Is Disney’s Pop Century Worth the Money?
Disney’s Pop Century Resort is located in the heart of Disney in Orlando, Florida. The resort’s contemporary themes allow it to serve a broad range of visitors and accommodate any kind of travelers.
Out of all of the resorts that Disney World has to offer for those who would like to stay in close proximity to the park with shuttles available, Disney’s Pop Century Resort is the perfect option for individuals, couples and families alike. And in this review, I’m going to cover all of the great things that make the Pop Century truly stand out (and a few things I’m not a fan of)—especially from a value standpoint.
Room Features and Price
For most travelers (myself included), the features of the room in a resort or a hotel are some of the most important factors to take into consideration when booking a stay. (Tip: the month of March is one of the best times to go to Disney World. It also happens to be one of the cheapest times to visit Disney World.)
For a seven day stay, I ended up paying somewhere around $177 per night (no tax included). For a Disney resort, I consider this to be a decent price for the time that I stayed. I have stayed at a multitude of hotels and resorts that charged an arm and a leg for a shorter stay with less amenities. Depending on the time of year and length that you stay the rates will change, but I have always found Disney’s prices to be somewhat reasonable.
While staying at this particular resort, I chose to stay in a standard room. It was more affordable than the other styles of the room and had all of the accommodations that my group and I found necessary for our stay. Even though it was only a standard room, I was not impressed with the theme or style of the room overall.
When I was booking the room online, the first thing I noticed was that the colors of the room seemed very vibrant and welcoming. The room size looked decent and comfortable in terms of a living area for a one-week stay. I was excited to be able to stay in a Disney-themed room where the exciting colors would make me even more excited to spend one week in one of my favorite places to travel to.
However, upon my arrival, I was disappointed in the theme of the room that greeted me as soon as I opened the door. The blue tinted color of the walls fell flat and made the room muted and disappointing instead of vivid and animated.
The carpet was not as cleaned as I had hoped that it would be, although I did enjoy the incorporation of Mickey ears that was found constant throughout the pattern. There were two or three Disney-themed posters and decorations displayed in the room, but I still felt that it lacked in my overall Disney experience.
Besides the colors and patterns that I found at fault with the atmosphere, the rest of the room was perfect for my stay. The standard room included one small table and a few chairs that could seat a comfortable number of people. Two lights above each bed and a night stand perched in the middle of the two beds allowed for each person to carry on with their personal habits.
The television, which was a decent sized flat screen, was placed on a dresser that had more than enough room to go around. When I was not at the parks, I was able to try and relax in the room. There was the perfect amount of space to change into different clothes for the night and to lounge around for a little while before I decided to return to the parks. A mini fridge and the privacy of long curtains make for an even more relaxing experience.
I was very impressed with the bathroom. The resort stayed with their contemporary theme and incorporated “Hollywood style” lightbulbs above the mirror above the outside counter space in the room. This allowed for both a fun feel and a decent amount of light to do hair, makeup, outfit fixing, etc.
The bathroom itself was pretty standard. With one decent sized shower and a toilet, everything was very well maintained and clean. This pattern was mostly consistent with the entirety of the room and I had no real complaints about cleanliness from the time that I checked into the resort through the day that it was time for me to go home.
Resort Atmosphere
I was very impressed with the Disney impressions that were consistently evident wherever I went at the resort. There were sculptures of characters from some of my favorite Disney movies that seemed to have been brought to life right in front of my eyes. Everything seemed to be on a giant scale, which definitely added to the “Pop Century” theme that the resort is named.
Thankfully, I am a huge fan of bright colors and exciting themes. At Disney’s Pop Century, the vivid atmosphere is just about inescapable (except for when it comes to the rooms). Staying at Pop Century has been one of my most enjoyable experiences while staying within the Disney World resorts.
The main area of the resort is immediately welcoming. It is an open area and I have never felt like I have been crammed in there with other guests. It is comfortable, welcoming and enjoyable. This area has proven to be useful for me when trying to gather a party of people together and when I have been sorting through both my room arrangements and luggage assortments.
The shuttle service was one of my favorite amenities at this resort in particular. It was always a fast service and the drivers were always friendly and welcoming while my party and I boarded the bus. This is the case at most Disney resorts.
At the Pop Culture Resort, however, I found that the service was faster than any other experience I had. This might have been because of the time of the year that I visited, but it still added to the fact that I had an enjoyable experience at the Pop Culture Resort.
