Will we like Pop Century?

[markyv]

This October we are planning to visit WDW with our 3 year old DD and 7 month old DS. We have never stayed in anything less than a moderate, and we wondering if we would like Pop Century. I have been told it is nice, but will we be dissappointed in it? The higher cost of going and adding the 3 year old in almost dictates staying in a cheaper resort. Any suggestions?

[faline]

We spent two nights at Pop last year and it was just fine. I found the beds a bit small to my liking but that was the only negative.

[Mousemates]

We stayed at the Pop over the Christmas holidays last year (with two disney teens) and had a great stay...also as Faline said our only negative there was the smaller bed size. By the way, I bet your three year old will absoultely love it, to me the theming of the values is the most "kid-fun" in all of WDW.

[cal5755]

We stayed in Pop when it first opened in 2005.It was a pretty good experience. It was definitly fun staying there

[forbella]

I'm in agreement with the previous posts! We, my wife and I prior had stayed off site and at the Grand Floridian and when we married and had our daughter we started our trips to DW when she was 3 and my wife really whinced at staying at the "value" end of the spectrum, especially after our great week at the Grand. But after reading up and watching vids- we just settled into the fact that it's a place to lay our heads and rest up for the parks. Our first trip to DW with daughter in tow was a great surprise- PoP is a great value overall- it's great for kids (and my daughter as well) :thumbsup:
It's the newest of the value line and I love the pool, the atmosphere and the fact that PoP has it's own buses.:thumbsup:

Sure, we'd love to spend our week at the Poly- but for the price/value ratio we really have enjoyed the PoP and have been back and will be going back again soon (knock on wood).

As for the bed, I'm a little over 6 foot tall and it's fine for me, nice and comfy- maybe I'm just too exhausted from the parks to know any better! But for now, since she's young- the POP works out just fine!:number1:

[Pop Centurion]

I love the theming and atmosphere of Pop. I think you guys will enjoy it.

[Tygger7]

I'll echo what others have said...it's a very nice resort, but the beds are small and rather uncomfortable. My DH & I are used to a king bed and going to a double is very difficult for us. I always feel like I'm about to fall out. :) We actually prefer the WL, but we're considering POR next May. We discussed Pop and decided that it would just be too uncomfortable for more than a night. Unfortunatley, we're spoiled.

[miprender]

Having stayed at the "pop" in 2006 I think you might be a little disappointed. But that might happen with all the value resorts. I found the All Star Movies much better. The Pop to me just seemed very worn and I did not like the decor as much as I liked the All Star Movies. I found mousekeeping lacking (but I think that is a disney thing since everyone seems to be mentioning it) and the rooms were not sound proof. You could hear people talking outside the room and you could hear when the toilets were flushing.
But where ever you stay you will have a great time. :party:

[JenniferS.]

We've stayed their the past two years and we liked it. We had a preferred room and were in the 50's building next to the bowling pin pool and close to the food court/buses. The theming is great for the kids. At least the buses are only for pop and don't share w/ all stars. This year we are staying at the Contemporary and i'm sure it will be a treat. You will have fun there.

[thrillme]

I've always stayed at the values/pop. We spend so much time at the parks when we're there that I just can't justify anything else.

The only downside I've found is I wish their pools had slides...but we often don't do much in the pools either because we spend time at the water parks.

[Marker]

Yes.

That is, if you are willing to like it, you will.
Or, if you look for problems, you'll probably find them.

POP is definitely a like-able resort.

[gnomelady]

Stayed at POP in April with my best friend from school, girls get away and we loved it. She had never been to Disney before it was like taking a kid. We loved the POP brought back so many memories. We stayed in the bowling pin section 50's and did not experience allot of noise from people talking in the room next door or toilets flushing. If people talk loud you can hear them no matter where you stay.Early in the morning you may hear someone walking by pulling their suitcase to check out it was only a minute or so.. We had a corner room ground floor can't complain. One thing I'd like to bring up if the POP Century has over 4,000 room and on the average it has 2 people per room that's 8,000 (average) people (not including staff etc) don't you think there will be some noise? The beds are doubles if you are use to a queen or king they beds will seems small. For the $$ it is worth it and the grounds and theming are wonderful. I hope to go back someday.

[megustamex]

We have stayed at the deluxe resorts and the values. You'll probably have to nap in the room with the kids which is the only downside to the values - you spend a little more time in them with kids than just at night. But they're fine. You still have the Disney theming throughout which gives you a good feeling about the resort in general, and while the beds might be smaller my husband never complained and he is 6'2. We're always so tired by the time we've struggled with toddlers at the park all day that we could sleep in any bed at night! We're going to stay at the All-stars this fall again (we prefer it to Pop because of the theming) and it's going to allow us to do a lot more of the things we love at Disney - like going to the waterparks for a few days and eating at our favorite table service restaurants.

[bruin1344]

POP beats an average non-disney hotel, i enjoyed staying there, my only negatives about it are the smaller beds, longer bus lines, and tends to be louder outside the room

[Jasper]

Putting aside all the issues of what Pop offers Vs. what a moderate would offer is the issue of the mindset of you and your family. There are those who go to the value resorts expecting to have all the same amenities and services as they get at a moderate or deluxe resort and then they are disappointed with the value resort.

