krisbak
Registered: August 2011
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Thu August 25, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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price
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Cons:
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long walks to bus, loud, crowded, small rooms
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We just returned from our much-anticipated trip. I would rate Pop Century a "C-" at best. It wasn't the worst place to stay, but we won't return. The biggest issue is the sheer distance between rooms and the food court/bus stop. From nearly every room except a small percentage the walk is very, very long. It's a huge resort and really would be better divided into smaller resorts like the All Star value resorts. The rooms are clean, but small. Beds not particularly comfortable. Service was average to a bit less than average. The location of PC is also pretty far from parks (or seems that way) so bus rides are long.
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hairbear26
Registered: August 2011
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Tue August 23, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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clean/great cast members/fun to look at stuff
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Cons:
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busy, big, and crowded
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We stayed at Pop 8/13-8/21/2011. This was a very nice resort but it was just too crowded for us. Breakfast was a circus. One night coming back from Epcot, it took four buses in a row before our family got on a bus and we were standing in line counting the buses come and go.
It was fun to look at all the retro things inside the lobby. I even found a phone displayed that I used to own!
If you like crowds, this is your place. Our family has decided next time we will stay in a deluxe resort that is hopefully a little quieter and a little less crowded.
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Campbellscot
Registered: August 2011
Location: United States
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Mon August 15, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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buses, food court, cleanliness
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Cons:
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loud in the evening if near the pool
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We (family of four, two kids ages 12 and 9)recently returned from an 8 day trip to Florida. We spent three nights at Pop Century before moving over to our DVC property. This was our first stay at Pop and we were all pleasantly surprised! The rooms were clean and had obviously been refurbished. The flat screen TV was great! The addition of the curtain that divides the sink area from the rest of the room was very appreciated! The values didn't used to have this and it's difficult to have four people in a room together and have nowhere for privacy except the bathroom! The beds were NOT comfortable. Hard as rocks and just unforgiving! My 12 year old step daughter was in the other bed and she didn't have any problems at all so maybe it was just the grown ups used to a king sized bed! My step son slept on an air mattress we brought with us. We moved the table down to the corner near the window and there was plenty of space for him. Mousekeeping made up his little bed every day along with the other beds. We were on the third floor, corner room facing the Hippie Dippy pool. There was definitely some noise from the pool area in the evening. It was after 1am and there were still families with little kids down there, screeching and yelling and making all kinds of noise. At some point somebody yelled at them all to quiet down. Usually we were too tired to hear anyone though. The buses were pretty good. We never had to wait for too long for a bus and it's nice that Pop doesn't share with any other resort, although I wonder if that will change when Art of Animation opens. I hope not!! We all really enjoyed the food court for the most part. The "Chinese food" was pretty bad...bland and tasteless. The sandwiches were good. Breakfast was good as well. I think paying for a preferred room is definitely worth it. We were steps from the food court and the buses. Overall we enjoyed our stay at Pop and wouldn't hesitate to stay here again!!
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smithfamily3130
Registered: August 2011
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Sun August 14, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Bus route to parks, Many buses, Easy to get around, room config good
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Cons:
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Food taste in diner not consistantly good
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Visited 7-16-11 to 7-23-11 with 13 in party. Discussed several times regarding joining rooms for 2 of the 3 groups. Upon check-in, wrong rooms joining. After small discission rooms was fixed.
No issues with mousekeeping, left tip each time didn't make any difference except last night. No towel animals. Room cleaned every day no issues.
Diner, very polite help behind counters. Food didn't task good consisantly.
Front desk helped with travling to our reservations, very good detailed instructions and tips.
Buses, better then the first visit in 2008. Many buses and very helpful with wheelchair access. Never waited more then 3 minutes. Sometimes a bus left and another for the same park pulled in right behind it.
Gift shop very busy, cast members helped with every question with a smile.
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motarpey
Registered: November 2010
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Wed August 10, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Bright & Cheery, Entertaining
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Cons:
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Sad Mousekeeping:( Odd situation with a child, pushy cast member at check in
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This was the 2nd time I have stayed at the POP. The first time I was on my own while friends were at PORS. I didn't get to spend much time roaming the grounds then or at the pools at all so I decided I needed another go. I booked the room for 2 nights over the weekend of July 29-31 to celebrate my sister's birthday.
When I checked in I asked for the 70's section because a) that was when my sister was born and b) I had stayed in that section before and found it pleasant and quiet. I knew it would be hit or miss in the summer months anyway but still. After a debate with the Cast Member who said "but they put you in the 90's section and that's closer to the pool" we decided just to go with it. I wish I'd fought harder. We were at least on the ground floor-but facing the parking lot-not the pool. He also told me to park in the 80's section, which I did...just to find out that our room was literally right at the 90's section parking lot. We walked with our suitcases and my niece all the way around the building before we found our room. The signage needs to be updated.
We went to dinner and came back and went in the pool. Because I hadn't used the pool last time and not reading all the fine print before heading out we got to the pool and found out we had to bring our own towels from the room. However, I called Mousekeeping in the morning for extra towels for showers and they brought us a stack of 8 of them...more than enough and very much appreciated!
As I said it was my sister's birthday so I decorated the window as I had seen in other rooms before. Apparently that means no fun Mousekeeping towel sculptures because we didn't get any.
Spent Saturday at the Hippy Dippy Pool. LOVE. My niece was elated by the "Flowah Showahs." It was clean and there was plenty of seating available. It was located very close to the Cafeteria so we could get refills on our drinks. The bathroom was closed when I went, but I just had to go inside the lobby.
I would stay again...but I'd push for the 70's section this time! 
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kjrph
Registered: August 2011
Posts: 5
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Review Date: Wed August 3, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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nice pool area, good food court
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Cons:
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tiny room
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My family stayed at the Pop Century for a week in June 2011. We had a good time there...staff was very friendly, the food court was decent enough, the pool areas were nice. BUT, we are a family of 4 and the room was extremely small with all of us in it. We thought the small room would be ok since we wouldn't spend much time in it, but we underestimated exactly how tiny the room would be. We loved the hotel, but probably will need to upgrade to a larger room for our next visit.
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WDWfan95
Registered: August 2011
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Mon August 1, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Cleanliness, quietness, overall bus service, the Computer Pool
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Cons:
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Broken drawers, leaky faucet in the bath, crowded food court, the sonic toilets, DTD bus, the pillows and the towels
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We (DF, DM, and I) stayed at Pop Century from 07/19/11 to 07/26/11. We enjoyed our stay here; we really liked the resort.
Let's start with the pros. Our room was very clean. The beds were always made and the room was always tidied up. Housekeeping did a superb job every day. Our room (standard room #7333 in '80s building 7) was very quiet. Although we were right on the stem of the T in the building and near a main road, we had no issues whatsoever.
Bus service to the parks was efficient. We utilized morning Extra Magic Hours three days of our trip. The buses were always there so we could get to the parks (we visited all four, but did not use EMH for the Magic Kingdom) on time.
The Computer Pool was my favorite pool. It was more laid-back than the other three pools. The Hippy Dippy Pool was always very crowded, even at night. The Bowling Pin Pool, although I only visited it once, was also crowded. The Computer Pool was great for a swim at any time of day.
Now for the cons. The drawers in our room were broken! I thought Pop Century just went through refurbishment? Unacceptable. The faucet for the bath also leaked unless you turned it really, really tight. When we first walked into the room, you could hear the faucet leaking - water wasting, no conservation!
The food court, except for early mornings, was always mobbed with people. I can understand the crowds, but at times I thought I was not going to get out alive. There were always just people around you. The lines for food were sometimes long, and the lines for checkout were a horror. Also, the food court stations at lunch (we only ate lunch once there but I feel it happens very often) didn't always have everything on the menu ready for you. If I had been in a hurry, I would not have been satisfied.
The Downtown Disney (Marketplace and Pleasure Island)/Typhoon Lagoon bus did not seem to come very often. The morning we were going to Typhoon Lagoon a bus did not arrive until 8:20-8:25 am. We were told by the front desk that bus service would commence at 8:00 am. When we returned to Pop Century from Typhoon Lagoon and each time we returned from Downtown Disney, there were always many people waiting to get on the bus. That morning we saw each type of bus come, except for Typhoon Lagoon. Even an ESPN Wide World of Sports bus came along!
The pillows and the towels, according to DH, were "chincy." I thought the pillows were OK, but the towels really did seem cheap. I guess that's what we get going from Saratoga Springs and the Beach Club Villas going to Pop Century. :D
Overall, I liked Pop Century. Would I hurry back there for my next trip to Walt Disney World? No, I wouldn't. Will I return eventually? Yes, yes I will.
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Sharkfam
Registered: February 2011
Location: Crivitz, WI
Posts: 16
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Review Date: Mon August 1, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Best Value Resort
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Cons:
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none
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We stayed in the 80's area near the lake which is a great area to get away from the bustle. The kids loved feeding the ducks and we enjoyed our walks along the water. Beautiful sunset views. As with all value resorts there are a lot of people, but we found this to be the best Disney value resort. Expect the food courts to be crowded and the busses to be slow because you are at a value resort. If you want better accomodations then move up to a moderate or deluxe. Overall Pop is a great resort and I would stay there again (and probably will) even though we are DVC members and now usually stay in a grand villa or 2 bedroom. We have some great memories at Pop Century.
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lovemycharactermeals
Registered: October 2006
Posts: 21
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Review Date: Sun July 31, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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price
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Cons:
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loud, loud, loud at night in rooms by pool
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We have stayed at Pop Century several times. We have usually been in the 50s area, which is by the lake and more secluded. This time, we were put in one of the 70s buildings facing the pool. We don't spend much time at the resort. We get up early to go to the parks and get to bed around 11. It was so loud this time that I had to sleep on the mattress with the pillow over my head. The people next door were slamming the door every 5 minutes. There were kids screaming in the pool well after midnight and kids loudly running up and down stairs and hallways after 12. The lifeguards leave at 10 p.m., but the pool is always open. There's no one anywhere to keep people quiet. My husband does not want to stay here again.
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CLHoward72
Registered: October 2009
Location: Bloomington, Illinois
Posts: 14
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Review Date: Fri July 29, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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One bus stop; value
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Cons:
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None
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We just returned from our visit (7/19-7/26). We stayed in the 60s building #4 and this was our first time at POP since it was just my daughter and me. I had done online check-in, but there was still a mix-up in rooms at check-in that only took about 10 minutes to fix. The CM processed our actual room request and got us on our way. We had a 4th floor view of the lagoon and could actually see the fireworks from both Epcot and Magic Kingdom each night. We ate at the food court every morning and some dinners and didn't have any trouble ever finding places to sit. I never thought the food court was overly crowded and hardly ever had to wait for food. The food choices were fine and completely met my expectations. This was our first time on the QSDP and the CM at the registers were helpful in making sure that we got the right things for the right meals. We were not on the pool side so I can't speak to the noise levels at night but the pool itself was great, lots of room in the main pool and plenty of lifeguards on duty. The bus lines were fine and I don't think we hardly ever waited for more than 10 min at the resort. The only hiccup was at AK coming back in the afternoon one day. We waited about 30 min, actually had our bus drive right by and miss the stop! By the time one came back, the crowd was so bad they sent us 2 buses. But overall it's just nice to have only the single stop. Nothing special from Mousekeeping even with my daughter's stuffed animals but I think that's becoming the norm anymore so I don't expect anything. You can occasionally hear things in the rooms next door but I always bring earplugs to sleep. For a value resort, this was a good one and I would surely stay here again if I travel on a budget.
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HoosierFamily
Registered: July 2011
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Sat July 16, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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clean, fun for families
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Cons:
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room key problems
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This was our first time staying at POP. We only waited, maybe, 10 minutes for a bus to any of the parks. We had a preferred room (building #1, 60's section) and recommend it due to the size of this property! Didn't have any noise problems and we faced the pool on the 4th floor. Our room was always clean when we returned. The food court does get very crowded but always found a table. The food was good and fresh. The only thing with that is that I think that they need to "re-configure" the lay-out of the food court so it flows better. Loved the gift shop and the decor in the check-in area. Now, to the reason I didn't give it a 10. We checked in at noon on Sunday and our room was ready! There were having trouble printing keys, but thankfully, my husbands printed. I went back after we unpacked to get the other 3 keys...still no luck. We went and had lunch and by then it was fixed. But, they keys didn't work. Went back and they made another set, but they didn't work either. I had to have keys made 3 times!! Finally, they sent Megan up to look at it (I think they thought it was us) and she couldn't get it either. She had to re-program the lock twice! On to Monday...came back from parks...and the keys didn't work!!! Had 2 more sets made and finally the manager went with me and the last set worked. Not a good thing with cranky, hot kids! But, they apologized over and compensated us for the inconvenience. Will be back to POP, but will probably request a ground floor room!
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radams16
Registered: June 2011
Location: Prattville, AL
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Thu July 14, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Well kept property. Friendly CMs
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Cons:
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None
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Spouse and I were here June 12-18 for our anniversary. We used the on-line check-in. We arrived about 10am and only had to wait about 5 min at the online checkin counter. CM was very helpful with the express checkin. Our room was not ready, but he was able to get us a room that was, and was able to fulfill our online request for a room with a king sized bed. This made the room feel larger than it actually was so there was plenty of room for the two of us. The room was very clean, and mousekeeping was great during our stay. We were placed in the 60's next to the pool on the 3rd floor. We never had any problems with noise from the pool eventhough the resort was very busy. Guess it was because of being on the 3rd floor.
