Disney's Pop Century Resort
Encyclopedia
Disney's Pop Century Resort is a resort at the Walt Disney World Resort
. It is one of four hotels that make up the "value resort" group, along with the Disney's All-Star Sports Resort
, Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
, and Disney's All-Star Music Resort
. The hotel
is themed around different decades in American
pop culture
. Much like the other resorts within the value category, there are giant versions of various items built around the hotel.
-style buildings adorned in gigantic (over 3 meters) phrases and iconography of the particular decade being represented. The resort has 2,880 rooms in ten separate buildings, three pool areas, and one central area, named "Classic Hall", that houses the front desk, gift shop, arcade and food court. The buildings are four story versions of the three story All-Star Resort buildings.
buses provide scheduled service between the resort hotel and the theme parks, water parks, and Downtown Disney
. The resort has laundry facilities and babysitting options available. It also has pizza delivery to guests' rooms as well as cable television. Internet access and refrigerators are available at a charge.
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
The Classic Years area has several shopping and dining locations, including the following:
.
The Classic Years section opened in 2003, while the Legendary Years lobby building, to be called "Legendary Hall", and of few of its buildings were left uncompleted. Initially, the completed resort was to have an additional 2,880 rooms on the Legendary side, configured identically to the Classic side. The parking lot for the expansion was completed during the earlier phase of construction, and occasionally is used as overflow parking for the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
On May 12, 2010, Disney Parks announced plans to complete the remaining section of the resort as a separate value-priced resort known as Disney's Art of Animation Resort
. It will be based on four of Disney and Pixar's
most popular films: The Little Mermaid
, The Lion King
, Finding Nemo
and Cars. However, to distinguish it from Pop Century, the hotel will have 1,120 suites, designed for up to six people. The remaining 864 rooms will be a standard value-resort size. The addition of suites was based on positive guest responses after a number of hotel rooms at Disney's All-Star Music Resort
were combined to form larger accommodations. Construction began in the summer of 2010, with the resort opening in 2012.
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
. It is one of four hotels that make up the "value resort" group, along with the Disney's All-Star Sports Resort
Disney's All-Star Sports Resort
Disney's All-Star Sports Resort is a resort that is part of the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of four Resorts in the Value Resort category, along with Disney's All-Star Music Resort, Disney's All-Star Movies Resort, and Disney's Pop Century Resort. The resort is located on the southern...
, Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort is a resort hotel located at the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of four Disney Resorts in the "Value" category along with Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, Disney's All-Star Music Resort, and Disney's Pop Century Resort. The resort is located on the southern...
, and Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Disney's All-Star Music Resort is a resort that is part of the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of four resorts in the Value Resort category, along with Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, Disney's All-Star Movies Resort, and Disney's Pop Century Resort. The resort is located on the southern...
. The hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
is themed around different decades in American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. Much like the other resorts within the value category, there are giant versions of various items built around the hotel.
History
The resort was originally planned to open in 2001, though the opening was eventually delayed to March 2002. It was delayed once more before accepting reservations on April 22, 2003 and opening on December 13, 2003.Layout
Each themed area features motelMotel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
-style buildings adorned in gigantic (over 3 meters) phrases and iconography of the particular decade being represented. The resort has 2,880 rooms in ten separate buildings, three pool areas, and one central area, named "Classic Hall", that houses the front desk, gift shop, arcade and food court. The buildings are four story versions of the three story All-Star Resort buildings.
Amenities
Disney TransportDisney Transport
Disney Transport is the privately operated transportation system at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Most movements are made using buses that run along the resort's public roads maintained by the Reedy Creek Improvement District and private roads...
buses provide scheduled service between the resort hotel and the theme parks, water parks, and Downtown Disney
Downtown Disney (Florida)
Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Downtown Disney is open to the public, requires no admission fee, and offers complimentary parking and transportation to all Disney-operated Walt Disney...
. The resort has laundry facilities and babysitting options available. It also has pizza delivery to guests' rooms as well as cable television. Internet access and refrigerators are available at a charge.
Classic Years
In the Classic Years section of the resort, each area is themed with a specific decade and giant items related to that decade. This was originally one of two planned construction phases for the resort, but has become the only completed area of the resort due to a scaling-back of the project.1950s
- Bowling pinBowling pinBowling pins are the target of the bowling ball in various bowling games including tenpins, five-pins, duckpins, and candlepins. In the US, pin specifications for standard tenpins are set by the United States Bowling Congress. Pins are 4.75 inches wide at their widest point and tall...
staircases - Lady and the TrampLady and the TrampLady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters on June 22, 1955, by Buena Vista Distribution. The fifteenth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, it was the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen...
statue - 45rpm recordsGramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
- Transistor radioTransistor radioA transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver using transistor-based circuitry. Following their development in 1954 they became the most popular electronic communication device in history, with billions manufactured during the 1960s and 1970s...
