Photo Tour of a Room at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
By Dave Shute
For the first page of this review of Disney’s Pop Century Resort, click here.
Disney’s Pop Century Resort completed a room refurb project in the summer of 2018.
The key positive features of the refurb are the first queen beds in value resort standard rooms, and the first coffee makers in value resort standard rooms. Less universally praised is the bright white color scheme–exacerbated by the loss of the colorful bed stripes, which is happening generally across Disney World resorts–and the fact that one of the queens is a fold down bed that disappears the table and chairs while it is down.
I had the chance to stay in one of these newly-refurbed Pop Century rooms in late July, so here’s a photo tour and my observations.
One side of the room has a thingy with the coffee maker above and the mini-fridge below, the dresser and TV, and a connecting door, if present.
This side of the room from the back.
The coffee thingy has multiple crannies and cubbies, a general feature of this room. Note the folded luggage rack tucked in at the side.
A closer look at the coffee maker.
The drawer in the thingy contains the coffee supplies and is also nicely sized to shove all of your power cords, tablets and such into.
The mini-fridge, as is common in new Disney World rooms, has a glass front so you can see what’s inside without opening it. I’ve propped the door open in this shot.
The dresser has drawers on one side and shelving and a safe on the other, is flanked with two sets of power points each of which can charge four devices, and is topped with a 54-inch TV.
The three drawers are 31 inches by 13 inches but only 4.5 inches tall.
This is still much more storage in these new rooms than in the un-refurbed rooms–their dresser/ mini-fridge and dresser drawers are shown above.
Back to the refurbed room, next to the drawers are shelves and a safe.
I measured the safe as 19 inches by 15 inches by 6.5 inches tall. If your electronics won’t fit in here, you are on the wrong vacation.
By the connecting door you’ll find this coat rack.
In the back of the room are the sinks, closet, and, in a separate space, the toilet and shower.
In a first for value resort standard rooms, the overall bath and dressing area is closed off from the rest of the room with a sliding solid door, rather than the fabric curtain you’ll find in other such rooms.
Here’s the sliding door almost closed.
Note all the crannies and cubbies around the sink.
The small cabinet to the left of the sink…
…has this hair dryer.
On the right side of the sink you’ll find this make-up mirror.
On the side of this space is a solid hanging closet–another first in a standard value resort room. There’s 19 inches of hanging space inside, and another 9 inches on the rod extension to the right.
The toilet and tub are enclosed by this two-part sliding door.
The tub is enclosed with sliding doors–a more straightforward arrangement for most than a billowing shower curtain, but an awkwardness for bathing children.
The shower has both rain fall and hand-held heads.
The toiletries.
Some of these rooms only have showers, no tubs. The photo above came to me from alert reader Ann.
Back into the main area, the other side of the room has a table and chairs and a fixed queen bed.
The bed side from the back.
A closer view of the fixed queen…
…and of the art above it. Just with this, these refurbed Pop Century rooms have more Disney theming than any other value resort rooms except the Little Mermaid rooms in Art of Animation and refurbed rooms at All-Star Music…and there’s more to come.
Another new feature of this refurbed Pop Century room is space under the bed for storing your suitcases. There’s 14.5 inches of clearance, which will fit most rolly bags.
There’s a cubbie with power points between the bed and bath wall…
…and another between the bed and table.
The distinctive feature of this room is the fold down bed, found behind this table and chairs.
Stack the chairs in the corner…
…pull the two handles, and the table disappears and this bed replaces it.
Pluto also appears.
I measured the fold-down bed as 59 inches by 79 inches–just an inch short on both dimensions of being a queen, but it’s so much larger than a full (which would be 54″ by 74″) that none can quibble at calling it a queen.
The mattress is a full 12 inches deep–as deep as that of the fixed queen. This bed is entirely appropriate for adults, and in fact adults might prefer it, as they can put the kids in the fixed queen and use the table until they themselves are ready for sleep.
There is yet another cubbie and power point between the fold-down bed and outer wall.
Some shots of the room with both beds down:
And for comparison, a shot of an un-refurbed Pop room with two full beds:
Some have wondered if an air mattress would fit between the table and the door.
I measured the clear space between the full opening of the door and the edge of the table as just about 34 inches. With the bed down, this space will shrink by about a foot, to ~22 inches.
The addition of the queen-sized beds and coffeemaker is a clear win, as is the safe, the shower heads, the sliding solid door to the bath area, and the make-up mirror. The loss of the table when both beds are down is a bit of a pain, but as noted there are a couple of work-arounds–e.g. putting the table users in that bed. While bright white, these rooms have more Disney theming than almost any other value resort rooms, and as most resorts have now lost their bed stripes, white bedding is now the thing at Disney World, not a Pop Century specialty.
And I know I repeat myself, but queen beds and a coffee maker wildly improve the livability of these rooms.
AMENITIES AND DINING AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT
This review continues here.
MATERIALS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort–overview and summary
- Theming and accommodations at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- A photo tour of a refurbed room at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Amenities and dining at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- The pools at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD
- Where to stay–the Basics
- Where first-timers should stay
- Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them
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92 comments
Thank you so much! Love the Mickey & Pluto.
