Disney's Pop Century Resort (Disney Value Resort) - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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We stayed at Pop Sept 5-13, 2008 in the seventies building #6 room 6124, ground floor back side looking out toward the lake. We did not like it. The rooms are small, way smaller than we thought they would be. There were four of us, two adults, an eight year old and a two year old. We were fighting for room all week. We took our own stroller and it took the only open space left in the room. Also the room was very worn out. The bed spreads had rips and holes. The carpet needed replaced and the walls a good scrub and paint. The sink was also very stained. We also did not care for the feel of the resort. Or the theming. We felt our eyes were being abused all week. The food court is what sent me over the edge. It was very close to the pool and there were people in the food court all week without shoes or clothes! It just grossed me out to see barefeet and swimsuit while eating. We had great luck with the buses all week was the only up side to this resort. We would not stay here again. (we have stayed at the moderate resorts before)
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We stayed at Pop for the 1st time and LOVED it!! We were in the 60's section. Rooms 5430 and 5431 (connecting with door in middle). It was on the top floor with a WONDERFUL view of Hour Glass Lake and the Generation Gap Bridge!! The only complaint I had was the smokers right outside our room!! They were next door to us and almost every time we would step outside to leave or just look at the view-they were there smoking like a chimney !!! I thought all the resorts were non smoking with only certain areas for smoking!?!?!?! The said they were sorry every time-but still !!!
There were 5 of us, 2 (41), 1 (19), 1 (17) and 1 (14). There was plenty of room for us all and of course we had the 2 bathrooms which was a godsend since there were 4 girls !!! We all has space to put our clothes in the drawer or hang them up if needed. The suitcases were put out of the way with no problems. The rooms were very clean and well maintained by mousekeeping. We got towel animal ever so often and they were cute. We asked for extra towels on the 1st day and had no problems getting them everyday for the whole week, didn't have to ask again. We did sometimes hear the other toilets flushing-but it wasn't overwhelming, we were on the top floor-so we didn't hear a lot of noise at all. Not too far from the pool or the dining. I couldn't have asked for a better location!!
The food court stayed very busy the whole time we were there-but they did a good job moving people quickly. Some of the time we just took our food to the rooms. The food was wonderful!! We tried several different things and nothing was bad. No bad experience here. We did make very good use of the mugs!! My son (14) loved that he could get an icee whenever he wanted . The theming was cool!! We got a kick out of walking around the resort and looking at everything, talking about all the memories it brought up and having the kids laugh at us when we were doing it .
Buses were great!! We even got to ride on the bus that was marked for the cruises!! We were going to Hollywood Studios one day and he picked us up!! It was a SUPER NICE bus, with tv screens that was showing Ratatouie (spelling) . We never waited more than about 20 min for a bus, most of the time when we did wait-it was when we were at the parks trying to get back "home", but all in all it was fine. The only thing I would suggest to Disney is maybe cover the bus stops!! They do such a good job in covering u while u wait on the rides-it would be great to be shielded from the HOT Florida sun .
The staff was wonderful from check in to check out. We had one MINOR oops with the dining plan-but it was fixed in a split second with a smile from the person that was helping me. They got us checked in (it was around 11 am), and advised that the room wasn't ready yet but we could call to check on it. When we called they said it was ready and told us exactly where we would be.
I would stay here again in a heart beat!! I would also recommend it to anyone that is asking .
Location: Physically stuck in Michigan while my heart and soul reside in Disney.....
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Love it! Love it! Love it!
There is nothing about POP that we don't like. We have stayed there three years in a row and I really have no desire to stay anywhere else. We have stayed at moderates and were not nearly as impressed. I could agree that the bus system needs improvment but that is overall and not just a factor of POP.
I love the food court and I like the fact that it was near the pool so you could just pop in and get your drinks refilled ect.
Our room was nice, clean and spacious enuogh for the time we spent there.
While I liked our stay at POP and will stay there again ...I wasn't thrilled.
