool, sometimes we were the only ones in there!! The food court was not that far away, a short stroll and we were close to the bus stops, which was the most important thing for our family.

Go, have fun!! Keep your expectations where they should be for a value and you won't be disappointed. We were pleasantly surprised and would definitely return!

 

[I Love Pluto]

Pop is a great resort!

Pop has the same noise level at any Mod (sometimes less)
Pop has great food
Pop has a fabulous layout - no rooms are far away from the main bldg
Pop has very, very clean pools & rooms
etc, etc, etc

The only things we miss if comparing to a Mod are -
no refrigerator
no coffee pot
slightly smaller rooms

Go for it - You'll love Pop!

 

[ciera321]

We'd only stayed at the moderate and deluxe Disney resorts before our stay last month at Pop. I was afraid I wouldn't like it. but this was a budget trip since we're headed back in May for DS's graduation celebration. I thought the Pop was a great alternative to the higher priced mods and deluxe resorts. The food court had great variety and the food was OK, not great. Very much has the Disney feel and was a fun place to stay. I did notice how well you could hear your neighbor. We didn't have a connecting room, but we could hear conversations from the rooms on both sides. My only request was 80's or 90's building, but was put in the 50's, which was my last choice. Oh well.....I know it's only a request, and I didn't ask them to change it.

I would definately stay at Pop again, or the Art of Animation Resort when it opens, but I still prefer moderates (CSR especially)over the values

 

[kerplop]

After reading this I need to make a change to my reservations. I have a HUGE problem sleeping & cannot afford any outside noise. With that said, we booked a preferred pool view room. I need to change that ASAP & get a quieter location.

Can you previous POP guests tell me what location is quiet but kinda close to the pools & the food court? Thanks!

The backsides of pool-facing rooms are plenty quiet. The main pool can be loud, but I found the 50's buildings and their pool to be pretty quiet. We were on the opposite side of a pool building and honestly we couldn't hear a peep. You'd have to go down to the elevators in the middle anyway to get down to the pool so the quiet side is just as far as a the pool side - if that makes sense.

 

[Mommytwotwins]

After reading this I need to make a change to my reservations. I have a HUGE problem sleeping & cannot afford any outside noise. With that said, we booked a preferred pool view room. I need to change that ASAP & get a quieter location.

Can you previous POP guests tell me what location is quiet but kinda close to the pools & the food court? Thanks!

Oh & just my 2 cents....I haven't stayed at POP yet but I say try it! If you don't mind having a ton of room or a coffee pot, it's perfect. For us, that doesn't matter & we are only coming in for 4 1/2 days so it's good for us!

We had a preferred room in the 60's but not facing the pool and we heard no noise at all! I would just change to the preferred room but away from the pool. It was also very close to the food court and We liked it. Thiks was our first time staying at a value so I was unsure how it would be. We have always stayed in the mod's. I think if you have stayed in the mod's is not much different but going from deluxe to a value you will see much bigger differences, just do your homework and go with an open mind.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

We stayed in Pop last April. Since it was a budget trip and a short trip ... we decided it was the perfect time to try a value.

We paid for a preferred room and requested to be facing away from a pool ... we were placed in building 1. It was a quick walk to the food court and bus stop, but it was very quiet and felt kind of isoloated ... it was almost too quiet. I don't know if I would want to be a solo traveler coming back to that specific location alone in the dark ... there's lots of foliage and not much foot traffic from other guests. I do have a very good imagination and read lots of crime novels though ...

As far as Pop ... I liked it quite a bit. The grounds are very nicely landscaped and the rooms were recently rehabbed. I did miss the fridge in the room and the pool side towel service. I was worried about not having covered bus stops or walkways ... but the weather was so beautiful in April that it wasn't a problem. It definately took longer to get to the MK than it does when we stay at the WL ... but I knew that going in and was prepared. The rest of the travel times did not seem that long IMO.

The pool areas were very loud, so I would recommend requesting a room facing away from the pool if you want some quiet. I think my ideal preferred location would be in the 60's section facing away from the pool ... there seemed to be a bit more foot traffic in those areas, so less isolated (but maybe more noise?).

 

[DisneyForThe6ofUs]

For a great, quiet, convenient spot, we stay in 70s building, preferred location, on the side facing the playground. The playground was almost never used while we were there. It's a quick walk to buses and food court, and there is a nice grove of trees that block the parking lot. Love this spot!

 

[PebblesMK]

In September, we stayed in the 90s building right outside the pool. It was fantastic. I found it to be much quieter than POFQ had been. The pool wasn't very busy at all. The only thing I would have done differently is used my own transportation. The buses were good, but after a long day in the parks, I would have preferred to get in my own car and leave. No smelly people, no freezing in the AC, no super long walk back to the room...

 

[jerseymom473]

We were there last month.

We have stayed at WL, BC, POR and AKV. Since it was a quick budget trip with just my DD15, we gave POP a try. I did not expect much but was pleasantly surprised! The resort has nice landscaping. The food court, lobby and store were all very nice. We did not pay for a prefered room (like we did at POR) . I was concerned that we would have a long walk, but we were so close to the main building and bus stops. We were in the 80s section.
The rooms were small but fine for the two of us. I did miss the fridge and coffee maker but it was an easy walk to the food court so it was no big deal.

The buses were the best of any resort we have stayed (never waited more than 5 mins!) and the rides did not seem long to anywhere!

Overall - great especially if you spend alot of time in the parks and don't have time to use alot of the amenities of the deluxes & moderates.

 

[LuvsTinker]

Glad to read the positive comments.

We always stay at CB, but due to $$$$ may have to go with Pop this September to make budget work.

One of my concerns is the bus stop not being covered. It can be quite hot in Sept. But hoping that time of year doesn't have a long bus line to worry about.