Reviews of Pop Century Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by AlexMcG Review Date: 11/21/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
We loved this resort from day one. Our first concierge was friendly and welcoming. We weren't sure about the long walk to the 90's building at the back. But we discovered we could shortcut through the parking lot direct to the buses. It was so quiet back there and so close to the computer pool which was never busy. Great spot!
Had some nice meals at the food court. A notch above fast food chains for sure. The best part was eating gluten free and knowing I was SAFE. The chefs were very kind and extremely accommodating. They take food allergy seriously.
We liked the food court....until we went next door to Art of Animation. In comparison Pop was very crowded and difficult to do in a scooter/wheelchair. We liked the menu better at Pop. So I guess there's always pros and cons and trade offs.
Was surprised to get a couple of unsmiling unmagical Concierge later in week. Almost Grumpy. Not up to normal Disney standard. I guess everyone has a bad day. Even Disney cast members!
Our visit was Nov 14 to 20, 2014
Pros:
Very clean rooms! 90's area quiet and close to parking lot. Food allergy friendly.Cons:
Crowded dining. Some Concierge not so magical.Reviewed by CinCin Review Date: 11/15/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
This was my second stay at Pop Century. The last one was only for a single night and in the 50's section. Based on a good experience, I stayed my entire trip (11 nights) at Pop Century this time and really enjoyed my stay. I was able to request a room on the upper level in the sixties section and it was ready for me when I checked in even though it wasn't even noon yet. The room was clean and roomy enough for a single traveler and I had plenty of space for all my things. However, had I been with a family of 4, I would have felt cramped and there would have been competition for drawer space and closet space. The beds were comfortable and a pillow top double was in my room. The sheets were comfortable too and I was surprised by that as I expected "hospital" grade stiff scratchy cheap sheets. They had redecorated since my last stay in 2012 and I liked the new updated modern look with the little toe throw thing rather than the full bedspread. The housekeeper kept my room spotless and tidied up behind me and even made a few towel animals and one day even made my blanket into a large bow in the bed. It was nice to come back to a clean tidy room and having her do something a little different every day with the decor was really nice. I set the thermostat at 65 and it stayed that way my entire trip. The bath/shower water was nice and hot too and steamy and a welcome change when I actually had to add some cold water to decrease the heat some. I did hear the toilets flush in other rooms but those are water saving power flushers and they are loud in residences too, so it's not like the walls are that thin. I rarely heard anyone else from other rooms while in my room. My room was quite peaceful on the backside of the pool building but those rooms close to the elevator/stairs and facing the pool were inundated with noise/sound/play/music from morning to night. The pools were heated and even on the cold days, kids were in the pool and the lifeguards were on duty. I enjoyed the movies by the pool at night. They even had a Halloween party with trick or treat stations out by the pool and Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Halloween costume for photo ops. I love this resort so much! There were hula hoops and they didn't mind that grown ups like me hooped a bit too. On the poor weather days, they moved the activities and games inside. The walk to the food court/concierge/bus stop was only a few minutes from my room. I had a lovely view facing the Art of Animation and a beautiful water view from my room 5334. Towels were plentiful and soap and shampoo too and they kept leaving them even though I had only opened one so the next to last day I packed them all up for souvenirs. I ended up bringing home 28 shampoos and 26 soaps!!! I told you, they kept leaving them like I was supposed to take them home, so I did. I actually liked the shampoo and the soap and it's a great improvement over that all in one gel they used to carry in the dispensers. There was a hairdryer, iron, and ironing board in the room and a mini refrigerator. The fridge was tiny so don't expect to keep more than a snack and a couple of drinks in there. The food court was decent too and I ate several meals there. They had a create your own omelet station which was the best choice from breakfast I found. I am not a fan of the bounty platters with the thin floppy bacon and carb loaded sides. I did enjoy my omelet very much though and they even had Texas Pete hot sauce with the condiments! Not quite Tabasco, but it was mild and it tasted great. My favorite sandwiches turned out to be the premade ones in the refrigerated case with either shaved turkey and cheese or ham and cheese. They were like you would fix