The biggest difference I noticed between here and a mod/deluxe was that you can't buy things like a loaf of bread /jam /peanutbutter.
And yes I definately heard the people in the next rooms....never noticed them at POR.
We stayed at POP Century from Dec 4th-10th. We had room 0109 in Building 10 (First floor) This is a very good option for the budget. As you know there are alot of big characters and items around the buildings (think big wheel, yo-yo, rubiks cube, etc) The first thing I noticed was that it seemed nicer then the all stars because it is newer. There was some paint chipping off the wall where the chair was and a crack in the ceiling of our room. Housekeeping was very nice and left us three towel animals: a car, a dog, and minnie mouse! She also made up a boat for DS and his stuffed animals! The food court gives you standard fare, I was kind of surprised when they wouldn't let a lady in front of me get broccoli to go with her meal because it was in a station right next to them...If you ask me for veggies i'd gladly give them away!! I wasn't blown away with the gift shop or the fact that it is connected with the food court. The bus stop was busy and we never had to wait more then 10 minutes for a bus. (note you have to walk longer to get to the buses at the parks, ie you pay less so they make you walk more)
So overall I would say choose this resort if you are watching a budget, with a family, or don't mind noticing the little things that just aren't as nice as the deluxe hotels.
We love pop we stay there all the time we don't take the buses cause my son doesn't like a lot of people in small areas so we drive everywhere but everyone there is very nice housekeeping is great we just got back and we never ran out of towels and they left towel animals my son loved them. The only bad thing is the wall paper is the bathroom was in need of replacement but the room was very clean we allways stay in the 50's and love it and my son loves the frozen coke!!!!!!
Just got back a few hours ago from our first stay here.
We were in building 9 ('80's building closest to the main hall), on the side away from the pool. This proved far enough away from the food court that we really didn't use our refillable mugs at ALL. Still, the water was good (especially with ice from down the hall), and we were on the Deluxe meal plan, so we got a drink with every meal anyway.
Theming was great; all three of us (mid to late 30-somethings) loved it. Building 9 is done in a "Pac Man" theme, with Rubiks' Cube motifs on the stairs. Room decor was nice, and not "in-your-face, over-the-top Disney" ... but the carpet in my room bore obvious marks of a fairly large water stain (at least I HOPE it was water), and really it should have been replaced IMO. That stain is costing a full point in the "Quality" category.
The food selection was pretty good, despite being a Value. I didn't mind the "combined" gift-shop-and-foodcourt at all, as the store is actually a separate area (just, it's separated by a HALF-wall instead of something floor-to-ceiling).
Though the resort is supposed to be smoke-free, regrettably many smokers seemed to entirely disregard that ... we passed at LEAST one smoking guest each day, on the paths between our room and the food court. And not a one of them was within fifty feet of a designated smoking area, either. Still, that's not really Disney's fault.
And one last detail: not sharing a bus with any other resort was a very nice bonus.
Just got back from a 7 night stay at POP. It was our second time staying there. We simply LOVE POP! And we have stayed at Yacht Club, Swan, and Port Orleans! But we will keep coming back to POP!
We found the housekeeping to be fantastic! Each day our room was super clean and the housekeeper did really cute things with my girls trinkets in the window!
The food court was busy but manageable and the food was good! You can get Mickey Waffles in the morning.
We were in building 6 (70s) and the walk was not to far to the Hippy Dippy Pool and the food court. The pool was great and so was the little bar!
The buses came quickly. My only complaint is that POP seems to have the farthest bus stop at the parks! No fun but not really a big deal.
Staff was super helpful and accomadating. We needed a fridge for my daughter's meds and got one at no charge. We also needed to add another night because of weather back home, so we couldn't fly out. They gave us a great reduced rate!
So my feeling is POP is great, can't beat the price and just a very cool resort!