Staff and Employees
A great atmosphere and environment in a hotel or resort is never complete without a kind and courteous staff. Thankfully, Disney’s Pop Century Resort follows through with an incredible staff. Every single employee was helpful, hospitable and obviously well trained.
There was one point during my week long trip that I ran out of towels in my room. I was in a rush to get to an event at one of the parks, so I quickly called down to one of the staff members from my room and asked for several towels. Sure enough, one of the hotel employees had delivered clean towels to my room within a matter of minutes. I can honestly say that this was one of the greatest experiences that I have had with hotel employees in several years.
I have stayed at many hotels in the past that had under-equipped teams of staff members, rude employees and an awful wait time whenever I asked for extra amenities. Because Disney World is one of the most toured destinations in the world, one might think that their service would be slow and that their employees would be slow and rude.
And yet, I have always been impressed by the fact that, even though the staff is constantly busy and a lot is demanded from them, they never cease to have a smile on their face and do whatever they can for each and every guest.
Pool Area
When it comes to booking a stay for a vacation at a hotel or resort, one of the biggest factors that I tend to keep in mind is the pool area. After all, who doesn’t look forward to hopping into the pool or the hot tub after a long, hot day at the Disney parks?
The pool area at the Pop Century Resort is as good as it gets. From the various characters to the maintenance of the pool, it makes for a relaxing experience (as all pool experiences at resorts should be).
The Hippy Dippy Pool is family friendly and ideal for people of all ages. When I visited Disney’s Pop Century Resort, I made it a point to visit the pool at least two times per day. It is ideal to visit the pool both before and after visiting the parks (especially when you are trying to cool off after a hot day).
I have never run into many problems in terms of having to share the pool space with a large number of guests or trying to find a chair to set my belongings on.
One of the coolest experiences that I have had at Disney World was watching a movie poolside at night. Like other resorts, Disney’s Pop Century Resort projects Disney movies onto a screen for swimmers and pool loungers to watch while they are enjoying their time outside. I loved being able to feel like a kid again while reminiscing on memories from my own childhood and the movies that I watched the most.
Food
Like the rest of the resort, the “grab and go” dining area is filled with color. The floor is splattered with tiles of so many colors, making it an incredibly striking sight. Everything is well organized and the service is fast and friendly. I might have a wide palette when it comes to food, but I do not think that I have ever had a bad experience while eating at any Disney resort.
During my stay at Disney’s Pop Century Resort, I decided to try out all three options on site (more details about each dining service here). At the resort, there are three available options.
Everything POP Shop and Dining has seven locations spread throughout the resort. Similar to a convenience store, guests have a variety of food options to choose from before checking out at any of the registers where a cashier will check you out. The variety of food is good, ranging from fruits and vegetables to pre-made meals. Beverages are also available. This is a great option for anyone who might be in a hurry to eat and who does not want to buy a meal or snack once they are inside of the parks.
Adults, getting a little thirsty while at the pool? Petals Pool Bar serves a variety of alcohol to adults who want a drink while lounging poolside. From cocktails to beers, those twenty-one years of age and older can enjoy a relaxing beverage while taking a break from the parks.
The pizza delivery service offered at the Pop Century Resort has been amazing whenever I have wanted pizza—it made me not want to leave my room. After going to the parks, I find that I am often tired and might not want to leave the resort (especially when it has been a particular hot day outside). And whenever that happens, the pizza delivery service will be happy to deliver pizza to your room in a relatively short amount of time. This happens to be a reasonably cheap meal option, too.
All in all, my experience at Disney’s Pop Culture Resort has been one of my most enjoyable adventures while visiting Disney World so far. As a Disney fanatic myself, I really enjoy going to Disney and I see myself visiting much more in the future. If I could make a few recommendations, I would suggest renovating the rooms and keeping them relevant with the style of the rest of the hotel.
Everything was clean and organized and I was impressed. As I mentioned earlier, the staff was always friendly and willing to tend to every need that I thought that I might have. This went across the span of the entire resort, from the time that I checked in until the time that I checked out. A professional staff is necessary to maintain a well-run hotel and resort.
If you are thinking about visiting Disney, I highly recommend this resort. For a great price and value, it is family-friendly and well-suited for people of all ages and backgrounds.
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