Am I making a big mistake staying at the All Star Resort to save some $$$?

[Michele Rossi]

My husband and I are going to WDW in Sept. We are Caribbean Beach regulars, but are looking to save some dough. Will we be disappointed in the All Star Resort and it's ambiance?? Birnbaum states All Star Music (Jazz/Broadway) attracts more adults than children. Is this true?? HELP!!! I don't want to regret my decision !! :confused: :mad: :confused:

[hellokitty]

We just got back from the CBR and have also stayed at the All Stars. There is a difference between the two. CBR has beaches, slide at the pool, quiet pools, boat rentals, bike rentals, and a sit down resturant,
none of these are available at the All Stars.

The food court I think is better at the all stars as is the game room. You pay at one main area rather than each eatery.


Remember the rooms are somewhat smaller as well, the CBR are
340 sq. ft and the All stars are only 260 sq. ft.
there is no little benchin the room at the all stars and the table is alot smaller. but other than that is seems to be a comparable set up.

IT depends on what you are looking for in a vacation. We stayed at the movies, not the Music because it does have more adults than kids. and how much money are you saving? is it worth it?

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/rescc/costCalc.asp?pf=re
post to see pictures of all stars if needed


Hope this helps.

[mickey7861]

Also CBR has a sit down restaurant in addition to the food court, the All Stars do not. While the theme of "Jazz" may be more adult, the AllStar Music resort is not. The All Stars tend to have a lot of kids running around so if it's a more adult location you're looking for I'd stick with CBR. If you don't spend much time in your room or at your resort and just want a place to sleep then the All Star will probably be okay.

[Guapy]

I had a great time at the all-star music. I stayed at the Calypso. The food court was fantastic, and we got the refillable mugs which were wonderful. The main swimming pool was enjoyable and the whole place had a very Disney feel. And the transportation was the best on the property. If you are looking to save money, you are not making a mistake staying at the All-star music.

[mom2boys]

We have stayed at each type of Disney accomodation in the past 4 years. DH & I have pretty much decided that the accomodations at the All-Stars are more than adequate and that we don'[t care to spend extra money on the room. We will NOT stay off-site though.

[Poohbear123]

I stay at All Stars Sports the past 5 trips and Have a great time, and I have NO kids!:D I will be staying at Music in June! Love the Cheap rate!;)

[TigrLvsPooh]

My personal opinion would be to stick with CBR. I think ASMu is a big step down and I'm afraid you will be disappointed. BUT, that is just my humble opinion. :)
My MIL goes to Disney all the time (alone) and she loves the All Stars. It just didn't work for our family. ;)

[DJBounce]

Save $$$ Vs. Amenities.....
If you are going to be gung-ho about doing the parks and other attractions...stay at All Stars...it's inexpensive and cost effective.
If you are going to want some resort time, hang by a pool, eat at a nice restaurant vs. a food court..then do CBR.

Our first visit was ASMo, then camped at FtW. This June we are staying at POR, mainly because there is 5 of us. If it was just 4, then it would be ASMo again.
Good Luck!

[goofyfordisney]

Just how much money are you going to be saving? I haven't stayed at either--but based on what I've read here--if it's not a huge difference--I'd vote CBR. The themeing of CBR is more appealing to me--especially if you want to hang out at the pool, etc.

JMHO!:)

[DMRick]

We have only moved over to POR this May trip, because there is five of us..and this time, no one is under the age that allows 5 in a room as they have in the past at Allstars. We have only stayed at the campground besides Allstars. We love Sports the best (grands love to go on the big field and within seconds, have other kids to play with), with music second. Movies is great if you have little kids and like noise (IMO). I think the themeing is wonderful..really Disney. We like the food courts, and when we want sit down, at a fancy restaurant, we go visit another resort and let them serve us. We have saved a lot of money..in the begining of September, Allstar with a code was only $49 a night!! We have no problem with the size of the room, we don't spend much time there, anyway. Angel, in the foodcourt, works very had keeping the counter clean!

[sassafrass]

I say stay at CBR!

[the Legend]

Realistically what type of savings are you hoping to make?

Theres a lot to be had through Disney Club membership, being an Annual Pass holder and Mousesavers.com. I am also a Amex cardholder which saves as well. Then theres usage of reward points, air points, booking off-season etc.

Personally, its your holiday and I have done All-Star Sports with no problems at all (@$49/night last September). I have found that the most significant savings are in travel and accomodation costs. Tickets are so-so (upto $20/ticket).

For the ultimate help, maybe you should lay your plans out for us to comment (without giving initimate details away of course) and let the fellowship of the Dis have its input. There is no better source of info on the Net.

