EPCOTCenterLover
Well-Known Member
Never stayed there before. What are the pros and cons?
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Booked Pop Century- Now I'm Regretting It
- Thread starter EPCOTCenterLover
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PolynesianPrincess
Well-Known Member
When is your trip? We stayed at Pop for one night in 2013 so I really don't count that as "staying there" but we have a week scheduled there in September. I am sure it's very similar to the All Stars. We stayed at Sports in January and honestly had a really quiet room. It was set back in the Center Court (tennis) section and wasn't too far from the main building. It was really nice and hardly seemed like we were at a value resort with how quiet it was. We're going to request a room near the lake at Pop and hopefully get the same kind of quiet. With the addition of the gondolas though, who knows!
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DisAl
Well-Known Member
The refurbished rooms are nice. I have attached a photo below. You don't say how many in your party but the room would easily accommodate 4. One of the queen beds is "fixed" and is high enough off the floor to put luggage underneath it. The other bed folded up gives you a nice table and when folded down is a queen size bed with the same mattress as the other one. The floors are vinyl planking which I like MUCH better than carpeted floors in a motel. There are 10 a/c outlets paired with 10 (yes, 10) USB charging outlets in the room. The tv is an excellent model (looked it up when I got home and they sell for about $1k) with a great picture.
The bathroom fixtures are great with both fixed and handheld shower heads, and both the toilet / tub area and the sink / vanity area have real doors that can actually be closed. We did a split stay at the Contemporary (check that off the bucket list....) and Pop, and frankly the thing we missed most was the view of the MK at night.
Based on cost vs. value we are more likely to be staying at Pop than Contemporary next trip.
The bathroom fixtures are great with both fixed and handheld shower heads, and both the toilet / tub area and the sink / vanity area have real doors that can actually be closed. We did a split stay at the Contemporary (check that off the bucket list....) and Pop, and frankly the thing we missed most was the view of the MK at night.
Based on cost vs. value we are more likely to be staying at Pop than Contemporary next trip.
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Kingoglow
Well-Known Member
Pop is great. It is our go-to value resort. The price is reasonable (pre-gondola), the rooms are nice, the buses come often and the food court is large. At times, the grounds can get a little noisy but we have never had an issue; it was just something we noticed while walking around.
The music is great. We are in our 40's and grew up listening to all of it.
The only thing that I do not like about Pop is the the front desk/reception area. That whole experience is bad; worse than at other resorts IMO. It is really dim there so it doesn't generate a lot of excitement when you come in for the first time. And the staff is painfully slow.
Last time I was there (solo), I was third in a line of 20 people waiting to check in; for some reason housekeeping was behind and most of us did not have a room ready, even after 3 o'clock. Again, I was third in the line... while I was waiting to be helped, two more Magical Express buses arrived dumping 30 more people into the line for check in. So 50 of us were all lined up waiting for news of our rooms. It wasn't a great way to start a vacation and the staff didn't show much concern or add more cast members to help the process. This wont happen often enough to be concerned but sometimes I vent that story.
The music is great. We are in our 40's and grew up listening to all of it.
The only thing that I do not like about Pop is the the front desk/reception area. That whole experience is bad; worse than at other resorts IMO. It is really dim there so it doesn't generate a lot of excitement when you come in for the first time. And the staff is painfully slow.
Last time I was there (solo), I was third in a line of 20 people waiting to check in; for some reason housekeeping was behind and most of us did not have a room ready, even after 3 o'clock. Again, I was third in the line... while I was waiting to be helped, two more Magical Express buses arrived dumping 30 more people into the line for check in. So 50 of us were all lined up waiting for news of our rooms. It wasn't a great way to start a vacation and the staff didn't show much concern or add more cast members to help the process. This wont happen often enough to be concerned but sometimes I vent that story.
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Diesel Dan
Active Member
We have stayed at POP 5 times in the last 10 years. Great resort! Front desk has been great for us each time we checked in and if we had any needs during our stay. Food court is busy but efficient. The bus service good, Gondolas may make the buses better and makes a new cool experience. Give POP a try you will not be sorry.
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JohnD
Well-Known Member
You shouldn't regret it. It's the best value on property. If you get can get it, ask for the 60s section. It's closest to the central building. Although 50s isn't that far away either. I had great luggage service. Try to get Moe. Plus everything else that has already been said above.
P.S. Don't expect the rooms to be themed to the building you are in. The refurbished rooms, while very nice, are cookie cutter of each other. No difference. All have the one queen and one Murphy (pull down which converts from desk to bed), hard floors, Mickey Mouse painting, coffee maker, refrigerator, roomy safe (in the dresser), and lots of electrical and USB outlets.
