The Best and Worst Room Locations at Disney's Pop Century Resort

If you’re planning to stay at Disney’s Pop Century, you might wonder whether it’s worth requesting a specific room location. After staying in every section of the resort, we can attest that some locations will have a positive impact, while others could have the opposite effect. In this article, we’ll discuss the best and worst room locations at Disney’s Pop Century Resort.

Now, while we’re using the terms “best and worst”, you’ll want to heavily lean on your personal preferences. For example, we’ll label the worst room locations as those farthest from transportation and amenities. So if you want a more remote room location, or don’t mind the extra steps, you might prefer the least convenient location. It’s also worth noting that while Disney often tries to fulfill special requests, they aren’t guaranteed. So unless you pay for a preferred room upgrade at Pop Century, there are no location guarantees. We’ll discuss this and your other options as we continue.

best and worst room locations at Pop Century

How Big Is Pop Century?

Before we dive into individual room locations at Pop Century, I wanted to address the resort’s size. You might be surprised to learn that Pop Century has more rooms than any other Disney World Resort.

Pop Century has approximately 2,880 rooms, each around 260 square feet. These rooms are housed in 10 buildings representing decades between the 1950s and 1990s. While all rooms at Pop Century are the same, a few categories offer upgrades like pool view, preferred location, and preferred pool view.

Therefore, if you’re planning a stay here, you might want to upgrade to a room category based on its location. Or you might prefer to roll the dice, book the cheapest room, and request a specific location. We’re going to focus more on the latter. So let’s see where you might end up!

a room location in the 60s at Pop Century

Best Pop Century Room Location: The 60s

Most will agree that the rooms in Pop Century’s 60s section have the best location. However, these rooms come with the price of an upgrade. On our last stay, we intentionally booked a preferred location and requested a room in the 60s section. Now this was a roll of the dice because preferred rooms are located in the following buildings:

Building 1 (50s)
Building 3 (50s)
Building 4 (60s)
Building 5 (60s)
Building 6 (70s)
Building 10 (70s)

So, technically, we would have ended up in any of the buildings listed above. To guarantee buildings 4 or 5, we could have booked the highest tier category: a preferred pool view. If you’d enjoy a pool view and a preferred location, the upgrade might be worth it. Just make sure you’re aware that Pop Century is an exterior hotel, so your pool view will be somewhat blocked by an outdoor walkway. Here is an example of a room in building 4 that faces the Hippy Dippy Pool.

a pool view room at Pop Century from preferred building 4

We’re personally not big fans of pool-view rooms. In our experience, we’ve dealt with extra noise when facing the pool. This is especially true in the afternoon, when recreation cast members lead activities at the pool with a microphone. If someone in your party wants to nap in the afternoon, you might prefer a room that doesn’t face the pool.

On this stay, we ended up in building 4 with a room that didn’t face the pool. Of all my stays at Pop Century, this was the most convenient. We were a short walk from the resort’s lobby, with the bus stop, food court, shopping, and guest services. We were within steps of the resort’s feature pool and laundry area. Lastly, the opposite side of our building was only a short walk from the Skyliner station.

The location’s convenience meant we walked less around the resort. After long days in the parks, we could get back to our rooms quickly after transportation dropped us off. One night it was raining, and I was thankful I didn’t have a long walk to get back to my room. This location would also be helpful if you were traveling with small children or multi-generational parties. This room location might also work best for first-time visitors or anyone who might feel overwhelmed by the resort’s size.

My only complaint about building 4 or 5 was that it wasn’t convenient to the parking lot. Since we try to manage our own luggage at a value resort, we like to park close to our room. Of course, this is a personal preference, and something to consider if you’ll have a car.

theming of the 60s preferred locations Pop Century

Pop Century Room Locations: Preferred 50s and 70s

As mentioned above, preferred room locations extend to the resort’s 50s and 70s section. While I haven’t stayed in a preferred room in either the 50s or 70s, I have stayed in both sections and have found them incredibly convenient. Just know that if you book a preferred upgrade, you could end up in these sections.

