Disney's Pop Century Resort — Hotel in Bay Lake

Pretty bad! Stop listening or believing these Disney influencers... Disney is not what it use to be. Stayed late August 2024 and man was it bad. When I got there early Tuesday morning the room was surprisingly ready. I had requested a ground floor room since I was with a toddler by myself but they said they couldn't accommodate that. That's fine. Got to the room and there was no water. We had reservations so needed to leave straight to the parks so I let the front desk know (about 11ish in the morning). They said they'd fix it. We return about 9ish at night. I went to the front desk to ask the status of the problem just so I didn't have to walk back to the room just to walk back to the lobby. They said it was fix but the water might be a little cloudy but to let it run for a bit if it is. Got to the room and the water was almost black. I'm shocked how in 10 hours they couldn't just run the water themselves to prevent a customer from seeing that. I ran the water for almost an hour. That same night I called the lobby to confirm the first bus out to magic kingdom since i had reservations at the park for 8:00am breakfast. Apparently they said the first shuttle was at 7:30a but the first customer service person was unsure and kept saying "I think", "I believe". I said it made no sense how Disney would make a reservation at 8am that a person staying at their resort couldn't get to in time...since the fine print says to get there before the time or they can't guarantee it. He said he'd ask the transportation desk to call me to try and accommodate a different form of transportation. I waited...now almost 10:00a trying to put a toddler to sleep, the transportation desk person called giving me attitude repeating "first bus is at 7:30a or you can pay for other transportation to come and get you". Her attitude was appalling for disney customer service. I asked to speak to the manager and she said "he's busy". At that point I was mad and said well you better tell him to un-busy himself unless you want a very pissed off customer going to the lobby with a sleepy toddler starting a show emphasizing on the black water in my room. She said she'd have the manager call as soon as he could. I waited and waited and waited and came 11:00pm and at that point the baby was asleep and I wasn't going to have this person call (if he did) and wake up the kiddo. I put the phone off the hook. Next morning I saw the phone had a message and behold the manager called at 11:30pm knowing I had a toddler sleeping. I was only staying one more night and at that point I just knew disney was just a mess. The room was filthy, the "clean" towels had human hair stuck to it, the shower looked like it had never been clean with mildew everywhere, people were smoking pot and cigarettes in the balcony of our hallways, the pool was closed for "unknown" reasons on our 2nd night which made a lot of people angry, and the next morning the pool was still closed where they were cheesy "training" employees to be lifeguards....while customers looked on mortified. Food court continues to be closed BUT to add fuel to the fire, they upped prices of the mobile ordering so you could at least have some option of food at the hotel. With the whole shuttle info mess, when I got there 15 minutes before 7:30a to get the "first shuttle" out of the resort, I found out the first shuttle had left at 7:11am. I (and apparently a few other people in line) were incredibly angry. The bus didn't come til 7:44am. I was late to my reservation by 20 minutes then had to wait another 15 minutes. Disney has fallen to the pits....this is only a review of the crap resort. Not the crap experience at the parks which was anything but magical like Disney use to be. Will never stay here again nor be returning to disney until it gets back to what...

