Photos & Video: New Rooms at Pop Century
We’ve stayed in a newly-refurbished room at Pop Century Resort, and wanted to share some photos and video from these redone hotel rooms at Walt Disney World. In addition to that, we’ll cover our experience staying in these redesigned rooms, offer thoughts on what the refurbishment means for the future of Pop Century, and why you might or might not want to request a new room on your WDW vacation.
The Pop Century refurbishment was completed in phases, building by building, and is now finished. Currently (as of Summer 2019), the only construction project at Pop Century is the Disney Skyliner gondola station being “built” in the middle of Hourglass Lake between Art of Animation and Pop Century. However, that’s been finished and testing for months now, and should debut in the very near future.
Suffice to say, there’s no reason not to stay at Pop Century right now. In fact, Disney’s Pop Century Resort is one of our top picks for places to stay at Walt Disney World in Fall 2019 and beyond. It’s an excellent option on the Value Resort end of the spectrum, with amenities and accommodations far superior to the All Star Resorts…
It’s no secret that we were excited about the Pop Century room refurbishment. Back in the spring, we shared that we specifically booked Pop Century for our fall trip in the hopes of being able to stay in one of these rooms. We absolutely loved the look of the preview photos, and were excited that this would be an upscale Value Resort room. So…did the refurbished rooms live up to our hype?
Yes. Absolutely. We were 100% satisfied with the new room, and think it’s an unequivocal upgrade from the old rooms at Pop Century. Thanks to our experience in this new room, Pop Century will once again be in our regular Walt Disney World hotel rotation, particularly during long weekend ‘rope drop until park close’ trips.
Before we get going with our thoughts on this experience, here’s a video tour of the new room we stayed in at Pop Century to provide some context for what we’re describing:
The biggest change you can expect to see is a new configuration with a regular bed flanked by nightstands, and Murphy bed that doubles as a table. Both of these beds are queen-sized, versus the double beds previously in these rooms.
There’s a lighter color scheme, dominated by white with hints of orange and lime, Mickey Mouse pop art above the queen bed, and Pluto pop art above the Murphy bed. There’s also a ton more storage space, including a dresser under the television, room for luggage under the bed, and a variety of random cubbies around the room.
You might say this is a nice space-saving solution, but we cannot be too positive here (it’s the internet, after all). So, let’s call this what it is: Disney’s clandestine attempt at tricking you into leaving behind your valuable Duffy plush collection so that Walt Disney World can increase revenue at Property Control.
There are also a boat-load of USB-charging ports and outlets around the room. Again, clearly a way for Disney to acquire and resell my iPhone charging cable. Those wily minxes!
In the corner, there’s a kiosk with drawers, a mini-fridge, and a coffee maker! This is somehow a Walt Disney World Value Resort first, which is astonishing. All 41 of the hotels we’ve stayed at near Disneyland have had coffee makers, including the worst one, which I wrote should be condemned by the City of Anaheim.
In the bathroom, you have a vessel sink, illuminated bathroom mirror, and make-up mirror. There’s also an actual sliding door separating the bathroom area from the main room (instead of a thin curtain), glass door in the shower, and rainfall shower fixture in addition to the standard one.
All of these things, to us, are upgrades to the room with zero downside. Each individually might be a minor thing, but collectively, they make for a room that is significantly “plussed” over the Value Resort defaults.
One of the biggest complaints that we’ve heard about the rooms is that they are “un-Disney” and thematically lacking. We’ve heard this criticism a few times, and frankly, it’s perplexing.
To be sure, there is valid criticism that some could levy at these rooms…but them being less themed than their predecessors is not such a critique.
Here’s a picture of a Pop Century room from our last stay there, a few years ago (from our old Pop Century Review, which will be updated very soon):
Note that this was shortly before the removal of the comforter, which was replaced by a similar runner at the bottom of the bed. Aside from that, the only thematic touch is the painting on the far wall.
Aside from that the room is devoid of Disney decor and is completely un-themed, unless you count a random collection of three circles in the carpet. As you can see, Pop Century’s old rooms were not exactly the pinnacle of themed design. We suspect a lot of the complaints about the new design are rooted in nostalgia more than anything else.
