PHOTOS: New Modern Style Value Resort Rooms Debut at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Disney is currently in the process of remodeling all of the rooms at the Pop Century Resort and we have a first look inside of the newly remodeled lodging for you today.
We start with a little refresher course for those of you who may not remember what the current rooms at Disney’s Pop Century Resort look like…
I admittedly haven’t stayed at Pop Century since 2012 and the rooms look much worse than I had remembered. Perhaps they haven’t aged very well.
The carpet was looking (and smelling) pretty bad.
The current style rooms feature two double size beds, but that is about to change…
Welcome to the newly remodeled rooms at Disney’s Pop Century Resort, soon what all guest rooms at the resort will look like.
A look from the other side with the second bed pulled down. Both are queen size.
The fold down bed is a table when stood up. These units already exist across the lake at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.
The entry with new curtains.
Yes, there is no carpet. It makes the room look (and smell) much nicer in my opinion.
The other queen bed sits on a new base that allows storage room underneath.
This new unit by the doorway holds the coffee maker, ice bucket, and new mini-fridge with a see-thru door. This will ensure that you never forget that you have items in the fridge.
“And what do we got on this thing, a Cuisinart?”
When pulled down, the headboard features Pluto sleeping in a Pop Art style. Get it?
There is a light above the bed, inside of the unit, which can be turned on and off via the small switch underneath the Pluto art.
New model phones in each room, as well as plenty of electrical outlets, including USB.
A set on each of the three end tables probably means you won’t have to fight over outlets anymore.
A rather large television can be found above the dresser, which of course has even more outlets. And yes, they now have a resort channel that plays AVATAR 24-hours…
Disney will be constructing a scenic overlook over Hourglass Lake, the body of water located between Disney’s Pop Century and Art of Animation Resorts. Permits were filed with the South Florida Water Management District and the image below is provided in the documentation. It appears as though this could be the spot for the station of the rumored gondola transportation system. The size of the plot would be big enough to hold such a item, and the placement directly between both resorts makes sense. Otherwise, it is unknown what the exact reasoning for building this overlook could be. There is already more than enough seating out in this area for those who wish to enjoy the view, so building more seating or standing space wouldn’t serve any real practical purpose. Either way, this overlook is being constructed starting soon. Lake Buena Vista, Fla. – Nov. 30, 2016 – The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort’s Dolphin lobby will undergo a $12 million re-design as the final stage of the largest makeover in the resort’s history. When finished in the fall of 2017, the new lobby will be completely transformed into a sleek contemporary space and feature new dining and beverage options. Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel Lobby Undergoing Refurbishment The lobby re-design is the final stage of a total $140 million project which also includes the transformation of all 2,267 guest rooms, along with upgrades to the hotel’s meeting space. “This lobby will mark the final piece of an exciting transformation for the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort,” said General Manager Fred Sawyers. “This space is designed specifically to cater to today’s guests and offer an inviting place where they can come together to relax, network, and grab something to eat or drink.” Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel Lobby Undergoing Refurbishment Renowned Manhattan design firm ICRAVE, designers of projects including Westin New York at Times Square, W Atlanta and STK restaurants, created the concept for the new lobby space, drawing on inspiration from the lobby’s iconic Dolphin fountain. The centerpiece of the new lobby will be a dazzling custom crystal chandelier which will sparkle above the fountain and use the latest in color-changing lighting technology. Other new features will include a new geometric ceiling, increased lighting, all new contemporary décor and furnishings and more than double the amount of seating. Two new food and beverage options will be incorporated into the lobby, including a bar and lounge space seating up to 150. A new quick service café and market offering coffee, sandwiches and snacks will provide guests a convenient way to energize during their day, whether it be filled with business meetings or exploring the theme parks. Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel Lobby Undergoing Refurbishment The Dolphin Resort lobby will remain open throughout the renovation with minimal impact to resort guests. The project is currently scheduled to begin in spring 2017 for completion by fall 2017.Swan a The Walt Disney World Resort hotels had no shortage of special Halloween activities presented for resort guests over the weekend, but among the new offerings was a “Water Boat Hay Ride” at Disney’s Old Key West Resort. Offered on Saturday and Sunday, the 1st annual Disney’s Old Key West Resort Water Boat Hay Ride consisted of some themed decorations being placed on a watercraft, some cast members leading in spooky stories and Halloween songs, and a leisurely trip from the resort down to Disney Springs and back. Here is a little bit of the experience for you to enjoy: Right after the boat ride, we were welcome to a special meet and greet experience with Chip and Dale in their Halloween finest as well: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Have you ever done any of the special holiday activities at the Disney Resort Hotels? Which ones do you enjoy? Covering menu updates around Walt Disney World frantically sends me off to find many a great new dish around the resort, but it’s just a matter of time until I am harshly slammed back to earth and reality. The All-Star Resorts are not known for their cuisine, arguably the only of the 3 value resorts that have food courts with a bad reputation. While people rave about Art of Animation and Pop Century, you never hear anyone speak well of the 3 food court options between all three All-Star Resorts. There is probably a good reason for that… Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, home to the Intermission Food Court My Walt Disney World vacations (before I picked up and moved here) typically consisted of the outhouse or the penthouse when it came to hotels. The hotel I stayed at the most was Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. My second most visited? All-Star Sports. In fact, if you add my stays at all three All-Star Resorts, it is easily the resort I have stayed at the most. Sometimes a good hotel discount was all the reason to make a trip to Disney World. But what is my point? Well, in those 40-50 or so stays at the All-Star Resorts, I think I probably ate at the food courts available there about 8-10 times, and mostly for breakfast. I would often avoid them like the plague for their boring menus and the usual inability for the cooks to prepare anything well enough. A few years ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the remodeling and menu change at the Sports resort, and I recall having a fairly good meal there, so I wasn’t apprehensive to visiting the Intermission Food Court at the Movies Resort when we found out there was a new menu. A Pub Burger is among the new offerings at the Intermission Food Court I personally had my sights set on the new Pub Burger, while my partner in crime decided he was going to get the “Red Wine Braised Short Ribs”. Yes, he actually decided he would get short ribs at an All-Star Resort. As Dr. Seeker would say, “What can go wrong?”. Foot Long Hot Dog from Intermission Food Court While I waited for my Pub Burger, this was my view. A giant tray of already cooked foot-long hot dogs from an All-Star Food Court. This is when it set in that we had made a horrible mistake. It’s like in an action thriller when you realize you are in the room with the murderer and he’s probably going to kill you when you turn around. Foot Long Hot Dog from Intermission Food Court Foot Long Hot Dog from Intermission Food Court Foot Long Hot Dog from Intermission Food Court This is going to get ugly fast. Kids, shield your eyes for this one… It’s time to eat. Pub Burger ($12.99) I was so excited for this Pub Burger. Pretzel bun, fried pickles, onion strings, and beer cheese on a burger even makes me hungry again just typing this. So, what went wrong? Pub Burger ($12.99) The bun was good and the fried pickle was fantastic, but the burger was cooked terribly. It wasn’t particularly overcooked, it just tasted bad. Now, I know what some of you are saying, “But the counter service hamburgers are bad!” They aren’t. I have had success outside of D-Luxe Burger, it can be done! I don’t know what happened here, but the onion straws and beer cheese flavors died on top of this hamburger. It was flavorless meat in a rather tasty pretzel bun. Red Wine Braised Short Ribs ($15.99) Why we expected anything but what we got out of the Wine Braised Short Ribs is beyond me. Yes, it is as bad as it looks. Red Wine Braised Short Ribs ($15.99) You do get to pick your sides, and everything Josh picked was pretty awful. The stuffing and the breadstick were near inedible, and the short ribs are what you would expect, flavorless and kind of fatty. I did like the plantains a lot, but one out of three being digestible is a pretty bad stat unless you’re swinging a baseball bat. Red Wine Braised Short Ribs ($15.99) I don’t even know what to say about our meal here. I think I would be more distraught if they didn’t take our Tables in Wonderland card for a discount, but this meal was still really awful. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been to a Disney counter service restaurant where we have ordered two completely different entrees and both were equally awful. I think a big part of the problem here is the kitchen. Going to an All-Star food court and then to Art of Animation, you see a huge difference in morale. The same hamburger patty being edible at one counter service, but then tasteless and awful at another just means that they aren’t cooking things correctly at the latter. The Art of Animation or Pop Century eateries have a lot of upbeat, very happy and helpful cast members, but the Intermission Food Court almost felt like a prison. No one was smiling, no cast member seemed remotely happy, and the care just wasn’t there not to over-or-undercook every dish in the place. It is possible that the food and beverage managers here just aren’t as good at their job as the other resorts managers are, but whatever the problem is, I think the time has come to fix it. Counter service at Walt Disney World these days can be fantastic, so it’s about time that establishments like this stop settling on serving slop just because they are at a value resort. Disney has filed a patent for specialty lightbulbs that would be able to project animated imagery onto surfaces in guest hotel rooms (in theory). The patent filing provides further info on how the experience might work: For instance, right now if one plays a car racing game on a computer, they not only drive the cars, they also hear them, hear other cars, hear the crowd, see fiery crashes, hear the explosions, and the game play is back-grounded by emotional music and the like. If they play with a slot car, they only get to drive a car. There are few sounds, certainly no background music to amp up the emotions. When they play on a screen, the world is completely surrounding and immersive, they only have to move by brain through the frame of the screen bezel and they are into another world. If they play in their room, none of this is true. The goal of the projector with its camera and audio attachments of the display systems described herein is to allow a room, where ever the room is located, to become as immersive as any screen environment or even more so. To this end, the display system is a device that can be both an input and an output device. On the output side, the display system is a projector of still or animated visual imagery, and the display system may include a speaker or otherwise be capable of sending audio signals to speakers elsewhere in the room. In this way, the display system may provide an audio track to projected imagery to enhance the display and/or gaming experience. Disneyland News Today reporter Tim Alcoser attended the entire 24-hour Monstrous Summer event at the Disneyland Resort. For those who want to recap or who could not attend the event, there are plenty of pictures here for your enjoyment. Watch the Countdown to the Start of the Monstrous Summer All-Nighter at Disneyland. See the Good Morning America Live taping here: http://gma.yahoo.com/video/disneyland-stays-open-24-hours-130827269.html
BREAKING: Hourglass Lake Overlook Being Built at Pop Century & Art of Animation; Is This the Gondola Station?