- JukeboxJukeboxA jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
- Bowling pinBowling pinBowling pins are the target of the bowling ball in various bowling games including tenpins, five-pins, duckpins, and candlepins. In the US, pin specifications for standard tenpins are set by the United States Bowling Congress. Pins are 4.75 inches wide at their widest point and tall...
Pool
1960s
- Yo-yoYo-yoThe yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
staircases - HippieHippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
FlowerFlowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s - Peace symbol
- BalooBalooBaloo is the fictional bear featured in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book from 1894 and The Second Jungle Book from 1895.-Name and species:He is described in Kipling's work as "the sleepy brown bear"...
statue with MowgliMowgliMowgli is a fictional character from India who originally appeared in Rudyard Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" and then went on to become the most prominent and memorable character in his fantasies, The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book , which also featured stories about other... - Play-Doh
1970s
- 8-track tape staircases
- DiscoDiscoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
Dancing - FoosballTable footballTable football, also known as gitoni or foosball, is a table-top game and sport that is loosely based on association football.-Names:...
setup - Four-story tall Big Wheel
- Mickey Mouse phoneDesign Line telephoneDesign Line is a brand that AT&T has used on several of its telephones, also known as Deco-Tel.-Pre-divestiture Design Line:In the early 1970s, before the Bell System divestiture, customers in increasing numbers chose to install and use telephones not manufactured by Western Electric, AT&T's wholly...
- Mood ringMood ringA mood ring is a ring which contains a thermochromic element, such as liquid crystal. The ring changes color in response to the body temperature of its wearer...
1980s
- Rubik's CubeRubik's CubeRubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
staircases - Roger Rabbit statue
- A giant WalkmanWalkmanWalkman is a Sony brand tradename originally used for portable audio cassette, and now used to market Sony's portable audio and video players as well as a line of Sony Ericsson mobile phones...
- Mr. Potato HeadMr. Potato HeadMr. Potato Head! is an American toy consisting of a plastic model of a potato which can be decorated with a variety of plastic parts that can attach to the main body. These parts usually include ears, eyes, shoes, a hat, a nose, and a mouth. The toy was invented and developed by George Lerner in...
- Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
- Pac-ManPac-Manis an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
1990s
- Cell phoneMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
staircases - A giant LaptopLaptopA laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
- Giant floppy diskFloppy diskA floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s and a computer keyboardKeyboard (computing)In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches... - RollerbladeRollerbladeRollerblade is a brand of inline skates owned by Nordica, part of the Tecnica Group of Trevignano, Treviso, Italy.The company was started by Scott Olsen and Brennan Olson in Minneapolis as Ole's Innovative Sports; when they sold the company, it became Rollerblade, Inc...
s - Hip-hop dance
The Classic Years area has several shopping and dining locations, including the following:
- Everything Pop is both the food court and the gift shop for the resort. The gift shop has products based on the 1950s-1990s as well as Disney merchandise. The food court has different five specialty shops; Bakery, Grill, Market, Pizza, and Ethnic. The Disney Dining Plan can be used to purchase Quick Service meals.
- Grab-N-Go Market is located in the back of Everything Pop and offers foods that can be carried into the theme parks, such as water, muffins, and sandwiches.
- Petals Pool Bar is a bar located near the Hippy-Dippy Pool in the 1960s themed area, near the "Classic Hall" lobby. Drinks may be purchased at the bar.
Legendary Years
The original plans for the resort included a second phase of units themed to the Legendary Years, which would have included 1900-1940s themed areas. These rooms would have resided across a lake from the Classic Years section, and would be connected by bridge to that section. Construction for both phases were started at the same time, but after the September 11 attacks, Disney scaled back the hotel due to the reduction in tourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
The Classic Years section opened in 2003, while the Legendary Years lobby building, to be called "Legendary Hall", and of few of its buildings were left uncompleted. Initially, the completed resort was to have an additional 2,880 rooms on the Legendary side, configured identically to the Classic side. The parking lot for the expansion was completed during the earlier phase of construction, and occasionally is used as overflow parking for the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
On May 12, 2010, Disney Parks announced plans to complete the remaining section of the resort as a separate value-priced resort known as Disney's Art of Animation Resort
Disney's Art of Animation Resort
Disney's Art of Animation Resort is a future resort within Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is located where construction on the unfinished half of Disney's Pop Century Resort was started but later abandoned after the September 11 attacks.The resort is the first to be built...
. It will be based on four of Disney and Pixar's
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
most popular films: The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
, The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
and Cars. However, to distinguish it from Pop Century, the hotel will have 1,120 suites, designed for up to six people. The remaining 864 rooms will be a standard value-resort size. The addition of suites was based on positive guest responses after a number of hotel rooms at Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Disney's All-Star Music Resort is a resort that is part of the Walt Disney World Resort. It is one of four resorts in the Value Resort category, along with Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, Disney's All-Star Movies Resort, and Disney's Pop Century Resort. The resort is located on the southern...
were combined to form larger accommodations. Construction began in the summer of 2010, with the resort opening in 2012.
External links
- Disney's Pop Century Resort official site