Brits ideas on All Stars

[Elaine Guidi]

I have posted this on the Disney resort board but thought I'd get some ideas from Brits who have visited the All Stars, particulary those who have booked through Virgin, and during October half-term (Scotland).

We have just decided with friends to possibly visit Florida Oct 06 (well in advance I know, but thats the soonest we can go). My family have visited Feb 03 and stayed La Quinta Inn. Our friends have never been. Kids will be 14, 12, 9 and 8 (the 12 and 9 year old belong to me) when we visit.

Because we have never stayed at a Disney resort we thought this would be a good opportunity but budget will be restricted to All Stars prices. Would appreciate any info from previous visitors to this resort, anything goes from trivial to important.

And a trivial question from me, can you choose which All-stars you stay at ie movies, sport or music if you book with Virgin.

Thanks for any input

 

[Miffy2003]

Hi Elaine,

Yes you can choose which resort you want if you book through Virgin.

We spent 2 weeks at All Star Movies with Virgin before Christmas and we LOVED it. The rooms are smallish (I was concerned before we went they would be the size of a rabbit hutch but there was plenty of room for 2 adults and 2 children aged 8 & 5).

The resort is very lovely, with the larger than life Disney images. Lots to wander round and look at. We loved the convenience of the Disney buses. The food court was fine - quite good choices at reasonable prices. We saved a fortune by having refillable mugs. There is a good shop here with a lot of "gift" stuff but not much in the grocery department.

The pool areas were good, with a small kids' play area. The pool bar was pleasant and served nice (albeit pricey) cocktails The resort is immaculate in a typically Disney way; we would not hesitate to return and frankly for the cost of the room we thought it was extremely good value for money.

We loved the Movies themeing but if you aren't bothered about the theme, I would go for Sports simply because when the resorts share a bus, you get picked up / dropped off first.

If you have any more questions, please ask!

Karen

 

[Miffy2003]

Sorry, meant to also say don't forget Pop Century which will be the same price as the All Stars. I've never stayed here but it looks great in the photos I've seen!

 

[vernon]

Hi Elaine, you don't mention how long you're staying for. That may be a consideration.

When I stayed at the All Star, I thought it was more than adiquate for families with one child, two smaller kids or for a short (up to 5 day stay). For families with two or more older/larger kids staying for longer I think the lack of space might become an issue. It had a good pool area and the food court was more than up to the task of feeding the family, although I think for a longer stay it could get a little "samey".

If you're looking to visit for 2 weeks would you be spending all your time on Disney ( I'd guess not). In which case are you paying extra for a location that you're not using to the maximum? You could probably afford to try a moderate resort for one week and book a cheaper hotel off site (maybe I-Drive to visit IOA,US and SW) for one week. An other option/cheaper would be book a 4/5 bedroom villa to all share for the off site week, this should free up some money to spend on kicking up your Disney experience a notch or two.

 

[Dimplenose]

I love the All Star Resorts. I've stayed at the Sport resort twice, both times during August, and both for two weeks. Each time we had one room for the 4 of us. The reason we're not going there for our next trip is that our son is now a tall 14 year old and our daughter is 11, so with a stroppy teenager and an even stroppier pre-teen I think we need the space a villa will give us.

I couldn't fault the hotel it was everything we needed. The food court was a hit with our family. Plenty of choice and a very easy going atmosphere. The prices weren't too bad either. The pools were good. The laundrette was convenient. It was easy to walk across the car parks to visit the other All Star resorts when we wanted to explore. We didn't use the buses much, but they were particularly good after the MK fireworks as we avoided the crush on the monorail and queue to get out of the car park.

I loved the resorts and am a little sad we're not going back there this year.

Libby

 

[gilld]

We have stayed at all three All Stars, a total of 4 stays. We thought they were very good. As we have three children, we always had two adjoining rooms so I'm not sure how it would be with four of you in a room - could you put the four kids in a room of their own - possibly adjoining one of the adult rooms? But then, the thought of sharing a room with children isn't appealling to me whatever the size of room! It's something we stopped doing once our second was born when the eldest was nearly two!

