All stars music vs contemporary - second guessing myself

[Djm_in_buffalo]

I like the Minnie Van idea that was floated. But everyone has different opinions, objectives, etc. If it was me, I’d keep the reservation at Music, try one day, or at least one way on the first day on the bus. If it is smooth sailing, repeat for remainder of park days, but if not, do Minnie Van.

Even if the service itself of a Minnie Van is not “worth it” alone (say, ~$50 each way, versus ~$7 for basically same duration, plain Lyft ride) the convenience of closer drop off and pick up spots would make it “worth it” to me in this context, particularly as it would be about the same amount of time, or maybe even a little quicker than monorail from Contemporary. But, even if I did Minnie Van round trip for 4 days at ~$450 total, I’d still be “saving” ~$450 versus contemporary. Bonus points, get to spread out and maybe even relax a little in the private Minnie Van, versus the crowded bus or monorail.

Edit: Earlier this year, we rented points for AKL and went with our 3 year old daughter. We exclusively did bus for the parks. On a scale of terrible to amazing, she was pretty darn good with the bus, but what stunk was standing there, waiting 15-30 minutes at the end of the park day to take the bus back. Not so much because of her, but because I was ready to mentally check out and enjoy a cocktail by the pool.

 

[Mle8308]

I think your reply is really hitting the crux of my indecision!

I just put together a 2 day MK itinerary, which only includes 4 rides each day, and I'm still wondering if it's too much. My kid IS the type that would happily entertain himself with a mud puddle for 30 minutes. I know if we do the parks, I need to lower my expectations. And maybe it's just not worthwhile at all to do the parks or even Disney. My original plan was to go to Amelia island for the week. I've learned that the Florida sunshine in February does wonders for my seasonal depression.

On the other hand, you're right; this trip is absolutely for me. I've wanted to go back to Disney ever since my trip years ago was cut short by food poisoning (lesson learned: avoid the toppings bar at Pecos bill!) And I want to see Galaxy's edge...so I'm wondering if I should make this trip about me and just have my toddler along for the ride. Book a stay at BC/YC/swolphin, do a day at HS and a day at Epcot, and finally scratch those items off my bucket list. As you said, my kid will have a good time, no matter what we do. And Epcot doesn't seem as hectic as magic kingdom. I am planning a morning to go see AKL because that's also been something that I've wanted to do. Then I can finally give Disney a rest - I've planned 4 trips that have had to be aborted! And when my kid is late elementary aged, we can come back for a "proper" trip.

Whew, so many feelings tied up in this

One thing if you are considering YC/BC for your trip, Stormalong Bay will be closed for refurbishment from January to June of 2025.

 

[jemtx]

Thanks for the heads up - perhaps I need to do a menu study. At my last trip, I wandered over to contempo cafe and was so relieved to see a green vegetable after eating theme park food for 4 days straight so I was under the impression that the food offerings were a little more expansive!

I think the all stars music fridge might be a bigger priority than I thought.

While not everyone loves Contempo, it does have a pretty decent-sized menu for a quick service. It’s nothing like a true food court, but compared to some of the Epcot resorts, I think this quick service quality and variety isn’t bad at all.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

this is a wonderful idea, you should totally do it

My favorite two park combo to chill and something for everyone. I agree with "scratching stuff off the list" trip. Swap the AS suite with AoA or just do PoP, skyliner access to everything - all day.

 

[Paranurse]

You sound a lot like us...........planning starts innocent like renting a VRBO offsite..............shifts to staying at All Stars.............then to CBR...............then finally settling on Poly or BLT...............

We feel your pain!

 

[maxiesmom]

Just spent one night at the Music before a week at the Yacht Club. And it is really crazy how the value resorts have much better food options for a quick grab and eat meal. If that is important I would stick with the All Star Resort. Plus with a family suite you get 2 bathrooms and a kitchenette.

 

[liamthompson]

Definitely you need to enjoy your trip because taking any toddler on a trip is a feat, especially if they get off their schedules. So if you really would like to do the rides in Galaxy's Edge I would either postpone it or have another adult with you because your tiny human is probably too tiny to ride.

Getting sunshine in February is extremely important for kids too, since they're covered so much that very little of their skin is even exposed to the sun. So you're doing your kid a favour too.

I'll have my husband with me so I'm collecting alllll the rider switch tips and tricks now! The more I read example HS itineraries, the more I think HS is a good fit for our nap-in-middle-of-day family. We can rope drop toy story land and then come back in the late afternoon for star wars.

