Disney’s Pop Century vs. Art of Animation (Which One is the Best?)

The answer is not always clear-cut when deciding between Disney’s Art of Animation and Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Both resorts have tremendous theming, amenities, and similar locations. But which one will work best for your vacation? Below, we’ll take a side-by-side comparison approach to help you figure it out.

Upfront, both resorts fall under the value resort category. So you can expect them to offer comparable amenities. They both have things like standard guest rooms, pools, a food court, and recreational activities.

But that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Surprisingly, these two Disney Resort Hotels are unique when we look at them in detail. They are not like the All-Star Resorts, where the hotels are identical, except for the theming of movies, sports, or music.

If you’re new to Resorts Gal, you might be curious about my qualifications. We live near Walt Disney World and visit the parks weekly. We have stayed at both Art of Animation and Pop Century countless times. These stays range from week-long trips to one-night staycations at each resort. We also often take the Skyliner to these resorts to walk around Hourglass Lake and see what’s happening there.

Art of Animation vs. Pop Century

One significant difference between the resorts is plain to see. Pop Century Resort is themed to the classic years between the 1950s and 1990s. Like its name, Disney’s Art of Animation focuses on the concept of animation as art. Below, we’ll look at the theming elements of each resort. But I recommend keeping an open mind until we discuss other resort aspects. Surprisingly, the theming is not our deciding factor when it comes to which resort we like the most.

Theming Differences

Disney’s Pop Century is divided into sections representing decades from the 1950s to the 1990s. It’s like taking a step back in time and will surely bring back memories for parents and grandparents. Children will enjoy the larger-than-life themes that feel like Disney.

You’ll encounter one conversation piece after the next when walking the resort’s grounds. The nostalgic will enjoy the attention to detail and memories of days gone by throughout the resort. While children probably won’t understand many of the references, they will love seeing their favorite characters spread throughout the resort.

For instance, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head stand guard outside the entrance of the 90s. Lady and the Tramp are positioned around the 50s. You’ll also run into a few other classic characters like Roger Rabbit and our beloved Mickey Mouse.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort sits across Hourglass Lake from Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Its animation theming focuses on four of Disney’s animated films: Cars, The Lion King, Finding Nemo, and The Little Mermaid.

From sketches to the finished product, some of Disney’s greatest animated films are represented across the grounds. Here’s an example in The Lion King section: Pumbaa starts as a pencil or ink sketch on the outer buildings of Pop Century.

A finished ink and paint sketch is displayed at the end of each resort. This sketch pad doubles as a staircase wrap.

Inside the resort grounds, the sketches come to life in dimensional elements.

Each section of the resort feels like you’ve stepped into a movie. The Little Mermaid Section has a giant Ariel, Ursula, and King Triton! Sebastian is conducting an under-the-sea orchestra, and let’s not forget the famous statue of Prince Eric that Ariel kept in her thing-a-ma-bob place.

Rooms Differences

Speaking of The Little Mermaid Section, this is the only section of Art of Animation with value resort rooms. This is also the most significant difference between the resorts. The rest of the Art of Animation Resort is comprised of family suites. Those suites are in the Cars, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo sections. So, if you compare prices between the resorts and see a notable difference, you are probably looking at the price of a family suite.

Family suites are comparable to a deluxe resort in pricing. These buildings have interior room access, similar to a hotel. Pop Century and The Little Mermaid section of Art of Animation have exterior room access.

Family suites have multiple sleeping spaces, a second bathroom, and a kitchenette area. These rooms are designed to accommodate families with up to six guests by providing extra room to spread out. Family suites often run $250.00 or more per night than value rooms in The Little Mermaid section of the resort.

Pop Century only offers standard guest rooms. When comparing Art of Animation vs. Pop Century, you’ll want to consider only the value rooms. We think the family suites are great options. But given their uniqueness and price range, you might compare them to other resorts in higher price ranges, depending on the makeup of your party.

So now that we’ve isolated the rooms, let’s talk about their differences. First, Pop Century offers standard rooms, pool view rooms, and preferred room upgrades. We don’t recommend considering the pool view since value rooms don’t have private balconies. Most guests keep their curtains closed because these rooms have exterior access with immediate walkways outside.

At Pop Century, a preferred room upgrade will put you closer to the main lobby, feature pool, dining, and bus stop. It’s something worth considering for those who would like proximity to these locations.

Art of Animation does not have preferred rooms in The Little Mermaid section. Therefore, if you stay in a value category room, you don’t have the option to get a room that’s closer to the main building.

That said, the primary difference is the room’s interiors. As a fan of The Little Mermaid, I want to love the value rooms at Art of Animation. However, we think that Pop Century, by far, has the best rooms. What I love most about the rooms at Pop Century is their simple layout with storage compartments and the ability to pull one bed (a Murphy bed) out of the wall and use it as a table when needed. The main bed and the Murphy bed are both queen beds.

The theming of the Pop Century rooms is minimalistic. It doesn’t feel overbearing, unlike the Little Mermaid room. Here are a few photos. We have a separate photo post of the rooms at Pop Century if you want to preview more details.

Unfortunately, the rooms in The Little Mermaid section of the resort are drastically different. When you plan on spending a week in an approximately 265-square-foot room, the “under the sea” look comes off as dark and busy.

However, since our last stay, the carpet has been upgraded to solid surface flooring, removing the dingy flooring factor I detested.

I don’t have any issues with the vanity area. But I do enjoy the extra compartment spaces at Pop Century.

