Pop Century! Resort stay review

This past August, I had the opportunity to stay at Pop Century. This was not only my first time at this resort, but my first time at a value resort at Walt Disney World.

Why Pop?

1. Budget friendly. I knew I wouldn't be spending much time at the resort, so the amenities did not matter.

2. Queen beds. All other value resorts have full sized beds (with the exception of the renovated rooms at All-Star Movies).

3. The Murphy bed. It was just my husband, my 2 month old, and myself this trip so I liked that I could fold up the bed we weren't using for some extra space. Value rooms are small! So keep that in mind when booking.

4. Not overly themed in the actual rooms. I did not want the theming of the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation. Pop rooms, and the newly renovated rooms at All-Star Movies, are very cleanly decorated with cute Mickey artwork.

Pop has four categories of rooms to book: standard, standard pool view, preferred, and preferred pool view. All rooms are exactly the same, the only difference is location. I went with the preferred pool view. This means I was right on the Hippy Dippy pool. It's the first big section you come to when you exit out of the main building, Classic Hall. I enjoyed this area. It was so convenient for transportation and dining. Plus, waking up to the view of the Hippy Dippy pool was nice. I LOVE resort pools and enjoyed the vibe of being right there. I was warned it might be loud. We were on the top floor (4th) and didn't notice it. We also slept with white noise, which may have helped. You can easily download an app on your phone if you need it.

We checked in super late at night, almost midnight, and Classic Hall was full of people. I waited in line to check in so we could decline mousekeeping (this can now be done through your My Disney Experience app). By declining, we received a gift card for $10 for every day of our stay, except the last one. It was immediately in my email and we used it for tips at our table service reservations.

While I checked in, my husband went to grab a quick bite before food closed at midnight. We were not impressed with the dining option. It is a food court called Everything Pop. It has a small store in it as well. The space is nice and big and there are tons of soda machines and coffee areas, which is nice. The food options were just alright. I prefer the resorts with a little more to offer than your typical sandwiches, pizza, and chicken. We were on the Disney dining plan and used it a couple of times to grab snacks, a quick service meal, and refill our mugs. The only mug refill station is at Classic Hall. This could be a little annoying if you are in the furthest buildings and want to make the best use of your mug.

The theming was cuter than I thought it would be. Each section has fads from the various decades and the pools all match. I liked that Disney movie characters from each decade were thrown in and there were oversized games and toys as well. We took time out one day to walk through all the sections and see everything. There are some fun spots for photos and areas to play in each section. We also walked over to Art of Animation. The theming is really fun, and while we couldn't use their pools, it was nice to see all the different sections and gave us something to do outside of our own resort.

Though the values do not have a lot going on in terms of amenities and activities at the actual resort, Pop Century always seemed to be full of life during the day. People were always out, there was trivia and other games at the Hippy Dippy pool. It was a very nice vibe, especially in the 60's section.

My favorite part of this resort was definitely the rooms. For the price, the rooms were perfect. They had just been renovated and Disney did a great job. The floor is no longer carpeted. It made it feel cleaner and looked nicer. The bathroom had a pocket door, instead of a curtain like at the other values. This helped save space and looked so sleek. The bathroom was nice and bright which made it look and feel bigger than it actually is. I enjoyed the subtle Mickey decor. Also, loved the in room coffee. The non-refurbished values don't have a coffee option in room. I think the room would be cramped with a family of four, especially with strollers. But it was perfect for us this stay, and was plenty of space when we put the Murphy bed up.

Two month old enjoying the comfy bed.

The transportation when we visited was only buses. We used it frequently and had very few problems. The buses to Magic Kingdom can get cramped, but Pop Century doesn't share buses or have multiple stops. We typically did not have to wait for multiple buses before getting on. The one exception was the morning bus to Magic Kingdom. My husband went solo one morning and he had to wait because the first bus was full. However, the buses were running frequently to account for the high volume. Now, you have the skyliner for Hollywood Studios and Epcot and can utilize this to get to Caribbean Beach and Riviera as well. There is an amended bus schedule to these parks. See here. I do think with how packed the buses got, it would be difficult to navigate with double strollers. Get to the bus early so you have a good spot in line if traveling with little ones and big strollers. I baby wore my infant, so this wasn't a problem.

Overall, we both really liked the resort for a value. If I am looking for a budget friendly resort for a quick trip, we will definitely chose Pop Century again. It would also be great if you are not planning for many rest or resort only days during your trip. For a family of four, I would recommend checking out the moderate level options for a bit more space. Those will also have a lot more to do if you plan for a day at the resort.