Disney's Pop Century Resort

“Amazing stay!”

Disney’s Pop Century Resort Sep 2024 Travelled with husband and adult daughter from UK for our second two week stay at a Disneyworld hotel. Last time (2018) we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, this time we chose Disney’s Pop Century Resort and the reason we chose this particular resort is… more

Disney’s Pop Century Resort Sep 2024 Travelled with husband and adult daughter from UK for our second two week stay at a Disneyworld hotel. Last time (2018) we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, this time we chose Disney’s Pop Century Resort and the reason we chose this particular resort is that it is one of four resorts that are on the Skyliner cable car route (the others being Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach and Riviera Resort). We contacted Disney ahead of our visit and requested a room in the ‘60s’ block as hubby loves 60s music. We were granted our request and turned out the 60s block was a good choice as it is very close to everything - the main pool (there are three altogether), the food court, reception area, buses to parks plus very close to the Skyliner which is Disney’s latest mode of transport and the best ever! Absolutely loved the Skyliner. Came out of our hotel room and with just a two minute walk we were on the Skyliner. We are not early risers and rarely used the Skyliner before 11am but we always walked straight on and in around half an hour we were at either Epcot or Hollywood Studios (to get to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom or Disney Springs buses were provided). I had thought being mainly glass, the cable cars could get very hot inside but they have plenty of ventilation and there is a lovely cool breeze blowing through constantly. One evening returning from Hollywood Studios there was a massive queue for the cable cars. It took us ten minutes just to walk to the end of it where very helpful staff hold up ‘end of the line’ signs. We thought we would be in for quite a wait, however just 12 minutes later we were on board and on our way.. The Skyliner also has an ingenious way of dealing with anyone who uses a wheelchair or mobility scooter without slowing down the main queue. They simply send cars to a special area where it stops allowing for easy loading of scooters etc while the rest of the cars continue unhindered and once the stationary car is loaded it just slots back in and carries on. But back to the hotel review, while we were there the main building was undergoing a refurbishment though it didn’t really affect us at all except that to eat in the food court (breakfast everyday and dinner twice), we needed to mobile order. This we did on our phones and as soon as the order was ready it alerted us and we just went to the counter to collect it. Service was always very quick and we never had any issues with tables, there were always plenty available. There was also a ‘grab & go’ section selling cereal, milk, pastries and sandwiches etc where you could pay by cash if you wanted. We bought a refillable ‘Magic Cup’ each so we could have hot or cold drinks throughout our stay which cost around $23 dollars and these can be used at ANY Disney resort hotel but not in the parks themselves (there are separate refillable cups you can buy for the parks). We did try some ‘resort hopping’ during our stay and took our cups with us. Our room was small but comfortable with adequate storage which is just as well as we don’t travel light! The rooms have a double bed and a second very cleverly designed double ‘pull-down’ bed. If you are just two sharing the room, by leaving the second bed in the ‘up’ position you have a table and two chairs, but as we were three we needed to pull the bed down meaning we lost the use of the table as the table folds underneath the bed to become the beds support. The small ‘kitchen’ area had a fridge and a coffee maker but, being a big tea drinker, I always take my dual voltage travel kettle. There were plenty of electric points around the room including some USB ones. Also had a safe, ironing board and iron. We loved the Mickey ‘smart speaker’ (with ears of course) that responds to ‘Hey Disney’. It can tell you the weather forecast, park opening times as well as allowing you to order things for your room. We needed more loo paper one day and ordered some by talking to the speaker and within a couple of minutes, there was a knock on our door and a lady outside with our paper! The bathroom always had plenty of hot water and shampoo, conditioner and body wash were all provided and we had more towels than we needed. Service is every other day now (something else that has changed since Covid) but we didn’t find this an issue and if you need service in between you can just ask the smart speaker. The theming at Pop Century was fantastic as was the theming at Art of Animation which is just a short walk from Pop Century. Indeed the theming at these ‘value’ resorts seems to be better than the more expensive resorts. The