POP Century~Unofficially the Grooviest FAQ Thread #9~November 2013

[stitchlovestink]

Disney is testing "Direct check in" at some of their resorts right now (June 16-June 28). And if they decide to keep it, you will get your room number in advance through an email or text.
It will allow the guests to go straight to the room and bypass check in all together. It is only a trial right now but if Disney decides to keep it as long as you have your My Disney Experience all set up, a credit card associated, you do your online check-in, and the you just wait for an email or text message that will have your room number on it. Your magic band will be activated as your room key and you can go straight to your room when you get there or you could go on to a park and your room would be accessible when you get back.
Sounds pretty cool

Well part of this isn't quite exactly accurate. You will not get your room number in advance. It will be sent when your room is ready and available for *you* to occupy it. If you do get that text early, you are a lucky one whose room was ready ahead of time! LOL
Otherwise it will be sent after the normal checkin time which is 3pm. Once the text is sent, your MB should function as a working room key.
Can you imagine the irate and annoyed guests who have a room number ahead of time and try to use their key to enter rooms before they are ready to be occupied?? That is why they won't send the info until it is ready for the next guest. Some people (just like if you were actually checking in at the Front Desk) will be fortunate and get early access to their room while others will have to wait until after the traditional check in time!
Will be interesting to see how it works out for them!

 

[KELLY]

I need to make a decision today. My grandson is joining us for 6 nights of the 16. I need to either upgrade to a moderate or we will just be for a few days. I'm not sure really what the right answer is and we are always so happy with pop. I don't want to get another room because at that point I might as well upgrade.

Total upgrade is around 1200.00 but that includes the upgraded dining. Which I don't really care about that either way. I already added him to our reservations at pop. He is 1 1/2 and sleeps in a real bed already so he would be sleeping with the girls. Dh is no help he said it will be fine but do whatever I want. I'm thinking 1200.00 is a lot of money. My girls have there own rooms at home but refuse to sleep without each other so they share a twin at home. LoL

 

[KNovacovschi]

Correct. You have to do online check in for this function to work. And you have to tell them about when you will be arriving on Site. You will receive the notification around the time you specified to arrive.

You also have to be living in the US. Which sucks. I have MBs from last year & would love to bypass checking in at the desk. I hope they keep it for those in the US, it would be very convenient.

 

[dpswift]

I need to make a decision today. My grandson is joining us for 6 nights of the 16. I need to either upgrade to a moderate or we will just be for a few days. I'm not sure really what the right answer is and we are always so happy with pop. I don't want to get another room because at that point I might as well upgrade.

Total upgrade is around 1200.00 but that includes the upgraded dining. Which I don't really care about that either way. I already added him to our reservations at pop. He is 1 1/2 and sleeps in a real bed already so he would be sleeping with the girls. Dh is no help he said it will be fine but do whatever I want. I'm thinking 1200.00 is a lot of money. My girls have there own rooms at home but refuse to sleep without each other so they share a twin at home. LoL

I agree that $1200 is a lot of money. Some things to consider. How many sit down meals do you plan on top of your QS plan? Will your girls and grandson be ok with sleeping together?

I know that many will say upgrade but if you know and love POP I would most likely stay put. We have only stayed at values since they were opened. It has been fine with us.

 

[KELLY]

I agree that $1200 is a lot of money. Some things to consider. How many sit down meals do you plan on top of your QS plan? Will your girls and grandson be ok with sleeping together?

I know that many will say upgrade but if you know and love POP I would most likely stay put. We have only stayed at values since they were opened. It has been fine with us.

We have 4 days were we are paying OP. So we plan to do t-Rex,rainforest,Ohana's breakfast and 1900. Then our package starts and we only have 2 planed Cp and H&V breakfast. So even those 2 come out to cheaper than what we would spend on tips.

If we upgrade we would just eat cheaper those 4 days and do all our TS the next 13.

My girls are 8 and 6 so they said they were fine sleeping with him. I have already triple checked that one.

 

[bluezy]

I need to make a decision today. My grandson is joining us for 6 nights of the 16. I need to either upgrade to a moderate or we will just be for a few days. I'm not sure really what the right answer is and we are always so happy with pop. I don't want to get another room because at that point I might as well upgrade.

