ASmu Family Suites or WL?

[lfeikert]

When pricing things on the WDW website for our possible June 2008 trip, it looks like a standard view room at WL is $100 more a night than the family suite at ASMu. So I guess I'm looking for opinions and trying to weigh the pros and cons. It will be me, DH, DD7 and DS4. THe extra room of the family suite appeals to us because we can put the kids to bed in one room and not have to worry about being quiet if we want to watch tv for awhile. WL appeals to us because, well, its the WL! I like the idea of easier access to MK, and easier access to more restaurants (we'll be doing the dining plan). This is our first trip as a family (I've been a few times as a kid a LONG time ago!).

I guess my main concern is location. Will it be difficult or take a long time to return to ASMu in the afternoon for a break. Also, I'm wondering about being there and being on the dining plan with less access to TS meals.

OK, lay it on me--I want your opinions!!
TIA

 

[lfeikert]

Anyone?

Is there anyone out there that has stayed in the family suites that can give a review?

 

[tacomaranch]

We have not stayed at either so I can't say.

What is most important to you? Having room to move around or being in a moderate resort with the amenities? How much time will you spend in your room? For naps in the afternoon I would stay in the suites because you and your DH will have a separate area while the kiddies nap.

I don't know the price for the suite but have you thought of renting points from a DVC member for a 1 br at OKW? I think during low season it is $160 per nite and you don't pay taxes on the room. You get a full kitchen, wash machine and dryer. It is lovely and roomy.

Good luck either way.

 

[minnie61650]

Room size Comparison:

Pop Century/All Stars-260 Square Feet
CS, POR/POFQ-314 SF
Caribbean Beach-340 SF
Wilderness Lodge-344 SF
AKL-344 SF
Yacht/Beach-381 SF
Boardwalk-385 SF
Polynesian-409 -440 SF
Contemporary-436 SF
Grand Floridian-about 400-440SF
Ft Wilderness Cabins-504 SF
Family suites at All Star Music -520 SF

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Room layout of WL:

Here is the layout of the Family Suites:

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DH and I stayed in a Family Suite at All Star Music ( a value resort) last Sept. (2006)

We really enjoyed the Queen size bed, the kitchenette with the microwave, having a sofa and cushioned chair to sit on and relax after a day at the parks before retiring for the evening.

I thought the pullouts very comfortable.

They are designed so the back cushion and seat cushion of the pullout support the pullout. There is no meatle bar to hurt the sleepers back.

Info thread--Pullouts in Family Suites at ASMU with photos of how the pullout is supported.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18100990#post18100990


Here is my review of the Suites:

www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17640774&postcount=7

For more photos and info please see this info thread:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1392879

Have fun at Disney wherever you choose to stay!

 

[minnie61650]

All Star Music is my favorite Disney owned hotel.
It tends to be quietest of all of the values.
It also has a lot of nice landscaping.

I like the food court at All Star Music for a quick grab and go breakfast on the way to the parks.

I like the fact I can pay for a preferred location and know I will be close to the main pool. food court, and bus stop.

I enjoy the theming at All Star Music. I love seeing the children having fun getting squirted by Three Caballeros (Donald and friends) at the All Star Music pool.

BTW:


All Star Music just underwent a refurbishment of all of the rooms and was completed in June 2007.

All Star Music now has the privacy curtain which divides the sleeping area from the vainty area.

All Star Music is only value resort that has this curtain.

I am hoping when the All Star Sports rooms are refurbished between june this year (2007) and Feb. (2008) they will add the privacy curtains to the Sports rooms as well.


Here is a website with photos of the newly refurbished rooms at All Star Music.

Look at the Jazz Inn section with new posted:

http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_asmu.htm

Please see my info thread for more of the reasons why I enjoy All Star Music so much.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18641909#post18641909


Have fun at Disney wherever you choose to stay!

 

[minnie61650]

Bus rides are quite short from the ALL Stars according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POPbuses--PO buses--- Contemporary
MK 20 min---- 20 min-----25 min------10 min---20 min(mono)
Epcot 10 min-- 15 min-----20 min------10 min---15 min
MGM 10 min----12 min-----15 min------15 min---20min
AK 10 min------20min-------15 min----15 min---20 min
DTD 15 min----20 min------20 min-----15 min---35 min

It only takes 10 minutes to get to Epcot, MGM and AK from All Stars.
MK is 20 min away. That's the same amount of time it takes on the monorail from the Contemporary.

