Review: Disney’s Pop Century Resort
The Value Resorts Pop Century Movies Sports Music
OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT
“Pop Century Resort is Disney’s…best value resort.”–Bob Sehlinger & Len Testa, The Color Companion to Walt Disney World
We’ve stayed at Disney’s Pop Century Resort half a dozen times, most recently earlier this year.
This stay confirms what this site has recommended since the day it was launched: for those who can’t afford a deluxe resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort is the best place to stay.
You can have a wonderful visit at any Walt Disney World resort hotel.
However, this site recommends that first time visitors to Walt Disney World who can afford it should stay at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, a deluxe resort, and that those who can’t should stay at Pop Century, a value resort. (See this for more on the value resorts at Walt Disney World.)
(It also suggests that first time visitors should avoid the moderate resorts, while noting that these resorts are wonderful for visits after the first. See this for why.)
Compared to other Walt Disney World owned and operated resorts, the value resorts are distinguished by having the lowest prices and smallest rooms.
You likely will never stay in a hotel with smaller rooms.
The floorplan (below) exaggerates the amount of free space in the room–the first bed is right at the door, quite handy for fire drills.
I could not imagine staying in one of these rooms if I had to add a crib as well (the room sleeps four in two full-size beds, plus one more, younger than three, in a crib.)
However, if your family will fit, Disney’s Pop Century Resort has much more kid appeal than the moderate resorts, the next higher price class (about twice as expensive, but with much bigger rooms and nicer landscaping.)
(See this for much more on resort distinctions by price class–value, moderate, deluxe, etc.)
Compared to staying off-site, the value resorts are distinguished by their higher kid appeal, convenience, and access to certain key perks that off-site hotels can’t provide.
DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT
Resorts are ranked on this site for first time visitors based first on their kid appeal, and then on their convenience.
On this basis, Disney’s Pop Century Resort is the best value resort for first time family visitors.
Kid Appeal. Several of the deluxe resorts–notably, the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Polynesian Resort–have spectacular kid appeal. None of the moderates do.
All of the value resorts–Disney’s All-Star Sports, All-Star Music, and All-Star Movies, and its Pop Century Resort–have terrific kid appeal.
This appeal comes from the approach to theming they all share: bright and vibrant exteriors, framing much larger than life objects of interest to kids. These objects reinforce that these resorts were designed for the sake of kids…and not necessarily for adults!
Pop Century’s theme is to recall the later decades of the twentieth century, through enormous statues of toys, games, Disney characters, and other stuff. You’ll find scattered around the resort a Mickey Mouse Telephone, Roger Rabbit, a Big Wheel, bowling pins, Baloo and Mowgli, Lady and the Tramp…all 30 to over 60 feet tall!
Elsewhere you’ll find Play-Doh, Mr. Potato Head, a more than life sized foosball game, a pool designed to look like a bowling alley, a four-story laptop, and more.
Pop is–by a hare–the most kid-appealing of the values.
All-Star Music and Sports are thin on Disney-specific decor, and can be visually dull except to kids devoted to sports or music.
All-Star Movies is more kid-appealing, living more richly in Disney’s visual world.
Pop Century adds to its own strong Disney visual presence lots of fun toys!
Convenience. Disney’s Pop Century Resort is slightly more convenient than the All-Stars.
For one thing, it is more central. Although Disney officially classifies it, like the All-Stars, as an “Animal Kingdom Area Resort,” it is in fact quite centrally located.
- It is just south of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, nestled in the area between Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
- It is closer to Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the Magic Kingdom than the All-Stars are.
Second, Pop Century is the only remaining resort at Walt Disney World that has only one bus stop and does not share buses with any other resort.
Each of the All-Star resorts has only one bus stop, but they share most of their buses with one or both of the other All-Stars.
Other distinctive features. Only value on a lake; (slightly) more graceful, and (slightly) less garish, than the All-Stars.
Best places to stay. This site suggests that first time visitors stay in standard rooms, not preferred rooms (because they won’t be spending much time in their rooms, or going to the main resort food area often.)
The single exception is visitors to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, who should always pay for savannah views.
Disney’s Pop Century Resort is divided into areas named for decades from the second half of the last century–’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.
Click the map to see the general layout.
Of these, a fourth floor room on the lake side of the ’70s area is the best place to stay.
The lake view speaks for itself.
The ’70s area is the only one at Pop Century not built around a pool, which makes it quieter.
The fourth floor is also the top floor, which improves the lake views, and makes it quieter as well.
BEST FOR:
Families than cannot afford a deluxe resort, or who are otherwise on a tight budget, who can fit into its small rooms.
WORST FOR:
Families who are tall or otherwise won’t fit into full-size beds, or who have more than two adult-sized people, or who will be using a crib.
This review continues here
17 comments
The Pop Century and the Polynesian Resorts are the best resorts for anyone visiting Walt Disney World.
