2 rooms at a value vs. moderate/deluxe

[bethbuchall]

I am having a hard time making the decision between getting two rooms at one of the values or one room at POR or CR.

We are a family of 5. When we go in August 2006, ds#1 will be 15, dd will be almost 13, and dd#2 will be 7.

Our least expensive option is one room at POR. We stayed there back when it was Dixie Landings and the older two children were 6 and 4. We enjoyed it a lot, and I don't remember feeling overcrowded. But we have added a child, and the other two are that much bigger. My dd would be the one on the trundle, and I don't know how comfortable that will be for her.

For approximately $500 more for the ten night trip (at rack rates), we can get two rooms at the values. We have never stayed in a value before, so I don't know anything about them. The pluses include either a bed for everyone (well, I'll still share with dh) or a parents' only room (w/the two ds's sharing a bed) and two bathrooms. The kids will miss the waterslide at the resort pool, but we usually don't spend very much time at the resort anyway.

For approximately $500 more than that, we could get a standard wing room at CR. We really liked being able to walk to/from MK, but I don't think it's really worth $500-$1000.

Any opinions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[minnie61650]

I would get two rooms at one of the All Star resorts.
Then you will have 4 double beds and 2 yes two bathrooms.

All Star Music is my favorite.It is quieter because more couples stay there. I love staying at the Clypso 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.
They are the preferred buildings and cost about $12 extra per night.
The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

Here is the map of All Movies.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmovie.JPG
The Fantasia Buildings are the preferred buildings.
The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.
It is a great place to stay .
Preschoolers love it.
It is like being in the middle of a Disney Movie Fantasyland.
All Star Movies has pop up fountains now also.
The buses are wonderful.

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

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POP buses--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.

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 theaming is pure Disney.
My last 4 visits have been at The All Stars and this fall when we take dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3 we are staying 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?
Have a great time at Disney!
Linda
AKA All Star Goddess

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I would take the 2 rooms at the values. Having two bathrooms will be invaluable getting ready in the morning.

 

[spiceycat]

on other site - someone reported that several rooms at All Star music were being converted to family suites (like HI has).

I would ask about this first.

It should be a little cheaper than 2 rooms at the value resorts.

if they are available in time for your trip.

ask soon - I think they were only converting 10 rooms - so I think that makes 5 suites. (could be wrong might be 20 rooms - so 10 suites)

 

[minnie61650]

on other site - someone reported that several rooms at All Star music were being converted to family suites (like HI has).

I would ask about this first.

It should be a little cheaper than 2 rooms at the value resorts.

if they are available in time for your trip.

ask soon - I think they were only converting 10 rooms - so I think that makes 5 suites. (could be wrong might be 20 rooms - so 10 suites)

I have not heard that rumor.
I have often said the All Stars should have several rooms that are larger for larger families.
I have even offered to sign a petion of sorts to let Disney know that we need more moderatly priced resort rooms for larger families.
I hope this rumor is true.
Do you remember where you saw this posted?
Please PM me if you would like.
Thanks so much.
Linda
AKA All Star Goddess

 

[bethbuchall]

Spicycat--I hadn't heard that. I'll give a call in the next couple of days to see what kind of information they have at CRO about the change to some family suite-type units.

Thanks for the responses! So far it looks like the two rooms at the values may be the answer. That does seem to make the most sense in terms of space and number of bathrooms. My less practical side wants POR, because I already know that it's a wonderful resort. I've never been to the values, so I guess that makes a new adventure.

Any one else have any suggestions?

 

[Manon]

Even if 2 rooms at a value would be better for you, I would be also concern about the pool and the theme. They say that teens love POP, but I would not go with 2 teens to a value (my personnal opinion!).

My vote is for POR, or CR!

 

[bethbuchall]

Manon--that's where I'm stuck, too. I know that the kids will love the theming of POR and the pools/hot tub. My youngest will most likely think the giant icons are cool, but I don't know about the other two. It's going to be hard to convince dh that the extra money for the CR is worth it. Maybe a split stay is in order?

 

[gigi1313]

we've stayed at pop century (family of four, two rooms!), pofq (same) and akl (same family, one room) and there is NO COMPARISON to having two rooms (albeit each smaller) over one room... i heartily recommend the two rooms at whichever value resort you fancy... even the extra television is invaluable! LOL!

some things to think about... when pricing rooms, even if you are doing a package on one room, you can get a discount on the "room only" room... also, calculate the difference between two adults/three kids in one room + room only vs. one adult/one kid + one adult/two kids... oftentimes it is cheaper! there are a number of scenarios you can work out to find the best rate and still get the space you need!

pros for staying at pop century over the other values: bus serves only that resort; brand new arcade that gives "tickets" when you "win" a game and the tickets can be redeemed for prizes (this is very important to my kids when it comes to arcades! LOL!); excellent food court w/frozen icees included in refillable mug choices; and newer resort...

of course, in a perfect world, i would highly recommend two rooms at POFQ as we found it to be "the best of all worlds" at wdw! LOL!

 

[Manon]

we did a split stay in june and didnt like it at all!!! When you have 3 kids its not the best thing to re-pack everything to move to an other hotel.

Ask all your kids what they think about the situation! You might be surprise of what they will tell you!

Maybe CR is too expensive (I think so too), but POR is SOOOOOOOO NICE!!!

Good luck!

 

[gigi1313]

we loved the pool at pofq and por but i have to admit, they were not "teen" pools, imo... the slides were filled w/small children, there was no volleyball net or anything like that in the pools (which they had at the universal resort we stayed at)... ergo i do not see the pools as being a deal maker/breaker, kwim?

 

[Bugsmom73]

Yikes, it is hard to be in this boat. On our next trip, we are a group of 5. We were originally planning a split stay but the dining plan saved us money and it was not in our best interest to get 2 rooms at a value and our friend really wanted AKL. So needless to say, we are booked for a deluxe sav view at AKL for 8 days and 7 nights.

 

[gigi1313]

ugh, no, not a split stay! LOL! i was soooo looking forward to our split stay and it was such a letdown... it kinda stunk to have to learn all about a new resort all over again just when the first one was feeling like home... the packing/unpacking is a hassle, even w/the wonderful luggage assistance/transfer, it was a hassle!

 

[Jackie H.]

Another consideration: WDW will NOT guarantee that the rooms will be connecting. That will be a request only...not a guarantee. As long as there are 2 adults - which you have - there is the chance the rooms could be non-connecting.

I don't think this is very likely, but it is possible and has happened to others. I am sure the time of year you are going would enter into the likelyhood of it happening to you. In other words, a busier time may be harder to get connecting rooms.

Other have reported on these boards about wanting connecting rooms for the exact same reason and did not get them. I posted once with this title "Did anyone ever NOT get the connecting rooms" you could probably do a search and find it.

Edited to add: I found the thread - Connecting Rooms Thread

While I would love to have 2 connecting rooms at the POP, I do not under any circumstances want 2 rooms that do not connect.

 

[bethbuchall]

I never even considered that we may not get connecting rooms. I don't think that would be a very good family vacation. Knowing dh, he'd want one room all for himself, and I'd be in the kid room...

Only kidding, but it would be a pain to have the family split up (especially if the rooms weren't at least adjoining). This is a family vacation, so that is a huge consideration.

The kids all like the looks of POR. Guess it's time for a family meeting to discuss the pros/cons of each choice (and to see how far the pocketbook will open up!).

Beth

 

[Manon]

Keep us posted on your family decision!!!

 

[gigi1313]

with the help of a disney savvy travel agent, you may be able to get two rooms at POR for not much more than one at the contemporary... i know we did! (CR was one of our considerations but when we learned we could get two for only a few bucks more, we jumped on it!)

 

[hegs65]

Book the 2 values!!! You will save a chunk of change and it is so awesome to have 2 bathrooms and 2 tv's-saves time and argueing! We have stayed at CR (dec of 2000 in 1 rm) and Pop (Jan of 2005 in 2 adj rms)- Pop wins hands down! CR is just not worth the extra $$$ for the time you are going to spend in it. We loved Pop- It was so clean and fresh. In fact, we are going back to pop in Nov and using the money we would have spent on a more plush resort to purchase the dining plan. I guess you have to decide what is important for your families needs. For us, a room is just a place to shower and sleep. Good luck in your decision! Patty

 

[TnTWalter]

from POR to 2 rooms at All Star Movies....is this an ok hotel also? My mom is a little less enthusiastic [they'll also be getting a room near us and they're more excited about POR]. I told her this was like Fairfield Inn vs. Marriott. Would that be correct? Plus we'll do the dining plan so they can have some 'nice' meals.

Is Pop comparable or better/worse? Thanks for the info.


Oh and what do you mean by Disney Savvy agent? How do you know if you're getting best deal? thanks.
Trish

 

[minnie61650]

from POR to 2 rooms at All Star Movies....is this an ok hotel also? My mom is a little less enthusiastic [they'll also be getting a room near us and they're more excited about POR]. I told her this was like Fairfield Inn vs. Marriott. Would that be correct? Plus we'll do the dining plan so they can have some 'nice' meals.

Is Pop comparable or better/worse? Thanks for the info.


Oh and what do you mean by Disney Savvy agent? How do you know if you're getting best deal? thanks.
Trish

The values have so much to offer they should not even be called values.

The rooms at POP and at the ALL stars are both 260 square feet. They are also laid out the same.

The POP rooms seem smaller because the bed is closer to the door with a bigger gap being between the bathroom wall and the far bed. At All-Stars this gap is about one foot wide.

http://allearsnet.com/acc/asmv59.jpg
http://allearsnet.com/acc/popcent56.jpg

You will notice in the POP pic the bed is closer to the door by looking at how close the headboard is while at Movies you have a little more room.
The beds at POP are Bolted to the floor so you can't move them.
You can move the beds at All Stars so you push one the beds against the wall.
Thus giving you more usuable floor space.

Pop is newer than All Stars.

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

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POP buses--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.

The All Star resorts have 1960 rooms each.
Pop has 2,880rooms.
That means more people in the pools,food court and in line waiting for the bus at POP.
When phase 2 of POP is built it will be 2 bus stops at POP and the 2 POPs will have the same # of rooms as the 3 All Stars.

Also All Star is closer to the main road to get to parks and thats why bus rides are shorter from there than from POP.


The All Star Movie Resort Fantasia pool has Mickey.
It is a great place to stay .
Preschoolers love it.
They have 3 story Buzz and Woody, Hurbie the Love bug,and dalmations everywhere.
It is like being in the middle of a Disney Movie Fantasyland.
All Star Music has giant music icons and
All Star Sports has giant sports icons.

POP's theming is about the classic years. The 50's 60's 70's 80's and 90's.
A lot of adults enjoy the icons there. They have a giant jute box, cell phone, big wheel, play doh can,etc.

The All Star resorts are all within walking distance of each other and you are welcome to use any of the pools at any of the ALL Stars.
The buses are wonderful.

I am 55 years old and travel several times a year. I often stay at 4 star hotels.
So the deluxe resorts do not have anything special for me.
All Star is like being in the heart of the Magic and that is where I want to be.

Have a great time at Disney!
Linda
AKA All Star Goddess