For those who have stayed at Movies and Port Orleans was it worth the upgrade to a moderate? I'd love any opinions. We've been to Movies twice but never Port Orleans. Thanks in advance.
Huge upgrade. Port Orleans is a great resort and recently remodeled. You can really tell the difference from the Values to the Moderates IMO.
It was worth it to us. We like some downtime at the resort and enjoyed the pool and the relaxed atmosphere of POR. Food court was much better. Boat ride to DTD was great. If it were just a room to sleep and we were going to be at the parks all day, then the All-stars are fine for that.
Port Orleans is a HUGE upgrade over any All Star Resort. You will be wowed and never want to return to All Star.
If you are a light sleeper or intent to spend any time at all in the resort, go for the moderate. Values are loud and far less comfortable. For some this is fine, I need more than Disneyfied Motel 6.
We have stayed at All Star Movies at least three times, Sports three times, and Music twice. We have stayed at Port Orleans once. Of course Port Orleans is the best. The resort is beautiful; the room was much bigger. Being able to take a boat is great. The next time we go, we are going back to Music because we do not have the money to go to a moderate, but we LOVED it when we were there.
Yes a huge difference! The POR has beautiful pathways, and my kids love the poos!! the food court is one of the best on property!! We really enjoyed our stays at the POR.
If you do not spend much time in the room or don't like multiple bus stops within a resort or a lot of walking, stay with Movies. POR food court is IMHO the best on property for variety and value. The build your own pasta will easily feed two hungry adults with a single serving. It is very nice having numerous pools and pools with deep ends. If you want/plan to go to DTD the boat ride is VASTLY superior to bus service to/from ANY resort. POR is large and it can be a hike, especially since paths are winding, to and from the main building. Being from The South, the theming there is nothing special to me. I spend so little time in the room that a moderate is "lost" on me most of the time, but if I was going to upgrade, it would be to POR!
We have stayed at both and I would go with POR. Better pools, and beautiful grounds, larger rooms. If budget allows I would upgrade IMO to a moderate.
We just got back a couple of weeks ago.. We stayed at Movies and have stayed at Sports too.. The values are fine but for a few hundred dollars more it is worth the upgrade.. We thought it would be better to save a few hundred in this trip but in the end we wished we had stayed at Por.. It's great and so worth the extra money.
Riverside hands down the room will be larger, the theming more up-scale, sit-down restaurant also. There 4 bus stops at POR...only one at ASM.
This exactly! We had done Values (ASMo and Pop) and Deluxe (WL) but just returned from POFQ last week. Blown away. Absolutely worth the price upgrade to get to Port Orleans (either one) from a Value.
We've stayed at Movies and Music. November 2011 we decided to stay at POFQ! Though we enjoyed Movies and Music, POFQ was well worth it. We stayed during Thanksgiving and the resort did not feel crowded at all. The beds are larger (queen) and the decor is beautiful. My boys loved the pool and the boat ride to DTD. Dh is now spoiled; he says that he doesn't want to go back to a value.
When my older DS was little and money was tight, we stayed at Movies, and it was fine. He LOVED the giant Woody and Buzz, and everything else that was DISNEY. When he was 8 or 9, we started staying at CSR, and I swore I'd never do a value again. Now that he is 18 and not coming this year, but our younger DS will be, I think we may go back to the Movies for him. IDK, now I'm second guessing that again! Lol
we have done movies, pop, riverside (aka Dixie Landings) and french Quarter...also four or so times at the Dolphin.. WE love movies...and we love French quarter...noise level wouldnt be an issue for us...we liked our first floor at Movies as well as FQ. I love the values...we dont need the slide at the pool and we are going to go in May so we dont really want the hot tub ..but we like the food court at the values much better then FQ...we would of gone to riverside but they dont like the Tables in Wonderland card...soooooo we changed from FQ to Movies and then AP rates came out and we saved 340 dollars going to Music...we only spend time in the room to sleep and change and go swimming...so we are good to go.. It really is a matter of what you want out of your resort. We did like the boat to DTD ...it was fun and we did enjoy it... so just flip a coin...
Wow thanks everyone for getting us so excited and for all your thoughtful responses!! It seems we made the right choice upgrading this time! Thanks a lot for confirming that it was a good choice
We have done values many times, and ASMO is our favorite. We have stayed at POFQ and POR, and are going back to POR this trip. Movies has only one bus stop, even when its slower and it shares with the other all stars its better than 4 at POR. But the main thing is early morning- you will not share buses at ASMO, but there are still 4 stops at POR- and let me tell you- one day we had 3 HS buses drive right past us because it was already full, before one came with room to stop and pick a few of us up. it was my only complaint about POR. But let me tell you it is QUIET at POR. It feels more relaxing, we loved it. The pools are great, boat to DTD, can go on and on.
No we did not like POR nearly as well as Movies. The resort was too big and I did not enjoy the theming. The value resorts feel more Disney to me. The only exceptions I would make is Deluxe or Coronado. At Coronado the pool and food court made up for the really long walks. POR was larger than I anticipated. Our room was not the farthest by any means and was a 10+ minute walk to the main pool and the refillable mug station.
I have stayed at both, multiple times. You did make the right choice by upgrading. Do try to spend some time at the resort, and don't miss the entertainment in the bar area Wed-Sat nights. Great show, great piano player, very family friendly too.
