Pop Century

[k10]

My sis & I snagged really amazing flights to fly to Orlando this May. Since we didn't plan in advance for this Disney trip, we didnt' really save and have decided to stay at a value level resort. POP Century is what we chose. Would love any/all personal feeback, as we've never stayed here. :mickey:

[Canuck Park Hopper]

See also this thread with some guest experiences & preferences for POP-C

http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=197350

POP, in my opinion, is a bit less frenetic than the All-Stars, but still very busy. Its fast fun and friendly. Good bus service and good solid basic meals. We eat there in the morning - then usually wander off to another resort for a mid-day/evening meal.

[k10]

awesome. that link to the thread from back in january was really insightful. sounds like we made a good choice.

[SBETigg]

I usually stay Deluxe, but I actually enjoyed my Pop Century stay. It was quite a surprise to me. I loved the bright colors, fun theming, great bus service. I was expecting chaos from some reports I'd read, but it was a lovely stay. I would stay there again. Also, it gave me a chance to try the King Cupcake (in the bakery section of the food court). Chocolate cake with banana custard filling, chocolate frosting, with candied bacon.

[ginny57]

If you have time, walk over to AoA....its worth seeing.

[k10]

If you have time, walk over to AoA....its worth seeing.

It's interesting you mention the above. I was just pricing out AoA and it's only dollars more. The intrigue is there to potentially make a switch from POP to AoA. But now that you mention they're within walking distance...It'd probably be smart to keep my current POP reservation and just take the time to go visit AoA during some free time. Thanks for that. :mickey:

And in regards to the King Cupcake - holy smokes, I'm going to have to get 2. :woohoo:

[etibbetts]

I love Pop. It is my favorite value resort. I've always had good experiences there. The food court can get quite hectic during busy times, but I think that's pretty standard at all the values.

I would keep your Pop reservation over switching to AOA. While I really liked AOA, the standard rooms were so far away from the main building. In the future we'll always choose Pop, and just visit AOA for the food court. :)

[SBETigg]

And in regards to the King Cupcake - holy smokes, I'm going to have to get 2. :woohoo:

Yes! They're so good. And sorry, I misspoke. I meant to say peanut butter, not chocolate, frosting.

[Crow]

Ive stayed at Pop a bunch of times, its my fav value. that being said...the food court was busy late night still after park closing esp w only 1 station open. and needed some cleaning. I liked AOA food court better, walked over to it and around AOA which i will stay at at some point.
the area i like the best is the 50s, on the backside of the buildings w view of water, sometimes fireworks..and its not far from the main building

[E-OR]

Hard to believe but as of today we are down to single digits before our trip - staying at Pop. I also wanted to mention that with our last visit at Pop be walked over and took a tour of the AofA resort and rooms. It was very interesting and fun to see. We were the only ones in that particular tour so we were able to really look at the rooms and ask some questions. They are not offering any great discount codes for AofA yet because it's so new, so for us we will stay at Pop in September as well hoping for a AP discount then. I love the feel of Pop. The music, colors, and icons there make me feel so happy and just gives me a warm feeling every time I step through the doors. We were there in May of last year, great time to visit (my favorite time of year). I hope you enjoy this resort as much as our family has.

[LVT]

I like the gift shop at POP. It is a nice size and the assortment worked for me.
Note: the buses were busy, but adequate in number. We go during SPring break or Memorial weekend. They seem to try to handle the large capacity and mostly succeed.

[Tinksalot]

We have stayed at POP a few times. I have nothing negative to say about the resort. I do have to agree with Crow about AOA having a better food court. Last time we were there was last September, and we walked over to AOA to check it out and eat at their food court. They actually had real silverware! We are staying at AOA on our next trip in May. :mickey:

[k10]

I like the gift shop at POP. It is a nice size and the assortment worked for me.
Note: the buses were busy, but adequate in number. We go during SPring break or Memorial weekend. They seem to try to handle the large capacity and mostly succeed.

The above was really help to note. I get very antsy waiting for buses (long wait ever for me was as POR in Jan '12). Knowing they handle large capacity well is good b/c we'll be there 5/28, just AFTER Memorial Day.

Thanks to all, btw. The feedback is making me and my sister very happy with our choice!

[EJS-Houston]

I can only add to the chorus of voices congratulating you on your choice. Having stayed at All-Star Sports many times, I tried Pop Century this past November and loved it! I will default to Pop Century going forward. We enjoyed the food court, and enjoyed walking across to Art of Animation to enjoy the differernt offerings in that food court. Loved the decor of Pop, and loved that (thanks to Intercot advice) I could ask for and got a room facing the lake, so it was away from the noise of the pool areas, was nice and quiet, had a great view, and we even watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from our room on the first night there.

