Pop century ?'s...................please answer if you've stayed there before! thanks

[tink210]

hey everyone.

we are staying at the Pop Century in July. we already have everything booked, but i have a few ?'s.

1. How is the food court?? What types of items do they have there?

2. Which building is it best to request for buses?

3. How are the rooms?

4. How is the lobby?

5. Any comments or things we should know??????

THANKS!!!!!!!!!! :mickey:

[Pop Centurion]

1. The food is pretty good. Nice variety and the tie dyed Cheese Cake is awesome. We're not aloud to post links to other sites here but I will PM you a link to the menu items that they offer. (for some crazy reason Intercot doesn't have a menu for Pop)

2. Last year we stayed in the 90's building and only had to cut across a parking lot to get to the bus stops. We also stayed in the 50's which wasn't a very far walk either. Obviously the preferred 60's buildings are closest but if you look at the resort map you can get a good idea of what you'd rather have.
http://www.intercot.com/resorts/disney/maps/images/popcentury.jpg

3. The rooms are more than we expected for a value resort. They're not very large but I also don't think they're that small either.

4. The lobby is very cool. They have all sorts of memorabilia from the different era's. It's also very large to accommodate many people checking in at the same time.

5. Most people choose the values to save money and/or because they don't plan to spend much time there except to sleep, shower, and maybe take afternoon breaks. But I find that the resorts theming makes many people spend time there walking around to view all the buildings and icons. I also think the atmosphere there is much better than the other resorts we've stayed in. Everyone seems to be having more fun than elsewhere. Many times we get back from the parks late and people are still in the pools having a great time. We like to grab a drink from the bar and just relax poolside and watch everyone having fun.

[Daveyk]

The food court is large. Lots of stations with a fair number of offerings. We had a large group, and everyone found *something* they liked.

I don't recall which building is best for busses. The bus stops right at the main building, and all the other buildings go out in a semi-circle around it. We were at the farthest building, and it was still only a couple of minutes back to the main one.

Rooms are fine. I thought they were a little bigger than the all-star rooms, but still not "spacious"...if you just go there to sleep and shower, they're perfect.

They have a pretty big lobby area, with some seating. There's the ubiquitous gift shop, and the food court. Its nothing like the deluxe resorts, but has that particular disney style.

[NLODisney]

I like the food court at PC. There are alot of different stations with different types of food so the variety is good. I liked the frozen coke that you could get in your refillable mug. I have been in the 90's and also the 70's buildings and was very close to the bus stop and the food court. The rooms are small and I like being on the 4th floor better because it was quieter than my room on the 3rd floor. The rooms are small but the price is good so I really won't complain about the size. The bathroom set up is good and there is a blow dryer and iron and board in the room. The tv is large 27" I think and mousekeeping was good for my trips. The lobby has alot of cool things to look at from the different decades. I also enjoy taking a walk around the resort to check out the large icons in differnt areas and it's also relaxing to take a walk over to the lake and relax. Have a great trip!

[DizneyRox]

hey everyone.

we are staying at the Pop Century in July. we already have everything booked, but i have a few ?'s.

1. How is the food court?? What types of items do they have there?

2. Which building is it best to request for buses?

3. How are the rooms?

4. How is the lobby?

5. Any comments or things we should know??????

THANKS!!!!!!!!!! :mickey:
1. It was a madhouse. Only went there a couple times, it was easier to wait and eat in the parks.
2. Building 10 seemed to be the closest to the busses if my memory serves me right.
3. They seemed cheap. The walls seemed paper thin as well as the ceiling. While noise wasn't that big of a deal (I sleep like a rock) they felt cheap compared to many of the other resorts I've stayed at.
4. Lobby wasn't anything to write home about either. All I remember (late might checkin) was a long counter area with a few people milling around in back. The person checking us in was "Earning My Ears" so she needed to check with the manager on just about everything. Took about an hour and 15 minutes for them to check us in between the lack of knowledge, screwing up on the room charges, etc.
5. Good luck! I tend to stay away from the value resorts. Not my cup of tea...

[wilshade]

I have stayed at Pop twice already and will be there again in November.

Food Court
The food court is large and the menu is quite varied. The "Mom's Night Out" selections are good ones to try as well as anything from the Flatbread counter. The veggie lasagna is good, but the portion is nearly as big as a house!

The dessert counter is a must. Tie-dyed cheesecake is a signature for them. But, don't miss a late nice ice cream here when you come back from the parks.

At 8am the CMs come out in front of the counters and do a group dance to "The Twist". They do one again at 6p to "The Hustle".

