A review of ASMovies

[LucyStorm]

Date of trip: August 22-24 2003

Check in: Excellent!!!! Efficient!!! Very little wait time, the young man that waited on us was very helpful, courteous and friendly. Wish I could remember his name, because he deserves to be recognized by Disney.

Decor: Too loud for me. But it would be excellent for families with younger children. I like a soothing room after all the stimulation of the parks, and these are not it. We were in Building 7, Lovebug. Very quiet, and not a far walk at all to the pool, laundry, food court, or busses.

Mousekeeping: Excellent! Very polite. Room was kept extremely clean.

Room size and noise: I see no major difference in the room size between ASMo, CBR, or POR. The toilets were loud, but I didn't hear anyone else's, just ours. I did not hear the family in the next room at all, and they had small children. I can't say the same for the last time I stayed at POR. I had a "parking lot" view, but really could not see the parking lot due to the landscaping.

Busses: The only place where I was really unhappy. Waiting area for the busses was not covered. This was not pleasant in a shower. Also, while we waited very little time for the busses to go to the parks, but waited 30-45 minutes every time to get back to the hotel. I have visited WDW 4 other times and never run into this problem. Time of day did not seem to matter.

Food Court: Noisy, but very efficient, and food was excellent. Staff was courteous, knowledgeable and efficient.

Pool: I only visited the Fantasia pool, but what a nice pool! I like it much better than POR's main pool or CBR's. Lots of room for lots of people! Lifeguards couldn't have been nicer!!

Summary: While this resort was not to my taste, it is an excellent resort, especially for families with young kids. Lots of photo opportunities at this resort! The major thing I would like to see improved would be the bus service.

Any questions?

 

[billybaruch1]

Thanks for the good info. Did you do the express check-out? Did you request Building 7? What floor were you on? Is it better to be in a room facing the parking lot/landscaping or in rooms 01 through 10 or 55 through 64 (facing the courtyard and the Fantasia buildings)? What was your room number? Thanks.

You asked for questions...

 

[LucyStorm]

Well, howdy neighbor!! (Maybe, since I am near Ohio's north coast).

Yes, I have always done Express Checkout and never had a problem. I requested a quieter area so got building 7. I don't get why people think it is a long walk, it was 5 minutes or less to the busses, etc. Room #7743, 1st floor. I guess it would depend on what you wanted. They gave me parking lot view because of the request for the quieter area. There is a courtyard with vegetation in front of the rooms, so you do not get parking lot noise, and you don't get the noise from people walking around the inner courtyards playing in the fountains or looking at the icons.

I requested 3rd floor, but took 1st because the room was already available at 11 in the morning. I know they had just cleaned it, because there was still wet disinfectant on the sink and countertop when I got in there. I had NO noise problems on 1st floor at all.

 

[billybaruch1]

Hey 5959, thanks a lot! Too bad about the buses. Good to hear about the excellent food.

I'll find out soon enough, but it seems you're right to wonder why people think it's such a long trek from Love Bug. You're going to walk miles and miles each day, what's an extra 5 minutes?

 

[LucyStorm]

any other questions?

 

[NotTooGoofy]

I've stayed at the Woody building two years ago, and LucyStorm, you are exactly right in your assessments. Probably the worst thing about ASMo are the busses. At that time they shared the busses with the other two AS resorts so the busses were always crowded.

I think the room sizes are slightly smaller than the moderates but not by much. For the price, the All-Star resorts are a pretty good value, especially if you have young kids.

 

[LucyStorm]

There were only a couple of occasions this time that all of the All Stars shared a bus, but only on the trip to the parks, never on the way back. Still, the wait to go back to the hotel was always overlong.

 

[madge]

we are staying at AS Movies for one night, mainly because our youngest absolutely adores Toy Story....

My concern is getting to the MK for Extra Magic Hour--would we be better off driving? The one thing we always comment on each trip is how many All-Star buses we see, especially compared to some of the other resorts. Are they not as plentiful as we think? I was of the understand that each AS resort had their own bus...not true? We have never stayed at the All-Stars before--I'm trying to get all the info I can

Thanks!

 

[LucyStorm]

Madge,
I never had a problem getting to the parks, and no you would not be better off driving!! My problem was getting a bus to go back to the hotel. I never waited more than 10 minutes to go to a park, but waited to return to the hotel more than 40 minutes on several occasions. Time of day did not seem to matter, neither did fireworks or parades.

I stress to you that out of my 5 trips to WDW, and my many, many bus rides with them, this is the first time I have ever had a problem. WDW transportation, in general, cannot be beat!

 

[LucyStorm]

Also, Andy's Room is absolutely adorable....

 

[frannn]

I see you have gone about as many times as me! DH and I love the AS Movies, and he in particular wouldn't mind eating at the food court there every night. I like variety, but AS all seem to have pretty much the same choices every year, and every night (except I remember there is one revolving choice each night). I remember chicken fingers, hot dogs, cuban sandwiches, taco salad, pizza, pasta, turkey breast. This isn't so bad for a few meals, but I like the "meat/poultry/fish and potatoes" type dinner fare. Have they changed some of their choices? (We will definetly try some other places, and have other PS, but I know we will end up eating at the food court at least a few times).

I would also love to know what time to go out to the busses on MK EE/EMH day, so we don't miss getting there in time for rope drop.

Thanks!

 

[madge]

I would also love to know what time to go out to the busses on MK EE/EMH day, so we don't miss getting there in time for rope drop.

me, too!

Also, Andy's Room is absolutely adorable....

I requested the Toy Story section....I'm hoping to get it, my daughter is crazy in love with Buzz and Woody!

I stress to you that out of my 5 trips to WDW, and my many, many bus rides with them, this is the first time I have ever had a problem. WDW transportation, in general, cannot be beat!

I agree--we have an occasional glitch here and there, but no real complaints, here!

 

[LucyStorm]

I didn't do early entry, but in general, usually you should go to the bus stop an hour before the park is scheculed to open.

 

[CamColt]

We are just back from ASMO. We got to the parks at opening 4 days of the trip, 2 were EE days. We usually got to the bus stop about 45 minutes before the park we were going to opened and we were in line at the park about 15 minutes prior to opening.
The only time we had a long wait for a bus was after the MK fireworks when the lines were all huge. Other than that coming or going to a park was usually no longer than a 10 minute wait. Even after Fantasmic we were able to walk right on a bus. Even though we usually do have good bus service there, I was still shocked with that one.

 

[bobcat]

Glad you had a great trip! We love ASmo and the Fantasmic pool is great.

Don't drive to MK on EE day. The first bus arrives about 45 minutes before the park opens, ask a CM for the exact time. We arrived at MK about 25 minutes before EE opening and were about the 20th family in line. If you drive you have to park and then take the monorail to the entrance. No time saver.

frannn try the quesadilla in the food court. Very, very yummy!