Pop Century Resort Review
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On our latest trip, we stayed at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Walt Disney World has 3 tiers of resorts: Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. Pop Century Resort is a Value level resort. We knew we were going with a Value level resort on this trip and the main reason we chose Pop Century is its access to the Skyliner, which takes you to both Hollywood Studios and Epcot. It was my first time staying at Pop Century. Here were my list of pros and cons:
Pros
Close proximity to the Skyliner - It’s the reason we chose POP and after the trip, I’m still glad we chose it over another Value resort because of this transportation option.
Affordability - With it being a Value resort, it is one of your most economical options.
Cleanliness - The room was clean, the grounds were neat, bathrooms were well attended, the pool area was orderly. During the day you constantly saw cast members attending to the property.
Updated rooms - Pop century recently had a remodel resulting in more modern rooms. Floors were a laminate type flooring (so much better than carpet in my opinion). Bathrooms were updated, bright and fresh. Beds were lifted so you can slide luggage and things you don’t need underneath. Well thought out storage. Hooks, drawers, empty shelves…. which we appreciate b/c we don’t pack light and don’t like to live out of our suit cases!
Cons
Noisy - This was a con for us this trip but, with a few changes, I think we could improve some on the noise level. We were in a “Preferred Room” because we wanted to be close to the Skyliner and bus stop. However, this also put us right outside the pool, which I hate to say it, was loud. Music, kids screaming, lifeguard whistles, etc. Movies also ran at night until 9:30-10. There was also construction going on both on the floor above us and outside of our room which made for extra noise during day time hours. We also had some noisy neighbors at one point and we could constantly hear toilets flushing throughout the night. With any trip to WDW, I expect a certain level of noise at the resorts but usually I’m pleasantly surprised. This could have easily just been an unlucky trip and if we had it to do over again, we would definitely request a room away from the pool. That’s just our preference…. and I’d say we’re a little more sensitive to noise than the average person anyway!
Rooms - Value level rooms are definitely smaller than Moderate or Deluxe Resorts. I think this is definitely something to consider depending on the number of people in your room, the amount of time you plan to spend in your room, and the age of the children in your room.
Pool Scene - For us this trip, this was not a con. For our 3 year old, any pool is absolutely fantastic. However, for an older kid, a Moderate or Deluxe resort is going to have a way better pool scene (slides, water features, etc.), if you plan to utilize the pool a lot.
Food - The food offered was average…. nothing special…. definitely not to the level of Moderate or Deluxe resorts but again that was okay with us because we only ate two meals the whole trip at our resort. We prefer to leave the resort for meals and explore lots of options but that’s not the case for every traveler! Food available was pretty typical American cuisine: Burgers, fries, pizza, chicken tenders, etc. Dinner did have a few more options.
For us personally, we felt like Pop Century worked out well for us this trip. We would change a few things about our stay, mainly the location of our room, but overall enjoyed our time there and would consider staying at POP again. We feel strongly that no matter what level resort works best (Value, Moderate, Deluxe), staying on property is the best way to go! We love giving our advice, recommendations, and lessons learned so don’t hesitate to reach out before your next trip!