ASMu questions--long

[E(ticket)lizabeth]

I had thought we'd get a FW cabin through the DVC "collections" program, but my DVC friend took too long and they're gone--so, ASMu for us. We are DH (49), me (39), DS (17 months on Dec. 2), and MIL (70), and we're going Dec. 3-11 (yup--Pop Warner week ) . DH & I stayed in Calypso in 2001, before the "preferred" rate, so we don't know the other buildings. This means, I have questions!

The big question is, if we've requested connecting rooms, one with a king bed, what building will we get? A CM at ASMo once told me that we always stayed in Mighty Ducks there because that's the only building with king rooms. True? Does ASMu also have only a building or two with kings? We've requested Jazz because MIL is 70 and won't be comfortable walking all the way back to Country Fair from the bus stop, while pushing our DS in his stroller! However, we really like Calypso! We just don't like it well enough to pay the extra $10 per night. Also, do king rooms ALL come with fridges, or just some of them? I definitely want either a fridge or we'll get a small cooler to keep a few things in.

How important is it to check in early at ASMu? We're going to spend our arrival day in Cocoa Beach, if it's sunny--at least a few hours' worth of it. I hate to drive from the airport to ASMu, check in, and then turn around and drive right back out east to get to Cocoa Beach.

However, we've requested:
1. connecting rooms (guaranteed for families with small children--ressie lists as "guaranteed"
2. nonsmoking (guaranteed for medical reasons--ditto on ressie)
3. king bed in at least 1 room (hey, it's our 10th anniversary trip--we want to be comfortable! )
4. Jazz Inn so MIL doesn't have to push the stroller to Country Fair from bus stop when DS needs a nap--she's 70 and had knee surgery last year, so WDTC has noted those reasons for our request.

With those requests in mind, should we really give up an hour-plus of playtime to go check in early, or can we afford to check in closer to 4-5? (Our flight lands at 11, so we'll be out of the airport by 11:45 or so.) We're not planning on having a long day at the beach, I just want to show everyone where my folks lived when I was born, introduce DS to the beach, have lunch, and head back to Disney. Advice?

Also, I've heard on other newsgroups that the room request fax is now a big no-no. Supposedly because the requests get sent to the controller on the reservations, faxes are redundant and have become a bother. The CMs don't want to see them anymore. However, the last time I followed that advice, none of my room requests made it to the room controller (even though they were on the ressies--I checked). Luckily, we were able to get what we wanted . With that in mind, what do you suggest? I see some guests write cute little poems tothe controller--do you think that helps? Now I'm really confused! Should I fax? Should I check in early? Should I call when I'm leaving the airport to check to see whether I get a fridge? I need some real advice here!

Thanks much--

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

Also, do king rooms ALL come with fridges, or just some of them? I definitely want either a fridge or we'll get a small cooler to keep a few things in.

Fridges at the Value resorts are not free like they are in the moderates and deluxes, there is a per-night fee of around $11 per night.

 

[LiteBrite]

From my personal experiences:

Staying at All Star Music, Jazz section. The only things we requested were Jazz, and 2 connecting rooms. What we got was a king bed room and a room with 2 doubles. The king bed room was handicapped accessible, so it automatically had a little fridge in it. We did not ask for the fridge, nor were we charged for it. If you didn't think to open any of the doors in the storage unit (drawers), you might miss the fridge, since it was hiding behind what looked like a drawer front!

No promises that you'll get any of this, but at least you know it all exists at ASMu, and in the jazz section. By the way, this exact scenario happened on 2 different trips.

 

[kath1210]

We made all of the same requests that you did, plus non-pool side, for our October trip and all of them were granted. However, we did check in around 10 a.m. If your room requests are important, I'd check in first. I have heard more than one story of people checking in late and not getting their "guaranteed" connecting rooms (handicapped parents, etc.). Our rooms and locations were VERY important to us, so we checked in early.

We had a king HA room connected to a room with two doubles in Jazz. We loved the room and the location. We also LOVED ASMu. Have a great trip!

 

[Piglet99645]

We just got home from ASMu, where we had two rooms with 3 adults and one child. All I asked for was a King and both non-smoking. What we got was all doubles in connecting rooms, non-smoking. (I didn't even request connecting rooms). We were in building 7 which is Broadway - WAY out there. I had no idea how far it would be, but we're all healthy and could walk. (Next time I would pay extra to be closer, tho).

I was disappointed about the King, but my TA did tell me that it was highly unlikely that I would get one at this resort, as the Values have very few Kings, so I wasn't surprised. I checked in at Noon on a Tuesday, and NO KINGS. (Of course, the CM seemed sort of incompetent, but it wasn't that big of a deal). I must say, I'm surprised that those beds were doubles, b/c they seemed more like Queens. I wouldn't stress about the King unless you are larger folks....

I didn't have a fridge, and had to request a hair dryer. The room was very clean.

Hope that helps a little.

Piglet