The theming is wonderful, it's so convenient for everything and you feel "part of it all". I'd say go for it, but not all in two rooms if possible. For me the choice of which All Stars - it would have to be Movies, then Sport and last of all Music, which for some reason I liked less. Have a great time planning.

 

[stevechase]

Hi

we stayed in April 2002 for 3 weeks, me my wife and our 2 girls, one was 5 and the other was nearly 3 when we went. It was amazing, ok so I would love to stay at the AK lodge, but it cost us with Virgin 3500.00 for the 3 weeks inc ultimate park hopper. The hotel grounds were superb, food was great (although very american, we all loved it) wandering round the other buildings, we stayed at the movies, the kids got soaked by the love bug water sprayers.

My own advice would be go for as long as you can afford. We did not bother with a car and by doing that almost covered the cost of the 3rd week.

Dont worry abt the rooms, smallish, immaculate and clean and be completely cocooned in Disney

We will go back next year and stay at the movies again, if we can sort out the rooms, there are now 5 of us, and Josh who will only be 2 and a half will be too old for a cot.

Have a great time, let me know if you want to pick my brains again.

Steve
stevechase@blueyonder.co.uk

 

[Funky_dino]

Hello. Me and my parents stayed at the All Star music one last year and it was really nice. The grounds were increadibly tidy, The pools were brilliant, life guards on duty until late in the evening. And at night there was hardly any noise at all, which was good. And everyone was very friendly, the food was pretty good as well which a good variety. The only thing is if you don't have our own transport you could restricted as to what you do, although with the disney buses etc you can still get around to other places.

 

[Hilary]

We love the All Stars resort!

We had a week at ASMovies and had no problem with the four of us (DDs were 11 and 16 at the time) in the room, although we'd also been concerned it may be a bit small. The themeing is really fun and it seems to appeal to all ages.

Ifyou plan to spend most of your time in the Disney parks, I don't think you can beat staying on-site. As others have said, there are more luxurious resorts in WDW but, All Stars gives you a lot of Disney for a lot less cash!

 

[Madjock]

Another thumbs up from me. We have stayed at the AS Movies twice now both times in October. We plan on trying the Port Orleans next time we visit just for a change but if our budget gets limited we would have no hesitation on staying at an AS resort again. We were 2 adults and 2 children and found the rooms fine, the food court was much better last year than the previous year and the only complaint I can think of was the pool was too cold, for me that is, I like warm water, but it didn’t stop the kids using it and having a great time.

Annmarie

 

[ear_poppin]

As you can see from my signature I have stayed all over the place in Disney ...but I still love the All Stars as well! When we go next Oct 06 I might try and sneak a couple of days back at the All Stars Movies. We have some wonderful memories there and I would like to go back and visit it again!

Ok the rooms are a little on the small side but who cares!! As long as you pack only what you need everything else is just great. Staying on site things are " Disney clean" its a cleanness that they seem to get over some of the other off site hotels I have stayed in!!

Denise

 

[paulh]

we usaly stay a couple of nights at the all star movies which we think is the best of the 3 all stars pop abot the same but for the younger ones movies best allays ask to se if they can fit you in buzzlightyear close to food court which is the better of the 3 we like to have a pizza and a 6 pack under the movie real.Check on the disney web site for offers they are about most of the time can work out rack rate £54.00 to discounts at £40.00 per night per room for 4
Paulh

 

[MsPennieLane]

I haven't stayed at the All Stars but I'd highly recommend Pop Century if that's the price bracket you are looking at. It's a fun resort with some great icons. The kids love playing Twister and playing in the water fountain areas, plus the Hippy Dippy Pool in the 60s area is always very popular. The food court, for me, has a nice variety of food, the shop is great too. Whatever you decide, you'll have a great time staying on-site, it's great.

Anz

 

[marlouwrig]

We stayed for two weeks in AS Movies on our first ever trip to Florida.

Myself, DH, DS 16 & DS 12.

Yes we could have wished for a little more space - but that did not stop us having a fantastic holiday. Its a wonderful resort.