Disney Goddess: POP! To Attention!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

There is an air of fun surrounding Pop Century Resort. Everything is larger than life, brightly colored and every turn you make is another memory brought back with a smile! As with any Disney resort, the attention to detail never fails to blow my mind! This place though….this place just caters to my “attention deficit….oooooh shiny!” self.

Hippy Dippy pool and a Lava Smoothie

As you leave check in and walk outside, first you hear the joyful noise, and then you catch a glimpse of color! Suddenly you are greeted with a feast for your eyes: the Hippy Dippy Pool! Several buildings, all-competing for your attention with their unique theming, surround this swimming hole. This area just begs you stay awhile…The Petals Pool bar makes it even easier to relax and sit a spell. Their menu consists of any number of potions, two of which I will highlight here.

The Mojito is refreshing and minty and perfect for a day at the pool.

minty Mojito!

On another trip with just girlfriends, I sampled the Mango Margarita. Now, I love the smell of Mango, but I am not usually a fan of eating one. Put it in Margarita form and I am good to go!

Mango Margarita on a Girl's Night Out!

Drink recipes

Moving on from the pool, there are endless other entertainment options around the resort. Of course, the larger than life (way larger) characters around each building make perfect photo-ops!

Jungle Book!

If you follow the path around the perimeter of the resort, you will get a commentary of years past. Some things you will remember with fondness, others you will learn for the first time. Either way, they are good for a smile!

Ever dream of playing on a life size foosball table (when YOU are the size of the ball)? Well, maybe not before, but wait till you see this!

What about an impromptu game of Twister? The kids even got me involved (which drew some attention, but I will NOT post pictures of THAT! Have mercy!)

I had never been to the computer side of the resort before. I always thought, “Computers? How boring! How square!” How silly of me! One of my favorite things was the attention to detail over there!

The Keyboard (think of the piano from the movie Big…but in computer form) and then the pool is the screen for this “desk top” PC. Beyond that is a laptop- check out its details!

Speaking of details around the pool areas. The quiet pool over near the 1950’s building is bowling alley themed. The pins stand out quite obviously, but what is not so obvious are the alley markings on the pavement.

Bowling Alley

This is just the detail I am talking about! Those Disney imagineers leave nothing out! Take these for example:

extra large floppy disks near the computer pool

Rubik's Cube stairwell

One Rubik’s Cube staircase is solved, and the other is not!

Buildings each represent a different decade and each façade is decorated with popular phrases, dances and activities from that time.

Pop Century building facade

Pop Century also does an excellent job of making recycling easy! There are just as many recycling bins around the resort as there are trash. Some of the evidence of earth friendly actions are shown here:

We followed these directions every time we left the room!

Pop Century is GREEN!

Pop Century Conserves!

This resort is considered Value and one of the least expensive on Disney property. The rooms sleep four each and are relatively small, but with all the fun outside- who’d want to stay in anyway?! Well, there may be a few neat features inside too!

Welcome to the 60's!

Pop Century room art

room art!

Pop Century first opened in 2003 with 5 separate buildings called "Classic Years" which consist of the decades 1950-1990. The original plan was to have "Legendary Years" across the Generation Gap Bridge, however the attacks on 9/11 put a stop to that. Some buildings were already in production. Currently that area is being built as the newest Art of Animation Resort, set to open in 2012.