POP Century.... pros and cons??

[FenwayGirl]

Got to tell you, not my favorite Value Resort at all..It is newer, but we prefer ASmovies. The food court at Pop is okay, but crowded as PC has 4 floors to their buildings. Also, kind of a funky layout. I got LOST a few times..also stuck down in the 90's section.

Not saying that I wouldn't try it again, but not my favorite

[DawnluvsEeyore]

In previous trips, we've stayed at the Swan and Dolphin because of the teacher discount. We decided to go last spring break when Disney offered the buy four/get three free deal. I started to do research to see where we'd stay after we decided upon a budget.

I decided on Pop and was skeptical because of reading things like "thin walls, you can hear the toilets flush, noisy, etc." I was prepared to not sleep, etc. We paid extra (worth every penny) for a preferred room and got the 60s building, 4th floor on the corner overlooking the Hippy Dippy Pool. I'm VERY HAPPY to report that we never heard a toilet flush (except for our own). The walls are no thinner than a reg. hotel room. I think there are fire codes against thin walled hotels, right? And, we never heard noise from the pool. Ever.

As far as the size of the room...there were three of us: my husband, 18 year old son, and myself. We unpacked, nested our suitcases inside one another and put them under the sink, put our clothes either in the dresser or hung them up and we had plenty of room.

We love Pop and will definitely go back. You can't beat the price. Yes, the walk to the bus after a long day in the parks is longer than the other resorts, but it's very doable.

I hope this helps a bit. Happy Planning!

[Crow]

Last time I got placed in the 80s/90s area. The other times I was in the 50s, which I liked for location and pool much better. Backside of some of the 50s buildings facing the lake did get a view of some Illuminations fireworks.
The location is very good to me, as I spend most time at Epcot.
Food court and gift shop pretty big for a resort. Pizza etc was fine the times I ate there.
I heard the Icees are gone from the food court though, which hurts me as I used them as mixers in my mug.
Its also nice to walk along the water.
Buses did have some long lines at times, the longest to MK. But doable.
Pop is my pick over Allstars def. Location and its newer. I did hear of a rehab coming also.

[ChipNDale79]

Can we see the picture of the legendary years please? Just intrested in what it actaully looks like. THANKS

found the picture

http://i45.tinypic.com/noan82.jpg%5B/IMG%5D

i didnt get a picture of the other buildings off to the side of these, but there is more than one building.

[PixieMagic]

PROS:

• Cheap
• Great QS Food Selection
• Has it's own buses compared to sharing at other value resorts
• Everything is slightly newer

CONS:

• Overly crowded
• Noisy
• Tiny rooms
• Buses take FOREVER at times
• Service is not helpful
• Standing room only on most buses
• Too large of a resort

[crmark1]

What view do you get of Epcot? And which section of the 50's building would you need to request to get a view of Epcot?

When we stayed at POP I requsted 50's top floor facing Epcot. Our room was on the backside wing of the 50's building closest to the lake. During the day you can just make out the top of Spaceship Earth. At night theres a decent view of fireworks from Epcot. The draw back of the location was it was one of the farthest from the main building and food court, and you have a clear view of the closed down construction across the lake. Does anyone know if there are any plans to finish this property. It looks terrible the way it is.

[DisneyFr33k]

We've stated at ASMu, ASMo twice and POP twice. POP is our favorite.

Pros:

1. Dedicated bus service - we didn't have to wait long except one time. And then the next day a transportation manager was out front monitoring the bus service (I guess they received complaints)
2. Clean rooms - great mousekeeping!
3. Gift Store - we found things here that we couldn't find in The World of Disney (Downtown Disney).
4. Food Court - we thought better selection and tast than our AS experience.
5. Management - two trips ago, I son became ill and had to be transported by ambulance to the ER. The manager came to our room, stayed with us until we boarded the ambulance, paid for the ambulance and cab ride back and called the next day offering to send up food/room service.

Cons:

1. Smoking areas. Our first trip, we stayed in the 50's building facing the bowling pin pool. We had to pass through 2 smoking areas to get to the food court. And, one big smoking area is just to the left of the main entrance to the food court/gift shop. Our family is very sensitive to smoke.
2. Small beds - 2 doubles, but that is what values offer!

[Dznygrl79]

As far as crowding I think it depends on what time of year you go I have been in OCT & DEC I was there during the first week of December at Pop and the following year I spent the first week of Dec at Sports and I found crowds and noise much worse at Sports but I think its a personal tolerance ie the noise you notice may not be the noise someone else notices. I tend to notice kids being loud and not care I was a teacher however I hate machinery that is loud so when the gardeners come through I can't stand it, you might not be the same.

