All stars music vs contemporary - second guessing myself

[liamthompson]

On a whim, I booked 4 nights at all stars music family suite for early February. My plan was to do a resort-only stay with my 3yo - ride the skyliner and monorail, eat snacks, take it easy and let him explore, etc.

But then it was such a good deal that I realized I could add in 2 days of tickets and still be in budget and now it's morphed into Family's First Disney Trip.

My husband is balking at "be at bus stop 45min before park open" and is asking why we can't stay closer to Magic Kingdom??? $$$$, dude.

But...I just priced contemporary and it is ~$900 more. Is that "worth it"? We lose the bedroom (not sure how much we were going to use it) and the full-sized fridge (annoying but can manage). I'm planning on doing afternoon break back at the hotel. Is $900 worth not schlepping back and forth 4x?

 

[disneyfam1986]

Worth it is a very subjective term! My family and I stayed at the all star years ago we had a blast! Then we stayed at the contemporary and we were hooked on the monorail loop resorts! If you can swing the extra money it will be a blast! If you can’t swing it you will still have a blast!

 

[Dug720]

If one of your park days is a Wednesday and you do MK on that day (at least for most of the year) and you stay at the Contemporary - and you and the kid can stay up - you can take advantage of Evening Hours. (Or Monday for Epcot. Those are the most regularly offered.) Those aren't options for Value resorts. Not sure that's worth $900, but only you can make that decision.

 

[Skippyboo]

You could book a Minnie Van to MK and get dropped off at same location as buses do for probably $50 bucks. Also if you don’t need the suite, you can book Pop which is on the Skyliner and has basically same design as All Stars.

 

[Mle8308]

You could probably add an extra 2 nights on to your All Star stay for that $900. Is your CR room in the tower or a garden wing? That might make a difference to me. I might wait until your son is old enough to appreciate staying at the CR. At his age, he may be more excited by Music.

 

[gottalovepluto]

What else would you do with $900?

Also, set a trip budget now. Food, souvenirs. When a quickie cheap trip morphs into a full-on Vacation you need to apply the budget brakes before you get to the park as you will not have the discipline to apply them there.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

My plan was to do a resort-only stay with my 3yo - ride the skyliner and monorail, eat snacks, take it easy and let him explore, etc.

I would stay at a resort that has direct access to either of the two "main activities" you originally planned to center on.

balking at "be at bus stop 45min before park open"

now it's morphed

Might need to pull yourself back a little, get back close to original plan with minor tweaks, definitely can do late starts in February.

 

[liamthompson]

Worth it is a very subjective term! My family and I stayed at the all star years ago we had a blast! Then we stayed at the contemporary and we were hooked on the monorail loop resorts! If you can swing the extra money it will be a blast! If you can’t swing it you will still have a blast!

I appreciate your positive attitude!!!

 

[liamthompson]

If one of your park days is a Wednesday and you do MK on that day (at least for most of the year) and you stay at the Contemporary - and you and the kid can stay up - you can take advantage of Evening Hours. (Or Monday for Epcot. Those are the most regularly offered.) Those aren't options for Value resorts. Not sure that's worth $900, but only you can make that decision.

I forgot about the evening hours but no, my kid will be conked out by then. This thread has definitely convinced me that the $900 is not worth it!

 

[liamthompson]

You could book a Minnie Van to MK and get dropped off at same location as buses do for probably $50 bucks. Also if you don’t need the suite, you can book Pop which is on the Skyliner and has basically same design as All Stars.

I stayed at pop years ago and really liked it - AoA/pop were actually my first choices when I started pricing this...as usual, I've gone down the rabbit hole of vacation planning

 

[liamthompson]

You could probably add an extra 2 nights on to your All Star stay for that $900. Is your CR room in the tower or a garden wing? That might make a difference to me. I might wait until your son is old enough to appreciate staying at the CR. At his age, he may be more excited by Music.

Yup, I actually checked adding extra nights to all stars first but there's no availability...I didn't realize until I hopped on to these boards this morning that it's because my dates are sandwiched between a cheer and a dance competition. The contemporary room is a garden wing room. I agree, all stars music itself just looks COOLER in a 3yo eyes.

 

[liamthompson]

What else would you do with $900?

Also, set a trip budget now. Food, souvenirs. When a quickie cheap trip morphs into a full-on Vacation you need to apply the budget brakes before you get to the park as you will not have the discipline to apply them there.

THANK YOU! I think this was the wake up call I needed. My trip started off being $1500 for a week's stay on Amelia island. Definitely scope creep!

 

[Anthony1971]

Look into Wilderness Lodge. Very close to MK and a fun resort for kids.
Next choice would be AK (same area as the all stars) Jambo has a traditional play ground Kidani has easily the best kids splash area - you will have access to both. And the animals..... Standard view is fine plenty of areas to see them. Both of these resorts may be in the range of a suite if they are disocunted.
yes AKL does not solve the rope drop - although with a 3YO rope drop will likely not go over well.
Will however remember the pool
Personally while I like the MK area it is really only convenient to MK. It does offer a lot of extras.

 

[liamthompson]

I would stay at a resort that has direct access to either of the two "main activities" you originally planned to center on.


Might need to pull yourself back a little, get back close to original plan with minor tweaks, definitely can do late starts in February.

Thanks for the gentle reminder - how the vacation planning runs amok

 

[Ronaldo17]

I would stay with ASM, the garden rooms at CR are IMO not worth it. Just be aware that the All Star resorts are very busy and noisy, and there is always a line for the buses so you may not always get a seat.

 

[liamthompson]

Look into Wilderness Lodge. Very close to MK and a fun resort for kids.
Next choice would be AK (same area as the all stars) Jambo has a traditional play ground Kidani has easily the best kids splash area - you will have access to both. And the animals..... Standard view is fine plenty of areas to see them. Both of these resorts may be in the range of a suite if they are disocunted.
yes AKL does not solve the rope drop - although with a 3YO rope drop will likely not go over well.
Will however remember the pool
Personally while I like the MK area it is really only convenient to MK. It does offer a lot of extras.

Don't laugh at me but I just priced AKL and am wondering if I should skip park days again

 

[liamthompson]

I would stay with ASM, the garden rooms at CR are IMO not worth it. Just be aware that the All Star resorts are very busy and noisy, and there is always a line for the buses so you may not always get a seat.

Yup - I know it's a hit or miss if the buses will be shared with the other all stars but I'm prepared for us all to stand! When I stayed at pop years ago, I don't think I ever got a bus seat the entire week haha

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Its hard to say whether its worth that much for you but for me it would be worth the price jump.
Especially if you plan to spend more time than not at the resort and/or will be going to MK/EPCOT.
And yeah it would be a large chunk of time to have a mid day break at a value particularly from MK.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Also CR in the GW is insanely quiet.
Never heard or saw a neighbor so it was a great place for sleeping.
And you could leave the park a bit early and watch the fireworks from the main tower and not deal with the craziness of the guests rushing out after.

 

[Dug720]

Yup - I know it's a hit or miss if the buses will be shared with the other all stars but I'm prepared for us all to stand! When I stayed at pop years ago, I don't think I ever got a bus seat the entire week haha

I've literally only seen them share mid-day when it wasn't busy. And maybe when they're doing the post-close sweeps like for if you jump in Flight of Passage's line at closing, etc.