See Before and After Updates to the Rooms and Lobby at Disney's Pop Century Resort

It’s no secret that Disney’s Pop Century comes in near the top of our rankings for best resort at Disney World. The resort has set the tone for years as being family-friendly, affordable, and convenient. As you may be aware, Pop Century has been undergoing a multi-year refurbishment. Disney has now announced that the rooms, lobby, and work at Petals Pool Bar have wrapped up. So if you’re planning a stay, I thought we would take a look at a few before photos from the Resorts Gal archives. Then we’ll compare a few after photos we took before the holidays, along with some completed images from Disney.

I don’t know about you, but I believe that a before-and-after look is a good way to decide whether or not you like the updates. I’ll be candid. I like the updates and think they bring a guest’s arrival experience into the 2020s. That said, I always enjoyed browsing the various shadow boxes, and I wish they’d found a way to incorporate them. (But I’m not a big complainer, so we’ll just leave it at that.) Let’s take a look!

an overall view of the lobby at Pop Century before the updates

Previously, the lobby’s feature wall was set up like a timeline. The top featured a border that resembled a measuring tape. Instead of measurements, every few spaces offered a year. Underneath the various years, guests could find shadowboxes that were filled with memorabilia from that time.

Here are a few more photos, if you would like to reminisce a little more. You can select any of these for a larger view.

A few months back, I stopped by Pop Century to check out some of the resort’s merchandise. At that time, I found the lobby partially finished. So I took a few photos of the updates. Here is the children’s corner that sits toward the lobby’s main entrance. It turned out super cute. If you look closely, you’ll notice the television is surrounded by painted televisions featuring familiar favorites.

a blue feature wall with painted television scenes featuring classic Disney cartoons

This area has several ottomans where kids could relax and watch a few cartoons.

a children's area featuring stools or kids to watch television

We saw a few other fun references in the main lobby, including this “Neato” sign.

Again, the lobby wasn’t finished on our visit, but we did get a chance to see the Donald Duck-themed wall.

a blue feature wall with yellow and pink accents and Donald Duck

Since then, Disney has shared a few photo updates of the lobby. Look closely, and you’ll see that Minnie Mouse, Goofy Mickey Mouse, and Pluto all have feature wall areas.

Here’s a closer look at Goofy, who’s looking pretty groovy.

Groovy Goofy theme wall Pop Century lobby — ©Disney

Petals Pool Bar Before and After Updates

Disney also shared that Petals Pool Bar had received some updates. Here’s a before look from our photo files.

Petals Pool Bar Before Refresh (©ResortsGal)

Now, we have the after look. As you can see, the Petals pool bar was completely repainted.

A closer look reveals that electronic menu boards were added along with new barstools.

Petals Pool Bar Close-up Electronic Menu Boards Added (©Disney)

Pop Century Rooms Before and After Updates

Next, we’ll have a quick before-and-after look at the rooms. I would like to caution our readers that the updates are subtle. In fact, if you’ve stayed at Pop Century in recent years, you might not even notice them. The rooms at Pop Century were originally redone around 2017 or so to bring them to this modern style. Since then, the All-Star Resorts have all followed suit with a similar layout. Here is our before photo that was taken during a stay in 2023.

a before look at the Pop Century rooms — Pop Century Room Before Refresh (©ResortsGal)

Here is a new image provided by Disney. You might notice the walls have been painted a light blue or green color.

Pop Century Room Refresh After 2026 (©Disney)

Here is another angle from that previous stay with the pull-down bed in the up position.

Pop Century Room Before Refresh (©ResortsGal)

Now we have the after version, which shows updates to the fabric on the chair and a rug underneath the bed area. You may remember we had a rug under our bed in our room at the Swan hotel a few months back. That appears to be the latest trend, offering a balance of both solid surface and carpet.

Pop Century Resort Refresh After (©Disney)

Overall, the updates around Disney’s Pop Century Resort have been positive, and we think they will be well-received by most fans and regular visitors. I hope you enjoyed this before and after look! For more on the resorts, see our Disney World Resorts page. Check back soon with Resorts Gal for more resort updates and reviews!