All-Star Movies Questions

[Jaxs27]

Hi all I have been lurking for awhile and finally decided to post. We are planning on going to DW in July and are staying at All-Star Movies. How is this resort? I have been reading some negative stuff about the All-star resorts but nothing on the movies one. We are driving, so the busses shouldn't be an issue. We have 2 small children so we are hoping it won't be to noisy. We also want to stay in the Toy Story building, I have requested it, but should I call again before we go to ask for it again?

Anymore info would be greatly appreciated, Thanks!

 

[Terk-1]

Want to extend a warm welcome to the boards. This is a great site to find alot of information about Disney.

We stayed at the Movies in 2001 and LOVED it!!! We were in the Toy Story section, which was great. The view was of Andy's room and is next to the main building, so it was a short walk to the foodcourt, as well as the main pool & bus stops. We rented a car, but also used the buses and found them to be fine.

 

[JenLynn]

We stayed at AS Movies and liked the hotel. The pool area was nice, the food court was adequate, and the service from the cast members was probably among the best we have ever had. The one problem (and it was a sizeable problem for us) was the bus system. Crowded busses full of (at times) extremely rude people (pushing, shoving, threatening fights, even!). But while at the resort we had not trouble like that (only on the buses back to the resorts).

We faxed a request to AS Movies about 4 days prior to arrival and got exactly what we wanted .... Toy Story Section, Buzz Lightyear Building ... perfect location for buses and food court and pool!

 

[The waltons]

Hiya, We had our first trip to Disney February/March 2004. We found it to be great, very child friendly, and had everything we needed.
Even if you did have to use Disney transport, we never waited anymore than ten minutes.
We liked it so much, were booked back for September 2005.
Have a nice time.

Tommy Karen Danielle and Wee Tommy
Dundee Scotland

 

[bigbabyblues]

Another thumbs up for ASMo! We stayed in the Toy Story section last fall for 9 nights, and we loved it! We didn't have a problem with the busses either, and didn't have problems with noise. I requested the TS section when I made the ressie, and I called asked the CM to check and see if it was there when I had to call for another reason about my ressie.

 

[mach5]

We just got back from ASMo last week. We have three small boys. We stayed in the Toy Story section and it was great. Not at all loud and the kids loved it. Some days we got right on the bus, and some days we waited forever. I would definitely go back!

 

[mickeymousefan]

We have stayed at ASMo twice with our 2 little DD's and thay love it!! The theming is great for kids and the resort is very kid friendly. They have a cute kiddie pool and play area.

FYI: Room requests are not guarenteed. We have stayed in Love Bug and Mighty Ducks, both areas are furthest from the main building, but quiet and the walk isnt that bad. Our Mighty Ducks room was newly refurbished in Dec. and was very nice looking.

Have fun!!!

 

[ribbot]

Just got back on the 25th from a 9 day stay at ASMo. We requested the Toy Story buildings 3 times before going and when we checked in, they said none were available. We were put into the Dalmation 1 building and it was really nice--because we never had neighbors. She said it was the 2nd most requested building, but for 9 nights we had no neighbors on either side. They can not and will not guarantee you in the building you request. They wanted to move us on Day 2 and I said no, I wasn't repacking 9 days of clothing, etc again. (I had already packed and repacked 14 times at home)

On the other hand---it's a hotel that is very crowded with teenagers..bands, cheerleaders, and springbreakers (which should be over by now). That made it interesting in the evenings when they started jumping off the balconies and ringing our phone all night long. (I finally got smart and unplugged it after 3 nights of that nonsense). But that doesn't mean that doesn't happen at the fancier hotels either.

The food court is decent---very busy at 9 am and 9 pm. The arcade is pretty crappy, but kept our 4 year old busy in the evenings when we'd get back from the park.

The pool was nice, not too crowded. And don't forget your water wings if the kids don't know how to swim. They are allowed in the pool. (But were only $2 in the gift shop to buy).

The bathroom is very small as is the room overall. But for the price we paid, I would stay there again. Mousekeeping was ok, kept us in towels and washcloths nicely.

All in all, if you aren't looking for fancy, but just a place to lay your head and shower, it's fine.

Ohhh, the bus service was excellent when we were there. No lines at all in the morning (we'd usually leave around 8:30 or 9:00), but coming back they were always packed (standing) and it seems that people don't know how to read, we'd always end up stopping at all 3 places.