Busses
90's and 70's section if your priority is to get straight on the bus. Doesn't really matter if you plan to get on a bus after breakfast at the foodcourt or if you want a late night snack when you come back from the parks.

Rooms
The rooms are nice, clean, but just a tad tight on the size. Shouldn't be a factor though. We call the toilets "Turbo Toilets" for a reason. You might pick up a little noise from neighboring rooms or the outside, but I have not found it to be bothersome.

The beds may seem a bit hard, but again, I didnt find it bothersome. The hotel's channle on the TV plays the hits from the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Adds to the vibe of the resort and sort of gets ya in the mood in the mornings when you are getting dressed.

Lobby
Take your time and look around at the shadow boxes on the walls. I will bet you will find stuff that will bring back some memories.

The arcade is large and extensive. "Everything Pop" has the hotel's store and the food court. The lobby leads directly to the "Hippy Dippy Pool" deck and "Petals" pool bar.

Comments
For me, the best thing about Pop is the vibe of the resort. I can try to describe it as "busy exhuberance".

You can see Illuminations from the rear of the 50's building each night.

Take time to stroll around the resort. The big icons will, of course catch your eye first. But, walk around and look for some of the surprises. The coolest of those, I think, is the permanent "Twister" game complete with a "spinner".

[JPL]

I was anto-value resort before staying at Pop. Before staying there I only visited a friend or 2 staying at the All-stars and said never going to be me. Well a few short solo trips later and I really enjoy Pop.

The rooms are average nothing special but kept very clean but wouldn't recommend squeezing more than 3 people in them.

The food court is your standard Disney Food Court good for a quick bite to eat nothing too fancy but definately decent food.

Buses are at the front of the Main Building I actually found the 90's building best with a quick short cut through the parking lot.

The Lobby is definately interesting with the memorabillia from each decade on display. I also think the gift shop is one of the better resort shops with a large selection of merchandise to choose from.

[Disneyfun]

All the above posts are right on the money, especially SHORTY's!

Something else to be added is that the walk along Hourglass Lake has some great signs detailing important and interesting facts that happened through out the years! Best seen at night without the heat of the sun!

I loved the Everything PoP Food Court! I thought that the prices were decent for WDW and the selection was spectacular! We loved the frozen coke (the refillable mug more than paid for itself there!) and the smore's like cheesecake was delicious (sorry, can't remember what it was called! :blush:)

[tiaramom]

I Love the Pop Century Resort better thn most disney properties. WHY?? It is child friendly , Disney themed to the most possible decor imaginable. The lobby is impressive for the eye- not fancy but flashy! Extremly clean hotel- in and outside . The grounds are really sweet too. In the back of the hotel there is a walk way to jog or stroll with a nice lake and a bridge to nowhere- with benches to read a book on or day dream. All the roomlocations are great- all are close enough to everything you need. Buses - are only in front of the hotel itself- and are super fast in getting you to the parks. The Pop shop is GREAT- it is a fun place to shop- its really very big with many items to choose from to take home as a rememberence of your magical vaction. I shop here late in the evening - it a blast. The food court is so easty to naviagate about. the menus are digial and on screens , you can view them easily-
There are many food choices: chinese, italian, burgers, chicken, salads, heros, sweets. A grab and go area too- with yougurt , chips, donouts, drinks. There is a drink bar- with juice, soda, hot coco, ect. Super clean !!!!! Get the refill mug - and go here day or nt. any time. hot water here any time- good for those little ones- on cereal/formula bottles... The pools are clean- adorable- disney character themes and a load of fun. They are simple in nature- There arent any water falls- hot tubs etc.. but its a beautiful pool - several pools... 3 pools and kiddie splash areas w/ goofy. There is a play ground - and a lobby with movies for the kids to relax at .The rooms are small!!! but I dont mind that- they are sooooooooooooo clean!!!
and nice in design- child friendly and bright!
This is the only downer- small rooms- so what!!!
I have stayed her 4 x last year with 2 adults and a toddler- with a stroller and pak and play crib- it all fit.... quick ride to airport and parks- NO STOPS!!!! DIRECT SERVICE!!!!

[EPCOT.nut]

1. How is the food court?? What types of items do they have there? It's been 2 years since we stayed at POP. I was impressed with the selection of food. There was a lot of choices even for the breaklfast time, and the lines moved quickly. Lots of healthy choices that are tasty. It was really loud in the food court - we ate breakfast there but took our dinners to our rooms for some QUIET time.

