Staying at POP and I'm concerned

[rufio]

If you stay at value resorts regularly, please know I'm not trying to offend! Just wanted to get that out of the way immediately!

Okay, so I've never stayed at a value resort. The first time I went to WDW I stayed at Coronado Springs and every other time I've stayed at a deluxe resort as a DVC member. We booked a last minute trip and the only thing available was Pop Century. I was recently reading a post elsewhere about value vs. deluxe being apples to oranges and how many DVC members would "never stay in a value again!!!1!!" We're a little worried now about staying at Pop Century. I know it won't be awful, but I have a thing about hotels and I get really freaked out pretty easily about certain things including cleanliness. I'd love to hear from people who have switched back and forth between deluxe and value resorts! Please set my mind at ease!!

 

[NormC]

POP is great. Cleaner than some of the DVC locations.

 

[rufio]

POP is great. Cleaner than some of the DVC locations.

Could you elaborate on this a little?

 

[lostpro9het]

While we have been converted to DVC junkies, when we were value roomies we LOVED POP. The theming of the resort is very fun as are the pools. The food court is pretty awesome, I mean who doesn't like reminiscing with Mom's TV dinners! The 70's is our favorite building for its location. We always recommend the top floor so you don't have to be woken up at night with folks running around or using the bathroom. Again, POP is a very fun place and I wouldn't hesitate staying there again.

 

[AndyS2992]

This thread does offend me lol

Pop is amazing. Clean, comfy, fun theme, nice big pools, friendly CMs, poolside bar and food court are great. Bus service is one of the best in the resort. Can't fault it. The one down side is the rooms are a little small but who cares if you only plan on sleeping and taking short mid day breaks there.

You'll be fine. Any reviews you read for anything should be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

[Clamman73]

Have stayed at Pop last two years and will again this trip. Never had an issue (except for the disappearing refrigerator) Also, enjoy walking over to AoA for breakfast.

 

[MikeTaylorSound]

We stayed at Pop this year, I liked the store/cafeteria combined in one area, but the bathrooms are in the corner, so you have high traffic in a not-so-good location for it. The walls (heard pipes banging) and windows (you can hear conversations) are thin, so bring earplugs or your own desk fan for white noise if you're one of those types. We just bought a pull behind, so we're going the Ft. Wilderness route next year.

 

[MichWolv]

If you stay at value resorts regularly, please know I'm not trying to offend! Just wanted to get that out of the way immediately!

Okay, so I've never stayed at a value resort. The first time I went to WDW I stayed at Coronado Springs and every other time I've stayed at a deluxe resort as a DVC member. We booked a last minute trip and the only thing available was Pop Century. I was recently reading a post elsewhere about value vs. deluxe being apples to oranges and how many DVC members would "never stay in a value again!!!1!!" We're a little worried now about staying at Pop Century. I know it won't be awful, but I have a thing about hotels and I get really freaked out pretty easily about certain things including cleanliness. I'd love to hear from people who have switched back and forth between deluxe and value resorts! Please set my mind at ease!!

Cleanliness will not be an issue. I've stayed in values, moderates, and deluxes, and level of cleanliness doesn't vary amongst them.

You'll have a smaller room (obviously), exterior corridor (same as Coronado), cheaper furnishings but still functional, etc. The biggest downside for me for values is noise. The walls are a little thinner (though still better than your average Fairfield or Hampton Inn), and there may well be public areas right outside your door that can be noisy.

Beyond that, it's lack of amenities (no whirlpool, not as good restaurant options, longer bus rides). But with the difference in cost, I'd choose a value over a deluxe anyways.

 

[Victor Kelly]

We stayed at POP for our honeymoon. We experienced no real issues and we were poolside on the second floor. Rooms may be small but they are comfortable.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

They aren't that bad..Just the food court maybe a bit busy during peak meal hours but, I've had no problem in the past 7 years I've stayed at that hotel...

 

[JasonDeyoung]

I've stayed at Pop twice back in '11 and I don't have any bad reviews about it. The food court I thought was one of the better ones on propert, busses run pretty smooth, it's not huge but I would suggest a preferred room, rooms are small and the only real negative I had was the beds, they seemed a little on the hard side to me but that could very well if just been the rooms I had, who's knows but also with AoA just a short walk away they have a great food court as well. I've stayed in most of the deluxe a and as it being a huge difference I'd say no, you obv get a bit more for the $$$ and location but not enough to have a panic attack

 

[rufio]

Thanks for all the replies! I hope the walls aren't a huge issue, but we live in an apartment now so I guess we're kind of used to that. I'm not concerned about the transportation since we'll have our car and will probably be driving. You all have really made me feel much better about this!

Have stayed at Pop last two years and will again this trip. Never had an issue (except for the disappearing refrigerator) Also, enjoy walking over to AoA for breakfast.

I didn't realize AoA was that close! Although, I guess I should have. Wasn't it supposed to be phase 2 of Pop? We'll definitely go over for breakfast or lunch one day!

 

[rufio]

I've stayed at Pop twice back in '11 and I don't have any bad reviews about it. The food court I thought was one of the better ones on propert, busses run pretty smooth, it's not huge but I would suggest a preferred room, rooms are small and the only real negative I had was the beds, they seemed a little on the hard side to me but that could very well if just been the rooms I had, who's knows but also with AoA just a short walk away they have a great food court as well. I've stayed in most of the deluxe a and as it being a huge difference I'd say no, you obv get a bit more for the $$$ and location but not enough to have a panic attack

I believe we did get a preferred room, so yay! The CM we spoke to also requested a king bed since my husband is really tall and has trouble fitting in a double.

 

[harveyt0206]

We have stayed at The Pop on three separate occasions and have loved each trip. Dedicated buses are nice. We stayed at the All Stars once and that was our single complaint about that resort - the buses usually stop at all three resorts. Now the flipside of that at the pop is that it's a very large resort so at the peak times when you're trying to catch a bus you may still have to wait a bit because there are a lot of people at the bus stop. As for the rooms, as others have mentioned, they are very comfortable but they are not fancy. The beds are not as comfortable as some of the other places I have stayed. If I remember correctly they are just double beds versus the queen size beds that you get at most of the moderate resorts. We loved the food court. As others have said it does get crowded from time to time but, we did not find that to be too big of an issue for us. All in all we enjoyed our stay there and did not have any real complaints. I would stay there again in a minute.

 

[Minthorne]

There are some rooms at POP with 1 king size bed - if that works for you the room feels much bigger

 

[Victor Kelly]

Our room had the King. And we will be getting another King on our next trip.

 

[deanaandrich]

We stayed at Pop 2 weeks ago. It is definitely quiter than the other values. We asked for a quiet location- we were put in 70s building facing the lake on the 4th floor. No problems with noise whatsoever. And it's close to the food court and buses. There are not many king sized beds so be prepared for double. We requested king bed in reservation and again at checkin and didn't get it. There is a small fridge but no coffee maker (we always bring our own full size). 3 pools- main pool is noisy but the other 2 are very relaxing.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

We love Pop....and yes, AoA is a short walk with nice views along the way. Rooms are clean, and busing is better at Pop than any other Value.

The ONLY drawback is how busy/crowded the Food Court can be.

 

[cw1982]

We stayed at the Pop on our trip in June and loved it! Everyone has already hit everything I would say, but I wanted to add my agreement.

 

[Suwithoutane]

There is a small fridge but no coffee maker (we always bring our own full size).

I'm a topic hijacker, but I was considering bringing my own coffee maker when we stay there in Nov. and heard that it's a no no for fire reasons or some such - is this something people have been able to do regularly without a problem? Thanks