[darthmacho]

If you have time, walk over to AoA....its worth seeing.

Good advice. No matter which resort you decide on, you should walk over to the other to explore or to have a bite to eat. We stayed at Pop for 14 days last year, and it while we couldn't swim at the AoA pool, it was like having two resorts for the price of one. AoA was also just opening, so it was a lot quieter over there, and the cafeteria was superior in my opinion. They didn't have tie-dye cheesecake though.

[JerseyDad]

.....as a POP Century devotee` I have only good things to say about the place. But.....that's why I keep going back. The have a great staff ...the grounds are well maintained and beautifully landscaped ...and the food court is filled with great choices. I visited AoA last year while we were at POP and my brother was at AoA ...and although AoA has many 'new' choices of food ...I found that their effort to make every dish "to order" took WAY too much time ...and the lines got out of control pretty quickly (and that was before the Little Mermaid buildings were even opened ...so it wasn't a full crowd load).

...we'll be back at POP this August 24th ....for our 10th stay there.

[k10]

thanks again to all for the feedback. i am so thrilled to be staying here. definitely NOT changing my reservation.

i even went on Pinterest, of all places, to find some pictures of POP Century. what i found were extra cool photos of the grounds that i felt like i haven't found anywhere else online.

for example, there's a huge sony walkman??? my goodness, i can't wait till my May trip!

thanks again, all.

[Mickey'sIrishPAl]

.....as a POP Century devotee` I have only good things to say about the place. But.....that's why I keep going back. The have a great staff ...the grounds are well maintained and beautifully landscaped ...and the food court is filled with great choices. I visited AoA last year while we were at POP and my brother was at AoA ...and although AoA has many 'new' choices of food ...I found that their effort to make every dish "to order" took WAY too much time ...and the lines got out of control pretty quickly (and that was before the Little Mermaid buildings were even opened ...so it wasn't a full crowd load).

...we'll be back at POP this August 24th ....for our 10th stay there.

See you there Jersey!! There from August 16 through the 29th.

[forever a child]

In our hotel room at Pop in the 50's section. Arrived sunday and we were met by a young man who helped us load our luggage in a carrier and take to our room. (He was sent by God after our long early morning drive).

Room is clean and I love being by Hour Glass Lake and being able to look out across at A of A.
It is quiet back here and that's what I want. I don't have to hear all of the play of the families at the pools. Reasonable walk to the checkin/food court/buses too.

Our room is clean, we have had great service with fresh towels, freshly made beds and nice (small) but adequate room for my self and my 18 yr old DD.

[Disneyfirsttimer]

We stayed at Pop our last 2 trips and really enjoyed it. We didn't stay in a Preferred building but requested the 70s building 6 and it was a easy walk to the main pool and food court. Food court is good too.

I like the fact that Pop doesn't share buses. We don't spend a lot of time in the room (2 adults, 2 teen/preteen children) and we find the room to be just fine. I like all of the icons around the property.

[ASweetLov]

I LOVE Pop! 171 days until my 5th trip! When I step in Pop Century I get so happy, just makes me feel like I have arrived at home :cloud9: I personally like a lot of the selections in the food court, The fried chicken, shrimp lo mein, pulled pork burrito, asian chicken salad, to mention just a few..... Buses are never too crowded and they come often so I never waited for a bus for a very long time. The grounds are kept clean and I love the big icons! Have a fun trip :mickey:

[k10]

Buses are never too crowded and they come often so I never waited for a bus for a very long time. :mickey:

i am extremely happy to hear this about the buses. i am quite impatient when awaiting my bus to the park. out of eagerness and child-like excitement, of course.

[PirateLover]

We have been very hit and miss with POP over the years. What I feel it really comes down to is whether or not there are huge groups staying there at the same time as you (Cheerleaders/pee wee football/ senior trips etc). Those are the times when we've had the most issue with noise. As for the buses, we typically have not had issues with getting to the parks, but returning is another story. If you spend a whole day at a park, it's not very fun to have to trek to the farthest stop and often wait in the longest line. On one trip, we did not once get a seat on a bus returning to the resort. All values typically share this downside, but for some reason we've had the worst luck at POP. Not trying to damper your spirits, just thought you should be aware.