Here’s a similar view of the new room:
This room has Mickey Mouse pop art above the bed, which alone gives it as much in the way of Disney decor as the previous room. It also has Pluto art above the pull-down bed, so it should get the edge in terms of “Disney-ness.”
Beyond that, the style here actually goes further than before thematically. The room uses bold colors, minimalist design, sharp lines, and the contrast of wood against white. To me, these rooms feel very much like a Mid-Century design with flourishes of Disney-inspired pop art. Certainly not as good as the Cabana Bay Beach Resort at Universal Orlando, but a step in the right direction.
Part of what surprises me is the complaint that there is not enough Disney in the room. (Between the Mickey and the Pluto, there’s more.) The thing is, the amount of overt Disney IP is not what defines “theme.” Disney characters are not a theme. To the contrary, they are usually a crutch, acting as a veiled substitute for theme.
In the case of these new Pop Century rooms, you have the best of both worlds. The Disney decor is in the pop art style, meaning it satisfies both the thematic requirements and those who expect a dose of Disney in their room. Should there be more? Arguably. Is it less themed than before? Inarguably no.
With that said, I can understand the complaint that the room feels sterile due to the abundance of white. Although I don’t agree with this critique, I can at least respect the logic behind it. Having a blue wall (like the old Pop Century room, current Cabana Bay rooms, or even the bathroom of this room) might’ve made the space a bit more inviting.
Personally, I feel Value Resort rooms have always been too dark and drab, and this brightens them up. Perhaps it was an over-correction to the old style, but I’ll take a hotel room that looks crisp and clean over one that’s dark and drab any day. Still, I can appreciate the desire for something of a happy medium.
Likewise, I think adding a bed runner into the mix would help. I was mostly on board when the hotel industry moved from comforters to bed runners, but I cannot support this new trend of eliminating the bed runner completely.
Walt Disney World has followed this trend at some resorts, and I think it really think that’s a mistake. The bed runner is a quick and easy way to reinforce theme, and the missing runner makes the bed look ‘naked’ and plain. I know it’s a little thing, but it’s these details that really count at Walt Disney World.
Another complaint is that the removal of carpet and addition of laminate flooring makes the room louder. The obvious solution here is to request the top floor and reenact the hit film Stomp the Yard with nary a care in the world. That’s what we did, and noise was never an issue…for us.
If you end up on a lower floor with a herd of children (or us) above you, perhaps you won’t be as forgiving of this change. Noise aside, we prefer the new floors. They are easier to clean and keep clean; in a budget-rate motel, we’re down with as little bodily fluid-retaining surfaces as possible.
The space that the pull-down Murphy Bed opened up for us was huge. It made the small room feel less claustrophobic, and that plus the color choices made it easier for us to spend time in the room without going stir-crazy. We think this change makes the new rooms at Pop Century a significantly better option for couples and solo travelers.
It may come as a surprise, but most visitors to Walt Disney World are not couples or solo travelers. (I know, right?!) For families, the layout with the Murphy bed not be ideal, especially since it means not having any table in the room when the kids are sleeping.
That’s really the only downside for families that immediately jumps to my mind. There’s always concern that Murphy beds will be less comfortable, but we did not find that to be the case. I’m sure there are other changes that could be legitimate negatives for some parties, but I suspect that’ll largely be on a circumstantial basis.
Overall, we view the new rooms at Pop Century as significant upgrades. Recent Walt Disney World room changes have been hit or miss, but to us, this is an absolute home run–the best room refurbishment to date. These are improvements to the point that we once again look forward to staying at Pop Century, and now (also once again) view this as the #1 Value Resort at Walt Disney World. The rooms certainly are not perfect, but in our estimation, this is the single-greatest improvement to a guest room we have seen since we’ve been visiting Walt Disney World. Unfortunately, it’s not all upside. Between this room enhancement and the upcoming Skyliner, we have little doubt that Disney has plans to position Pop Century into a higher ‘tier’ in the next couple of years. (So in other words: enjoy these upgrades to Pop Century at the current rates while you can!)
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of these new rooms at Pop Century? Excited for the room redesign, or are you not a fan of the Murphy bed style? Do you agree or disagree with our take on the changes being appealing to couples or solo travelers? Any thoughts of your own to add? Have you stayed in one of the new rooms? Share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts you have in the comments!
