Pop Century Trip Report

[frank2271]

Hello all,

I have been taking part in the Disney Fall Endurance Series the past 6-8 weeks and have stayed at three different resorts the last month. Last weekend (10/24) I stayed at Pop Century for one night after running the Tower of Terror 13k. Here are my comments and concerns with this resort.

Frist I would like to comment of the look/theme of the resort it self, it is OK. I stayed in the 90's area and our pool was a square, yup a square, BIG DEAL. It was supposed to be a computer monitor, but to my family and I it was just a big square. The theming of the buildings themselves seems cheaper than that of All Stars, instead of three dimensional effects (basketballs, tennis balls, surfboards etc) there are just flat signage (compact discs, flowers, etc) I guess the budget was cut for the theming. As with the All Star Resorts the landscaping is just beautiful, Disney really goes all out with the landscaping, we love to look around and get ideas for our own home since we live in the Tampa area.

Second, the main building where the food court, lobby, arcade and store are located. Check-in was quick and easy, no complaints at all (highly recommend the online check-in). The store was large and well stocked with just about everything you would need/want. My 12 yo son loved the large arcade. The service at the food court was very slow, VERY slow. The looks on all the faces of the people waiting in the lines said it all, they looked disgusted. The problem was with the cooks, not the servers, just the cooks. In the area that served the pancakes the line was 15 families deep and the cook would only make 4-5 servings of pancakes at a time. She only used a third of the griddle, while waiting for the pancakes the other food I had on my tray got ice cold. At lunch I waited for a cheeseburger, the woman in front of me wanted a hamburger and the cook had six burgers on the grill, she put cheese on all of them. The woman who patiently waited for her hamburger was really mad, she had two servings of chicken nuggets that had gotten cold while she waited. She gave them back and stormed off , I couldn't blame her.

Lastly,the room itself was clean, well appointed and had enough room for my family of three. I do have a few comments/concerns though; first, the mattress was very comfortable but the pillows were lousy (next time I'll bring my own). Secondly, the water saver faucet in the bathroom sink has GOT to go, it barely rinsed off my toothbrush. Lastly and MOST disturbing and disgusting, are the walls in this hotel made of paper??? All night I could hear people peeing all around me :hurl:. Yup, you read correct, I would hear people do their thing and then flush the toilet, gross. I don't remember ever hearing that at any of the All Star rooms. Has anyone else had this happen? We were on the third floor near the end of the building.

Overall, I would give Pop another try. Only if All Stars was sold out though.

What do you guys think???

Frank

OH YEAH..

Why hasn't Disney finished off this resort and what are the other buildings going to be 1900 to 1940?? It's been eight years now, I'd think they would finish the resort. Hopefully they'll do better sound proofing on the other 10 buildings. LOL

 

[frank2271]

This only works if you drive, but as for the noise you hear, bring a small fan for 'white noise'. It makes a world of difference and I sleep really good that way. Again, it only works if you have the ability to transport it. Because of the fan, I can't say I noticed the 'noises in the night' when we were at POP in the spring. And I second the beds, they were really comfortable.

The small fan is a REALLY good idea, I'll remember that next time.

 

[Disneian]

I agree about the fan. I've stayed at Pop twice before and I haven't really heard the sounds everyone is talking about. I've heard kids running down the hall outside our door - but never a toilet. Maybe I was just lucky.

It's all about your frame of mind. If you are going into the situation knowing you are going to have a good time, you'll have a good time. If you know you don't want to sweat the small stuff, you won't!

 

[tiaragirl]

Gotta say, I agree with Disneian. If you go into a resort with expectations of it being not up to your usual standards, you're going to be disappointed.

My family has been staying at Pop since the first year it was open.. and fair to say, it's not as new as it once was. However, I still prefer the atmosphere there to the other resorts (ie. Carribean Beach). It's so much more exciting to be around all the little kids who are think the big Play Doh container is "SO COOL" and to laugh at the sayings from all the decades.

So you hear a couple people ______, so what. We all do it. It's only going to ruin the magic if you let it.

 

[love disney]

I just got back from my Disney trip (Oct. 24-27) and stayed at the Pop Century. This was my fourth time staying at PC and I absolutely love it. In regards to some of the comments here is my take:
1) Food court-at times it can be slow, but I have only had problems there once. I try to avoid the "normal" meal times, so perhaps that has helped.
2) Noise-I am a very light sleeper and have never had a problem with noise. This past trip I occasionally heard noises from water pipes from a neighbor, but it was not very noticeable.
3) Atmosphere-sure one of the pools is square, so what? I like the decorations and think the CMs do a great job on keeping the grounds looking nice.
4) Buses-aside from the price, this is probably the BEST feature of PC, they have their own bus line! I have never had to wait more than about 15 minutes or so for a bus...though if you plan on going to DTD, I definitely suggest driving yourself, that is the one bus I had problems with.

I guess you could throw me into that group of people that absolutely love Pop Century! Sure, the moderate and deluxe resorts are going to be nicer, but for the price of PC I think it is absolutely great and can not wait until my next trip! (yeah, I just got back a couple of days ago and am already trying to plan a trip in January! haha!)

