ASMusic for the first time....a little nervous!

[Sammy]

Hey all....

Because this trip was booked at the last minute, and is of the "strict budget" variety, we booked two rooms at Music for the end of this month.

I have heard good things about Music, but I have to tell you: DH and I stayed at POP during free dining last September and we were a little shell-shocked by the experience. I have never seen so many people in one resort in my life!! And navigating the food court in the mornings was a nightmare...I felt like I should be wearing combat gear trying to get coffee!! I don't know if this is the same at all the value resorts, or if it was just POP.

I've been doing some research on Music and it seems like it's usually quieter than POP...? More landscaping and shade...? How is the food court?? Unfortunately, we are arriving late at night (around 10pm), so I'm also nervous that we'll get stuck out in some far-away corner of the resort.

We have been to WDW many times, so this will not be a park commando vacation....but more of a "hang around the resort", so I want to be sure we actually can relax at Music.

I'd love to hear your experiences at Music, and why you like it! Make me feel better about staying here!!

 

[glitzybabes]

Yeah. I think that Pop was a Lot busier than Music. We stayed at Music last free dining and Pop the time before that. This year I booked Music again. I liked Music a Lot better. Pop has about 1000 more room than any of the other values but not really a bigger food court area. So that is why it was so much busier.

When we checked in, our room was already pick out before we got there. So I would not worry about your room location. You can call and request which building and floor you want to stay on. This year we are going to try the Rock Building.

 

[cheerforchelsea]

I liked the AS Music resort - a lot less hectic than POP. I was checking out of POP last year on the first day of Free Dining --- it was the first time in my life that I was GLAD TO BE LEAVING DISNEY - it was a madhouse!!

 

[typhoonlagooner]

DH and I stayed at POP during free dining last September and we were a little shell-shocked by the experience. I have never seen so many people in one resort in my life!! And navigating the food court in the mornings was a nightmare...I felt like I should be wearing combat gear trying to get coffee!! I don't know if this is the same at all the value resorts, or if it was just POP.

This sounds exactly like our situation...

In January of 07 we stayed at Pop for the first time based on the rave reviews I read here. This was our first value stay... and boy was I disapointed. We didn't even feel the "disney difference" and we dreaded coming back to the resort at night.

We both agreed that we liked what the values had to offer for the price but Pop just didn't "do it" for us. We booked ASmu for that September under the FD promotion and what a complete 180! As soon as we walked into the room we felt like we had already recieved twice as much for our money compared to Pop.

I've been doing some research on Music and it seems like it's usually quieter than POP...?

We found this to be the case. But it depends on what you consider "quiet" to be. The resort was by no means deserted but had so much more of a "relaxing" feel compared to Pop. It was very laid back and I preferred the layout of ASmu. It has so much more of a "resort" feel compared to Pop in our opinion.

More landscaping and shade...?

I found the grounds in general to be a lot more attractive and lush... especially "behind" the buildings. Pop was a concrete wonderland in my opinion... everything was so flat and rarely was there even a tree! Not the case at ASmu by any means. I'd say the courtyards were a little on the "bare side" (especially for Rock Inn and Broadway) but still lush and attractive in their each respective theme.

How is the food court??
We preferred the offerings compared to Pop and found it to be alot more "quieter" than Pop. It's showing it's age to an extent but we prefer the layout and overall seating area... it's set to the side rather than "surrounding" the food stations like at Pop. It's still a busy food court at peak times... but we never found it to be nearly as busy as Pop. Since the gift shop is seperate at ASmu, we also found that it cut down on noise and foot traffic.

Unfortunately, we are arriving late at night (around 10pm), so I'm also nervous that we'll get stuck out in some far-away corner of the resort.

We booked a preferred room and I would highly recommend it if your looking for more of a relaxing vacation... or requesting a room in the Jazz section if you decide to stay standard. We loved our room location and how easy it was to get a cup of coffee or lounge pool side.

We overall loved ASmu and can no longer justify the cost of a moderate. We had great transportation and rarely shared a bus. We always ask for a 3rd floor room and never had an issue with neighbors. The poolside nightly movies were so much fun and we loved coming back in the afternoon to music playing, life guards and kids playing games, and overall more of a "resort" feeling that we're used to with Disney.

I know for us.. ASmu trumps Pop big time... we weren't disapointed.

 

[Sammy]

Oh YAY!!!! Thanks for all the good reviews everyone!!! You've eased my mind a great deal! I think I'll take typhoonlagooner's advice and try to switch to a preferred room. I really don't want to end way out in the Country Fair area.

Woo Hoo!!! We're going to Disney World!

 

[typhoonlagooner]

Oh YAY!!!! Thanks for all the good reviews everyone!!! You've eased my mind a great deal! I think I'll take typhoonlagooner's advice and try to switch to a preferred room. I really don't want to end way out in the Country Fair area.