But this “treasure trove” mural in the shower makes it feel like you’re trapped in a cave when you’re taking a shower. I also much prefer the glass shower doors that can be adequately cleaned over the shower curtain. However, some guests with small children say they hate sliding glass doors because it’s difficult to lean over the tub when bathing children. So, I’ll leave that thought for your consideration.

We have a separate photo post of the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation that includes a video. It will go into more detail about our latest experience.

Transportation Differences

You won’t find any transportation differences between Pop Century and Art of Animation. Both resorts share a stop on the Disney Skyliner. They are the only Disney value resorts that offer a secondary form of Disney transportation.

The Skyliner entrance sits between the resorts on the bridge over Hourglass Lake. The Skyliner travels to the neighboring Caribbean Beach Resort. From there, you’ll have to board another gondola to transfer to Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Riviera Resort.

Additionally, both Pop Century and Art of Animation provide bus transportation to the following:

• Magic Kingdom
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Disney Springs
• Blizzard Beach
• Typhoon Lagoon

Both resorts have one bus stop. Pop Century’s bus stop is off Classic Hall, the resort’s lobby. Art of Animation’s bus stop is at the front of Animation Hall.

Regardless of which resort you decide, we have a transportation guide. If you read any additional information about the resort, this is the article we consider the most essential:

• Pop Century Transportation Guide
• Art of Animation Transportation Guide

Differences Between the Pools

Regarding the pools, we think Art of Animation has an edge over Pop Century. However, both resorts have one primary feature pool, and two leisure pools. All of the pools between the resorts have the same operating hours and are attended by lifeguards. Since both resorts fall under the value category, they have no water slides or hot tubs.

The Big Blue Pool is the main pool at Art of Animation. We give it an honorable mention in our list of best pools at Disney World. It’s the largest single pool at the Walt Disney World Resort, containing over 300,000 gallons of water! Recreation activities are available at this pool each afternoon, along with Movies Under the Stars at night.

The Schoolyard Sprayground is a water play area directly behind the Big Blue Pool.

Additionally, the Little Mermaid section is home to the Flippin’ Fins Pool, and the Cars section of the resort has the Cozy Cone Pool. We have a separate article with multiple photos and details for all the pools at Disney’s Art of Animation.

At Disney’s Pop Century Resort, the Hippy Dippy Pool reflects the ’60s with fun pop references. This pool is the resort’s feature pool, where recreation cast members entertain guests in the afternoon. Movies Under the Star are held nightly at this pool.

Directly behind the Hippy Dippy Pool, you’ll find a splash pad area for the little ones. It’s a fun area that serves its purpose, but it’s not nearly as themed as Art of Animation.

The quiet pools at Pop Century are the Bowling Pool and Computer Pool, which sit on opposite ends of the resort. For more, try The Pools at Disney’s Pop Century.

Dining Differences

As far as dining goes, you will not find many differences other than actual menu items at each resort’s food court. Everything Pop is the large food court off the lobby of Disney’s Pop Century. These food courts will have the basics like pizza, burgers, chicken nuggets, salads, and sandwiches. Additionally, they’ll have a few varying cuisines, and Mickey waffles are available at breakfast at both resorts.

Related: Everything Pop Food Court Review

Landscape of Flavors sits adjacent to the lobby of Disney’s Art of Animation. Both highlighted reviews share photos and details of the menu items from our last stay if you want to learn more.

Related: Landscape of Flavors Food Court Review

A positive factor for both resorts is having quick access to other resorts via the Disney Skyliner. You can visit Disney’s Caribbean Beach, Disney’s Riviera Resort, or the Epcot Resorts for dining.

Primo Piatto is an excellent choice at the Riviera for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It even tops our list of best Disney resort quick service. We have a review of Primo Piatto that details several meals we’ve had at this location. Centertown Market, the food court at Caribbean Beach, has several unique items you might enjoy (Centertown Market Review).

Which One is Best? Pop Century or Art of Animation?

After our comparison, you may still not have guessed our opinion on which resort we like best. We’ve got to go with Disney’s Pop Century Resort solely because of its guest rooms. We even rank it as our top choice for the best value resort at Disney World.

However, I love the grounds of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort more than Pop. Ultimately, where I lay my head in the evening is a little more important than the other aspects. Plus, I can always walk to the Art of Animation and enjoy the resort—it’s only a short walk away. Of course, if I needed more room to spreadout, I might consider a family suite at Art of Animation. But that’s an entirely different price range, and I would then have to compare the resort to others in a higher price range. You probably already know that if the rates between a deluxe and a family suite are comparable, we will choose the deluxe resort.

Final Thoughts

If you would like to learn more about the resorts, we have recently updated our Art of Animation Resort Review and our review of Disney’s Pop Century Resort. We’ve stayed at both resorts for a fresh update in the last couple of months. Or you might enjoy the following other value resort reviews:

• Disney’s All-Star Music Resort Review
• Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort Review
• Disney’s All-Star Sports Review

We hope this article helped you decide if Pop Century or Art of Animation will work best for your Disney vacation. Remember, since both are Walt Disney World Resorts, they are eligible for early theme park entry. So, regardless of which hotel you choose, you can access the park of your choice 30 minutes early each day of your trip.

Browse all Disney World Resorts or sign up below for our free planning course and let us help you map out your magical stay, step by step. Still deciding? Explore more comparisons in our Disney Resort Comparison Guide.