Transportation Tips for Disney’s Pop Century Resort
If you’re planning a stay at Disney’s Pop Century, you might wonder how you’ll travel from the resort to various other destinations at Walt Disney World. Getting to these places can seem overwhelming between the theme parks and popular resort restaurants!
So in this article, we’ll look at the various transportation options for Disney’s Pop Century. Then, we’ll discuss how to get to the most popular destinations, including some of the other resorts.
Whether you’re headed to ‘Ohana for breakfast or Magic Kingdom first thing in the morning, we’ve got you covered! By the time we finish, you’ll know how transportation works at Disney’s Pop Century Resort.
As always, these tips are based on our experience traveling around Walt Disney World.
Transportation Options at Disney’s Pop Century
The following forms of transportation are immediately available to guests of Disney’s Pop Century Resort:
- Disney Skyliner
- Disney’s Bus Service
Skyliner at Pop Century
Pop Century utilizes the Disney Skyliner for several destinations. Therefore, guests must use the Skyliner for these specific destinations when it’s running.
Pop Century shares the Skyliner with Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. All guests will board the Skyliner and travel to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, where they’ll exit.
At Caribbean Beach, guests will board one of two additional Skyliner lines for:
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Epcot
When heading to Hollywood Studios, the ride is direct, with no stops. For Epcot, the gondolas will drop down at Disney’s Riviera Resort. However, guests traveling to Epcot do not have to exit at the Riviera unless they are visiting the resort.
Pop Century’s Skyliner station is on a bridge between Pop Century and Art of Animation. This bridge connects the resorts over a large body of water called Hour Glass Lake.
Guests can use this bridge to walk to and from either resort. Additionally, there’s a walking path that connects the resorts. It wraps around the parameter of the lake. We have an article with photos of both sides of the lake.
Related: Hour Glass Lake at Disney World
Skyliner hours are posted outside the station. Typically the Skyliner begins an hour before the park’s operating hours. That hour includes the early theme park benefit for resort guests.
(Disney Resort Hotel guests are privy to entering the parks a half hour before the scheduled time. This applies to each park every day.)
Note that Skyliner hours fluctuate around the park’s operating hours. When we arrive at the resort, we usually snap a photo of the hours to save on our phones. That way, we can reference it throughout our trip if needed.
If you’re using a wheelchair or ECV, there’s a separate boarding area when you enter the Skyliner’s queue. A cast member will assist you with the loading process.
When you return to Pop Century, you’ll take the Skyliner back to Caribbean Beach from Hollywood Studios or Epcot. You’ll then board the Skyliner line that travels back to Pop Century and Art of Animation.
After exiting the Skyliner, you’ll take an immediate left for Pop Century. If you stay straight, you’ll walk through the resort’s feature pool area to Classic Hall, the resort’s lobby. You’ll find the primary counter service, reception area, gift shop, and bus stop there.
In addition to traveling to the theme parks, you might also take the Skyliner from Pop Century to a few resorts or resort areas. For instance, if you plan a meal at Disney’s Riviera Resort, you can take the Skyliner from Pop Century to Caribbean Beach. Then you can reboard the Skyliner to Epcot and exit at the Riviera.
Related: Restaurants at Disney’s Riviera Resort
Additionally, you can take the Skyliner to Epcot for the resorts in the Epcot area. When you exit the Skyliner at the International Gateway, you’ll have the option to walk or take Disney’s Friendship Boats to these resorts.
The following hotels are located in the area:
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
- Disney’s Swan and Dolphin Resort
For more information, we have a complete guide that discusses using the Skyliner at Walt Disney World.
Buses at Pop Century
Disney’s Pop Century provides bus service to Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs, and the water parks. Buses begin running one hour before the park opens and runs up to two hours after each destination closes.
Similar to the Skyliner, the one-hour early applies to the park’s opening time for resort guests. So if Magic Kingdom opens at 9:00 a.m., the park will open for resort guests at 8:30 a.m. This means buses will begin running at 7:30 a.m.
Additionally, if the Skyliner goes down (e.g., inclement weather), you’ll use buses to travel back and forth to and from Epcot and Hollywood Studios. We’ll discuss this in detail further down.
