Two months ago, a friend and I went to EDC Orlando and wanted to do as much as possible in our 10 day stay in Orlando.  We had a great time already at ICON Park, Universal Studios Florida, and now had to visit Walt Disney World.

We wanted to visit all 4 theme parks at Disney World in 4 days so were thinking of switching our current hotel: Rosen Inn to somewhere closer.  Looking online, we thought it would be better if we stayed at a Disney hotel so we wouldn’t have to worry about taking a taxi back and forth to the theme parks for all 4 days.

Disney hotels are pricier than surrounding hotels nearby but they do include free transportation from your Disney hotel to any of the theme parks or entertainment district.  We went with Pop Century Resort because it was a more affordable option that allowed us to stay on the Disney property.

The Hotel

Disney’s Pop Century Resort is located on 1050 Century Dr, Lake Buena Vista, Florida.  It is actually not in Orlando but very close to it and also close to Kissimmee.  This hotel had some of their suites recently renovated and has 2,880 rooms across 11 buildings.  I chose this hotel because it included the use of the recently opened Disney Skyliner gondolas, which I wanted to try using.

The theme of this resort is pop culture from the 1950’s through 1990’s.  Each set of 4 storey resort buildings had the exteriors themed to a certain decade.  There are three 1950’s themed buildings, two each of the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s and one 1990’s themed building. The main building is Classic Hall which has the main lobby, concierge, food court, shops, arcade and bus stops.  There are also themed artwork and sculptures throughout the public areas.

When we arrived by an accessible taxi from our other hotel, the lady at the front desk lobby was excellent in providing our early check-in.  Normally it’s 3 PM, but online I pre-requested a Noon arrival check-in.  The lady could not find my preordered special Magicband that I preordered so she gave me and my friend FREE basic Magicbands instead.  She also called to make sure our FREE shuttle bus at the end of our stay to the airport was wheelchair accessible.

Room

It took us a few minutes walk/stroll to get to our destination as we had a room in the 1980’s themed building with a giant Roger Rabbit statue in front of the building.  Our room was on the second floor and the elevator was easily accessible and nearby.  It was exactly as described online.  There was a regular Queen size bed and a pull down Queen sleeper bed.

The room also has a see through mini fridge, a safe, coffee maker, and a large TV that has all the information about the day’s events and schedule for each theme park and more.  The bathroom was a decent size as it was easy to get to the toilet with my commode and under the sink.

The roll in shower was a bit tight and small but it was still manageable and adequate.  There were 2 grab bars, a foldable shower seat and a removeable hand held shower head.  My commode did fit but once I was inside the shower area, there was no room to do a 180 degree or any turn at all.

Amenities

Disney’s Pop Century Resort actually has some great amenities.  Although there is no fitness center or business center, there are 3 laundry rooms and several vending machines located throughout the property.  Free wifi also worked well everywhere.  Self parking used to be free but now is charging a rate which depends on class category of hotel you’re in.  Our hotel was $15 USD per day.

There is also free recreational activities held daily that include the arcade room, poolside activities, arts & crafts, trivia, and movies under the stars.  We did not participate in any of these activities except visiting the arcade room as they were more geared towards kids.

There is also a gift shop in “Everything Pop” where it shares its huge space with the cafeteria.  The gift shop does have similar Disney gifts that can be found at every gift shop but they also carry some hotel specific items.  The cafeteria offers a standard line up: burgers, pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches and breakfast items like waffles, eggs and toast.  There is also an option to do mobile orders for faster service.

Pools

The are actually 3 pools at Pop Century: the Hippy Dippy pool by the 1960’s buildings, the Bowling pool by the 1950’s buildings and the Computer Pool by the 1980’s and the 1990’s buildings.  All 3 pools have their own wheelchair lift.  There was also a Petals pool bar located by Hippy Dippy pool.  I did not use any of the pools, but my friend did use the Computer pool which was the closest to our room.

Some Perks Included

Staying at Disney’s Pop Century Resort or any other value resort gives 30 minute early access to Early Theme Park Entry and the option to book your individual Lightning lanes at 7 AM instead of when the theme parks are open.  We did not visit any of the parks early but we did book our rides early with Disability Access Services.

All Disney guests also have free access to their network of transportation that includes the monorail, buses and boats to get to any of the 4 theme parks, 2 water parks or the Disney Springs food and entertainment district.  Pop Century Resort guests does have the added benefit of getting to ride the new Disney Skyliner gondola to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Discontinued as of December 31, 2021, all hotel guests have free access to Magical Express shuttle.  This service is operated by Mears Transportation and is a free shuttle service between Orlando International Airport (MCO) and all the Disney hotels.  Since we were already in Orlando at the start of our Disney stay, we could only use this service leaving the hotel taking us to the airport.  We had to book online in advance and request an accessible shuttle.  Starting 2022, this service is replaced with a similar one that requires a fee.

Final Thoughts

We both thought that Disney’s Pop Century Resort is a great value hotel to stay at.  It was really wheelchair accessible despite having the roll in shower a bit small and was easy to navigate around the whole property.  We didn’t really spend to much time at the hotel so we didn’t really fully experience all the activities going on but really enjoyed using the new Skyliner to get to 2 of the theme parks.

Follow along on my Facebook page and Instagram page as I will continue updating my website with the rest of my Disney experiences in the next few weeks.  Topics include me visiting each of the 4 theme parks and the rides I went on.