Review of Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Is Disney’s Pop Century resort the best value resort for your Disney World Vacation? In this post, I will share our experience and opinions of Pop Century Resort so you can decide if this resort is right for you.
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We found this resort to be super nostalgic and fun. While it is a Value resort, we were impressed with the property, the dining options, fun theming, and the rooms were surprisingly roomy and nice.
About Our Recent Stay At Disney’s Pop Century Resort
We visited the Pop Century Resort at Disney World in November of 2023 and I’ve stayed there several times since. In 2023 we stayed in building 5 on the top floor. This location was great for us. We could easily walk to the Skyliner and main building and it wasn’t loud.
Disney’s Pop Century is categorized as a value resort. The pricing is really good, although a bit higher than the All Stars resorts, probably due to the proximity to the Skyliner.
THEME & ATMOSPHERE:
Pop Century Resort is themed after the 20th-century American pop culture. There are 5 main areas each themed to a different 20th century decade. You’ll find the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Each area has several iconic items or decor from that century. The lobby has a great display from each century including art and shadow boxes. We enjoyed looking at old telephones, toys, and postcards from the past.
You will find lots of families staying at this resort due to the lower price point and theming.
LOCATION OF Pop Century Resort
This Disney resort has a nice location with access to the Skyliner, which is a highlight for many families. The Skyliner makes it super easy to get to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios as well as other resorts.
Map of Pop Century Resort
Click the Pop Century Map below to enlarge:
Transportation
The transportation at Pop Century is pretty basic with mostly bussing and access to the Skyliner. Getting to the parks was easy, even though some mornings the lines for the bus were very long, there were always plenty of busses to get everyone to the parks in the morning.
Don’t let the line for the skyline scare you in the morning. People line up pretty early and the line will look very intimidating. The lines for the Skyliner do move quickly once it is up and running.
The bus stop is in the front of the building with some seating, and buses generally come every 15-20 minutes. Our walk to the busses was only about 4 minutes.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO EACH PARK FROM Pop Century Resort?
- EPCOT can be reached using the Skyliner. This will take you to the International Gateway. The ride on the Skyliner is about 20 minutes. You will need to Transfer at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort to another Skyliner route.
- Magic Kingdom is about a 10-15-minute trip from Pop Century taking the bus.
- Hollywood Studios is a 15-minute trip on the Skyliner. During busier times you can expect it to take longer. You will need to Transfer at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort to another Skyliner route.
- Animal Kingdom is about a 20-minute bus ride from Pop Century.
Can You Walk Between Pop Century and Art of Animation Resorts
Art of Animation Resort is right across from Pop Century across the bridge that takes you to the Skyliner and over Hourglass Lake. It is a very short walk over the bridge to the Art of Animation resort.
Rooms At Pop Century Resort
The rooms at the Pop Century Resort are intended to fit up to four people with most rooms having one queen bed and one Queen-sized pulldown table bed (Murphy bed) or a single King bed.
ROOM OPTIONS AVAILABLE AT Pop Century Resort
- Standard Room: 1 queen bed and 1 queen-sized pulldown table bed or 1 King Bed. Views of the Resort or Parking Areas.
- Standard Pool View Room: 1 queen bed and 1 queen-sized pulldown table bed or 1 King Bed. Views of the Bowling Pool or Computer Pool.
- Preferred Room: 1 queen bed and 1 queen-sized pulldown table bed or 1 King Bed. Views of the Courtyard or Landscaping. Rooms are located close to the Main building with dining, shopping, and transportation.
- Preferred Pool View Room: 1 queen bed and 1 queen-sized pulldown table bed or 1 King Bed. Views of the Hippy Dippy Pool. Located close to the Main building with dining, shopping, and transportation.
ROOM FEATURES AND DECOR
The rooms at Pop Century were updated (in 2018 and now have a very clean modern look. The flooring is laminate which is nice since carpeting is much harder to keep clean. I also love that we can fit our bags under the queen bed.
The room is furnished with a murphy bed/table and 2 chairs, a good-sized dresser, and a cabinet that stores the safe and gives you a good amount of storage.
The bed is very comfortable and the Murphy bed has the same mattress so it was nice too. Most rooms at Pop Century Resort will also have the new “Hey Disney” Alexa gadget which is a fun new addition.
STORAGE IN THE POp Century Rooms
You will find plenty of plugs and USB outlets throughout the rooms. There are 2 USB and 2 standard plugs between the beds at the nightstand. You will also find 4 more USB and 4 more plugs at the dresser. This is so helpful if you’re charging phones, MagicBands, rechargeable power banks, fans, or other electronics.
Each room also comes with a Cuisinart coffee maker that will make a single cup of coffee using Joffrey’s Coffee pods that are provided. You’ll also receive Twinnings tea bags and a few coffee creamers and sugars.
Don’t hesitate to request a refill or extra coffees, teas, sugars, crears, cups, etc. Housekeeping is happy to refill your items during your stay. There’s also an ice bucket you can use and fill at the ice machines throughout the resort.
On the wall you’ll have a large television, giving you access to your favorite channels and Disney movies to unwind after a day exploring the parks.
There is a beverage cooler and some additional shelving which we used to store our resort food. You will also have storage in the single nightstand between the beds.
There are 4 hooks on the wall which we used to hold our backpacks, purses, and sweatshirts.
Beside the sinks in the bathroom area, there is a long curtain rod with about 10 to 15 hangers you can use to hang clothes. When we travel with our kids, we always bring a super convenient foldable closet organizer and a shoe organizer. This gives us extra storage for their clothes or shoes when there aren’t enough drawers for everyone.