We stayed at Pop May 24 - Jun 1 2008. I had great expectations for Pop, as it has gotten decent reviews, and Disney has given it a lot of hype. I was greatly disappointed! First of all, the food court/gift shop/lobby set up - it is terrible! With them being open to one another, you have so much chaos that you actually feel more closed in. The food court is constantly packed, and there was an entire seating area that wasn't even in use - making it even more packed. The staff here can't navigate the dining plan to save their lives, and they made mistakes on ours on several occassions. The food here is mediocre at best, and it sits on warming tables under heat lamps, it's a school cafeteria type set up, and by the time you wait in line for your food, wait in line to check out, wait to get your fountain drink at that sticky dirty station, and finally find a seat - IF you can get one, your food is cold and rubbery!!! Moving on - front desk staff here was not very friendly at all, and when asked a simple transportation question, I got three different answers. We nearly missed our ressie at Cape May Cafe - saved by the DHS bus driver who was nice enough to offer to deviate from his route when we asked him how we could get there. The rooms are just okay. Not as clean as I would have liked. Mousekeeping was spotty at best. I had to ask for towels - we kept only getting two - and there are four of us! We were there for 9 days, you'd think after a couple of times of me calling they'd catch on. And, I left a tip daily with a nice note - every room in our row got towel animals and little buzz & princess cards in the windows - NOT us!!! The kids here seemed to run wild - no adult supervision in sight. Now, I have two boys age 7 & 15 - they were commenting on how bad it was. Kids were out of control, running through the gift shop, the lobby, bumping into people. I even saw a toddler girl, walking dangerously near the edge of the Hippy Dippy pool, and no parent in sight, the life guard his back to the pool, flirting with some girl CM! A disaster waiting to happen. The theming - as cheesy as it gets! It's like Disney ran out of good ideas so they threw some crap in a hat and said "this is what we'll do at Pop"! Come on, Imagineers - you have done sooo much better than that! The ONLY good thing about staying at Pop was the location - the close proximity to DHS & Epcot, and the busses - they were always fairly efficient. But - come on adult males - you know who you are - the ones who jump right on the bus and sit down immediately and see all those moms with exhausted kids at 11pm who are forced to stand on the bus for 20 minutes on that ride back to Pop! Give up your seat and let them sit down for God's sake!!!! Shame on you My DH and DS15 never sat - they always stood on the bus and allowed others to sit - those who really needed that seat Anyhow, I just didn't feel that true Disney Magic as I have at the other value resorts. We are staying at All Star Movies this May, and I just know we will like it so much more
Our Family did stay in the POP Century on October 2006 and It is awesome! The 50's theme looks awesome! Our Family Can't hardly wait to stay in the POP Century Beginning of May!
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JEANY SANCHEZ
Last edited by JEANYLASER; 03-19-2009 at 07:11 PM..
I loved this Hotel, Not as vast as I thought it was going to be and surprisingly friendly to smokers (all smoking places are well within walking distance to the room) we stayed on the 4th floor of the 70's building.
Would not recommend for couples seeking quiet romance
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Beach Club Villas - Jan 2014, Villas Wilderness Lodge - Jan 2013
All Star Music - January 2011, Saratoga Springs - June 2010
Port Orleans Riverside - October 2009, Caribbean Beach - June 2009
Coronado Springs - June 2008, All Star Movies - April 2008
Pop Century - June 2005
Offsite: June 1997, 1999, & 2000
I enjoyed staying at Pop Century. I had a "standard" room in the 70's and the room overlooked a courtyard with a "fuseball" team and the giant Big Wheel! I found the walk to Classsic Hall for food and transportation and the pools to be enjoyable. Thought the food court offered a nice variety of food and never had difficulty finding a table to eat at. Mousekeeping did a great job with the room and there were always plenty of towels. While I did hear room doors closing on occassion, I found the resort to be fairly quiet especially after 10:00pm or so. Enjoyed trying out all the pools. Buses were always full, but never "over crowded". I look forward to staying at POP again in December.
I travel with a service dog and Pop Century is always my choice to stay at when we go to Disney. They usually bend over backwards to make sure our room is near a grass relief area.