Alex Coleman
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2017
- Messages
- 416
Introduction
This is a comprehensive review of Disney’s Pop Century Resort. I will give my thoughts about the resort itself and I will review the room. I will also give some recommendations for those who may want to stay at the resort and some suggestions to make your stay better.
Pop Century is a Value resort in the ESPN Wide World of Sports area of Walt Disney World. The resort opened on December 14, 2003. Originally, PC was intended to take up the entire Hourglass Lake (where Disney’s Art of Animation Resort currently occupies). But after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, construction was scaled-back.
Pop Century contains 2880 rooms divided into four areas. These areas are themed based on a particular century of pop culture (see what Disney did there?
). These four areas a spread out around the central hub which includes Classic Hall and the Hippy Dippy Pool.
There is the 50’s section with bowling pins for staircases, 45rpm records, a jukebox, and the prime statues which are Lady and the Tramp-themed. There is also the Bowling Pin Pool.
The next era is the 60’s section with yo-yo staircases, flowers, peace signs, a Goofy statue, and the major statue which is from The Jungle Book (the animation version, sorry Bill Murray).
There is the 70’s section with 8-track tape staircases, a giant foosball team, and two major statues: a big wheel and a Mickey phone.
The 80’s section contains rubik's cube staircases, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head statues, and two major statues: a giant Walkman and Roger Rabbit. This section also shares the Computer Pool with the 90’s section.
Lastly, there is the 90’s section which has cell phone staircases (throwback to my childhood with the giant cell phones!), a giant laptop, and giant floppy disks. As I stated above, this section shares the Computer Pool with the 80’s section.
Sarah and I stayed here during our September 2017 trip. We had visited the resort previously and we were both skeptical, to say the least. Sarah and I both had walked through the resort during our November 2016 trip and were not impressed by the feel. We both have a high kitsch tolerance, but only if that involves Disney animation characters.
Resort
Positives
Let’s start with positives. I think the most glaring positive is the value of this Value resort. On average, guests will spend roughly $160/ night on a Standard room. If you want to upgrade to a Preferred room, which you may not want to do until the end of 2018 because of the room upgrades, it will cost you roughly $180/ night, on average. Those are very decent WDW rack room rates.
The other positive when it comes to PC room rates is that it is included in almost every WDW discount. The most popular discount is the Free Dining promotion and Pop Century is eligible for this promotion constantly. This gives PC an advantage over its sister resort, Art of Animation, which usually only has its suites available for promotions.
I think that transportation is another positive for this Value resort. PC has its own bus system and does not share like the All-Star resorts. This means there is a higher likelihood that you will get on your bus and means more time in the parks. Great, right?!
Sarah and I also observed that, during our September 2017 trip, there seemed to be significantly more buses allocated to PC than other resorts. When we got out of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, there were two double-buses (or bendy buses for those across the pond) within the space of 5 minutes. This was a common theme throughout our stay and I have a pet theory about this that I will never confirm. I believe that this resort, especially during the Free Dining promotion dates, is one of the heaviest populated hotels. My guess is that leads to more transportation.
Lastly, I think that theming can be a positive for this resort. I think the over-the-top, Disney explosion of this resort can play well. I think there are populations that will really love this theming. Children who love the bright colors and massive icons could fall in love with this resort. I could also, possibly, see the theming resonating with older populations who may feel nostalgic about the items that defined these eras and these films that defined the generation.
Negatives
Now time to talk about some negatives of the resort. Ironically, I think that the theming can also be a negative at PC. Theming preferences vary wildly. Tis life for a Disney blogger. I think that it goes just one bridge (the bridge across Hourglass Lake, coincidentally) too far. Maybe that is because the themes and characters that were chosen are not from our formative years.
My parents also don’t love the theming of this resort, but they aren’t very sentimental. Something like Disney’s Port Orleans Resort - Riverside is more their speed. They like a resort that is more reserved and doesn’t scream Disney in their faces as they step out their door.
This negative also includes the music. Sarah found ourselves dreading stepping into the Disney bus to and from the resorts because of the music. No one deserves to be tortured with 5 minutes of the Austin Powers theme song! This music extended through the resort and it drove us crazy the entire weekend. I know that there are people who love this music, but we are certainly not those people.I think the lobby is another negative at PC and this includes Everything Pop Shopping and Dining. When we were checking in, which we shouldn’t have needed to do anyways, we were remaking that the feel of the lobby was strange. Sarah declared, correctly, that it felt like we were in our grandparents’ house. It was slightly dark and had collections of old-timey photos and artifacts.
