Can't get into ASMo, is the ASMu just as good?

[hopetoseedisney]

This will be our first trip to WDW, and I want it to be magical for our two children who will be 5 and 7. They loved the pictures we have seen for ASMo, and I worry that they will not be as happy with ASMu....we do get an airline employee discount (mostly 50% of almost all WDW resorts) and so we can afford a little better resort, but our priority is how the children will like our room - they are attracted to bright colors and characters. Would you recommend anything else??? I'd like to be centrally located, with some inexpensive, family-oriented food choices nearby. Room size is not a big deal, but I like it to be clean and comfortable. We considered AKL, but I think dh worried it will be too expensive just to sleep and bathe there (we'll probably spend a lot of time at the parks with the exception of our arrival day and one day in between). Thanks in advance for any advice or opinions.

 

[jaysue]

With All-Stars there are no resturants - just a food court. With your significant discounted rate you may want to consider one of the moderates - CSR comes to mind - really nice pool and a good combo of adult and kids orientation.

Having said that most of the posts rank the All Stars: Movies/Sports/Music

Thanks
jaysue

 

[Pig Pen]

Pop Century is due to open in December. Just a thought.

Ages 5 & 7 would love All Stars. We stayed at ASMO and ASMU. I think that as long as Music is their first experience, they will enjoy it. The ASMO pool was under construction when we stayed there so I cannot comment on the pool area, but ASMU had a cute "Three Caballeros" on a little island in the middle of the pool. Kids seemed to adore it.

In my opinion, ASMO food court was a bit larger and better than ASMU. Both resorts felt noisy and chaotic to us, but we are 2 adults w/o kids so maybe we were not accustomed to the activity.

Now, if I were you and could get 50% discount and could afford it, I would stay at a monorail resort or in the Epcot area (BC/BW/YC). The kids may not miss the cutsie theming because they could actually SEE the parks from the resorts. Your food choices would be 10 times better and the convenience cannot be beat. Beach Club's pool is awesome.

 

[Luv2Roam]

We have stayed at ASMo once and ASMu twice.
The AS are very interchangeable. About the only real difference is the theming.
We stayed at ASMu because ASMo wasn't offering room discounts. It's not worth the extra $ to stay at ASMo, unless you are just set on staying there.
The disadvantage to ASMo is the bus set up. If you are sharing busses, ASMo is the last stop coming and going.
If your kids like sports at all, they may even be more happy at ASSp. McD's is right across the (busy) street there.
Other than that, each has the same food court. But they do offer a variety and even though they are busy I have never seen them dirty.
No pool slides, but they have nice kept up pools.
We are big kids and like the AS.

 

[*Fantasia*]

We LOVE ASMo!! But this time...we tried ASSp cause the ASMu was booked, the kids love the ASSp. My son 6 is now into sports so he can relate to those sports icons. And my daugther 4 cheerleader can also relate to it to. We enjoyed ourselves there. Maybe if they like music...they will like ASMu. But I think any All Stars are nice. All are very colorful and has great themeing. The room is pretty much set up the same way. At the ASSp...there is a Mickey court where you can have a nice pix taken there...there is Goofy shooting water from the canon at the Baseball pool. There is the three Donald's nephew playing baseball at the Tennis bld court. And Donald playing tennis right there too. I think this resort is pretty kewl.

I don't think you can get wrong with any of the three choices. I hope you guys have fun!

 

[tampafan]

We have stayed at the All Star Music 7 times, the Sports 4 times and the Movies 1 time (with another visit planned in June). While I admit that a few of our visits to the Music have been because the other resorts were full, we have enjoyed every visit to the Music. In fact, this is the first resort we stayed in and it holds a special place in our hearts. We have stayed in every area, but prefer the Jazz, as it is kind of in the middle of the two pools. Have fun.

 

[CRCrazy]

If you are getting a 50% discount, it may be worth your while to get a garden wing room at the Contemporary.

The rooms are large, bright and colorful. There is the food and fun center - a nice, but rather small food court to get your typical fast food type food. My kids love their cheeseburger baskets. They also sell fruit, yogurt, sandwiches, breakfast items, both hot and cold, etc. The arcade that is beside it is the best resort arcade on property in my opinion.

The concourse level is great fun - monorail access right in the building, great shopping, and of course, Chef Mickey's!!

With kids that age, you will probably spend most of your time at the MK, and you have a couple of options for travel - you can walk there using the little walkway.

We brought our kids there for their first trip and they LOVED it! It's definitely nicer than the motel styling of the All Stars, IMHO.

 

[bobcat]

ASMu is my favorite of the All Stars. As far as characters go the Three Caballeros shoot water from the main pool and there is a statue of Ariel at the quiet pool. It still has that over the top feel with the large music icons.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Ariel has a pretty crazed look in her eyes -- a la Charles Manson. Watch out. Might scare the kids!

 

[eeyore1226]

We began an annual vigil to WDW back in '94 when our little one was four years old. Each year we thought about booking at the All Stars but always ended up with a moderate or deluxe; anyway, she desperately wanted to swim in the piano pool so last May we finally stayed at ASMU for about 4 nights. Unfortunately she got food poisoning and was sick most of the time we were there but did manage to swim in that dang pool once. (we have no idea where she got the bad food by the way - could have been airport food). While she was resting in the room I strolled over to the ASMo resort and the sports too - had a lot of time on my hands. Although we liked the resort well enough the ASMo was just so cute!! Music was cute too and we had a room in the Jazz in which was not too far away from anything but the theming was well...just not to our liking. We wouldn't stay there again but might give the Movies a try sometime - you can't beat the prices. The food courts all looked about the same to me - food was basic cafeteria type stuff except more expensive. Despite the chaos all around us though we spotted bunnies hopping among the landscaping and the resort was very clean and well maintained. Have a great trip and check these boards often - I always learn a lot from others' reviews and tips. Say hi to Mickey for me

 

[pat fan]

We have stayed at the Music and the Movies and 3 out of 4 of us prefer the Music! I think the Music had the better food court and the kids loved the Three caballeros at the pool. If your kids are looking for bright colors,you will find no brighter color than the lime green Calypso building!

 

[KristaTX]

I've stayed at both, and while the rooms and theming were about equal to me, I liked the food court at Movies much better. The food was better and the decor, too.

That said, and assuming you get a nice discount, I'd recommend staying at a moderate for the space, double sinks, and for the food courts. The food courts are bigger and seem to have a few more selections than the All-stars. I've stayed Carribean Beach and at POR. Plusses for CB are the bright colors, tropical theming, sandy beaches (no swimming on beaches), live outdoor Carribean music, and recent refurbishment. POR is our favorite and has a boat to Downtown Disney, which is fun. The grounds are beautiful and more toned down than CB.

I've visited Coronado Springs, and I thought their food court system was confusing. It was sort of like a food court/restaurant combo and we had a "waiter" to tip (anyone feel free to correct me). The food was good, but the food court and theming don't appeal to me.

I think your children would love Carribean Beach, and you and your spouse would find it much more relaxing than the All-Stars.

 

[KristaTX]

One more plus for the moderates: We've checked in early at them every time. Music was very strict in Feb. about the 3:00 check in time. Maybe some people have had other experiences, but that is ours.