Total upgrade is around 1200.00 but that includes the upgraded dining. Which I don't really care about that either way. I already added him to our reservations at pop. He is 1 1/2 and sleeps in a real bed already so he would be sleeping with the girls. Dh is no help he said it will be fine but do whatever I want. I'm thinking 1200.00 is a lot of money. My girls have there own rooms at home but refuse to sleep without each other so they share a twin at home. LoL

I would probably stay put at Pop. The sleeping arrangements for the kids might be a little tight -- 3 of them in a double bed. Would your grandson be willing to sleep on one of those inflatable toddler beds? That wouldn't take up much floor space and could easily be set in a corner and be out of the way during the day. One year at Pop, my 4 yo DD insisted on sleeping on the floor which did not sit well with me (only because I don't know what kind of "dirt" is there...I couldn't care less if she wants to sleep on a hard surface rather than a comfy bed). I called Mousekeeping and asked for extra sheets so I could cover a large area of the floor and didn't have to worry about her rolling on to the potentially gross carpeting.

 

[KELLY]

I would probably stay put at Pop. The sleeping arrangements for the kids might be a little tight -- 3 of them in a double bed. Would your grandson be willing to sleep on one of those inflatable toddler beds? That wouldn't take up much floor space and could easily be set in a corner and be out of the way during the day. One year at Pop, my 4 yo DD insisted on sleeping on the floor which did not sit well with me (only because I don't know what kind of "dirt" is there...I couldn't care less if she wants to sleep on a hard surface rather than a comfy bed). I called Mousekeeping and asked for extra sheets so I could cover a large area of the floor and didn't have to worry about her rolling on to the potentially gross carpeting.

My girls are 8 and 6 so it isn't like they are teenagers. I should have added that because when I say grandson people look at me funny. LoL. Yes we have a 23 year old and a 8 and 6 year old. I'm 39 and dh is 43. I don't look like grandma or feel like it.

But I do worry it will be tight. Plus I keep thinking we will have a stroller,diapers and extra clothes for him. I haven't had a stroller in over 2 years my girls have walked since they were 3 or 4.

It has been so long since we stayed at a moderate I can't remember if there is that much more floor space or not.

 

[SPOERLX3]

Well part of this isn't quite exactly accurate. You will not get your room number in advance. It will be sent when your room is ready and available for *you* to occupy it. If you do get that text early, you are a lucky one whose room was ready ahead of time! LOL
Otherwise it will be sent after the normal checkin time which is 3pm. Once the text is sent, your MB should function as a working room key.
Can you imagine the irate and annoyed guests who have a room number ahead of time and try to use their key to enter rooms before they are ready to be occupied?? That is why they won't send the info until it is ready for the next guest. Some people (just like if you were actually checking in at the Front Desk) will be fortunate and get early access to their room while others will have to wait until after the traditional check in time!
Will be interesting to see how it works out for them!

Thank you for the clarification stichlovesstink This definitely makes sense

There isn't a whole lot out there about it. I found this on the Port Orleans website:
"To qualify, guests with arrival dates between 16 and 28 June will need to have first created a My Disney Experience account, and already received their Magic Bands at home (meaning that this test will only be available to domestic US residents). The guests will also need to have completed Online Checkin, and paid in full prior to arrival - including setting up a PIN number for their account. Basically, everything you would normally do while standing at the Front Desk needs to have been completed in advance.

Any guests who meet these requirements will automatically receive a notification email a few days prior to arrival to make them aware of the test, and then an hour or so before their stated arrival time they will get a further text message and/or email indicating their assigned room number. They are then free to proceed directly to their room without any need to first call at the Front Desk."

And this on doctor disney:
"From there, guests at participating Disney Resorts will automatically receive a notification email a few days prior to arrival that will advise them of the test. About an hour or so before their arranged arrival time (done during online check-in), guests will receive a text message or email advising them of their room number.
Upon receiving the text or email, the MagicBands of the guests will be activated as room keys, park passes, for charging, dining, and everything else that goes along with them."

So looks like about an hour ahead of your check in which is a little earlier than going to the check in desk And yes, giving guests access before the rooms are ready would be a nightmare

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

My girls are 8 and 6 so it isn't like they are teenagers. I should have added that because when I say grandson people look at me funny. LoL. Yes we have a 23 year old and a 8 and 6 year old. I'm 39 and dh is 43. I don't look like grandma or feel like it. But I do worry it will be tight. Plus I keep thinking we will have a stroller,diapers and extra clothes for him. I haven't had a stroller in over 2 years my girls have walked since they were 3 or 4. It has been so long since we stayed at a moderate I can't remember if there is that much more floor space or not.

