Whew! It’s been a while since I wrote about the Pop Century Food Court, which is shocking since I like it so much there!
Seriously, this food court is one of my favorite counter-service spots in Disney World, and it always has been. They have such a variety of good food here, plus they still focus on making unique and “you-can-only-find-it-here” items, which I think is critical to a great Disney restaurant. Where else can you find things like tie-dye cheesecake and Mom’s Night Out TV dinners? (I want to feel like I’m eating somewhere special and unique, you know?)
So today I’d like to focus on one of the best meals to eat the Pop food court — breakfast. While lunch and dinner are great here, breakfast is a fantastic deal!
Pop Century
Atmosphere
The Pop Century food court, also known as Everything Pop Shopping and Dining since Pop Century was the first resort to integrate the food court and the resort’s gift shop into one giant experience, is a sight to see! Themed after the last five decades of the 20th Century, the food court pays homage to rubik’s cubes, roller blades, and even those fun Video Game tables that have games like centipede and Pac-Man on them! (Awesome.)
Video Game Tables
The place is loud and raucous all the time — even when it’s empty — because it’s positively cavernous in there! The Disney Channel is on big TVs all over the place, sounds are bouncing off of the tiles and the ceiling, and it’s just plain happy. (Unless, of course, you’ve been in the parks for 12 hours and all you want is a bottle of water and a bed…then it’s not so happy.)
Seating
The set-up is in “pods” like other food courts, which has more meaning for lunch and dinner than it does breakfast. At breakfast, there are only three pods open, and with the exception of the omelet station, the rest is just a mass of breakfast carbs (with some sausage on the side). 😉
But don’t forget that there’s plenty of options for breakfast in the grab-and-go section of the food court. Fruit, soft-boiled eggs, yogurt, pastries, cereal, and more can be found over in the refrigerated section area.
Eats
We decided to go for two of the most-loved items at the Pop Century Food Court — the classic Pop Waffle and the (more protein-y) breakfast wrap.
The waffles can be found at the first station to your left in the food court, and here’s where you get things like waffles, cinnamon rolls, chocolate-filled croissants, and meat side orders.
Waffle Area Menu -- click for larger image
It’s fascinating just to watch the loooooong line of waffle makers producing their wares! (I wonder where I can get a waffle maker like that!)
Line of waffle makers
The finished Pop waffles are placed in heated area next to the Mickey waffles, which is just mean. Who can choose between a Pop waffle and a Mickey waffle?!?
Decisions, Decisions
But, well, since you can only get a Pop waffle in one place, I think you owe it to yourself to try one. They’re made with the same yummy batter as Mickey waffles, but they’re just BIGGER! Light, fluffy, and perfect for a Disney morning.
Pop Waffle
Cute, huh? Don’t forget to decorate with strawberry sauce if you’re into that sort of thing…
Strawberry Sauced Waffle
Next up, we headed over to the Omelet station to get a little protein to keep us going. Here’s where you get a variety of omelets (sadly, no make-your-own option here) and other egg-y delights. Notice the “omelets of the day” — Key West, Vegetable, and Chorizo! (What’s in a Key West omelet? Limes?)
Eggs Menu -- click for larger image
Omelet Options
We chose the breakfast wrap, which included cheese and bacon with a healthy portion of scrambled eggs in a flour tortilla. This came with a serious helping of breakfast potatoes!
We loved it, of course. The large portion is the perfect fill-me-up for a long morning (or DAY) in the parks. We weren’t hungry for hours after this one, to be sure. And there’s plenty to share.
Breakfast Wrap with Potatoes
Finally, while we didn’t get anything from the French Toast and Pancakes pod, it did look good! Choices included french toast, pancakes (with topping optional), chocolate chip pancakes, and oatmeal. Sides of meat were extra.
