Disney's POP CENTURY RESORT Information & Questions

[StageTek]

I'd love any advice on where to request our room in Pop Century (prefer close to the shuttle stop - after a long day at the park, we are all tired and my 10 and 12 yr. old are now too big for us to carry back to the room if they fall asleep on the shuttle!)

I haven't stayed at POP yet but I've been doing research; the closest buildings to the bus stop are 9 and 10. 1 and 8 are not too far either. Building 1 you will pass the food court to get to the buses.

Are there mini fridges and/or microwaves at Pop Century?

There is a mini fridge but no microwave.

Can we leave our luggage at check in at Pop Century before our room is ready?

Yes.

 

[GenGen22]

.Are there mini fridges and/or microwaves at Pop Century? Last time we also got fruit, yogurt, milk, bread, etc. delivered from Garden Grocer, though we may just try to pick that stuff up locally on our own since we are starting at the Hilton. One more Q: our check out time at Hilton is 11 am, but we want to head to one of the parks that day. Can we leave our luggage at check in at Pop Century before our room is ready? Thanks for the help!

Yes they have microwaves in the everything pop cafeteria. And yes you can leave your luggage at bell services.

 

[CarolynFH]

Thanks for the heads up. We've done two TS presentations before, one for RCA that we were dumb and bought into, then got home and regretted it so called and canceled within the 3 day cancellation period. Other one we did at Massenutten and we knew going in to be strong and not show any weakness! Planning on setting an alarm on my phone and having the kids start to whine/complain when the allotted time is up!

I’m happy to hear that! I’ve read so many reports from people who got caught up in the excitement and spent thousands of dollars for something they could have bought for pennies (and that they regret buying at all) that I feel I have to warn the unaware. Glad to know y’all are in great shape!

 

[scrappinginontario]

We just booked a stay at Pop Century a few nights ago so now I'm in planning mode! We did Disney about 3 years ago and went with friends. We managed to go during the free dining promo and it was our first trip with kids, so we went all out. Stayed a week at CBR, had the meal plan so did lots of character meals, did the photo pass thing. Our upcoming trip will be more of a budget trip. DH booked a 3 night stay at Hilton Grand Vacations to do a timeshare presentation (only going for the free lodging, not interested in purchasing a timeshare!). We will start there on a Wed.-Sat. at the end of March, then move to Pop Century for 3 nights. I got 4 days of tickets so that we can do parks on F-M, travel home Tuesday. I'd love any advice on where to request our room in Pop Century (prefer close to the shuttle stop - after a long day at the park, we are all tired and my 10 and 12 yr. old are now too big for us to carry back to the room if they fall asleep on the shuttle!), as well as dining on a budget tips since we are not planning on doing the meal plan this time. The girls have requested that we try to get reservations in the West Wing at BOG, other than that we will likely do quick service while in the park. And I'll bring along cereal and instant oatmeal for breakfasts in our room. Are there mini fridges and/or microwaves at Pop Century? Last time we also got fruit, yogurt, milk, bread, etc. delivered from Garden Grocer, though we may just try to pick that stuff up locally on our own since we are starting at the Hilton. One more Q: our check out time at Hilton is 11 am, but we want to head to one of the parks that day. Can we leave our luggage at check in at Pop Century before our room is ready? Thanks for the help!

I would recommend requesting buildings 1 and 10 to be closest to the buses and Classic Hall. Buildings 4, 5, 6 and 8 are also good. Personally I would not choose to stay in building 9 as some of those rooms are the furthest from Classic Hall and the buses you can get plus to get there quickly you will need to cut through a parking lot which is not my preference while on vacation.

There is a mini fridge in your room as well as a single serve coffee maker that takes pods. There isn't a microwave but these are available to use in the food court, even with your own food. There are also toasters available for your use.

Your room may be ready when you arrive so it is worth checking even if it's earlier in the day. Yes, you may leave your luggage with luggage services if your room is not ready and you can even request that they deliver your luggage to your room once it is assigned so that you luggage is waiting for you when you return from the park.

This is a helpful group! We're happy to answer any other questions you may have.

 

[Nyalims]

Arrived at Pop Century on Monday and staying through Saturday. We’re in Building 10, I’m in a walking boot so at check in asked for a close room. It’s a great location. Only problem was Monday night leaving MK. We walked out at exactly 10 pm and didn’t get back to the hotel till 11:40 pm. Buses were only coming one at a time.

 

[heath92681]

Arrived at Pop Century on Monday and staying through Saturday. We’re in Building 10, I’m in a walking boot so at check in asked for a close room. It’s a great location. Only problem was Monday night leaving MK. We walked out at exactly 10 pm and didn’t get back to the hotel till 11:40 pm. Buses were only coming one at a time.

Ugh, this was my only complaint at Pop last year. Not looking forward to dealing with that again. The CM at the front desk said they had been having issues, and they still haven't fixed those issues a year later? Shame.

