Disney’s Pop Century Resort Review
Disney’s Pop Century Resort is one of the cheapest on-site hotels at Walt Disney World, making it a top pick for saving money. This review shares photos of the newly-refurbished rooms, thoughts on amenities, compares it to other Value Resorts, and more.
Pop Century has a reputation among frequent Walt Disney World guests as being the favorite ‘budget pick’ for a variety of reasons. It’s always been viewed as a cut above the All Star Resorts, but had slipped a bit in recent years. That was mainly due to the debut of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, which caused Pop Century’s stature among Walt Disney World fans to drop a bit.
Even after the opening of Art of Animation, Pop Century has remained a popular choice for frugal fans for a couple of reasons. The first is that the best rooms at Art of Animation are the Cars Family Suites, which are larger and more expensive. If you don’t want or need this, you’re stuck with the regular rooms. Those are all Little Mermaid rooms, and are undesirable for a couple of reasons. Additionally, Pop Century is now seeing renewed interest for a few other reasons that make the hotel very appealing–arguably worth downgrading to book in some scenarios.
First, a room refresh was completed at Pop Century in 2026. This was a soft goods refurbishment, which offered iterative improvements over the modernized rooms that debuted back in 2017. From a functional perspective, the Value Resorts are honestly some of our favorite standard accommodations at Walt Disney World right now.
The new rooms feature more pops of with pops of color to help the rooms overcome the ‘sterile and antiseptic’ criticism. There’s warmer, wood-toned flooring and a geometric flooring inlay, new furniture, curtains, and other furnishing refreshes that include little touches, like Hidden Mickeys. You can see more of these for yourself in First Look Photo Tour of New Rooms at Disney’s Pop Century Resort, or via the photos below.
The redone rooms were initially controversial with nostalgic Walt Disney World fans, the results have been a major crowd-pleaser in terms of both style and substance. In fact, we’ve spoken with multiple managers at the Value Resorts, and they’ve indicated to us that guest feedback has been almost unanimously positive.
Admittedly, this is only a minor selling point for Pop Century now. It was the first to receive the room reimagining, but the All Stars have followed suit with an almost identical overhaul. Most recently, Walt Disney World announced the next ‘phase’ in the Value Resort refurbishments: what’s likely to become a years-long overhaul of the All Star Resorts lasting until 2028 or 2029. This should mirror the soft goods refurbishment completed in 2026 at Pop Century. In the meantime, avoiding construction is a reason to pick Pop Century over the All Stars.
Along with the room refurbishment, Pop Century received several refreshes in the last year, all of which are finished as of 2026. One of these is a new coffee shop and seating area in the Everything Pop Food Court, which is a lovely little addition. Another is a redone lobby, which modernized the space and added more seating (albeit at the expense of the fan-favorite shadowbox displays).
The latest change that elevates all Value Resorts is Airport Luggage Transfer. Guests staying at Pop Century or the other Value Resorts can use this pilot program provided by BagCheck to transfer their luggage to and from Orlando International Airport, when flying on participating airlines.
This started roughly one year ago, and quickly expanded from Pop Century to the All Stars and Art of Animation. The bad news is that it hasn’t started at any of the Moderate or Deluxe Resorts or any other airlines. It’s only the Value Resorts as of June 2026.
The good news is that Airport Luggage Transfer at Value Resorts is Now Available for Arrivals, which began last holiday season. On top of that, the service expanded from Southwest Airlines-only to include United and American Airlines just last month. Expect more airlines and resorts to be included before 2027. For now, this is a definite advantage for guests flying those airlines and staying at Pop Century, especially since bagcheck at MCO can be brutal.
The other big not-so-new thing that has further elevated the status of Disney’s Pop Century Resort is the Disney Skyliner gondola station, which the resort shares with Art of Animation Resort. This connects Pop Century to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT via Caribbean Beach, and means access to two parks and several hotels (including the character dining at Riviera Resort) without getting on a bus, which is huge.
Since going into operation, we have used the Skyliner many, many times, and are huge fans. From our perspective, the added value to Pop Century of this non-bus transportation cannot be overstated, which is good…because Walt Disney World has really increased Pop Century’s nightly rates!
The Skyliner makes for easy midday breaks when you’re doing Disney’s Hollywood Studios or EPCOT, and is extremely advantageous for Early Entry at both parks. Knocking out Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Frozen Ever After, or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure before the park even opens to day guests is huge. The benefits of the Skyliner cannot be overstated–we prefer it to the monorail.
We absolutely love the Skyliner and would choose one of these resorts over their counterparts just about any time of year…except when the Skyliner is down for its annual refurbishment (2027 dates) or more likely to be impacted by downtime due to storm season. Even the latter doesn’t make it a non-starter (the monorail also isn’t 100% reliable!), it just makes awareness of the weather more important.
The bottom line is that the Skyliner is a gamechanger, and we think it makes Pop Century worth the premium pricing over the All Stars. You’re getting Deluxe-caliber unique transportation at a Value Resort!
Before selling you on Pop Century, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that the Value Resorts are quite divisive. Some Walt Disney World fans love them for their convenience and price-points, others hate their motel-style design and feel their larger-than-life icons are over the top and tacky.
We like the Value Resorts for what they are, but we’ll be the first to acknowledge that they aren’t a good fit for everyone. Then again, there isn’t a single hotel at Walt Disney World that is. All have pros & cons, even fan favorites like Wilderness Lodge and the Polynesian. (In the case of both, it’s the high cost!)
In Are Walt Disney World’s Cheapest Hotels Actually Good? (second spoiler: yes, they are!), we make the case for choosing Value Resorts over off-site accommodations or higher-tier resorts that are on-site at Walt Disney World. This isn’t to say that the Value Resorts are right for everyone, but a lot of travelers dismiss them out of hand because “cheap” and “motel-style” or other budget-friendly buzzwords turn them off.
We’ve stayed at every single Walt Disney World hotel numerous times, from the cheapest to the most luxurious. And yet, we keep coming back to Pop Century. Not only is it a sentimental favorite for us, but we also think it offers unparalleled bang for buck. That’s true whether you’re comparing it to shady off-site motels or astronomically-priced on-site accommodations. Sure, it’s no Four Seasons…but it’s also not priced that way!
Whether the Value Resorts are right for you comes down to the nature of your visit and how much money you’re willing and able to spend on accommodations. If you’re taking a “the room is only for sleeping” type trip during which you want to be in the parks as much as possible, the Value Resorts are great because they can be as little as $100 to $175 per night with a good Walt Disney World room-only discount, and allow budget-conscious guests to stay on Walt Disney World property.
By contrast, if you are on an adults-only trip (such as a honeymoon) and plan on spending a lot of time at your resort, Pop Century (or any of the Value Resorts) is definitely not a good fit for you. In that case, it’s worth spending the extra money to upgrade to a resort with a nice pool, better dining options, more sophisticated common areas, and superior amenities.
If all of this still sounds good, and you haven’t yet encountered any deal-breakers that make you jump off the Pop Century Hype Train, let’s turn to amenities.
As with all on-site Walt Disney World hotels, Pop Century offers the perks of a Disney hotel, such free transportation around Walt Disney World, Early Entry, and the extended Advance Dining Reservation window. Guests at Pop Century can also purchase the Disney Dining Plan, but whether that’s a real perk is debatable. (Not everyone loves it.) On-site guests are also able to purchase discount MagicBands pre-arrival. Again, not sure this is much of a real perk anymore.
One really-for-real on-site advantage is early access to Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. We’re not going to get into the nuts and bolts of it here–see our Guide to Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Walt Disney World for that–but the bottom line is that on-site guests have a significant head-start on making Lightning Lane ride reservations.
Staying on-site is pretty much the only way to score the most popular picks, such as Slinky Dog Dash, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Test Track, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets. None of the above are unique to Pop Century guests, though–these are perks for all on-site guests, from the All Stars to Grand Floridian.
Guests staying at Pop Century are not eligible for Extended Evening Hours, as that isn’t offered to Value and Moderate Resorts. From a perks perspective, that’s the only real loss of staying at Pop Century.
For many families, the pools are of paramount concern. The feature pool at Pop Century is the Hippy Dippy Pool, which is located directly behind the Classic Hall lobby and food court.
Dedicated to the ‘Flower Children’ from the Summer of Love, the Hippy Dippy Pool is flower-shaped and vibrantly colored. There’s also a water play area for small children with bubbling fountains.
This feature pool is nothing special. It’s comparable to the other Value Resorts, but would rank below almost all of the Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. Simply put, if you’re choosing where to stay on the basis of the pool, pick another hotel.
While the Hippy Dippy Pool is larger than Pop Century’s other two pools, it’s also significantly busier.
For this reason, we prefer the other two pools at Pop Century: the Bowling Pool and the Computer Pool. The former is designed to look like a bowling alley, featuring bowling ball racks and other fun details. The Computer Pool is shaped like a gigantic laptop PC from the heyday of 1990s AOL dial-up. (You can almost hear the ‘You’ve got mail’ and AIM sounds as you lounge there.)
None of these pools have hot tubs or jacuzzis, which are only found at Moderate Resorts and above. You can find a pool bar, called Petals Pool Bar at the Hippy Dippy Pool. At these pools, you’ll also find self-service laundry facilities.
After on-site perks, transportation, location, pools, and room quality, dining is the next most important aspect of a resort for most guests.
We consider Pop Century’s Everything Pop food court to be superior to the food courts at the All Stars, with the Tie-Dyed Cheesecake having a bit of a cult following.
They also serve a variety of more ambitious entrees than you’ll find at many other food courts around Walt Disney World. Speaking of food, Pop Century is also one of our top recommendations for the Free Dining promotion at Walt Disney World, when that’s available.
In terms of other amenities, there are a couple of small playgrounds, none of which are particularly noteworthy. One that is somewhat neat is the Goofy Pop Jet Playground. Realistically, your kids will probably end up playing around the various lawn areas of the resort. There’s also Fast Forward Arcade and a jogging trail that connects to Art of Animation.
Speaking of which, the jogging trail–and Generation Gap Bridge–that connects the two resorts is a nice amenity. It essentially opens up your area to explore…or eat…to Art of Animation, too. While it’s possible to move between the All Star Resorts, it’s not nearly as convenient, and requires trekking through parking lots or along the road.
Finally, Pop Century offers Walt Disney World’s free Movies Under the Stars program. This is a pretty neat offering for families who don’t stay late in the parks; the resort plays a different (family-friendly) Disney film every night of the week on an outdoor screen. You can find the movie schedule in the hotel’s lobby–it’s usually animated films.
Up until Art of Animation opened, Pop Century was the popular pick among the Values because it was the newest, nicest, and only Value Resort with a full-time dedicated bus service.
Pop Century does charge a premium (~$20 to $50/night before discounts) over the All Star Resorts, but I think most regulars of Pop Century would agree that this premium is well worth it for dedicated bus service, nicer resort, and Skyliner transportation. Again, the Skyliner is the differentiator. It’s a game-changer, in our view.
Pop Century is still nicer than the All Star Resorts, but if you don’t mind paying a bit extra to stay at Art of Animation, that’s arguably an even better pick–especially for families of 4-6 people. Not only that, but the Disney animation icons will resonate with kids much more than random pop icons that they probably will not recognize (there are some Disney icons scattered about the grounds of Pop Century, but Art of Animation is ALL Disney icons).
The food court and overall “newness” of Pop Century as compared to the All Star Resorts, plus the dedicated bus and Skyliner transportation, are where the advantages lie. Plus, Art of Animation is only a short walk away, meaning that you have the Landscape of Flavors food court and its bus system at your disposal, too.
On a recent stay at Pop Century, when we were at Magic Kingdom waiting for a bus, Art of Animation showed up before Pop Century, so we just took that and walked across the Generation Gap Bridge; the two resorts are so close together that walking didn’t take any extra time.
Now let’s take a look inside the guest rooms, starting with the redesigned ones…
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 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’ll also find tons of USB-charging ports and outlets around the room. If you’re in one of these rooms, there’s no need to bring those USB-charging strips that we recommend in our Packing List for Walt Disney World.
The pull-down Murphy bed that converts into a table and chairs when not in use is a fantastic feature.
It makes the room feel larger, clearing more floor space and also adding daytime functionality. As parents to a toddler, we love this redesign for how it opens up the room, giving us more area for activities while we’re getting ready.
It’s to the point that we prefer the slightly smaller rooms at Pop Century to those at the Moderate Resorts that are larger but lack floor space due to just having two standard beds. The flexibility here is key.
In the corner, there’s a kiosk with drawers, beverage cooler (not technically a mini-fridge), and a coffee maker.
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 Pop Century guest rooms 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.
Now, let’s take a look at the old guest rooms. All renovations are now finished and these rooms are gone–we’re simply sharing for the sake of comparison:
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.
The old rooms at Pop Century aren’t really anything special. They’re your basic cheap hotel/motel rooms that would fetch significantly less in the “real” world. It should also be noted that these rooms are quite small (having the option to fold-up the bed makes a world of difference).
Overall, Pop Century is a great option for guests who want nicer on-site accommodations than the All Star Resorts, especially via transportation and upgraded amenities. It’s one of the resorts where we’ve stayed the most, and we really like it. For quick, weekend trips when we won’t be in our rooms much, Value Resorts are great. For longer or more relaxed trips, we prefer the ambiance and quality of a Moderate or Deluxe Resort.
With that said, it’s tough to argue with the re-imagined guest rooms and Skyliner gondola access offered by Disney’s Pop Century. From a practicality and bang-for-buck perspective, it should be easy to see why Pop Century is once again our #1 Value Resort. Those rooms are incredibly spacious, and Pop Century is perfect for our travel style. While we still prefer the atmosphere of Art of Animation, the overall package and value for money offered by Disney’s Pop Century Resort pushes it over the top.
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Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Are you a fan of Pop Century? Do you prefer it or Art of Animation Little Mermaid? Do you not care for the Value Resorts at all? Thoughts on the theme here, or the best section in Pop Century to choose? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We stayed at AoA last year and loved it. One night towards the end of our stay, we walked over the bridge to explore Pop and have a meal. So glad we gave it a try!! We would stay here in a heartbeat knowing that the room s got refinished this year. It is lush, quiet, and has amazing views of AoA. The food court is exactly the same. For the sticker price (and we are commando style), what’s not to love?
We have stayed at Pop Century and Art of Animation. I took my daughter and her family (2 grandchildren) to Art of Animation . Children were 2 and 5. My grandson loved the Cars so that’s were we stayed. I could not afford but one suite for the 6 of us! We gave the 1 bedroom to my daughter. We had the living room! It was nice to have the suite for the children, but very uncomfortable for my husband! LOL! He preferred the two separate bedrooms at Pop in the preferred section we had stayed at before the granddaughter was born. He got a little tired sitting on the sofa and propping his legs on a table! LOL! A sofa bed is never as comfortable! One night the grandchildren ending up sleeping with him and I slept on the table which in my opinion was a better bed! The walk was not bad from the cars to the bus or eating area but we found ourselves not walking to get that free drink, or food like we had at the Pop Preferred room. Kept food and drink in our room at cars section of Art of Animation. If we stayed at the little Mermaid rooms, We would for sure keep our drinks, and food in the room because it is even longer walk. If you can stay near the lion King building and walk thru the lion King building to the eating are or busses it may be shorter! My husband and I did not like the food at Art of Animation as much as Pop Century! My daughter liked it better than we did! We tried it! My husband ordered one dish At AOA that looked like dog food over rice and tasted terrible ! Very Bland! He was starving and couldn’t eat it! I encouraged him to throw it away and go and get him a hamburger and fries! (which they did have) LOL! He did! LOL! They don’t have Ice cream and Pop does! A negative for me! LOL! I will add this about AOA ! My daughter knew more how to go up and what to order and put her meals together than we did! She liked AOA (shes in her early 30’s and we are in our early 60’s) She put together and ordered several things, a great pasta dish one night! One night she brought us all Pizza at the pool that was great! So.. some of it is knowing what and how to order the dishes at AOA! I didn’t know what some of the ingredients were or had I eaten them! LOL! I’m from the south, and eat at the Cracker Barrel after church on Sunday! LOL! This was no Cracker Barrel LOL!
Hello!
I´ll be staying for the first time at Pop Century at the end of August! It´s going to be my first solo trip and I´m excited but nervous at the same time!
I think that preferred rooms aren´t really included in promotions (either florida resident or passholder room discounts)… are they really worth it? I know for a fact that staying at POR booking a preferred room is a must!
Any tips for my upcoming visit? (heard a rumour about rooms beign renovated, do you know anything about that?)
Please comment on the room experience when you visit. I usually wouldn’t stay at a value resort but to get the best and 1st experience at the park I’m hoping this is the best idea. Thanks!
The renovations aren’t really a problem, since I wasn’t in my room much during the day except in the hottest weather, and then I was napping. I did get the impression that they really weren’t worrying about the older sections that are going to be renovated next, not keeping them up very well. I’m allergic to mold, and halfway through my stay in May, I realized that I’d started coughing after staying any significant time in my room, and my cough got better when I’d been out of the room a couple of hours. By the time I’d made the connection there wasn’t enough of my trip left to be worth changing rooms, but it was disappointing considering Disney’s reputaton for attention to detail and making the visit magical for even their less well-off guests!
Hi,
We stayed at Art of Animation last year in the Cars suites as my parents so graciously paid for our family to go. This year we are thinking of sneaking in another trip before our youngest turns 3 and we then have to pay for him. We have two boys who will be 5 and 2. Should we stick with Art of Animation and do the Little Mermaid rooms (which are more in our budget) with the long hike or book a preferred room over at Pop Century even though the icons might not all be as familiar? Our trip will likely be the week bridging October and November. Thanks!
We used to be off-site people but finally stayed at Pop in May 2016. My kids were 9 & 5 and did not care in the least that the icons weren’t familiar to them. They were totally excited to stay on grounds and we actually loved Pop so much we have an impromptu trip coming up next week!
Back at Pop, preferred room closest to the buses.
Hi, is it better to buy the hotel n theme park packages? do you think it is worth it to add meal package? can we buy food at the restaurant in the hotel?
Are the rooms big enough to accommodate 2adults and 2 teenagers? Do they have the option of extra beds?
Unless the teens are going to sleep in the same bed, that would be a tight fit. The rooms are not very large.
Any recommendations for which rooms / areas to request at Pop? Thanks!
Make sure you ask for a preferred room. They are a bit more expensive, but otherwise you are walking really far from the bus/lobby/pool to your room.
If extra hrs start 8am what time shuttle. Starts from pop century going to mk and how long it takes going Sept 13 to Sept 21 thanks
Hi Tom
Staying at Pop the first time in
late Sept with another couple and have booked Standard view rooms. Could you recommend locations in which the walk to the main area is not so daunting.
Thanks!
Dont know if you are still checking comments, but I would absolutely love your input. We are deluxe people… I can’t help it, just have a thing for AKL, WL, last time was Yacht Club. I did really enjoy the CBR, and was pleasantly surprised. Anyways, this year both kids are in private school, eeks!, and I’m toying with the idea of finding the cheapest rooms we can…I never would have imagined staying at Pop, but from your review it sounds like it might be ok.
After our past stays at Kidani 2 bedroom villa and the Yacht Club, are we going to be seriously disappointed? I know I can’t go into expecting deluxe perks, but just curious as to how drastic the transition is. Thanks so much. LOVE your blog and photography!
I’m in the same “boat”, somewhat. Used to staying at BW and Poly. Have stayed at one moderate and one value years ago (was not pleased with the sports). Anyway, I procrastinated planning our upcoming trip and dvc rooms are full. We are planning on staying at Pop and hope I’m not terribly disappointed. If transportation is good, I’ll be happy considering the cost. Any feedback to this thread?!
We love Pop! We don’t spend much time in the rooms, but they are quite sufficient. Food is good, love the dedicated buses. Have stayed there the last several Christmases and will continue to do so. Couple lessons learned: 1. I am handicapped and need a FULLY accessible room. If you have the same need, call ahead and ask for a room with roll-in shower. Otherwise, you might get a room that I would consider “semi” handicapped. Plenty of grab bars but bathroom too small to maneuver a power chair in. 2. We now go the second week of December instead of Christmas week. No where near as insane, both at hotel and at parks.
Hi there! I’m planning a trip in June 2016, its going to be a short stay of just 2 – 3 nights with the theme parks as main priority. POP sounds like a good option as we just want a nice clean place to sleep and will be spending most of our time in the park. However, I would like to know how long does it take to travel to the Magic Kingdom by shuttle? And also, since June is summer vacation, how early should I do my booking to secure a room? Lastly, will we be entitled of the Magic Bands when we stay at POP?
Thanks in advance for any advice I can get!
Yes, you get the magic bands and the extra magic hours when you stay at Pop. Since the buses don’t stop at the other resorts only about a 15 minute trip. I personally would already be planning for a June trip. Once you have confirmation numbers you can use the my Disney experience app to book dinner reservations, fast passes, etc. Enjoy your trip!
Unless you stay at the art of animation indoor plus size Room. There are advantages to staying at each Including the fact those rooms are much bigger for around the same price
I agree with most of the points in this article but there is one which bothers me; my husband and I stayed for 3 weeks at Pop for our honeymoon in 2014 and we loved it! We loved that is had the big Disney Icons (when we looked out of our window could could see a humongous Mickey Mouse!), quiet pools in the day, music my husband recognised and a liberal sprinkling of Disney magic. I will agree that the rooms felt a little cheap, but we didn’t mind because the price meant we were able to stay an extra week for the price of the cheapest moderate room for 2 weeks. That being said we are staying at a moderate resort when we go again next year (stupidly excited already!) but mostly because of the offers. Maybe we will change our minds about the value of a moderate resort after our upcoming trip, but I’ve got a feeling we will be visiting the value resorts again in the future.
We have stayed at both Pop & AOA and much prefer pop. Our rooms at AOA were so far from the lobby/bus that we had to drive and park to do either (we did have children with us) and we have never had to do that at pop. The food choices at AOA didn’t please the children like at pop either. For our family, pop is the better option.
The walk from the Little Mermaid rooms to the amenities at AOA was exactly the reason why we ended up choosing Pop for our honeymoon. And boy were we glad we did! We stayed in a Preferred Room at Pop and could virtually see our room from the food court. After a long long day in the parks we were so grateful for the short walk back to the room, our bed and the shower! We felt so bad for families with sleeping children or tired crying kids who had to trudge past our room and carry on to the second star to the right and straight on till morning just to get back to their rooms.
We have had nothing but a great experience at Pop Century and we have stayed everywhere from Value (except any all stars) to Deluxe, as well as my parents are DVC members. My husband and I just returned from a 7 night stay at Coronado Springs in the beginning of November and the entire time we wished that instead we would have chosen Pop Century. We tried free dining for the first time, and would not do it again, just WAY too much food and we felt strapped to dining reservations, and we like to eat :). Bus service was AWFUL at Coronado, and we felt that it lacked that Disney charm, even more than we were expecting going into it knowing it is a Convention Hotel. Bus service at Pop is always consistent, in our opinion, we love it! Highly recommended for a budget or if you visit multiple times a year!
I think you hit the nail on the head! When visiting, my husband and I stay for a week or more, at a deluxe or moderate resort. We recently decided to take a two night trip, from December 1-3, simply to see, The Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights. It is our favorite Christmas experience, at Walt Disney World, and we have heard rumors that this may be its last year, or at least the last year on the Streets of America, as a result of Star Wars Land. I was a little weary of Pop Century, before reading this review, because of the room photos, but I believe it will serve its purpose. I can’t justify spending deluxe or even moderate prices for such a short trip, especially because we will never be in the room! On arrival day, we plan on exploring the new stores, in Downtown Disney, and then doing another of our favorites, the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, at 8:30. I am wondering the best way to get there (we will have our car); 1) Driving to Fort Wilderness, 2) Driving to Wilderness Lodge and taking the ferry across or would you have another suggestion? This review is the reason we decided to stay at Pop for a couple days. Our expectations are pretty low so maybe it will surprise us!
We have just finished our first stay at pop century and loved it! For the location, value and transportAtion it can’t be beat!
This blog site is by far the best that I’ve seen. A lot of really good reviews/feedback. July 2014,I, my wife and two daughters both age 7 are going to WDW and staying at POP Century. I know that the heat and humidity can and will be intolerable at times. That being said, do you have any suggestions on breaking up the days? I know a little about the fast pass and the extended park hours. But is there maybe a good time to eat breakfast? I’ve read “early” but what is early? We have the Quick Service Meal Plan, can you suggest where to eat? I know that it’s a lot but I don’t want to waste our entire trip planning as we go. Thank you for everyone’s feedback/help.
Jim
Lunch at one of the nearby hotels is always a good option, as is going back to use the pool, or heading to Downtown Disney. Have a great trip!
Love the blog! We are making our first trip to Disney ( family of 4) and have reservations for Pop and free dining-QS. We are going for 11 nights, I am struggling as to upgrade to moderate or not but don’t see the value as we will be at the parks with the kids day in and day out. Is the value there in your opinion to upgrade the dining and if so wouldn’y it be the same as upgrading to a moderate?
Hi Mary,
I was able to take advantage of “free dining” for the very first time this year. It was a crazy couple of hours; we’re on the west coast, so, I started on the phones at 4:00 a.m. local time. In the end, though, I was able to get through and add FD to a new Pop Century reservation in December. (We are also going at the end of this month, for Star Wars Weekend, but will be staying at Art of Movies.)
As I understand it, there are few left among the moderate resorts which qualify for the FD. This is because the resorts which are ineligible for the promotion (“Little Mermaid” suits at AoA, the Port Orleans resorts, Art of Movies, etc.) have winnowed down the number of resorts that CAN be booked for free dining. If you are trying to change your Pop booking for a moderate, let us know how that works out!