Disney's Pop Century Resort vs. Art of Animation Resort

Art of Animation and Pop Century are two value resorts operated by Disney at Walt Disney Globe. These two hotels are priced similarly—just above the All-Star resorts but below the moderate resorts.

Considering they are located near each other (they're separated past a bridge of about 200 feet), and priced similarly, people often wonder what the differences between these two resorts are. In this post, we cover minor differences, major differences, and choosing between Pop Century and Art of Animation.

Minor and Not-Differences Between Pop Century and Fine art of Animation

Right off the bat, it makes sense to clarify some things nigh Art of Blitheness and Pop Century that won't exist used to distinguish the resorts.

Transportation. Both resorts rely primarily on bus transportation to get to and from the parks and Disney Springs. With the Disney World Skyliner now open and the two resorts sharing a station, in that location is now an alternative pick for getting to Hollywood Studios and Epcot.

bus.jpeg

Next let's encompass a few things that are mostly the same just slightly unlike about the resorts. These don't influence our analysis, simply they're worth knowing.

Pools. The big i—and maybe a significant plenty difference for some people—is the swimming pools. Basically, these are both value resort pools, and kids are going to be kids and relish them every bit much as any pool. The real difference between the ii is that The Big Blue Pool at Art of Blitheness plays Disney music underwater.

aoa pool.jpeg

This is a really cool feature, sure, but in our stance it'due south not enough to actually factor into decision-making between the two resorts.

Food Courts. Art of Animations Landscape of Flavors food court is definitely the best food courtroom of any value resort. But yous tin can easily walk there from Popular Century, and we sometimes do when at Pop. Indeed, every bit we discuss more below, some Pop Century rooms are closer to the Art of Animation'south nutrient courtroom than some Art of Blitheness rooms.

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Major Differences Between Pop Century and Art of Animation

Now let'south cover the major differences between Pop Century and Art of Animation—the rooms and pricing. We'll go over choosing between the ii resorts in the next department.

Art of Animation Family Suites

This is the biggest departure betwixt the 2 resorts—total terminate. Fine art of Blitheness offers "family suites" themed to Finding Nemo, The Panthera leo King, and Cars. In fact, most of the rooms at Art of Animation are family suites. Pop Century has no such rooms, and all of its rooms are essentially identical. So if your family is interested in booking a suite at a value resort, they'll need to book at Art of Blitheness or All-Star Music. Smart Mouse Travel has a review of the Fine art of Animation suites.

Rooms at Pop Century and Art of Animation

In that location are several differences to notation between the rooms at Popular Century and the standard rooms at Fine art of Animation. Nosotros're going to compare 3 sets of rooms: the standard rooms at Art of Animation, the standard rooms at Pop Century, and the preferred rooms at Pop Century.

A room at Pop Century with the Murphy bed up

A room at Pop Century with the White potato bed up

Price. In 2022, standard rooms at Fine art of Animation start at $195 per dark. Standard rooms at Pop Century kickoff at $168 per night. Preferred rooms at Pop Century outset at $186 per night. Most nights yous'll be able to get a preferred room at Pop Century for less than a standard room at Art of Animation.

Theme. The standard rooms at Fine art of Animation are "The Little Mermaid" rooms. They are themed to…The Fiddling Mermaid!

A Footling Mermaid room at Art of Animation

The Pop Century rooms all have pretty plain theming.

A room at Pop Century with the Murphy bed down

A room at Pop Century with the White potato bed downward

Space. Co-ordinate to the DIS, the standard rooms in Fine art of Animation are 17 square feet bigger than the rooms in Pop Century. While we love the Pop Century rooms, nosotros practice find the space difference noticeable. With the Spud bed down, the Pop Century rooms get very cramped.

Quality. It'due south non a stretch to say that the Pop Century rooms are college quality than The Little Mermaid rooms. Yes—some people find the design of the new rooms off putting, but that'southward more of a "theme" consequence than a quality issue. When it comes to quality, the Pop Century rooms—with their better use of space, more prevalent outlets, bigger vanity areas, and bigger televisions—are clearly better.

Location. This is an interesting one. The Little Mermaid rooms are the worst location at Art of Animation, about seven minutes from Blitheness Hall.

There are standard rooms at Pop Century that are that far away from Archetype Hall. However, preferred rooms are much closer (2 to iii minutes walking) and some preferred Popular Century rooms are closer to Animation Hall (at Fine art of Animation) than The Little Mermaid rooms.

Choosing Between Art of Animation and Pop Century

Many guests—particularly first timers—will be looking to choose betwixt Art of Animation and Pop Century. It's common to ignore the All-Star Resorts because they're "too" value. While we think this is wrong (nosotros're fans of the refurbished All-Star Movies rooms), the Skyliner does assist give Popular Century and Fine art of Animation an extra edge.

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Evidently, if you're interested in a family suite, you'll desire to book Art of Animation. There'due south no comparable option at Popular Century.

The real difficulty comes in choosing between The Trivial Mermaid rooms and Pop Century. All the discourse to a higher place tin be boiled downward to three points: theme, space, and quality.

Space is a tricky ane. There's no couches in either of these rooms. If you're in them, you'll either be sitting at a desk-bound or on your bed. When the Irish potato beds are open at Pop Century, y'all lose your desk-bound, simply you'll still take enough surface infinite around the room for storing things like maps and personal accessories. To us, space simply isn't a huge cistron in deciding between these two rooms.

Theme is straightforward. The photos above (and more in our review) show what to expect from The Little Mermaid rooms. If that'southward what you lot're looking for, then go for it. Hither are a few more:

For u.s., it comes down to room quality. The hardwood floors, the increased vanity space (and larger mirror), the larger television, and the numerous outlets set the Pop Century rooms apart. Since you can pay for a preferred room and get slap-up location, we just don't see the justification for Disney'southward pricing at Fine art of Animation.

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