The Groovy New Pop Century FAQ Thread!

[Kitty-chan]

I just returned from a three-night stay at Pop. It was great! We stayed in 70s, fourth floor. The view was of some other buildings, but that didn't bother us. The room was mostly quiet, with the occasional loud person disrupting that. We didn't hear any of the toilet flushing noises, so I'm glad I'd read the advice here to request the top floor.

I'd mentioned when making the reservation that DS and I both have asthma, so our room was non-smoking guaranteed. And it was.

The bus service was great. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes. We used it every day but the last (wanted to go directly from park to airport, so rented a car). DS loved it so much that he was disappointed when we had to drive.

We made great use of the refillable mugs. I'd brought some of those clips that hikers use, so we could clip the mugs to our fanny packs for the day and just stop by Everything Pop on our way to and from the parks.

I hadn't stayed on Disney property before (had stayed in the Wyndham in WDW, but of course that's not the same). I am now 100% sold on staying in Disney hotels. We didn't use EE, but just the transportation alone was worth it.Plus the wake up calls from Mickey were a big hit.

 

[2BoysMum&Dad]

Is it difficult to get a fourth floor room? I would have thought that a ground floor room would be the most popular. I have put in a request for the '60s building (at extra cost because it's "preferred") and am hoping to get on the top floor. What are the chances of being able to get a top floor room in February?

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Is it difficult to get a fourth floor room? I would have thought that a ground floor room would be the most popular. I have put in a request for the '60s building (at extra cost because it's "preferred") and am hoping to get on the top floor. What are the chances of being able to get a top floor room in February?

You might want to reconsider the preferred room - nothing is all that far from the main building - and some of the rooms in the 60's preferred section are down at the far end and the walk as 50's or 70's. If you request 50 or 70's, 4th fl, you won't be far from the food court - not more than a 4 minute walk!

The 4th fl is popular because you can sometimes see Wishes and/or Illuminations from some 50's and 70's buildings rooms and because the 4th fl can be a bit less noisy since no one is above. I've never found the POP noisy, but I've always had a 4th fl room with a lake view.

When in Feb are you going? If it is early then you probably be able to get your room request, but if it is later (3rd week) it is school vacation for many in the US and very crowded.

Have a great time!!

 

[dclwdwlover]

We stayed in a 60's preferred room two weeks ago & I was very, very impressed with how absolutely clean & well-kempt everything in the entire room (including the bathroom) was.

I loved the themes of all of the areas & found it to be very fun. My preference is to stay at the Beach Club - I like that type of ambience & the convenience to the parks (EPCOT) & things to do - but my DH & I really did enjoy POP Century.

The wait at check-in was rather long. We even waited an hour & went back, but we had fun looking at everything while we waited.

I would absolutely stay there again & recommend it to anyone wishing to have an affordable Disney resort experience & the extras that come with it (transportation, etc.).

 

[Poohbear123]

And stayed in 50's building room # 3471! Great Location, and I LOVED it. Thanks for the Map of room #'s that helps a LOT!

 

[funkbucket007]

Sweet...got the rooms reserved & got the airline tickets. March 20th can't come soon enough.

 

[mom22royals]

We stayed in building 2, 50's section, room 2465. Our room was on the fourth floor, overlooking the bowling pin pool and both Lady and Tramp. The walk to the food court and buses were 5 minutes, max! The room was clean and had a table with 2 chairs for eating. There was a safe in the room and an iron and ironing board, no hair dryer. The building was full and I never heard another soul in their rooms. The CM's were great! We grabbed breakfast a few days and the kids loved the $3.59 plate with 2 mickey wafles and bacon. My only complaint was the horrible Nescafe coffee. The wait for buses was never long (5 minutes). All in all we thought it was a great place to stay. We pais a lot of money to stay at the Wilderness Lodge last time, but found out we were only in the room to shower and sleep. By the way, you could see Epcot from the back of our buliding (facing the parking lot). We would just walk around the corner to see it! Go for the Pop and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[ybcart7]

Has anyone ever stayed in a king room and requested a fold-away bed? Is there enough space in the room for this? We are used to a king bed and with 2 double beds we are worried about the space -- someone is going to end up on the floor in the middle of the night -- probably DM or DH!!

