Staying at the Values.. like staying in a Mall!

[flynnibus]

Ok, so I'm wrapping up a 2 day trip here.. my first stay at a value. We are staying at the Pop Century. All my previous stays have pretty much been at what are now termed 'deluxe' properties. Poly, Contemp, Beach Club, and the Shades of Green (not a deluxe).

The property itself isn't bad.. the rooms are unfortunatly nothing more then a holiday inn express.. except the mickey bed cover and toliettries. Its actually worse in some ways.. no queen beds.. really basic furniture and small bathroom.

My beef is this is nothing like a 'resort'. It's more like living in the mall.

Its loud. The lobby is always a chaotic movement of people.. and loud. The Food court is REALLY loud.. and the shops and food are in the same space. Kids running rampent.. kids skateboarding on the curbs.. The pool deck is nothing special (only looking at the 'main' one in the 60s area). Even here at this time of year when the place should be pretty empty.. its still pretty loud with lots of people all over the place. I can't imagine what 'capacity' must feel like.

I wasn't expecting much.. I mean we are only here after the parks close anyways.. but there isn't even a hot tub to soak in! This is really just a really big motel.. not even much of a HOtel

Guess next time I come down for just a few days.. I'll just stay offsite and at least feel the hotel is relaxing.

I'll be a the Gaylord for the rest of the week.. that will feel like a REAL resort compared to this

[WDW1974]

I don't disagree with any of that ... but what did you expect?

As an intelligent, Disney regular, I would have thought you'd kind of know what you were getting yourself into.

I only stay at the 'values' when I'm spending most of my time in the parks and just need a bed and shower.

FWIW, the newly renovated rooms at All-Star Music are MUCH nicer than Pop, which is much more basic although the room size is identical.

Enjoy Gaylord. It is a great hotel and on par or better than most WDW deluxe resort's ... more adult too!

[TDLFAN]

My beef is this is nothing like a 'resort'. It's more like living in the mall.

...And tacky ones at best. Where's Tiffany when you need her???

[All Aglow]

We loved the Pop Century when we stayed there. But then, I had the kids with me and I knew exactly what I was getting into before going. The room was plenty of room for the 5 of us for the amount of time we were in it each day, the pools were fun and walking around looking at all of the deco was awesome. We actually went back to eat at the food court each day because we liked it so much.

To each his own, I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it. I can't wait to go back, although next time we'll have to get 2 rooms or a suite since the youngest is over 3 now.

[flynnibus]

I don't disagree with any of that ... but what did you expect?

I expected no perks.. but at least some class. Its clean.. its different.. but its certainly like going through the town mall.

I only stay at the 'values' when I'm spending most of my time in the parks and just need a bed and shower.

I chose it this time just to experience it really. Having only stayed at more 'traditional' resorts I wanted to see how the values stacked up. And since we didn't have the kids with us this time, there was no real hassle with anything. Just roll with it and see what happens.

Enjoy Gaylord. It is a great hotel and on par or better than most WDW deluxe resort's ... more adult too!

I was there last year for the same event as I'm going for this year. It's a nice place.. huge. At least they have multiple hot tubs I can relax in after a long days work

[flynnibus]

We loved the Pop Century when we stayed there. But then, I had the kids with me and I knew exactly what I was getting into before going.

I have 3 children of my own. Of course I have to keep up with all their activities and locations, so I'm used to kid-friendly as well. However, I also expect people to keep their kids in synch with the surroundings. Obviously many people feel this place is a playground where the kids just run rampent.

Thank god we are staying at the end, past the pools.. otherwise the noise from the pool deck would really be an issue.

We actually went back to eat at the food court each day because we liked it so much.

The diversity of stuff to select from is interesting.. they seem to be expanding. However, at the same time.. its kind of funny looking at stuff how they tag it. A candy bar = 'snack' on the DDP now? How sad.

To each his own, I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it. I can't wait to go back, although next time we'll have to get 2 rooms or a suite since the youngest is over 3 now.

For us. the Shades of Green is an option. It doesn't have all the theming in the public areas that Pop has.. but the actual amenities are actually nicer (sans the food court). If they had done the lobby, food court, and shopping differently, I probably would have felt a good bit different. But going through the 'mall' every night when tired really detracts from the stay IMO. Not much 'soothing' here.

[SCUBAbe]

When i saw the decor and motel type exteriors I knew i didn't like the value hotels. However, I was still considering them for my trip.

Thank you for sharing your experience, now I know not to stay there. Staying in a sucky hotel can really put a damper on the trip.

[flynnibus]

When i saw the decor and motel type exteriors I knew i didn't like the value hotels. However, I was still considering them for my trip.

I like the exterior stuff.. mainly because its not what you find at a Marriott, etc. Its not really gaudy when you don't have to live with it all the time. Its cute and fun to explore the various things. I like that portion of the resort. I like Disney being 'different'.

