Reviews of Pop Century Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by Oneanne Review Date: 05/21/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
My May 11-17 trip was the second time in a row staying at POP... it is really starting to feel like home-away-from-home.
I arrived at 7am, having taken a red eye from the west coast. I was tired and had my fingers crossed a room would be available so I could take a power nap! No one else was in the lobby at that hour, so I walked right up to the counter to check in. I had booked a superior pool-view room and had made special requests for a king size bed and a room in the 60's building... it took around 5 minutes, but they were able to find me a room and to fulfill both special requests. My room was on the second floor facing the Hippy Dippy pool which was exactly what I was looking for. For this trip I was on my own and wanted to be right in the middle of the action: the happy noise coming from the pool was never an intrusion, and it was a super short walk to the dining hall and the bus stop.
As with the previous trip, bus karma was amazing! More often than not I was running for a bus already sitting at the bus stop - both at the hotel and the parks. The longest wait I ever had was about 10 minutes. Having only the one hotel bus stop is a huge plus, as is the central location of the hotel... when I went to Hollywood Studios it felt like we pulled out of the hotel drive way, went around a corner and pulled in to the park drive way.
Having just the king bed made the room feel much bigger - no hitting the side of the bed with the door. The room was in good shape and Mousekeeping did a great job, putting out wash cloth animals, even though it was evident an adult was staying in the room.
I was very happy with my stay and prepared to give POP a 10 rating - until I got to checking out. I did express check out and had the email notification of my room charges before I left the room: they had pre-printed my boarding passes and luggage tag and left them on the door knob, so up to this point everything was perfect. But I still had to check my bag in at the Bell station and pay the baggage fee, so I was still standing in line - a very long line. My Magic Express pick-up was at 11:55am, so I was at the Bell Station at 11am along with everyone else who was having to leave their rooms because it was check-out time, even though their pick-up times were much later in the afternoon. I felt like I might be doing something wrong, but couldn't get anyone's attention so I stood in line for over half an hour.... turns out I did need to be in that line, and I was done before the shuttle arrived so it all worked out. Bell services got a negative mark in my previous review and they do this time as well: seems like there has to be a better system - the 11am crush has to happen every day.
I am getting to love the POP and will stay there next trip as well.
Pros:
Location and transportationCons:
—Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 05/12/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
I booked a standard room at Pop Century for a 3 night stay 5/7-10. I used online check in and requested a room on the highest floor near transportation.
Upon arrival at 9:30am, I was greeted at the red carpet and ushered right to the online check in line. They took care of me right away and my room was ready, much to my surprise! I was given room 9415, in the 80s section. It was on the top floor and a short walk across the parking lot to the bus stop, so both of my requests were met.
The room was clean and functional for my needs. I did find the lighting to be on the dim side, but the beds and pillows were extremely comfortable-more so than at Wilderness Lodge! My room was very quiet as well. The bathroom was extremely small, but that was my only minor complaint.
The food court was never too busy and seating was adequate. The gift shop was very well stocked and had a wide variety of items. Transportation was excellent, some of the best I've experienced out of the nine resorts I've stayed at. Cast members were always friendly.
I spent one morning just walking around the resort taking pictures and couldn't stop smiling at all the icons and placards. I did spend a bit of time in the computer pool which was right near my room. They have lifeguards at the quiet pools now, which I think is something new.
The Wi-Fi has finally been upgraded at the resorts, which was definitely needed. I was able to get a strong, steady signal throughout my stay.
This resort is one of the best I've stayed at. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a cheaper, non-extravagant place to stay. The only condition is that the rooms are best meant for 1-2 adults; anymore than that and I could see it quickly becoming uncomfortably crowded!
Pros:
Great theme, friendly cast members, transportation, clean rooms, excellent gift shopCons:
Tiny bathroomReviewed by debsil4 Review Date: 05/06/2013
Rating: (5) Recommended
My DD 17 & I stayed here for Cheerleading Worlds. It is like all the other value hotels. I was disappointed that a lightbulb over the vanity area stayed burnt out all 6 days of our stay. I stayed here years ago when it first opened; but it is beginning to look worn.
Pros:
PriceCons:
Food courtReviewed by caleal Review Date: 04/20/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
I stayed at the Pop recently (4/12 to 4/14). I had a wonderful time here! I don't know if we just lucked out on the perfect weekend to go, or if the opening of Art of Animation has lessened crowds, but I did not find the resort crowded at all like mentioned in a lot of previous reviews. I never had to wait too long for anything - no lines for check in, food court, shopping, etc.
