Pop Century room tour of a standard room

A Pop Century room tour of one of their standard rooms:

In May 2021 I stayed in a standard Pop Century room for 5 nights with Jenn from Fairest Run of All. If you’re looking for an overview of Pop Century you can check out my complete guide here with tons of info, or my Pop Century resort review for opinions and thoughts on the resort – this post will just be about the Pop Century room itself!

We were assigned room 5120 – this was on the first floor in the 60s building It was not one of the rooms near the pool but facing the back and a quick walk to the Skyliner (that had been our request during online check-in). It was convenient to walk everywhere, as it was near the Skyliner, not too far from the main building, and right by the loop for morning runs and easy to get to Art of Animation.

The room basics

The rooms at Pop Century were recently refurbished in 2018, and I think they’re really nice – a big improvement over what they were like before. The rooms are still fairly small and basic (about 260 square feet), but for a couple or small family it’s fine. You have the main hotel room with a bed and a table area that pulls down into a second bed, as well as the dresser with a TV, a coffee area, and then the sink/bathroom area.

On the side of the TV where we first came in was the coffee maker and fridge area. The fridge is on the bottom with a coffee maker on top and your basic supplies – Joffrey’s coffee, sugar, creamer. There are two shelves above it for cups and the ice bucket but you could definitely store other items here if you wanted to.

Next to the coffee maker was a large window with a curtain for privacy. We were on the first floor in the 60s building, but our room faced towards the back (not towards any of the busier walkways or the pool. This was nice because it was a bit quieter and it was a pretty view out onto the lake and the walking/jogging loop around the lake that connects to Art of Animation resort.

On the other side of the TV is a small area with hooks on the wall if you wanted to hang anything. We ended up putting one of the chairs from the fold-up table there all the way over the side and setting up my suitcase in that little alcove so it wouldn’t be in the way.

Beds

In my opinion, one of the biggest improvements from the refurbishment is the beds. Previously the value resorts had 2 double beds, but now they are queen size beds. There is one traditional bed and one fold-down murphy bed that can be turned into a table during the day. The beds were decently comfy.

The murphy bed is just as comfy as the regular one since it’s the same mattress and everything. The set up is nice because if you were just a couple sharing a bed you wouldn’t need the second one and could keep it as a table and have a little more room space. Or if you were using both beds but you’re one of those impressive people who actually makes their beds in the mornings and doesn’t take a ton of naps, you could fold it up during the day and just bring it out at night. (Side note, that is obviously not me).

I was also very pleased with the availability of nightstands around the beds. Often in hotels you just have one nightstand in between the two beds, so if two people are in one bed one of them kind of gets screwed over when it comes to plugging in their phone or putting their books, glasses, etc. down at night. In addition to the one in between the two beds Pop Century now has one on either side of the beds as well (so three total). There’s a surface on top to put things as well as a little cubby hole for more storage. And look at all of those outlets! Two typical outlets and 2 USB ports.

Sink/bathroom area

The Pop Century room does have a separate sink area, and there’s actually a sliding door between where the sink is and the beds (as well as, of course, a door to the actual bathroom where the toilet and shower are). This area has one sink, but lots of little cubbies and shelves to store your bathroom stuff.

Also in this area is a (small) closet, so if you have any items you’d like to hang rather than putting them into drawers (or, you know, living out of your suitcase), you can do that here. You’ll also find an ironing board and an iron if you’re extra fancy like that.

The bathroom itself is small and typical. You’ve got a standard toilet, some bars for towels, and a shower/bath.

I always appreciate a bathroom that has both a tub and a shower. Normally I’m showering but if my legs or body is extra sore I can go for a hot bath. Especially at a value resort where they don’t have hot tubs at the pool area. There are two different styles of shower heads so you can opt for the more traditional shower or you can do the rainfall style.

And because people always seem really invested in this, Pop Century does have the big dispensers for shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Personally I’m a fan of this because I think it’s more convenient than fumbling around with the little containers in the shower, it’s more environmentally friendly, and I don’t really have to worry about running out of anything (I have a LOT of hair and can use up those tiny travel sized bottles quickly). You can see here there’s also a little shelf for any of the toiletries you bring yourself, as well as a retractable clothesline if you need to hang anything to dry during your stay, like bathing suits.

Decor

As a basic hotel room, I’m quite happy with the standard Pop Century room and the new set up. My only real issue is that a lot of the themeing is gone from the room. It feels very stark, which isn’t what I would expect from a value resort aimed more at kids and families. Our room had some Mickey art above the bed, and when you pull down the murphy bed you get art with Pluto dreaming of bones. The curtain was kind of a fun orange polka dot pattern. Other than that you basically have nothing in terms of themeing. I’d love to see more ways they incorporate some color or personality, even if it’s in subtle ways.

Video tour of Pop Century room

Overall thoughts on the Pop Century room

We were pleased with our room at Pop Century for this trip. Coming from Bay Lake Tower for 2 nights it was a little bit of a downgrade, but the room itself was fine and the location for the Skyliner was great. I definitely miss having a balcony like the deluxe resorts, as I’m now the type of person that really enjoys sitting out there and drinking coffee, reading a book, etc. But otherwise, for the two of us, it worked.

I don’t know that I would do more than 2 adults in one of these rooms unless you had 3 very close adults who don’t mind tripping over each other a lot (even with only 2 of use we managed to constantly be in each other’s way in the morning getting ready!). It would also be good for families with 1-2 smaller children. If you feel like you need a little more space though I’d look at a moderate.

I’d be happy to stay Pop Century again, especially if it was a quicker trip where I know I’d be spending a lot of my time in the parks or if I was solo or with 1-2 other people. For longer trips, vacations where I want to relax a little bit more, or if I’m going with a larger group I’ll probably look elsewhere.

Have you stayed in a Pop Century room since the refurbishment? How do you like it there?