French Toast and Pancakes Menu -- click for larger image
French Toast and Pancakes
Overall
Like I said — I’m a fan of this place and have been for a long time. The food’s almost always good (sometimes better than good), and the service has been uniformly excellent in my experience here. Cast member are great — helpful, interested in their jobs, and patient with moi, who ducks under line barriers and peeks behind the counter to get good food shots of stuff I’m not ordering (seriously, that must be annoying for the cast members who encounter me).
I especially like to come here solo. I find Pop Century a fun resort to walk around (they’re building Art of Animation across the lake, so it’s cool to see what’s happening there, too!), and the food is yummy and cheap. You can’t beat that.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Pop Century Food Court. Let me know what you think in the comments section below!
Thanks to Pop Century Site for the use of pics again!
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Pop food court is great.. we get the bounty platter and my wife, and daughter split it.. so i Dining credit 2 meals.. its perfect. and yummy…
Agreed, the food here to very good and the portions are huge for a food court. We routinely split a platter also. The french toast coated in powdered sugar is highly recommended. 😉
I started my day each morning with the Bounty Platter; it has a little bit of everything. One morning I decided to try to chocolate chip pancakes. They were good too.
We rarely stay at POP anymore since we bought DVC and an off-site TS, but even while staying other places both on and off property, we make it a point to get to Everything POP because of the atmosphere, good food, and 20% Tables in Wonderland discount. Nice post.
We met some friends that were staying there a couple months ago for breakfast, and I agree it was great. I was fully expecting the limited choice of waffles and powdered eggs, but was definitely surprised!
I have stayed at Pop maybe 10 times since January, 2004, and I have never noticed the video game tables!!! Aack! I will remedy that in December…
FYI, in October of 2010, I was able to get any of the egg items available at other pods made in the omelet station with only egg whites. (I’ve never been there when only 3 pods were open for breakfast.)
The only thing I would like to add to their options is the biscuit & gravy platter from ASMu. Love me some b & g!
I love Pop’s food court (especially compared to the AllStars’ food courts). I’m not a big breakfast eater, but when I’m at WDW, I find having a larger meal early in the day can go a long way. I wholeheartedly agree about the Cast Members – I’ve always found them very nice and very accommodating. For example, whenever I order the adult Bounty Platter, they always allow me to substitute an additional biscuit for the shredded potatoes, without any difficulty at all.
Love Pop Breakfast!!!! Those Pop waffles are as tasty as they are adorable!
Thanks for this! We are staying at the POP! in about a month…and are glad to see they have yummy breakfast!
Love, Love, Love Pop Century food court. So many options – especially for my hubby who is vegetarian when dining out. How funny that I read this as I am debating a couple only 10th Anniversary trip there rather soon.
What I love about the Pop! waffles is that they have a larger middle hole where the logo is. It’s a perfect strawberry or syrup holder. I’m a dipper – I cut my waffle and dip it in syrup so I can get just the right amount on it. Then I just dig in to the syrup covered middle 🙂
I haven’t been in a while. But in early 2010, I think I got my chocolate filled croissant over with the other pastries and the cold items. Is that different now? If so, that makes me sad. It was so much quicker to just grab it rather than waiting in a line.
So how does that work with the dining plan? What can you get for 1 quick-service credit?
Waring makes a pretty good flip-around waffle maker. Prices range from $64 to $100 on Amazon. We got one for the in-laws for Christmas, and they were highly complimentary (they wanted something like you’d get at the Country Inns and Suites breakfast room).
Sadly, no Pop Century model . . . but that would rawk!
I’ve never been much of a breakfast eater while at Disney…I usually put a granola bar and some fruit snacks in my fanny pack as I’m on my way to the bus stop, but this post makes me want to get up a little bit earlier to enjoy a meal at Everything Pop. (Pop is my resort of choice these days) My current fave in the food court is the shrimp lo mein – tasty, non-greasy, and HUGE in terms of portion size.
hi
we´ll be there in 2 months
since I´ll have the dining plan, what´s the best way to use snack credits or qs credits for breakfast?
May I use a quick service credit for a breakfast at pop?
