Pop Century March 2017 Never again....

[imahistorygeek]

I don't know if that is a nice surprise or a kick in the pants on the way out.

A little of both...Zootopia was playing on the TVs and it was completely quiet on the bus. I think I said I didn't want to get off the bus when we arrived at Pop. If I had to wait a while for the DCL bus or immediately get on the mega bus (which I really don't like - it's more standing room than anything), DCL wins hands down.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

But Pop Century is particularly noisy.

Or – it's just something that happened to you this time, not something that happens to everyone every time.

If you do a little research before going, you'll find that asking for the 70s area – away from the pools – is a much better bet if quiet is important to you. You can request that when you book. You can also request specifically a quiet area just like you can request first floor or near a bus stop.

 

[Delgado]

I was recently in Orlando for a conference. Since Disney World is my favorite vacation spot ever I thought I'd spend a few days on my own at DisneyWorld after the conference. Since it's just me I didn't need anything fancy I thought I'd do a value resort. I stayed at one of the All Stars before so i thought I could give Pop Century a try. I regret it. Very much so.

Check in was a crazy long line. Even with online check in it was close to 5 before I got my room. The grounds were nice and well themed, a little tacky but in a cute way. I was in the 50s area near the bowling pin pool. It's a nice pool btw, I enjoyed it. But the room...it smelled musty, the bed was not comfortable, and it was so noisy. So very noisy. I have stayed at the All Stars before so I know it's a magnet for teams and big groups. But Pop Century is particularly noisy. And the baseball team that stayed in my area shouldve had more respect for other guests. After midnight I expect people stop partying and to shut it down and it's a shame the grown ups in charge of them didn't do that. But Disney should have put a stop to it .

And the worst was the transportation. Luckily I had a rental and only used the buses twice. It is ridiculously long wait for buses for this resort. I went to Magic Kingdom until close and watched other resorts have two buses show up at one time for them but the Pop Century bus line was 5 rows deep and not only did we wait longer than any other resort for our buses, we had to wait for 3 buses before being able to get on and get to the resort. When you have to get up early to catch a flight getting back to the hotel 2hrs after you leave the park is a little excessive. I think from now on if I stay on Disney property it's going to at a Moderate or higher because this was not magical.

We stayed at Coronado the first weekend of march 2017. We had grown women throwing stuff around, screaming, and yes peeing their pants. How do I know this? They were screaming about it. It went on til after 3a. We called the front desk after an hour but it continued. I just wanted to sleep. I could have went my entire life without knowing grown women get so drunk they themselves. Smh. It happens everywhere not just values. I've stayed at moderates and values numerous times and I usually have better luck with values! We are staying at AKL next time but I go in expecting someone to be a horrible guest. I'd take loud children over adults acting like morons.

 

[GrumpyDude]

Overall I am a Pop Century Fan because I like the oversized retro decor. Our experiences have been mostly positive...but I have found the rooms on occasion musty(to be fair this seems pretty common for "affordable" Florida lodging). Once the ac just didn't quite clear it out, once there was no must and once it was musty but the ac cleared it out.

We usually bring a can of Fabreeze. It helps somewhat.

 

[Jedi Stitch]

Our vacation planner was pushing AoA on us since it was the newest Value. Then he Pushed Pop. We wanted to save our money for tacking on the cruse on the end. We stayed at the ASMo. Yes the movie is the last stop, but I found the line at worst a bus full, while the Pop lines did always seem really long. I heard some people take the AoA bus and them walk across the bridge to the Pop. In the end you should be able to get your resort without waiting 2 hrs.

 

[aimeeg]

we just returned from pop on friday. there were a few minor annoyances that we did not experience on our last stay there 2 years ago. the runners were missing from the beds and when we walked into the room there food was on the floor. the food court was slow but i did notice it to be a lot slower then i remembered prior and the food staff there are less than enthused to be working there. there were a few groups of schools on trips but that does come along w/staying at a value resort. all in all it wouldnt stop me from staying at pop in the future but as the above poster said you get what you pay for. lower price less amenities and conveniences.

 

[BigRedDad]

I agree. You could Never Again do Pop in March 2017. Time does not travel backwards.

But for your issues, you get what you get. Value resorts are just that, value resorts. They are motels with thin walls. You know when your neighbor goes to the bathroom. You know if your neighbor is having adult time. At park closing, there will always be long bus lines especially for a resort at one of the busiest times of the year with 2,880 rooms and about 9,000 people in the resort. I am guessing there were about 200-250 people in line at closing. If a bus can haul about 60 at a time, you are 4 buses deep.

