“That Was CHAOTIC & Stressful!” A Word of Warning About Your Check-In Day at Disney’s Pop Century Hotel

Time to get real. We don’t want to admit it, but it’s true: things in Disney World don’t always go exactly as planned. That’s why we recommend having a Plan B, C, and D, but even then, you can still get thrown off.

Even though we’re in the parks nearly every day to see what’s new and help you prepare for your upcoming vacation, even WE are thrown off by some of the changes in the parks and resorts. Then again, we can survive those hurdles, then tell you how to fix them — everything in the name of science, right? We’ve gotta admit, though, that if THIS reader story happened to us at a Disney World hotel, we’d be panicking, too!

We asked our readers on Facebook to share the lessons they learned the hard way in Disney World, and WOW did we get quite the story from reader Jennifer M! If you’re someone who enjoys going to Disney World’s after-hours events or holiday parties and plans to check into a hotel the same day, heed this word of warning! Jennifer commented,

“Do NOT book a party on your arrival day! At least not for POP, in early September (experienced recently) ?‍? I have never had much of an issue getting a room at POP, one that I have requested, on arrival day, but this last trip, I didn’t get a room assignment until AFTER 4pm. This was on the same day that I stupidly booked a Beak & Barrel reservation AND had a MNSSHP ticket ?‍???‍♀️
I made it, but OH MY! That was CHAOTIC & stressful!”

Goodness, that DOES sound stressful! Jennifer went on to say that a family member was also staying at Pop Century Resort and did have a room ready, so she was able to get ready there, but this is certainly not ideal for party days when event guests can enter the park at 4 PM (and if you’ve paid all that money for a ticket, you may want to make the most of it!).

If we were in this situation and did NOT have someone in our travel party who had a hotel room, we could only imagine trying to get ready in one of the public bathrooms in the Pop Century lobby. If you’ve got a super-involved Halloween costume, that would NOT be easy.

Considering the only way to get to Magic Kingdom from the Pop Century is by bus, you may also need to factor in a MINIMUM of 30 minutes (preferably an hour) to get from the hotel to the park. In our reader’s story, if she wanted to get to Magic Kingdom as early as possible, Jennifer may have had to be LEAVING the hotel to get to the park by no later than 3–3:30 PM, and if her room wasn’t even ready until after 4 PM? STRESS!

We hate to say it, but this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a problem like this in Disney World. While your Disney hotel room could be ready as early as 3 PM, that is NOT a guarantee. Your room might not be ready until 4, 5, 6, or even 7 PM. You just never know!

This warning extends beyond Disney’s Pop Century Resort, too. It’s entirely possible that you could run into this issue at ANY Disney World hotel, so do not expect to be able to check in before 3 PM in most cases.

So, if you face a problem like this, what should you do? Well, even though it’s not ideal, you can use the hotel’s public bathrooms to get ready if you’ve got somewhere to be before your room is ready. Most Disney hotels have a restroom by the pool, too, which usually has more space if you need to change your clothing.

Also, be sure you’ve linked your hotel reservation in your My Disney Experience app, and start the pre-check-in process as early as you can. The sooner you check in, the better chance your room will be ready on the early side.

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you! 

Thanks for sharing your story, Jennifer! We hope your visit to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party was a success. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more — we love to hear from our readers!

We’re here to help you make sure your Disney World trip is as successful as it can be, so stay tuned to AllEars!

These Will Be the Hardest Disney World Hotel Reservations to Get in 2026

What’s the biggest issue you’ve run into in Disney World? Tell us in the comments!

Comments (1)