I'm not a snob who if there isn't poolside waiters.. I'm screaming bloody murder.. but I do prefer 'personal space'. Loud open food courts aren't my cup of tea.. and the entire 'main building' feels like the food court in your area mall.

My favorite is still Beach Club.. however its still really tough to beat Poly's combination of monorail and TTC access.

The pool alone at Beach Club really epitimizes Disney for me.

[philip]

Ok, for that you pay for, I actually think the value resorts gave me pretty good values. I stayed at All Star Sports, and I loved seeing the resort filled with crowds and energy, and it actually becomes quiet once you leave the main building and walk into the separate wings of the hotel where your room is located.

For me, it feels good to be surrounded by people and to feel the energy in the air. I also stayed at Portfino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando for 3 days in 2003 during the labor day weekend, and that place was DEAD and EMPTY. I didn't even feel like I was at a theme park resort.

[SCUBAbe]

I like the exterior stuff.. mainly because its not what you find at a Marriott, etc. Its not really gaudy when you don't have to live with it all the time. Its cute and fun to explore the various things. I like that portion of the resort. I like Disney being 'different'.

I'm not a snob who if there isn't poolside waiters.. I'm screaming bloody murder.. but I do prefer 'personal space'. Loud open food courts aren't my cup of tea.. and the entire 'main building' feels like the food court in your area mall.

My favorite is still Beach Club.. however its still really tough to beat Poly's combination of monorail and TTC access.

The pool alone at Beach Club really epitimizes Disney for me.

...but pool side waiters are the best...

I don't have a lot of patience for children...so running screaming kids would do me in really fast. I stayed at a hotel on harbor once and the room right above our was letting their kids run and jump on our ceiling until 3am and they were up at 6am doing it all over again. I got so angry I called the room and the father was,..."yeah...so, we're on vacation. the kids are having fun."...how special and they are ruining everyone eles trip around them. We serioulsy got to know our other neighbors well when we all came out to discuss the noise. The front desk would not do anything and we have not been back to that hotel.

[SCUBAbe]

For me, it feels good to be surrounded by people and to feel the energy in the air. I also stayed at Portfino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando for 3 days in 2003 during the labor day weekend, and that place was DEAD and EMPTY. I didn't even feel like I was at a theme park resort.

note to self...stay here...

[flynnibus]

Ok, for that you pay for, I actually think the value resorts gave me pretty good values

If all I wanted was value.. there are tons of offsite stuff that give that. Right now I'm paying 'peak' rates which means $115 or so a night. Cheap by Deluxe standards, but not excessivly cheap. The same money would have gotten at least 2 grades of class higher offsite. Unfortunatly the price just is so high to the preferred places (350+/night) that means I'll probably be at the shades of green more in the future when I can. It's tough to justify spending more on the hotel alone then I spent for the ENTIRE week long trip for my family last year.

My next 2 day dodge down here may be to Universal just to compare. Haven't been there since before IoA.

[SweetPeaRules]

Ok, so I'm wrapping up a 2 day trip here.. my first stay at a value. We are staying at the Pop Century. All my previous stays have pretty much been at what are now termed 'deluxe' properties. Poly, Contemp, Beach Club, and the Shades of Green (not a deluxe).

The property itself isn't bad.. the rooms are unfortunatly nothing more then a holiday inn express.. except the mickey bed cover and toliettries. Its actually worse in some ways.. no queen beds.. really basic furniture and small bathroom.

My beef is this is nothing like a 'resort'. It's more like living in the mall.

Its loud. The lobby is always a chaotic movement of people.. and loud. The Food court is REALLY loud.. and the shops and food are in the same space. Kids running rampent.. kids skateboarding on the curbs.. The pool deck is nothing special (only looking at the 'main' one in the 60s area). Even here at this time of year when the place should be pretty empty.. its still pretty loud with lots of people all over the place. I can't imagine what 'capacity' must feel like.

I wasn't expecting much.. I mean we are only here after the parks close anyways.. but there isn't even a hot tub to soak in! This is really just a really big motel.. not even much of a HOtel

Guess next time I come down for just a few days.. I'll just stay offsite and at least feel the hotel is relaxing.

I'll be a the Gaylord for the rest of the week.. that will feel like a REAL resort compared to this

So sorry to hear it was that bad. OT: How was Shades of Green?

[flynnibus]

OT: How was Shades of Green?

I would equate it to a 'holiday inn select' or any 3 star business hotel you'd stay in. Decently sized rooms, clean, upkept (it was renovated not too long ago), walking (but long walk) distance to TTC/Poly. Its what I want in a 'room only' place at Disney, but it lacks any Disney theming.

But you still get all 'on property' perks including transport, ticket counter on site, etc. So you get all the benefits of a decent hotel.. with the onsite perks.. but no 'disney-spin' to anything. It could use more food options, but most Disney hotels could.

[SweetPeaRules]

TY I did look at their site and it looked very nice.