Pop Century likes and dislikes

[PlutoPlanet]

We are staying at POP for the first time this year. Cast is DW, DD14 and myself. What do you like and dislike about POP?
Thanks.

[Ms. Mode]

I think POP is a nice place to stay. It's very festive and the price is right

[bruin1344]

Like:
Value prices
Food Court
Clean
Being on Disney Property
View of Spaceship earth from parts of the property

Dislike:
Abandoned legendary years resort is an eye sore
Buses are crowded, more screaming children, and have longer waits than a moderate or deluxe
Not crazy about the pop culture theme
Crowded/loud pool areas

[DisneyFr33k]

Pros:

1. Love the updated rooms- compared to AS, neater, form fitted comforters, boxed in under beds so items don't roll under etc.
2. Theming - love the staircases!
3. Buses - dedicated to just POP, no sharing with other resorts like AS
4. Good dining
5. Great gift shop - found things there I was looking for in DD at The World of Disney and couldn't find!
6. Price!

Cons:

1. Large smoking area right beside the main entrance to the gift shop/food court area (we are very sensitive to smoke)
2. Abandoned legendary years - I wish they would bull doze that down!
3. Crowded buses - sometimes long waits at the parks to get home. AS had multiple buses come before our first one came.

Overall, this is a really clean and fun place to stay! You'll love it there!

[thrillme]

Pros:
Price
Food Court
Dedicated Buses (even though I'm not a big bus fan)

Cons:
The stupid Double beds...alas this is a problem in most of the moderates too.

I "prefer" at all resorts driving to the park over waiting for the bus...but in the times I've been to the Pop in the summer...it wasn't too bad. The other "values" were kind of a pain because they would start at the "sports" and pick up people as they had room from the "music" and "movies"...you were often boarding a very full bus. The Pop...stopped only at the Pop.

[allirae]

Overall, it was a really nice place to stay. The only thing we didn't like was having to go through the gift shop to get to the foodcourt. It's hard on the little ones to hear "no" that many times.

[Scar]

Check out This thread.

[Rosemickey68]

Pros:
Price
Location (10 to 15 minutes away from everything)
Has it's own bus as compared to the All Stars
Food Court
Gift Shop
Theme
Comfortable beds

Cons: The legendary years being abandoned...looks like a ghost town!


We really only use the resort to sleep, shower, & change clothes in. We expect to walk alot when we go to WDW and most resorts at Disney are large and involve walking.
There are other entrances into the food court/gift shop that avoids the smoking area if that bothers you, it just may involve a few more steps...check your map if you need to avoid it.

[Jenemmy]

I have stayed at POP. Not a thing wrong with it, I just personally wasn't crazy about the theming. Sure, all the values have the oversized icons, but for some reason, POP just seemed louder and more "in your face". Of course, some people may absolutely love that kind of constant energy and excitement

But, rooms and grounds were clean and well kept, pools were great, food court was nice. Great that it doesn't share a bus as well. Have fun!

[Missy_Mouses_Dad]

Like:
1)Near downtown and Wide World of Sports
2)Dedicated busses
3)hotel themes
4)pools

Dislikes:
1)Crowded busses
2)smoking section was terrible
3)didn't have my chicken sandwiches!!
4)slushy machines were gone : (
5)have to go through store to get to dining

[PlutoPlanet]

Thanks to all!
This is very helpful info.

[Tink#64]

We like everything above! We don't have any dislikes at Pop. We are easy to please! We love the energy there, it's a very vibrant resort! We're staying there for our 5th time in June, myself, DH, & DS's 12 & 14. My 60'ish DM loves Pop too!

[NJDad]

I'm not convinced the busses are any less frequent for Pop than for any other resort.
There's probably some perception bias there.

The longest we've ever waited for a bus in our trips of recent years was at the AK-to go to the AKL. Felt like you could have walked back to the resort in less time.

[Wishmaker]

Love everything about it.

[wmdaddy]

Likes:
1.Price
2.Kid friendly atmosphere
3.Pools
4.Bus service
5.Food court

Dislikes:
1.Bar area outside is too small
2.Gets very crowded
3.Small rooms
4.Lacks amenities
5.Lines for buses leaving parks

[ryca1dreams]

I actually like Pop - theming, location, price.

One of the times we didn't stay there, I noticed the easily 5x as many people waiting at the parks for busses - even more than the All Stars. But normally we've had good busses at Pop. The times I've stayed at All Stars, they've always each had their own busses (one for each All Star). I will never figure out the Value bus situation.

[Ian]

Okay, so I've stayed there a few times and here's my pros and cons list:

Pros

1. Obviously, it's probably the most economical way to stay on property. I remember one trip back in '07 where we spent 7 nights/8 days at Pop with the DPP included for like $1,500. You can't beat that.

2. It's a pretty cute resort. Some people find it tacky, and it probably is to some degree, but it's Disney tacky so it's still pretty cute. I mean who doesn't love a 40 foot tall Rubik's Cube??

3. Hmm ... uh ... did I mention it's economical?

Cons

1. Okay, so quite honestly Pop is pretty much on our "never again" list. It's not that it's a bad place, it's just not really for us.

2. It's kinda noisy. I don't know if it's the layout of the resort, the kinds of guests that stay in value resorts, or bad luck but it was a very busy feeling, hectic, loud resort. The other thing was, we ran across people openly consuming excess amounts of alcohol in public places. Some were even like sitting on their "stoops" with six packs smoking and stuff. Walking past that with small kids was less than enjoyable.

3. The food court is just a train wreck. It's nuts. It honestly felt like a prison cafeteria to me. People pushing, shoving, spilled ketchup and soda all over the place ... not my idea of a magical dining experience!

4. Seeing the abandoned Legendary Years buildings sitting across the lake there gives the place a bit of a low-rent feeling. I haven't been there in a couple years, but it was even looking overgrown and seedy the last time I saw it.

I'm not convinced the busses are any less frequent for Pop than for any other resort.
There's probably some perception bias there.

The longest we've ever waited for a bus in our trips of recent years was at the AK-to go to the AKL. Felt like you could have walked back to the resort in less time.

I agree. It's not really Pop that's the issue, it's just that the busses are relatively unreliable in general. I also have had outrageously long waits for busses at AKL and also at SSR. Which is why we never use the busses.

[oliver&bianca]

4)slushy machines were gone : (

Is this true? What about the other resorts? This was always a "pro" to our family. A nice treat. But........not any more???

[NJDad]

We've heard noise at Pop, All Stars, but the noisiest stay we had (non-pool view room) was at the AKL.

If your neighbors are noisy enough, no wall is thick enough, we learned.

[coneygoil]

Pros:
-the price is low when you can't afford a moderate/deluxe resort
-the atmosphere is fun and lively
-there's no long walks to the main building
-the bus stops are all in one area and the buses are pretty much on time
-the food is pretty good (love the danishes!) and I like the sitting area in the food count

Cons:
-the buses can be busy when coming back from a park
-smoking area too close to the food count

My family really enjoys this resort!