Pop Century Questions

[humphrybear]

My fiance' and I have been to WDW many times but this June will be our first time to Pop Century. I have be reading all the posts lately and I am concerned about the parking situation.
:veryconfu

How far is the parking? We are used to walking a lot at WDW so walking isn't an issue but if it's more than one or two blocks, well with all the luggage it will be rough.

Has anyone had the Mom's meals? They look like TV dinners but are they any good?

If we elect to take the bus instead of driving to the parks is it really crowded? I know at the All Stars the bus goes to all three resourts. Does the bus for PC only go to PC?


It's been two years since we have been back to see "The Mouse" and I am so excited. I think I will be like the TV comercial "I'm too excited to sleep!".

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by humphrybear
How far is the parking? We are used to walking a lot at WDW so walking isn't an issue but if it's more than one or two blocks, well with all the luggage it will be rough.

Parking distance is NOT as bad as some make it out to be. Some spaces will be further than others, but that's to be expected. There are a few interior buildings that will require a slightly longer walk, but it's really nothing substantial. I walk through the resort on a daily basis, and it's really not bad. During peak seasons, the 50's parking lot can get a bit crowded, but we're opening up somewhere around 200 extra spaces at the end of the lot. The 70's parking lot can also get crowded, but you can also park over in the 80's lot which never gets busy, and is just as close.

Parking is much closer than self parking at the Grand Floridian, or the Boardwalk, if that helps any.

I have two suggestions for your luggage. Pop Century does offer Luggage Assistance. Drop your luggage off at the front when you check in, and it will be automatically delivered to your room within the hour of it becoming available. You don't even have to be in the room... so you can head off to the park and have fun while they take care of it for you. The other option is that they also offer handcarts for guests to borrow if they want to do it themselves. When you check out, you can borrow the handcart, or you can call the night before to schedule a luggage pickup as well.

Originally posted by humphrybear
Has anyone had the Mom's meals? They look like TV dinners but are they any good?

I had the meatloaf, and it was excellent. Portions were decent sized. I haven't gotten the chance to try out the other TV Dinners though. Guests have been saying good things about the other TV Dinners. I did try out the shrimp lo-mein... that was good. Also, the Tie-Dye cheese cake was great. The twinkie-tiramisu was excellent, but very filling.

Originally posted by humphrybear
If we elect to take the bus instead of driving to the parks is it really crowded? I know at the All Stars the bus goes to all three resourts. Does the bus for PC only go to PC?

Pop buses service Pop Century only. No other stops. From what I'm to hear from guests, the buses run very quickly, with average waits being less than 5 minutes. Having 2,880 rooms, yes, the buses will get crowded, and there will be lines, but Disney Transport has really done a wonderful job of getting those buses in there as fast as possible. Closing time at the Magic Kingdom has really only been the majorly crowded time... but then again, every other resort will have a line, and so will the Monorail to the MK Parking lot. So, lines are just unavoidable at that point. I'd suggest just hanging back in the MK for 30-60 minutes, after that point, all lines will have subsided.

 

[CBCit]

Great Pop Century Thread

If you go to www.DisBoards.com and go to the Disney Resorts discussion boards you will find a great thread,"FAQ on the brand new,far out Pop Century."It is about 78 pages of great info on the hotel with questions patiently answered by one of their CMs.It is really helpful and has me very excited about my upcoming visit!

 

[Invero]

Re: Great Pop Century Thread

Originally posted by CBCit
If you go to www.DisBoards.com and go to the Disney Resorts discussion boards you will find a great thread,"FAQ on the brand new,far out Pop Century."It is about 78 pages of great info on the hotel with questions patiently answered by one of their CMs.It is really helpful and has me very excited about my upcoming visit!

LOL, that would be my thread.

The Pop Century FAR OUT FAQ thread on DisBoards

 

[raven]

Thanks! Ill be going there in a week staying at Pop for the first time too. Its nice to know these things ahead of time so they won't be a surprise when I get there.

 

[Woody13]

Originally posted by humphrybear
How far is the parking? We are used to walking a lot at WDW so walking isn't an issue but if it's more than one or two blocks, well with all the luggage it will be rough.