Like I said... we absolutely loved our location. Here are a few pics to show how close we were to everything... and these pictures make it look further away than it really was! We never had to go past Calypso... not once. It was less than 90secs from our door to the beverage station in the food court...

0802... view out from room around 7:30a. Pool, Laundry, Main Building...

Trees blocking Main Building entrance...

 

[Goofy22]

We stayed hear last April during Easter/Spring Break! We paid for standard and requested Jazz and we recvd our request! We also were very close to the piano pool! Very laid back and nice resort it is a nice mixture of Young , Midlle aged, Old and Families! And the atmosphere there is more like a moderate I think because of all the landscaping etc.. I stayed at both Pop and ASMu and both were equally busy! We loved both!

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

I have heard good things about Music, but I have to tell you: DH and I stayed at POP during free dining last September and we were a little shell-shocked by the experience. I have never seen so many people in one resort in my life!! And navigating the food court in the mornings was a nightmare...I felt like I should be wearing combat gear trying to get coffee!! I don't know if this is the same at all the value resorts, or if it was just POP.

I've been doing some research on Music and it seems like it's usually quieter than POP...?

I'd love to hear your experiences at Music, and why you like it! Make me feel better about staying here!!

DH and I went to POP last September for our Anniversary - not knowing it was during FD. It turned out to be the most miserable experience we have ever had on Disney property. I don't believe I've ever seen so many people crammed into one resort & so many rude, unsupervised kids in my life!! (and I live in a beach community). After this unmagical experience we decided to switch to ASMu for our January trip. What a fantastic trip!!

We booked a standard room & lucked out with a great room in the Jazz Building. First floor at the end of a row of suites, newly refurbished, loved the curtain between the sink & the room. So quiet we could get to sleep with no trouble at night & never heard the early birds getting out bright and early in the morning. Loved the food court - better selections than POP and we always managed to get a seat (which we didn't at POP). Loved the poolside activities for the kids and families. I thought that was a really nice idea.

Enjoy yourselves.............we absolutely loved it!!

 

[Pixiedust34]

How far of a walk is it from Country Fair to the food court and bus stops?

 

[glitzybabes]

How far of a walk is it from Country Fair to the food court and bus stops?

Country Fair is about a 3 or 4 minute walk. I would say.

 

[G's mommy]

Music is our favorite of the values. We'll be staying there in May before and after our stay at the Beach Club Villas.

 

[maxiesmom]

Oh YAY!!!! Thanks for all the good reviews everyone!!! You've eased my mind a great deal! I think I'll take typhoonlagooner's advice and try to switch to a preferred room. I really don't want to end way out in the Country Fair area.

Woo Hoo!!! We're going to Disney World!

Not trying to be the Voice of doom or anything, but:

My one stay at ASMu I had booked a preferred room. My mom had just had some minor surgery, so I ws trying to get as close to the food court and bus stop as possible. When we checked in (around 730pm) we found we had been placed in Broadway. I was not happy! The CM told me that many people had decided to extend their vacations, so there were no preferred rooms available! So much for being close to the front!

I have read on here too that the same thing has happened to other people. Seems like ASMu overbooks their preferred rooms. I'm not trying to upset you, but you should be prepared. Honestly our walk from Broadway to the main building was still less than 10 minutes. But the fact that I reserved one type of room, but was given another, still ticks me off.

 

[luna99]

We booked a preferred room and I would highly recommend it if your looking for more of a relaxing vacation... or requesting a room in the Jazz section if you decide to stay standard. We loved our room location and how easy it was to get a cup of coffee or lounge pool side.

I've stayed at ASMu twice now and LOVE the jazz area.. especially at night when those purple neon lights come on. I like to sit in that little area with the fountain and just relax. It's my favorite part of ASMu... I've only stayed in the calypso rooms.. but I"m sure the jazz rooms are just the same.

As for the food courts, there will always be people there, but I don't remember it being CRAZY busy ever .. or at least busy enough to really make an impact on me. I think you'll have a great time at ASMu!

 

[Sammy]

Thanks for all the information and comments everyone! I'm so glad to hear all the good things about Music. 24 days and counting!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Hi Sammy! I have plenty of ASMU pics in the first few pages of my trip report....We love it, and the entire family cannot say enough good things about it.....Y'all will be fine....enjoy and have a great trip!

 

[Sammy]

Hi Sammy! I have plenty of ASMU pics in the first few pages of my trip report....We love it, and the entire family cannot say enough good things about it.....Y'all will be fine....enjoy and have a great trip!

Wow! Thanks for the great link to your trip report. I just read through the entire thing and you did wonderful job posting all those pics! It was wonderful to see the pics of ASMusic....thank you!

Sammy