which all star...

[crzyeeyoreangel]

Planning a trip for first week of March 2014. We stayed at Pop last time. But we are trying to save money wherever we can. And All Stars is a bit cheaper.

My question is which one do you like? And why?

It is myself, DH and DS who will be almost 2.

 

[buzznina]

They are all setup the same, I would just look at the themes and pick the one your family likes best. If this makes any difference, when they share buses I believe the order of pickup is Sports, Music, Movies. We like the movies because our DD's like the movie icons around the resort.

 

[JennyDrake]

I like all of them, but Music a bit more. Tends to be a bit more quiet than the others, but again, I like them all!

 

[teresa kay]

We always enjoyed staying at sports. It's nice being the first bus stops and that is a major plus during busy times!

 

[Kristibo42]

I would pick Sports. Sports is the first. So the busses pick up and drop off first.

 

[pannm]

Did you look at taxes/fees? I am not sure if that changed or if I am incorrect at this time...

LAST time we stayed at POP, it was a few $$$ MORE than the all-stars, but the tax was LESS (due to the location/tax county/area I believe??? maybe someone can explain that???) so, the over all price was $4 LESS per night. We have stayed at all-stars and been very mad with their bus system!!! ALL THREE share the same bus to and from the parks. It can either help you or hurt you. Sometimes, they sent out one more bus- because they were holding more people, sometimes we'd wait FOREVER for a bus that had enough room for 4 people on it, so we'd have to wait for ANOTHER bus forever. Yes, sports would be the best in the case of getting ON a less full bus. BUT, when it comes to the night time after the parks close- every bus is jam packed due to the three resorts. Pop was SO much better with the transportation because they had their own bus. Believe me, when you have a tired 2 year old after fire works, you don't want to wait for THREE TIMES the amount of people to get on a bus. BUT, maybe they've changed that since we stayed at the all-stars. I just remember it being horrible.

Check on the taxes though! I may be wrong, or it may have changed. I have been with the 100's of screaming, crying little and very tired kids who are waiting FOREVER for the all-star buses. Pop cent. SEEMS bad with transportation, until you stay at an all-star. Then, you'd gladly wait for the Pop buses!

Believe me, we tried the all-star resort route to save a few bucks. we wouldn't do it again. We do, however, like pop century when it comes to a discount disney resort!

 

[cfw213]

Did you look at taxes/fees? I am not sure if that changed or if I am incorrect at this time... LAST time we stayed at POP, it was a few $$$ MORE than the all-stars, but the tax was LESS (due to the location/tax county/area I believe??? maybe someone can explain that???) so, the over all price was $4 LESS per night. We have stayed at all-stars and been very mad with their bus system!!! ALL THREE share the same bus to and from the parks. It can either help you or hurt you. Sometimes, they sent out one more bus- because they were holding more people, sometimes we'd wait FOREVER for a bus that had enough room for 4 people on it, so we'd have to wait for ANOTHER bus forever. Yes, sports would be the best in the case of getting ON a less full bus. BUT, when it comes to the night time after the parks close- every bus is jam packed due to the three resorts. Pop was SO much better with the transportation because they had their own bus. Believe me, when you have a tired 2 year old after fire works, you don't want to wait for THREE TIMES the amount of people to get on a bus. BUT, maybe they've changed that since we stayed at the all-stars. I just remember it being horrible. Check on the taxes though! I may be wrong, or it may have changed. I have been with the 100's of screaming, crying little and very tired kids who are waiting FOREVER for the all-star buses. Pop cent. SEEMS bad with transportation, until you stay at an all-star. Then, you'd gladly wait for the Pop buses! Believe me, we tried the all-star resort route to save a few bucks. we wouldn't do it again. We do, however, like pop century when it comes to a discount disney resort!

Can't comment on the bus service but you're right about the taxes - I can't remember the exact rates but the all stars have (I think) 1.5% higher occupancy taxes.

 

[Ames389]

Music for sure. Sports attracts sports teams and cheerleaders more than the other two. They hang out outside on the football field at all hours and are very loud. I don't care for the ASMo pool set up. It's set up like a movie theater with rows of chairs making it difficult go watch your children. Music is quiet.