 

[JillC LI]

Hello all,

I have been taking part in the Disney Fall Endurance Series the past 6-8 weeks and have stayed at three different resorts the last month. Last weekend (10/24) I stayed at Pop Century for one night after running the Tower of Terror 13k.

Frank - What did you think of the 13K? I signed up for it after I found out that it happened to be taking place during our trip. I didn't run any of the other Endurance Series races (I live in NY). I had heard about all the characters on the Disney Marathon course, so I figured it would be a fun race to do with characters and stuff. I was actually rather disappointed in the race myself - it was the only aspect of my trip I can't rave about. No characters at all, and I found that mystery tour thing ridiculous. Plus, I didn't think the course was wide enough for the first 3 miles to accommodate slower runners such as myself. I may be slow, but I couldn't hit my stride for the longest time because I was tripping over people for the first half of the race. I will admit it was cool running around Disney at night and having access to DHS after the race, but I would never run this race again (even it it weren't being retired). What did you think?
Jill

 

[plaz10]

i enjoyed pop both times i stayed there.

my biggest problem which i guess i blame them for is that when we checked in they said that since it was our anniversary (only dating but since its a dropdown menu many assumed we were married) they gave us one big bed. i was pleased to hear this until i saw the bathroom. the rooms with one bed were handicapped. and the shower was an open shower, not in a tub. so whenever we showered...the water went everywhere. we tried to line up towels to keep the water from covering the entire floor but it was no use.

maybe there was an easier way and i totally overlooked it. but it was just annoying because the whole floor was wet after a shower. and if i had known that when they told us about the bed i would have asked to change but now i'll know for next time!

 

[frank2271]

Frank - What did you think of the 13K? I signed up for it after I found out that it happened to be taking place during our trip. I didn't run any of the other Endurance Series races (I live in NY). I had heard about all the characters on the Disney Marathon course, so I figured it would be a fun race to do with characters and stuff. I was actually rather disappointed in the race myself - it was the only aspect of my trip I can't rave about. No characters at all, and I found that mystery tour thing ridiculous. Plus, I didn't think the course was wide enough for the first 3 miles to accommodate slower runners such as myself. I may be slow, but I couldn't hit my stride for the longest time because I was tripping over people for the first half of the race. I will admit it was cool running around Disney at night and having access to DHS after the race, but I would never run this race again (even it it weren't being retired). What did you think?
Jill

I really enjoyed the races, but one of my complaints was that there were no characters along the course and I also did notice the narrow areas of the course. I learned from the other Disney courses to line up in the correct corral. I went ahead one place so I would not be surrounded by slower runners. I would rather have people pass me as I run on the right than have to pass slow runners and walkers who stay on the left.

I will be running the Princess half with my wife, I guess there are more Disney "Magic" along that course, I hope so.

 

[JillC LI]

I really enjoyed the races, but one of my complaints was that there were no characters along the course and I also did notice the narrow areas of the course. I learned from the other Disney courses to line up in the correct corral. I went ahead one place so I would not be surrounded by slower runners. I would rather have people pass me as I run on the right than have to pass slow runners and walkers who stay on the left.

I will be running the Princess half with my wife, I guess there are more Disney "Magic" along that course, I hope so.

It's good that you learned to skip ahead a pace group. I've specifically heard there are characters along the Half M, so I hope you and your wife enjoy that one even more. Planning on doing the full one day? I did NYC in 2005 and it ranks up there as one of the four best, most memorable days of my life, only surpassed by the days my kids were born and the day I got married!

 

[frank2271]

It's good that you learned to skip ahead a pace group. I've specifically heard there are characters along the Half M, so I hope you and your wife enjoy that one even more. Planning on doing the full one day? I did NYC in 2005 and it ranks up there as one of the four best, most memorable days of my life, only surpassed by the days my kids were born and the day I got married!

I'm actually planning on doing the Goofy challenge in 2011.

 

[bigm23]

I never stayed at the POP. We will be there Nov 17-29, 09 so will let you know how it is. I have stayed at All Stars Sports before back in 2000. We enjoyed it a lot. I have seen pics of both places and I agree with what people say about the looks as All Stars is more 3d effect while POP is more flat and the newer of the bunch. I do remember hearing complaints about POP. I usually make my own decision. I usually do deep research and read between the lines and who and what the comments. I have seen bad comments for hotels we have stayed at many times with no problems. I think in all hotels, you can hear noise from outside, no matter what. I am looking forward to this trip. I am a bit worried about the meal plan as this will be the first time using it and I have read some issues on it. That was really the big decider on why to stay on site this time. It would cost the same to stay on site with the free food as it would to stay off site and pay for food. I am taking someone who is a disney virgin so the whole disney immersion is going to really be fun and exciting. If the shop in the hotel is really that big I will just have to keep my eye on them cause they will buy everything there before in the parks and will have problems getting stuff home.

:lol: