Disney's Pop Century Resort - Disney’s BEST Value Resort!
Why you Should (and Shouldn’t) Stay There
Last Updated: September 5, 2025
We’ve been staying in Walt Disney World resorts for well over 15 years. In that time frame, we’ve stayed at every single resort on property at least once. But there’s one we keep returning to again and again - Disney’s Pop Century Resort! Having recently returned from a stay at this vibrant, nostalgia-filled hotel, I'm excited to share why this resort deserves serious consideration for your next Disney adventure.
When planning a Disney World vacation, choosing the right resort can make all the difference. Among Disney's Value Resorts, Pop Century stands out as our favorite for numerous compelling reasons. While the All-Star Resorts are often less expensive, Pop Century still has our vote as the best option for a Value Resort. Yes, I love the rooms, but most particularly due to the transportation option of the Skyliner, I consider Pop Century to the be the best “bang for your buck” Value Resort.
Resort Category
Value
Quick Facts
2,880 Rooms
10 Buildings
3 Pool Areas
Classic Hall (Lobby, Arcade, Dining & Shopping)
Disney’s Description
Experience the unforgettable fads of the 1950s through the 1990s all over again. From yo-yos and Play-Doh® to Rubik's Cube® and rollerblades, this Resort hotel salutes the timeless fashions, catch phrases, toys and dances that captivated the world through the decades.
Location
Pop Century is located on the south side of Walt Disney World property, conveniently near Hollywood Studios and Epcot. It’s furthest from Magic Kingdom. It’s situated right across Hourglass Lake from Art of Animation with the Skyliner Station right between the two on the Generation Gap bridge. It’s also not far from the Disney water parks.
Theming
Pop Century is a place where you can dive into the world of American pop culture from the 1950s to the 1990s, with larger-than-life icons that will take you on a trip down memory lane. You’ll see giant yo-yos, massive bowling pins, psychedelic flowers, and fun vocabulary from the past like “groovy”, “peace” and “hang loose”. It’s a fun and immersive experience that’s perfect for kids and adults alike. What makes Pop Century so special is that it appeals to people of all ages. Parents & grandparents will enjoy the nostalgia of their childhood, and kids will discover new cultural icons they might never have seen before.
Throughout the resort, in addition to the oversized “retro” items like yo-yos, bowling pins & laptops, you’ll also find oversized Disney characters - Lady & Tramp, Baloo, Mickey Mouse and more!
Rooms
Renovations
In 2019, the resort's 2,880 rooms were completely renovated and it was a huge improvement over the original rooms. The major refurbishment totally transformed the rooms into efficient, modern spaces that maximize comfort despite their modest 260 square foot size. The most ingenious addition was converting one of the traditional beds into a pull-down bed that transforms into a table and chairs when stowed away during the day. This simple change dramatically increases usable floor space during daytime hours – a crucial feature for families in a single room. Additional thoughtful details include USB charging ports by each bed and on the dresser, ample storage space under the beds for luggage, large flat screen TVs, “hardwood” floors, and a sliding door system that allows multiple family members to use & get ready in the bathroom areas simultaneously.
Currently in 2025, Pop Century is doing a much smaller “soft goods refurb” on their rooms at Pop Century. While this is a nice change, it’s not near as drastic of a change as the last round of renovations. I honestly didn’t notice much difference at first glance. Upon further inspection, I realized the walls were painted (they were white, and now they’re painted a light blue), the flooring was redone again (it looked like there was a rug, but I believe it’s just a pattern in the flooring), there were new chairs at the table, and a new curtain on the window.
Standard Room vs Preferred Room
I celebrated my 29th birthday at Pop Century! We stayed in a Standard Room in the 90s section that time.
Now let’s discuss room location. Up until recently, we’ve always stayed in a Standard Room, and it’s been great. However, on our most recent stay, we opted instead for a Preferred Room. WE CANNOT RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH!!! I honestly don’t know that I see us going back to a Standard Room if given both options in the future. It was just so convenient to get to all the main areas of the resort. Our room, specifically, was in the 60s area. These buildings surround the main pool. This means they’re closest to lobby (and therefore closest to the park busses) and closest to the Skyliner. Trust me, after walking 15,000 steps in the parks, it was nice being able get off the Skyliner at the end of the day and know our room was right down the walkway. We were in room 4211, BLDG 4, Floor 2, if anyone is curious. The rooms in the 80s & 90s sections are the furthest away from the main lobby. We did these a few years ago when we stayed at Pop Century on my 29th birthday. They were totally fine, but definitely a further walk. However, one benefit of going with these rooms is that they tend to be quieter in general. Just something to keep in mind. Some rooms also have a view of Hourglass Lake, which is nice!
If your main objective is to get a room closest to the Skyliner, you’re going to want a room in buildings 3, 4, 5, or 6. Specifically rooms with a water view will be closest because the Skyliner runs over Hourglass Lake. All of those buildings would be in the “Preferred” category.
Most rooms have two beds with one of them being a pull-down bed, but a select few have king beds. Those are available upon request, but they are not guaranteed. If you have a particular area of the resort in mind or if you would like to request a room with a king bed, I highly recommend you call Disney prior to your arrival, or have your travel agent do it for you. You can also reiterate your request at check-in. Requests are not guaranteed, but it’s always a good idea to ask!
Lobby
The lobby building of Pop Century is known as “Classic Hall”. This building includes the check-in desk/lobby area as well as Everything Pop! Take time to enjoy the shadow boxes in the lobby that showcase vintage items from each decade! You’re bound to find some retro memorabilia that will strike a chord and spark a memory to reminisce about! (For us, it’s the Wheel of Fortune handheld game that we both randomly remember from our own childhoods!)
One of Jessica’s favorite parts about the Pop Century lobby - the sparkly floors! According to her, it just feels like the Disney Store back in the 1990s!
The lobby of Disney's Pop Century Resort! Note the shadow boxes on the wall and the sparkly floors!
Everything Pop!
Everything Pop! is the name of shopping & dining area at Pop Century. This area was recently renovated in 2025, and they did a fantastic job. The retro color scheme reminds me of old TV ads (think 1970s Sesame Street mixed with 1960s Formica tables….ok, I’m not explaining it well, but I swear it works). I feel like the entire space is much more cohesive than it was in the past, and more thoughtfully designed. Now, the tables match the walls, which in turn match the booths.
The new look of Everything Pop! Note the new seating area on the left, along with the Mobile Order Pick-Up and the new coffee bar.
In addition to the new color scheme and new chairs & tables, they’ve also added in a new lounge seating area. This area is perfect for relaxing while waiting for your room to be ready on your arrival day, or on your way home. It’s also a nice hangout area to simply eat and play games throughout your stay. This area is home to the newly added dedicated coffee counter (an incredible addition), as well as the streamlined Mobile Order Pickup area.
The new coffee counter is great for those busy mornings where you just want some coffee and maybe a pastry - and you don’t want to wait in the long, long breakfast lines in the main area of the food court.
Food & Bars
The food quality was pretty consistent with all Walt Disney World Quick-Service locations, which is to say that everything we had was good, but not amazing. There were, however, a few standouts we had that were quite good. The Avocado Breakfast Bowl (potato barrels topped with scrambled egg, cheese, southwest-style beans, avocado, and salsa Fresca) was my favorite thing I had at Pop Century. I ordered it on two different mornings and it was quite delicious, especially with a little hot sauce. We also both tried the Sesame Chicken bowl one day for lunch, and it was definitely tasty.
Mobile Order Pick-Up Windows - We’ve been big proponents of the Mobile Ordering in Walt Disney World for a long time, and you can even place a Mobile Order at Pop Century! It’s great early in the morning when you’re trying to grab a quick breakfast before heading to the park. Order it from your room and it’s ready by the time you get to Everything Pop! In the afternoon and evenings you can order lunch and dinner as well. You can even order a large pizza from Mobile Order, although you can’t have it delivered to your room like you could “back in my day”, which is ironic given the fact this Pop Century is all about nostalgia.
Petal’s Pool Bar is the only true bar on property at Pop Century. It’s right by the Hippy Dippy Pool, and it offers everything you would expect from a Disney bar, along with a few specialty drinks.
Amenities
The Hippy Dippy Pool. The pools of Pop Century have a fun, festive atmosphere that can best be described as “very vacation-y”!
Pools
Pop Century has three swimming pools, with the centrally-located Hippy Dippy Pool serving as the main pool. Right next to this pool is a splash pad that offers younger children a water play space. It is SO nice, if you have multiple young kids of varying ages, to have the pool and the splash pad area next to each other! In addition to the main pool there are two smaller pools: the 1950’s Bowling Pool and the 1990’s Computer Pool.
*Life vests & towels can be found at each pool.
Playground
There is a small playground in the 1970s area, perfect for younger kinds to blow off steam. These resort playgrounds are great for resort days, and even on days when you go to the parks! I’m always amazed at how younger kids will still need to get their wiggles out even after spending hours in the parks.
Running Trail
There is a New Balance-sponsored running trail that runs around Hourglass Lake. That loop is 1.3 miles around the lake. There are also other routes that you can do that run just around Pop Century, just around Art of Animation, or around both resorts and around the lake. You can run anywhere from 1 to 5 miles easily and never run in the same place twice. Pop Century/Art of Animation is a fun place to run, even without a map. It’s easy to run and not get lost, so just run where your heart takes you, and then head back to your room.
Arcade
Fast Forward Arcade is right within main lobby. You’ll find all kinds of fun video games, air hockey, skee-ball, and more.
Laundry
Self-service laundry facilities can be found by all three pool areas. These facilities are 24 hours, and you’ll need to use a MagicBand or Key to the World card in order to enter. You can pay using a credit card, or if you use your phone to pay, you can monitor the progress of your laundry so you know when to head back and pick it up (which is SO nice)! Detergent and other laundry supplies are available for purchase.
Airport Luggage Service
Well, where to start with this? If you don’t know, this was a service that Walt Disney World offered for many years back in the day of Disney’s Magical Express. Essentially, this service allows you to drop your checked bags off at your Disney resort hotel (rather than dragging them all the way to MCO airport), and then you won’t see them again until you arrive back at your home airport. Long story short, the Airport Luggage Service is coming back, which is great! Bad news, the first time we tried it, they lost our bags. We did get them delivered to our house the next day, so that’s good. I’m reserving judgement on this system for now, because I really want it to come back and I really want it to succeed! It really is wonderful when it works. So for now, let’s just say that it’s an option at select resorts and for select airlines, and hopefully it goes well and they continue to expand it and bring it back in full. (And we’ll just assume that we were simply a case of them figuring-things-out to perfect their system for the future!)
Movies Under the Stars
All Disney resorts offer “Movies Under the Stars” on big screens each evenings, weather permitting. Check with a Cast Member for a schedule or find the board posted around your resort with the times and movie titles.
Transportation to the Parks
Skyliner
The Skyliner alone makes a stay at Pop Century worth it.
The Skyliner is reason alone, in my opinion, to stay at Pop Century. Pop Century is the only value resort that has anything more than bus transportation (well, other than Art of Animation…but that’s HARDLY value-priced most of the time). If you’re unfamiliar, the Skyliner network connects the resort directly to both Hollywood Studios and Epcot, offering a scenic, efficient alternative to bus transportation. (It’s a gondola ride in the sky!) For families with strollers, the Skyliner is particularly incredible as it eliminates the need to fold strollers when boarding, unless you have a double-wide. (We have a double stroller that is doubled up front-to-back, so we don’t have to fold ours down for the Skyliner rides.) Additionally, unlike the often-crowded buses, the Skyliner guarantees everyone a seat – a welcome luxury after a long day in the parks. Being the only true value resort with Skyliner access gives Pop Century a distinct edge over other similarly-priced option
*Rarely, if the Skyliner is very crowded, they will require you to fold up your stroller.