only thing we found a little disappointing was the music or should I say lack of. We were expecting to hear music from the 60s era around the 60s pool but there was none. We did hear some faint music while in the food court on occasions but it was so quiet we struggled to hear what song was playing. While on the subject of the pool, pool towels are provided at the poolside. For anyone not familiar with Disneyworld, once on Disney property, whether as a day visitor or a hotel guest, all transportation around Disney’s 40 square miles is absolutely free and consists of buses, monorails, cable cars and boats which is great for anyone like myself who does not wish to hire a car (the thought of driving on the other side of the road terrifies me!). This includes all the parks and the shopping area, Disney Springs. One thing I was disappointed with is the fact that since Covid, Disney only have one of their two water parks open at any one time. In 2018 we visited Tyhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach but this time Blizzard Beach was closed. At Blizzard Beach is also the Winter Summerland mini golf course, two 18 hole courses. Our Disney park tickets included the opportunity to do a pre 4pm course per day and while the golf courses were open, because Blizzard Beach was closed the Disney transport was not running and we felt it was too far to walk in the Florida heat so we had to contend with the Fantasia mini golf courses near the Swan Hotel (near Epcot) which were much more accessible to us. Would be great if Disney, would re-open Blizzard Beach as well in the summer months or at least put on transport to the Winter Summerland mini golf courses! We already had ‘magic bands’ from our stay in 2018. You wear them on your wrist and they are your room key and park entry ticket (and dining plan if you have one). Back then they were given to guests free of charge, and despite being six years old ours still worked perfectly though the daughter did invest in a new ‘interactive’ one (it interacts with things in the parks and lights up plus there are games you can play in the queue lines to pass the time). Absolutely love the convenience of the magic bands (wish Universal would do something similar) so would highly recommend everyone staying at Disney invest in one for each member of the party. The parks were amazing as ever, especially recommend the Rise of the Resistance attraction at Hollywood Studios. My husband does not like rides but we persuaded him to come on this one and he was impressed and it takes a lot to impress my hubby! He even wanted to ride it again! Am still puzzled how I went through a door from outside in the open air and then left through the same door to be on board a HUGE Star Wars Death Star. Only explanation is that I went into space, got captured, escaped and returned to earth!! Best Disney attraction ever! Another thing that was a little disappointing was that the parks are now closing earlier than pre-Covid. In 2018 Epcot was usually open until 11pm, Magic Kingdom, midnight and the other two, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios until at least 9pm. However Animal Kingdom now closes at 6pm each day which means that the Pandora section, which is fabulous lit up at night, alas can only be seen now in daylight. We usually visit Florida in the spring but this year we chose September in order to partake of the Halloween events and for Disney this was Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. It was expensive but we enjoyed the experience and got to stay in the Magic Kingdom until midnight! We enjoyed the special parade of Disney ‘villains’, the shows and riding Space Mountain with the lights turned off (only available at the party). And of course you are given scoopfuls of sweets and chocolates at various locations around the park. We arrived back at our hotel around 1am laden down with ‘candy’. We didn’t have a dining plan this time so spent a fair bit on food and rarely ate dinner in the same location twice. We particularly enjoyed the 50s Prime Café in Hollywood Studios and must give a shout out to the waiter who gave daughter HALF a ‘clean plate’ sticker (wish I could remember his name) for NOT clearing her plate! Also loved the Rainforest Café at Disney Springs (note there is a second one outside Animal Kingdom). For both of these it is advisable to book through the Disneyworld app though there are loads of walk-up quick dine places to eat in all the parks, Disney Springs and of course all the resort hotels offer various dining options from cheaper ‘quick dine’ to table service options. We also enjoyed the food on offer at our Pop Century resort which was served in quite sturdy plastic containers with plastic cutlery though we packed our own metal cutlery though of course we couldn’t take these into the parks. Would I stay at Pop Century again? Definitely – the rooms are small but it is good value and the convenience of the Skyliner made our stay.

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