Let me add a little bit to what was said by Invero. The 50's buildings (3) and the 60's buildings (2) have a total of 3 very small parking lots. The 60's buildings are far away from ANY parking lots. The 50's (C) building is far away from any parking lot as well. So, you have five buildings that have to share 3 inadequately sized parking lots. Many guests end up overflowing to the guest check-in parking lot.

The 70's buildings (2) and the 80's buildings (2) and the 90's building (1) have a total of 3 large parking lots. The 80's parking lot is the biggest. The 70's (A) building is far away from ANY parking too. So, here you have 5 buildings with very adequately sized parking lots.

As Invero states, you really should let the Luggage Assistance crew at POP delivery your luggage to your room. If, however, you are like me and prefer to haul your own luggage around, then I suggest you make sure ALL your luggage has wheels. Or, as Invero said, borrow a handcart from the staff.

The last time we were at the POP and stayed in the 70's (A) building, it was a healthy walk out to the 80's parking lot (the closest one). Hourglass Lake on the south side of the POP really reduces the parking area.

Oh, and yes, it's a lot more than a one or two block walk to over half of the buildings (50's "C", both of the 60's buildings and both of the 70's buildings).

Have fun!:wave:

 

[foxfire]

I stayed in the 60's bldg. and they allowed me to park in the "check-in" lot, which was nice. It was mid-week so it wasn't too bad and I had a short walk through the lobby to my room. It was a nice room w/ a lake view, though people were in the hall until about 2 AM.

It was definitely better than when I stayed @ the ASM and had a long hike to my room.

 

[StevenT]

I'll be staying at Pop Century next month. Which buildings are closest to the lobby and the pool area? I remember staying at Caribbean Beach and being stuck out in Trinidad 2, a mammoth walk from Old Port Royale. I really don't want to have a situation like that again.

How many bus stops are at PC? Is it like Cariibbean Beach or Port Orleans Riverside with 3-5 stops or more like PO French Quarter with only one outside the lobby?

 

[TURKEY]

Originally posted by StevenT
I'll be staying at Pop Century next month. Which buildings are closest to the lobby and the pool area? I remember staying at Caribbean Beach and being stuck out in Trinidad 2, a mammoth walk from Old Port Royale. I really don't want to have a situation like that again.

How many bus stops are at PC? Is it like Cariibbean Beach or Port Orleans Riverside with 3-5 stops or more like PO French Quarter with only one outside the lobby?

The 60's are the preferred building, right behind the lobby and next to the main pool. They are currently $12 more per night than the other decades.

There is only one bus stop at Pop, out in front of the main building. Set up like the All-Stars, each park and DTD has its own stop.

 

[StevenT]

Thanks alot

 

[Cosmo]

We recently stayed at PC (in the 80's building). We had a nice time. The resort was pretty cool and on par with the other values. I really didn't notice any problems with parking at all..as has been mentioned before, other resorts are just as far if not farther to walk from the parking.
I was a little dissappointed with the themeing in the rooms though. The outsides were KILLER! and we liked looking at all the icons and stuff...really neat. But inside the room, there was nothing special. our room could have easily been in any of the decades. Not a big deal, just an observation.

The other thing about PC that you should probably know, we pretty much always drive ourselves to the parks and don't use the buses at all. It might be my imagination, but the signage for PC was pretty non-existant. I'm pretty familiar with WDW property but boy..we must have gotten lost several times trying to find it...especially at night after a long day at the parks! It just seemed that there weren't many signs at all with directions to the resort...but maybe that's just me.

 

[Laura]

Re: Great Pop Century Thread

Originally posted by CBCit
If you go to www.DisBoards.com and go to the Disney Resorts discussion boards you will find a great thread,"FAQ on the brand new,far out Pop Century."It is about 78 pages of great info on the hotel with questions patiently answered by one of their CMs.It is really helpful and has me very excited about my upcoming visit!

That made me excited too! Thanks for the link!!

 

[humphrybear]

Thanks everyone for the great advise. I am so excited to go back to WDW. It's my home away from home.

I read in another post that the AC does shut down without movement in the room. Is this still the case with Summer on the horizon?

