Oh, Pop! Century resort, what a fun and underrated resort you are. Pop Century resort is Disney's 'decades' and 'retro' themed resort with some of the best hidden gems and benefits on property. This resort features colorful, larger-than-life theming from decades 1950 through 1990s.
Walking along the paths you'll find 3 story tall Yo-yos, Bowling pins, and Rubik's Cubes. Not to mention the supersized figures of Lady & The Tramp for some over the top Disney throwback theming.
Pop Century is one of Disney World's five* Value level resorts. This means prices can start in the mid $100s and range up to the low $300s for a standard room. Between discounts and standard/preferred, these rooms often average the high $100s and low $200s all year. Nearly all the rooms at Pop Century can be connecting rooms. While Disney rarely ever guarantees connecting or even adjacent rooms, these requests are very often granted. This makes Pop Century an excellent option for larger families on a budget.
We have stayed at Pop Century a couple of times. This has quickly become our favorite inexpensive Disney World resort. When pricing out our favorite off-site Good Neighbor Hotels and benefits, vs. All-Stars, vs, Pop and Art of Animation, we repeatedly find Pop Century to be worth it.
Pop Century has a few of our favorite features: Good prices, Skyliner access, and a fully enclosed kiddie pool area. Also, Pop Century is a no pressure resort. It's not fancy, it doesn't try to be, and no one is going to stare over a meltdown thanks to a skipped nap.
We love Pop Century's skyliner access. The Skyliner is a great option for visiting Epcot and Hollywood Studios with a toddler or baby. It has some uniqueness that draws their attention, and key for us is that you can keep most strollers open when you get on.
Getting on and off the bus transportation means folding/unfolding a stroller, so we're always happy to skip that. Yes, the Skyliner can get very busy in the peak times, and yes, it will shut down during bad weather or lightning, but when it's working normally it's still an excellent option, especially if you still have a stroller.
Our other favorite part of this resort is the kiddie pool here. Pop Century has a few pools, one pool bar, and no slides or hot tubs. This is a value resort with value amenities. However, to the parents of a water loving toddler, the splash pad is where it's at. This splash pad is maybe 8" deep at the very center. It gradually slopes down. It's large, with upwards sprayers.
This is not too scary for toddlers, it has very shallow entry for the littlest babes, and some depth for the running splashing kiddos. For my husband and I though, the key is also that this area has chairs, tables, loungers, and it is 100% enclosed by a tall fence. If you have an independent toddler you can sit at the water's edge while they run and splash without worrying that they're going to take off towards the pool at breakneck speeds. The peace of not feeling a need to follow your toddler around is wonderful.
The food court here is mediocre, like many of the Value resort food courts at Disney. One of my favorite things to get at these stops is the turkey sandwich lunch. Not just for our kid, but I get one too. It has some cucumbers, tomatoes, apple chips, a turkey sandwich, and you can get it with a small fountain drink. $8 meal at Disney World? Yes, please! Besides, our kid is going to eat half of my plate no matter what I order.
Overall, we find Pop Century to be surprisingly fun. With the extra amenities of the Skyliner, plus the sprawling paths, this resort feels very moderate at great value prices, and could be fun for the whole family.
Pros | Cons |
Skyliner Access | No hot tub or pool slides |
Value Resort Prices | Beds are quite firm |
Large and secure splash pad | Long walk from 80s/90s rooms to the Skyliner |
Bright, Cartoony, Retro theming | Only one dining option, the Everything Pop! food court |
Accommodating for larger groups | Skyliner can be busy or shut down completely due to weather |
Murphy bed can provide more space when folded away | Like all value and moderate resorts**, rooms are direct walk up, making them sometimes loud as people return |
*Not counting Fort Wilderness campground
**Except Gran Destino Tower at Disney's Coronado Springs resort
Comments