My past two Disney trips I’ve been on a bit of a budget, so I stayed at a value resort – Pop Century both times. But even value resorts are great accommodations in Disney World, and a good way to stay when you don’t have a ton to spend on the fancier hotels. This resort is broken down into different sections that represent various decades: the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s. The rooms are your standard hotel rooms.
The outside of the resort has lots of fun themes that go along well with each decade. The 80’s section has pac-man characters on the outside, the 60’s has hippie style flowers, etc. There are also statues with various Disney figures outside of the buildings from that decade, like Mowgli and Baloo in the 60’s section and Lady and the Tramp in the 50’s.
The rooms themselves don’t really have much theming. We stayed in the 1960’s section and the 1980’s. The only real theming inside the rooms was a collage on the wall that contained lots of Disney references from that decade. It was a cute touch, but I wish there was more going on in the room too!
In the main building there is a lobby with an arcade, shop, and food court. One of the things we really liked about the lobby was the large display cases they had on the wall with items representing each decade. It was fun to go through and look at them and remember items from our childhoods!
“Everything Pop” food court has a wide variety of items that you would expect to find – things like pizza, burgers, chicken fingers, etc. There weren’t too many things that were out of the ordinary or unusual, like at the more diverse one at Art of Animation. We had the fish and chips and salmon burger while we were here. The highlight here though is one of the dessert items – the King Cupcake, a chocolate cake with banana filling, peanut butter frosting, candied bacon bits and a white chocolate guitar pick on top. It might sound weird but it was absolutely delicious!
The one main pool, the Hippy Dippy pool, is in the 60’s section, though it’s basically your standard pool – no fun water slides or anything like that. There are also two smaller pools in the 50’s and 80’s.
Overall Pop Century is a basic but fun resort. Often the cheapest of Disney resorts, it’s definitely a good way to stay on property without spending a fortune. It may not have the frills of some of the other Disney resorts, but it’s a family friendly spot with some larger than life theming.
Check out my reviews of other Disney resorts here:
I was wondering what Pop Century was like. We go to Disney twice a year (around Halloween and Christmas) and are always looking for new, affordable places to stay.
How fun! Pop Century is definitely a good choice when you’re on a budget!
We went to Pop Century way back in 2005 for five days and had a great time. I think we got spoiled by bigger rooms and nicer resorts, though. We stayed for a short time in 2008 and found it to be less comfortable. We haven’t gone back with the kids thus far and have used off-site condos, but I do think the theming is a lot of fun. I’m right on board with this review.
That’s why we’re hoping to eventually buy DVC – I think that when we have a little more money we’d like to be “spoiled” by the bigger rooms, but for now on a budget pop is a great option!
Pop Century is great! I live in Central Florida and this is one of our go-to places for a cheap and fun staycation, although I’m a bit partial to Art of Animation since they have those great family suites!
I agree about Art of Animation – I also love the fact that it’s so Disney themed.
I live in Central Florida and for a value resort I always go for the Art of Animation. It seems like they wanted to build and open Pop Century so quickly that it didn’t really get the best theming.
Pretty much the only reason why I don’t do Art of Animation every time is because the Little Mermaid rooms are never included in discounts, and the suites are expensive. I do love it there though!
I recently stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, but Pop Century was one of the others that my family was considering! It looks like such a fun resort, though I do have to say, I adored Riverside! Thanks for the comprehensive review. 🙂
The outside looks awesome! Thank you for the great review. It was nice to see the inside of the rooms, even though they are not as exciting as the outside. Good for when you’re staying within a budget.
Definitely! I tend to spend so much time in the theme parks anyway that it doesn’t matter what the room is like too much – it’s mostly for sleeping and showering!
I’ve stayed at Pop a couple times and had great experiences each time 🙂 obviously the moderate and deluxe resorts are nicer and way more relaxing for my taste, but with Pop Century you definitely get your money’s worth! 🙂
Yes, it’s a great deal – especially since you still get all of the conveniences of being right at Disney!