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by Cosmo
I was a little dissappointed with the themeing in the rooms though. The outsides were KILLER! and we liked looking at all the icons and stuff...really neat. But inside the room, there was nothing special. our room could have easily been in any of the decades. Not a big deal, just an observation.

All of the rooms are decorated the same, with two minor changes... the wall art, and the wall paper border will reflect whatever decade you are in. Rooms were designed with subtle color choices as a pleasant contrast to the vivid and bold exterior colors.

Originally posted by Cosmo
It might be my imagination, but the signage for PC was pretty non-existant. I'm pretty familiar with WDW property but boy..we must have gotten lost several times trying to find it...especially at night after a long day at the parks! It just seemed that there weren't many signs at all with directions to the resort...but maybe that's just me.

I've driven to Pop from all angles, and there is proper signage in place. One problem that I've seen happen a lot, is that people get distracted by things going on for that split second... or, they are in the left lane and the sign is on the right side, and there is a bus in the right lane, so they end up missing the sign.

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by humphrybear
I read in another post that the AC does shut down without movement in the room. Is this still the case with Summer on the horizon?

This is not completely true.

This is how it was explained to me:

If the door opens and closes, and there is motion in the room, then the room is occupied, and the A/C will remain on, full strength.

If the door opens and closes, and there is no motion, the room is unoccupied, and the A/C will lower itself after a set period of time. (ie: If the A/C was set to 68, and there is no one in the room for an hour, the A/C will set itself to 75 to conserve energy. It does NOT turn off.) When the door is opened again, it will resume back to 68.

Guests entering the room after this self adjust will still feel cool, because of the temperature change. As they cool down themselves, so will the room, so all will be well.

So basically, bottom line, you will not get a hot room while sleeping, and you will not be entering a hot room.

 

[pepsistar]

:lookaroun Uhhhhh " NOT" in our room! :lookaroun

It was VERY hot and stuffy while we were sleeping! We tried to get the fan to go on to move the air, but it will/does not work, either!

I sure hope this has been changed! We were there in Jan and it was cool outside but we found it very uncomfortable!! inside. ( the heat works really well ) Even when it went on with all of the showers-- humidity, It does not stay on-- The only way we got it to go on -- when we woke up from the stale hot air/heat, was to get up and move around the room! NOT very helpful when you are trying to sleep to have to wake up sweating from the heat!

I would have opened the window but-- Ha Ha they do not open-- SOoooooooooooooo we had the door open in the middle of the night trying to get some air! ( even though it was 60 outside, felt like 80 inside!! ) Owwww not a pretty sight :lol:

PLEASE ask them to FIX THIS!!!!!!!! :goodnevil They should have put in a ceiling fan at least-- Argh---

Has anyone been lately? Is it STILL the same? We a going in a few days and the WX says 88-89 !!!!! Oh My!!!!! Hot Hot Hot!! HELP!!!!!!

 

[CBCit]

A/C problems

Did you call to complain? Is it possible your unit was broken? On the disboard Tyler has explained that they will replace your thermostat if there is a problem.

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by pepsistar
Has anyone been lately? Is it STILL the same? We a going in a few days and the WX says 88-89 !!!!! Oh My!!!!! Hot Hot Hot!! HELP!!!!!!

I have not heard of any problems within the past few months. Everyone that I've talked to said that they have been fine. It could very well be possible that your particular rooms thermostat might have been malfunctioning. Did you call maintenance to let someone know? There is a Maintenance button on all the guest phones in case of problems. They are great about fixing things, but unfortunetly, they still haven't figured out a way to have ESP.

 

[Dwarful]

We arrive in 3 weeks, 2days and a few hours and I can't wait to check out Pop Century. We will have rental vans this trip....aside from 60's are 50's and 70's both fairly close? I am imagining Dalmation & Toy Story at Movies. Is this a fairly good guestamate?

side note, I am thinking instead of looking for hidden Mickeys I'll have all 6 of the kids looking for Hidden Tyler!

 

[Woody13]

Originally posted by Dwarful
....aside from 60's are 50's and 70's both fairly close?

The 50's "A" and "C" buildings are close to Classic Hall. The 50's "B" building is far, far away. Both 70's buildings are very close to Classic Hall. Have a great time!:sohappy: