If you have seen me waffling between a million different choices of accommodations and wanted to strangle me, I am happy to inform you that we’ve settled on 2 standard rooms at Pop Century for the inlaws + the 4 of us. We’ll have 2 separate living spaces, everyone will have a bed, each family has their own bathroom. We got a great rate through MVT & it really did come down to budget. We could take a second trip or upgrade the whole family to APs for the price difference for the other options I looked at. Hopefully we can plan far enough in advance to rent DVC for future stays though because honestly- I’m spoiled ha!
I’m a bit nervous about the bus situation, especially since there is no TS at Pop. I’m setting aside extra $ to cover Minnie vans (thanks to 2 car seats) for evening ADRs or any bus fiascos that might come up. Has anyone used Minnie vans at Pop yet? How was availability? (We had a terrible time with them at AKL last fall.)
I’m also looking forward to adding some fun extras to our trip (DD3’s first BBB!) and knowing that we’re still coming in under our budget.
Anyone have feedback on Pop? How is the bus situation? Which buildings should we look into for relatively quiet rooms that are close to transportation?
Thanks to all who helped provide feedback. I really appreciate your help!
We were there in March a couple of years ago for two nights and never had trouble getting a bus. Maybe we were just lucky but we spent less time waiting than we did when we stayed at CBR or the Polynesian.
We stayed in the 60s section and did not find that it took long to get to the transportation and it’s one of the further buildings. I’m not sure if they will be done with the renovations when you go, but I would try to get a renovated room.
We really enjoyed Pop and in fact are headed back in August for a longer stay.
Honestly I like Pop. The buses are great because they don’t share with any other resort. I do feel like the resort is kind of spread out, but that’s because I’ve been spoiled by the compactness of AKL, Jambo.
when I stayed there in January I brought coffee a hot pot, and a french press so I could have my coffee in room like usual (no coffeemakers at pop). None of that took up much room in my luggage and was so worth it. I got half and half at the food court on day 1 and stored it in my fridge.
I think planning on a few Minnie Vans is smart. I wish WDW would solve that resort-to-resort transport issue, especially now that they will be charging for overnight parking!
I haven’t stayed at Pop so I will leave the resort advice to others, but If you haven’t been to AOA before it’s an easy walk from Pop and your DD might enjoy the theming. The food court at AOA also has some good selection.
No comment on the buses as we drive our own car, but just chiming in to say we were perfectly satisfied with Pop as well and would definitely stay there again. It’s nothing luxury for sure, but as long as you go in with the right mindset that you are staying there for value I think you will be pleased.
I’ve stayed at POP three times and will be there this Saturday. I’ve never had any problem with buses. We’ve made it with plenty of time to spare to TS meals at other resorts and to rope drop on the days we chose to get up early. When leaving parks, we’ve hopped on the AoA bus before if it came before the POP bus, stopped at their food court to get a snack, and then walked to bridge to POP. We were in the 70’s section facing the lake and it was near the bridge to AoA, and within a minute or two to Classic Hall. We could walk through Classic Hall to the buses.
Thanks all for the great feedback! You’re making me feel much better about the busses! We put our deposit down tonight & purchased our flights down (return trips not open yet on Southwest). Time to start mapping out park days & ADRs!
We think the busing at POP is amazing. We rarely waited more than 10 minutes at any time, with the exception of one night leaving the park during a storm. Also, if the line for POP looks quite long and the AOA line is shorter, we will hop on the AOA bus. We bus to all our ADRs, if it’s at a different resort, we just grab whatever park bus comes first and then hop on the resort bus our ADR is at. The one downfall of POP is that the bus stop at the parks is the FURTHEST, but with so much walking, I don’t really see a few hundred yards as that big of a deal.
I would suggest visiting AOA one day for a meal, their food court is pretty good and has different selections over POP.
For Standard Room, I would suggest 70s lake view. We loved that section, quiet and the view was nice Our favorite spot even over preferred or preferred pool, which we have had to choose to get discounts the last couple trips.
A fun extra for the whole family is the Pirates and Pals cruise. You have a dessert party at the Contemporary and Captain Hook and Smee are there for photos. You take a boat out to see the electric water parade and watch the fireworks. When the boat docks, Peter Pan is there. The Pirates are fun for all ages.
We are heading back to POP in August. I can’[t wait.
I know you have decided already, but chiming in on the Pop, it is my favorite too. We do fewer longer (10+ day) trips, so saves lots on room cost at value resorts! Over 5+ trips I’ve had two bad bus experiences, but neither seemed PoP related, just something fouled up on scheduling. Both were trying to get from (now) Disney Springs back to PoP. Both times there were extra cast members milling around the bus stops the next day I believe to let folk vent a little, so they knew they messed up.
Our favorite building is #4 facing the lake. It isn’t a premium area, but very quiet and relatively quick to get to the buses and food. I’m hoping that building is refurbished now, so expecting it to be an even better experience in our upcoming trip.
Didn’t think of it until another post I read today, but like the idea of just getting the first bus (Pop or AoA) when coming back. Should have thought of that myself!
As long as we’re talking POP! - does anyone know the height (amount of free space) under the queen beds in the REFURBISHED rooms at POP! Century?
I have no idea who to ask this question to on the form, but hoped that maybe someone was going soon, or had just come back from a trip and knew the 411.
I have stayed both standard and preferred rooms at Pop. I always recommend preferred. Even if you learn every short cut on hotel grounds, you can’t beat the location of the preferred rooms - close to food court and transportation.
$100 is an awesome rate! Stop by the front desk, and get a resort map. Learn the short cuts. It’s not the largest resort on property, but it’s a lot of walking if you don’t find those short cuts.
Just reading along, we also booked 2 standard rooms at POP for our family and my mom, 2 of the 4 kids are staying with her. For the price given by MVT, it was too hard to pass up for this trip. We are just going sooner, one month form today! Glad to see all the positives about busing.