at home, and I guess that was the appeal. I didn't want anything fancy just a plain sandwich on plain sandwich bread and that was the perfect option. These must have been a favorite of others too as the case was often sold out by early evening. The pastry I fell in love with was the chocolate croissant and it was flaky and tender with a wee bit of chocolate inside and wasn't overly sweet once I knocked all the chocolate chips off the outside. The sesame chicken was very good too and I would order it again. The rice had no flavor though and was just a filler. I did walk across the bridge to Art of Animation for a meal and had a wonderful acorn squash platter with basmati rice and naan that was worth the walk to get. The front desk was very helpful and all staff seemed to be trained well. They all had the answers to whatever I needed or asked. Theming was definitely fun and it was nostalgic walking around looking at all the icons from different generations. I enjoyed the walking trail and it was marked with remember when signs and facts about specific moments in history. The resort is landscaped beautifully with a variety of of trees and flowering plants. There are benches along the paths and some lovely views there. The place is well tended and clean overall. The room was nice, the food was decent for the most part, and I would definitely return for another stay. It isn't quite as nice as the moderates, but for the savings and for being on property with all it's perks, this is a great deal and I'd be quite content to stay there again.
Pros:
price, being on property, on site food court and shopping, planned activities, 1 bus stop, clean nice roomsCons:
uncovered bus stop, motel 6 (value) feel, loud if you are overlooking the main poolReviewed by carsmom Review Date: 10/15/2014
Rating: (5) Recommended
This was our first visit to Pop Century. We have stayed at many other Disney resorts but my son has always wanted to stay here...so we gave it a shot. We did online check-in which went smooth. Our room was ready when we arrived shortly after noon. Our room was clean and met our needs. The grounds were well kept. The food court was good. However, in the future, I will probably return to a deluxe hotel...more for the convenience to the parks. Also, the noise level was more than I expected. As stated in other posts...yes, you can hear the toilets around you being flushed all night long. I was disappointed in the poor wi-fi service. It was also very hard to get any reception on my cell phone. I had to stand outside my room to place a phone call...that may not be a resort issue. Overall, we had a nice stay at Pop. But I think I will return to a deluxe resort next year.
Pros:
bus service, food court, room was cleanCons:
various things "out of order", crowd, poor wifi, poor cell service,noise levelReviewed by Tigger82 Review Date: 09/24/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed at Pop Century a number of times, and never had any problems until now(9/14-20, 2014). This time we opted for online check-in, but the online check-in people had no record of it, even though we were texted when we completed the process before we went. Since I'm legally blind, my mother gave her number to be texted when the room was ready, but we never received a text. When we got back from the park at night, we got our room number, and scheduled a wake up call which never came. Everyone else but the front desk was very efficient though.
Pros:
Price and ThemingCons:
Front deskReviewed by Alexandra1986 Review Date: 09/22/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stay at Pop Century every year, we just love this hotel. The staff at the front desk are always fast, attentive, and just amazing. We always do the online check in and when we arrive at the hotel they have are room packet ready and usually the room is ready as well. The food court here is really good and has something for everyone to enjoy, sometimes the lines can be a little long but they generally move fast. The bus service here has always
been good, I love that Pop Century only has one bus stop and not multiple stops. The rooms are not fancy but were updated a few years ago and everything is clean, and well taken care of. It is just two adults in my family and we find we have enough space in the room, but if we were any larger I would find not enough drawer space and would find the rooms to be squishy. If you are looking for a hotel on a more reasonable budget and still have the Disney magic this is a good option.
Pros:
service, bus system, cafeteria, rooms, valueCons:
noneReviewed by cjane65 Review Date: 09/21/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed at Pop Sept 11-19. 4 adults, 2 children in two rooms. We requested adjoining rooms and early check in and got both. The lay out of the resort is simple, after one trip around we learned to cut thru buildings and parking lots. Kids loved the pools. The buses were timely, only at the end of the night after the shows was there a serious wait. Definitely would recommend, particularly for families as the price is what sold us in the first place.
Pros:
fun, awesome pools,Cons:
noneReviewed by peachmermaid Review Date: 09/12/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
Pop is where you stay when you need a bed for sleeping. That's not a bad thing. I love pop. It's comfy and clean. It's not a huge resort either so you don't have to do a ton of walking to get to your room. It's a good place at a good price. I always enjoy my stay.
Pros:
Clean, upbeat theming, size of roomCons:
—Reviewed by doctor_imagineer Review Date: 08/25/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
I stayed at the Pop from Saturday August 2nd to Sunday August 3rd. I would say that it was a pleasant experience. I requested the 80s building with the highest floor via online check in, and got the 50s building with the highest floor. I am glad I got the 50s building anyway, because the room was facing the Art of Animation (AoA) resort (across Hourglass Lake), which is beautiful, especially at night. Plus, the room was facing the fireworks, which are spectacular. So I definitely "lucked-out" on the room view. Also, the room was away from the pool, so was very quiet. The only real con is, like a lot of reviewers say, one can hear the people in next door rooms too much (conversations, bathroom flushing, etc). I loved the fact that I could walk to the food court and bring my meal (had dinner and breakfast) back to my room and eat in peace while I browsed the internet via room Wi-Fi, which is easy to link to. I definitely had a good experience at the Pop. For me, it was like a home away from home. I really don't need all the extras that cost so much at higher priced resorts. I wish the official Pop website had said that the room has a refrigerator, but I had called the resort and they said the room does. But I wish the refrigerator had a freezer, because I brought along reusable ice packs with me for my cooler.
Pros:
relatively inexpensive compared to other Disney World resortsCons:
can hear next door neighbors too muchReviewed by rambin Review Date: 08/20/2014
Rating: (6) Recommended
We, my husband and 14 year old daughter, and I stayed at Pop from August 1st-August 8th. We go to the parks from opening to close so I thought for the value you could not beat the hotel. The room was very small. We struggled getting ready in the mornings due to the small space. The room was fairly clean but not up to Disney standards in my opinion. I requested a room close to transportation and a lake view. We were able to check in early on the first day but neither request were granted. I would pay the extra for a Preferred Room next time. We had good experineces Dining at the POP. The food court has many selections. We ate here 1 time for dinner and 2 times for breakfast. The pools are great! This resort met our needs as far as a place to sleep and take a shower. I would probably not stay here again. The bus service was great and we rarely waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. All in all, I would pay a little more and stay at a moderate resort or AOA.
Pros:
Price, ThemeCons:
SmallReviewed by manatee2420 Review Date: 07/21/2014
Rating: (4) Recommended
I wish there was a maybe button for "would you recommend this product?" We stayed at Pop Century twice. The first time was during November 2009, then second July 2014. It was like night and day. The November visit was quiet and very enjoyable. The July visit was very noisy. Several Brazilian soccer teams brought what seemed like hundreds of noisy teenagers to the resort. They stayed up half the night playing soccer outside on the balconies. The noise of the soccer ball hitting the railing sounded more like bowling. I even got a prank call one evening around midnight. I have no idea what the giggling teenage girl on the other end was saying, but I know what I wanted to say... Despite the huge hordes, the bus system worked well. We never waited long for a bus. The rooms, although noisy, were clean and of adequate size for two adults. My husband and I really enjoyed viewing the time capsules in the lobby and doing the Twist every morning at breakfast. You can even view some of the fireworks from across the pool area. In conclusion, I would stay here again, but only in the off season when large touring groups would be less likely. P.S. Requesting a specific decade doesn't seem to work, no matter how early you book. We tried to stay in the 50's both times. The first time, we booked kind of late and got the 80's. The second time, we booked a year in advance and even paid for a preferred room because I had read online that the 50's and 60's were the preferred rooms. Apparently not because we got the 70's this last time.