Does anyone know if Disney has addressed the issue with Pop Century and the buses at the end of the day returning home from the parks? We stayed there last year and it was brutal waiting an hour plus after a long day for the bus back to the resort. Guests were cranky and the Cast Members looked overwhelmed and uninformed. We never had that problem with any of the All Star Resorts.
I’ve never understood the lack of coffee makers in the value resorts. For the quality of the coffee maker, you could buy one for $20 off Amazon and have it shipped to the resort, then just leave it after your stay. You’ll still be far cheaper than upgrading to a moderate or even buying a cup per day of Joffreys!
I think the room changes look nice and I’m looking forward to staying in then in a couple weeks. I’ll be curious what the rates do after the skyliner opens. Its always been a few dolars more than the All Star resorts and recently the delta seems to have widened. (For our trip in October I think it was ~$20 more per day.) I assume that trend will continue.
I did take some pics, because I hadn’t heard anything or seen anything about king bed refurbished rooms and I though someone might be curious. Here’s the link:
https://imgur.com/a/q19oN
We called and requested a king bed, but I didn’t think there were any refurbished ones. When we were told we were in the 90’s section I figured well, at least it’s a refurbished room. The bed was a happy surprise when we opened the door!
Thanks for this – my husband and I are going in January, and we are so spoiled to our king bed at home! Glad to know it’s an option in the newness!
Ooh, I will try to get a king refurbished room for our trip next month. Do you know if there are any on the tope floor to cut down on noise? Thanks!
I don’t know, sorry, we were on the 3rd floor. I didn’t find the noise bad but I know some people are more sensitive to that sort of thing than others
The site says there are 32 comments but I can only see 4 – 1 on the first page and 3 when I select older comments … is this a bug? Is it me?
Oh yikes…I’m having the same problem. Hopefully this fixes itself, as I have no clue what the issue is.
What about the refrigerators are they bigger and do they have a freezer also in the bathroom in the tub is there a handle bar in the shower?
More details on the coffee maker please!! Can I bring my Starbucks ground coffee with me now
Reminds me of the refurb room we got at Coronado last month before Irma. Kinda makes me want to stay here soon since we haven’t yet. Hubs and I have always been concerned that it’s only one bus stop and looks like quite the walk to get there/food and stuff. Which is funny since Coronado is our favorite and it’s so sprawling.
I did notice a smart TV at Coronado. I wonder if they’re adding those to Pop too. I have no experience with them, but was able to hook my phone to the TV and stream stuff to watch.
I know others complain about the walk in some parts of Pop Century, but I’ve always felt that it’s a fairly compact resort, and easily walkable.
These are smart TVs as well. I didn’t try connecting to YouTube or anything, but I’m sure we could have.
Good to know, thanks. We really like the style and look of the new rooms. Love the new flooring, though ours needed a good Swiffering. Probably just a fluke.
Maybe we’ll try Pop when we try to sneak down for a weekend to see the festival of the arts. 🙂
Crossing my fingers that all the preferred rooms are renovated by the time I get there in May 5 2018. They look really nice. I always like that mid century modern look!
I stayed in one of the refurbed rooms with a king sized bed. If anyone is wondering, they do exist 😉
The fridge & shelf was where the second bed is, and there was a table where the fridge & shelf is.
I also noticed this room has a bath tub, the one we stayed in with a king sized bed had a walk in shower. Makes sense since it’s unlikely to be someone with kids if they request a king bed. Otherwise, the rooms were the same.
I wonder if those are considered handicap accessible rooms?
There were no bars in the bathroom by the toilet or in the shower so I doubt it
also the shower had a sliding frame with a lip and generally accessible rooms have a flat surface into the shower with a curtain.
Can I ask what your room number was that had a king bed. I would love to stay in a room with a king bed you.
Thank you for clarifying!
Do you have any King room pictures? Almost everything that’s online is the Double Queen and I’ve been wondering — booked a King for a December trip.
I did take some pics, because I hadn’t heard anything or seen anything about king bed refurbished rooms and I though someone might be curious. Here’s the link, (hope this is allowed):
https://imgur.com/a/q19oN
We called and requested a king bed, but I didn’t think there were any refurbished ones. When we were told we were in the 90’s section I figured well, at least it’s a refurbished room. The bed was a happy surprise when we opened the door!