Preferred rooms in either section are close to dining, shopping, and transportation. If you’re comfortable with the price difference, I think you’ll be happy with wherever you end up. Remember (aside from buildings 4 and 5), preferred rooms are in portions of buildings 1 and 3 in the 50s section, and portions of buildings 6 and 10 in the 70s section.

room locations in the 70s section of Pop Century

Pop Century Room Locations: Standard 50s and 70s

A few years ago, we received a room assignment in the resort’s 50s section, building 3, room 3142. While this wasn’t an upgraded room, we were just a few steps from the resort’s preferred rooms. I remember calling the room “practically preferred” at the time. This location was exceptionally close to the Skyliner and the main building. It was also situated close to the Bowling Pin Pool and the Hippy Dippy Pool. Here are a few considerations for requesting the 50s section:

Building 3 is close to the main building and the Skyliner. (Not close to a parking lot.)
Building 1 is closer to the main building and the parking lot. (We prefer to be close to the parking lot if and when we have our car.)
Building 2 is a little farther out than 1 or 3, but more private. (This building has a nearby parking lot.)

theming in the 50s sections of the resort

On a previous stay, I was assigned a room in the 70s in Building 10. This room was also close to a preferred location and convenient to the bus stop and main building. Here are a few considerations for requesting the 70s sections:

Building 6 is close to the main building and the Skyliner. (Not close to a parking lot.)
Building 10 is closer to the bus stop, main building, and a parking lot.

What would Resorts Gal choose? This is a tough question to answer, but based on all our stays, I preferred our room’s location in the 50s section of the resort without having to pay for a preferred room upgrade. That said, I really enjoy the theming of the 70s section. Of course, theming is a separate topic we cover in our Pop Century Resort Review.

the rooms near Goofy's statue are a preferred location

Worst Pop Century Room Locations: 80s and 90s

I hate to call any section the “worst” because of Pop Century’s fun theming, but the 80s and 90s section is the most remote location. Over the years, we’ve stayed in this section a handful of times and can vouch for the longer walk. Is this location the end of the world? Not by any means, but if you’re unfamiliar with the resort’s layout, you might be surprised.

For example, say you’ve spent the entire day at Magic Kingdom. It was a wonderful day, but everyone is exhausted. Your child even dozes off on the bus back to Pop Century. You can’t get back to the room fast enough. Unfortunately, you still have an 8- to 10-minute walk back to your room once you get back to the resort. The extra distance feels like rubbing salt in the wound.

Of course, if you’re a night owl or avid walker, you might never notice the difference. But if you’re dealing with little ones and not used to staying out late, your room’s location might matter more than you realize.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this overview of the best and worst room locations at Disney’s Pop Century helped clarify what area you might prefer. For more information about staying at this resort, you might like the following:

Our Experience Using the Skyliner at Pop Century During Rope Drop: Find out how early you need to get in line for the Skyliner at Pop Century.

Disney’s Pop Century Resort Bus Schedule: Get a preview of the bus schedule and average route times at Pop Century.

Disney’s Pop Century Restaurants Guide: Learn more about dining options at this resort.

Laundry at Disney’s Pop Century Resort: We discuss laundry locations at this resort.

Disney’s Pop Century Resort Pools: Check out photos for all three resort pools at Pop Century.

Or browse all our resort coverage in our guide to Disney’s Pop Century Resort. If you’re planning a trip, our friends at Firefly Travels would be happy to help. They are authorized Disney Vacation Planners.

To learn more about the resorts, see our guide to the Disney World Hotels. You might also like our overview of dining at Disney World. Need to know how to get around? Our guide to transportation at Disney World is one of our top resources.

For touring the parks, see our Disney World Rides and Attractions guide. It links to attraction guides for all four theme parks. If you’re just getting started, you might like our Disney World Vacation Planning Guide. It brings together the resources you need to plan your visit. Check back with ResortsGal.com for more updates or sign up for our newsletter.