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View Full Version : DMacho's QS Dining Review: Pop and Art



darthmacho
09-09-2012, 12:55 PM
Everything Pop
Pop Century Resort

Food: (3/5)
The food was probably the best thing about Everything Pop. Once we got through the lines, the food was actually pretty tasty, and the variety decent. For breakfast we had everything from their Bounty Platter to the Chocolate Chip Croissant, and of course I couldn’t resist the signature “Pop” Waffle. I think WDW makes some good, fluffy waffles, so I’m always pleased with them. For lunch and dinner there were standard choices from the different bays, but some nice variety too, like a Mexican Hot Dog, and a revolving “Mom’s Night Out” dish that rotated throughout the week. Of course, my favorite items were the desserts, and the Tie Dye cheesecake lived up to the two years of anticipation. I got that several times during our stay.

Service: (1.5/5)
The service was awful most of the time, and at best was decent. The people preparing and serving the food seemed slow, confused, and downcast. There were a few bright spots, but just about everyone there avoided eye contact and seemed to not really want to be there. The lines were slow and tedious. It wasn’t just me either, because I saw a LOT of frustrated people in line both before and after me as they saw their order clearly not being prepared, or sitting on the counter inches from their grasp. I’m a worker at heart, so I blame this condition on poor management. I also ran into and observed LOTS of issues at the registers too, and while these guys tended to be a little more enthusiastic, I saw a lot of edgy cast members there too. One more example to emphasize my point, on the first day there, I ordered a Mexican Hot Dog. I know it was a special item, but there was a sign for it right on the counter. You would not believe how many people the girl had to ask before she found someone that actually knew how to make one. Seriously? Fine, finally I got it, and I’ll admit, it actually tasted pretty good. In fact, it was so good that I actually decided to order it on our last day there too. Not only did the girl behind the counter not know how to make it, but also you would not believe the withering glare she gave me when I asked for it. She made me feel really small. So small, in fact, that I simply changed my order to the regular Chili Dog, at which she seemed relieved. My point here to WDW is: If you’re going to have these special items on your menu, please make sure your people know how to prepare them, or just take them off the menu. I’d love to add a few curse words here, but I’m going to move on.

Atmosphere: (2.5/5)
Everything Pop was a standard WDW cafeteria, which at one time must have been clean and vibrant. While I gave them some lee-way for having the near impossible daily task of keeping up with thousands of people going through every day, overall I found the place to be nice at times, but at other times downright dirty, including food stains on the carpet and booths, and ice fixtures and soda fountains with worn labels and on the fritz.

Overall: (2.5/5)
Overall I felt that Everything Pop was a let down. I like the cafeteria at our resort of choice to feel like a “home base” and I got that from Riverside Mill during our last stay. While I did have some good food and continued to visit Everything Pop for convenient meals before and after the parks, I found that I was suggesting a slightly longer walk to Landscapes of Flavor, which I found to be a lot better.



Landscapes of Flavor
Art of Animation Resort

Food: 4/5
I thought the menu here was fabulous! Not only did they have a lot of the same choices that Pop had, but they also had a “make your own pasta” station and an entire bay devoted to food with an “Asian” flair which I gravitated to every time, with items like tandoori chicken, Mongolian beef, and Portuguese sausage, with naan bread and basmati rice.

Service: 4/5
Service here was not perfect, but for some reason, we encountered service that was far friendlier, efficient, and upbeat than at Everything Pop, which is the reason why I am giving them such a high score.

Atmosphere: 4/5
While it had the advantage of being fresh and new, they couldn’t have done a better job designing the décor for this cafeteria. It was gorgeous, comfortable, and very clean too.

Overall: 4/5
Overall, I had great experiences at Landscapes of Flavor. It helped that it was all brand new, less crowded, and provided some variety, but I had a lot more luck at Landscapes of Flavor than at Everything Pop.


Thanks for reading!
I'll answer any questions to the best of my ability!

SBETigg
09-09-2012, 01:38 PM
Service is so important. Good service can lift the taste of the food as well as the atmosphere, or bring it all down. The attitudes at Pop sound like such a bummer! I'm really sorry to hear it, and more sorry for the workers than blaming them. I think you're right that management can make all the difference, and maybe there's something wrong behind the scenes there. But I'm glad the food was good. A good cheesecake can make all the difference, and the Art of Animation sounds worth checking out.

Pally
09-09-2012, 03:10 PM
Disappointed to hear about POP as we are staying there in October. AoA sounds interesting. How long does it take to walk over from POP?:mickey:

darthmacho
09-09-2012, 03:27 PM
Disappointed to hear about POP as we are staying there in October. AoA sounds interesting. How long does it take to walk over from POP?:mickey:

Take my review with a grain of salt, and judge for yourself. You may have better luck on your trip, as it was not all bad. The food itself was good, and some of the service was at least adequate. There was actually some enthusiasm when the cast members stopped and did the twist with the customers. Have a great trip! :mickey:


It depends on where you start from, and how quickly you walk, but to walk from one main building to the other, I'd estimate to be a 5-10 minute walk. We had the advantage of being near the center of the resort, so if you had to walk from the 90's or 50's area, it might take closer to 10+minutes, again depending on your pace.