If you go to a value feeling like you really don't want to be there and you are there just because you can't afford to do anything more expensive then I can almost guarantee you will have a bad time. However if you go in with a positive and open mindset that says this is going to be a new and DIFFERENT experience then we have had before you are much more likely to enjoy Pop or any of the other value resorts.

Having said all that, we have found all of the bus lines to be very manageable simply because Disney knows there are many more people at the value resorts so they run more buses. Yes, when you walk up to a bus line the first time you will probably start to second guess your decision but then when you see how quickly the line moves you will decide that it is no longer of a wait than any other Disney resort. As for the noise as was mentioned by another poster, we have always found that once you shut your door the noise of the outside world almost always goes away.

Bottom line is if you can have an open mind than certainly try Pop.

[megustamex]

We've actually had much faster bus service at the value resorts than at the deluxe because they have so many more buses due to the larger amount of rooms. We always had to wait at LEAST 20 minutes for a bus at every deluxe we've ever been to.

If you're concerned about noise, don't book anything that overlooks a pool. You'll know when you check in if your room is near the pool on the map they give you. We always overlook the woods/swampy areas in the back of the value resorts because they have been very quiet every time. It's worth a slightly longer walk for a peaceful night's sleep. It's always a nice nature view when you go out in the morning as an added bonus!

[hardingella]

having travelled from the Uk twice to stay at POP, we loved it and so did the kids, it can get a liitle noisy sometimes, try and get a room away from the pools and try to ask for one without a connecting door, that does keep the noise down. you may have to walk a little further but its worth it. The pools are great, the cast members cant do enough. You are still getting that all important "Disney Magic".Think positive, all that extra money your saving means you can return sooner !.:thumbsup:

[Young@Heart]

I think it all depends on your frame of mind.

We love POP (esp. the kids). But we're a family of 5 who lives in a small 3 bedroom house. Also, DH and I have a double bed at home, so the double at POP is nothing new to us.

We watched a lot of online videos before our first stay there, and looked at tons of pictures online, too. This helped us get excited about the resort. We were also concerned about how we'd like it, after a moderate, but DC begged us to give it a shot (after seeing it on the DVD) so we did. It's a decision we don't regret at all! :mickey:

[hearts8701]

as any value hotel lots of large groups of teens and a little noisey around the main pool at times and the food service is always crowded around breakfast & lunch hours but i enjoy the kids running all over if your looking for at little quiet look at a moderate hotel

[Crow]

I will b staying at Pop again for i guess the 6th time in Sept. If i could afford a mod or deluxe all the time I probably wouldnt but i like Pop. good theming, good location for me (close to Epcot) ive seen Illuminations fireworks from there.
get a refillable mug, good also for Icees.
the food court can b busy in the am & the bus to MK sometimes has a line, but its a good choice

[Taja]

Your children will love Pop Century--or any of the value resorts. Whether the adults do or not is up to them. As other posters noted, if you go in expecting to dislike the resort, you will. If you go in with an open mind, you may dislike some aspects, but rejoice in the joy of your children--and have a good time in spite of yourselves.

The double beds definitely are less spacious than queen size beds, but you would have to upgrade to a deluxe resort for the queen beds.

Relax and plan to have some fun with your children! :)

[Taja]

Oh! And if noise from other guests is an issue, we encountered just as much noise when guests walked past our rooms at the deluxe resorts as at Pop Century.

If quiet is important to you, request a room on an upper floor and on the side of the building away from the pool. It's amazing how quiet it can be!

You'll still hear the turbo flush toilets when it's quiet at night--but we heard them at the deluxe and moderate resorts, as well. Close the bathroom door and sleep tight! :)

[TheMartellFamily]

For our family we just tell ourselves it does not matter where we are staying we ARE at Walt Disney World.

[disneychick62]

stayed there a couple of days after leavin universals royal pacific....had a great time. its really bright and colorful. the old toys in the lobby were fun to look at....brought back memories from the 70s when i grew up...lol:D

[mattandmandy]

We are staying there in December for the exact same reason you are. We are now taking 2 kids and have chosen to go with a less expensive room. We have only stayed here once before and our only complaint was that it is noiseier and we did wait longer for the buses (but maybe thats based on the time of year?). Our last stay was at Wilderness Lodge and it was definately quieter so I think we were used to that.

[Belster]

I have always stayed at delux resorts until my past 2 stays. My family and I stayed at the Pop and loved it. Just like you I was very nervous, but was so happy to save a lot of money and enjoy a kid friendly atmosphere. You will love it. The busing is great, the food is great, the pools are great.

On the flipside the rooms and beds are very small, but hey who spends any time there anyway!

You will love it!:mickey:

[madi47]

I have to say My family and I have stayed at the WL, AKL, CS, and CBR. Our all time favorite resort is POP. The resort is just so kid friendly. The food court has something for everyone. The pools are just great and my DD just loves to take a break and play in the arcade. The buses are also the best that I have experienced. I was so disappointed in the buses at both of the deluxe resorts. The WL buses were the worst I experienced. Though it was beautiful I didn't like that the buses were shared with other deluxe resorts. I remember trying to get to DTD and we had to first drive over to GF to pick guests up. It took almost an hour to get to DTD. So like I said I will stick with POP. 2 more weeks and I'll be there again for the 3rd time. :cloud9: