All Star or Pop

[Mick00]

Hi just wondering in your opinion whixh is a better resort to stay in one of the all-star resorts or pop century? Which are situated better?? We are booking one of these resorts and I am just wondering which you think is better thanks

 

[bugsbuni70]

I stayed at All Star Music in Nov 07 , I wouldn't stay there again the staff was rude and the food was sub par. If was going back I wiuld stay at Pop again.

 

[DisneyGirlie]

I stayed at All Star Movies and didn't like it because it felt slightly run down and occasionally our buses had to be shared with AS Sports and AS Music. I've stayed at Pop 3 times and love it. I prefer the theming and it somehow feels better kept-up to me and absolutely no sharing of buses.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

My vote is for POP...we really liked it.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We like Pop, and we liked ASMo....just depends on the theming, I guess. We prefer the food court at ASMo and we had much better bus service at ASMo than we did at Pop.

 

[minnie61650]

I have stayed at all levels of Disney Resorts. My favorite Disney owned resort is All Star Music.

Here are a few of my reasons:

1. I can book a preferred room location.
The way All Star Music is laid out it "seems" smaller than most of the other Disney resorts. If I stay in a preferred building i only see the Calypso and Jazz builings on the way to to and from the main pool and the bus stop and food court. Since I stay in preferred room I know I am going to be close to the food court, bus stop, & main pool.

2. I enjoy the theming at the All Stars. All Star Music is also is the quietest of the values. Generally less people stay there and there are more seniors and couples and less young children because children enjoy the themes of the other values more.

3. The bus service at the All Star Music is very good. Since I use an EVC good bus transportation is essential.

4. The entry at the values and Mods are much more Handicap friendly.
I am able to get in and out of my All Star room unassisted. This way my husband can go and play a round of golf and know I can leave my room to relax by the pool if I choose.
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All Star Music is my favorite resort. It tends to be the quietest of all the values.


All Star Music just underwent a refurbishment of all of the rooms and was completed in June 2007.


Here is a website with photos of the newly refurbished rooms at All Star Music.

Look at the Jazz Inn section with new posted:

http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_asmu.htm




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DH and I enjoy the landscaping and peacefulness of All Star Music.
We enjoy relaxing by the pool (there are plenty of chairs and lounges), and the beautiful lighting at the resort by night.

I have never had the unfortunate experience of running into the any of the large
groups of teens who sometimes stay at the values on school trips.
As long as you can avoid those large groups I do not think Noise will be an issue.

*HINT if you close your bathroom door at night you might not even hear the turbo toilets.
I close my bathroom door and I don't hear them.
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I love The All Star Resorts.

I am 56 years old and travel several times a yearfor pleasure. I often stay at 3and 4 star and sometimes a 5 star hotels and motels.
So the deluxe and mod resorts are just another hotel/motel to me.
Staying at an All Star is like being in the heart of the Magic and that is where I want to be.

All Star Music is my favorite. It is quieter because more couples stay there. I love staying at the Calypso building. It is closer to the pool, food court and bus stop.

Here is a site with a map of All Star Sports and All Star Music.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmap.htm
Scroll down. All Star Music is at the bottom of the page.
The Calypso buildings at All Star Music are #1 and #10 are nearest to the food court and bus stop.

The Calypso pool at ASMu has Donald Duck.

The buses are wonderful.

Bus rides are quite short from the ALL Stars according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POPbuses--PO buses--- Contemporary
MK 20 min---- 20 min-----25 min------10 min---20 min(mono)
Epcot 10 min-- 15 min-----20 min------10 min---15 min
MGM 10 min----12 min-----15 min------15 min---20min
AK 10 min------20min-------15 min----15 min---20 min
DTD 15 min----20 min------20 min-----15 min---35 min

It only takes 10 minutes to get to Epcot, MGM and AK from All Stars.
MK is 20 min away. That's the same amount of time it takes on the monorail from the Contemporary.

A WORD ABOUT BUS SHARING

To me Bus Sharing at the All Stars is really a non issue.

In the mornings during Park opening hours each All Star usually has a dedicated bus.
During mid day it is usually just our stop and maybe one more on the way to the parks. On the way back sometimes it is all 3 but often Sports and Movies share and Music has it's own bus back. Each of the All Stars usually has it's own dedicated bus back from the MK.
That is a big plus. It seems like the Music bus stop usually has the shortest of the three All Star bus lines.

I guess some people who stay at POP see all 3 All Star names on the return sign of our bus stop when they head to the POP bus stop and think All Stars also has 3 stops on the way to the park.
(Even when we stop at another AS resort to load up it has not taken more than 5 minutes and we are on our way!)

The pools at The All Stars are very kid friendly.

When staying at the All Stars you can use any of the All Star pools.That means 3 main pools ,3 quiet pools and 3 kiddie pools to chose from.

The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.

The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

And the Surfs up pool at All Star Sports has giant surf boards.

Here are a few pool photos.

All Star Sports pool.

All Star Music Donald pool.

All Star Movies Mickey Pool.

I have visited WDW more than a dozen times with the 1st time in Oct. 1971. It was brand new. I've stayed at FW, Disney Inn, a few the of Hotels on hotel Blvd., CBR and the towers at the Contemporary. I got to see the MK from my balcony at the Contemporary and I'm happy I got to experience it once. I just prefer the All Star Resorts.
The theming is pure Disney.

My last 6 visits have been at The All Stars and during the fall of 2005 when we took dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3(at the time) for 8 nights we stayed at the All Stars Music. I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic at the All Stars on his first visit.
Where else can one find Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse at the pool?





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Here is a list of differences between the two resorts.

Pop is newer.
Pop was built in 2003.
All Star Movies was built in 1999.
All Star Sports and Music were built in 1994.

All Star Music is undergoing a refurbishment of all of the rooms and is slated to be completed by June 2007.
The Calypso and Jazz buildings (1,2,9, and 10) are slated to be completed by January 1st 2007.

All Star Sports is slated to be refurbished between June and November of 2007.

Pop has a lake. The All Stars do not have a lake.

When staying at the All Stars you use any of the All Stars pools.
The 3 All Stars are within easy walking distance of each other.

The gift shops are separate from the food court at the All Stars.
The gift shop and food court are combined at Pop.

Pop has 2,880 guest rooms. 4 floors in each building.
Each of the All Stars has 1,960 rooms. 3 floors in each building.

Both Pop and the All Star rooms are 260 square feet.

The beds at the All Stars are movable.

the beds at Pop at bolted to the floor.

The far bed at an All Star is closer to wall. And the near bed is not as close to the doorway as it is at Pop

The far bed at Pop is pulled away from the wall more. The near bed is closer to door.
http://allearsnet.com/acc/asmv59.jpg
http://allearsnet.com/acc/popcent56.jpg

For most people that would not make a difference but since I need an EVC
the bed being so near the door at Pop makes it more difficult for me to back my EVC in.

Have fun at Disney wherever you choose to stay!

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

My vote would be for POP. The last time I stayed at one of the All Stars, it was very run down. POP hasn't been abused as badly by the guests since it's newer. Plus, I LOVED the theming at POP and did enjoy the food court...if you buy the refillable mug, you can have a Slushie there!!!!!

 

[El Nebuloso]

We have stayed at ASMu and POP and definitely prefer POP. POP has its own buses, and just seems newer and fresher than ASMu. Also, our walk back to our room in the Broadway section of All Stars was rrrreeeeaaallllllyyyy long. Oh well, just my .02

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

Before September 2007 I would have always said POP - but after a not so magical experience at the resort in September we're going back to ASMu next week instead. POP is huge & there were too many unruley children running everywhere, especially up & down the halls of the buildings after 10pm, rude guests and just an overall packed feeling. It had never been that way before. The bus system is great and the food court & shopping is fantastic. The rooms are starting to show their wear and tear, though . Actually can't wait to go back to ASMu and have a much quieter & hopefully more magical experience!!