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Thanks for the photos! It looks great, actually.
We've stayed at Caribbean Beach years ago, Sports, Port Orleans Riverside, and Saratoga Springs. Each was good in their own way, but honestly, I don't like the theming of Pop. It makes sense for this trip for other reasons, namely who we are traveling with. Long story. How are the pools? Is the food good at the foodcourt?
Thanks everyone for all the responses. Very helpful.
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DisneyOutsider
Well-Known Member
It's fine..
I probably won't ever stay there again, but if it was my only option.. I'd say "fine". It's Disney, and it's a place to stay. Not particularly comfy or cozy. But the service, cleanliness, vibe and amenities are all fine.
You are, however, very vulnerable to large kids sporting events at Disney, as Pop is one of the resorts they book up.
I probably won't ever stay there again, but if it was my only option.. I'd say "fine". It's Disney, and it's a place to stay. Not particularly comfy or cozy. But the service, cleanliness, vibe and amenities are all fine.
You are, however, very vulnerable to large kids sporting events at Disney, as Pop is one of the resorts they book up.
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Tinkerbella16
Well-Known Member
The rooms have been refurbished, with queen beds now... that in itself makes it worth it to us now and we haven't stayed there in years because we like the bigger beds at the moderate/deluxe resorts. We are staying there in 2020 and I am really looking forward to going back after all of these years. The food court is great there, I do remember that! Hope that is still true.
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JeffR73
Well-Known Member
We haven't stayed since Memorial Day weekend 2015, so earlier than the room refurb, but we always enjoy Pop Century. It has a great nostalgic vibe to it. We like to walk around, look at the different era's and reminisce. Kids to older adults love the themes, pools, and food court/store. I never thought that the children were loud, except when they were playing in the arcades and pool area. I always slept good after a long, hot day in the parks anyway. Looking forward to 2021 for 50th MK anniversary and staying there again. Absolutely love to be in the Disney bubble and staying here is one of the ways we do that. We are not staying this time due to us changing this trip to an Orlando visit to a Disney trip and had booked a house to stay in. Otherwise, we would be back at Pop. Always give it a chance, it may just grow on you.
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KCheatle
Well-Known Member
We stayed there years ago. Overall, I thought it was a nice resort. I remember really liking the waffle cones. Honestly, I feel like the room at Pop is basically equivalent to the rooms you get at deluxe resorts: two queen beds, TV, one bathroom, very little excess space. I'm not sure about whether there's a fridge, but we hardly use one anyway. I guess you don't have a balcony, but our room at Poly a couple years ago didn't have a balcony either?? For us the only noticeable differences between Pop and Coronado Springs were: (1) slide in pool at CS, and (2) multiple bus stops at CS so less walking to the bus stop. Otherwise, the walking between your room and the food court is super long at both places and overall the theming is nice at both. Once we got into deluxe hotels we noticed the theming was a lot more detailed, but depending on where you're staying the walk to the bus stop and/or cafeteria can still be a long distance from your room. That's the only reason I stay at WL: small hotel.
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gobstoper27
Well-Known Member
We stayed there back in October and we really enjoyed it. We were on the First floor of 50's building 2. We were right off of the parking lot which was clutch as we had a car. I really enjoyed it. It was my first time staying at a Disney resort. I didn't find it overly noisy and was pleasantly surprised by the food court. Its a pretty close walk to Art of Animation and their food court was a bit better. We are staying again in November.It was a bit snug with the stroller, pack and play and my huge suitcase. I didn't utilize under bed storage..We don't spend too much time in the room so for what it is it was perfect for us.
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Minnie1976
Well-Known Member
We stay at POP all the time. Never had any problems and always happy with our room.
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StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
The pools are fine. They're big. No water slides or hot tubs. But if you're just hanging out and occasionally taking a swim, they're fine. There is a pool bar, which in my book is very important.
The food at Pop is great. The food court is huge, there's a wide selection, and it's high quality. We were there in February and got a late afternoon snack. I had baked potato soup and my brother had Mickey Waffles. They also had pizza and such. It's probably better than most of the other resorts, and definitely better than Boardwalk and Beach Club (where we usually end up).
I stayed there for over a week several years ago. Thought it was great then. It's only gotten better since.
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PolynesianPrincess
Well-Known Member
It looks like the main pool is undergoing some refurbishment from what I've read from
I'm glad we're staying there in September since hopefully the gondola will be up and running at that point. Gives us a chance to check this resort out before the inevitable price hike due to having a gondola station.
I'm glad we're staying there in September since hopefully the gondola will be up and running at that point. Gives us a chance to check this resort out before the inevitable price hike due to having a gondola station.
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