Disney Pop Century Resort Review (2022 UK GUESTS)

 

In this article, we will be covering a variety of different topics like theme, dining, rooms, transportation and more through our Disney Pop Century Resort review. We hope that it will provide for you, enough information to help you make a decision on where to stay during your visit to Disney World.

 

As a leading UK travel agent that books customers to every single on-site Disney hotel we have first-hand knowledge on every resort and what it can offer every family we send there. Hopefully this article will give you a better understanding on whether booking the Disney Pop Century Resort for your Disney Holidays Florida would be a good choice.

 

 

Brief History

 

The Disney Pop Century Resort was opened on December 14^th of 2003 and became the fourth of five of Disney’s “value” resorts. They opened up after the three All Star resorts; Music, Movies, and Sports were opened. The original plans of the complex where it’s located was to have two different sections to divide the property called: “Legendary Years” and “Classic Years”.

 

 

 

Resort Theme

 

The outside theme of the Disney Pop Century Resort has been inspired by some of the most vibrant and even important things that happened in the 20^th century. The property is divided into the different decades from the 1950’s to the 1990’s. Like the other resorts in the same category, the property has larger than life icons spread out all over the property that represent much of the following:

 

• Fashion

• Toys

• Fads

• Other crazes that may have dominated the different decades

 

Their larger than life designs will bring back a lot of nostalgia for many, making the resort a really fun place for both kids and adults alike. You want to make sure you keep your eyes open for giant yo-yos, cans of Play-Doh, Big Wheels and much more.

 

 

 

Category & Star Rating of Resort

 

When it comes to the category, it falls into the “value” resort category, and many people who’ve stayed there find that it turns out to be one of their favorite value resorts they’ve stayed at. On average when it comes to their star rating, it generally receives 3.9 stars on a system of 5 stars.

 

 

 

Transportation, Location & Accessibility to Parks

 

The Disney Pop Century Resort  are not located anywhere near the different parks, so there is no way that you can think of walking to any of. However, they do offer a bus line where you can get to all the different parks along with Disney Springs. You can catch the bus at their “Classic Hall”. If you want to experience an aerial view while traveling then you’ll love the Disney Skyliner where you’ll be whisked away to Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Caribbean Beach Resort, or the Rivera Resort.

 

 

 

Last Major Refurbishment

 

When it comes to any refurbishing of the Disney Pop Century Resort, you’ll be happy to know that the last major refurbishment took place between 2017 and 2018. Their rooms received larger beds, updated finishes, and even some new pop-culture inspired improvements.

 

 

 

Rooms, Types & Rates

 

Since this resort is a value resort, like all the other value resorts, they do not have any club level access or opportunities that come with club level resorts.

 

The rooms at Pop Century are far more modern than the theme on the grounds of the resort. They offer modern furniture with clean lines with just a hint of “mid-century modern” and the colors in the rooms are bright and cheery and the room accents consist of Disney’s vision of “pop art”.

 

 

 

• Standard Rooms

 

Comes with one King or one Queen and one Queen table bed. They have views of either the parking lot or other resort areas. They sleep two to four people.

 

• Standard Pool View Rooms

Comes with one King or one Queen and one Queen table bed. They have views of either the Bowling Pool or the Computer Pool. They will sleep two to four people.

 

• Preferred Rooms

Comes with one King or one Queen and one Queen table bed. Offers views of landscaping or courtyards and sleeps two to four people. They are also located closer to shopping, dining, and transportation.

 

• Preferred Pool View Rooms

Comes with one King or one Queen and one Queen table bed and they sleep two to four people. They have views of the Hippy Dippy Pool and are close to shopping, transportation, and dining.

 

 

The room rates are of course far less than moderate and deluxe resorts are, however, all of the rates will vary depending on the time of year, the view, as well as access to transportation, dining, and shopping. Below are some examples of rate ranges that you can expect:

 

 

• Standard Rooms

£41 to £342.57

 

• Standard Pool View Rooms

£169.88 to  £355.64

 

• Preferred Rooms

£181.08 to  £366.84

 

• Preferred Pool View Rooms

£191.35 to  £376.17

 

 

All of the rooms include the following:

 

• Hair dryer

• Iron

• Ironing board

• Mini fridge

• Coffee maker

• Safe

• Phone with voicemail

• Free WiFi

 

Resort Dining

 

You’re not going to find fancy sit down service or dinner shows here, however, you are going to find a convenient food service and a nice pool side bar where you can grab an afternoon cocktail or a late night drink, or a quick service for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the whole family. Good thing about the location here is that if you are looking for a fancy meal, you can hop on the Skyliner and enjoy a meal at the Caribbean Beach Resort or the Rivera Resort.

 

Their food court is called Everything Pop Food Court. In the mornings, you can enjoy a variety of choices such as: Mickey waffles, omelets, breakfast sandwiches and more. For lunch and dinner you can enjoy choices such as: hamburgers and cheeseburgers, pizza, chicken, pasta, turkey platters, salmon and more.

