Disney's Pop Century is one of our favourite Walt Disney World Resort hotels. Don't get me wrong, having a Savannah View room at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is nothing short of spectacular, but we find staying at Disney's Pop Century for our heavy-footed park days to be perfect. It's always our go-to resort!
✅ Great theming throughout
✅ New room designs are clean and fresh
✅ Excellent food court
✅ Fantastic transport options
✅ Great location
Disney's Pop Century Resort Overview
Disney's Pop Century Resort opened on December 14th, 2003, and is Disney's 4th Value resort at Walt Disney World, following Disney's All-Star Resorts that were built in the 1990s. The resort is themed around 20th-century American pop culture, specifically the decades of '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s. The resort has 2,880 rooms over 10 buildings.
Fun fact: The original plans for Disney's Pop Century included a new section themed to Legendary Years (1900s-1940s). The two sections would be connected through "Generation Gap" (which exists today where the Disney Skyliner station is) but after the September 11th attacks, Disney cancelled the project due to a reduction in tourism. However, what would be Legendary Years was developed into what is Disney's Art Of Animation Resort which opened in 2012.
Disney's Pop Century Resort Lobby
I love the lobby at this hotel. It smells incredible, it's very spacious, inviting, and it's well-themed everywhere. Even with Disney's direct-to-room service now available, I still come into the lobby and check in the old-fashioned way to meet some of the friendly cast members and take in the smells and atmosphere of this groovy lobby.
Disney's Pop Century Resort Rooms
The hotel is motel-like in its layout, which means the doors to get into your room are outside. Many Americans criticise these designs - especially at the moderate resorts like Disney's Caribbean Beach - however, as a Brit, I find it very charming and something different. Most rooms come equipped with 2 queen-sized beds, and if there is just a couple in the room the Murphy bed will be folded up to allow for some desk space.
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The room is spacious and the bed is comfortable (and has plug sockets on both sides). I love the headboard design, and it's the only real "in your face" Disney part of the room for those worried about if it's" too Disney". The light walls and dark woods are a design that really appeals to me and I really enjoy staying here.
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In the corner is a unit which hosts your fridge and tea/coffee-making facilities. There's also some shelving space as well as an ice bucket. Under the TV in the centre of the room is more storage space and a safe.
New to Walt Disney World Resort hotels is the "Hey Disney" smart speaker, powered by Alexa. You can do a whole bunch of cool things on here like play music. The one excellent feature of "Hey Disney" is the ability to order extra towels, tea, coffee and more to your room without having to call up. We ordered a bunch more coffee to our room and housekeeping brought it over within minutes. I generally keep these things unplugged though.
There's a nice big TV in the centre of the room full of all the best American TV you want to enjoy while chilling in the room. Below there are plenty of US plug sockets and USB-A plugs, but there's no USB-C so you'll need to bring your plugs or adaptors for those.
Moving over to the bathroom you have a single sink and a separate toilet room. There's plenty of storage space in here as well with a big mirror on the wall as well as on the sliding toilet door. Some rooms are equipped with a tub and others with a walk-in shower area, but both rooms feature a really nice powerful shower with your favourite Disney shower gel scent pumps on the wall. There's a hairdryer included which is stored in the cupboard.
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Disney's Pop Century Transportation
Disney's Pop Century has some of the best transportation options of any Walt Disney World Resort hotel. The resort features the new Disney Skyliner - Disney's Gondola system - that connects Disney's Pop Century Resort to Disney's Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.
For Disney's Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom, you can take the Disney bus. The best thing about Disney's Pop Century is there is just one bus stop! The resort is in a good location as well, right in the centre of Walt Disney World so it's not too far in most directions.
Disney's Pop Century Resort Food & Drink
Disney's Pop Century has a great food court serving up breakfast, lunch and dinner. They offer a great variety of different foods to match most tastes. There are also some fridges at the back that stock beverages, sandwiches and salads as well as a bakery section for some carb indulgence. There's also a pool bar called "Petals" serving up cocktails to enjoy by the pool.
Disney's Pop Century Resort Pools
There are 3 pools at Disney's Pop Century. The main pool - the Hippy Dippy Pool- is located in the 60's centre section. Each pool also has a laundry area where you can wash some clothes.
Disney's Pop Century Resort Negatives
I have given Disney's Pop Century Resort high praise and rightfully so. We've had no bad experiences in the many times we've stayed here. Coupled with loving the theming and feel of the resort, it's our go-to. The two nitpicks I would mention about the resort for you to be aware of is housekeeping is still every other day and not every day like it was pre-COVID. The other is there is no bus service to Disney's Hollywood Studios and EPCOT when the Disney Skyliner is active, which can be worrisome for people with fears of heights. I personally love the Skyliner as an option, but I am not a fan of floating up in the air at all and always wish the trip to be over as soon as possible, but I can endure. When Florida gets bad weather (which it often does) and the Disney Skyliner is taken out of action, Disney does put on buses, but as you can imagine, the waits can be longer as they try and navigate extra buses to all the resorts on the Skyliner route.
Disney's Pop Century Questions
Is Disney's Pop Century resort worth it? We think it is. As we have laid out in this review there are many things to love about the resort.
Is Disney's Pop Century a value resort? Yes. Even though it's priced a little higher than the Disney All-Star resorts, it is still considered a Value resort.
Why is Disney's Pop Century resort more expensive? Primarily because of the Disney Skyliner transportation option, as well as its location within Walt Disney World.
Why do people love Disney's Pop Century resort? Due to its good value for money, Disney Skyliner transportation option, theming and newly refurbished rooms.
Disney's Pop Century Resort Final Thoughts
We love Disney's Pop Century Resort and every time we visit we love it more and more. We love the rooms, the food court, the pools, the transportation and the smells and feel of the hotel overall. We highly recommend staying here for your Disney park days.
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