Pally
09-09-2012, 03:59 PM
I will keep an open mind. Even though my family stayed at POP in 2009 I did not have any meals from the QS. My husand and kids did split some breakfasts but I really did not like anything offered for breakfast. I only had bought a few snacks on the day we left.

My sister and I will be there by ourselves this trip so I was thinking it would be more likely we would eat there. The Pasta station and Asian flair food does sound very tempting though and might be worth the walk if we are not interested in offerings at POP. Thanks for you trip report.

amorillo
09-09-2012, 05:51 PM
AoA's food court sounds yummy! can't wait to check it out next month!

Pirate Granny
09-09-2012, 06:46 PM
Could it have been a new group of college cast members trying to settle in to their assignments?

January-2007
09-09-2012, 10:27 PM
Thanks for reporting.

Tink#64
09-10-2012, 01:57 AM
Darth, great review & I feel like it's totally spot on! After staying at Pop 6 times, I completely concur on the Food Court Experience! Whilst service not always enthusiastic, the food is usually decent & tasty! I had planned to walk across the bridge to check out the new AoA resort on our trip next year, but I hadn't thought about checking out their dining selections! Food for thought! Thank you - great review!:thumbsup:

#1donaldfan
09-10-2012, 12:12 PM
I have eaten at POP a couple of times and although the food was good, as well as the selection, I found it to be very busy !!! VERY !! I can certainly understand how a college student can get confused in such a whirlwind place. Most kids have never had to work prior, and to be thrust into such a random, busy, never ending sea of people expecting EVERY SINGLE cast member to have a smile and best wishes attitude is very much and ill gotten desire. I have eaten at many food courts and most can get the same way, even the one at AK can be incredibly busy at times.

darthmacho
09-10-2012, 12:28 PM
I have eaten at POP a couple of times and although the food was good, as well as the selection, I found it to be very busy !!! VERY !! I can certainly understand how a college student can get confused in such a whirlwind place. Most kids have never had to work prior, and to be thrust into such a random, busy, never ending sea of people expecting EVERY SINGLE cast member to have a smile and best wishes attitude is very much and ill gotten desire. I have eaten at many food courts and most can get the same way, even the one at AK can be incredibly busy at times.

Fair enough. You seem to be pretty patient and understanding, and I admit that I could never do their job and not get frustrated, confused, or jaded.

However, here's here's the problem:

1. They weren't all college students, they were every age and walk of life.
2. The service wasn't any better when it was NOT busy, so it wasn't the real issue.
3. I didn't expect them all to smile, but I do expect them to know what is on the menu and how to make it, and NOT to give me a dirty look when I order it, especially when there is a big sign on the counter advertising that item.

Overall, I found the service lacking at WDW QS places this trip, but Everything Pop was the worst of all, which was frustrating because it was the one we were frequenting the most.

Also, let me add that I did not once take my frustrations out on any poor servers or return their treatment, while a LOT of people around me were crabbing at them. I could see that it wasn't doing them any good, so I treated them with extreme patience and didn't let it get to me.

:mickey:

MississippiDisneyFreak
09-10-2012, 01:16 PM
We weren't impressed by Pop at all, if I had to stay values again I would go back to All Stars for sure. Thanks for your reviews, love the details.

Gator
09-11-2012, 03:16 PM
We weren't impressed by Pop at all, if I had to stay values again I would go back to All Stars for sure. Thanks for your reviews, love the details.

I can't imagine Pop being worse than ALl Stars. Especially in the food court dept. I thought the food there was bland, and the workers were slow. Maybe that's a value resort thing.

DisneyorBust
09-18-2012, 06:59 AM
Thanks for the report Darth. I would have been more than a bit frustrated to deal with CM's such as you endured. A big thank you for your review of Landscapes of Flavor, as my family and I will be staying at AoA in early November and I 'm sure that we will have a couple of meals there over the course of our stay. It sounds interesting, can't wait to try.

Jennifer_and_Chris
09-18-2012, 05:36 PM
Thank you for the reviews. We are staying at the Treehouse Villas but, are trying to fit in a visit to AoA. I've got to try the surf and surf burger!

What did you happen to eat at AoA? How was it? I'm so excited to visit and eat here.

Thanks again!

darthmacho
09-18-2012, 05:45 PM
Thank you for the reviews. We are staying at the Treehouse Villas but, are trying to fit in a visit to AoA. I've got to try the surf and surf burger!

What did you happen to eat at AoA? How was it? I'm so excited to visit and eat here.

Thanks again!

One of the items I ate at Landscapes was, in fact, the Surf and Surf Burger, and I liked it a lot. I also had Mongolian Beef and Tandoori Portuguese Sausage, with varying sides of naan, tandoori acorn squash, basmati rice, roasted tomato and cauliflower, and spinach with paneer cheese.

Crow
09-21-2012, 09:17 PM
pretty much agree...i couldnt believe the line after 11 at the italian station as it was the only part open..
a supervisor stood in the middle of the floor watching the cashiers...i thought..really....
AOA was much more appealing in decor.
i liked the Surf and Surf burger too

Lindsey310
09-22-2012, 09:09 AM
Review was 100% accurate!!!!! I feel the exact same way. In fact, we were so disappointed with everything pop, we ate at art of animation our last 2 days for breakfast.

Food was hotter, fresher and cast members were friendlier. All in all a much better experience at AoA. :mickey: