If your family is planning a Disney World trip and has narrowed the resort search down to the two most popular Value properties on property, you are facing one of the most genuinely interesting resort decisions in the entire Disney hotel lineup. Art of Animation and Pop Century sit directly across Hourglass Lake from each other, share a Skyliner station, and are priced within a similar range for standard rooms, yet they deliver meaningfully different experiences for families. This complete comparison of Art of Animation vs Pop Century breaks down every important difference between the two resorts so your family can make the right call based on your specific priorities, your children’s ages, and what you actually want from your resort stay.
Both are genuinely excellent. The right one for your family depends on a handful of factors that this guide will walk through completely.
The Quick Overview: What Each Resort Is
Art of Animation Resort opened in 2012 and is themed around four beloved Disney and Pixar films: Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid. It is notable for being the only Value resort that offers large family suites in addition to standard rooms, giving it a flexibility in room configuration that no other Value property matches. The resort sits on the eastern shore of Hourglass Lake and connects directly to the Disney Skyliner gondola network.
Pop Century Resort opened in 2003 and is themed around American pop culture from the 1950s through the 1990s, with decade-themed giant icon sculptures including massive yo-yos, eight-track tapes, and Rubik’s Cubes decorating the resort grounds. It sits on the western shore of Hourglass Lake directly across from Art of Animation and shares the same Skyliner station, connected to its sister resort by the Hourglass Lake bridge that guests can walk across freely.
Both resorts are owned and operated by Disney, both include all standard Disney resort on-site benefits, and both are connected to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios via the Skyliner. The differences between them are real but more nuanced than a simple “which is better” framing captures.
Art of Animation vs Pop Century: Pricing
For standard rooms, the two resorts are priced similarly with Art of Animation typically running slightly higher than Pop Century for equivalent dates and view categories.
Pop Century standard rooms typically run $140 to $220 per night depending on season, making it one of the most affordable Disney resort options on property. Art of Animation standard rooms in The Little Mermaid wing run $150 to $250 per night for similar dates.
The significant pricing divergence comes with Art of Animation’s family suites, which run $250 to $450 per night and have no equivalent at Pop Century. Pop Century only offers standard rooms, so families who need the suite configuration have no choice at the Value tier other than Art of Animation or All-Star Music.
For families of four who fit comfortably in a standard room, Pop Century is typically the more budget-friendly option and the savings over Art of Animation standard rooms can reach $300 to $500 across a five-night stay, which is a meaningful sum that could be redirected toward Lightning Lane, dining experiences, or additional park days.
Room Configuration: The Most Important Difference
This is where the two resorts diverge most significantly and where your family’s specific size and configuration should be the primary decision driver.
Pop Century only offers standard rooms that sleep up to four guests in a two queen bed configuration with one bathroom. The rooms are comfortable and well-maintained but there is no option for families who need more space, additional sleeping surfaces, kitchen access, or a second bathroom.
Art of Animation offers standard rooms in The Little Mermaid wing that sleep up to four guests, comparable to Pop Century. But it also offers family suites in the Cars, Finding Nemo, and Lion King wings that sleep up to six guests and include a master sleeping area, a pull-down queen sofa bed in the living area, a kitchenette with a mini refrigerator and microwave, and two full bathrooms.
For families of four, the standard room comparison is relevant and Pop Century’s lower price is a genuine advantage. For families of five or six, families with three or more children, or families traveling with grandparents, Art of Animation’s suite configuration is not just better, it is often the only viable Value tier option that actually accommodates the full group comfortably.
The two-bathroom element of Art of Animation’s suites deserves specific emphasis for families with multiple children. Getting a family of five or six ready for a rope drop morning in a single hotel bathroom is one of those logistical challenges that only reveals itself in practice, and having two bathrooms available transforms that morning experience in a way that parents who have done it both ways describe as one of the most practically meaningful resort upgrades available at any price tier.
Theming: Which Resort Do Kids Love More
Both resorts deliver impressive theming, but they do it in different ways that appeal to different audiences.
Art of Animation’s theming is bold, colorful, and directly connected to specific Disney and Pixar film characters that most children between 3 and 12 have deep emotional connections to. Walking through the Finding Nemo wing surrounded by massive sculptures of Nemo, Dory, Crush, and the gang produces an immediate and powerful reaction in children who love those characters. The Cars wing delivers the same effect for Lightning McQueen fans, and the Lion King wing for Simba devotees. The theming at Art of Animation feels like being inside the films, which is a genuinely magical experience for the right age group.
Pop Century’s theming is nostalgic, fun, and visually energetic in a way that appeals more strongly to parents and older children than to very young Disney fans. The giant Rubik’s Cubes, bowling pins, eight-track tapes, and other decade-themed icons are charming and well-executed, but they do not produce the same character-connection emotional response in young children that Art of Animation’s film-based theming delivers. Children who do not have strong nostalgia for the specific cultural references of each decade may find Pop Century’s theming less immediately exciting than the character-focused environment across the lake.
Families with children between 3 and 10 who are passionate about Nemo, Cars, or The Lion King will almost universally prefer Art of Animation’s environment. Families with older children, teens, or adults who appreciate design and pop culture nostalgia may find Pop Century’s atmosphere equally enjoyable. Families where the adults are the primary resort experience decision-makers often find Pop Century’s environment slightly more sophisticated and less overwhelming than Art of Animation’s intensity of character presence.
The Pools: Art of Animation Wins
Art of Animation has the better pool facility of the two resorts, and it is not a particularly close comparison for families with young children.
The Big Blue Pool at Art of Animation is themed around Finding Nemo and features a large submarine replica, a splash pad area with water jets and spray features designed for young children, and a zero-entry wading section that allows toddlers and babies to play safely in very shallow water. The pool is one of the most impressive at any Disney Value resort and genuinely competes with some Moderate resort pool facilities in terms of the family experience it delivers.
Pop Century’s main pool, called the Hippy Dippy Pool, is a large circular pool themed with flower designs and a flower-shaped pool floor. It is a solid and perfectly functional resort pool but it does not have a waterslide, the splash pad experience is more limited than Art of Animation’s, and the zero-entry element for very young children is less developed.
For families with toddlers, babies, or very young children who will spend meaningful time at the resort pool, Art of Animation’s pool facility is a clear and meaningful advantage. For families with older children who primarily want a pool to cool off in between park days rather than a pool-focused resort day activity, the practical difference is less significant.
Both resorts also have smaller leisure pools distributed throughout the resort grounds that are significantly less crowded than the main pools and worth knowing about for families who want a calmer swimming option.
Dining: Comparable with Slight Art of Animation Edge
Both resorts have a single food court as their primary on-property dining option, and both are solid by Disney resort food court standards.
Art of Animation’s Landscape of Flavors food court is visually impressive and thematically rich, with multiple ordering stations serving different cuisine styles and a dining environment covered in murals from the resort’s four featured films. The food quality is solid and the variety covers breakfast, lunch, and dinner reliably for families with different preferences.
Pop Century’s Everything Pop food court is a well-run, efficiently designed quick service facility that covers the standard range of Disney resort food court options competently. It is slightly less visually dramatic than Landscape of Flavors but equally reliable in terms of food quality and variety.
Both resorts are a short walk from each other and guests of either resort can use the Hourglass Lake bridge to access the other resort’s food court, pool, and amenities, which effectively doubles the dining and pool options for guests of both properties. This cross-resort access is one of the most practically useful features of the Art of Animation and Pop Century pairing and something many families discover mid-trip with genuine delight.
Transportation: Identical Skyliner Access
This is the one area where Art of Animation and Pop Century are completely equal, and it is a genuinely significant shared advantage over most other Disney resort options in both the Value and Moderate tiers.
Both resorts share a Skyliner gondola station that provides direct aerial service to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. The Skyliner is faster than bus service for both of those parks, more reliable in terms of consistency, and genuinely enjoyable for children who love the gondola experience. For families with a heavy EPCOT or Hollywood Studios focus, both Art of Animation and Pop Century offer the best Value tier transportation to those parks available at Disney World.
Both resorts also connect to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs via bus service, with routes that are comparable to other Disney resort bus connections in terms of frequency and reliability.
The shared Skyliner access is one of the strongest arguments for choosing either of these resorts over the All-Star properties, which lack the gondola connection and rely entirely on buses for all park transportation.
Which Resort Is Right for Your Family?
- Choose Art of Animation if you have five or six guests who need suite sleeping arrangements, you have young children who are passionate about Finding Nemo, Cars, or The Lion King, the two-bathroom suite configuration matters for your family’s morning logistics, or the Big Blue Pool’s zero-entry and splash pad elements are important for very young children in your group.
- Choose Pop Century if your family of four fits comfortably in a standard room, budget is a meaningful consideration and the savings over Art of Animation are worth redirecting toward experiences, your children are older and the specific film-character theming at Art of Animation is less important to them, or you simply prefer the slightly more restrained visual environment of Pop Century’s decade theming over Art of Animation’s character intensity.
Either resort delivers an excellent Disney World stay with the Skyliner advantage, solid dining, and all the core on-site benefits. The right choice comes down to your family’s size, your children’s current Disney obsessions, and how much the suite configuration matters for your specific trip.