Love it…great space saving ideas!!..love the head boards too…nothing like a little Disney whimsy!!
I’m torn. The rooms look very nice. I especially like the solid door between the room and the sink. The cubbies in the bathroom is nice too. But it looks like someone we t to Ikea and decorated the room.
Did you request the room in the 90’s on the online check in? or did you call to make the request? I’m staying at Pop in August and I would like one of these rooms. (I know requests are not guaranteed)…
Ana, I requested a 90s room via online check in. One of the 80s buildings is about to open, so you could request both 80s and 90s…
Thank you for all the great pictures and measurements! LOL – it’s nice to see pictures of the room prior to someone’s personal belongings being moved in….well, except for their favourite book! 😉
Greatly appreciate all you shared with us.
🙂 Catherine. One of the reasons I put the book in is to prove I actually stayed in these rooms, rather than simply looking in during a tour with WDW Media Relations, or “borrowing,” uncredited, other peoples’ photos–both of which happen more than I’d thought before I started this site…
Also, AMAZING WORK! I really love this page because your hard work really shows! thank you so much for keeping us updated on everyting and this photo tour is by far the best I’ve seen, you really captured all the details.
Thanks Ana!!!!
This is excellent information! When are all of the rooms expected to be finished? We have a preferred room booked for April 2018. I would definitely want it to be a refurbished one. I know it was also asked above but can you add that in your requests?
Pam, no one knows for sure, but at the current pace I’d expect them all to be done by mid-2018, and perhaps earlier. There almost certainly will be some preferred rooms done by your April trip, and you should know (if you come back to this site religiously 🙂 ) which buildings with refurbed preferred rooms to request by 60 days before your visit.
Do any of the refurbed buildings have Preferred rooms?
Not yet, Jennifer. Preferred rooms at Pop are in the 50s, 60s and 70s buildings (not all rooms in these buildings are preferred). None has been refurbed or entered refurb yet, but its widely speculated that the 70s will kick off next.
[…] the beds. Dave over at yourfirstvisit.net offers far more measurements with his trusty tape measure here, in addition to some thoughts on the livability of the rooms as compared to those found in other […]
The book placements crack me up every time.
And their inclusion is definitely deserved considering it’s far & away the best WDW Guide Book.
And I’ve tried all of ’em.
Thanks, Jeff!!
How heavy was the Murphy bed to pull down? And how heavy to lift back up?
Nicolle, it’s counterbalanced, so was easy as pie both ways.
I did request that high floor in the 70s for my Preferred. What say you, stick with that or request a refurb, knowing it means a hike? We’re only there for 4 nights, and I can live without a coffeemaker.
Jen, I’d stay 70s !
Question about the coffee maker — does it take pods?
Anne, I’m not sure what the technical name is, but they are little soft-paper single-serving filter packs–not Keurig style pods
Thanks for the thorough review!
When booking the Value resorts the official website says there are rooms with one King; were there any King rooms redone? Do you know how the floorplan differs? Can’t find much online since all the official pictures are Two Queens rooms. Do they have an actual table instead of the fold-down one?
Jeff, the king rooms keep their tables. There’s a weak set of photos here, but the table is discernible: https://www.disboards.com/threads/pop-century-room-renovations.3573071/page-42#post-57687013
Okay cool. I came across those couple of pictures in a Google image search, but thanks for the assurance that I didn’t miss anything! ?
If we get into a renovated King room in December I will be sure to take several pictures and a 360.
Really love the upgrades. It doesn’t really “feel” value anymore. Big step up. I’m really impressed with the changes. I think the rooms are calm and soothing now. I don’t want a busy/overly themed room after a long day in the parks. This is perfect.
Hi Dave, Wanted to let you know that I just checked into Pop Century this evening. I requested a room in Building 9 and I’m sitting in one right now. So the rooms are definitely open to guests already. I don’t know if you’re aware that some rooms have only shower, no bath tub. We had to ask to move to a different room with a tub since I have small children. If you need a picture of the shower, I’ll be more than happy to send it to you. Just let me know. The quality wouldn’t be great since i used my iPhone to take it. Thanks for all your hard work. I love your website!!!
Ann thanks so much and I’d love a photo of the shower!! Email it to me at davidhobartyfv@gmail.com
Will the maid be putting the murphy bed back up against the wall each day?
Katharine, I believe so! That’s what has happened in every room I’ve stayed in at WDW that has fold down or pull-out beds.
Hi Dave,
Checking into Pop in 21 days (September 16th-23rd) We have a preferred room booked. I’m curious to know if any rooms have been updated in the preferred section of the 70’s buildings? Any news on those? Really hoping for a refurbished room for our stay but don’t want the treck of the 80’s and 90’s buildings with two small tots in towe. Thanks!!
No so far, Christina.
Are the beds before or less comfortable or about the same as they used to be thanks
Charles, there’s no consistency on what people find to be comfortable. As newer, larger beds, they are firmer, and fit more body types.
Thanks dave
We are a family of 7 stayed at Pop in November. We have two connecting rooms booked. We will have a a coach and pack and play with us. I am worried that the new rooms will be too tight. Do you feel that the rooms seem as though you are loosing space with both beds down? Not sure if we should just request an old room? And thanks again for all of the great info.
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