The 60's section is the closest to the bridge to AoA. I had a room on the backside of 60's facing the lake, and I had booked standard, not preferred. I walked over to AoA a few times, and it was very simple. There are also buildings in the 50's and 70's that would not be much farther away. If you have booked standard, try requesting a "lake view" - that helps get you closer to AoA.
However, I wandered all over the resort, and the walk wasn't really all that bad from any of the buildings to the main building. I agree that cutting through the parking lot can shave off a few steps. I didn't have any transportation issues, and I had prepared myself for the fact that the value bus stops tend to be the farthest out when leaving the parks. As far as noise, I would hear the occasional toilet flush, but we have the air pressure toilets in our house, and they are much louder than anything I dealt with at Pop. I was not near enough to the main pool to hear any noise from there. I can say that my worst noise issues at WDW (and there haven't been many) were all at deluxe resorts. But they were due to inconsiderate guests, and could have happened anywhere.
I have stayed at all levels of resort, and had great vacations in all of them. It is important to research your resort choice and keep your expectations realistic. There is a difference between, say, the Poly and All Star Sports. You can't really compare them. You need to decide what amenities, room size, bed size, etc., will make a trip enjoyable for you, and then base your resort choice on that. I have five WDW trips this year - one at BWV in a one bedroom villa, two at POFQ, and two at Pop. Each resort choice was made based on what I need for that particular trip, whether it's a budget issue, or solo vs. family trip, or whatever. Last year, I had one at POFQ, one at Pop, one at AoA in a family suite and one at YC. They were all great.