 

[dansdad]

Ugh, this was my only complaint at Pop last year. Not looking forward to dealing with that again. The CM at the front desk said they had been having issues, and they still haven't fixed those issues a year later? Shame.

Just as an FYI, this is not resort specific.

 

[heath92681]

Just as an FYI, this is not resort specific.

We had great bus service at the other resorts we’ve stayed at. Maybe that was just luck.

 

[dansdad]

We had great bus service at the other resorts we’ve stayed at. Maybe that was just luck.

Definitely.

 

[rstevens333]

Don't forget you can grab an Art of Animation bus if one pops up sooner. It's not too bad of a walk, especially at night.

 

[ang79]

I would recommend requesting buildings 1 and 10 to be closest to the buses and Classic Hall. Buildings 4, 5, 6 and 8 are also good. Personally I would not choose to stay in building 9 as some of those rooms are the furthest from Classic Hall and the buses you can get plus to get there quickly you will need to cut through a parking lot which is not my preference while on vacation.

There is a mini fridge in your room as well as a single serve coffee maker that takes pods. There isn't a microwave but these are available to use in the food court, even with your own food. There are also toasters available for your use.

Your room may be ready when you arrive so it is worth checking even if it's earlier in the day. Yes, you may leave your luggage with luggage services if your room is not ready and you can even request that they deliver your luggage to your room once it is assigned so that you luggage is waiting for you when you return from the park.

This is a helpful group! We're happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Thanks for the advice! My girls were eager to pick colors for their magic bands tonight (as soon as they found out we booked a stay they wanted to do that). They are also making lists of Must Do rides, activities, restaurants. With only 4 park days and no hopper ticket, we may have a hard time figuring out which parks to do. We all agree that Hollywood Studios was our least favorite park. A couple of fun rides and attractions, but not really enough to fill a whole day. DH thinks we should do 2 days at Animal Kingdom (we only did one day there last time and it was super hot, so we didn't have the motivation to do a whole lot there). The girls really loved Magic Kingdom though. They will be 10 and 12 when we go and the youngest is still very much into princesses, magic, etc. If you only had 4 days, which parks would you do?

 

[rxbeth]

If you get a room with tub, does it still have a detachable shower head? Last time we had a shower only room and it worked surprisingly well with the little ones. I don't want to put shower as a request (my only request will be top floor) but I'm curious about the tubs in the new rooms.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thanks for the advice! My girls were eager to pick colors for their magic bands tonight (as soon as they found out we booked a stay they wanted to do that). They are also making lists of Must Do rides, activities, restaurants. With only 4 park days and no hopper ticket, we may have a hard time figuring out which parks to do. We all agree that Hollywood Studios was our least favorite park. A couple of fun rides and attractions, but not really enough to fill a whole day. DH thinks we should do 2 days at Animal Kingdom (we only did one day there last time and it was super hot, so we didn't have the motivation to do a whole lot there). The girls really loved Magic Kingdom though. They will be 10 and 12 when we go and the youngest is still very much into princesses, magic, etc. If you only had 4 days, which parks would you do?

That is a tough call! If there is 1 park to miss, even with the new TSL, I would agree that we would miss DHS. We'll be going in December and even though TSL is now open, we haven't planned a full day there so that's the one I would skip.

Now, how would I spend the other 4 days? What do your girls like to do? At ages 10 and 12, are they rides focused? Enjoy shows? Like to do the extra things like hands on activities, scavenger hunts, etc?

My DD is 9 and we visit WDW at least once a year and I will say over the past couple of years she has added more input into our trips and it's been wonderful! I used to be a ride, show, ride, show, ride, character meet, parade, etc kinda person. I've learned from her to slow us down a bit and it's wonderful. We now take time to do things like the Wilderness stations at AK, Pirates Adventure in the Magic Kingdom and a scavenger hunt or similar at Epcot.

Now, for days in parks. We would do 1 day in the AK. Even with doing a number of the Wilderness Stations, with the longer park hours we find 1 day to be enough for us.

Dividing the other 3 days is tough as we could easily spend 2 days each in both the MK and Epcot. If it were me I would probably say 2 days in the MK to try and do as much as possible but my DD would disagree and spend 2 days at Epcot as it's her favourite park.

LOL - I'm not sure I've helped much at all! Hope you can make something of this mess!

I will say, something I decided to do this trip as a surprise for my DD, now that she's getting a bit older is a tour. I've booked a 'Caring for Giants' 1 hour tour on our Animal Kingdom day which is a behind the scenes with the elephants. I've heard good things about this tour and figured it was a nice intro one. It also doesn't take up too much time at 1 hour in length and is just $30 a person. I think this will be a fun little surprise for her!

Happy planning!

