Staying at Pop! Preferred or not?

[bsmartin2000]

We are staying at Pop Century 11/9 to 11/16!!! Would you pay the extra $100 to get a preferred room or not? If we don't how far from the front of the resort and the bus stops would we be? Trying to save a little anyway we can so that we can come back in 2013!
:wave:

 

[macsmom]

I wouldn't pay the extra. It's going to be a walk from your room to the Main Hall no matter where you stay. If you stay near the pools, you're going to have more noise. I had a room in the 50's section that faced the pool. Didn't hear anything. It was close enough, yet far enough.

danna

 

[case88]

Pay it! The first time we stayed, we did not choose a preferred room and hated that walk back to the room - especially after closing down a park....since then, we've payed the extra for the preferred room everytime and am always glad we did!

 

[Dukeblue1227]

I personally think it's a waste of money.

I've never paid it and stayed at Pop a number of times...

Only once was I really that far away from the main hall... and it by no means put a damper on the trip at all. It certainly wasn't, to me, worth $100 to have a slightly shorter walk.

 

[coltow]

NOT! It's no more then a 5mn walk to any room from the bus stop &/or lobby. I also would request 50's 80's or 90's because they have a pool right there. 70's is only area with no pool

 

[wilkeliza]

I have stayed at Pop 2 times now and actually choose the non-preferred rooms on purpose. The preferred rooms are on the main pool and it is always noisy there. The pool bar is there so it can get rowdy at night and the children's water games and nightly movies also take place there so it is always noisy. We have stayed at the 90s building and the 50s building and our walk has never been more than 5 minutes. If you have children I have heard the noise in the preferred rooms can make nap time a fight because they want to go play with the other kids and if you are just adults the walk is always nice and worth the savings in money. I never had a problem with the walk you just have to know short cuts. Like if you are in 90s don't go through the lobby to get to the buses or get back unless you are stopping at the shop. If you are just going to bed walk straight through the parking lot and be in your room in 3 or 4 minutes no problem. Same with the 50s building and 80s building.

 

[davidc1578]

For my family it was worth paying for the prefered room. We have two kids (3 & 6) and at the end of the day, the short walk was worth it to us. Now I would not pay for the pool view rate at POP. Not worth the money to see the pool when we look out the window. It all depends on your situation. Without kids or when my kids get older, I would probably just get a standard room.

 

[Doombuggy13]

We have stayed at POP many times. My last trip there we did get the preferred room and loved it. We were in the building right next to the Lobby and also right next to bell services. There were no worries on the morning we left because everything was so close.

 

[mrsdanalind]

For my family it was worth paying for the prefered room. We have two kids (3 & 6) and at the end of the day, the short walk was worth it to us. Now I would not pay for the pool view rate at POP. Not worth the money to see the pool when we look out the window. It all depends on your situation. Without kids or when my kids get older, I would probably just get a standard room.

the only time we upgraded to a prefered room was when my daughters asthma was acting up and we needed to be closer to the lobby. Other than that n o I wouldn't pay the extra, the walk helps us unwind from the day at the parks, and we get to talk and enjoy the night with out a ton of people cruising by us. It's a relaxation thing, I think!

 

[bethymouse]

Book standard @ POP

Book a standard room and when you check in, ask for a room closest to the main pool and lobby area. CMs usually honor that request. We were right by the BIG WHEEL!

 

[Tinkerbella16]

I also wouldn't pay the extra for preferred. You could ask once you check-in, but its not guaranteed, but you are going during a slow time of year so it wouldn't hurt.

I never really thought Pop was THAT big to be honest.. the moderates are the only resorts I'd be willing to pay for a preferred room, with the exception of POFQ because they are really big and really spread out. Pop is nothing compared to CBR, POR and CSR.

 

[CaptainShortty]

I would say unless someone in your party has trouble walking then it's NOT worth it. You can ask for the closest regular room available and the walk really won't be THAT much further most of the time. IMO it's $100 that is much better spent somewhere else.