 

[jxgriffi]

We just had to change our reservations to POP from ASMov due to CM discount being better for POP. I was a little hesitant until I read this thread...now I'm really happy. We'll be there in see countdown and both of the kids just found out at Christmas. I think I'm more excited than them!!!

Thanks for all of the information!

 

[hopetoseedisney]

Thanks for this post. We are re-planning our first trip with our two children (dd is 8 yrs and ds is 6 yrs). I was hesitant to choose the POP at first, but this has convinced me that it's the right place to stay. Since we usually drive every place we've ever been, and this will be our first time flying as a family, can you give me some suggestions on what to expect if we are coming in by towncar (we are not sure if we are going to get a towncar ride or if we are going to rent a car -- depends on cost)....will they just drop us at the door, or will they wait. The long check in times concern me. We are planning on going the second or third week in February (hoping to leave on the 12th, but it will depend on flight schedules as we are flying on stand by). Thanks.

 

[jxgriffi]

Generally, the town car services will drop you off at the Front Desk lobby. There are usually a couple of TVs running Disney cartoons to keep the kids occupied if the wait is too long.

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

I just booked two rooms at POP for this May!! I am so happy to read this thread!! Now I REALLY can't wait!! I requested the 70's building. Do you think that the 50's building is better??!!?? DH wants to be as close as possible to the food court and bus stops. (Since we have to get two rooms for the six of us, we don't want to spend the extra money for the 60's building!!) I would also LOVE to see Illuminations and/or Wishes in the distance!! HELP!!! Now I'm confused . . . 50's or 70's . . .

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Has anyone ever stayed in a king room and requested a fold-away bed? Is there enough space in the room for this? We are used to a king bed and with 2 double beds we are worried about the space -- someone is going to end up on the floor in the middle of the night -- probably DM or DH!!

Don't count on the availability of the fold away bed -- they are practically non-existant. They are only available for extreme cases (ie: resort is booked solid, late night checkin, only have a king room available, for a party of 3.)

 

[jstbcuz]

Not to burst anyones bubble, but we stayed here in Aug and again in Oct and neither time did we get the building we requested. We got the 90's the first time and it suited us well.........nice and quiet. In Oct we got the backside of the 80s building which seemed like a horrendous walk after a day at the parks. After getting back to the hotel after a day at the parks (our check in day) we found that the shower would not work. This is at 1 in the morning too. I called GS but noone answered so I got the kids and we walked all the way back.........they decided to move us. We did get moved to the 50s section with a 2 min walk to the buses, and food court. The move was great except that it was a smoking room (original request was NS) and the room next to ours (adjoining) came in at 4 in the am and made lots of noise.


So here I am planning my next trip for 7/2005 and I wanted to try somewhere different, but the fact that pop has its own bus service and the price cant be beat keep me coming back to check it out.

 

[KilleriMac17]

Not sure how often this happens, but when we went last april(going again same time this year) the lady at the counter brought out a map and asked us if there was any particular area we would like.. ( so we picked a great spot near the busses and main building that wasnt the extra $10 a night).. hopefully we can get the same area again.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Well, after a big talk with DH, we decided to switch from WL to Pop to save money. I really wanted to stay at WL again, but after reading this thread, I thought Pop seemed like a good place for my kids. Plus, maybe we can use the money that we are saving and apply it to a trip to Paris for our 10th wedding anniversary!
I have questions about Pop. Here we go...
I checked a floor plan of the Pop rooms and didn't notice a closet. Do they have closets? If not, where do you store luggage? Is there a little corner we can stack them in?

Please tell me what to expect at check in. I've heard there are long lines. We will be checking in at around 8am on 4/30. Do the lines form that early?

