Pop Century or Art of Animation?

[kimbodisney]

I am wondering opinions on Pop Century or Art of Animation Resorts. I have only stayed at Pop, because AoA always costs more. I am curious why? Can someone who has stayed at both enlighten me please?

 

[terri33inne]

The biggest price difference is because all rooms at AofA (except for Little Mermaid rooms) are suites. They have a kitchenette, a bedroom, 2 bathrooms, a fold out couch, and pull down bed. The extra space is nice. We stayed in a Finding Nemo room about a year ago, and they are showing some wear, and are due for an update. The pool is more fun at AofA as well. I prefer Pop just because we don't need the space of a suite, and I don't like the walk to a Little Mermaid room. I like walking around AofA though for the themes. If you have a child who particularly loves one of those movies then I would recommend staying there, or at the very least walking around.

 

[MudQueen22]

I have stayed at both. I liked both.
If I were booking another trip right now, I would go with Pop. Pop's rooms were very clean, and we found the bus transportation was good. I thought the Pop food court was better than AoA. My biggest reason is savings. We spend most of our time in the parks. We really just need a clean, comfortable place to sleep and get cleaned up.
When we stayed at AoA, one of our children really liked LIttle Mermaid, so we wanted her to experience staying in one of the LM rooms before she got too old to like that sort of thing. It was a negligible amount for the duration of our trip, so we went with that. I didn't think the rooms were as clean as Pop. I also didn't think the bus service was as efficient (although not bad), and I didn't care for their food court. The theming was awesome. No regrets about staying there.

 

[DisneyDreaminDee]

I've stayed at both. I prefer POP.
AOA costs more because its newer and has a more immersive theme plus the majority of the resort is family suites.
I stayed in the LM standard rooms. It was a terribly long walk to the buses/main building because there are limited paths to take.
POP has lots of different ways to walk and I like the theme and of course its cheaper. Not much cheaper now a days but still cheaper.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

I am wondering opinions on Pop Century or Art of Animation Resorts. I have only stayed at Pop, because AoA always costs more. I am curious why? Can someone who has stayed at both enlighten me please?

I've stayed at PoP. If you research the history of them, you will find that AoA was actually supposed to be just like PoP but from the years 1900 to the 40's. That is how we got the little mermaid suits. Those buildings were already completed before the crash, then when they decided to continue, they came up with a different concept. So here is the main question. How many people will be in the room. If you are going and there are just two, you will be paying more for theming for the little mermaid suits. If you stay at PoP the rooms are nicer as they have recently been redone but there is no theming. If you are getting a suit, then yes AoA. You can almost walk just as fast over the bridge to AoA to get their food as you can PoP. It's the same distance from the Skyway to both of the locations. If you want to pay out more cash for Disney theming then AoA. If you would rather spend less money for a newer and updated room, then PoP.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I've only stayed at AoA. The suites are really nice. They sleep 6 and have 2 bathrooms. The food court is really good, as is the lobby area that has a decent sized souvenir shop. Buses came on time and were rarely full, with a second bus sent almost immediately if it was full (pre-Skyliner - YMMV). The BBP was nice, zero entry with music piped in underwater, entertainment all day long and a splash pad, but no slide. We also had a REALLY hard time getting a deck chair, and in fact gave up, just leaving our towels and things on the ground near some plants - was the best we could do. I have always heard nice things about POP so, except for the suites, probably VERY similar. It's an easy walk between the two and the Skyliner loads on the "generation gap" bridge in the middle of the lake that separates them. If there's a big price difference and you don't want a suite, stay at POP. You can easly walk over to AoA and take it in.

 

[pooch]

I thought the Little Mermaid section was standard rooms not suites?

 

[DisneyDreaminDee]

I thought the Little Mermaid section was standard rooms not suites?

LM is standard not suites that's correct.

 

[karly05]

Pop for me, if you are comparing to AOA Little Mermaid rooms.

Plenty of Standard rooms at Pop much closer to food /transport than the LM rooms, and you can spend a bit more at Pop for a Preferred location if you want.

I love the rooms at Pop with the Murphy bed (makes the room feel more spacious with the bed up), storage space, dresser-top space, tons of outlets, handheld shower head and flat-laying safe in the dresser (instead of shallow, upright wall safe).

I still walk over to AOA for breakfast if I'm eating at the resort, since it is a lot less crowded in the morning (in my limited experience).

 

[AllieBoo]

I stayed at both last May, and preferred POP. The Little Mermaid room at AOA felt a little outdated, and the location was pretty far from the main building/food court. The room at POP was remodeled and had the hardwood floors instead of carpet, and there was more storage. Transportation, pools, and food options were pretty much the same to me, it was really just the room at POP that we liked better.

 

[mickeymom22]

I have stayed at both. The people that were staying at our building at Pop totally ruined the stay. It was a group of sports families. I am assuming they were playing games at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Someone had a keg in their room and the adults were drinking and letting the kids run around crazy.

Our stay in the LM section was much quieter. It does seem like a long walk to the main building, but all the cute theming is a distraction. Our daughter loved walking through the "savannah" and saying hi to Simba as we made our way back to the room. We enjoyed the Nemo pool and had a fun night there. We ordered pizza and had dinner pool side. It was also fun walking around the Cars area. If we had had longer stay, I would have liked to hang out at that quiet pool.

If the price isn't that much different, I would go with AoA!

 

[nkereina]

If you're comparing Little Mermaid rooms at AOA which are standard rooms to standard rooms at Pop, and it costs more, I would guess the theme has to do with it. AOA has larger than life Disney theming around, while Pop has the generic centuries theme. The theme at AOA definitely appeals to me more.

That said, the resorts are otherwise very comparable. They each are on the Skyliner, each have dedicated bus service, similar layouts and food courts, and the rooms at Pop and Little Mermaid rooms are both newly refurbished. I believe LM rooms were in progress prior to the closure, but I know they had at least a couple buildings finished. So, if theme isn't a huge factor for you, I would go with Pop if its cheaper.

 

[pixieprincess925]

As others have mentioned, your main determinant here should be hope many people are staying in the room. As a family of 4, with DS now 18+, we like having an extra sleeping surface. The family suites work better for us (and they don't have a surcharge for the third adult in those rooms), though pricing is equivalent to going to yacht club (which also can provide a third sleeping surface but charges for the extra adult).

Otherwise, POP and AoA LM are both nice. AoA has a pet friendly building. Don't be surprised to be woken by someone's dog... The fold up beds and new furniture at POP make the rooms feel much larger.

 

[Boopuff]

LIked POP (50's building) quiet and lakeview, AoA Cars suite, we were in the building near the main hall - fantastic. Loved the extra room in AoA suite (5 family members)