We brought my mother in law, my five year old, and our nine-month old at a room at Pop a few years ago, and it was completely fine for us. We had the pack and play between the bed and the wall, as well as a way-too-big double stroller in the room. Fast forward to last year when they boys were 6 And 10, and we brought the mother in law again and had a room at Riverside. Seemed much tighter at Roverside. Or could've just been too much time with the mother in law.

 

[KELLY]

We brought my mother in law, my five year old, and our nine-month old at a room at Pop a few years ago, and it was completely fine for us. We had the pack and play between the bed and the wall, as well as a way-too-big double stroller in the room. Fast forward to last year when they boys were 6 And 10, and we brought the mother in law again and had a room at Riverside. Seemed much tighter at Roverside. Or could've just been too much time with the mother in law.

Thanks we decided to stick with pop for now.

 

[bluezy]

My girls are 8 and 6 so it isn't like they are teenagers. I should have added that because when I say grandson people look at me funny. LoL. Yes we have a 23 year old and a 8 and 6 year old. I'm 39 and dh is 43. I don't look like grandma or feel like it.

But I do worry it will be tight. Plus I keep thinking we will have a stroller,diapers and extra clothes for him. I haven't had a stroller in over 2 years my girls have walked since they were 3 or 4.

It has been so long since we stayed at a moderate I can't remember if there is that much more floor space or not.

I didn't bat an eye at you having an 8 & 6 yo and having a grandchild. My kids range in age from 9 to 27. I could easily have a grandchild the same age as my youngest (but I don't....still waiting on that 27yo to commit to the girlfriend of 5 years. )

I think you'll be fine space wise with the room at Pop. It will be snug, but if you don't plan on spending much time in the room, it shouldn't be an issue. I suggest taking a few fabric collapsible bins (the kind that fold flat) with you to give you some extra space for clothing. We've stayed at Pop a few times (but always had 2 connecting rooms) and I like to unpack as much of our clothing as possible and now that there's a fridge in every room, they took away some of the drawers in the dresser so there's less storage space. I always used the bins for socks, undies, pj's, etc. and kept them on the shelf in the vanity area.

There used t be a website that had the dimensions of all of the different rooms at Disney. They also had the measurements of all of the furniture in the rooms and then told you the net square footage of "empty" floor space. I remember that the moderates had larger/more furniture so the difference in usable floor space was not significantly more than a value room. And that was before they put queen-size beds in the Mods. So, I don't think you'd be gaining much floor space by upgrading to a mod. You would, however, have larger beds if that makes a difference.

 

[SPOERLX3]

I didn't bat an eye at you having an 8 & 6 yo and having a grandchild. My kids range in age from 9 to 27. I could easily have a grandchild the same age as my youngest (but I don't....still waiting on that 27yo to commit to the girlfriend of 5 years. )

Me either! I have 5 kids, 38, 36, 35, 34 and when my baby was 10 I decided I wanted another one so our baby girl is 24! We also have 9 grandkids! 21, 17, 16, 14, 13, 13, 10, 7 & 3. Funny story.........my oldest son and his wife had my first granddaughter at 17 waited 7 yrs for their 2nd, he is 14 now but when he was 10, they decided no more kids (so they thought) and my DnL went to have her tubes tied and ooooops, she was pregnant!!! So my oldest grandchild and my youngest are both from the same set of parents! They keep us young (and super busy) and I wouldn't trade it for the world!!! Can't wait for our baby girl to have kids!

 

[Serin76]

Hey everybody! Planning for Feb 2015 and had a question.

I'm sure it's been asked and answered before but Googling hasn't been able to give me a clear answer. Do the buses both to and from Pop Century run on any kind of fixed schedule or do they basically just show up when there's a need to. I've been trying to research this "Magic on Demand" thing that's mentioned on the first page, but I can't really figure out how it applies.

Thanks much!

 

[dansdad]

Hey everybody! Planning for Feb 2015 and had a question.

I'm sure it's been asked and answered before but Googling hasn't been able to give me a clear answer. Do the buses both to and from Pop Century run on any kind of fixed schedule or do they basically just show up when there's a need to. I've been trying to research this "Magic on Demand" thing that's mentioned on the first page, but I can't really figure out how it applies.

