All Star Movies vs. Holiday Inn -- Transportation

[carolb3]

Hi - this will be our first time to WDW. We are considering staying at either the Disney All Star Moves Resort for $109/nite or another hotel off Disney property, but right at the gate -- $55/nite, (within 1 mile). How do you get to Disney attractions from the ASM Resort. Does anyone know how the hotel -- I believe it's a Holiday Inn -- works the transportation. I would like to go with the lesser $ hotel -- if the there's not tons of waiting for a bus. Otherwise, I'd rather go with the ASM Resort. Does anyone know what's better to do?

 

[shefor24]

I see no ones responded to you yet, so I will try. We stayed at ASMusic about 4 years or so ago. ASM is terrific, and they have great transportation to getting to all the parks....but gosh, if I had your choice of those two......and I was on the budget I am now....I would probably lean more towards the Holiday Inn. BUT I have heard talk on the boards about the Holiday Inn Family Suites, and that gets fantastic reviews, but I am not sure about the Main gate you are talking about. But that is quite a savings. I suggest this: put a post on the Disney Resort board and just ask the question "how is Holiday Inn Maingate ??" and see what kind of replys you get. That may help your decision. I am sure their transportation is good- most of the closer resorts like that are good- some are probably better than ASM, since it is so far out (last stop on the bus). So my advise, save your money and stay a little ways out as long as its a decent place.

 

[crusoe2]

We have stayed at All Star Movies and Music and found the transportation provided there was excellent. They have buses that run to each park, usually about every 20 minutes starting a little while before the parks open and lasting until about an hour after they close.

We've never tried the buses from off-site hotels but I've read that they usually do not run as frequently as Disney buses, may make numerous stops at other hotels before going to the parks, and usually drop off & pick up somewhere out in the parking lot (meaning no shade or cover while you wait). Service seems to vary alot depending on where you are staying. I would also recommend checking out the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board here - just make sure you specify which Holiday Inn you are considering since there are several of them near the parks.

Hope this helps.

 

[swinkinhofer]

Don't know when you are planning to go, but check out some of the discount pages before you book. We are leaving next week, and we got ASM for $59 a night using a code from Mousesavers.com (of course we booked earlier this summer). Its not worth the difference in price to stay off site to us even if you have to spend more to stay at ASM!

 

[AimeeM]

We have never stayed off disney property, but good friends of ours stayed at one of the Holiday Inns. they said the room was nice, it was big, they have 5 people and didnt want to get 2 rooms at the All Stars. They said that the transportation was very bad. There was only 2 times the busses left for the parks. 8:00 and 10:30 I think were the times. They couldnt get to Cinderellas for breakfast since 8:00 was way to early, and 10:30 was way too late. She said they were crowded too. One morning, they missed the 2nd bus and had to get a taxi to Epcot. It cost them over 20 bucks!! They just booked again for this coming January and got 2 rooms at all stars!! They said they will never stay off property again

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I agree to go for the all stars and cut cost somewhere else. ASMo transportation is awsome. We never even moved our car when we were staying there. I am sure that the room at Holliday Inn is just as nice or nicer but you miss so much staying off site. Sounds like your price quote is peak season, rack rate. I would check codes, AAA or DC discounts to try and get a better rate. Sometimes you can get ASMu or ASsports at a better discount than movies and they are pretty much the same except for the themes. We got 60.61 as a rate at ASMo ini January of this year.

Jordans mom

 

[AimeeM]

Our annual passholder rate for Thanksgiving is 49/night + tax. thats the cheapest I ever got it. I read that someone is getting All Stars for 55 or 59/ night with the discount code !!! try it!!

 

[maggie767]

we have stayed at all star music. we have also stayed at comfort inn lake buena vista. let me tell you i'm going again next year and we are staying at comfort inn. they have shuttles that take you back and forth to all the parks at disney, and they run every half hour. they have 2 pools, food court where children 9 and under eat free, laundry facilities. it only takes about 10 minutes from magic kingdom. also at that time it was very clean. i checked with comfort inn and triple a ( who did all the arranging ) and if you belong to triple a they will make all the arrangements for you. comfort inn 36.00 plus tax. which will be about 40.00 per night. now all star music has the same features only 1 pool. they have the shuttles and they go to the parks the same way. about every half hour there also. they had the food court there also. but when we stayed the comfort inn at that time their food court was buffet style which was nicer then all star music that had sandwiches and pizza and i do think you could get dinners but it wasn't the same as the buffet style also it was all you could eat for 1 price and of course ( i think i mentioned this) that children 9 and under ate free. it is comfort inn lake buena vista. have a great time on your vacation and god bless you and yours. have a safe trip.

 

[disnaholic]

All Stars is Awesome! You are staying in the "middle of the magic" and the bus service is great. I tend to stress out easy and the great bus transportation at All Stars helped me out a lot! We never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus (except once at MK closing - 20 minutes). Check out the disount codes on the WDW website and see if they are offering discounts during your trip. As low as $59 per night.
Good luck!

 

[Jinnyboom]

Just wanted to add that the ASMu has two pools.

 

[mikesmom]

A little geography info:
Many of the hotels and motels on I 192 (also known as Irlo Bronson Highway) in Kissimmee say "Maingate". There is no such thing as a hotel at the "Maingate" of Disney. It may be a mile from the entrance as the crow flies (and I really doubt that), but you are not a crow and cannot fly.

Disney deliberately created a "world" that was removed from the rest of the area. Once you navigate a couple of highways (probably 192 and possibly a cut over to 4, depending on which park in the World you are heading to) you eventually will get to WDW property and then will follow circular roads until you get where you are going. They wind around deliberately - giving you the feel that you are far away from the outside world.

