beating a dead horse

[Elbow642]

I tried searching this topic, but now that my eyes are crossed,
i thought i would ask you lovely people again.

I booked our trip for may 3-10 at POP, however, i had not seen photos of ASMovies....well, my daughter about had a heart attack when she saw the giant buzz and woody statues outside, not to mention the bedspreads and wallpaper border in the rooms.

I reserved POP because of the newness and the 3 pools and the seperate busses, plus the bar is a nice touch.

Now if you were me, and this trip is for her 4th birthday, would you keep the pop ressie or change it to movies? We will have a car, so would it be just as easy to drive to the parks? Also the bar is nice, but we seriously would not spend that much for a beer when we can have a whole cooler full in our room.
Two pools? Is that an issue, i mean do they get extremely crowded?
Also, when i searched this issue, i saw a post mentioning tv size and safe size, the tv i don't care about, but is the safe large enough for a laptop?

I think that is all i can think of, but please, if there is something i missed, no matter how trivial it is, let me know.

Thanks mucho!!

 

[MagicKingdom05]

Elbow642,

I would say that since the trip is for her 4th birthday, go ahead and make the change, but keep it a surprise. That way when you drive up to the resort, she will not know that you are staying there until you get out of the car.

 

[ms.ojo]

We celebrated my sons 4th bday there and it was wonderful!!! Tell them at check-in and on her special day there will be balloons and a card from her favorite Disney character. The Fantasia pool is very nice, and there is another quiet pool though we never used it. Since Toy Story is her fav. be sure to request a room in one of those bldgs. It was so much fun to walk out each morning and see the big Woody & Buzz!!! Bus svc from there is wonderful. Only a couple of times did our busses actually share w/ the other AStar hotels. Usually, we had our own bus.

The food court is very good too. In fact, our kids are now 5 and 2 and although I'd like to see what a moderate is like...we're having a hard time leaving ASMo. It's just great value, lots of fun, and very good transportation!

If you have any other questions, just ask. We love the resort.

 

[snyderla]

I don't think a laptop will fit in the safe in either PC or ASMo. I've stayed in both and I definetly prefer PC. After staying in AS resorts, I had told DH I wouldn't ever want to stay at a value resort again( tons of people and lots of noise, plus I can't work the toilets-you have to push in a button on top of them- due to my RA), then we stayed at PC and I really like that place, however, If my 4 year old grand daughter wanted to stay there for her birthday, I would stay there for her, but she is my little angel, LOL!!!

 

[MNmom]

We loved the ASMo too!! THe theme is great, the pools were not overly crowded and we spent a few dollars at the pool bar too!! Sorry I can't remember about the safe...we never used it.

Have FUN!!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I'm going to differ with the others here... The POP is so cute and it's newer - the lake is wonderful, the lounge and pool bar are great..as is the food court. There are so many cute icons at POP - Lady and the Tramp, Mickey, Goofy, The Jungle Book characters and more...pop water jets for the munchkins! It really is such a fun place and she will probably love it when she sees everything. Oh! And those cute Mickey wrapped soaps and shampoo rather then the dispensers at Allstars!

With a car it would be easy to visit Movies, then you'd be at the POP but she could enjoy both!

Kids are soo great and so flexible! When they see any of the icons they are delighted!

Maybe you could be sure to do other special things for her birthday? Order something from WDW Florist? They have fun gifts too not only flowers. A special dessert? There are some really cutes ones at POP.

I am pretty sure I read here that a laptop can fit in the POP safe. It was made for that - nothing else will fit with it though! The safe is tall, wide, but not real deep. We've stayed there twice and hading back in April.

Wherever you stay it will be special for her - after all, she'll be at Disney for her birthday!!!! And you'll make it special too!!

Have a great time!

 

[kerri0616]

Keep in mind that just because you book ASMo, you are in no way guaranteed a room in the Toy Story section. A few years ago we went in the off-season and they couldn't get us in to Toy Story, and we ended up in Dalmatians.

The parks were quite empty, so I was really doubtful that all of the Toy Story rooms were booked.

Just a word of caution.

Have a wonderful trip either way.

Kerri

 

[tinan]

I am a newbie here, but if it was for her 4th birthday, I would make the switch. I know when my daughter was that age she wanted to stay in the Dalmation section. Well as it turned out, this will be our first year down and both of my daughters and husband wants to stay at the CS. I, on the other hand, would prefer POR as it appeals to me more than CS. Since I am the minority, we are compromising by staying at CS and we'll visit POR on one of our days off.

 

[DissyLove]

I am sure POP is newer and nicer, but we took our son to AS Movies when he was 4, requested the Toy Story wing, and our little Buzz Lightyear fan was thrilled! Just make sure if you make the switch that you can get in the "wing" you want (Toy Story, Fantasia, etc...)

 

[floridagirrl2]

Having stayed recently at ASMo (January 2005) ands POP (October 2004), DH and I commented on how remarkably similar the resort are.

