DisnyMama said:
Love AS Sports. I highly recommend paying the extra $10 per night for the preferred room in the Surfs Up building. We stayed on the 2nd floor facing the pool and no problem with the noise. We were on/off the bus or in/out of the food court within a couple minutes. It is really close to the food court and bus stops. We really enjoyed it and would definately go back.
I second this suggestion. We've stayed there the last 2 years, both times the week after the 4th of July. The extra $10 for the preferred room is WELL worth it. You're right next to the pool (we were 2nd story in 2003, ground floor in 2004, nice to be right on the bottom) and the foodcourt, and you're only about a 2 minute-walk to the bus stop, lobby, gift shop, etc..., so you're right in the middle of everything. Plus, you're real close to the parking lot, too, though we didn't get in our van from the moment we got there until we left!!
July brings a lot of groups, often from other countries. Last year, there were several groups of girls from South America. They all dressed alike, bicycle shorts and the same colored shirts every day. I think the bus transportation from the AS Sports is great - you're the first one picked up and the first one dropped off, so you get the best of both worlds. But be sure you beat the groups onto the bus. If you go early enough, you should beat them, b/c it tends to take a while for large groups to get going in the morning. We never saw them if we left the hotel by 8:30, but the couple mornings we left by 9 or so they made it in front of us in line, so that held us up. But if you beat the groups, bus service is SUPER!
Food court is great, enough selection for everyone to get what they want. Pricey, yeah, but what do you expect? Refillable mugs are good if you'll drink a lot from the food court, but we were never at the hotel, so we passed.
I've never been in the baseball pool, but the other pool (Surfboard Bay) is huge. Plenty of room for my kids, who were fairly new swimmers when we went the first time (7 and 4) to not have to be with the "big kids". The kids can get rowdy and loud at times - what do you expect? It is a family hotel! But we never had problems sleeping due to noise - we were so tired after our day at the parks that we could have slept on the ground!
Rooms are fine, nothing fancy but they suffice. You're never in them, right? At least we weren't - only for 8 hours to sleep at night! 2 beds, comfortable enough for us. Always had towels, clean sheets, room clean, surprises on bed, stuffed animals arranged, etc... No problems there, either year.
Would definitely recommend it if you are looking to stay on a budget. The less you spend on the hotel, the more you can spend elsewhere!
Has anyone stayed there recently?!? My family stayed at the ASM about 5 years ago, but the kids were little then. We stayed at the CR two years ago and liked it. 
