All Stars?

[kev kendall]

What are they like? Last time we stayed at the Contempory but saved up for years to afford it. Thinking about going last minute and wondered what the All Star resorts were like? Can anyone give me an honest evaluation??????

 

[AliceGardner]

Can't help with Allstars, but - if you are willing to drive in Orlando - then try looking off-site too: off-site tends to be better value for money than on-site.

Hopefully wayneg will be along to give some advice - he seems to be able to consitently get good accomodation at excellent value for money prices (since he goes over to Orlando for lots of long stays each year). I think that his advice is incredibly good

Alice

 

[wayneg]

What everyone whats from a hotel is different, personally we prefer offsite to All stars, we stayed at movies a few years ago and would not again. Never stayed at any other onsite hotel to compare. We much prefer somewhere like Courtyard by Marriott LBV, price for August was All Stars £70/night Courtyard £25/night. Even if same price we would stay at Courtyard.

 

[jen_uk]

AS are great! Ive stayed at Movies 3 times and love it there. The hotels have brilliant theming, great pools, very clean etc. The buses are good, you are at most parks within 10-15 mins. I would definately recommend staying there.

 

[carolfoy]

I haven't stayed at the Contemp although would love too, I notice from your ticker that your best holiday was there. I think the all stars would be a massive comedown as the rooms are smaller, the food court is seperate, theres no restaurant in house, its a really difficult comparison, a bit like choosing to buy a mercedes or a skoda, they both do the same job but which would you choose (if money were no object )

 

[cazzie]

We have stayed at ASMu & ASMo and loved them both, the rooms are not massive but then there is only two of us, they were clean and the theming is great. If you are looking for something affordable but that is basic then it's great but as wayneg says you would probably get cheaper off site.

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Asmo is ace if you want disney theme's etc when we last stayed we had no problems,the room was clean,the pool was clean,the food was nice,etc.
I cant compare to any other onsite hotel,and I do know DP likes to stay offsite too,but I prefer onsite.

 

[stevechase]

Hi

We stayed me, wife and 2 kids at All Star Movies in april 2002, we loved it, yes they are a bit small, but to be able to stay on site, I thought really added something special to the hols.

It was really great to see the theming of the hotels, kids absoultely loved it. We would stay there this year, but sadly the rooms only take 2 ads and 2 kids and we are silly enough to have 3 kids now! You know, wine, song, nice meal.........................Our own fault I know.

Seriously tho, thought it was brill would go again

Steve

 

[Miffy2003]

We loved the All Stars when we stayed here in December 2004.

The rooms are a lot smaller than at the Contemporary but we found them fine for 2 adult sand 2 children

Here's what we thought of the resort from my Trip Report:

Overall impressions of All Star Movies

We loved it! Yes the rooms are quite small but we found them absolutely ample for the four of us and all our luggage (we had a lot!). The room was extremely clean and nicely themed. The furnishings are bold and brash and don’t feel deluxe in any way, but that is exactly what I had expected. The grounds were beautifully kept and the large Disney icons were a huge hit with the children as well as us! There are lots of little touches all round the resort that act as a constant reminder that you are on Disney property.

We thought the reception area was great; there was a lovely big TV screen showing Disney movies and this kept the girls entertained on several occasions (including one when we had to post a parcel and it took over an hour for the CM to work out how to do it!). The shop was every Disney fan’s merchandising dream with a great selection of toys, games, clothes, plushes and all the other bits and pieces you expect in a Disney shop. There were lots of sweets, cookies and crisps and the like and they also sold small bottles of spirits behind the counter. We were very happy with the cocktails served at the pool bar! The food court had a pretty good selection and was a reasonably pleasant dining experience – far superior to a similar set up in the UK but obviously it is cafeteria style. We thought the prices were reasonable – not as cheap as going offsite but you could easily feed a family of four for one meal for $25 or so. The refillable mugs saved us an absolute fortune! The girls gave the arcade a big thumbs up. We thought the pools were great - unfortunately we didn't get the chance to enjoy them much due to the weather!

We found the bus service excellent. The longest we waited was twenty minutes – unluckily for us that was on a cold and windy night! But apart from that time, I think we waited for under ten minutes for every other journey. I wish our local bus service - which allegedly follows a timetable but often fails to show up - was as good! It felt like a luxury to not have to drive and it is ideal when you consider how close to the parks you get dropped off and picked up. We did have to stand a few times, but it’s not like it is ever a long journey!

Overall, and bearing in mind the price we paid to stay here, the resort was even better than our expectations had been.

Some people would rather go to WDW less often and stay in more pricey WDW hotels, but I would chose the All Stars over a longer wait for a visit to WDW any day You are the best person to know which category you are likely to fall into.