Yes, POP is newer, but the theming/icons are very similar, the rooms are very similar, the food courts are very similar, etc. While we were not unhappy with the POP's transportation, we thought the All Stars transportation was much better.

There is not enough difference in the resorts to really think one is "better" than the other--it's just a matter of personal preference. If your daughter loves Toy Story, I wouldn't hesitate to switch.

 

[Leota]

FYI - I've never seen a Disney safe large enough for a laptop & we've stayed primarily at deluxes.

If it's her birthday trip & since the cost is the same, I'd switch for her & request the Toy Story bldg. You might not get it, or you might have to wait for a room in that bldg, but I'd try.....

 

[Elbow642]

thanks again, everyone!! We have has a horrible virus around here, and i didn't get a chance to get back to my threads.

I went ahead and booked asmo, but now am pondering splitting them up. Do they look favorably on that? I have a AAA discount now, if a general code comes out, can i apply that to both resorts? If not, it is not a big deal, i think both will be fine. I also decided to do what Jason said, i changed it, but didn't tell Sophie, so she will be very surprised and excited!

Thanks again for all the responses, i appreciate it!

 

[Abba98]

Hi,glad you're feeling better.At first I was going to say to switch to ASM which you've done,but your split idea isn't a bad one.However,after thinking a bit, would just stay at movies cuz it's hard to move ,especially with a little one......
We split our trip last time between Pop Century and Old Key West,and it was okay,but some time was lost in the move.....
And,also I wouldn't split if I were you because the 3 All Stars resorts are side by side,and you can walk from one to the other.If you want to go to POP,it's only a short drive.
There,got my 2 cents in.No matter where you stay,you'll have a great time with .......
Have fun,and enjoy the magic!
Kirsten in Nova Scotia

 

[bytheblood]

Keep in mind that just because you book ASMo, you are in no way guaranteed a room in the Toy Story section.

Just what I was going to say!

 

[5kwallace]

My 3 year old is a HUGH Toy Story fan. We have stayed at ASMovies twice Both stays were in value season. We requested Toy Story section each time but were put in Dalmations and Love Bug. Quite disappointing. Apparently, everyone wants the Toy Story section. If you switch, I hope that you have better luck.

 

[celtick8]

This thread has been very helpful to me as well. I want to try POP but am torn between there and movies. Dh and I stayed at ASM on Honeymoon and would like to try the new one. My question is if you stay at one All star are you able to use the other all star's ammenties? I know the dreaded pool hopping is probably out, but I thought they are all the same resort?

 

[Elbow642]

i am trying not to get my hopes up on the toy story section, i know my luck, and i know we will not get it. I think even if we are in another section, the huge buzz, woody, army men and all that other stuff outside will be enough for her. Also, isn't there a section in the hotel called "andy's room"? What is that, a play area?

She is a lot more interested in seeing Jessie at MGM...now if that doesn't happen, i will be dissapointed....if anyone has any related stories or hints, i would be most interested in hearing them.

 

[DisnyMama]

All Star Movies!!!

 

[WDWLVR]

Glad you made the switch - I think she will love it. Having only seen pictures of Pop if we were to go to a value resort again it would be AS Movies. We did it back in 2000 and really enjoyed it. We had asked for the Love Bug section but ended up in Toy Story. I was a little disappointed at the time (we got in really really late) but the next morning found out why - the Love Bug section was full of - glad they didn't honor our request!

As for the pools - I think the two at Movies were the best themed (Fantasia and Mighty Ducks). We took a walk one night to the other two All Stars and we could have easily used thier pools etc.

Overall I like the themeing at All Stars better then Pop. Of course at some time in the future we'd like to stay everyone on site so I'm sure we'll get there some day.

 

[agnes!]

When we were just at WDW, we stayed at both Pop and at Wilderness Lodge. The safes at Pop are *bigger* than the safes at WL! (Pop's safe might fit a laptop, but WL *definitely* won't.)
If you are concerned about your laptop security, get a locking security cable & thread it through/around something fairly immoveable(like a large, heavy piece of furniture). That might not definitely stop *all* possible laptop thievery, but it just might. I have read that most room thefts are crimes of opportunity...someone walks by a room that Housekeeping is cleaning, door ajar? no-one in there just then? ooooo, look at that nice wallet/laptop/Gameboy just laying out on the table *in plain sight*!!! ...so anything one can do that slows the process down is good. Putting valuables in the room safe and taking the safe key with you when you leave, hiding/locking down any larger valuables...you get the idea.

agnes!
PS - Make sure that when you enter the parks, you pick up a "Happy Birthday" button at the front gate. (At MK, it will be at City/Town Hall, on the left after you go through the 'tunnel'. Not sure where you pick them up at the other parks.) If you are there before your DD's birthday, get the button early...that way when she wakes up on her special day she can have the button on as she goes out from the resort.
During our last trip, I made a point to try to wish people a 'Happy Birthday!' whenever I saw one of those buttons.
Have a wonderful time !