CONCEPT ART: Dolphin Hotel Lobby Undergoing $12 Million Refurbishment
VIDEO: Celebrate Halloween with a Water Boat Hay Ride at Disney’s Old Key West Resort
REVIEW: All-Star Music Intermission Food Court – NEW Pub Burger & Short Ribs
Pub Burger ($12.99)
Red Wine Braised Short Ribs ($15.99)
OVERALL
Disney Files Patent to Project Moving Images in Hotel Rooms
Tim Alcoser’s Monstrous Summer All-Nighter Photo Report (20130524 – 20130525)
For the event, early guests were parked in the Bambi section of the Toy Story Parking lot, which is traditionally reserved for Cast Member parking only.
Crowds await the 6:00 AM entrance into Disney California Adventure. Time is 5:30 AM.
Camera crews await the 6:00 AM start of Disney’s Monstrous Summer.
Guests eagerly await the 6:00 AM opening of Disneyland.
A Monstrous Summer All-Nighter sign at the entrance to Main Street USA in Town Square.
Radio stations recorded live and were set up near It’s a Small World.
The first ride Tim went on was…
Refurbishment work was finally wrapped up at the New Orleans Square Train Station just in time for the event.
A look at the crowds streaming into Disneyland at approximately 7:00 AM. Very light.
However, most of the security checkpoints were bogged down for several hours after opening.
Nickelodeon cutting into Disney’s turf at Build-a-Bear Workshop?
New Monsters University posters at AMC Theaters in Downtown Disney
One of these monsters seems all too familiar…
The Oozma Kappa (OK) Frat.
DLNT Reporter Tim was very fortunate to secure a special screening pass to Monsters University at AMC Theaters in Downtown Disney. 199 other lucky Annual Passholders were granted access to see Monsters University nearly a full month before Release. More details on how this was done on the podcast later.
The quickest way to obtain a Monsters University Identification Card.
Before being granted access to the theater, all cell phones, cameras, camcorders and other equipment had to be checked in. Additionally, “Secret Service” style security guards used Metal detector wands on each guest to ensure all equipment was turned over. As an added caution, two guards were placed at each exit of the theater to constantly watch all guests in attendance.
Fantasyland Theater is now showing Mickey and the Magical Map several times daily at the Disneyland Resort.
Annual Passholders await entrance into Fantasyland Theater to see the first public showing of Mickey and the Magical Map.
The stage to Mickey and the Magical Map. Look for the complete show video on the website very soon.
The Sorcerer’s Hat.
A closer look at the stage.
A closer look at the new Fantasyland Theater.
Over to DCA now, a similar Monstrous Summer All-Nighter sign has been placed near Carthay Circle.
Red Car News Boys still going strong nearly one year later.
Mike and Sully act as Grand Marshall’s for the Pixar Play Parade along with a whole host of friends from Oozma Kappa (OK).
Everyone seems to be in school spirit. Even Roz.
The new Monsters University Meet and Greet is located between Mad T Party and the Hyperion Theater and is very well done.
On Radiator Springs Racers.
“Careful on the turns, Kid” ~Doc Hudson
As part of the Monstrous Summer All-Nighter, Monsters Inc. was shown several times throughout the day and night at Muppet Vision 3D Theater, including 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM. Many guests, evidently, found it a convenient place to take a nap.
Main Street USA at approximately 2:45 AM.
Sleeping Beauty Castle was basked in a brilliant white light to show off for a live taping of Good Morning America.
Bright floodlights stream into the castle gates.
A closer look at the castle before the taping of Good Morning America.
Over in Toontown, guests had a Pajama Party with their favorite Disney Cartoon Characters and also enjoyed classic run Disney Cartoons on an oversized TV.
Children had beanbags for a comfortable front row experience.
The sun rises over Disneyland and Sleeping Beauty Castle. Time is approximately 5:15 AM.
The view from Princess Fantasy Faire.
Main Street USA at approximately 5:30 AM. Certainly not as busy as One More Disney Day. The parks never did reach capacity.
I hope you enjoyed the post. Thank you for viewing!