Calling all Value Experts!!!

[littleprincessmom]

The DIS has never steered me wrong before and I'm back seeking advice !

My mom and i have decided today to "surprise" DD8 and DD5 with a quick trip to Orlando at the end of January to visit WDW and see Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana in concert!

In the past, we've typically stayed at the deluxe resorts. But the old credit card bills rolled in for December today and YIKES - thinking a value is in our future if this is going to happen!

I have always been intrigued by the POP - but my girls LOVE music as well as movies. Price is basically the same and all are (currently) available for our dates! Can you please tell me:

POP, All Star Movies or All Star Music??? Which would you choose and WHY?

We already know that the experience won't be the same as a deluxe and that is fine - we are looking forward to trying something new and we spend almost all of our time in the parks or resort hopping to eat anyway! Thanks!

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I would choose music, but I only have personal experience with music, movies, and sports, not POP. Music has some quiet, green spaces in between the buildings. The pool is fun, it has some character statues who shoot off jets of water into the pool. The Music gift shop is always well stocked with food (which is important to me since I like to eat cheaply in my room for breakfast, they have things like bread which Sports does not). Also, the Music just seems to be great theming for the Hannah concert. It can be a musically themed trip.

I have no idea if you care about touring resorts or have a lot of time on your hands, but we always enjoyed taking little walks between the all star resorts and looking at all the big character statues. I think from Music to Sports is about a two minute walk, and maybe 5 or less from Music to Movies.

 

[mrsmom]

I have stayed at the values, mods and deluxes, and of all the values i would choose pop. Because the food court it better and service than the other values and never had any problems with the bus service last May, and my dd and i will be there at the end of jan too.
Kim

 

[skipperkim]

I've stayed at Pop. The reason we choose it was because it doesn't share bus services with other resorts. We only ate one meal at the food court, so I can't really say much about it. (WDW isn't someplace to get pizza at.)

 

[HANDYMOM]

I think at 8 and 5, your kids would both enjoy Pop, whereas only your 5 year old might enjoy Movies.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I would go with whichever theme you think they may like best. SInce you are wanting to include a music concert in your trip, ASMu would be in theme.
However, not sharing busses with other resorts is a plus!

 

[Shmily1]

I've stayed at POP about 10 times and Music last week. We have always loved POP and the food court is good, but the fun we had this past week at Music was wonderful! The food court was busy where you pay, but no where else. We never had to share the bus when we were there. The decorations were great! Until breakfast, we ddin't know anyone else except for those in the pool were there. Basically, they are all fun. It just depends on what you want to see what little time you ae in the resort.

Oh, and even though I've stayed at Value, Mod, and Deluxe, I still have a great time!!

 

[blue_eyes5212]

I like the idea of the music themed trip!! I'm not a POP fan because it is so hectic at all hours. To me, music seems calmer and like the best value for a retreat away from the craziness of the parks!

 

[littleprincessmom]

Great points all! Ok, I think we've ruled out AS Movies...so...

Are there other differences in POP and AS Music that you can direct me to?

Has either been recently renovated? updated?

Do both play music?

Do both have frozen cokes (my girls LOVE!)?

Are beds/bedding more comfortable in one than the other or about the same?

thanks!

 

[JoyMouse]

I know that POP has frozen Cokes (we love it too ) and not having to share a bus line makes me want to say that POP wins out over ASM. I don't think that you can go wrong with either... We will be at POP on the 19th and I can't wait!!

 

[Shmily1]

ASMusic was recently renovated and the beds and pillows were great. Not sure about the frozen cokes though I did see several drink places around. Music is a bit smaller than POP so if you don't get preferred at either, the walk could be a little bit, but not too much, farther at POP. At POP, you just have to know where to cut through to make the route shorter.

 

[kaysmommie]

I've stayed at POP about 10 times and Music last week. We have always loved POP and the food court is good, but the fun we had this past week at Music was wonderful! The food court was busy where you pay, but no where else. We never had to share the bus when we were there. The decorations were great! Until breakfast, we ddin't know anyone else except for those in the pool were there. Basically, they are all fun. It just depends on what you want to see what little time you ae in the resort.

Oh, and even though I've stayed at Value, Mod, and Deluxe, I still have a great time!!

I have to ask, where are you staying next? I had the same debate between Pop ans ASMu and I changed to Pop since their will be some school groups there over Spring Break. I like the theme of Pop better but music will proabably be better for us since we are used to deluxe and quietness. The bed thing though makes me want to stay at Music since I can't take a hard bed.

 

[cheebiecat]

Having stayed at both Music and Pop, my vote would go for Pop. Here are the reasons:

1) Frozen coke in Food Court.
2) Pop is more centrally located than Music (that is, easier/quicker access to more of the parks).
3) Icons at Pop are more kid-friendly than at Music.
4) Food court has a bigger variety of "to go" items such as sandwiches and desserts.

That being said, though, ASMusic *is* very nice as well, and the idea of a music-themed weekend sounds like fun! So you can't go wrong either way...I hope that you all have a great time!

 

[littleprincessmom]

Thank you all! I still haven't decided but have a self imposed deadline of Wednesday!

Great info and I appreciate it!!!

 

[only1alexa]

I've stayed at all three and ASMusic is my favorite. It's the latest to be refurbished and I thought the rooms were the nicest of the three. I like the booth seating available in the foodcourt, the pool, and the service. The CM's at ASMu were the nicest I've met too. You can also walk right over to ASMo from there if you want to see the icons.

On the other hand , the icons in POP would appeal to most age groups and the food court is bigger too.

 

[Disney Spaz]

We just came back from ASMu and I have to say they win out over POP every time for us. When we were at POP we could see a big highway from our 3rd floor room and the design of the food court through the shop I found to be extra noisey and distracting. The bus service was better at POP because they don't share buses but I must say the beds were more comfortable and the ASMu felt more relaxed to me then the POP. I also like the idea of an all music themed trip but that's just me.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We prefer POP, the foodcourt is better (it's the only value with the frozen cokes) and you don't share buses.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We've stayed at ASMo and Pop, and we like both. We're probably going to try ASMu on our next trip, I've heard a lot of good things about it. We like Pop, but it's seemed more crowded both times we've stayed there. They don't share buses, but there are almost as many rooms as there are in the AS together, so it all evens out.

I guess I'm no help!

 

[CJK]

Just chiming in my 3 cents!

I've also stayed at all 3, and my favourite is POP. Someone mentioned all the perks of POP on a previous page in this thread. I just thought I'd add a couple others.

From the 50's section of POP, you can see the fireworks in Epcot! You can't hear the music, but it's still a good view (especially from the 4th floor).

Another perk of POP is the little lake. It's lovely taking an evening stroll along the path and bridge. I'm a runner, so I loved my morning runs before most guests had woken up.

Whatever you choose, you'll have a great time!

 

[clkelley]

I've stayed at all four values, and to me Music is my favorite. We haven't stayed there since the remodel, but have seen pictures and the new decor looks great!!

PoP is cool, but the sheer size of the resort makes transportation leaving the parks a nightmare to us.

Even an hour after park closing the lines for the buses to PoP were miserable!!!!!

One night even an hour after evening EMH, leaving MK the line was really, really, long. (This was at 2 in the morning!!!!)

(This was in September for free dining when POP was totally sold out).