The Everything Pop Shopping area is nicer, but I am not a huge fan of the Dining. The dining hall itself is nice and it is large, but I am falling out of love with the resort dining halls. The food is usually stereotypical theme park food and not worth buying or using a meal credit. There are so many great Quick Service options at WDW and I don’t think it is worth using a credit here. The only thing we got here was ice cream.
Lastly, I think the Hippy Dippy Pool is a negative when compared to The Big Blue Pool at AoA. This may not be a fair comparison, but these two resorts will be locked in battle due to proximity and category. The pool is just a pool, it is not themed in any particular manner. Sarah and I are not big fans of public pools and this pool would not change our minds. The Big Blue Pool is massive and a masterpiece of theming.
Rooms
Postive/ Negatives?
Before I get to reviewing this room, I have to clarify something. This review will be useless before too long. Fortunately for the general public, the rooms at PC are undergoing an incredible transformation. Unfortunately for this blog, we were not able to stay in these rooms during our September 2017 trip. We will, however, be staying in one of these rooms during our May 2018 trip! So I will be reviewing this room, but check back for an updated review in June 2018!
Sarah and I stayed in the Preferred room at this resort and it was slightly disappointing. We were about as far away from Classic Hall as physically possible for a Preferred room. Sure, we did not have to walk across the entire resort, but we would have been closer to the lobby in several of the non-preferred rooms.
This may seem negative, but I think that the main positive about the currently un-refurbished rooms is that they were not as bad as I expected them to be. I would say these rooms are about as close to a classic motel room as you will ever experience. You kinda look at it and say “Ok, I can live here for a weekend.”
I think the beds were also another mediocre aspect in this room. Unlike our stay at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, both beds were the same and both beds were decent. Granted, we were probably as exhausted during this trip as we will ever be. I actually napped, which never happens, so the beds couldn’t have been terrible! Both of the sets of pillows were actually thick enough for us to sleep without using three pillows each. Which also separated this room from ASM.
I think the bathroom here was nice, but not going to knock anyone’s socks off. There was only one sink and everything felt a little cramped. Everything was in working order so it was a very liveable situation. Sarah and I both did everything we needed to do to get ready every day so it did not have any negative effect on our lives.
The entertainment center/ refrigerator area of the room functioned correctly. We have had a mixed-bag experience with the mini-fridges at WDW. Some have frozen our precious almond milk and some have worked correctly. To be fair, this was Sarah's fault because she didn't trust the fridge was actually on as cold as it was. Classic Sarah! This fridge did the job. We were able to enjoy our protein shakes in the morning. Once again, the room was incredibly functional.
Should I Stay Here?
As of 2017, I think this is the second best Value resort at WDW. I think that in 2018, this will overtake AoA to be the best Value resort at WDW. This opinion is going to get me in trouble with Sarah, but I think the quality of the renovated rooms, combined with the access to promotions, make this a better choice. Simply put, these refurbishments are going to be a game-changer. As is evidenced by other resort renovations, I think Disney is abandoning the loud, over-the-top Disney theming. I think they are going for a more sleek, modern approach with subtle Disney theming. They are moving into the 21st Century.
As a result of this, I would recommend PC for the following people:
- Anyone looking to be in an upgraded Value resort.
- Visitors who are looking to book the Free Dining promotion.
- Families who have younger populations who would appreciate the over-the-top theming on the exterior of the buildings.
- Parties looking to spend as much time in the parks as possible, but do not want to stay in an All-Star resort.
Tips
First, I would not recommend upgrading to a Preferred room in 2017. You should be looking to stay in a refurbished room. These have not reached the Preferred room area, yet. Call and request the 90’s area. This is the area where the refurbishment is completed. The 80’s area is soon to be completed, but not done yet. Get out early. I think this is a philosophy I am starting to adopt for every resort. I think the best way to experience a resort is early in the morning before everyone else wakes up. I love the peace and calm of an empty resort. With the large icons, this resort is a great place to walk around and absorb the ambiance.
Have you stayed at Disney’s Pop Century Resort? Share your experience! We would love to hear from you! Just add to the Comments section below.
