Pop Century Resort

Now that our trip is over, I have decided to write about my thoughts on where we stayed at Disney.  I could not have been happier with our stay at the Pop Century Resort.

 
Pop Century is considered a "Value" resort on the Disney property, but you definitely get a lot of bang for your buck.  First of all, I would like to apologize for the lack of decent pictures.  I only snapped a few.  I promise, next time we go I will take better pictures.  The resort property is divided into sections labeled and themed according to decades from 1950s to 1990s.  And as we all know, Disney knows how to do things right.  The theming is spot-on both inside and out of each building--right down to the fire escape stairs which are encased in a large decade-appropriate item.  Ours was an 8-track, but the 1980s buildings had rubics cubes and the 1990s featured cell phones!!

I will start with the room.  We stayed in one of the two 1970s themed buildings.  Our room was small, but it served us well and there was room for C's pack and play which they provided.  The beds were comfortable enough, the room was very clean and "mousekeeping" (Disney's version of housekeeping or maid service) came daily to clean and freshen up the room.  The bathroom was split like the typical hotel/motel bathroom--tub and potty in one room and the sink/vanity area was separated from the rest of the room by a curtain.  There was ample closet space (not that we used it!), a small safe, a mini-fridge (which we made good use of), a small table with two chairs, a large flat screen tv, and two double beds.  We chose a standard room as opposed to a preferred room which means that we did not have a pool view and were a bit farther away from the buses and parking lot.  For me, the preferred room would not be worth the money.  Our walk to the buses and the pool was not very far, and our room faced a small lake/pond.  It was very quiet, and we had no complaints.

Speaking of the pools, the hubs and I each took C to the pool on different days while B was napping.  Of the three pools on the property, the only one I saw was the Hippy Dippy pool between the 1960s buildings.  It is the largest of the three pools and has a fabulous toddler pool area which C loved.  There was a life guard on duty, and cast members were out playing games like Simon Says with the kiddos.  It was refreshing and was a fun way to keep C busy so B could get a quality nap.

We took advantage of the food court one day for lunch, and I can say that the food was quite good and there was plenty of seating.  It is divided into several different serving stations, so you can divide and conquer.  We did have to wait a while for some of the food to cook, but that only means that it was fresh and hot.  And the tie-dyed cheesecake is top-notch.

We also popped into the little souvenir shop as well.  I had only brought a couple of swim diapers for C, and I knew we would need one when we headed to Daytona so I checked out the Everything POP Shopping area.  Low and behold, they sold swim diapers individually packaged for about $2.  I was pretty happy since I did not want to have to buy a whole package just for one day.  They also had other toiletries and the typical souvenir stuff--magnets, postcards, etc.

And in classic Disney style, the cast members were extremely helpful.  We were met at our car upon check-in by a super helpful attendant who helped us get all our stuff to our room.  And the lady who checked me in was super nice.

The main reason that I chose Pop Century as opposed to one of the other value resorts (which were the only ones in our price range) is because of the buses.  All three of Disney's All Star resorts share a bus system, and since we were going during the busy summer season, I did not want to spend a lot of time waiting for or riding on a bus.  Pop Century (and Disney's newest value resort Art of Animation) has its own bus system that only transports Pop Century guests.  Other than our incident with the bus leaving early (see here for the details), I was pleased with the bus system at Pop.   As with most of the other Disney resorts (I am assuming) the bus stop is divided by destination.  This is the hubs with the kids waiting to load onto a bus for Hollywood Studios.

 Overall, I was very happy staying at the Pop Century Resort.  I would not hesitate to return there for another stay at Disney.  'Til next time, Disney!