[diznykeith]

I THINK YOU'LL BE MUCH HAPPIER IF YOU STAY AT A MODERATE, WE FEEL THAT THE ASMU HAD TOO MANY OUT OF CONTROL KIDS AND VERY CROWDED BUSES. NEVER AGAIN!

[barbnbrian]

I've stayed at both and would pick the Movies over CBR. We just didn't care for CRB when we went. The building we were in was far from everything, slow bus service, too cold (Dec.) to go swimming and never had enough time to even hang around the resort enough.

Last Aug. we booked ASMov for $49 a nite. Used the pool. Loved the food court. Didn't think it too noisy. Of course, we're use to noise with 3 kids of our own, plus I run a daycare in my home! Bus service was adequate.

If it comes down to saving money and you won't be at the resort much, I'd choose the Movies. Either way, you'll have to take a bus to the parks (unless you have a rental), so why pay the higher price? Just my 2 cents. Either way, your onsite. Enjoy!

[Disneylvr]

I have stayed at CBR, All Star Music and Movies. Yes as for atmosphere CBR has the All Stars beat hands down, at least for adults. However if money is an issue, and it always is with the DH and I, stay at All Stars. That is the only way we can afford our frequent trips to WDW by taking advantage of those bargains at the All Stars. We paid just $54 a night including tax this past December! And we still have a wonderful vacation. Good luck with your decision.

[mickeyfan58]

Are you a DC member? If you are, try the new codes. I changed my ressie from ASMO to CSR and saved $13 having 2 rooms for 6 people.

[weluvpluto]

I think I would agree if you plan on spending a lot of time in the parks then go with All Stars, if you plan on spending some days relaxing at your resort I would go with CBR.

Last June we went and split our stay 5 days at ASSp and 5 at POR; we didn't care for the All Stars because it was too noisy for us and we couldn't relax there. We actually bought more days for the parks so we wouldn't have to be there (ASSp), so in the end it didn't save us any money.

[LizNJ]

I haven't posted in a long time, but just couldn't let this one go by. We stayed at the All Star Movies in January. I have to say I was very nervous about it. We were staying in a two-bedroom villa at WLV and moving over to All Stars after five nights. We loved it. Yes, the rooms are smaller, there's no slide, no sit-down rest. and no immediate bell services. However, for children, this is the resort. My six-year old loved the pool and the playground. The bus service was exactly the same as any other resort. We are staying there again this May and then switching over to the Poly. I am paying $99 a night for the All Stars and still think it is well worth it. We paid $49 in January.

[eeyore0062]

After visiting all of the AS resorts, I cannot say that I would be happy staying there! Of all of them, however, Music looked the best.

I would stick with the CBR, or try one of the other moderates, if you want a change!

[buzz&Jesse]

We have stayed at the All Stars and many of the moderates. We have decided that the moderates are definitely the way to go. The all stars were so crowded at the bus stops and the food court. The upgrade to the moderates are worth it to us. If money is an issue go ahead and stay the the All Stars. They are much better than staying off site.

[hellokitty]

That reminds me, the buses were extremely crowded for the
all stars, i remember seeing at least 3 x's the people waiting at the close of MK one night, I wondered how long it would take and how many buses came by for that type of crowd....

this is just something to consider....since the all stars are always
full that means more people to deal with

[elemusing]

CBR is our favorite. We tried All stars last March and HATED it. The busses rae crowded, there are middle school and high school kids running around everywhere being very noisy.

Also, you will notice that the bus servie at park closing is terrible for All Stars people. I have alwyas thought that CBR has the best bus service.

Remember, school groups like bands and cheerleaders, etc use All Stars for the whole group and few chaperones.

go for CBR!!!

[sha_lyn]

We loved our stay at ASMu.
We nver heard a sound when we were in our rooms. I am a very light sleeper. The only time I heard anytign was our last morning. We slept in and the sound of the housekeeping cart outside woke me up.

The busses .... We were only on one crowede bus. It was at MGM right after Fantasmic. Our last night was at MK on a friday. We left at closing. AS we wlked by all the bus stops we just knew we were goign to be in trouble. All the stops had 3 or 4 bus loads of people waiting. We arrived at the ASMu stop. 2 busses were pulling out and 1 was pulling it. We walked right on that bus.


For a quiet room get the 3rd floor on the back side of one of the buildings. ASMu does attract the least number of families with small kids of all the AS resorts. ASMo has to most. ASSp is where youth groups are usually at. They will be in ASMu if ASSp fills up.

[Michele Rossi]

Sorry, I am new to all this. I just became a DC member this past week. Haven't seen any new codes. Help?!? The only one on the website is for a package and I am doing everything separately. Can you help me out with any new codes that came up? Also what is the A/P rate? Thanks!

