Pop Centuary Early entry

[hands]

Hi

New to this forum but have been to Disney 3 times for three weeks stay in the All Stars Hotels.
Last time we were supposed to stop in Pop Centruary.
I want to book for August 2005 and wondered if the Pop Centuary is a good hotel change to the All Stars.
I believe they have done away with the unlimited passes through the booking into Walt Disney on site hotels?
Are the early entry mornings back on now?
Last time we visited was Aug 2002 we like to book every three years for Disney (it takes me that long to save) we travel from the UK.

Hands

 

[wannab@dis]

Welcome to the Forums!

I haven't stayed at Pop Century yet, so I can't personally compare it to the All Stars. From reports that I have read, everyone really likes it and most like it better than All Stars.

I can help with your other questions. They still offer the unlimited park hoppers with the Disney Resort / Ticket packages. The UPH allows entry to all parks, water parks, pleasure island and DisneyQuest during your stay.

The early morning entry is available but I think it's now called Extra Magic Hour and is still for Disney Resort guests only. The schedule revolves between theme parks and each morning is a different park. Here is the list of parks and the days they offer early entry.

Sunday - Magic Kingdom
Monday - Animal Kingdom
Tuesday - Disney-MGM Studios
Wednesday - Epcot
Thursday - Magic Kingdom
Friday - Animal Kingdom
Saturday - Disney-MGM Studios

Happy planning and again, welcome to the forums! I'm sure you'll get more feedback on your questions.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Welcome!

Pop Century isn't much of a change from the All Stars. More of the same - lots of rooms, large main building, and, of course, great theming. I would personally go with one of the All-Star resorts over Pop Century, simply because they are a bit smaller and you don't feel quite so crowded at meal time or when you need to take the bus.

 

[SnowWhite5669]

Welcome-

I liked Pop Century better than any of the All Stars. I stayed there in May and we are going back in 13 days!! I can't wait. I didn't feel crowded and the food court is very large with lots of seating. I traveled solo for a job interview for that trip and felt very comfortable. Have fun! :wave:

 

[Dwarful]

OK here goes my best shot. We have stayed at all 3 all stars, and this past June 3-14 we stayed at Pop for our first visit. There were 12 of us in 3 adjoining (OK 2 were connected, the 3rd was next door)non-smoking rooms in the 1970's bldgs, we had the lake side view, so it wasn't noisy, wasn't a far walk from the pools, laundry, food court or buses. Our gang ranged in age from 3-63 and everyone was impressed with the themes, the 3 large pools, the plus side of pop is that they have a very nice pool area for little ones. The themes of course represent the era's so they aren't as Disney as the Movies, but they do have some Disney characters.. Jungle Book, Goofy in a splash area. The rooms are the same size, this resort has 4th floors instead of only 3 floors, but we had no problems finding seats for our gang at any time. We never had to wait for any great time for a bus EXCEPT for one night at MK after Spectro & Wishes, but that was to be expected due to swelling crowds. I was really worried about our choice of Pop but was happy to stay there, our girls are 4 & 8 and our next trip will be in Feb. I think we will try for Movies this time, only for a change, but we will go back to Pop without hesitation!

 

[ladydancer]

I am staying there in Oct. With that being said, I have read there are a couple things that Pop has the other "value" resorts don't. I believe one is a lounge. The other is they don't share there buses with the other "value" resorts. Therefore the bus rides shouldn't take as long because they aren't stopping at the other resorts.

 

[disneydummy125]

I am staying there in Oct. With that being said, I have read there are a couple things that Pop has the other "value" resorts don't. I believe one is a lounge. The other is they don't share there buses with the other "value" resorts. Therefore the bus rides shouldn't take as long because they aren't stopping at the other resorts.

Well,you're right about the bus thing. The 3 all-star resorts share a bus system and pop century has it's own. But pop century is bigger than the all-star resorts so I really wouldn't use it as much an advantage to Pop. I dunno about the lounge though. Sounds kinda fishy to me.


With that being said, I stayed at Pop and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The theme was interesting to say the least, and I never found the noise to be any worse than All-star. Plus, the food court was great and there was plenty of seating.

Whatever you choose though, have fun! Welcome to the boards! :wave:

 

[TURKEY]

Pop Century has 2,880 rooms.

Each theme at the All-Stars has 1920. 1920 x 3 = 5760.

So, PC is 1/2 the size of the 3 All-Stars combined.

 

[Nicole]

I stayed there in July and would gladly stay there again. The themeing was really fun, the food court had lots of choices, and it was nice to have the bus be a straight shot back and forth to the theme parks with no in-between stops.

The "lounge" is just a corner of the food court, I didn't really pay much attention to it but I know it didn't seem to be as full of kids as the other parts.

 

[Dwarful]

Just wondering here, because we have stayed at the other 3 all stars,but never shared a bus do they do that during slow times & mid day trips? Just curious, but maybe we missed that because we go early and stay late.

Also for TLBoy, when you figured the numbers, are you counting ASM&M"s together? then Pop? 'cause to me Movies didn't seem as big as Pop, what with 4 floors and all. Mostly though the crowds seemed to be at check-in & guest relations. the only time we had a problem it was a medical issue and I arrived at 6pm just in time to watch the CM's doing the Bump.

 

[Woody13]

POP is Half the Size and Twice the Hassle!

Pop Century has 2,880 rooms.

Each theme at the All-Stars has 1920. 1920 x 3 = 5760.

So, PC is 1/2 the size of the 3 All-Stars combined.

That is correct, but those 1,920 rooms at each of the All Stars also have their own food court, gift shop, reservation check in and other amenities. At the POP, all 2,880 rooms have to share one food court, one gift shop, etc. The food court is bigger at the POP, but not in proportion to the additional rooms as compared to the All Stars.

The POP has over 66% more rooms (per facilities) yet only one food court. Can you say sardines? I knew you could.

 

[Invero]

Pop Century took stuff at All-Stars and improved on them.

-Curtains that overlap
-Larger and improved dresser with bigger TV.
-Improved vanity area.
-Bar soap instead of all-in-one liquid dispenser (Not sure if the ASR still have them)
-Dedicated bus service
-Pop Jet pool area
-Inside lounge area (Classic Concoctions) in addition to Pool bar.
-Surrey Bike rental
-Lake view rooms
-Queue lines at bus stops (ASR now have them)
-More connecting room. (50% of Pop's rooms are connecting)

 

[mrtoad]

Pop Century took stuff at All-Stars and improved on them.

-Curtains that overlap
-Larger and improved dresser with bigger TV.
-Improved vanity area.
-Bar soap instead of all-in-one liquid dispenser (Not sure if the ASR still have them)
-Dedicated bus service
-Pop Jet pool area
-Inside lounge area (Classic Concoctions) in addition to Pool bar.
-Surrey Bike rental
-Lake view rooms
-Queue lines at bus stops (ASR now have them)
-More connecting room. (50% of Pop's rooms are connecting)

Sounds much better. We stayed at All Star Sports once for two nights and HATED it. It was loud (this was do to the cheerleaders though), the food court was a mess (tables were dirty) when we went, and absolutly no place to keep your clothes (too small of a dresser).

I am not trying to knock it as I know other do like it, but we just did not like it at all. The mess in the food court could have been just bad timing. The cheerleaders were staying there and it was about 1:00 PM so they may have just eaten lunch. But the dresser was a problem. I don't see how a family of 4 could ever put all their clothes away.

So my question is, if someone hated the All Stars, could they like Pop? I would love to stay there for the money reason, but don't want to be dissapointed. We usually stay at POR.

Thanks.