 

The Petals Pool Bar is located at their Hippy Dippy Pool, they don’t offer any food items but they do have a huge drink menu that even includes smoothies.

 

 

Resort Amenities

 

There is a price to pay for the lower room rates and that’s the amenities that are offered, are far less than that of the moderate and deluxe resorts. However, they do have a few that include:

 

• Movies Under the Stars

• Access to the Skyliner

• Three different pools

• Playground

• Fast Forward Arcade

• Jogging path

• Gift shop

 

 

Pros & Cons Of Disney Pop Century Resort

 

Any place that one might stay at are going to find pros and cons and that’s what we will be pointing out here.

 

 

Pros Of Disney Pop Century

 

• It’s cheaper than the moderates, deluxe, and even some of the value resorts.
• It’s close to other resorts giving you more dining options than just their food court.
• Offers the Skyliner for a transportation choice.
• It’s a lot of fun for everyone, especially the kids.

 

 

Cons Of Disney Pop Century

 

• There’s only one spot to catch the bus and this can be an inconvenient for some.
• It’s a pretty noisy resort, especially if you have a room that’s near one of their three pools.
• The property is really spread out, so expect a lot of walking.

 

 

 

Families Best Suited For

 

The Disney Pop Century Resort is probably best suited for those families that have kids that are not too young, yet not too old either. You probably need to be a family that has no more than two kids because they don’t have any suites to offer.

 

 

 

Here’s A Few TripAvisor Reviews

 

Here are a few reviews from TripAdvisor from those who have stayed at the resort:

 

“We do Disney 3-5 times a year on average and do like to try out the different resorts from Value to Deluxe. We keep coming back to the Pop! It has exactly what we need. The Skyliner really seals the deal for us these days. We just don’t want to really stay anywhere else. We usually request and have gotten the 50’s section lately. Just a short walk to the mail lobby and buses and a short walk to the Skyliner. I like the small pool by the 50’s section, but if you want more action, the main pool is just on the other side and has the Petals pool bar nearby. Service is slow at Petals but always friendly. I miss the days when the bar stools were out and it was a regular bar to sit and relax in the evenings. Now it’s more of just a walk up bar.

 

 

The rooms are always clean and fresh. Yes, housekeeping is different now and I end up making my own bed, but I can live with that. We had enough towels, and they still refreshed and brought more. It’s not just Disney, most hotels no longer do regular housekeeping. Hubby is a HIlton Lifetime who spends about 2/3 of the year in a hotel room for his business and they don’t do it either.

 

 

I sleep so well at Disney and the Pop. I find the beds to be very comfortable and SO many pillows to make anyone happy. Plenty of storage in the vanity/sink area for all sorts of toiletries, and enough for our clothes. It’s just two adults, so I can see any more than that could be a challenge. The rooms are pretty small, but perfect for us.

 

 

If I had any complaint about the Pop, is that the rooms are pretty noisy. We had the top floor this trip, but it is kind of unnerving to hear someone peeing in the toilet above you. But the biggest issue I have, I believe is when the maids are doing the rooms. The lock is put in the doorway and they (or whomever) allow the doors to slam behind them, but not latch shut. One morning it happened well over 100X, about 1 a second. It was about 9am, but we like to sleep in, so that was super annoying. It happens every morning, but this was exceptional bad.

 

 

We are returning again in Nov. Pop feels like home for us!

 

“Disney has gotten ridiculously expensive, and cuts their service on top of this! No magical express, and maid service is practically non existent! Fresh towels and trash collection every other day, and the beds are not made unless you stay longer than 7 days! We booked 10 days, so we will have our beds made up once, after 5 days! Better service at the local Econo Lodge!!

 

 

“We found this hotel as it is on the Skyliner, which gives great access to parks and resorts. It is also one of the more affordable hotels, as there is a great balance of what you pay for with what you get. We used the Disney Cruise Line transportation to arrive at the hotel from the cruise port. It was very easy. We just called to have it added to our cruise reservation ahead of time. In the lobby, there are various memorabilia on the walls that was cool. There was a small line to check in. The front desk cast member came out from behind the desk to greet us in line and show us to their spot. He was extremely friendly. He asked if we had any preferences on room and they would do their best to accommodate. We arrived around 11am, so there was a limited number of rooms currently available. He gave us our options which was that if we wanted a room close to the Skyliner but on the 3rd floor (yes, there are elevators in the center of the buildings and the stairs are on the ends of the buildings), we could get into our room now, but if we wanted that and on the 1st floor, then we would have to wait. We decided to get our room now. He gave us the map and explained where the room was, and where the buses and Skyliner were. He also helped make sure our magic bands were connected and working. We were put in the 80’s section in building 3.