We did eat at the food court twice, once for breakfast and once for dinner. It's standard food court fare - nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done when you need a quick meal.
The bus system is very efficent, we never had to wait too long going to or trying to come back from resorts, and we were always able to get a seat.
It was a lot of fun just hanging around the resort. They have the three pools (I would recommend avoiding the Hippy Dippy Pool if you're wanting something quieter - it was always crawling with kids) and tons of space. The bar off of the main pool, Petals, is awesome and has tons of fun drinks. I also liked just walking around and seeing all of the themeing for the different buildings, and reading all of the yearly facts they have placed around. I also loved the wall of memorabilia in the lobby - it was tons of fun to walk down it and point out the things we remembered/recognized.
The rooms themselves are fine. They're sort of small, but clean and neat. The walls are pretty thin- in certain areas of our room I was able to hear people in other rooms talking very clearly.
While missing some of the amenities of the higher classes of resorts (room size, coffee makers, room service) this place is so much fun, we'll definitely be back!
Pros:
theme, bus systemCons:
thin walls, smaller roomsReviewed by BacksideOfWater1971 Review Date: 04/18/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
Recently returned from a quick WDW vacation and decided to try something new and stay at Pop Century. They have a red carpet rolled out to greet you as you exit the bus and Cast Members are there to greet you with a big smile. The lobby walls are lined with all sorts of memorabilia from the 50s-the 90s. they even have an alcove for kids with a flat screen and 2 arcade game cabinets
Classic Hall (the main building) is home to the Everything Pop gift shop and Food Court. The gift shop is just your run of the mill shop with items like pins, plushes, shirts, and all other little things to buy if you forgot to in the parks. It also has the pick up station should you have any items shipped back to the resort.
The Food Court had 5 different stations each offering something different. I ate 4 of the 5 meals I had during my stay here. 2 breakfasts 1 lunch and 1 dinner. For Breakfast one morning I went with a Western Omelet. It tasted ok. Not great but still good. The other morning I opted for French Toast and sausage. The French Toast was nice and thick with a lot of powdered sugar. The sausage pattys were very flavorful. For lunch I went with a grilled chicken sandwich. The chicken was a bit dry but then again breast meat always is. It came on a huge bun with spinach and tomatoes and tasted great. For dinner I went with an individual sized pepperoni pizza and 2 bread-sticks. People keep saying Disney can't make good pizza but I loved it. The pizza was very flavorful. The bread-sticks were soft and full of garlic flavor which I love. The dipping sauce was a but runny but that my only complaint.
Now on to the Decor. The resort has 10 different buildings (minus Classic Hall) themed to various decades. The 1950s had 3 buildings with The Tramp, Lady, and a jukebox in front and Bowling pins as stairwells. In the middle of the 3 buildings was a bowling pin shaped pool. The 1960s had 2 buildings with Baloo and Mowgli from The Jungle Book in front of one and a giant jar of Play-Doh in front of the other with yo-yos as stairwells. Between the 2 buildings was the resorts main pool shaped like a flower and were various resort activities were held and the resort's poolside bar. There was also a smaller kiddie pool but it was closed for refurbishment at the time. Next to the 60s wing was a small water play area featuring Goofy holding a surfboard.
The 1970's wing had 2 buildings with a giant Big Wheel and a vintage Mickey Mouse phone in front and giant 8 Track tapes as stairwells. There were two small areas with Twister mats painted on the ground and a giant Foosball set in between.
Between the 70s and 80s wing was a giant Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.
The 1980s wing had 2 buildings with a giant Walkman and Roger Rabbit in front with Rubik's Cubes as stairwells. Each cube was in a different stage of being solved ranging from not solved at all to fully solved.
The 1990s only had one building with a Computer in front and Cell Phones as Stairwells. In front of the building and between the 80s buildings was a pool shaped like a computer. Along the walkway all over the resort were signs saying various historical events that happened in each of the years in the wing's decade.
My room was in the 80s wing. The room was kinda small with 2 double beds, a table with 2 chairs, a nightstand with a phone and alarm clock a dresser with 3 drawers, a mini fridge, and a flat screen TV a wall safe an iron and ironing board and a tiny bathroom. The sink was outside the bathroom and had a separate privacy screen if needed. The Bathroom was a small room with just a toilet and bathtub but i love love LOVE the shower heads Disney has.
