ASM or POP?

[poohluvr]

I'd really like to stay at CBR but don't know if I can afford it. My value choices would be All Star Movies or POP. Anyone have any opinions on which is better? Thanks.

 

[Dsnymouse]

I asked the same question - look on page four mid way down to read responses. I am going to watch yours as well. The winner on my post was Pop. Everyone seems to like the newness, quick buses, etc. I am still undecided. We have a 5 year old and like the idea of a disney feel at ASMo but like the idea of 50's or 70's building (Lakeside) at Pop for fireworks. Hope you can make a decision. I may even spend a few days at each. Hope you have sucess!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Room wise we liked Pop a little better. Newer, bigger tv, shelf above bathroom sink. Although the rooms were identical in size and ASMO was just as spotless. We liked the food court at ASMO better, it was never as crowded, seemed cleaner and I loved this Asian chicken salad ASMO's food court had. Pools were about the same. The thing I missed about Movies was the theming. Just 100% pure Disney! Pop's theming was pretty neat too, but not as Disney. I know a lot of people talk about the bus sharing between the All Stars. I know they do this but when we were there last October there was only one time we had to share a bus. That was coming back from MK early one day so very few people were actually leaving the park to go back to the resort at that time. I think there were about 8 people on that bus so sharing was no big deal and made sense at that off time. I don't know if we just lucked out at Movies or what but our waits for buses were longer at Pop. Not horribly long, just longer than what we had experienced at ASMO in October. Surprising since we were at Pop during a very off time in late January. Check in at Pop took a lot longer, it was about the same time of night since we had taken the same flight out of Denver for both trips. Again surprising given the off time. CM's/mouskeeping was equally great at both resorts. I think Pop is generally more crowded right now since it is the newest value resort. We would stay at either resort again in a minute but did prefer ASMO a little more. I know my family is in the minority on this one! I told somebody else to go with the theming they prefer because on most points Pop and ASMO are about the same.

 

[Cookie Princess]

We prefer ASMo over Pop. Our waiting time in the lines at Pop was longer for busses and in the food court. The decade theming decorations were cute, but lost their charm after a few days unlike ASMo which is decorated in "true Disney" (Toy Story, 101 Dalmations, etc). Also, we were placed in the 90's section which was just too far from the main building to make our refillable mugs worth while. Just our opinion.

 

[WillCAD]

I haven't stayed at Movies, but I have stayed at Music about 4 times, Sports twice, and Pop once. Since all three All-Stars are virtually identical except for the theme, I can give you a comparrison I wrote a while back between Music and Pop and it will be valid for Movies, too.

Comparing Music directly to Pop:

*Pop is newer, cleaner, and has brighter colors and cooler icons on the buildings.
*Pop does not share busses, as Music does.
*Pop is more centrally located, so bus trips to MGM, Epcot, and DD are shorter. Trips to AK and MK are a little longer.
*Pop has real soaps, not dispensers.
*The beds at Pop are bricks. Music's beds are much more comfortable.
*The food court at Pop has a similar menu to Music, but the quality is sub-par. Music has much better food and slightly better service.
*The gift shop at Music is not connnected to the food court, so you don't have to walk through one to get to the other.
*Service in teh Music gift shop is much better than the one at Pop. Also, the storage room for packages delivered to the resort from the parks is behind the counter at Music, but across the building at Pop. At Pop it once took 30 minutes to get my package.
*Parking at Music is world better. The lots are huge and there are more rooms located close to the lots at Music than there are at Pop.
*Even though Music is more remote than Pop, driving yourself wipes out that advantage, because Music is at the end of Buena Vista Blvd, the main east-west road at WDW. Drive times to Epcot, MGM, both water parks, and DD are all 10 minutes or less, because they all have entrances on Buena Vista Blvd; AK is also less than 10 mins because it is so close, and MK is only about 12-15 minutes.
*Music is less crowded than Pop and has more buildings far away from Melody Hall, making it much quieter and more peaceful.

Overall, I like Music best of all the Values.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Oh yeah, how could I forget! The parking at Pop was a nightmare on the weekends! The night we checked in DH had to spend about 15 minutes looking for a parking space late at night. We were in the 90's and I can't even remember where the heck he ended up parking. Never had one problem at Movies with parking issues. And they do you give you soap at Pop but its Ivory which is the most drying soap known to man so I always bring my own anyway when I am staying at WDW!

 

[MisterBubbles]

We too have been debating where to stay for our next trip: Pop vs. AsMu. We are going to give AsMu a try. We were at Pop last year at the most hectic time of the year - the week between Christmas and New Year's and we were ready for the crowds and lines. Overall, we loved Pop, but had such a hard time with the buses. Getting to the parks in the a.m. was no problem, but the wait back, escpecially from MK was an hour on two different nights. Meanwhile, we saw the All Star buses continuously running and picking everyone up who was in line. We noticed that each All Star Resort had their own designated bus for Movies, Music and Sports. I know that this could have been a fluke, but we will give AsMu a try.

When I called to book for this coming December I asked about the size of the resorts. The CM said that Pop has 2800 rooms and one dedicated bus line. Each, individual All Stars resort has 1900 rooms. All together that is much more that Pop, but individually that is almost 1000 rooms less at each resort. I would guess that the difference in numbers would reduce lines at food courts, check-in desk and buses. I am sure it all depends how many CMs, registers and buses are working at each resort.

Anyway, I thought it was worth mentioning. One thing is certain, no matter where you stay you will have a great time.

 

[Amy&Dan]

MisterBubbles, thanks for that info. That 1000 less rooms per each All Star resort makes sense now. At Pop the food court was always so crowded it took forever. Also since it was more off season when we were there, the parks were closing early and everybody was like us, not wasting park time eating dinner and going to the food court instead. The lobby area of Pop is no bigger and since they have 1000 more rooms to potentially check in that also explains our lines with that process! Enjoy ASMU, we are trying Sports in October and are very excited!

 

[poohluvr]

Thanks too everyone for your responses. I think I'm gonna go with Movies. Sounds like it's really cool! Jovidan......"HAVE A NICE DAY" ! I can't wait until September!