2. Which building is it best to request for buses? I don't know - we drove everywhere.

3. How are the rooms? Clean, quiet. Bedding was fine. Not as nice as the Contemporary beds, LOL. :D

4. How is the lobby? Great theming and a lot to look at. Too bad they were so fast checking us in or we would have been able to look around longer. We arrived Valentine's Day evening and we were trying to catch Illuminations at Epcot. AND we were running pretty late. I think we arrived at POP at 8:30pm! We told the lady helping us and she sped through the registration!

5. Any comments or things we should know?????? The monster-sized Big Wheel is outside the 70's rooms. That was so fun to pass every day to and from the parks. Can't comment on the pools because it was February and we had a severe cold snap. It was 30 degrees and WET outside. (I love Florida!) I hate the plastic utensils in these value hotels so I like to bring some silverware! Makes eating so much nicer.

Hope you have a wonderful time!

[EPCOT.nut]

LOL Double-post - sorry!

[tink210]

THANKS everyone!!!!!!!

great help/tips/advice/etc. :thumbsup:


one more question.....

i know about the tie-dye cheesecake......is there any other "special" or "neat" and "different" food like that there??? :confused:

[magicman]

I loved everything about the Pop on our last visit; however, I will offer my tip:
Be advised that the bus pickups/depots are in the front of the main building, and they are NOT covered. It can get very hot while waiting for the buses (although the waits weren't too long). I advise sunscreen & a cool drink be applied & consumed liberally.

[luvkatiebug]

I have to ditto everything that the positive posts said. We had a great time; I don't know if you will have kids with you, but they will love it. THe theming is so much fun. We stayed in the 70's section, and I thought it was great for the buses and food court (with out the extra cost of the preferred section). If you look at the map (previously posted), the buses are toward the 70's side. I thought the bus service was great when we went (and it was the summer). My DD was 3 at the time, and she loved the water "pop jets" by the 70's buiding just as much as the pool.

I thought the food court has great "homestyle" food (and of course the cheesecake!).

Have a super time. :mickey:

[BugeyedMuggy]

One great thing about POP is that you can view the MK fireworks & the arial fireworks from Epcot from the top of building 3. That way if your beat and don't want to fight the crowds you can still enjoy the fireworks & have a late night snack before the food court gets too crazy (10PM) This resort is by far the best VALUE resort in my opinion.

[luvdiznee]

We've stayed at POP two times I will have to say the Chicken Penne Alfredo and Parmesan Crusted Chicken were great both times we had them. Another vote for the tye die cheesecake, as well. We walked around the resort getting pix of all the different icons for each buildings, just love looking at them. Would definitely stay there again, even tho our last night mousekeeping did not empty the garbage in our room. But stayed in 50's bldg had a great view of fireworks. Enjoy.

[Crow]

Pop 3 times, 4th stay in Sept. all trips so far in 50s area. which i think is a good spot, even though i wasnt alive in the 50s. it has its own pool and not bad walk to main building. last time had a great top floor room in the middle building w view of lake and the Illuminations fireworks.
the food court wasnt bad. i eat in the parks more though. w free dining in Sept im sure ill use a cs or 2 there. mornings can b busy
buses not bad except for closing time at MK.

[AdventurerKim]

We have stayed at POP three times with a fourth time coming up in Nov. We love POP!

1. The food court is good and has good food. My fav is the parmesian chicken with the salad. Good breakfast and snack food selections.

2. We like the 50's where we've stayed twice which was most convenient for us to the bus stop. We've also stayed in the 80's which was far from the buses. I'd say the 50's or 60's are closest to the bus stop.

3. The rooms are the usual for a value resort; they're a bit small, but serve their purpose. No frig which is a small drawback, but we don't look for luxury rooms at WDW bc we're usually our and about having a great time.

4. I love the displays of pop culture memorabelia in the lobby!

[thrillme]

Been there done that...was quite pleased.

I'm sorta surprised at a number of people who tend to be really critical of some hotels but then for me...it's just a place to rest. I like the benefits of being on Disney property. But being true to the people who stay at the high $$ resorts...I'm banking that either they have a heavy chunk of change to spend and they spend more time at the hotel rather than just to sleep and shower. I like being at the parks so much my party is usually BEGGING me to go back for a nap. When I'm on vacation I don't sleep much at all.

The cafeteria is swell. I have a weakness for the Meatball Sub and the tye dye cheese cake and the cheese cake with the marshmallows and chocolate. There's quite a variety of stuffs...sorta cafeteria style. It had times where it got a little crazy but no big deal...it was the same as counter-service in the parks.

The Lobby was pretty interesting because it had a LOT of nostalgia in it. WOW...I had one of those! Of course the lobby at the Animal Kingdom is really fancy but I'm not spending any time in the lobby past check-in.

They had a neat arcade and a nice pool...no slide but the pool was comfortable for a cool float and a little drink.

