This trip was just Dad and our youngest, DD5. We stayed at All-Star Music, our first stay at the All-Stars. This was a 4-day stay with park hoppers and the basic DDP.
With three kids under 10 years old, previous trips to the World have been spent at slightly larger/closer accommodations at Wilderness Lodge and the Polynesian. Since it was just the two of us, we figured the smaller room (and cost) would be a better fit for this trip.
First, as usual, I owe a debt of gratitude to this on-line community. The information on this board served as an invaluable planning resource. I'll try to hit the highlights of our stay for those who may have kids of a similar age and who are in the trip planning process now.
Without now having to knock on wood (since we're home now), I can state emphatically that we had a great stay at this hotel. The room was plenty spacious for the two of us. I am over six feet tall, and I was quite comfortable on the double bed (DD5 had the other and had plenty of room). The room was cleaned and restocked well each day. No signs of critters, either.
We were in the "Rock Inn," which is toward the back of the resort, near the piano pool. We had a room on the 2nd floor of the wing which stretched toward the back of the parking lot, although our room looked out onto the interior side of the resort, a small wooded area between our building and one of the "Country Fair" buildings. I had not made a room request prior to arrival, but this location was perfect for us. We did not spend much time in the room, and the time we spent there was primarily for resting/sleeping. This was a very quiet location, and I guess we were lucky in that we did not seem to have noisy neighbors, although the hotel seemed pretty booked solid. I would say it was no more than a 3-to-5 minute walk to the main pool and check-in/food court/bus stop building up front. I would echo those on this board who have said that if you want to be closer to the action (pool and food/buses), ask for Calypso or Jazz.
We had our own car, and we used it on occasion as circumstances dictated. Most of our Disney travel, however, was by bus to and from the hotel. We found the bus service to be quite easy and efficient. We may have just been lucky, but I can only remember one instance in which we waited for more than 5 minutes for a bus, either coming or going. Granted, as noted on these boards, if you wait until a peak time to leave the parks, you'll probably wait a bit for a bus. By and large, however, we found travelling by the buses to be a breeze. Music had its own dedicated buses coming and going from MK, but shared buses with the other All-Star hotels for the other theme parks.
We ate a few lunches at the food court. We're not too picky, and the food was just fine. Plenty of choices for little ones, inlcuding healthier options (DD5 had grapes/carrots rather than fries for her sides, for example).
What little time we spent at the hotel not sleeping in the room was spent at the pools -- the main (Calypso/guitar) pool, in particular. DD5 loved the spraying fountain, hula-hooping to Radio Disney, and watching "Enchanted" one night while swimming. "Changing of the Guard" dance-along with the lifeguards was fun, too.
Given the ages of my children, and the fun experience we had this time, I would strongly consider a family suite at ASMu for our next full-family Disney trip.
With three kids under 10 years old, previous trips to the World have been spent at slightly larger/closer accommodations at Wilderness Lodge and the Polynesian. Since it was just the two of us, we figured the smaller room (and cost) would be a better fit for this trip.
First, as usual, I owe a debt of gratitude to this on-line community. The information on this board served as an invaluable planning resource. I'll try to hit the highlights of our stay for those who may have kids of a similar age and who are in the trip planning process now.
Without now having to knock on wood (since we're home now), I can state emphatically that we had a great stay at this hotel. The room was plenty spacious for the two of us. I am over six feet tall, and I was quite comfortable on the double bed (DD5 had the other and had plenty of room). The room was cleaned and restocked well each day. No signs of critters, either.
We were in the "Rock Inn," which is toward the back of the resort, near the piano pool. We had a room on the 2nd floor of the wing which stretched toward the back of the parking lot, although our room looked out onto the interior side of the resort, a small wooded area between our building and one of the "Country Fair" buildings. I had not made a room request prior to arrival, but this location was perfect for us. We did not spend much time in the room, and the time we spent there was primarily for resting/sleeping. This was a very quiet location, and I guess we were lucky in that we did not seem to have noisy neighbors, although the hotel seemed pretty booked solid. I would say it was no more than a 3-to-5 minute walk to the main pool and check-in/food court/bus stop building up front. I would echo those on this board who have said that if you want to be closer to the action (pool and food/buses), ask for Calypso or Jazz.
We had our own car, and we used it on occasion as circumstances dictated. Most of our Disney travel, however, was by bus to and from the hotel. We found the bus service to be quite easy and efficient. We may have just been lucky, but I can only remember one instance in which we waited for more than 5 minutes for a bus, either coming or going. Granted, as noted on these boards, if you wait until a peak time to leave the parks, you'll probably wait a bit for a bus. By and large, however, we found travelling by the buses to be a breeze. Music had its own dedicated buses coming and going from MK, but shared buses with the other All-Star hotels for the other theme parks.
We ate a few lunches at the food court. We're not too picky, and the food was just fine. Plenty of choices for little ones, inlcuding healthier options (DD5 had grapes/carrots rather than fries for her sides, for example).
What little time we spent at the hotel not sleeping in the room was spent at the pools -- the main (Calypso/guitar) pool, in particular. DD5 loved the spraying fountain, hula-hooping to Radio Disney, and watching "Enchanted" one night while swimming. "Changing of the Guard" dance-along with the lifeguards was fun, too.
Given the ages of my children, and the fun experience we had this time, I would strongly consider a family suite at ASMu for our next full-family Disney trip.