A WORD ABOUT BUS SHARING

To me Bus Sharing at the All Stars is really a non issue.

In the mornings during Park opening hours each All Star usually has a dedicated bus.
During mid day it is usually just our stop and maybe one more on the way to the parks. On the way back sometimes it is all 3 but often Sports and Music share and Movies has it's own bus back. Each of the All Stars usually has it's own dedicated bus back from the MK.
That is a big plus. It seems like the Music bus stop usually has the shortest of the three All Star bus lines.

I guess some people who stay at POP see all 3 All Star names on the return sign of our bus stop when they head to the POP bus stop and think All Stars also has 3 stops on the way to the park.
(Even when we stop at another AS resort to load up it has not taken more than 5 minutes and we are on our way!)

 

[dunbarfamily]

We stayed at the Family Suites in Dec 06 and loved them! It was great to be able to put kids to bed in the other room while we watched TV/talked/planned our next day. It was about a 20 min bus ride to MK. Busses were fast, not super crowded, especially mid-day for naps/breaks/swimming, etc.

We are staying at Movies in Sept, but when we go back in Jan, we are going to stay at WL Villas with our DVC points for the same reason you want to...because it's easy and fast to get to MK.

If we didn't have the DVC, we'd be staying at the music suites again because I'm not sure it'd be worth the $100 more a night. It worked just fine for us at Music suites.

Hope this helps!!

 

[lfeikert]

Anyone else have any thoughts?

I think right now we are leaning toward the family suite, but I'm still concerned about dining options. Would it be really difficult to get to a resort for a meal? I'd like to do Whispering Canyon and maybe Ohana's. If that's the case, I guess we would take the bus to the MK and then go from there to either WL or Poly, right? Would that take forever?

I guess the transportation is my biggest hang up. I don't want it to be a hassle to go back and forth from the parks to the room, but I'd love the extra space the family suite offers.

 

[minnie61650]

Anyone else have any thoughts?

I think right now we are leaning toward the family suite, but I'm still concerned about dining options. Would it be really difficult to get to a resort for a meal? I'd like to do Whispering Canyon and maybe Ohana's. If that's the case, I guess we would take the bus to the MK and then go from there to either WL or Poly, right? Would that take forever?

I guess the transportation is my biggest hang up. I don't want it to be a hassle to go back and forth from the parks to the room, but I'd love the extra space the family suite offers.

The last 3 years we have been on the DDP. I love the sit down meals at other resorts and at the parks-- Epcot especially.

Sometimes I plan a sit down lunch at the park we are at so I can enjoy a more relaxing evening if go back to All Star Music for a swim.

Disney says to plan an hour to get from your resort to an ADR just "in case".

Very rarely has it ever taken us that long (an hour) to get to our evening ADR from All Star Music. The lines for buses to the parks are quite short in the late afternoon , and early evening.

If our ADR's are at GF,the CR or the Poly than we take a bus to MK and then take the monorail from there.

If our ADR is at an Epcot resort we take a bus Epcot and then take the Friendship boat over to the resort where our ADR is.

Have fun at Disney!

 

[fla4fun]

Try to plan your ADR's around which park you will be spending the day in, so your MK resort meals are on MK days, your Epcot resort meals on Epcot or MGM days, etc. That will help.

The thing to remember with Disney transportation is to consider each theme park a transportation "hub". For example, if you are going from All Star to AKL, take a bus from All Star to AK park and change to and AKL bus. If your dinner is finished after AK closes, but Epcot is still open, take a bus from AKL to Epcot, and then a bus from Epcot to All Star. DTD has the latest buses, so if you are at a resort after all the theme parks are closed, take a bus to DTD and change to the All Star bus there. Always allow at least 20 minutes per connection, plus travel time (so in our first example 20 minutes for the first bus, 10 minutes to ride, 20 minutes for second bus, 10 minute ride = 60 minutes total). Travel time can vary, depending on how many stops the bus makes en route.

It's definitely easier with a car, but that would be true at any resort, not just All Star. Even if you were at WL, if you have a reservation at AKL, you would still have to go to a park by bus or boat and catch another bus from there to AKL. If you find yourself in a bind, you can always take a taxi.