 

[Dads 2 Boys]

We've stayed there twice, once not preferred and this past October in the preferred rooms and I would (and will) definitely pay the difference. After a long day (and night) in the parks, having a much shorter walk to your room is a blessing especially having kids. Not all the preferred rooms are by the 60s pool and our room was as quiet as any time we've ever stayed.

 

[Kev1417]

For myself, instead of paying the money for what basically is a shorter walk, i'd rather use the money towards a nicer resort to stay at/dinner at a nice place in Epcot or gifts for myself/family. Don't waste money because you want to save yourself 5 mins in walking time. We all walk all day at the parks, what's another 5 mins? worth $100? Not to me. Just my $.02:wave:

 

[Jerry68]

I wouldn't pay extra nothing is more then a five min walk.

 

[Poofiesdream]

Not worth it. I always ask for 50's close to the front. I usally get a room as close as some of the preferred rooms. Its much quieter there and you have a nice less crowded pool.:wave:

 

[JillC LI]

Not. We asked for adjoining rooms in the standard part of the 70s building on our last trip, got our request, and had less than a 5 minute walk to the main building with the food court and busses.

 

[jcs4evas1298]

There seems to be a misconception that preferred room = closer to the lobby. This is not the case! In fact, in the trip we just took we had paid for a standard room on a 2 reservation period over 2 weeks and when we were re-checking in for the second reservation portion of our trip Pop told us we had to switch rooms. I fought them on this and we didn't land up having to, but the whole reason they wanted us to move was because we were actually in one of their preferred rooms and they needed to free it up. We were in the jukebox building in the 50's on the 4th floor, anything but close to the lobby (I know there are areas further away but not all that much further). As someone else here stated - you can request a room closer to the lobby and they will usually try to help you out, but this doesn't require purchasing anything other than the standard room.

Preferred rooms are only categorized as such because they are near the pool area - the one in the the building you are in - not the one near the lobby. You can be just as far away from the lobby as anyone else in a standard room. As far as paying for pool view, we actually prefer not being on that side of the building as we find it considerably noisier, and with more foot traffic if you are on the first floor.

 

[allgiggles]

I've stayed at Pop three times and I don't think I would pay for a preferred room. The first time we were there we were in the 60's section, building 4, 4th floor, lake view. That's my favorite location. It's not a preferred room category, but it's close to a pool, it's a quiet area, great view, and a quick walk to the main building/bus stops. The second time we were in the 50's section, building 2, 4th floor, pool view. At the time, that was not a preferred category room but it is now. While the room was close to the pool (which we rarely used because it rained 80% of the time we were there), it was a bit of a walk to the bus stops and main building but still only about 5-7 minutes. I wouldn't pay extra to stay in that room. The third time we stayed at Pop we were in the 80's section, building 9, 4th floor, courtyard/garden(?) view. This also is not a preferred category room but is a decent location. Again it was a quiet location and wasn't a long walk to the main building. It was a quick walk to the bus stops because we could walk through/along the parking lot. And the pool was very close as well.

I agree with the PP who mentioned that a preferred room does not equal being close to the main building. If you look at the map with all of the preferred locations marked, you can see that there are standard rooms that are closer to the main building than most of the standard pool view locations (that you pay extra for).

 

[wylde75]

Ive stayed two times in preferred and once in standard. the first time in "preferred" we were on the back side of one of the 70's buildings. no view except some trees and on the 4th floor. 2nd time in preffered we had a nice view of pool but was still on 4th floor. last time se just went with the standard room and actually like it much better. it was quiet for afternoon naps. just a 2 min walk to main pool and building and 3 mins from bus stops. we loved it so much that its what we are requesting this year. the little bit of a walk builds the excitement as well. when we had the view of the pool it was nice but noisy at night and early mornings. the pool bar was noisy at night to. not complaing because a couple of nights we were right there too haha. just all depends on what you want.