 

[lainey]

wow....Miffy2003, what a great review!
We are seriously considering ASMo for our next trip (maybe 2009, with another addition to the family hopefully )
Your photos are fantastic.....its nice to be prepared and know what to expect.
Many thanks for sharing
Elaine

 

[minnie29uk]

What are they like? Last time we stayed at the Contempory but saved up for years to afford it. Thinking about going last minute and wondered what the All Star resorts were like? Can anyone give me an honest evaluation??????

I dont have a problem staying there.Rooms cleaned every day.Plenty of new toiletries left every day in bathroom.
A nice big pool and toddler pool and play area.
No problems with buses plenty of them and really friendly guests that chat to each other on bus.
The only bit I dont rate is breakfast time at All Stars.Not enough staff on and not enough toasters!!!

Unless I win the lottery,happy to save my money and stay at The All Stars-out nearly all day anyway,

Lynn

 

[Mrs Stonfiesta]

We have stayed at the *** twice now i and i booked our third trip yesteday, we love it there, its not fancy, kinda does exactly what it says on the tin! And in all hounesty if we could afford a nicer hotel then we wouldnt turn it down but if its the choice of 1 trip every 3-4 years staying at a nice hotel or 1 trip a year for 4 years, all stars wins hands down

There are only me and my other half so i am sure that makes a difference as the room is bigger than out bedroom at home so we're happy . We have always had great service, rooms are clean and nice and there is a macdonalds accross the road if you fancy a chnage... and you can walk to winter/summerland golf and blizzard beach... i am sure it comes down to personal taste and budgets but we love it!!!

 

[paulh]

to be honest any disney hotel is as good as the next,your still treated the same,like a king.Have stayed in most except the monorails and loved everyone.Aug this year 7 nights SSR and 7 nights pop.To me both are as good as each outher.Where eropeans would stay 14 nights on vacation the folks in the usa would stay 1 night in each hotel to get the taste and flavor of each.to me the comtempory isnt disneys best we love the themming of the values and mods.
Paulh

 

[wayneg]

to be honest any disney hotel is as good as the next,your still treated the same,like a king.
Paulh

When we stayed just over 6 years ago no way felt like we were treated like kings, Our impression before we went was inroom Disney, in reality apart from Disney channel on TV there was no other reference to Disney. I expected soaps, shampoos, curtain, bed covers all Disney related but there was nothing. Smallest room we have ever had in Orlando, thought we might get a towel animal or something just to make it special to Disney but we got nothing. Not even a coffee maker (I believe they have now) We could have been staying in a comfort Inn or Knights inn and felt just as much Disney.
Outside the room I agree its very nice but if thats all you are paying for stay offsite at a third the price and go in and look around the hotels for free.
Maybe inroom is better now than 6 years ago? maybe one day we will try a moderate resort but we just didn't get ASM rooms.

 

[angel659]

I have stayed in All Star Sports twice and ASMo twice. ASMo was better than sports by theme wise, but I was fed up with the buses. Having to share a bus with three resorts on occassions the bus was fall before it reached us. Also after the park closes we had to share the buses and it took three or four buses before we managed to get back. It might be worth thinking about Pop. I dont know if they share a bus, but it didnt seem to when we were there. This year we are staying at PORR. I understand that they will share a bus with POFQ, but to be honest thats fine. If All Stars were able to fit my family in I would choose them no problem, but would try Pop due to the bus problems. Other than that All Star Movies was great. Staff friendly, theming excellent, clean and accomodating.

 

[casinocolin]

We love all stars so much that even if we had the money to upgrade we would still stay at the All Star Hotels the theming is so good. We never have any trouble with buses, the service has always been fast & good, when we go in September. It also gives you access to all the parks with out having to change transport, un like some of the moderate & delux hotels. The Pools stay open till midnight where the moderate & delux hotel pools shut early.

I say go for Allstar and save your money.

 

[Miffy2003]

. It also gives you access to all the parks with out having to change transport, un like some of the moderate & delux hotels.

Hi Colin,

I'm not sure what you mean by this? I've never had to change transport to go to the parks from any WDW resort, whether value, moderate or deluxe so I'm a bit confused.

The only thing I can think you might mean is that you have to share buses with other resorts but that usually applies at the All Stars too (with the other All Stars resorts).

I've always found the deluxes generally better as most allow access to a park by a different transport method than just the bus (Epcot resorts, MK resorts for example).

Sorry if I'm confused

Cheers

Karen

 

[angel659]

It also gives you access to all the parks with out having to change transport, un like some of the moderate & delux hotels.

Me too

 

[paulh]

nearly all the pools shut at 10pm,thats when the lifeguard go`s of duty.After that time you swim at your own risk thats at every hotel.The only transport that stops at more than one delux are the monarail and the busses to to monarail hotels.The mods all have there own transport
Paulh
Also the boat from mgm to epcot stops at the hotels on the lake.And not too sure if the broardwalk bus stops at swan and dolphin/yaught and beach.

 

[DisneyGurlie]

All Star Sports wasn't that good. The big football field is a disaster because whenever we'd walk by we'd almost get hit with a football.