Thanks much!

All buses run on an "On Demand" schedule. Meaning they pretty much run continuously but can be diverted if nobody's waiting at a certain resort but guests are piling up at another. The longest you should wait between buses is 20 minutes.

 

[jmehl]

Wondering if anyone has had a stay longer than 14 days at POP and had to to check out and back in on the same day. Since WDW only accepts at most 14 night stay for there vacation packages we split up into a 3 day and 13 day package with 2 ressies. The ressies are for the same room type (Preferred Pool Room) and I was informed they put a note on file that they are linked but not sure how it will work coming the day we check out and check in. Can someone provide some insight. Thanks

 

[Mome Rath]

Hey everybody! Planning for Feb 2015 and had a question.

I'm sure it's been asked and answered before but Googling hasn't been able to give me a clear answer. Do the buses both to and from Pop Century run on any kind of fixed schedule or do they basically just show up when there's a need to. I've been trying to research this "Magic on Demand" thing that's mentioned on the first page, but I can't really figure out how it applies.

Thanks much!

As a PP said, all buses to all resorts just show up when there's a need, not just to POP. During really busy times and hours they tend to just keep 'em coming, with the usual slow downs when they have something going on, such as loading wheelchairs, scooters, etc... During slower hours and times you may indeed have a wait at any park, or any hotel for a bus, wait times vary, but I find if there isn't one there at POP right when you walk out to the bus stop, it can be anywhere from 3-25 min til another shows up.

 

[SPOERLX3]

Wondering if anyone has had a stay longer than 14 days at POP and had to to check out and back in on the same day. Since WDW only accepts at most 14 night stay for there vacation packages we split up into a 3 day and 13 day package with 2 ressies. The ressies are for the same room type (Preferred Pool Room) and I was informed they put a note on file that they are linked but not sure how it will work coming the day we check out and check in. Can someone provide some insight. Thanks

We didn't have a 14+ night stay but we did have a room only for one night + an 8 day stay twice. Once we had to change rooms, the second time we didn't. Both times, I simply went down early in the morning (before we went to the park and while everyone else was getting ready) checked out and back in, the first time the CM said they would try and keep us in the same room but could not guarantee it and if they had to move us, they would move our bags to our new room for us and all we needed to do was have our bags ready and stop by on our way back in from the parks. Easy peasy! We did have to move and it was really that simple. We had our bags all ready (we didn't unpack just in case-just our park cloths for the next day), we left for the parks, we stopped by the desk when we came back from the park and was told they had moved us and gave us our new room keys (before magicbands).The 2nd time when I went to check out and back in, I was going down knowing what to expect but the CM asked if we wanted to stay in our same room and I said sure! That was it, so we didn't have to move rooms. Not sure how it works with magicbands but I would think it would be about the same and you may not have to stop by the desk to get a room key since they can activate your magicband.

 

[KELLY]

Wondering if anyone has had a stay longer than 14 days at POP and had to to check out and back in on the same day. Since WDW only accepts at most 14 night stay for there vacation packages we split up into a 3 day and 13 day package with 2 ressies. The ressies are for the same room type (Preferred Pool Room) and I was informed they put a note on file that they are linked but not sure how it will work coming the day we check out and check in. Can someone provide some insight. Thanks

I'm a sem pro at this one. We go for 17 days. The past 2 years we kept the same room. This year we have a 2 night RO followed by 14 night FD reservation. We just go down to the front desk on check out day and check back in. Pretty simple. I would say to try together there before 7 am as sometimes the lobby gets pretty packed by 9am. I also do online check in on both reservations. We had 2 separate boxes of MB and they just activated the new ones at check in.

 

[Missymouse18]

We stay at Pop every year and we have never waited more than 7 or 8 minutes for a bus. They pretty much run regularly, although most resorts claim "regularly, never more than 20 minutes apart."

 

[shyjade]

We have stayed at AKL, Poly, ASMo and Pop. I can say hands down, Pop's but service was the best we have experienced. And we are park hoppers so we used the bus a several times each day. We never had to stand on a bus and at park closing there was always a 2nd bus waiting to load when the first one filled and left.


Coincidentally and totally unrelated, ME service to Pop was the longest we've ever waited at the airport, but the line was super long and we had to wait for 3 buses before it was finally our turn to board.