All Stars for 2 Childless Adults?

[nymerias]

My husband and I (mid 30s, no children) are considering taking a trip with friends the first week of November. They invited us just a few days ago, so we haven't been saving for it. To keep the cost down, we are thinking about staying at a value resort for the first time ever. We usually do a moderate but have stayed at the Poly and AKL as well. I hope this doesn't sound snobby, but to be honest, I'm a little nervous. I'm a light sleeper and my main concern is not being comfortable or being frequently woken by outside noise.

What can we expect? How bad is the noise level? How uncomfortable are the beds? My husband is a little curmudgeonly and thought the pool at the Poly was too crowded with kids, so I'm guessing we would want to avoid the All Star pools? What about the food court? Do the rooms have hair dryers, fridges, coffee makers and wifi? Is it worth it to spring for a preferred room to not have to schlep to the bus stop every day?

Does it matter which All Star we choose? I'm leaning towards Movies and away from Sports due to the theme but if there's a clear advantage I could be swayed. Would Pop Century be a better choice for our first value?

Thanks for your input!

 

[siren0119]

there is a small fridge, no coffee maker except in the renovated rooms at All Star Movies. The food courts are less crowded than the ones at POP Century, since each All Star has its own food court and significantly less rooms per resort than Pop does. The rooms at the value resorts are smaller than the moderates (about 100 square feet less). The beds at the values are standard doubles, while the moderates are queens - just something to be aware of if bed size affects comfort level for you.

 

[crvetter]

The beds at the values are standard doubles, while the moderates are queens - just something to be aware of if bed size affects comfort level for you

This is no longer true of the renovated rooms at values. Both Pop and the renovated rooms at Movies have queen beds. Also side note the pirate rooms at CBR are doubles.

My husband and I (mid 30s, no children) are considering taking a trip with friends the first week of November. They invited us just a few days ago, so we haven't been saving for it. To keep the cost down, we are thinking about staying at a value resort for the first time ever. We usually do a moderate but have stayed at the Poly and AKL as well. I hope this doesn't sound snobby, but to be honest, I'm a little nervous. I'm a light sleeper and my main concern is not being comfortable or being frequently woken by outside noise.

What can we expect? How bad is the noise level? How uncomfortable are the beds? My husband is a little curmudgeonly and thought the pool at the Poly was too crowded with kids, so I'm guessing we would want to avoid the All Star pools? What about the food court? Do the rooms have hair dryers, fridges, coffee makers and wifi? Is it worth it to spring for a preferred room to not have to schlep to the bus stop every day?

Does it matter which All Star we choose? I'm leaning towards Movies and away from Sports due to the theme but if there's a clear advantage I could be swayed. Would Pop Century be a better choice for our first value?

Thanks for your input!

There is about a 50/50 shot of a renovated room at Movies with buildings 6-10 being done and 1-5 not (though I've heard work has recently restarted too). If you were to select Pop all rooms have finished their renovation. Also All Stars each have 2 pools and about 1/3 less rooms (~2k) than Pop which has 3 pools and about 3k rooms. The main pool at Pop is going to close during winter 2020, so I'm not sure what Disney is defining that to mean but I think a call into reservations can confirm that. I will say come the beginning of November there is a chance the Skyliner will be open, which gives you another option of transportation over buses to HS and Epcot if staying at Pop. Also granting you reasonable access to more dining options.

 

[SaraJR]

We did all-star sports our last trip and liked it

 

[nymerias]

there is a small fridge, no coffee maker except in the renovated rooms at All Star Movies. The food courts are less crowded than the ones at POP Century, since each All Star has its own food court and significantly less rooms per resort than Pop does. The rooms at the value resorts are smaller than the moderates (about 100 square feet less). The beds at the values are standard doubles, while the moderates are queens - just something to be aware of if bed size affects comfort level for you.

I do know about the double beds, we would definitely be sleeping separately if we end up in a room with 2 doubles! That is not a big deal to us though, as long as the beds themselves are comfy.

Thank you for the info, it's very helpful!

 

[nymerias]

This is no longer true of the renovated rooms at values. Both Pop and the renovated rooms at Movies have queen beds. Also side note the pirate rooms at CBR are doubles.