THE BATHROOM LAYOUT AT POP Century Resort:
In the bathroom area, you will have a door to divide the toilet and tub/shower from the sink and counter area. You’ll also find a curtain that can be pulled closed to divide the room from the closet and sink. We found this very helpful in the mornings. It allowed us to get ready without disturbing the sleeping teenagers in the room. It also gave us an extra private area to get dressed.
The door to the toilet and shower was also nice. This way someone can be using the toilet or taking a shower while others are getting ready at the sinks.
You’ll always find Disney bath products (formerly H2O products) in the shower, including body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. You will also receive a bar of soap by the sink.
Storage in the bathroom area included an extra shelf at the vanity in front of the mirror, a cabinet, and shelves with plenty of storage and shelves below the sink. We used folding bins to corral our bathroom items. There is also a makeup mirror that lights up.
The closet area is beside the vanity. It is an open-concept closet with a long closet rod and about 10 hangers included. You can always request more hangers if you need them. The pole coming out of the right-hand side of this cabinet can be pulled out a little bit to extend your hanging storage. The locking safe is in this area too as well as an iron and ironing board.
In the bathroom you will find a hairdryer and iron in the cabinet.
Everything Pop Dining Hall
Pop Century’s Quick Service Dining Option
The quick-service dining option at POP Century Resort is at Everything Pop. You can start getting breakfast at 7am and the dining hall is open until 11:00pm. Breakfast items include Mickey Waffles, scrmbled eggs, omlettes, breakfast sandwiches, and more!
You can get everything from burgers, hot dogs, and pizza to Salmon, Sesame Chicken, and Greek Salad with Chicken. There is something for everyone at this value resort! Everything Pop was recently updated and there are some great changes I’ll share below:
The Food at Everything Pop Dining
I’ve enjoyed several things at Pop Century over the years.
Cheap eats at Pop Century Resort: My go-to breakfast at Pop is a simple side of scrambled eggs… not exciting but under $4 for a LOT of eggs! I’ve split an omlets on my recent trip and it was plenty! We were also impressed by the Garlic Bread Sticks they were huge and only $3.49
The famous tie-dyed cheesecake was actually delicious to my surprise, and the Mickey Cookies and Cream cupcake is delicious too.
Coffee, ice Cream, and Adult Beverages
Pop Century just opened their new Everything Pop Coffee Shop that offers specialty coffees and pastries, ice cream treats like milkshakes, cones, and sundeas, and in the evenings you can pick up an adult beverage here.
Get all the details and see more photos in my full review of Pop Century’s Everything Pop Coffee Shop here.
Mobile Ordering Food
Don’t forget you can order your phone throught the MyDisneyExperience app and pick up your food in the new coffee shop area.
Petals Pool Bar
Petals Poolbar is located at the Hippy Dippy pool and is usually open 11am – 11:30pm. This is a great spot to pick up a cocktail, or non alcoholic beverage. You can also fill up your resort mug here when you are hanging out at the pool. They offer a small menu, with a few sandwiches and a salad, or items like chips, Mickey Pretzel, charcuterie, and frozen treats.
The Pools At POP Century Resort
Dive into the fun at the Hippy Dippy Pool, Computer Pool and the Bowling pool. The kiddie pool is located behind the Hippy Dippy Pool.
Shopping at Pop Century
The shopping at Pop has gotten better each time I’ve visited. The new updates to the shopping area look great and there is a huge selection of souviners and Disney merchandise! This is helpful so you don’t have to shop in the parks if you’d like to avoid that.
Other Activities
POP Century Resort offers several activities. You can find updated information on the Recreation Calendar at the resort. The schedule will show you the days and times these activities are available.
Fast-Forward ARCADE
The Classic Hall Building by the Food Court.
THE PLAYGROUND AT POP Century Resort
The Playground at Pop Century is in the courtyard by Building 10.
Goofy CAMPFIRE:
Enjoy an evening campfire and roast a marshmallow under the twinkling stars. Join the campfire at the Goofy statue.
MOVIE UNDER THE STARS.
These usually happen at 8:30pm nightly by the Hippy Dippy pool.
The Cost To Stay At POP Century Resort Resort
Rooms cost vary from around $250 up to over $400 (for prime dates)
The cost of a room at POP Century Resort varies depending on the time of year, discounts available, or day of the week.
We’ve seen the average non-discounted pricing starting at $301.50/night
During our stay in September 2023, we scored great prices! Our weekday pricing was just $216/night. (weekends were $245). This was during an Annual Passholder discount which is offered occasionally throughout the year. I recently stayed at Pop Century with an AP Discount and paid under $200/night! Keep checking those dates for a better price!
Is POP Century Resort Good For Families?
I think POP Century Resort is a great resort for families or couples who prefer a more peaceful resort to come home to after a busy day at the parks. There is strong Disney Theming along with the retro vibes. Bright colors and decor are definitely family-friendly. Having the Skyliner for transportation is a huge help for those traveling with a stroller as, you don’t have to collapse most strollers like you would on the bus.
Bonus Tips For Staying At POP Century Resort:
Don’t forget to factor in the Early Theme Park Entry benefit available to resort guests. This allows you to enter the parks 30 minutes early on most days, giving you more time to ride the rides, eat the treats, and make lots of memories!
*Try to get to the bus stop an hour before the early park entry time to get to the park in time for “rope drop”.
Don’t forget to grab a resort pin or some beignet Minnie ears as a fun keepsake and souvenir from your stay at POP Century Resort!
Have you stayed at POP Century Resort? Share your experience in the comments below!