May I use 2 snack credits for a omelette?
do I have to pay even having the dining plan?
regards
gustavo
As my wife (@TheAngelForever) said, we love Pop Century (the resort and food court). I’ve even been known to eat Tie Dyed Cheesecake for breakfast. Hey, it’s got milk… and eggs… and flour… and other stuff that’s good for you, right? (Cue the Bill Cosby “Chocolate Cake for Breakfast” video.)
Couldn’t disagree more. Same breakfast options that are available in every resort cafeteria. The counter service breakfast is one of the weakest spots in all Disney Resorts. Eggs and Bacon. Pancakes and sausage. All sitting under hot lamps for long periods of time. This needs improvement. Until then I’ll be at Boma everymorning.
PAP & CHAKALAKA! TURKEY BOBOTIE! CORNED BEEF! REAL COFFEE!
Canadians and Pudge — Good choice to split a platter! This stuff is hearty!! Pudge — thanks for the recommendation of the french toast!
JoAnn — Thanks for the review, my friend!
Mike — Exactly! We like to head over here just for fun; it’s a great food court.
Deej — Glad you liked it! What’d you have?
Janna — Thanks for the updates on egg whites; I’ll do that next time!
Paul — Agreed! Having a big breakfast at WDW can save you some serious money on snacking later in the day!!
Christa — The perfect match of tasty and cute. 😉
Jennifer — They DO! You’ll love it! Let us know if you see any different options.
TAF and TechyDad — Hope the anniversary trip happens! And I grew up with that Chocolate Cake for Breakfast recording 🙂 Know it well (and use the rationale often)!
GG — Brilliant! I’m a dipper, too, so the built-in hole is perfect! Great idea!
Amy — Good question; I’m not sure on that! It would make sense for them to offer it in both places, but I’ll have to double check.
Kelly and Gustavo — You should be able to get any of the platters for one counter-service credit (and lots of stuff in the grab-and-go section for a snack credit).
John G — I know, right? Pop waffles for breakfast every morning!
Betsy — Great recommendation on the shrimp lo mein!
Andrew — Pop waffles! You can’t get pop waffles just anywhere! 😉 Still, I shall not disagree with your choice of breakfast; love AKL in the morning!
Wow, what a positive response to this post! I reckon that I might need to brave the bus one day and take a wander round that Pop resort!!
we stayed at POP Oct 2010 and really enjoyed it.. we tried the food court for dinner but next time we are there we will definitely do the breakfast.. those omelets look really good, especially the one loaded with veggies. BTW, I love that they have chocolate filled croissants! so French.. oh lala! 😉
Amy & AJ…yes, you can get the chocolate croissant both in the case and at the station. Not that I’ve had one or ten on any given trip…;)
Yay! This makes me feel better. We are staying at POP in October and was planning on getting little things for breakfast before heading to the park on some days and now I know I can get some good stuff there. The POP waffles are for sure going on my “must get” list! I love waffles.
Thanks for the great review-it makes me even more excited about our upcoming stay at Pop this December! One thing I didnt see on the menu was a platter with eggs meat waffle etc…do they have something like that for us big breakfast eaters?
Thanks for the info, Janna. I was hoping I hadn’t lost my mind. I definitely got mine in the case in 2010. (And I had one just about every morning. LOL!)
Are these the same chocolate croissants that they serve at the Main Street Bakery? Last time I stayed at CSR I bought a couple before I left in the evening to eat for the next few mornings, but next trip I’m staying at Pop and wondered how they compared. Anyone know?
My wife and I have stayed at Pop Century our last 2 visits to WDW. Breakfast is usually the only meal we eat there as we have been on the dining plan. Usually we split the breakfast wrap featured in your article. It is plenty for 2 and certainly holds us over until lunch. They also feature TV Dinner specials such as Meatloaf and a Turkey Dinner. I can never believe how busy the place is at 10 or 11 at night. You can find just about anything in this food court but breakfast is an excellent choice.