Disney's Pop Century Hotel - One Dudes Perspective

Let me start by saying that my family have been annual passholders at Disney for many years. Even pre-covid and throughout. In fact, we went during covid and wore masks. That is the price you pay with a little one in the house. That being said; we used to never stay on property. Reason being; I liked having more room to spread out and preferred staying at one of the many Marriott timeshare properties. Which I still do enjoy staying at. There is no substitute for having 2 bathrooms, living room and a full kitchen. It is like being home but on the road. My family tends to sleep in and I am an early riser. So I prefer to get up and head to the living room or a patio to enjoy a cup of coffee in silence before I have to start hurrying the fam out of the hotel. Some of you can relate I am sure.

So how did I end up booking Pop Century? Well, my daughter kept talking about how she wanted to ride on the Disney Skyliner. You know, the sky buckets that take you from select Disney hotels and 2 of the Disney parks. So I said what the heck and started to research what would be our first Disney property we would stay at. Truth is, we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge first. I'll review this in another post. But our second Disney property was Pop Century. I decided to book it for one night and one night only just in case Her Highness and the Princess did not like it. I can hang my head just about anywhere as long as it is clean but Her Highness and the Princess are another story. So I booked Pop Century with some trepidation.

Upon arrival, you go through a gate where you have to give your name and ID. This is true for all Disney resort hotels. Not anyone can just slide into these properties through the front gate. You have to be staying there or have a reservation for dinner. Now, you can get to any of the resorts through their transportation system. So you can jump on a bus, a boat or the Skyliner and slide into any resort that you want once you are at a park. Anyway, made my way through the gate and pulled up in front to check in. Left car at front entrance and ran in to get keys. If you are a Disney passholder and have the Disney app and book through the Disney website, you can also open your door with your phone and skip the front desk which is what I do most of the time now. But on the first trip, I ran in. First impression is the colors. The buildings are all different colors and different decades. Very vibrant to say the least. When entering the lobby you will see a ton of memorabilia all over the walls from the previous decades. Fun to walk the lobby and see all the stuff you remember from your childhood. Once you are in the line to check in; which moves quickly, you will be approached by someone with an Ipad who will get your info and square you away. The lobby is attached to the gift shop which all sells some convenience items and snacks and drinks. You can even buy small bottles of liquor here. Just a side note. This is also connected to the food hall if you keep walking.

Rooms are very clean, well appointed and provide a good amount of space. All of the rooms have a queen size bed set up and there is a queen size murphy bed that pulls doen when you need it. When it is up, it provides a table with 2 chairs. This is a great idea and keeps the room more spacious when you don't need the bed. This really improves the space and is a reason that I choose this value resort when picking a value resort. That, and the fact that it is attached to Skyliner. As I said earlier, the Skyliner is the main reason for staying here on this first visit. Room has decent size bathroom with separate shower/toilet combo. Large screen TV that welcomes you with your family name when you arrive. Nice touch. Rooms are basic overall, but clean, comfy and do the job. They are all set up where the doors open outside. So don't pick a room based on the view because there is none. It's more about proximity to the food hall and Skyliner. Keep that in mind.

The Skyliner. This is the ticket is all I will say. I am a big fan of parking my car at a hotel and not touching it again until I have to load it up to leave. Nothing better. Well, between the Skyliner and the buses, Pop Century provides this. We have only ridden the buses a couple times. Not for any reason other than we tend to stay in Skyliner attached resorts and go to the 2 parks that are serviced by them more than others. Moving on. The Skyliner is attached to Pop Century, Caribbean Beach Club, Riviera, Art of Animation, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. So you have a few choices. Skyliner drops you into France at EPCOT which is awesome so you can avoid that long walk from parking to the countries. You know what I mean. We always hit EPCOT when we are at Disney so the Skyliner makes this a breeze to visit. Being passholders and Floridians we are past the days of getting to the park at sun up and staying till sundown. We are about a 4-5 hour family at this point. We take the Skyliner to the parks and on the way back will sometimes stop at Caribbean Beach Club to grab a pineapple bread pudding at the Banana Cabana. If you have not tried, don't delay. Trust me. The other great offering at Caribbean Beach Club is there food hall is one of the best in my opinion. I love the Cuban sandwich and my wife loves the Latin Food offerings. Can't go wrong and for the price, it's a win. By this I think you can tell that I am a fan of the Skyliner.

Other amenities at Pop Century. Large main pool with a bar attached to it. Kids splash pool. Another pool in the 90's section as well as another pool in the 50's area. So 3 pools in all plus a kids pool. There is ample parking and I've never felt like we are miles away from our room even though the resort is quite sprawling. Pop Century is also attached by a bridge to Art of Animation resort. You can make a quick walk over the bridge to Art of Animation to check out there lobby area and food hall as well. The Skyliner sits right in between them. As I said earlier, you have the buses out in front to get to the parks and such. There is even an onsite laundry facility if you are staying longer and are in need.

The only drawback to Pop Century for me and this is only me is that it is impossible to get up in the morning and get ready without waking up your family. In our family, I am an early riser and tend to get up and go get my morning coffee, check the phone, etc.. Her Highness and the Princess like to sleep it. Like literally as long as I will let them. i like to get the day started and be on the move. I have learned over much time that I should just go eat breakfast alone and come back and wake the family. When available, we stay at Marriott timeshares and enjoy the space. I can get up and have coffee in the living room while the family sleeps. Marriott and Hilton alike rent their timeshares like a hotel when they have availability which is most times. Getting off track here.

Bottom line. Looking for place to hang your head. Don't overlook Pop Century. Friendly staff, nice clean rooms. Comfy beds. Good water pressure in the showers (a plus). Great transportation options. Decent breakfast offerings in the food hall. And overall right in the heart of everything Disney. I was hesitant to book, but so glad I did. We have now stayed there several times when making our 2 1/2 hour drive to Disney. It's not the Ritz, but it will do the job with a smile on your face. It has become our go to when the price is right. Park the car, unload and never look back.