All Stars vs Pop

[alimbrogno]

What is the difference between the All Stars and Pop? Do they offer the same type of accommodations or is Pop better?

 

[rteetz]

What is the difference between the All Stars and Pop? Do they offer the same type of accommodations or is Pop better?

They are pretty much the same. The All Stars are older and may not be as well up kept. The accommodations are the same between the two but in my opinion the Pop is better. It's a bit newer and is very well kept between the rooms the pools and the lobby. I love all the values and thats where we usually stay because we spend most of our time at the parks so I don't need a luxury resort when I stay. The food court is nice food is food if you want a gourmet meal go to the parks or a deluxe resort. But we ate there and it was good.

disney lover at heart

 

[dpswift]

I only stayed at ASMovies once, AoA once and POP at least 4 times I remember liking ASMovies better. My kids prefer POP which is why I kept going back. ASMovies had more of a family feel and when I was there several years ago the had a castle set that the kids could try. It just felt right to me.

Dh and I are going back to ASMovies for a weekend in Sept and reading this board is making me second guess going there.

 

[belle912]

I have stayed at the Pop several times, the Movies once and the Music once. They are basically the same resorts..... same setup, food courts, pools, etc... but for some reason we love the Pop so much more than the others. I can't really explain it, it just has a nicer feel to us. We love the food court and pools!

 

[chimilady]

I've stayed at Pop and loved it, but decided to try Movies for this upcoming trip. I like the theming better at Movies, but I like the food court options better at Pop. The reasons we chose Movies this trip is because instead of just the one nighttime movie, we have access to all 3 nighttime movies from Sports, Music and Movies. At Pop, you are not allowed in the AoA pool to hang out and watch. I'm sure we'll be back to Pop soon, but I get a good feeling when I see the Movies picture threads. My kids are very much into Toy Story and 101 Dalamations now, so I think this would be the perfect time to check it out.

 

[jcarwash]

For 2013 there is a $10 per night price difference between standard rooms at Pop and standard rooms at the three All-Star resorts.

For example:

All-Stars
Summer May 31 – Aug 3
Weekday Standard: $133.00
Weekend Standard: $158.00

Pop Century
Summer May 31 – Aug 3
Weekday Standard: $143.00
Weekend Standard: $168.00

 

[Southern Bell]

We stayed at All Star Sports years ago when it first opened and we thought it was great! Then we stayed at Pop 2011 and back to All Star Sports 2012. My first thoughts when going back and walking into Sports from Pop was Gee this lobby and food court is alot smaller. That in itself made it feel not as nice or as open and I felt like I had downsized in resorts after being at POP LOL! If I had never been at Pop I wouldn't have felt or known the difference! But it was just smaller! It was just as clean, had a nice Disney gift shop and we had good food at the food court and good bus service. We had the same room as we had at Pop.

My husband and I looked at all the values last fall to see the differences! Pop is bigger. It seems to have a better food court because it is bigger and more open! Movies had a little bigger food court than Sports or Music and that made it seem a little better as well. But as far as the food goes, I think it is the same except for the tye dyed cheesecake & the ice cream at Pop! LOL!

The All Stars(Sports, Music, Movies) only have two pools where Pop has three. At Pop , when walking out of the lobby to the pool area the pedal pool area is very pretty with sprayers to the sides and a good play area for toddlers in the back. Movies pool is one of my favorites because of all the Disney Theming and the play area for the toddlers as well! Music pool is pretty because of all the greenery & shakers, kind of a Carribean feel. It does have some Disney characters in the middle (Correction) It does have a play are for toddlers! Sports is my least favorite big pool and I like the pool in the homerun section just as well! Homerun section is not a bad walk to the lobby especially on the turf of the football area. It is very convenient to your car, too!
Added for those who like to pool hop! If you are a guest at one of the All Star values you can use any of the 6 pools between them . At Pop and AOA you cannot pool hop but you can use both gift shops and food courts. As a Disney guest you are allowed to eat, shop and use the transportation of any of the resorts.

As far as bus transportation it was the same at Pop as it was at the All Stars for us! I couldn't tell a difference and was a non issue for us! Sometimes Pop had the farthest bus pick up at the theme parks. That is the only complaint I heard from my family! LOL!
When at Sports I think we did pick up some people once at Music when there wasn't many people on our bus or waiting(which makes since). Very little time spent doing that and a non issue! For the most part each had their own bus and they came and left very efficiently just like at Pop! Really a non issue for the bus!