Crowded yeah kinda. but the resort is the largest value I had a bus driver tell me just the largest but I think that would have been if they completed both sides. I don't tend to notice crowds unless you are right up on me in me personal space type invasion like the parade invasion I have a speical walker that turns into a seat and people think its just dandy cause they can stand real close and see over me ( okay thats a personal vent sorry)

Bus Sorry but it is crowded but I have only waited for more than 15 mins once and that was at DTD not a park.

Thin walls okay yeah I could sya something here but my room at Old Key West was worse for me, we had an exuberent couple next to us

My point still stands it is my favorite resort even over Old Key West, Fort Wilderness Cabins, Beach Club and Sports. But again every is entitiled to their opinion.

[Crow]

Ill be enjoying it two weeks from today. so ill report when back. As i said i like it the best of the values. Not happy about the Icees though. I might have to visit the bar by the pool, dont remember if i visited it before. They used to have Classic Concoctions inside bar that was nice.
Im going to try for the 50s area

[WVParkfan]

It's interesting how everyone has different views.

For our family, our least-favorite Disney resort is Pop Century. For values, we'll take All-Star Music or Movies any day over Pop.

I've never stayed at a hotel anywhere that was as loud as Pop Century. The walls are paper-thin, and we could hear every word said in the room next door, every toilet flush from the room above us, every word said by everyone walking by our room, and every splash from the pool. Our experience at the All Stars has not been like that.

We only stay on-property, and we would stay at Pop again if it was the only option we had. But since there are many better options, we won't stay there again.

[paragon]

We prefer Movies over Pop, it just works better for us for some reason. Pop is nice, big and bright everywhere. The food court/gift shop set up are better. They designed Pop, using what worked at the other values and made some things better, the main lobby layout, bathroom locations and food court.
We found the rooms virtually identical to Movies, Sports and Music so no change ther really. Pop Century is actually the 6th largest hotel in the world based on room count and occupancy, so naturally it will appear more crowded. They snuck in a fourth floor, which the All Stars don't have.
What I found to be the only downside, was that I am so used to staying at All Stars, I would often become disoriented when it came time to drive out, and in. I am very comfortable at All Stars, I can negoriate the roadways much better from there.
Its a good resort, we just prefer Movies.

[Belster]

We LOVE Pop!!! As you can see from my signature, I have stayed at many resort categories....but Pop is the place that gives me that WDW feel that I am looking for. Our past trip we upgraded to mod and were not happy. Pop is just fun!!!! We love life and music and people...if you like that you will love Pop. We like to stay in the 60's section right on the first floor.

The best things about Pop are:
1. Bussing system very organized...the lines and the fact that you do not share busses.
2.Love their drink refill station...there is plent of room to fill your mug.
3. Love the food court...just a fun feel!
4. Theme of the resort is fun!
5. The resort is well situated around the central lobby area and bus stop.
6.The best WDW feel to me!!!
7. The price is right.

Con:

The only two cons I have are:

1. Small Beds
2.No separation between the bathroom and beds...like a curtain to hide the light.

[Belster]

I forgot to mention one more thing...yes the wall are a bit thin..we bring a sound machine with us. That solves that problem.

[AdventurerKim]

We always stay at POP and love it! The best part about POP is that there is ONE BUS STOP!!! No driving around to different parts of the resort or waiting for a bus that's doing that like at CBR, POR, CS, etc... We love the atmosphere, music, good food court, etc... The rooms and beds are smaller than others, but we don't spend much time in the room except to sleep and relax. We usually stay in the 50's section but have now stayed in the 60's twice and had good room locations. We like the 80's, but it's so far from Classic Hall.

[Crow]

bumpin since i will be here next week.
any stays lately? my last stay was in the 80s,90s area but I liked the 50s locations better. And I think Ill try for the 50s again.
Beverages for the mugs now? no Icees I hear.
bar at pool? food? would it be better for me to bring some alcohol or have it delivered or buy some in the gift shop?

[ASweetLov]

Another vote for Pop We absolutely love it!

[bruin1344]

bumpin since i will be here next week.
any stays lately? my last stay was in the 80s,90s area but I liked the 50s locations better. And I think Ill try for the 50s again.
Beverages for the mugs now? no Icees I hear.
bar at pool? food? would it be better for me to bring some alcohol or have it delivered or buy some in the gift shop?

I like the 1950s location the best. There is a bar at the pool. There is a food court. Alcohol is expensive at the resort so if there is a way to get it beforehand, you will save money.