Diane, We were in room 8303. I would really doubt this is the only room with a king bed though, I would just request a refurbished room with a king size bed 🙂
Thanks for sharing your photos–that looks great!
I watched the video to see the placement in the room of dresser & fridge area. My nephew & I will be there October 18-23 & I have requested an updated room. I rent an ECV & could not tell if the ECV would fit comfortably in the room for charging at night.
Is there room to charge in the room or will it not fit with the Murphy bed pulled out?
We stayed in one of the 90s buildings at the end of August for a night before we transferred to Saratoga Springs for the rest of the week. To be honest, I would have preferred to stay at the Pop over Saratoga for the remainder of our trip. It was like going from a new Honda Civic – clean, stylish, economical – to a 90s BMW – it was nice 15 years ago, now sort of lame and worn out.
Hi Tom, I’m staying at Pop Century in a standard room the first week of November and would really love to ensure I get to stay in one of these refurbished rooms. How exactly do you request to stay here? Would you call the hotel before your trip or is talking with them at the front desk enough when you are checking in? Thank you!
You can make the request when you do online check-in, but we prefer to deal with the front desk instead. I have no concrete evidence that this is a better approach, but we almost always get what we want with the front desk, whereas online check-in requests (or ones made via the phone, in advance) seem to have a higher likelihood of being missed or ignored.
That could all be in my head, but we’ve found it to be true in our experiences…and we have a lot of hotel experience at Walt Disney World.
Tom, I’ll be staying at Pop Century with my 4-year-old in early February. I booked a preferred room. Since I booked a preferred room, presumably closer to food and transportation, do you think I’ll be more likely to get an old room? In your opinion, what building should I request if my #1 priority is to stay in a refurbished room, and my #2 priority is being close to food and transportation.
We booked a preferred room this past August, only because they were the only type of room available to us when we booked. We requested the 80s or 90s section to get a refurbed room, but they put us in 60s. After we asked to be moved because the room we were in was pool-side and too loud, they moved us to the 70s. So, you may be able to get a 70s room that has been refurbed. I would request buildings 9 (if it’s open by then) or 10. They are close to food and transportation, quieter than the 60s section, and should be refurbed by February.
Let me correct that to building 6 not 9.
While the refurbished room was nice I would opt for being close to the transportation. My 2 yr old and I just returned from a trip and stayed in one of the refurbished 80’s rooms. It was quite a hike to the main building for food and transportation. Also, the 80’s pool was not open at night which forced us again to walk to the main pool. We were not In The room much so i would book a preferred room instead.
Hi! I was at Pop In August and was in building nine. We got refurbished rooms and honestly where we were in building 9 it was near the end close to transportation and the food. And the computer pool was nice and quiet. I would recommend if you really want a refurbished room requesting the 80s or 90. We had 4 adults in one room and had plenty of space!
Perhaps it’s just me, but I don’t think the buildings in the 80s and 90s section are far from the buses at all. So long as you don’t route through the lobby (stay on the sidewalk that passes the parking lot), it’s like a 5 minute walk.
I’d request one of those buildings, and ask for a room on the side nearer to the main lobby. It’s really not bad at all.
An improvement for sure compared to the Motel 6 look, but I hate the almost similar wood grain style on the dining table, bed frames, entertainment center, and corner appliance center. It’s like they went to a Walmart-Ikea surplus center to furnish their buildings. The lack of windows gives this place a prison feel. I’m sure it is rock solid and you won’t hear the neighbors unless you clank some metal cups and ask for some bread crumbs. Overall, it seems like Swedish stark at a European hostel.
The laminate flooring reminds me of my trip a few years ago at the Old Key West. The rooms remodeled a few years earlier. The laminate was already coming off at the edges at the molding. The flooring wasn’t done well at a Deluxe DVC Resort. I was disappointed, but the rooms are nice in other ways.
Hey, that’s a lot of water. I count 5 cases. Are you there for 5 weeks?
The downsides I see have to do with the bathroom and kids. Giving kids a bath with a door instead of a curtain is near impossible…and painful. Also, the “closet” no long has space to hang many things such as fluffy princess dresses. A woman with small children did not design the bathroom area.
I really don’t care for the all white sterile look of the bed. It reminds me of a hospital room. What I can’t tell from the photo is if the bed has a comforter tucked into it or are we looking at the beds with just the sheets. If so, what is supplied for extra warmth?