Like I said the room is kinda small but I travel alone and typically only need a room for a shower and a bed so it fit my needs perfectly.
I opted to hang around the resort and was gonna catch the poolside movie. Halfway through Ratatouille the project died and wasn't fixable so the rest of the showing was canceled. I'm not holding that against Disney though. I work with electronics every day and know for a fact they are very temperamental and unpredictable.
Pros:
Wonderful Themeing Value PricesCons:
Can't think of anyReviewed by Rfren Review Date: 04/09/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
We stayed at Pop the week of March 25, 2013 for the first time. Comparing to the moderate resorts where we stayed before, Pop is more compact, not far to walk from room to bus and food court. The rooms are very small with 2 double beds . We are used to sleeping in a king bed, so that was hard to do for 8 nights. There is no coffee maker in the room either. The pools were very basic, no bells or whistles, however my young children enjoyed swimming just as well. The food was okay. Overall, we stayed there for the price but would not stay there again due to the cramped space.
Pros:
Compact, not far to walk to bus and food courtCons:
Small roomsReviewed by mmfan Review Date: 03/27/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We moved to this resort from the Caribbean Beach when our stay was extended due to a snowstorm in the Midwest. The extra stay was an unexpected and unbudgeted expense so we moved to this value resort. We have stayed at the Pop before, and knew it was the best of the value resorts. The bell staff at CB came exactly at the time requested to move our luggage for us, and it was promptly brought to our room after check in at the PC.
We were in a king bed room as requested, though we were told that the only king beds left were accessible rooms, no tub. But our room had rails for the toilet and a showerhead on a hose, that was the only difference, we had a tub and the room looked the same as any other room. We were in the 900 building, so a far walk to the food court but not that bad to the buses.
Our room was clean and well maintained, though we laughed at the difference in towels and toilet tissue between the moderate and value resorts.. We found the bed very comfortable. At times you could hear noise from other rooms, nothing that kept us from resting. One advantage in being farther away from the food court/check in is that the area is quieter.
As we just needed a room to sleep and shower, a value resort is fine. Bus service was very good, only had a long wait once.
The main problem with the Pop is the food court. We tend to eat most meals in the parks or other resorts, but the one AM we tried to have breakfast was a nightmare. Way too busy, kids running around, confusion about the dining plan all added to the chaos. Food selection is extensive, but our food got cold waiting to pay and finding a table.
We personally do not care for the atmosphere of the Pop, preferring a more "adult" feel but for families or those looking to maximize their dollars, the Pop is great. The convenience of staying on Disney property is undeniable, and staying in the magic is so much fun!
Pros:
value for your dollarCons:
food courtReviewed by mgilmore Review Date: 03/21/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I have stayed at POP 5 times, and really love the theming here. I also love the fact that they have their own dedicated buses that serve this resort alone, and don't share with the All Stars.
I recently spent a week at WDW from March 6-12 2013, for my birthday.
My only complaint is as others have said...the beds are a bit hard. I prefer a softer mattress.
Honestly, I spend all day at the parks, morning till night. All I do in my room is sleep and shower. It was a little too cool during this trip to swim.
Mousekeeping this trip was the best ever! She left me messages every day along with a towel animal or she did amazing designs with the towels near the sink area. I was very pleased.
Pros:
Love the decorCons:
Hard bedsReviewed by lcarry Review Date: 03/19/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed at Pop for 7 days this December/January. This was our first trip to Disney World. The rooms were clean and sufficient, nothing too fancy but it did feel like Disney. We had a room with a view of the pool which was really nice. Mousekeeping was excellent and my DD (5) really enjoyed coming back to see what had been done with all her toys. Our main complaint was the food court. We were there at a very busy time and so the food court was usually full. I found that the staff were not friendly. We were on a ddp and were not sure of our selections with the plan and when asking the staff they were not very helpful. Overall our stay at Pop was nice and I would stay again hoping that at a quieter time the staff in the food court might not be so overwhelmed and unfriendly.
Pros:
Bus service, mousekeepingCons:
Food courtReviewed by MellieBeans Review Date: 03/17/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We have really grown to love Pop Century. It's location, it's service (Disneyesque)and their bus system are enough to keep us coming back every time. My ONLY complain, my chief complaint, stay after stay, is their beds. They're not comfortable, they're not soft, they're not even close. The bedspreads are so heavy that I can barely move it. My single wish is that they would update to more comfortable beds, something to look forward to after long day's in and out of the parks!
We love Pop, and will probably stay here again and again.
