Disney’s Pop Century Resort is one of Walt Disney World’s Value Resorts – the most affordable category of hotels owned by Disney. My family stayed here for 3 nights after our 4 night Bahamian cruise on the Disney Dream.
RELATED READING: Guide to Disney World’s Value Resorts – Are They Really Worth It?
We chose Pop Century Resort because our mission after splurging on a Disney cruise was to find a hotel on a budget with complimentary transportation service to the parks.
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Pop Century Resort Overview
Disney’s Pop Century Resort boasts close to 3000 guest rooms which are divided up into 10 different buildings and each one representing a different decade – the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s.
Each building has huge icons such as a jukebox, Play-Doh cans, a cellphone and sayings on the top of the buildings representative of that decade.
RELATED READING: Top 6 Disney World Resorts for Tweens and Teens
Rooms at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Each guest room is 260 square feet and non-smoking. You can choose from rooms with either 1 king bed or 2 double beds. Handicapped accessible rooms are also available upon request.
The rooms are decorated to match the theme of the decade of the building you are assigned.
The standard rooms will be at the back of the resort. It’s not a big deal if you have a rental car and can park close to your building but it could be a very long walk if you’re using Disney buses.
There is a small charge for guests wanting a preferred room. Instead of being near the back of the resort, guests who pay for a preferred room are situated closer to Classic Hall or have a view of one of the pools.
RELATED READING: Pop Century Resort vs Art of Animation Resort – Which One’s Best for Your Family?
For our stay we did the lowest priced option available. A standard double bed room in the 50s section of the resort right behind a towering Lady (from Lady and the Tramp) statue.
Our room faced the parking lot and took us less than 5 minutes to walk to the main hall. This location was very quiet at night which we appreciated.
Disney hotel rules allow 4 guests per room and you can add 1 complimentary infant pack-and-play (play yard) if needed. If you have more than 2 adults, Disney charges a fee of $10.00 per night per additional adult.
There’s a hair dryer, in-wall safe, iron and ironing board, a small table and 2 chairs, mini fridge, and complimentary H2O Disney soaps and shampoos.
RELATED READING: Free Disney World Souvenirs for Kids & Adults
Dining Options at Pop Century Resort
Everything Pop is the food court located in Classic Hall.
Open from 7:30 AM until 12 midnight each day, guests can go there to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time.
The eating area is huge (it should be with close to 3000 guest rooms!) with lots of tables and a kids area – toddler size tables and chairs, a colouring station and TVs playing what else – Disney Channel shows.
During our stay, the “Everything Pop” Food Court be constantly busy. About 75% of the seats were occupied at close to midnight when we visited one night (not to worry – my in laws were watching the kids).
Breakfast time was definitely the busiest as everyone was getting ready for a day at the theme parks or Downtown Disney.
Unlike Moderate or Deluxe category resorts, Pop Century not have a formal “sit down” restaurant.
Everything Pop’s menu offers a wide range of dishes (sushi, burgers, pasta, pizza, and American classic comfort food) and is great for those who don’t have expectations of fine dining type fare.
What really stood out food wise was their desserts. Pop Century’s famous tie-dye cheesecake and the King Bacon Cupcake were the highlight of the trip for me.
King Bacon Cupcake was inspired by Elvis Presley’s favorite sandwich – peanut butter, banana and bacon. The chocolate cupcake is filled with banana custard and topped with whipped peanut butter icing and candied bacon. Delicious!
Activities & Amenities at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Disney’s Pop Century Resort has a large main pool (Hippy Dippy), 2 smaller pools (bowling pin shaped pool in the 50s section and the computer monitor shaped pool in the 90s section) which are usually quieter than Hippy Dippy and a zero entry toddler pool.
We spent the majority of our time in the bowling pin pool as it was located just outside of our room and our kids were often the only kids in there along with a few adults. If you are looking for some relaxing quiet time by the pool, I would highly recommend hanging out here over Hippy Dippy.
Complimentary life jackets are available at each so there’s no need to bring one from home.
During the day they have Disney trivia, games, dance parties and arts and crafts at Hippy Dippy pool.
Pool-side movies on a blow up screen are also shown every night near Classic Hall (the main lobby).
Guest laundry facilities are available next to the 3 big pools and cost $2 per load for both washers and dryers.
Free resort wide Wi-Fi is available at Pop Century including guest rooms.
If using Disney transportation, all travel to and from Pop Century is via bus at the front of Classic Hall.
Reasons to Skip Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Crowded & Noisy – Because this is a Value Resort, it can get very crowded and noisy during high season and rooms fill up quickly during promotional periods (room discounts, free dining).
Large Resort – If you want a room located close to the food court and main lobby you will have to pay extra. Pop Century Resort is a very large resort and getting from one end to the other end of the resort may be difficult for some guests.
Small Rooms – At 260 square feet, we found it comfortable for our family of 4 as our kids are quite young however, I don’t think it would be spacious enough for 4 adults. If you’re just in the room to sleep, then maybe it would work.
Long Lines for Buses – Even when we went in early March – not high season – we found it to be quite busy and the lines for transportation and a table in the food court were much longer than we had anticipated! We waited for 45 minutes and 2 buses passed before we were able to take one back from Magic Kingdom to Pop Century. And this was 8PM at night, not even closing time at MK.
RELATED READING: Best Things to Do with Kids at Magic Kingdom
Reasons to Stay at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Located Next to Art of Animation – Pop Century is located right next to Walt Disney World’s Art of Animation. Being able to walk across to AoA was wonderful as we had another food court option for meal time.