 

 

The walk from the main building wasn’t too bad at all, and same with the walk to the Skyliner, it was a pretty good location. The room we were given was quite cozy and on the small side. There is a small coffee shelf area with a mini fridge, a large dresser with some drawers, and a tiny open closet. There isn’t a whole ton of storage space. There are outlets on each side of the beds. There is one bed, and then one Murphy bed that pulls down from the wall, and then folds up into a table. With the bed folded down, there was hardly any room to walk around in the room or get ready, so we basically only had it folded down when we were ready for bed. We had 4 adults in the room and it was very tight. The Murphy bed however did not come with a comforter and we did not see one in the room either so that was weird, it was just sheets. The sink/vanity area is separate from the toilet/shower area so that was great for multiple people getting ready at the same time. The shower had a rain shower head, as well as a standard shower head and you could change the different flow modes. We asked for more towels and housekeeping came with more towels very promptly. FYI We stayed for 3 nights and on the 3rd day, housekeeping came in to refresh the towels, but they did not make the bed or do anything else. The resort has 3 different pools. We were able to walk around the buildings to see the different theming which was cool. It is also close to the Art of Animation resort across the bridge past the Skyliner and we were able to walk around and take pictures of the theming there as well.

 

 

We ate at the everything pop food court, which was adequate, and is a great place to refill your resort refillable mug. The everything pop shop had a very decently sized merchandise selection which was nice as well. They even have a pin trading board. The arcade in the main building is also quite large. We did see signage for the different events/activities they have going on around the resort. They have a campfire/fire pit with marshmallows every night, but unfortunately we didn’t get to take advantage of those. The Skyliner station is shared with the Art of Animation resort, but we had no line each time we walked up. We used the Skyliner to check out the other Skyliner resorts such as Caribbean Beach, the Riviera, Yacht Club, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin, Swan Reserve, the Boardwalk, and even Fantasia mini golf. We also used the Skyliner to go to Epcot. We took advantage of early entry morning hours and the Skyliner was running bright and early with no line. You do have to transfer to another line at the Caribbean beach Skyliner station, but it was super easy, and there was also minimal line there. It drops you off on the side/international gateway entrance to Epcot, which is great to rope drop Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure since it is super close by, and the other guests have to walk through the whole park to get there. At the end of the night, there is a pretty large line for the Skyliner so just be prepared for that. For Magic Kingdom, you catch a bus. The bus pick up is clearly marked and is out the doors of the main building. For early entry they start running an hour before the park opens for early entry hours, and there were 2 buses already lined up and waiting to pick us up. There was a decent line but the line fit in both of the buses and we got to Magic Kingdom early. At the end of the night, there was a large line for the bus back, but the buses came very quickly and we got one of the larger extended buses so it was able to fit most if not all of the line. Overall this resort was very convenient and well themed. It was affordable but still has the on property perks. Even though the space in the room was small, we were still able to make due and only really came back to the room to sleep. We enjoyed our time at the pop century and would stay here again.”

 

 

Pros:

 

-Clean! The room and entire hotel was clean. I know some people have had issues with housekeeping, but I stayed 3 nights and they were there on my 2nd day. They cleaned, fresh towels, took out trash, and made the bed.
-Skyliner! Loved being able to hop on and take a scenic ride over to Epcot and back from Hollywood Studios. It was down for lightning at one point so had to take the bus to HS, but it’s so nice to have those free transportation options.
– Great theming! Loved the whole vibe and decor of the hotel.
-Staff! Everyone I encountered was super friendly and helpful.
-Great gift shop and food court!

 

Cons:

 

-The room was good but just a couple minor things. The make up mirror that is attached to the wall was coming off, and the bed wasn’t especially comfortable but it wasn’t terrible.
-It’s not the quietest hotel as you can hear everyone and any noise outside your door and also your neighbors talking and taking a shower.
-My room wasn’t ready right at check in (3:00) BUT I did go to the desk and was hooked right up with a room that WAS ready. So this is kinda of a pro and con.

I would stay here again. It’s a great value hotel!”

 

 

 

Other Similar Resorts You Might Consider

 

If you don’t like what you’ve read so far about the Pop Century Resort, there are others that are similar and are in the value area for those who just cannot afford the other resorts:

 

• All Star Music Resort

This is a good place for those who are really into all kinds of music such as Jazz, Country, Rock, Broadway, and even Calypso.

 

• All Star Movies Resort

Here you can enjoy the memories of a variety of some of Disney’s most loved movies.

 

• All Star Sports Resort

Now if you’re into sports of all types, then you might want to check out this resort that covers a variety of sports like hockey, American football, baseball, basketball and more.

 

• Art of Animation 

This is a family favorite because it represents the great animation of Disney Studios and is especially a favorite of little ones.

 

 

 

Our Thoughts & Verdict

 

After considering a lot of the information we’ve provided, we believe that if you are really into nostalgia, this resort is definitely not going to disappoint you. Even if you are younger, it’s a really neat place to kind of take a walk back through time. For a value resort, we really think you’ll enjoy it, it is unique compared to some other resorts in the area.

 

To help take the stress out of organising your Disney holiday, The House of Travel offers some fantastic all inclusive Disney world holidays. This ensures that you can enjoy your time here, with all of the planning in hand. After all, there’s no better way to explore Disney than by letting the experts take charge! Either give us a quick call on 0203 950 7371 or simply fill this quick form here for a call back request today.