Disney's POP CENTURY RESORT Information & Questions

[lovethattink]

I started the Pop Century part of my trip report. Page 3.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/a-whole-new-world-disney-during-a-pandemic.3807109/

 

[fla4fun]

I just got home yesterday. They were doing a lot of landscape work, including trimming of the large trees, around the 80’s and 90’s buildings, so if they aren’t open yet, I figure they will be soon. My first thought was that they were prepping for the holiday weekend. I was in the 60’s for this trip, so I didn’t get to that end of the resort as much as usual. Normally I request that area because of the convenient parking. It was a hike from the 60’s to parking, especially with heavy bags.

I did hear them doing different trivia games at the main pool most days.

 

[katyringo]

@katyringo We have 8:15 res there in 2 weeks and I asked about Skyliner hours and was told they'll run 2 hours past park closing...which will be 7 that day. So until I'm down there and see that it's longer...we're gonna drive over.

thank you. I am hoping to be able to snag an earlier time in beaches but so far no luck. We plan to head straight there from magic kingdom that day. It’s kinda bummer the skyliner doesn’t run later.

 

[wendyt10]

Is it worth it to stay in a Preferred room?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Is it worth it to stay in a Preferred room?

It’s personal choice. The resort isn’t very big but if you want to ensure you are closer to buses, Skyliner and the main building it might be worth it to you.

Personally we choose standard and only twice in 25+ stays were we ever in rooms that were more of a walk than we would have liked and once that was because we wanted a refurbished room early in in the refurbishment process.

 

[tnolan]

Just a couple weeks ago, we were there for our standard room and got put in building 1 which was plenty close to the main building.

 

[Disneylover99]

Is it worth it to stay in a Preferred room?

We’ve stayed in standard and preferred at Pop and I prefer standard.

The preferred rooms are mostly on well travelled paths or facing the courtyard where the maid carts are. They are noisier when you are on the ground floor, but if you are on an upper floor, that noise is probably a non issue.

 

[tinkerbella16]

Last we heard the 50’s 60’s and 70’s were open so buildings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10.

We have not been advised that the 80’s and 90’s (buildings 7, 8 and 9) have been reopened.

If anyone has stayed in buildings 7, 8 or 9 since everything reopened, please let us know.

I was watching some vloggers that were live from Pop Century last weekend and their room was in building 9 in the 90's section, so I know that is open as well. Not sure about the 80's.

 

[Julie Amber]

I was watching some vloggers that were live from Pop Century last weekend and their room was in building 9 in the 90's section, so I know that is open as well. Not sure about the 80's.

We checked in for our stay starting on Sept 14 yesterday and where you put in your building preference, it only gave me the option of 50's, 60's, or 70's

 

[lynzi2004]

Going to post some info on our trip on the just back thread on the main board tomorrow, but wanted to post some things about POP that we noticed on our weekend trip. Hopefully it helps someone else.

Aug 28-31 Friday-Monday
ME was quick, with assigned seats and no other stops. About 15 people on the bus. Room not ready (10:30am so not necessarily expecting, but hoping!)
Skyliner service to Epcot around 11am was prompt and efficient. About a 2-3 min wait to board to go home about 9:45ish?

Skyliner service to HS on Saturday was not! We lined up at 8:10 and were the 2nd to last group on the bridge. Everyone was socially distanced, many quietly eating breakfast, visiting very relaxed. Testing Skyliner the whole time. Even collected a couple ECVs to have them ready to load. No idea what happened but, At 8:40 they stood on the bridge and said we’d have to use buses. A mad dash to the front ensued. Luckily, we were able to stay near the front. I’m not sure how long the line stretched back. Just a side note, at 8:45 the AK line was super long and bus after bus was coming but it was wrapped everywhere. Same thing for MK. The line was really long! Skyliner was about a 5 min wait afterpark close and no wait at the transfer station.

Used the chat feature 2-3 times for coffee, shampoo, etc and it worked great and we always had what we needed when we got back to the room.

Sunday we lined up for MK at 7:10 and were the 4th group in line. Same thing, everyone social distanced, ate breakfast/coffee, very pleasant wait as it was cloudy. The first bus came at 8am and was a double bus. Line really started to grow by 7:30 so if you want first bus on the weekend I would aim for no later than 7:15. We had to wait for temp/bag check to open but were Some of the first in the park. Return service that Night was great but we lingered till about 8:30pm and walked right on a bus.

AK was our last day. At bus stop at 6:55am but were 5-6 families back and missed the first bus at 7:15. Second bus came about 7:25 and we were on it. Still had plenty of time to get to all the rides as they were walkon. The bus line did grow quickly as we were boarding. Walked right on a bus at 2pm as we were leaving to catch ME at 4pm.

Watched fireworks on the tv from 6-10pm each night on a continuous loop. Channel 74?

Didnt do quick service at the resort, but at high meal times there was pretty big group waiting. Never had to wait to get into everything pop. There did seem to be a fairly long line at the check in desk most days when we walked past (all times of day) so use the chat feature if it applies!

Any questions, just asK!

 

[NavyDad]

Is it worth it to stay in a Preferred room?

In my opinion it is not worth it at all. The only reason to do it is if you really, really want to be as close as possible to the main pool and main building.