The room was just a room. Not super fancy but clean, cool and comfortable. That's ALL I ask for. I didn't have any problems with loud people at all but...no matter which hotel you're at you can easily end up with that problem.

The hotel is well worth the money. I'd gladly stay there again and again. But then I'm probably one of the EASIEST people to please.

[grumpycajun]

We love PoP. We don't spend a whole lot of time in the room when we're there, but here's our take:

The food court is pretty good. There's enough variety that you don't have to eat the same things over and over again. It does get very busy at times, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. One little "factoid" - if you happen to be at the food court when the song " The Twist" comes on, watch for the CM's to drop what they're doing, gather at the center of the court and do the twist. I get a huge kick out of it every time.:thumbsup:

We like the 60's building, top floor and away from the pool. It's quiet, especially at night. It's a close walk to the busses.

The rooms are fine. The one's we've stayed in have been in new condition. Not surprising since it's the newest resort. We didn't experience the sounds coming from other rooms because of thin walls like I've seen others post. One thing I will warn you about is the toilets. When you flush it's LOUD. I usually forget about it and jump through the ceiling first time every trip.:blush:

The lobby is cool! Lots of great memorabelia. I love showing the kids the "antiques" from the 60's. They think I'm very, very old, the little monsters. There's a little area where you can hang out and watch old Disney cartoons. It's set up for kids, but I accidentally wandered in there a few times until my kids came and found me.;)

The Hippy Dippy pool is cool. It's a great way to cool off and relax for a while. There's a little bar next to it where you can have an adult beverage and conversation with other guests if you want. We've met some really great people from all over the world there.

The busses run pretty regularly. During peak hours you may not get on the first bus, but generally another one comes along pretty close behind it. There are benches and some shade, but not when you are actually standing in the queue. That can get pretty hot.

Overall it's a great place to stay.

Have a great trip!

[mrsgaribaldi]

THANKS everyone!!!!!!!

great help/tips/advice/etc. :thumbsup:


one more question.....

i know about the tie-dye cheesecake......is there any other "special" or "neat" and "different" food like that there??? :confused:


I think we have stayed at Pop 4 times now. I love the parmesan crusted chicken, I always try to have it a few times, it's delicious:blush:

We never had a problems with noise from other rooms either. I sleep with the TV and a sound machine so maybe my room is the one they are all hearing:secret:

[Dznygrl79]

Ok let me say I am extremelly biased because POP was my first ever Disney experiance.

After thats out of the way it so GREAT!

The food court is absolutly the besy "fast food" in the world. I stayed at Old Key West this past October and was shocked to find they couldn't provide a similar food court. My fav is their breakfast menu. And while the food court is busy the price, staff, and fod quality make up for it.

I stayed in the 50's bld 4th floor facing the legendary years. What a great room, we had a view of the EPCOT fireworks every night, the bowling pin pool is great, near the laundry if you need it, and mostly quiet.
Now I did say mostly b/c we stayed from a Friday through to the next Saturday in December of 05. The week days where quiet and peaceful but the weekend holiday crowd was a bit louder (mostly as parks emptied out and people came back to the resort). The rooms are small but nice, if you are like me and my DH we hardly spend time in the room except to nap or sleep so they are a great bargin.

The lobby is great lots of shadow boxes and photos of pop culture. The staff where helpful and it made for a great first trip.

Like I said before we stayed at pop in dec 05, went to Old Key West with friends in Oct 06 but this year we are going back to POP in December and I can't wait. We didn't think we would get to go this year but the Disney fairy smiled on us very recently and we get to go. I have never planned a trip so quickly.

Hope you have a great stay at POP and enjoy it as much as I do!

[big blue and hairy]

1. How is the food court?? What types of items do they have there?
Large varied and surprisingly good! Tons of choices, check out the menus here and on All Ears


2. Which building is it best to request for buses?
Don't have an answer for that one, July will be the first time we've used them


3. How are the rooms?
Nice, not really big, especially is you have two doubles, but big enough and they've always been quite clean.


4. How is the lobby?
Lots of "Pop Century" stuff it's fun to look at the stuff, and the store and food court are right off the lobby.


5. Any comments or things we should know??????
Very nice resort, seems nicer and little more moderate to me than the All Stars.

:sulley:

[psychotekkie]

THANKS everyone!!!!!!!

great help/tips/advice/etc. :thumbsup:


one more question.....

i know about the tie-dye cheesecake......is there any other "special" or "neat" and "different" food like that there??? :confused:

The flatbreads were really good. what was it now.... I think Ham and havarti cheese? mmmmmm sooooo goooood