 

[scrappinginontario]

If you get a room with tub, does it still have a detachable shower head? Last time we had a shower only room and it worked surprisingly well with the little ones. I don't want to put shower as a request (my only request will be top floor) but I'm curious about the tubs in the new rooms.

The shower fixtures are identical in both the tub and shower only bathrooms. You will have the hand held and rain-shower head in both bath configurations.

Like you we loved these! Now I want one at home.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Arrived at Pop Century on Monday and staying through Saturday. We’re in Building 10, I’m in a walking boot so at check in asked for a close room. It’s a great location. Only problem was Monday night leaving MK. We walked out at exactly 10 pm and didn’t get back to the hotel till 11:40 pm. Buses were only coming one at a time.

Sorry this happened to you. I will say my experience has been (specifically at MK and DHS) that if I leave the park right after the fireworks or at park closing that the bus waits are LONG! Unfortunately Monday both of these things would have happened in the MK only about 40 mins apart and right around 10:00.

At these 2 parks we either leave before the fireworks or more likely, take our time after the fireworks and park closing, before leaving. We wander the stores, pick up a little snack for the room and sometimes just sit and people watch for a bit. We often leave the park 30-60 mins after official park closing. we still wait a bit for a bus normally but nothing like we used to experience leaving right at park closing. 4

Hope your other bus rides back to Pop are better than Monday's experience.

 

[Haley R]

Thanks for the advice! My girls were eager to pick colors for their magic bands tonight (as soon as they found out we booked a stay they wanted to do that). They are also making lists of Must Do rides, activities, restaurants. With only 4 park days and no hopper ticket, we may have a hard time figuring out which parks to do. We all agree that Hollywood Studios was our least favorite park. A couple of fun rides and attractions, but not really enough to fill a whole day. DH thinks we should do 2 days at Animal Kingdom (we only did one day there last time and it was super hot, so we didn't have the motivation to do a whole lot there). The girls really loved Magic Kingdom though. They will be 10 and 12 when we go and the youngest is still very much into princesses, magic, etc. If you only had 4 days, which parks would you do?

Normally I would say no to HS but we took our niece in March when she was 9 (almost 10) and she said it was her favorite park. She loved rock n roller coaster and tot. They were her favorite rides and she wanted to reride them. She also really liked fantasmic. It’s all personal preference though. Personally, I would pick 2 days for mk, 1 for ak, and 1 for Epcot. I definitely don’t think you need 2 for ak. We still do it has a half day park but one should be plenty.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Normally I would say no to HS but we took our niece in March when she was 9 (almost 10) and she said it was her favorite park. She loved rock n roller coaster and tot. They were her favorite rides and she wanted to reride them. She also really liked fantasmic. It’s all personal preference though. Personally, I would pick 2 days for mk, 1 for ak, and 1 for Epcot. I definitely don’t think you need 2 for ak. We still do it has a half day park but one should be plenty.

You're so right that it depends on what the kids like. My friends took their 9yo twins to Disney in August and ended up going back to DHS almost every other day at some point during the day to ride RnRC and ToT just like your niece! I can't get my 9yo to ride ToT yet. The funny thing is it's the thought of the pre-story that frightens her, not the ride itself!

 

[Haley R]

You're so right that it depends on what the kids like. My friends took their 9yo twins to Disney in August and ended up going back to DHS almost every other day at some point during the day to ride RnRC and ToT just like your niece! I can't get my 9yo to ride ToT yet. The funny thing is it's the thought of the pre-story that frightens her, not the ride itself!

Huh that is funny lol. Does she like hm? I feel like they are somewhat similar in pre shows. My niece has seen It even though I refuse to watch it so she doesn’t find a whole lot scary. Dh actually changed hs to his favorite park after taking our niece. We have a greater appreciation for ToT and rnrc now than we did before.

 

[Wubar]

Arrived at Pop Century on Monday and staying through Saturday. We’re in Building 10, I’m in a walking boot so at check in asked for a close room. It’s a great location. Only problem was Monday night leaving MK. We walked out at exactly 10 pm and didn’t get back to the hotel till 11:40 pm. Buses were only coming one at a time.

Just wrapped up my third stay at Pop this year and never had any major issues with buses. Yes, you might have to wait at popular times, like park open and park close, but that's just sheer volume - a numbers game. I have hopped on an Soap bus a couple times, but all in all, I don't think we ever waited more than 15 minutes for a bus.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Huh that is funny lol. Does she like hm? I feel like they are somewhat similar in pre shows. My niece has seen It even though I refuse to watch it so she doesn’t find a whole lot scary. Dh actually changed hs to his favorite park after taking our niece. We have a greater appreciation for ToT and rnrc now than we did before.

lol nope! She chooses not to ride HM either and I don’t ask her to. She’s watched both rides on YouTube but just does not want to ride them in person due to the storylines and I’m okay with that. I’m sure it will change in time so for now we spend our time elsewhere.