We always stay in the 50's building. I request a room on the back side and have never had a problem getting it. The 50's and 70's buildings are very close to everything with some of the rooms maybe being 100 feet longer walk to the main pool or the food court. If you are over in the 80-90's buildings they are technically a lot farther away but honestly there is a short cut form there that makes getting to the buses and food court super quick and easy.

 

[scrappinginontario]

There was one trip where my brother and SIL were 'upgraded' to Preferred and their room was more steps from everything than ours was due to the placement of the rooms and the elevators.

 

[olwyngdh]

I am one of those people who always does preferred and requests ground floor. When my daughter was little it was so it was close to carry her back to the room after she passed out on the bus. Now it is just for convenience. With two scooters not having to deal with distance after all day in the parks and praying the battery back to the room and not having to cope with the elevator, effectively adding distance, is good for us.

 

[shu24]

Is it worth it to stay in a Preferred room?

I'll add in my 2cents. We felt a preferred room was nice to have. Mostly we stay Standard, but chose Preferred when my mom was with us to save steps. We had a room in the 60s section pretty close to the pool but on an upper floor. Our other stays in standard rooms were: 70s three times where it was just as easy of a walk without having to pay more and 80s where I was regretting not forking over more $ for a preferred. If you end up in a standard in 50s, 60s, 70s you are usually in good shape. But you do take a chance of getting the 80s or 90s which is a long walk. I know people talk about shortcuts, but that is often to cut through the parking lot and at night that is out of my comfort zone.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I'll add in my 2cents. We felt a preferred room was nice to have. Mostly we stay Standard, but chose Preferred when my mom was with us to save steps. We had a room in the 60s section pretty close to the pool but on an upper floor. Our other stays in standard rooms were: 70s three times where it was just as easy of a walk without having to pay more and 80s where I was regretting not forking over more $ for a preferred. If you end up in a standard in 50s, 60s, 70s you are usually in good shape. But you do take a chance of getting the 80s or 90s which is a long walk. I know people talk about shortcuts, but that is often to cut through the parking lot and at night that is out of my comfort zone.

I completely agree! After staying in building 7 once I said 'never again!!' They tried to put us there the following trip but I requested to be moved and found out the 70's (Buildings 6 and 10) are a great place to stay!!

I'm with you. Although some don't mind cutting through the parking lot, it's not my preference. In my case mainly because I carry a backpack and would be absolutely sick if I accidentally scratched a car so we choose to walk around the parking lot on the path.

 

[vadersprincess12]

Hello ~ how have things been at POP for the last few weeks ~~ has it been really crowded? Also wondering how the food court has been working. Thanks.

 

[JoelB]

We stayed in building 7 on our first stay at Pop last year. Even without cutting through the parking lot, it's not bad -- especially if you're just going to/from the bus stop. However, I think the 80s/90s are less desirable now because of their distance from the Skyliner compared to the other sections.

When we toured the resort, I thought the 70s seemed just about ideal for our tastes, but we may end up requesting the 50s for our upcoming trip since the Skyliner queue snakes around that way.

Thanks to everybody that's been sharing their recent experiences!

 

[pointybubble]

We are staying in a preferred room for the first time this weekend. I requested ground floor rooms because with a double stroller and a scooter in our group, that's waiting for 2 elevators every trip up/down. We've never tried preferred because it has never been available- most of our trips are fairly last minute. We've been stuck on the back of buildings 2, 7 and 8 plenty of times and are thrilled to be much closer to the main building & skyliner this time. That double stroller weighs well over 120lbs with kids and gear on it so every step counts!

 

[IluvMGM]

So we had our first HS day today. We got to the skyliner around 7:50 and were 5th in line. Around 8:45 they let us on and when we got to Caribbean Beach we were maybe 12 or 13th in line. They let us go right into the line, we didn't have to wait for CB people. The line quickly built up behind us with both Pop and CB and Riviera people. Around 9 they let us board and then we waited in line at temp check until 9:15 when we were then able to quickly move through temp check, security, and the main gate. We went right to Minnie & Mickey and were maybe 15th in line and they let us on a little after 9:30. Lots of waiting in lines for things to start moving, but it worked out well, had plenty of time to ride M&M and score a boarding pass. I think we will stick to the same plan for our next 2 DHS days.

 

[fla4fun]

Hello ~ how have things been at POP for the last few weeks ~~ has it been really crowded? Also wondering how the food court has been working. Thanks.

I did not think the resort was excessively crowded. I did not go to the parks right at rope drop or stay until close, so that may have made a difference in my perception. The times I ate in the food court, I would place my order early, and then click the I am here about ten minutes before I expected to be at the food court. I did not have any issues with lines there either, but I did make an effort to try to get dinner before the parks were closing. There were very few people eating inside or outside. I think a lot of people took orders to their rooms to eat or something.

I was very mindful of times and places I felt crowds could gather and tried to avoid them. It felt a bit like when I would travel during the “tour group season”. The tour groups never bothered me either, but I made a point of going the opposite direction. I even managed to go to DS one day and didn’t have any bus issues. I got there about 11:00 and left about 4:00 before the post park crowds arrived.

It was different, and I wish more things were open, but it was fun and I am very glad I went. My trip was the 18th - 29th.