 

[TrentzMom]

We stayed at Music last year (DH and I) and Sports (DH, DS13, DD9) this year. We are a very musical family and I thought we would love ASMu. My daughter is the sports nut in the family and requested that we stay at ***. I was actually surprised that I like *** more.

I like the layout of the Sports resort more than Music. Music seems to be more spread out. We stayed in a standard room in the baseball area on the side away from the pool and it was very quiet (I don't pay extra for preferred because I really don't think it's worth the extra $$ to be a few feet closer). I felt that even though we were in the last building at the resort I was still comfortable sending the kids back and forth to the main building to get drink refills. I just remember thinking at Music how long the resort felt, to walk from the main building to the last building at the back.

It's also the first stop when they share buses...that's a plus. HOWEVER, we went in August and we only shared a bus TWICE, once from DHS and once from DTD...not sure why everybody keeps saying that they share buses from the parks because that's not always true. Depends

We also liked the quiet baseball pool at Sports because it was secluded from the other buildings. The piano pool at Music is smack in the middle of four sets of buildings and was not very quiet.

Finally, my DD fell in love with the theming. She really had her heart set on staying in football but baseball was her second choice. She loved running down the football field each morning on the way to the bus.

 

[circus4u]

Have stayed at Music, Movies, and Pop on this last trip. Wife and I agree, never again Pop. Buses and food court were packed. All Stars do share buses at certain times of the day, but during the busy times, each resort has its own bus. We preferred Movies for the theme and the food court. We don't care about the pools and have always had a room away from the pools, so all were about equal on noise for us, all were quiet.

 

[DisneyGal24]

Another vote for Sports. It has a compact layout which is makes it easy to get around. The kids love it!

 

[jk2006]

We love Movies! Love the theme, compact layout, noise has never been an issue. Yes, the paint may have a blemish or two and the rooms are basic but the cost allows us to spend a few more nights than staying at a mod. The food court is NUTS early am and late at night but we bring power bars to eat in the room for breakfast & eat in the parks the rest if the time for the most part. Buses have never been a problem, if it is busy each resort has a dedicated bus. We've taken the bus from the CR after eating at Chef Mickey's several years and their bus is worse going to Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios off the monorail.....less busses and they share with the Poly & GF...,in those cases the Movies bus was better! Good luck!

 

[Fivesacharm]

Having stayed at all of them, Movies is our favorite, we just like the themes there best!

 

[crzyeeyoreangel]

Thanks everyone for replying

 

[POOHsie]

We stayed at ASMovies in the Mighty Ducks section. This was one of 2 sections (Love Bug is the other) that was not priced at preferred rates. The Ducks bldgs were so close to ASMusic that the ASMusic bus stop was closer to us than our own bus stop. We sometimes went to our food court, sometimes to the one at ASMusic. We didn't experience a shared bus during our visit (early Nov '12). We also stayed at Pop Century on that trip, and I preferred Pop for the larger gift shop, larger food court with many more selections, and the lovely lake with a path alongside. Also there was the bridge over the lake to AoA, and we could eat at their food court, take their bus, etc. Kids loved the new pool and brand-new character decorations at AoA. Also, AoA food court was our favorite of the entire trip. They had entrees not found anywhere else on property.

Regarding the tax question. Pop Century is in Orange Co, and the room tax is 12.5%. The 3 All Star Resorts are in Osceola Co, and they have .5% higher room tax (13%). All other Disney resorts and all the parks are in Orange Co. Sales tax is the same in both counties, 6.5%.

 

[agameofthree]

we have only ever stayed at Movies and Music. We like the Movies theme better, but Music works, too. Setup, gift shop, etc, all the same. I think we liked the Music pool (piano) better.

We did try to stay at AoA last time, but right after our we made our reservations we got offered a free Dining Plan, but only if we stayed at a Value resort. Cut our trip costs by nearly $1K, so it was too good to pass up. We did stop in at AoA to check out the gift shop and food court, and we would like to stay there sometime, but we'll probably do so when there's no free DDP promotion.