We have stayed in that area. When we stay onsite we sometimes go into that area to get some groceries. The trip can be anywhere from 15 minutes minimum one way to well over 45 - 60 minutes at busy times. Used to be busy time was only when the parks opened or closed. Last time we were in Orlando (May) it seemed the roads were ALWAYS busy. Add time to travel if it is your first trip and you aren't sure of directions. Also you have to add time to the trip as they are building a new Convention Center in that area and the building and road construction mess is making traffic much, much worse. I assume that's one reason the rates are getting so good over on 192. The construction mess is a nightmare to get around.

You will get more value (park time) for your money at All Stars. If you get tired or the kids get cranky you can take Disney transportation back to the hotel to rest, swim or whatever. You can then go back later in the day. Believe me, form one who has tried it. If you leave WDW mid day to go offsite you simply will not go back in that day - it's way too much stress and effort to go back.

 

[maggie767]

we have stayed at comfort inn and have had a 5 day hopper pass and we would go to the parks in the morning and then go back to the hotel room in the afternoon , rest go swimming or whatever and then go back in the evening. what a wonderful place to be.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Here's another vote for staying on site. The perks for onsite include having packages delivered to your hotel. SO if you see something in the parks or downtown that you just gotta have, they will send it to your hotel the next day. I love that!

The rate that you are quoting seems pretty high. When are you going and who booked your trip? For the rest of this year there are all kinds of deals for the all stars. Check out Mary's website
MouseSavers

There are all the specials and the codes that you need to book. Other ways to save include reevaluating the car rental. In the 7 trips that I have taken, I have yet to get a car. I have a towncar service that picks up at the airport and brings me directly to the hotel with w 30 minute grocery store stop. The trip is $80 r/t (with a $5 coupon). Cheaper than a rental can and if you have more than 3 in your party, it is a better price than Mears.

I also cannot stress enough the convenience of the Disney transportation. I am a huge fan of it. The all stars transportation is better than at any other hotel I have stayed at on property. The buses are constantly moving. I have not waited more than 15 minutes for a bus. And, I don;t have to take a car, park a car, take a tram in and repeat the process at the end.

It is a hard decision to make, stay on site or off site. My parents stayed offsite the first time they went and then they stayed on site. They will never stay offsite again. They love the hassle free staing on property. Let us know what you decide!

 

[jgates]

You may want to post (with SPECIFIC Holiday Inn) on the Orlando Resorts & attractions board. I believe I have heard good things about the Holiday Inn Family Suites Transportation, but otherwise, who knows?

We stayed at the Hampton Inn Maingate West for one night and it would have been very easy to get to the entrance by Wide World of Sports from there. Probably quicker to MGM & Epcot than the Downtown Disney hotels. That hotel was great. If I had to stay offsite again I would probably try there or HIFam Suites. (Although I know nothing of their transportation).

Going down 192 for any reason is idiotic - it is just impossible. We got caught in what I would have sworn was a hurricane. You could see nothing! Got thru it safely thou. Just wanted to drive down it once for the fun of it - after that we came out by the DTD hotels or Epcot exit and went over on the quiet roads and came in just west of Walmart a half mile or so. Took about 90% less time.

 

[carolb3]

Originally posted by Pumbaa_
The rate that you are quoting seems pretty high. When are you going and who booked your trip? For the rest of this year there are all kinds of deals for the all stars. Check out Mary's website
MouseSavers
We are going peak season - 02/16/03 for five nights. There are no codes out yet for that time period. And, we cannot change the dates!

I have a towncar service that picks up at the airport and brings me directly to the hotel with w 30 minute grocery store stop. The trip is $80 r/t (with a $5 coupon). Do you have the name and/or phone number? Also, where does one get the coupon? Thanks!!!!

I also cannot stress enough the convenience of the Disney transportation. I think we've made the decision to stay on-site!!!

 

[AimeeM]

carol
I see you quoted pumbaa in your last post, but are you asking the towncar question as well?

 

[carolb3]

Yes, I was asking the town car question. (New at this, so it doesn't look right, sorry!)

 

[AimeeM]

We are getting a towncar ( a luxury van actually as we have 6 people). I had looked into a few places that I read about here and on another board. Here are the prices I got from the 3 places recommended on the message boards...These prices are for all WDW resorts that are not Magic Kingdom resorts. The ones considered MK resorts are Contemp, Grand Flor, Poly, Shades of Green, and WL. These are 5.00 more due to the charge that WDW makes EVERY vehicle pay to get onto MK property.

Yourride - (www.yourride.net) Luxury van or towncar , Round Trip, free car seats, free 30 minute grocery store stop if needed. $80.00 - $5.00 coupon printable from their website. total cost- $75.00!! **THis is who we are going with. There are lots of positive emails on disboard about yourride.

Happy limo- (www.happylimo.com) Van for up to 10 people, RT, $105.00. Luxury sedan for 4 people, RT, $80.00. ( add $5.00 to both of these for MK resorts)

Florida Tours- (www.fltours.com) Luxury van up to 10, RT, 30 minute free grocery stop, free car seats $95.00 - $5.00 coupon= $90.00. Luxury towncars for up to 5 people are $85.00 RT- $5.00 coupon.

 

[carolb3]

Wow, thanks for the info! This is great. Sounds like it's faster and about the same $ as the Disney shuttle!

 

[AimeeM]

Mears is 28.00/adult and 20.00/child 4-11. Its costing us 75.00 total with yourride. If we took mears, it would have been 124 bucks!! Plus, there isnt any waiting for the shuttle.. the towncar driver meets you at airport with a sign with your name on it. They help with your luggage and off you go!!! How can you beat that?? I cant believe Ive never thought about this before!!!