 

[Yellosno]

I really liked staying at POP as apposed to when I stayed at ASMusic about 10 years prior. Like mentioned above the food court is bigger at Pop and I thought they had a great selection of food. It is just a short walk from AOA which also has a really good food court. The nice thing about POP is it doesnt share buses like the all stars can. I would definitly pay the extra $10 a night for POP, its a great value resort!

 

[Sal]

Just returned from 10 days at All Star Music. The family suite was the reason we chose that over Pop. We enjoyed our stay, but would choose Pop due to the shared buses at All Stars and most of all....the large groups! All Stars hosts many large groups of young people and it can affect your stay. After the lifeguards leave at 10:00pm, the pool remains open and "swim at your own risk". The crowd got rowdy and one night police were even called for a fight. Most of the time it was not a problem, but if it weren't for the need for the family suite, we would choose Pop for sure. That said, the amenities at both are pretty similar.

 

[Dsnyfireman]

Have stayed at both and much prefer POP over ALL STAR SPORTS. POP is better located and takes less time to get to the parks. Better bus route, doesn't share with other parks. We like the theme of POP better too but that's just our opinion. ALL STARS or ok and rooms were pretty similar , food courts are close but POP is better. You will have fun no matter what I'm sure!

 

[TommyD57]

We just did 6 days at Pop for the first time and have no regrets. I feel the food court and the bus service is better than the All-Stars. Pop is a larger resort, so if a little extra walking will be a hinderance, take that into consideration. You can also tour over to AofA and enjoy their food court. I would consider doing a split stay between Movies and Pop if you are staying more than 5 nights. My daughter was eight when we did ASMo and she absolutely loved it there, particularly the "piano" pool.

 

[bookgirl]

You're going to get two very distinct sides to this debate. All anyone can do is tell you what they prefer.

I prefer All Stars. Mainly for two reasons.

Individually they (Music, Sports, Movies) are smaller than POP so less people trying to cram on the buses. Even when they share which is way less often then people think, it's still less people.

I'm not a fan of huge icons as decoration, just not my thing. I find the grounds of POP obnoxious. I like Music as it's the most subdued of the values.

POP is very last on the list of resorts I would book. (I have stayed at AoA and honestly it's only slightly higher on the list than POP)

Oh and the person who said all stars only have two pools. Technically they have 6 between them (sister resorts so guest can use any pools) and three food courts they are all within about 5-15 minutes walk from each other.

 

[JennyDrake]

Just returned from 10 days at All Star Music. The family suite was the reason we chose that over Pop. We enjoyed our stay, but would choose Pop due to the shared buses at All Stars and most of all....the large groups! All Stars hosts many large groups of young people and it can affect your stay. After the lifeguards leave at 10:00pm, the pool remains open and "swim at your own risk". The crowd got rowdy and one night police were even called for a fight. Most of the time it was not a problem, but if it weren't for the need for the family suite, we would choose Pop for sure. That said, the amenities at both are pretty similar.

Just FYI Pop can and DOES also host large groups. You are not "safe" from them at Pop. I was there recently with hoards/herds of cheerleaders. I know Pop Warner has stayed there as well.

 

[JennyDrake]

You're going to get two very distinct sides to this debate. All anyone can do is tell you what they prefer.

I prefer All Stars. Mainly for two reasons.

Individually they (Music, Sports, Movies) are smaller than POP so less people trying to cram on the buses. Even when they share which is way less often then people think, it's still less people.

Pop has 1,000 more rooms which of course translates to more people. I don't care for the layout of the Pop gift shop/food court in that traffic goes THROUGH the gift shop to get to the food court. IMHO the food court at Pop does offer better selections (love the grilled flatbreads!) but for me the noise and chaos outweigh the benefits--though only slightly. I usually stay at AS 2-3 times per year and Pop once. The walk around the lake is very enjoyable.

 

[brunelldara]

We are booked for POP from November 26th to Dec. 7th. So excited!

 

[EpcotBill]

My daughter was eight when we did ASMo and she absolutely loved it there, particularly the "piano" pool.

The piano pool is at All Star Music.