Disney transportation was fine. Never had to wait mor that 10-15 min for a bus to any park. Although, it would be great if the bus stops were covered to help with the florida sunshine. There is a covered waiting area behind the bus stops where you can wait, but you take a chance of the bus stop filling up while you wait in the shade.
The food court was fine, nothing really fancy, but good food.
This was our first stay at POP and it probably won't be our last. We have stayed at the Contemporary, Port Orleans Riverside, and All Star Music in the past. If all you use the room for is a place to sleep or rest during the heat of the day, you can't go wrong for the money.
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DisneyinSyracuse
Registered: July 2011
Location: Syracuse NY
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Tue July 5, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Location is close to most parks, clean comfortable rooms, good selection in dining area
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Cons:
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small rooms, can be noisy if right outside pool
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The rooms feature 2 comfortable beds. We were able to return to the room in the afternoon for a nap with little problem. Paying extra for a "preferred room" is highly recommended as the walk from the outer buildings to the bus and Pop cafeteria can get really long.
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Ally46
Registered: June 2011
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Mon June 20, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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quick bus service
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Cons:
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We stayed here in early June. I was impressed at how much quicker the bus service is as compared to Port Orleans. I think we only had to wait more than 10 min for a bus once and that was to downtown disney.
The rooms are clean but small. We like the shopping choices and found the food selection much better than the quick service at the moderate motels. We enjoyed the meatloaf and the chicken. They have a lot of things that qualify as "snacks" if you are on the quick service dining plan.
There we a lot of people at this hotel, but they seemed to spread us apart from each other. We were bothered by guests' noise only one night.
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elarquero81
Registered: June 2011
Location: United States
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Sun June 19, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Clean room, fun atmosphere
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Cons:
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Long bus lines and wait times, crowded, rude people
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My wife and I stayed at the Pop Century resort 3/1-3/7. It was our first time at a value resort, and while it really wasn't a bad place at all, it will likely be our last.
To start with the positives, our room was much nicer than we had anticipated. Very clean, nice flat screen tv and surprisingly comfortable beds. We stayed in the 80s area in the building closest to the parking lot, so our walk to the bus stop was very short and very convenient. Having both grown up in the 80s, it was a fun place to stay. Also, the milkshakes at the food court were delicious!
The biggest con with the resort were the bus lines and wait times. We had to usually wait 10-15 minutes for each bus, and rarely were able to sit down. At night, if we stayed at the park until closing, the lines for the bus were huge, and it usually took 3-4 buses for us to get on. Also, I wanted to go see a Braves Spring Training game one day while my wife relaxed at the pool. Me and a few others waited in line for the bus to the Wide World of Sports complex for 40 minutes or so (we must have just barely missed the one prior to it). It was 1:20 (the game started at 1:05) by the time we got on, and we had to wait for the bus to drive through the Caribbean Beach resort before making it over to the stadium and ended up missing the first two innings.
It was also definitely the most crowded resort I'd stayed at (previously stayed at Contemporary, Animal Kingdom, Boardwalk). While it is unfair to compare it to those places, it was definitely much more crowded and a hassle to deal with. If you are used to the crowds, then it obviously wouldn't be a big deal, but it was definitely a downer for me and my wife. While the food court and shops were nice, it was often a pain to get around and there were always lines, even late at night (yes, I know I'm not very patient).
Another annoying aspect, and again, I reiterate that this was not the resort's fault, were the rude people we would run into. I know 99.9% of the people there were probably very nice, but we seemed to run into the few who weren't, which has never happened to us at WDW before. For example, in the food court, a lady ran into my wife and knocked her tray to the ground. Rather than stop to help her, she just looked at her and walked away. Very nice. Also, there was a lady in front of the milk fridge on a motorized scooter with her five kids. They were running around getting into everything while she just sat there. We waited for a few minutes (literally) for her to move, but she just sat there. By this time, a crowd was gathering. I finally said "Excuse me, I just need to grab a milk from that fridge, sorry," and walked towards her. She huffed and said "C'mon kids, I guess some people are in a hurry" and drove off. The guy next to us laughed and said "Wow, that was rude," and we laughed too. Like I said, I know it's not the resort's fault by any means, but it definitely was annoying at times.
Overall, a great place for the price. However, if it is within your budget to upgrade, I'd definitely recommend doing so.
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