For the Budget Conscious – Pop Century is good choice for families on a budget and those looking for a room with basic amenities.
Multiple Pools & Activities for Kids – The on-site activities and multiple pools are great for keeping kids entertained should you plan a non park day during your Disney World vacation.
More About Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Address: 1050 Century Drive, Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, FL 32830-8433
Price Range: $
Hotel Class: 2.5 stars
Reviews: Over 75% of reviewers rated this hotel Very Good or Excellent
Availability: Click here for rates and availability
I’m so happy to see this featured. We have stayed at several of these, though not the Pop Century when we lived in Florida because they were economical, clean, had great pools, and of course the location, location, location! 🙂
I’m happy to be visiting today from Travel Tuesday.
Hi Rosey,
Yes it is really hard to stay away from the Disney owned resorts because of all the amenities 🙂
The Value resorts really offer a lot for families with young children.
Thanks for visiting!
Cheryl
Looks like a cute place!! Hope you had a good time!
We had a fabulous time. Just a bit crowded!
Disney doesn’t miss a trick do they? What a fun looking family resort!
Never… Disney has thought of everything and it’s hard to find something wrong with any of their properties.
Considering we have never stayed at a Disney resort, great informative review! The rainbow cheesecake looks amazing enough for us to stop there at our next visit alone; the bacon cupcake…not so much.
Thank you! I tried to be as detailed and concise as possible. LOL!
The cheesecake was my husband’s favourite but I have a sweet tooth so of course the King Bacon Cupcake was mine 😉
It is good to know that there is a budget option at Disney. While it may be busy it sounds like the rooms were very comfortable and well appointed. Lots of great information here. Thanks for sharing!
Disney is quite affordable when you book during a promo period and stay at a value resort 🙂 Thanks for reading Susannah
I stayed at All-Star Sports, another Value resort from Disney. I completely agree with your review. We didn’t rent a car and relied on buses (we had park hopper passes, so sometimes we would literally go to the park with the smallest line). We went over Christmas and the place was really busy, but they always had food ready at the restaurant – and I loved every bite. My favourite was the Mickey Mouse waffle…which I ordered regularly…even if it was on the kids menu.
I would definitely stay at a value resort again – but I will NEVER go back to Disney over Christmas!
Good to know about Christmas crowds. I actually have never visited over Christmas but have gone at the beginning of December and it is probably my favourite time to visit. The parks and resorts and beautifully decorated and there isn’t much of a crowd to contend with. And the weather is good too – not too hot and not too cold.
Our entire family (adults, kids and grandparents that came with us on this trip) loved the Mickey waffles!
I agree with Christmas being a horrible time to go. We went the day after Christmas until New Years day 3 years ago and will not make that mistake again. Wait time for rides was a minimum of an hour and a half….minimum, not maximum! We plan to go again this October. Have you been that time of year? How was it?
I’ve been at the beginning of October Brooke and the crowds are much lower than even the early December crowds. Wait times were at most 35 minutes – some had no wait time at all. I would imagine though if you go closer to Halloween the crowd levels will increase because of all the special events they run in the parks for that.
That sounds horrible – especially if you have kids in your travel group. I don’t think I would ever want to experience that kind of wait time. The rides are fun but not worth 1.5 hours of standing in line!
Enjoy your trip! Let me know how it goes.
Hahah we had a 5 year old and an 18 month old with us….and actually one night it started downpouring and someone tried to knock my daughters stroller over trying to get out of the rain quicker. Not fun at all. I am hoping this trip will be better.
Cheryl,
What a thorough and fantastic review. Really made me want to go there! I felt like I gained weight just looking at the cupcake.
Haven’t stayed at a Disney resort yet but I just might after this review. Looks like so much fun.
The play doh structure looks cool!
We stayed at pop century last year and it was perfect for us. I totally agree with your review. It was fun and the kids loved the surroundings. We would definitely stay there again
Looks so amazing! I want to go there!
That looks like such a fun resort!! SO unique!
What a fun hotel and I love all the amenities!
we want to stay at pop century on our next trip- we were in the lion king suites at animation this time
Wow, this looks like an amazing place to stay! Love that it is also affordable.. The Play-Doh cans look so fun!!! Love all the little details, this would make for a fun family vacay!
That looks like so much fun. I would love to visit some day!
That just looks like the most colorful and happy place to be!!! SO fun!!!
That looks like a fun family resort. The cheesecake looks delicious!!
I have never heard of the family value Disney |Resorts, who needs a 5* when you are going to be away most of the time any way
Food!!! omg the food!! I love how delicious that cupcake looks and that colourful cake is wicked!
We have stayed at Pop Century 3 times and have always had a great experience. We usually visit in September/October or February/March so have not had a problem with long wait times for buses or food. We have found choosing a room facing away from the pool areas greatly reduces any crowd noise. Love staying at Pop Century.
wanting to take my grandkids
thanks for the info
Fantastic review. We travelled here from Australia and stayed 10 nights at Pop in a preferred room with our two children almost five years ago. It was hands down the best vacation we have ever had! We enjoyed it so much we are planning to come back in Sept 2016 to do it all over again, also staying at Pop.
We just recently stayed at Pop Century and we were pleasantly surprised. Being a family of 5 with one income (my husband is the breadwinner while I stay at home with the kids) we were worried about being able to afford a Disney Vacation. We found that the value resorts were actually more affordable than staying offsite once you figure in the dining plan , parking, etc…