If you want a lesson in the most outrageous logistic system on the planet, you can do an in depth research project on the Disney bus system. The system can be done so much better and so much easier. Each stop can have a monitor, the bus for that stop can be shown by navigation so you know exactly what the status is. They don't want to do that because people would know how bad it really is.

 

[PurpleDragon]

I've been staying at Pop Century for years (pretty much since it opened) and I've never had an experience such as yours. I've never had a room that smelled musty, usually they smell very clean (maybe we just check-in later than most so the ventilation has a chance to clear out any bad smells). I love the classic decor (tacky is kind of the point) and the atmosphere is 100% aimed at families with kids, so if you weren't expecting lots of kids then you didn't do your homework. While yes its a bit noisy if you spend time at the resort during the day or decide to head in earlier in the evening, overall the place is quiet at night outside of the random families that stayed late at the parks.

The rule of thumb with Disney resorts is the value resorts are almost always going to be packed with families with kids and be fairly noisy.

 

[correcaminos]

Sorry your stay at Pop wasn't great. I've visited a few times and I admit I wouldn't stay there, but I also wouldn't stay at All Stars either after being there and spending time in the rooms. I'd sooner do a Downtown Disney resort, I disliked them that much. But that's why Disney has all those levels - something for everyone!

 

[jaklgreen]

My only really bad experience with a stay at WDW was at Pop. It was not during spring break, but there were adults(with kids) that were up half the night "partying". Drinking beer, being very loud, kids running around at 2am. What kind of parent doesn't put their kids to bed a decent hour, even on vacation, they don't need to stay up that late. The next morning there were beer bottles and trash all over the place, in the bushes, by the pool, etc. Blast me if you want, but I think the cheap hotels attract some class people.(not everyone who stays there is low class)

 

[Diesel Dan]

We have stayed at POP 5 times, 4 times during Presidents week (big crowds) & once during Easter break (bigger crowds). We had no problem with the transportation system small waits here and there but never what you endured. When you stay at a value resort you kind of expect more crowds because of the price. With that you get Sports teams, youth groups, etc. We found the rooms to be small (expected), clean never musty, basically what you pay for. We love POP and will be back.

 

[Jamie77]

I was recently in Orlando for a conference. Since Disney World is my favorite vacation spot ever I thought I'd spend a few days on my own at DisneyWorld after the conference. Since it's just me I didn't need anything fancy I thought I'd do a value resort. I stayed at one of the All Stars before so i thought I could give Pop Century a try. I regret it. Very much so.

Check in was a crazy long line. Even with online check in it was close to 5 before I got my room. The grounds were nice and well themed, a little tacky but in a cute way. I was in the 50s area near the bowling pin pool. It's a nice pool btw, I enjoyed it. But the room...it smelled musty, the bed was not comfortable, and it was so noisy. So very noisy. I have stayed at the All Stars before so I know it's a magnet for teams and big groups. But Pop Century is particularly noisy. And the baseball team that stayed in my area shouldve had more respect for other guests. After midnight I expect people stop partying and to shut it down and it's a shame the grown ups in charge of them didn't do that. But Disney should have put a stop to it .

And the worst was the transportation. Luckily I had a rental and only used the buses twice. It is ridiculously long wait for buses for this resort. I went to Magic Kingdom until close and watched other resorts have two buses show up at one time for them but the Pop Century bus line was 5 rows deep and not only did we wait longer than any other resort for our buses, we had to wait for 3 buses before being able to get on and get to the resort. When you have to get up early to catch a flight getting back to the hotel 2hrs after you leave the park is a little excessive. I think from now on if I stay on Disney property it's going to at a Moderate or higher because this was not magical.

This is precisely why I am reluctant to book value resorts anymore. I love Pop but not those lines.

 

[Phil12]

The transportation situation at Pop is one of the best on property. It has its own dedicated bus line (it doesn't share) and only one bus stop. The all stars frequently share buses between them. And the moderates have multiple stops. And if you wait at a stop that's not the main stop (i.e. Lobby) then the bus is likely full and passes the other stops without picking you up. I agree with you on the noise. But what are you gonna do? It's teams and kids and they like to play. I've asked them to be quiet before and they usually listen. For my money I will never stay at anything other than a value. I'm in the room to shower and sleep. I'm not gonna pay exorbitant prices for that privilege when I can get the same experience for a fraction of the cost.