How bad are the lines for the bus service. I'm worried that the bus will be full and we'll have to wait a long time for the next bus. Does that happen, or will they provide more than one bus during peak times, like park opening or closing times?
Sorry for all of the questions. I'm so glad I came across this thread. I never would have considered Pop if I hadn't stumbled on this thread. I'm so glad!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Well, after a big talk with DH, we decided to switch from WL to Pop to save money. I really wanted to stay at WL again, but after reading this thread, I thought Pop seemed like a good place for my kids. Plus, maybe we can use the money that we are saving and apply it to a trip to Paris for our 10th wedding anniversary!

Just try to psych yourselves for a value, expect little and you'll be delighted! Rooms are small but not tiny and nicely understated. Hidden Mickey's in the room and bathroom!

I checked a floor plan of the Pop rooms and didn't notice a closet. Do they
have closets? If not, where do you store luggage? Is there a little corner we can stack them in? [COLOR=DarkGreen[/QUOTE]]It is an open closet,with room to hang clothes (you can call if more hangers are needed and they'll bring them right up), also a shelf above, an iron, ironing board and you can call for a hair dryer, if needed. There is plenty of room to store luggage next to the TV/dresser.[/COLOR]

Please tell me what to expect at check in. I've heard there are long lines. We will be checking in at around 8am on 4/30. Do the lines form that early?

You might run into check-out lines at that time, but we've checked in at 1 p.m. twice and never waited more than a minute! There is an area for children to play & watch videos nearby

How bad are the lines for the bus service. I'm worried that the bus will be full and we'll have to wait a long time for the next bus. Does that happen, or will they provide more than one bus during peak times, like park opening or closing times?

Normally I don't think the end of April would be esp busy, but the big celebration begins Mary 5th, so it might be more than usual. We've never had to wait long for a bus, but sometimes there have been lines. We always try to be out for the first morning bus ahead of time and it's been fine. I have seen long lines late morning and midday - do not know if they send more buses. Tyler will surely reply!

Have a look at this link for some great POP photos!
http://allearsnet.com/acc/pcss.htm (photos of room interior begin on slide #45)
http://www.fricknfrack.net/pop/pop1.html (Tyler's photos)
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/resorts/popcentury.htm (click on photos link)

Hope this helps!

 

[Nik's Mom]

Thanks BaciBecky for your quick reply. It's nice to know there is a small closet. As long as there is some room to store clothes and luggage, I'm happy. The kids will be thrilled with this resort. I can tell by looking at the pictures that it is kid friendly.
I have a couple of other questions. What time should I be at the bus stop to be at park opening time? If it opens at 9am, should I be at the stop an hour early?
When checking in, do we drive to the front and have someone help with luggage, or is that not offered at Pop? We'll be coming in after a red eye flight and will be soooo tired.
Thanks!

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Please tell me what to expect at check in. I've heard there are long lines. We will be checking in at around 8am on 4/30. Do the lines form that early?

At 8am, there shouldn't be much of a line. And even if there is, it will typically move quickly. Depending on the night before, your room may not be available at that hour (but, it very well could be). Don't forget that Pop has a Luggage Assistance service. Just drop off your bags with them before you check in, and they will be automatically delivered to your room within an hour of your room becoming available. You don't even have to be in the room for them to be delivered.

How bad are the lines for the bus service. I'm worried that the bus will be full and we'll have to wait a long time for the next bus. Does that happen, or will they provide more than one bus during peak times, like park opening or closing times?

Because Pop is a large resort, there may be lines for the buses. Rest assured, Disney knows about this. Our dispatching system is dynamic and flexible. This means that buses are not on fixed routes. Depending on crowds and demand, buses will be dispatched accordingly. During peak times, they can come one right after another, sometimes even double loading.

 

[Liz]

Thanks for this wonderful thread! I booked POP this morning but planned to switch to CSR if a good discount becomes available. After reading this thread and looking at Tyler's pictures, it makes me excited to stay here and save some money, even if we could get a good deal at CSR! We'll be traveling with people who are visiting WDW for the first time so I doubt we'll spend a lot of time in the room.