Pop Century’s bus stop is located on the front side of Classic Hall. You can walk through the resort’s gift shop, Everything Pop, to access it. Or you can walk through the large, open center of Classic Hall.
Signage at the bus stop indicates when the next bus should arrive. However, times will adjust based on the driver’s proximity to the resort.
Additionally, you must take a transfer bus if you’re visiting a water park. For Typhoon Lagoon, you’ll take the bus to Disney Springs. At Disney Springs, you’ll transfer to a bus that takes you across the street to Typhoon Lagoon.
For Blizzard Beach, you’ll take a transfer bus from the resort to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. From there, you’ll board a bus to Blizzard Beach. Then, you’ll return in the same manner for both water parks.
Guests using a wheelchair or ECV will have a separate waiting area at the bus stop. You’ll want to wait in this area so the bus driver can quickly identify you upon arrival.
The bus driver will board you before allowing anyone else on the bus. Then your family will get to board first. This ensures that you aren’t separated from your party.
Upon arrival, all guests will exit the bus. Then the bus driver will lower the ramp so you can exit.
*Details for those with mobility issues (i.e., wheelchair, ECVs) can be found here on Disney’s site.
What if the Skyliner is down?
Sometimes the Skyliner goes down, whether for inclement weather or other reasons. For example, during the summer months, it’s common for the Skyliner to go down as storms pass through the area.
Therefore, you’ll want to consider the weather when coming and going from the resort or parks.
When the Skyliner is unavailable, bus service is provided to and from Pop Century to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. However, that is usually the only time bus service is available to these locations.
If you’re leaving Epcot (at the International Gateway) and find the Skyliner down, a sign will be posted with instructions on where to proceed. Often, a cast member is also out providing directions to guests.
From our experiences with the Skyliner being down, we were once directed to catch a bus at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. We had to catch a bus from Disney’s Boardwalk Inn on another visit. (Both resorts are within a 5-10 minute walking distance of the International Gateway.)
Both times, buses were sent to pick us up. That bus dropped guests off at Disney’s Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Disney’s Riviera Resort. So make sure you exit at your resort.
From Hollywood Studios, you’ll walk to the corresponding bus stop. A sign in front of the bus station will list the number of the resort’s bus stop. If the Skyliner is down, you’ll know because you’ll pass it on the way to the bus stop.
Other Transportation Tips for Pop Century
During your vacation, you’ll likely want to have a few meals at other resorts. As we discussed, the resorts at Epcot, Disney’s Riviera, and Disney’s Caribbean Beach are all easily accessible from Pop Century via the Skyliner.
However, there are a few other locations you might like to visit. For example, you might want to visit Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary, Kona Cafe at the Polynesian, or the Grand Floridian Cafe at Disney’s Grand Floridian.
(Note these are just examples. Multiple dining options are available at Disney Resort Hotels.)
Since these hotels are on the resort monorail, you can take a bus from Pop Century to Magic Kingdom. From Magic Kingdom, you’ll pass through security and board the resort monorail.
A resort boat launch is also available for the Polynesian and Grand Floridian. Guests can take the walkway to the Contemporary if they don’t want to wait for the monorail.
Guests visiting Disney’s Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness can take a bus to Magic Kingdom from Pop Century. From there, they will walk through security at Magic Kingdom and then take the resort boat launch to either resort.
Additionally, you can take a bus from Pop Century to the Animal Kingdom if you want to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. At the Animal Kingdom, you’ll want to find the bus stop for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Since this park is close to the resort, the buses run back and forth pretty often.
Final Thoughts on Transportation at Pop Century
Hopefully, this guide gave you an idea of how to get to and from Disney’s Pop Century Resort efficiently. Trying to figure out how to travel from one place to another can be overwhelming.
Of course, there are always alternatives. For example, if you’re in a pinch for time, you might take a Minnie Van or other car service from the resort’s lobby.
For more information about the resort, all of our articles are listed in a resort guide:
Or you might enjoy the following individual articles:
For more transportation options at Walt Disney World, try these:
- Disney World Monorail Guide
- Transportation Options at Art of Animation
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Transportation Options
- Disney’s Riviera Resort Transportation Options
In the Comments
Did you find this guide helpful? Do you have any questions about getting to and from Disney’s Pop Century Resort?