 

[terrylee13]

I have stayed at both resorts and I'll tell you why POP is better for 1 very important reason. They have their own bus. This may not sound like a big deal but when you have to wait and then there is only standing room left. You look at POP buses come and go. And think wouldn't it have been better if I... And really both resorts are pretty much on par with each other. Good luck with your decision.

 

[smidgy]

as far as theming, we both like pop best. then hubby nebo likes movies and I like music because it seems more adult oriented. however, ask the CM which if any big groups of teens will be at which vales during your stay. 12 times!! we've been to disney and stupidly were unaware of pop warner week! 1st week of dec, music was horrendous with gangs of unruly, unsupervised teens running back and forth, yelling and swearing all hours of the night (chaperones? )
so make sure to doublecheck this. also, one night the wait for a bus from mgm to music was 2 hours
also, pop does have the nice walkway along the lake.

 

[kaysmommie]

Bumping and subscribing.

 

[tycopj]

We have stayed at CBR and POR, but we are going to stay at POP during our upcoming trip. I'm really excited about it. I booked POP after reading a lot on these boards thumbsup2 thanks everyone). I like the idea of POP having their own buses, my understanding is that POP is not as sprawled out as the others and I like the photos I've seen POP.

Like I said we are really excited to be trying out POP!

 

[Mick00]

Thanks for the replies we had originally planned on going to pop But then my girlfriend saw the all star resorts and liked the look of them. I'm still swaying towards booking POP thanks.

 

[GoofyGolferGirl]

We usually stay at WL but we went on a spur of the moment trip and had to stay at ASM. I did not like it at all, I would stay off property before I stayed there again. I may not be fair in judging since the only place I have to compare it to is a Deluxe, I would much rather spend the extra $ especially if you have a code!

 

[grinningghost]

I've stayed at ASMo and ASMu and loved both, never had a bus issue with either one. We're staying at POP next week for the first time and my big concern is the ugly unfinished Legendary Years. In our regular travels throughout the resort, is there a chance we're going to be able to see that mess over there? Or is it something you need to be searching for?

 

[unknownname]

I say go with pop. When we went there it was great.
all star sports was horrible. They were rude and When we need help they said they'd be there the next day at the room they were there the next NIght.

 

[BeckWhy]

I can't give a definitive answer. I have only stayed at Pop and ASMo. I have visited ASMu when my sister was staying there though.

Here's a few things I'd like to say:
Pop:
As for being one hotel, it's really large. I have always been lucky enough to stay in 50's and 60's and haven't had to deal with walking from 80's 0r 90's, so I don't know what that is like.
Pop is newer.
Pop has a lake which is very nice to look at (except as an earlier poster pointed out, the unfinished Legendary Years).
The food court has decent food (never ate anything I didn't like, but rarely ate there).
I hate those giant words written all over the place.

ASMo:
I think this has the best layout of all the All-Star resorts.
I think this has the best food of all the resorts (fried spicy chicken sandwich... YUMMMMMO).
In pics, the rooms look really dingy.
When I stayed here, Movies & Music always shared buses.



In all honosty, I would look at pics of the grounds, rooms, etc. Read the menus if you actually think you will be eating there (and most of the food is the same). And just pick the hotel you like the best. They are all values and I think customer service is hit and miss. Everyone experiences something different.

 

[Disney Padawan]

I too was going to start a thread wondering which resort was better. By what I've been reading, most people seem to lean towards POP. I just worry about the noise level, I've heard it can be distracting even at night.
Anyone know if this is true?

 

[PeachesDoesHair]

We stayed at Pop Sept 2006 during free dining and we loved it. We were in the 50's section facing the bowling pin pool. It was noisy on the walk to the room, but once we were inside we didn't hear anything. We occasionally heard toilet flushes at night, but it was never really anything that would wake us up. We really enjoyed the flatbreads at the food court. The room was a bit cramped mostly because we had two strollers along with all the suitcases. It really suited our needs, though. Our room was clean. I haven't been to any of the all stars, so I can't give my opinion there, but we loved Pop so much we booked it again for June.