 

[liamthompson]

I like the Minnie Van idea that was floated. But everyone has different opinions, objectives, etc. If it was me, I’d keep the reservation at Music, try one day, or at least one way on the first day on the bus. If it is smooth sailing, repeat for remainder of park days, but if not, do Minnie Van.

Even if the service itself of a Minnie Van is not “worth it” alone (say, ~$50 each way, versus ~$7 for basically same duration, plain Lyft ride) the convenience of closer drop off and pick up spots would make it “worth it” to me in this context, particularly as it would be about the same amount of time, or maybe even a little quicker than monorail from Contemporary. But, even if I did Minnie Van round trip for 4 days at ~$450 total, I’d still be “saving” ~$450 versus contemporary. Bonus points, get to spread out and maybe even relax a little in the private Minnie Van, versus the crowded bus or monorail.

Edit: Earlier this year, we rented points for AKL and went with our 3 year old daughter. We exclusively did bus for the parks. On a scale of terrible to amazing, she was pretty darn good with the bus, but what stunk was standing there, waiting 15-30 minutes at the end of the park day to take the bus back. Not so much because of her, but because I was ready to mentally check out and enjoy a cocktail by the pool.

Thanks for phrasing the math like this, I think it really helps put the cost of minnie vans in context! We will definitely try buses first and then it's good to have lots of other options if the commute becomes too challenging.

 

[liamthompson]

My favorite two park combo to chill and something for everyone. I agree with "scratching stuff off the list" trip. Swap the AS suite with AoA or just do PoP, skyliner access to everything - all day.

Ha, thanks for clarifying I started working on epcot/HS itinerary and it is looking promising for myself and kid!

 

[liamthompson]

You sound a lot like us...........planning starts innocent like renting a VRBO offsite..............shifts to staying at All Stars.............then to CBR...............then finally settling on Poly or BLT...............

We feel your pain!

My husband used to get SO ANNOYED with me for changing travel plans constantly...now he's given up and calls it "maximizing the experience", ha. Glad to know I'm not the only one out there wrestling with a gazillion decision paths!

 

[liamthompson]

Thanks all for your thoughtful replies! I'm continually blown away by the helpfulness of these boards.

Turns out, my mom wants to do a cruise with my dad and stay with us at all stars music for a few days before they leave. So she's urged me to add an extra night on to my all stars reservation. Small wrinkle - my dad doesn't want to do a cruise or go to disney! They've been married 40+ years but it's still a toss-up as to who will win this round!!! So I've also priced the epcot/HS area hotels and think swolphin is a good price point for us if my parents decide they don't want to come. Now I'm just waiting on them to argue it out

 

[wendlle]

I'd keep the All Stars room, use the savings to get a Minnie Van to MK, the rest of the parks Uber takes you to the same spot basically as the bus does.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I'll have my husband with me so I'm collecting alllll the rider switch tips and tricks now! The more I read example HS itineraries, the more I think HS is a good fit for our nap-in-middle-of-day family. We can rope drop toy story land and then come back in the late afternoon for star wars.

I would snag a refundable room at Swolphin now if the price is acceptable and then watch for drops. Swolphin has dynamic pricing and it can really swing, that way you’re at least locked in just in case. (And heck, in the long run I wouldn’t pick AS just because your parents are there. They’re grown adults, they can Uber lol. EP area resorts are seriously convenient for EP/DHS focused trips if they’re in the Budget.)

 

[Paranurse]

My husband used to get SO ANNOYED with me for changing travel plans constantly...now he's given up and calls it "maximizing the experience", ha. Glad to know I'm not the only one out there wrestling with a gazillion decision paths!

My husband puts a budget limit on where we stay. He's very adamant about staying within that budget. If I want to upgrade (which is all the time), I send our youngest daughter (13) to watch Youtube videos of whatever resort I want us to stay at on our den TV whenever he is in there relaxing. She will start hinting that she wants to stay there and it doesn't take much convincing as she has him wrapped around her fingers. He will then call me into the den and tell me to switch to wherever. She can be quite the actress! I'm pretty sure he knows I send her to do this. Works like a charm!

 

[Juliet25]

I would stay at All Stars. I am not a fan of the Values (I’ve stayed Movies, Music, and Pop), but if I never stayed at Disney before I think they’re fine. After trying other resorts they pale in comparison, but the first time I stayed at Movies and then Music I was totally fine with them. The suites are a good option.