Here is a list of differences between the two resorts.
Pop is newer.
Pop was built in 2003.
All Star Movies was built in 1999.
All Star Sports and Music were built in 1994.
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All Star Music is undergoing a refurbishment of all of the rooms and is slated to be completed by June 2007.
The Calypso and Jazz buildings are completed and the last I heard they are working on the Broadway Buildings.
DH and I stayed in a refurbished room last September.
We really liked it.
They even have a privacy curtain by the vanity - closet area just like the mods!
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
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All Star Sports is slated to be refurbished between June and November of 2007.
Pop has a lake. The All Stars do not have a lake.
When staying at the All Stars you use any of the All Stars pools.
The 3 All Stars are within easy walking distance of each other.
The gift shops are separate from the food court at the All Stars.
The gift shop and food court are combined at Pop.
Pop has 2,880 guest rooms. 4 floors in each building.
Each of the All Stars has 1,960 rooms. 3 floors in each building.
Both Pop and the All Star rooms are 260 square feet.
The beds at the All Stars are movable.
the beds at Pop at bolted to the floor.
The far bed at an All Star is closer to wall. And the near bed is not as close to the doorway as it is at Pop
The far bed at Pop is pulled away from the wall more. The near bed is closer to door.
http://allearsnet.com/acc/asmv59.jpg
http://allearsnet.com/acc/popcent56.jpg
For most people that would not make a difference but since I need an
ECV
the bed being so near the door at Pop makes it more difficult for me to back my EVC in.
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The buses are wonderful.
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!)
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POOLS
The pools at The All Stars are very kid friendly.
When staying at the All Stars you can use any of the All Star pools.That means 3 main pools ,3 quiet pools and 3 kiddie pools to chose from.
The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.
The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.
And the Surfs up pool at All Star Sports has giant surf boards.
Here are a few pool photos.
All Star Sports pool.
All Star Music Donald pool.
All Star Movies Mickey Pool.
Have fun at Disney wherever you choose to stay!