In terms of the coffee maker, can you elaborate. Single cup Keurig or drip maker? What was supplied/replenished each day in terms of coffee and coffee condiments? The one great thing about the coffee maker addition is that all Values will surely follow suit with this.
We stayed at Pop toward the end of August in building 10. They were working on the backside of the building at that point (facing the 80s section) and we were in the front side of the building (facing out toward the mickey phone). We frequently saw the construction workers on our way to the elevators (they were always super friendly and polite) but we never heard any noise from our room. The only incredibly minor inconvenience was that we couldn’t go up the stairs at the end of the building near the parking lot, because they had the entire back of the building barricaded off, so we had to walk around the building and go up the side stairs. We also enjoyed getting to watch them work – we could see into the rooms they were working on at night when the lights were on and we liked watching the progress throughout the week!
In your estimation, when do you think Building 10 will be open?
Literally any day now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it opened later this week or early next. It’s that close to being done, from what I’ve been told.
Thank you, Tom!
We did love the new rooms but the only downside for us was the space to manoeuvre was quite tight, we all had multiple bruises on legs from bumping into corner of both beds, there really is not much room and we are not on the bigger side either.
Tom I stayed here and while I did like the room for my travel party (all adults), I feel like the room is not suited towards families. The biggest flaw is the lack of a tub which with some children becomes a deal breaker. I also found through my own clumsiness many sharp corners and fixtures jutting into other spaces, like the sink bulging out and the towel racks at adult and child head levels in the bathroom. Aesthetically I agree the rooms are much nicer and made the resort feel different than a typical Value. However did miss the little theme or nostalgia elements of the decades the old rooms had. Let me know if you noticed any of these things or if you think I am just being a picky baby! Thanks!
What do you mean there’s no tub? Did your bathroom look different than the one in my photos…or am I missing something?
I’m not qualified to speak to the kids and sharp corners thing. I didn’t personally have an issue with bumping into corners. It didn’t seem like this room has any more sharp corners than any other place a kid might inhabit, but that’s not something that’s ever really on my radar. Perhaps that’s a real issue that just went right over my head because I’m not a parent? I’d be curious to hear from others on that one.
Some of the renovated rooms have a walk-in shower instead of a tub. I stayed in one of these rooms (Building 7) in mid-September and thought that it was fantastic. But, no, not ideal for some families or anyone who likes to soak in the tub after a long day at the parks. The size, set-up and look of the shower is the same as the photos above – just no tub to step over.
We also just returned from a week stay at pop century. We were excited to see the new rooms as well. We also never had to see the rooms through the eyes of a parent until now. We have a 11 month old who can walk and these rooms were a nightmare. We loved the look and design and would have loved them on our honeymoon two years ago. Our son kept falling on the hard floors and hitting his head on the sharp bed frame. He would try and go under the beds and hit his head on top of that as well. We had no bath as well which is hard when his routine is use to one every night. Very sharp corners everywhere. We could never put him down. Also with being in the 90’s the walk to buses is really long If you don’t cut through the parking lot.
My husband and I both agreed without little kids the rooms are definitely an upgrade and very beautiful. but if you have little children stay in the older rooms with carpet, low beds and baths 🙂
Tom I feel a fool for missing your picture with the tub and not elaborating. Our room was different it did not have a tub, it was just a shower that you could walk into I believe we stayed in building 9 with the rubiks cubes, room 9248. I am not a parent myself just a clumsy person who likes tubs and felt there were too many things sticking out. Same as Sarah I hit myself on the beds a bunch. I am sad I did not take picture of the room for comparison. I just assumed the were all the same,
Not foolish at all! I didn’t realize they had finished any of the King rooms yet, so I had no clue that they did those differently. Totally my bad! 🙂
While I really liked the refurbished room at Pop Century, the sink bulged our at exactly my three year old’s height and she bonked her head on it a couple of times. We had to be extra careful in the bathroom.
I’ve heard some rooms are shower only. Personally I’d love one of those rooms as I never have a bath in hotel rooms unless it’s a big jacuzzi tub!
Was the Murphy b3d comfortable for an adult.
My understanding is that there are rooms available with tubs. I heard that the shower rooms are given to adults only parties. I would imagine that you could request a room with a tub.