Pop is nice. I like it, would be staying there if it wasnt for the pool being closed. Price is what I can afford. Movies is almost identical to Pop. Just being honest about the mulitple horrible experience in dining. Pop is home to groups. Groups cause waits. Pop always has groups.
We've stayed at Pop 3 times and AoA 4 times (always at the end of June, except for 1 trip that was in May). Never had any type of large group staying there when we were there (or at least none that we noticed). I know large groups do stay at Pop during certain times of the year, but my kids have been to Disney on band trips on 4 different occasions and they always stayed at one of the All Star resorts. And I know other kids who have gone on group trips there and have stayed at (or had the option to stay at) CSR, CBR, and POR. So it's not just Pop and not just the Values that get large groups.
When staying at Pop (7 nights each stay), we had lunch or dinner there every day of our stay. Never had a problem finding a table and never experienced crazy long lines. Did we wait a few minutes some times? Yes, but I don't remember ever waiting more than about 5 minutes. Even the year we were there in May and it rained almost constantly the entire 7 days and A LOT of people never left the resort -- we still never had issues with dining. When we stay at AoA, we still usually walk over to Pop for one or two meals during the week. Again, never had an issue with overwhelming crowds or crazy long lines for ordering or paying. In fact, it's usually quite the opposite when we're there.
You are far more tolerant than I would be. If I had "multiple horrible" experiences with dining at Pop (or any resort for that matter), I wouldn't be staying there again. If it was consistently bad on my first trip, I *might* chalk it up to bad timing on my part or possibly an issue (short staffed) on Disney's part. If it happened a 2nd time, I'd assume it was the norm and move on to another resort for my next stay. I would not continue to return to a place that I have major complaints about. That would not be a vacation I would look forward to or enjoy.
By the way, the All Star Resorts are typically $20-30/night less expensive than Pop, so you might consider trying those resorts the next time and hopefully avoid the horrible experiences you consistently have at Pop.
And please post your travel dates the next time you're staying at Pop, because I, and probably many others, want to make sure we aren't there during that time so we don't have to experience the overcrowding that seems to happen when you're there.
I hope your next stay is much better and maybe you can find a new "home" resort that better fits your expectations.