Bus
Bus transportation is available to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs & the Disney Water Parks.
Should I Stay at Pop Century?
Pros:
Skyliner…this CANNOT be overstated how big of a deal this is, especially if you have strollers
Price! With this being a Value Resort, it’s much less expensive than other resorts on property (even Art of Animation) with the same amenities, albeit with smaller rooms.
Best “Bang for Your Buck” in Walt Disney World (Other resorts, like the All-Star Resorts are typically less expensive, but because of the Skyliner, you get more for your money at Pop Century)
The vibes - it is so bright and fun and happy. People at Pop Century tend to be “Disney People!” They are there because they love Disney! The pool also feels like a very “vacation-y” pool.
The oversized characters (Lady & Tramp, Baloo, Mickey Mouse, etc.) are fun for kids and adults alike!
Cons:
Not as close to places like Magic Kingdom, which translates to a longer bus ride
No options for family suites like Art of Animation and even the new double room “suites” at All-Star Music
No sit-down restaurant (just like all Value Resorts)
Only fits up to 4 people (plus a child under 3 in a Pack n Play)
Connecting rooms are available, and if you are a larger family and you have children and two adults, you can call ahead and let Disney know that you need two connecting rooms but you are one family. While recently a Cast Member told me this was not “guaranteed”, I was told at my Travel Agent training a few years ago that Disney will guarantee connecting rooms if there are only two parents and their children and they require more than one room.
Fun Facts
What we know as Pop Century today is only HALF of the originally planned resort. Across Hourglass Lake you’ll now find Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. Originally, the plan was for (today’s) Pop Century to be called the Classic Years (1950-1999). The area across the water was planned to be The Legendary Years, focusing on years 1900-1949. This, of course, is now where Art of Animation is! Tourism went down after the attacks of September 11, and so Disney stopped working on the other half of the resort. It sat vacant for many years, and you could even see the empty, half-finished buildings from Pop Century. Eventually, they finished it as the Art of Animation Resort, and changed the theming completely. Now, the bridge connecting the two resorts (where the Skyliner entrance is located) is called “Generation Gap” bridge, as it was planned to bridge the gap between the different “generations” of the resort.
It’s hard to not have a big smile on your face when staying at Pop Century!
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TLDR
For Disney loving travelers, Pop Century delivers an over-the-top, fun Disney atmosphere. For budget-conscious travelers, Pop Century delivers exceptional value. While rooms are admittedly smaller than those at moderate or deluxe resorts, the thoughtful design, premium transportation option of the Skyliner, and vibrant & playful atmosphere provide an experience that often feels more expensive than its price point suggests. The “Preferred Room” category, which guarantees proximity to both the main building (Classic Hall) and Skyliner station, is particularly worth considering for the convenience it offers.
What truly distinguishes Pop Century, however, is something less tangible – the genuine Disney enthusiasm exhibited by its guests. Unlike some resorts that cater partially to convention attendees or visitors with mixed agendas, Pop Century seems to attract dedicated Disney vacationers. This creates a communal energy that enhances the overall experience, making the resort feel like a gathering place for people who share your excitement about being at Disney World.
When weighing accommodation options for your next Disney trip, don't dismiss Pop Century. With its unique combination of nostalgic theming, practical amenities, premium transportation access, and authentic Disney spirit, it is one of Walt Disney World's best resort experiences.
For the most up-to-date information, visit Disney’s official Pop Century Resort page
Watch our podcast episode about Disney’s Pop Century Resort!
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