 

[pooksma]

We took our then 3 yr old DS last March and really enjoyed it. For the amount of time we actually spent in the room it was fine. Nothing out of this world spectacular but we knew that when we booked. As long as there is a pool and bus service is reasonable it works for us! Also stayed in the Toy Story section. Would recommend a top floor room if possible. We were in Woody's building.
We are going back in July and staying at POP just to try something different.

I think it all depends what your expectations are.

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

I have not personally stayed at ASM but we have stayed at AS Sports. I think that you will be very pleased especially considering the price you are paying. The value resorts are just that--a great value!! and will far exceed your expectations!!

 

[MissMickee]

I stayed at the Movies resort this past January. LOVED it! It's the best if you're looking for the ultimate "Disney" experience. The giant characters made you feel like you were in the parks all the time. I stayed in the Mighty Ducks section....didn't love that, kind of felt like I was at the Sports resort, but it was a short walk to the main pool/food court/bus stop. We NEVER had a long wait for the bus, but we were there at a "slow" time. We're going again in July and we'll be staying at Movies again (that's how much I loved it). We're expecting the buses to be busier because I think we may have gotten the last two available rooms (lol!) so we're driving and if needed we can use our own car. No matter which resort you stay at the buses will be full when the park closes though, but they come in pretty steady intervals. The food court was ok. Some of the areas were closed while we were there, I think because it was a slow time of year (last week of Jan). But there was a good selection, no "fancy" resturant though like the "mid & upper scale" resorts. The room was a little smaller than the mid-resorts (stayed at Caribbean in 2003) I think it was just right for our stay....we never spent a whole lot of time in the room any-who. I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Personally I think this resort is amazing. I would stay there again in a heartbeat. My husband and I have stayed at all 3 of the All Stars and love them to pieces. The major complaints I've heard about the All Stars I've noticed seem to center around the All Stars lack of ammenities that the deluxe resorts have. Mainly people expect bigger rooms, though I have no idea why. The rooms there are quite large, and I have never noticed a difference between these resort room sizes and the room sizes at deluxes. Now I know that there is a difference, but it's not much obviously if it wasn't that noticeable to us frequent WDW travelers. Also, the food courts here have the best variety of any of the other food courts, since the All Stars lack sit down restaurants. I honestly think that DH and I will be visiting the All Stars again on our next WDW trip just to eat at their food courts. The sit down areas are nice and they have TV's going with cartoons for the kids which is a plus. The pools are fine as well, though I recommend using the pool at the far back of the resort since it tends to be the least crowded. We were at the All Stars always in June or July, and the back pool, in the middle of a very warm day, never had more than just us and another 2 couples in it, while the front pool was a lot more busy. I highly recommend the resots b/c they were clean, friendly, and honestly the staff was a heck of a lot more cheerful on our 3 stays than the staff we encountered at the GF! You'll love it hopefully, just don't expect it to have deluxe ammenities. The other complaint I have heard is that the far back building is a hike to the food court. I disagree, my grandmother came with us on one trip, and she's had 2 hip replacements, and we stayed in the FAR back of All Star Music (same layout as All Star Movies) and she didn't think anything of the walk at all. It's rather pleasant hearing the sounds of children and families laughing to be honest, and the walk does not take longer than 5-7 minutes. Since you have a car though you can always drive around if your kids aren't up to the walk. Have a great time!

 

[VSL]

I've stayed at All Star Sports and ASMo and I'm going back to ASMo in December this year!

I would highly recommend it. It's incredibly Disney (I always loved the matching McDonald's on the way in - is that still there?), and IMO perfect for staying at WDW - you're really not in the hotel that much, so the basics (which the All Star's give you) are all you really need.

The only real complaints I've seen are about the fact that it's not as deluxe as the other Disney hotels - but it's not supposed to be!
It's Disney on a budget

 

[luvmy2sams]

We've stayed at All Star Movies on 3 of our 4 visits to the world, and we'll be there again in January 2006. We've taken our kid(s) at 14 months, 21 months, 3 years and 5 years. Noise has never been an issue for us. We've stayed in Dalmatians, Fantasia, and Toy Story sections. There really isn't a bad location, IMO. Bus service is much better here than at the Wilderness Lodge (our resort choice 2 other times). I honestly don't have a bad thing to say about this place. It's our favorite!

 

[MissMickee]

Yep, the McDonald's was still there when I went in January!

 

[VSL]

Yay!
(not fussed on McD's food, but really want boyf to see it)