Other than that, the theme is fun (We loved taking pictures with Roger Rabbit, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, and yes, the giant Walkman:D) and the food court is huge. Even at busy times we've always been able to find a seat, and they have a wide variety of items that not every food court has.

[jennbunn]

We are staying at pop for the first time this may for star wars weekend. I am looking foward to seeing all the icons and being able to go check out A of A. is a major bonus for me : ) 36 days to go!!!!

[SandmanGStefani24]

like most of the peeps here, we love POP too. We always enjoy it, always have good service and don't find many negatives.

Two things, we usually eat only once in the food hall, so the fact that it gets crowded at times doesn't bug us. Also, we never use the buses anymore so that is not an issue either.

Fun POP fact. We stayed in the 80s building last visit there, and if you look the opposite direction of the rest of the resort, you can see the WDW welcome sign on the highway. It's closer than you think, and they did a good job blocking the sound too bc you never hear cars going by ever.

[mechanic]

Just stopped in for 1 night stay. On way through orlando. Paying 200 and change to spend a night in the world. Could have got decent room on the strip for 1/3 the price.
But, I'm smiling. Happy to be at disney for the night. Room service pizza, wings, and tie dyed cheesecake, (fabulous!).
Walking the grounds, checking out the pools, landscaping is freshly trimmed and immaculate, icons are clean and bright, food court was was clean and well stocked earlier.
Room is very clean, no mold or odors. Clean bedding, lcd tv with more channels than I remember, iron and board, hair dryer, safe, mini fridge, free wifi(very fast), alarm clock, oversized shower head, and the hotel shampoo has mickey ears now!
I know, a lot of common info, but just so happy to be here, and I thought I would share my impressions of my quick visit, and how pleased I am with conditions at pop.

[DANAM]

We love Pop and have stayed there quite a few times. I would recommend it to anyone not wanting to spend a small fortune on a hotel room. We have always been pleased with mouse keeping. We love the pools. We normally stay in the 90's building and we are close to the food court. I will admit we normally stay 7-9 days and we may only eat one meal at Pop. I cant really speak for the buses because we normally drive our car. But overall we are always pleased at this hotel.

[k10]

thanks again for all the feedback. the trip is less than 2 months away. i requested a room in the 80s. that darn yellow walkman keeps pulling me to it. i'll probably take like 1000 pictures in front of it!

maybe i'll write up a trip review afterwards!!! :mickey:

[i'm grumpy]

We love POP. I am a bit confused about the types rooms though. What is a pool standard or pool preferred?

[MargaretMessler]

We love POP. I am a bit confused about the types rooms though. What is a pool standard or pool preferred?

Not sure, but I'm gonna go ahead and GUESS that maybe it has to do with distance to the main building (food court, shopping, etc.)?

[i'm grumpy]

I would guess the pool rooms would be noisier than the regular preferred, but I'm not sure.

[disneygoofball]

maybe i'll write up a trip review afterwards!!! :mickey:

Please do!! :thumbsup: We're going to be staying there in January for the marathon weekend. I've never stayed at a value resort before, and I'm really curious about what to expect. This thread's been great, but I'd love to hear how your experience is! :mickey:

[brownie]

We love POP. I am a bit confused about the types rooms though. What is a pool standard or pool preferred?

The difference would be how close the room is to the Classic Hall. Closer rooms in some of the buildings are preferred, so you pay more for the room. Both pool standard and pool preferred will give you a view of a pool.

[k10]

Please do!! :thumbsup:

you've got it!

[#1donaldfan]

I've stayed there a couple of times and it's a great value resort !! The food court can get kinda busy, but it's very good !! I love to run and they have an incredible lake to run around and the route takes you over to AoA and back. I feel as though it's very much worth the price and much better "quality" wise, than any of the All Stars......:cool:

[thetraveler]

I'll chime in here also....and give good marks to POP. Our previous stay was at WL and I honestly didn't want to stay anywhere else. But Wife and kids wanted something different and POP was their choice.

I was not sold but kept an open mind....and was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the food court can get crowded but never enough so to be annoying. Rooms were a tad small, but very clean and functional for the four of us (including a 16 & 11 yr old). And 8 days at POP were substantially cheaper than WL....it paid for our Amtrak tickets!

We stayed in 70's...end room with a nice view of the lake. Reasonably close to food court, bus stop and pool.

Bus service is excellent. I'm sure your mileage may vary depending on when you go but late October through early November (with MNSSHP and Food & Wine going on) could not have been better.

We're planning on a return in September and will probably stay there again.....unless I can get a sweet deal on WL.