Actually the Pop Century has the worst bus transportation and for the very reasons you mentioned. The real problem is that they have 2,880 rooms and only one bus stop. Pop has the most rooms of any single resort! Truth is the All-Star resorts have the best bus transportation system and it is a dedicated system for each individual All-Star building during the morning "rush hours" when it counts. Also, All-Stars has its own bus staging center to add additional buses if the crowds are bigger than expected.

Disney learned their lesson with Pop Century and you'll not see another resort built with so many rooms and such inadequate bus service.

 

[DisneyRoy]

Actually the Pop Century has the worst bus transportation and for the very reasons you mentioned. The real problem is that they have 2,880 rooms and only one bus stop. Pop has the most rooms of any single resort! Truth is the All-Star resorts have the best bus transportation system and it is a dedicated system for each individual All-Star building during the morning "rush hours" when it counts. Also, All-Stars has its own bus staging center to add additional buses if the crowds are bigger than expected.

Disney learned their lesson with Pop Century and you'll not see another resort built with so many rooms and such inadequate bus service.

I understand what you're saying but that's why I prefer it. We stayed at POR once and the buses there were terrible. It has 4 stops. But if you didn't walk all the way to the main lobby stop in the morning, you had to wait an hour for a bus with spots. All other buses just drove by as they were full up from that stop. I'd rather just walk to the one stop and get guaranteed I'll get on a bus.

 

[drizgirl]

I understand what you're saying but that's why I prefer it. We stayed at POR once and the buses there were terrible. It has 4 stops. But if you didn't walk all the way to the main lobby stop in the morning, you had to wait an hour for a bus with spots. All other buses just drove by as they were full up from that stop. I'd rather just walk to the one stop and get guaranteed I'll get on a bus.

Have to agree with you here. Although I will say we always requested a room by the bus stop. I really have no interest in playing that game with the internal bus stops.

 

[Lisa t]

The last time we were at Pop Century in oct of 2015, there was only one day when it was bad. We are waiting for a bus at 3 in the afternoon for Magic Kingdom. Each of the other Parks had two or more buses come, but it was more than 50 minutes for a bus to Magic Kingdom. I was scared we're going to miss our Be Our Guest restaurant reservation. Where you went this last April, we definitely took advantage of uber when we knew we had a reservation. We always booked have, but I'm not sure if we will in the future, as the beds were horrific and we both had back pain, and we didn't used to let sports team stay there.

 

[DisneyRoy]

Have to agree with you here. Although I will say we always requested a room by the bus stop. I really have no interest in playing that game with the internal bus stops.

We have no interest in that either. So after the first two days we forced ourselves to walk to the main lobby stop to ensure we got a bus. But damn if that didn't seem like a mile and a half walk from the back corner of the resort.

 

[bethymouse]

If you're unhappy with the value resorts, my suggestion would be to save more money and stay at one of the deluxe resorts. Otherwise, I would just stay off property. There are also many team events now, and way too many kids that stay at the All Star Resorts, especially. Personally, I do not mind the bus system. It's not the greatest, but if you know/learn how to "work it", then it's not so bad! The only way I'd stay at a value resort anymore is with a discount, and at a cost of less than 100$ a night ( yes...that does sometimes happen).

 

[Jedi Stitch]

So our trip planner said something that I think may be true, I don't know if it is? When it comes to the All Star Resorts, It is typically the fashion to put the sports kids in sports and the band kids in music. These two resorts will typically fill up with the kids and they will only fill them into the movie if they are over booked from the first two. If Pop is under booked, they like to keep it at capacity by bring the kids into it. We are starting to price out going to the Poly this time, because staying at the movie was ok, because we tacked a cruse on the end, but now, we do want the better place, with more transportation options.

 

[daisyduckie]

I understand what you're saying but that's why I prefer it. We stayed at POR once and the buses there were terrible. It has 4 stops. But if you didn't walk all the way to the main lobby stop in the morning, you had to wait an hour for a bus with spots. All other buses just drove by as they were full up from that stop. I'd rather just walk to the one stop and get guaranteed I'll get on a bus.

Funny thing is, the main lobby stop is not the first stop! The West Depot is. Not sure when your stay was, but I've had multiple, with the last one 3 years ago. And that has always been the way the stops were, West Depot first.