There is about a 50/50 shot of a renovated room at Movies with buildings 6-10 being done and 1-5 not (though I've heard work has recently restarted too). If you were to select Pop all rooms have finished their renovation. Also All Stars each have 2 pools and about 1/3 less rooms (~2k) than Pop which has 3 pools and about 3k rooms. The main pool at Pop is going to close during winter 2020, so I'm not sure what Disney is defining that to mean but I think a call into reservations can confirm that. I will say come the beginning of November there is a chance the Skyliner will be open, which gives you another option of transportation over buses to HS and Epcot if staying at Pop. Also granting you reasonable access to more dining options.

Do you think we would have a decent chance of getting a renovated room if we request it? We would love to have a coffee maker. We would drive so we might even bring one. Plus queen beds would obviously be preferable!

That's good to know about the size of Pop. I expect everything will be crowded this fall, so the smaller resort is probably smart. I would be excited to ride the Skyliner, though! We want to go hang out at the Boardwalk since we got married there 2 years ago and it would be nice to not have to drive. Plus easy access to the parks. But that's not a dealbreaker.

Thanks!

 

[goofyintoronto]

If you want a new room with queen beds, go for Pop. Movies is an excellent choice too...just send in a request for a refurbed room. And when you check in, mention it again that you would like a new room. Its not guaranteed, but there's a good chance you'll get it. I got a new room for my November trip. They're awesome! Very clean and modern.

 

[Hopefully]

Do you think we would have a decent chance of getting a renovated room if we request it? We would love to have a coffee maker. We would drive so we might even bring one. Plus queen beds would obviously be preferable!

That's good to know about the size of Pop. I expect everything will be crowded this fall, so the smaller resort is probably smart. I would be excited to ride the Skyliner, though! We want to go hang out at the Boardwalk since we got married there 2 years ago and it would be nice to not have to drive. Plus easy access to the parks. But that's not a dealbreaker.

Thanks!

The All Stars will be noisy. The walls are thin. There are excited children in the walkways early in the morning. I f your husband had an issue with the number of children at the Poly, I doubt he would be happy.

 

[crvetter]

Do you think we would have a decent chance of getting a renovated room if we request it?

I would think if it is your only request you have a decent chance of it going through. But as a prior poster stated make sure to request it again at the check in counter.

That's good to know about the size of Pop. I expect everything will be crowded this fall, so the smaller resort is probably smart. I would be excited to ride the Skyliner, though! We want to go hang out at the Boardwalk since we got married there 2 years ago and it would be nice to not have to drive. Plus easy access to the parks. But that's not a dealbreaker.

Yeah I would assume everything is going to be crowded too. Pop does have the advantage of everything being renovated so you can focus your request on a quiet area of the resort (away from the pools, away from the lake, etc) satisfying your other concern.

 

[Pmlocke]

I'm 65, so is my wife. We are not childless but we go without the kids or grandkids, so yes, I guess you could say we are childless. We have stayed at AS Music every year since 2009 except for the 2010 trip at Pop Century. I always stay in a preferred room right across from the guitar pool. I have always gotten a good nights sleep. I have stayed there during Pop Warner football, cheerleaders and dance. Bet to ask for a room on the 2nd floor and in the back. We have always gotten a King bed. It has been very comfortable for me who enjoys a mattress more on the firm side. As for crowded pools, here are some facts for you to consider. Pop has 2880 rooms, AS Movies and Sports has 1920 rooms and AS Music has 1604 rooms. Guess which of those 4 has less people in the pools, in the food court, or waiting for a bus? I should mention, to get a King bed, if that is the option you want, you need to ask for a special needs room. No bathtub, just a walk in shower but everyone of them has a King bed. No coffee maker but it does have eveything else you mentioned. I do think it is worth the extra few buck for the preferred room because at our age, the extra walk does wear us down, especially after being at the park all day. If you don't wnat a King, the other standard rooms do have the queen beds.

 

[cvjw]

We stayed 1 night at pop century and could not wait to leave. It was noisy, you could hear people in the rooms beside us and outside our door. At that point in time, we only stayed at moderate resorts. There was a huge difference.

We purchased dvc right after that to never have to stay at a value again.

If your husband thought the poly had too many kids, I would avoid a value resort at all costs.

 

[maxiesmom]

As long as you ask for a room away from the pool, the room will be fairly quiet. I've had rooms at the Sports and Pop that were very quiet. At Sports it was on the back side of the building, as as soon as you rounded the corner, it was quiet. At Pop it was a 3rd floor room facing a green space. That is also helpful, asking for a higher floor room. If you can get a top floor room, those are the best. No chance of any people thumping around on your ceiling.

 

[Hopefully]

I'm 65, so is my wife. We are not childless but we go without the kids or grandkids, so yes, I guess you could say we are childless. We have stayed at AS Music every year since 2009 except for the 2010 trip at Pop Century. I always stay in a preferred room right across from the guitar pool. I have always gotten a good nights sleep. I have stayed there during Pop Warner football, cheerleaders and dance. Bet to ask for a room on the 2nd floor and in the back. We have always gotten a King bed. It has been very comfortable for me who enjoys a mattress more on the firm side. As for crowded pools, here are some facts for you to consider. Pop has 2880 rooms, AS Movies and Sports has 1920 rooms and AS Music has 1604 rooms. Guess which of those 4 has less people in the pools, in the food court, or waiting for a bus? I should mention, to get a King bed, if that is the option you want, you need to ask for a special needs room. No bathtub, just a walk in shower but everyone of them has a King bed. No coffee maker but it does have eveything else you mentioned. I do think it is worth the extra few buck for the preferred room because at our age, the extra walk does wear us down, especially after being at the park all day. If you don't wnat a King, the other standard rooms do have the queen beds.

Requesting a Special Needs Room , that you don’t need In order to have a King Bed, is highly unethical and unfair to those who NEED a Special needs room. I’m appalled

 

[KTR]

In your situation I would book Music and ask for a 2nd floor room. Music has family suites so overall a smaller number of rooms. They can fit 6 instead of 4 people but they take up the space of 2 rooms. There tend to be fewer overall people at music than the others because of this.

And second floor would take care of any overhead noise. You can bring a white noise machcine with you if you are concerned.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

We are in our 50's & 60's with no kids & stayed at All Star Sports last fall & loved it! Our previous trip at POFQ had way more noise & kids & way worse bus service. I'm an extremely light sleeper & had no issues. We did take our own coffeemaker & each had our own bed. All of the staff were fantastic. There are 2 pools at each All Star & the resorts are close to each other/right next to each other & have small footprints, so you have 6 pools & 3 food courts to pick from. We will definitely choose an All Star next year for our trip!

 

[Pmlocke]

Requesting a Special Needs Room , that you don’t need In order to have a King Bed, is highly unethical and unfair to those who NEED a Special needs room. I’m appalled

I only said that I do it and that those rooms have Kings. I don't think I said everyone should do it. My wife is wheelchair bound. I think she deserves being able to roll into a shower.

 

[Disneypro1]

We like POP or Music. With or without the kids. The values are great. Nothing wrong with them at all. Have a great time.

 

[Hopefully]

I only said that I do it and that those rooms have Kings. I don't think I said everyone should do it. My wife is wheelchair bound. I think she deserves being able to roll into a shower.

You stated “ I should mention, to get a king bed, if that is the option you want, you need to ask for a special needs room...”.
IMHO That is indeed telling people who want a king bed room to ask for a special needs room.
I’m glad your wife is able to get it since she NEEDS it. Not everyone who desires a king bed has a disability.
I think your advice is horrible to the disabled visitors

 

[dreamit]

In December 2017 I stayed at Music. This was after a trip where we stayed at Poly. It was a different type of trip (fewer family members in the room) with more park time, but I still was not looking forward to the resort. I was more than pleasantly surprised. I really liked ASMu! The beds were comfortable, the room clean and cheerful, no issues with noise, very friendly CMs, good food court, clean and pleasant grounds, and no issues with buses. In general, I liked the "vibe" of the resort. I'd happily stay there again if we were looking at a park-heavy trip.

 

[tguz]

We stayed at Movies in 2017 and Pop in 2018 and neither resort was loud to us. At Movies, we were right at the Mighty Ducks pool that was largely empty every time we returned to our room and (I think) it didn't open until 11am. At the Pop, we were in building 1 on the side not facing the pool and it was very quiet as well. Maybe we just got lucky with quiet neighbors. We are staying at the Pop again this July.