[imgoingtodisney]

If you asked me in 1996 I would have said NO. I guess it depends on where you are in life. If you ask me now I would definately say
YES

[bigsis1970]

You can call and just ask for the Disney club rate.. I am staying at the All - Star Movies 11/29 to 12/07 and have a rate of 69. per night including tax , I have stayed a CBR and think that my kids will love the Movies, we will not be in the room for very long just to sleep really .. and far as no slide Oh Well and for the crowded buses , we will just take it in stride , Vacations are what YOU make of them is all .. I think you will be fine if you go in with the attitude that" I am saving $$ to spend on XXXX and i am not spending my vacation in the room ".. That is how we are looking at it.. Hope this helps some.. Michelle

[Magic2000]

We've stayed at many of the Disney hotels and have never been disappointed; and we've been to the Movies twice now - we LOVE it! I don't think you'll be disappointed! We were in Love Bug the first time and Dalmations this past Nov/Dec. The rooms are small but quiet - housekeeping is great - food court was pretty good - bus service was GREAT (even at park closing) - and the price is right (we got $49 last Nov/Dec)!!
Enjoy your stay!!!

[mat2672]

You really need to just sit down and think about what you really want in a resort and then factor in the importance of the money. Thats all you can do. If you ask everyones opinions, youll get the resort snobs, but then also youll also get people who dont care about what your question was and just take the opportunity to bash a resort that they personally didnt like. I stay about 2 or 3 times a year on site and have stayed at all the different levels. It all depends for me on what are the factors at that time such as money, theming, etc. but I would never rely too heavily on anyone elses personal opinions because they might have totally different likes and dislikes and their opinions are going to be too biased. Thats just me

[Terry S]

We had gone to ASMovies our first few visits and really enjoyed it. One our 4th visit my mother came with us so we decided to spend the first few nights at the ASMovies and then splurge and move to the Beach Club. Well when we got to WDW my mom loved the ASMovies (she had never been to WDW and was really impressed). When we moved to BC, she, as well as I, were just speachless, we loved it there so much I can now never go back to the All Stars. Don't get me wrong, they are really nice hotels, and if I hadn't gone to the BC, I would still love them, but the atmoshpere at the BC is just so different so we can't go back. I don't think you will be unhappy there, you just might be a little let down after having stayed at a moderate. At least your not going thinking your getting more than you are. The CM's are still wonderfully Disney, it is still very clean, the buses still take you to all the parks and you will be at WDW.

[Dopey0878]

I like the All Stars. If your going to spend most of your time in the parks then the All Stars should be fine. I stayed at CBR in November 2000 and I really didn't like it. My room was in bad shape and some of the CM's were rude to me. I never used any of the extra ammeneties so I did not feel like I got what I paid for. The All Star rooms are smaller and there are lots of kids around. I think it really depends on what you look for in a hotel. If you use the extras at CBR like the beach or the boat and bike rentals then by all means stick with CBR. However if you just use the hotel as a place to sleep and spend all of your time at the parks then save some money and stay at the All Stars. If you do go to ASMu try to get a room in the jazz building. It's not as noisy as some of the other buildings because it is between the two swimming pools.

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

I am wondering the same thing myself. We are tenatively planning a trip this fall and DH refuses to in his words "waste" all that money on a moderate. So if I'm going to get to go we'll probably do the AS again.

The only thing I didn't like about the AS was the lack of food options--with just the food court. But, if you are familiar enough with WDW, you can venture out to eat at some really nice restaurants with all of that money you will be saving.

[jjsmom]

This time last year I was asking the exact same question. I was planning a WDW trip, and as much as I love the glamorous, themed resorts, my bank account would not allow that luxury. That being said, we chose to stay at AS. We were pleasantly surprised. As I've posted before, our only complaint (albeit major) was the check-in process. They did not have enough CM's on staff to handle the number of guests checking in. For us, check in took about 45 mins. (way too long for an exhausted family of 3 who had been on the road for 16 hours). However, once we jumped that hurdle, everything was fine. The room was comfortable and clean (yes, smaller than the deluxes, but plenty big for the 3 of us), the food court was much better than I expected, and the pool area was great. We found the bus service to be quick and efficient (much better than our experiences with the bus service to/from CBR). Our building did have some middle or h.s. groups staying there, but we did not notice unusual noise levels.

Enjoy your trip.

[SME]

I went with Cheerleaders in February and stayed at the All Star Music and then we just went at the end of March with my family and stayed at the Coranado Springs and my opinion is that it is definitely worth the extra $$ to stay at a moderate. We had always stayed at Caribbean or Coranado so when I stayed at the Music I thought it would be okay and it was okay but not near as nice.