Here’s a tip that will allow a family of 4 to be comfortable at the Pop Century. Reserve 2 rooms. It’s about the same price as one of the moderate resorts. It gives you 2 bathrooms, 2 TV’s, and either 3 or 4 beds. There are a bunch of connecting rooms at the Pop Century. It’s a great way to get a lot of room for a reasonable price.
I notice that you say to stay at the Pop resort in the following area:
Of these, a fourth floor room on the lake side of the ’70s area is the best place to stay.
So…is this area considered standard or preferred? If you want to get this specific with room location are you better to book by calling Disney or can you get this specific online?
Thanks….Candice
Hi Candace!!
Some lakeside rooms in the 70s section are preferred (the ones closer to the main pool and central services) and some aren’t.
In all my To-Do Lists I say “3. Set up your hotel and tickets. Call 407-939-7675 (preferred, because this allows you to tell the reservationist which building at your resort you wish to be in, which the new WDW website no longer allows you to do), or click here to use Disney’s online system.”
In other words, call!!
Hope this helps, Dave
Yeah!! Thanks Dave! Great website. Really insightful!!
Hi Candice!! Thanks!
Hi Dave
Have another question for ya. We have recently changed our reservation (5/6/12-5/11/12) from POR to POP century, mostly based on your recommendations and the fact that it allows us to stay more comfortably in our budget. We will be taking our trip with our almost 4 and 5.5 year old boys. Their first trip, our first trip in a long time.
Question is, should we spend the extra for a preferred room? Im a little annoyed that they booked us in one without our requesting it (I just noticed it when we got our confirmation). I can change it back to standard, and save about $115, or just leave it, but wanted your opinion. Thanks so much!
Hi Eva, I’d save the money. The preferred rooms are closer to the main pool/dining/bus stops, but not so much so as to be worth the extra money–Pop isn’t that big…
We have stayed at Pop before and were very please, so much so we are about to do it again!! We are a family of 6. The first time we went our youngest was one and we had to have a “crib”. It fit nicely between the bed and the wall to the bathroom. We left the bathroom fan on for white noise. I thought as you said that it was small at first glance but it turned out perfect. We did have to have two rooms mind you so I am sure that help but if we were ony a family of four I think it would have been fine with the pack and play “crib” they provide. We priced out other options and POP Century was still the best value for our money. We don’t really go to Disney to stay in our rooms though so to each their own!
Hi Jodee, and thanks for sharing your expereince!
Regarding POP and Vista Villas…are they about the same distance by bus from MK?
Sorry Pat, I don’t know about Vista Villas…
Hi Dave,
I am curious why you say not to stay at a moderate resort for the first visit?? We have 3 adults, a 2 year old, and a 4 year old. We are able to stay in one room at the Pop Century or the Port Orleans Riverside. From our understanding from people who have stayed with young children at the Port Orleans, they have a trundle bed negating the need for a crib for the 2 year old, they have a fishing hole, 7 pools including waterslides, a playground, a nightly campfire with marshmellow roasting, and nightly movies under the stars. What more are we missing that the Pop century would offer for our children at these ages that would make it worth squishing into a smaller room??
thanks!
Hi Diana, I have two answers:
1. For the typical family, the answer is here: http://yourfirstvisit.net/planning-your-first-family-trip/where-to-stay/next-best-resort-choices/where-not-to-stay/
2. But as I note on this page just below the Mickey image, “I could not imagine staying in one of these rooms if I had to add a crib as well,” so for your family demographics I agree that a moderate or a family suite at Music or Art of Animation would be a better choice.
However, the trundle beds in Alligator Bayou have been reconfigured, and with their new placement you may end up deciding to use the crib after all!
Hi again…I’m back with more questions…
About how long are the bus trips to the parks from Pop Century? I realize they all can be different depending on where we are going, but are we talking an average of 20 min. or lots more? And where is the main transportation center located? Do you have to always go there first and then switch to the bus that will take you to your desired location? And last, do you think the convenience of Pop decrease once the Art of Animation opens up since they will probably share the same busses?
Thanks again for your informative site… it has been very helpful in my planning!
Hey Dana, you’re welcome!
The buses take around 15-20 mins and go straight from the resort(s) to one park. There are separate buses for each park, except AK buses go to blizzard beach too (after they go to AK) and also another bus set that goes to both Downtown Disney (first) and then on to Typhoon Lagoon.
So right now Pop buses load and then go to a park with no stops or other transfers required.
If AoA and Pop share buses, based on how it works at other resorts, they’ll have their own separate buses for MK, and share other park buses only during lower attendance parts of the year, so I don’t expect much impact from this…
Good- it doesn’t sound like it is too long on the bus but does it take a while at the bus stop to wait for the right bus to come along though?
Hi Dana! The buses run about every 20 minutes, so the average wait is ten minutes…
Leave a Comment | Ask a Question | Note a Problem