I was meeting my family here who were driving from a different location. I live a lot closer and my sister asked me to bring a small box fan to the room since there are no ceiling fans in them. My sister checked in online so I already had a room # and room key (your phone is supposed to unlock the door) upon arrival. I get to the room and the door will not unlock. So I have to walk to the lobby to simply get a key. When I get there I see a super long line because it is peak check in time. I hang back just waiting for a concierge or manager who can just scan me a room key so I can get in our room. Well I get told that I have to wait in the regular check in line. Keep in mind this will probably take 30+ minutes. I say I just need a key and do not need to wait in that line since I am already checked in. We go back and forth until they send over a supervisor who I can barely understand since she is still wearing a cloth facemask in 2025. She tells me the same thing. I say I simply need a key and I know for a fact that only takes less than a minute. After a whole lot of back and forth, she finally goes behind the desk and has SOMEONE ELSE stop what they are doing and assign a room key, all while telling me that I am basically in the wrong and inconveniencing other guests who have not even checked in yet. I am an annual passholder and we paid for an upgraded room. Not sure why this wasn't an easy in and out solution and took so much effort. Oh and my mother and sister had to do the exact same thing around midnight when they finally arrived later that evening. Then the next day, I had to leave in the morning for work and come back around lunch. I go to the middle lane at the guard shack and my magic band will not work. I am trying to make the bus to Magic Kingdom and meet my family. I am in a hurry and tell the lady as much. After what felt like showing everything but my medical history, the lady finally said okay but wanted to tell me how to fix my magic band later. I said "ma'am I am in a hurry! Can you please just open the gate?" She literally says A THANK YOU WOULD BE NICE! I said I do not need to say thank you, I just need the gate open! She chuckles and says WELL YOU ARE GONNA BE WAITING A WHILE THEN and walks away. Gate closed and I am just sitting there. I blow the horn a few times and nothing. Finally, frustrated beyond belief and not knowing what else to do, I pull in to the bus lane, thinking she'll have to let me in now since there are going to be buses behind me needing to get in. Oh and also because I am a hotel guest and she knows this. She still doesn't let me or the buses full of people in and eventually two separate security vehicles show up. I don't know what kind of lies this lady told them on the radio but once I explained myself and showed them that I was a guest and she wouldn't let in bc I did not say thank you, they were in shock as well and told her to open the gate and let me go, which she did although arguing with them both in front of guests. I have been coming to Disney my whole life and never experienced anything like that from a cast member. I blame leadership, hiring practices and lack of training. That evening at Hollywood Studios my mother fell and I just wanted a bag of ice so she could put on her hand and keep the swelling down. I asked three separate cast members and not a single one was able to help me nor willing to say "hold on, I do not have any here but I will call someone that can get you some." I have another stay booked at another resort very soon and will probably cancel because I highly doubt I will even get a response to this review. The Disney I grew up with isn't...

Recently in the last 3 years I have discovered the charm, magic and ease of staying at a Disney Resort. Previously while visiting Disney since 1986 , my family had timeshare very close to Disney. I finally convinced my husband to come with me to Disney ( he's not a fan ). Disappointed is how I would catergorgize this latest experience. The kitchen is closed. Why wouldn't you tell me this when I booked my trip? Mobile ordering is the ONLY option you basically are given a brown bag with all your food in there. * similar to Chipotle carry out* and if you ask for a substitution ie: no peppers or onions they rudely and I mean RUDELY shoo you away. When I can go to McDonald's for better customers service. We have a problem. My room key didn't work. It was spartatic at best. It no less than 3 - 20 tries to get into the room every time NO EXCEPTIONS. Waited to get a new key was told there was nothing wrong with my key " it was green". The room itself was wet, very very WET! The humidity was seeping into the room and destroyed half the snacks I had brought on the trip. Shaking my head. So much for disney magic. Why in the world is Disney cutting corners on staffing? Went to Disney Springs , hopped on a line * a long line * to catch a bus back. The people on line were already there for about 25 minutes. We were at least 3 buses back in line. * educated guessing on this one * we proceeded to wait no less than 25 minutes ourselves. Nobody came and told us why the delay. With one exception of a bus driver telling us " we are under staffed. Hurricane Season has arrived in Orlando! When you travel to Disney at this time of the year and complain about rain you should honestly get your head examined 😆. It happens Disney can not control the rain any more than they can control crying babies, or rude guests. BUT when the only mode to get to a park is a skyliner that will NOT, can NOT run in the rain w/ lightning. And you are in the SEASON of RAIN and LIGHTNING. Why Disney doesn't have a back up plan for these moments is honestly BEYOND LOGICAL OR ACCEPTABLE. They put in the skyliner on 9/29/19. In 5 full years of operation, no back up plan has been created?! We left MGM right before a storm. Got to the transition terminal and that's where we were for 49 minutes. No Disney employee came to explain what was happening. Just a general promise of rerouting buses to pick us up. *side note we waited so long for " the rerouted bus fairy that never came " the storm passed and the skyliner started moving again. Just off the top of my head some possible ways to ease the stress and increase guest ratification.... A. Put up TV monitors with a weather option with a Disney flair , give guest an idea how long before this thing starts moving again. B. Attend to the guest make small talk . C. Be honest and informative D. Instead of cutting corners due to lower attendance, keep the same level of service year around , keep a fleet of bus drivers on staff at the skyliner , ready to go at a moments notice! E. Look at the weather forecast and plan ahead. My love story with Disney is coming to an. end. It doesn't mean I will never revisit for a day here or there. It doesn't mean I won't look back and smile. But what it does mean is that when I plan my next trip (2025) I will be looking for other options. The magic has been lost to the growth and expansion. It has lost its original charm...