Resort Thread Disney's ALL-STAR MOVIES Resort

[jenseib]

Great pictures.

Can someone remind me which buildings are closest to the main pool?

 

[emh1129]

Hi guys.
We just got back from an 11 night stay.
We planned to stay at All Star Movies for the whole 11 nights, but ended up switching after five nights.
First, we have loved Movies in the past. We've stayed there twice (Jan 2007 and Dec 2007).
But this trip was less than magical. We stayed in a preferred room in the Toy Story section and the room was really in need of refurbishment. There was a large stain on the rug, the back of the door hinges were completely rusted over (not a big deal, but certainly not pretty), paint was peeling along parts of the outside building/railings, dust/crumbs in the corners, and things in the room just looked really worn and old.

People were smoking all over the place- completely ignoring the designated smoking sections (this is a problem all over Disney to be sure, but seemed especially bad here).

And there must have been some large foreign groups there because there were teenagers jumping all over the "toys" in Andy's Room courtyard early in the morning- and they were very loud.

The last straw was the black mold that we found in the bathtub, though (or, I should say.. that my 11 month old found ).
So we moved to Port Orleans Riverside and found it much more relaxing.
I wish I could have reported back differently, but this time we just didn't feel the magic there.

I really do love the theming at this resort and hope that they are planning a complete refurbishment in the near future, because we do love the larger-than-life icons throughout this resort.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Great pictures.

Can someone remind me which buildings are closest to the main pool?

Fantasia generally speaking although it could be Dalmations depending on which room you are in; Toy Story is also preferred and not too far away either

 

[mom22bless]

wow....sorry about your experience. Hopefully Toy Story will get a refurb soon. Our room had none of those problems...


Why did you wait 5 days to change though? Did they offer you a new room in a different section? How did they change you to POR during the promotion?

 

[emh1129]

wow....sorry about your experience. Hopefully Toy Story will get a refurb soon. Our room had none of those problems...


Why did you wait 5 days to change though? Did they offer you a new room in a different section? How did they change you to POR during the promotion?

I was willing to overlook the smaller issues- normally we're really not picky. And we so do love this resort. We have such great memories there!
They wanted to move us as soon as we mentioned the mold, but there was no availability due to the marathon. So they moved us as soon as they could.
They offered to come and do a full scrub down of the whole bathroom as soon as it happened, but it was nighttime and we didn't want to smell chemicals as we were going to sleep, so we asked them to wait until the following morning. But they were very quick to take action, which is commendable.
I do have to give credit to All Star Movies, though, their customer service was A+++ and they were so pleasant to deal with.

About moving rooms/resorts- I think because of the way it happened- my 11 month old actually had her fingers in the mold (the bottom side of the soap dish was black- it was covered- and even the corners of the tub had spots here and there)- I was washing my 4 yr old's hair and looked at the baby- who was sitting right next to her- and she had black stuff on her fingers. She's still at the age where everything goes into her mouth, so I was just sick to my stomach when I figured out what it was (I don't think she actually ingested anything, but the thought of it was just yucky). Anyway, because of all that I think they wanted to do something nice and bump us up to a moderate. Everything stayed the same in terms of rates, etc. since it had all been a prepaid package. They apologized profusely and transferred luggage, gave us a taxi voucher, etc. They really took care of the problem.

I do hope they are planning a complete refurbishment. I would love to put this resort back on our list of places to stay in the future.

 

[mom22bless]

Wow that was really nice of them regarding the switch. Housekeeping should have done a better job though. It seems that some crews must do a more thorough job than others do. Do they have different crews for each building?

 

[emh1129]

Wow that was really nice of them regarding the switch. Housekeeping should have done a better job though. It seems that some crews must do a more thorough job than others do. Do they have different crews for each building?

I know they each have their own 'sections' but I don't really know how they split it up. It's a huge resort, so I know things can't be perfect all the time.
Everything worked out in the end, I just now agree with those before me who have mentioned that this resort is in need of a refurbishment. Hopefully that is already in the works, though!

 

[vleeth]

Does anyone know how far in advance they announce they will do a refurb?

 

[vleeth]

bump

 

[disneychick0412]

Does anyone know how far in advance they announce they will do a refurb?

I would like to know this as well!

 

[JBreault]

Really wanted to stay in the Toy Story section for my son's 5th bday in Dec 09 but now I am really rethinking it because of the above post Would LOVE to know if they are planning a refurb!

 

[Bondfan531]

Hi guys.
We just got back from an 11 night stay.
We planned to stay at All Star Movies for the whole 11 nights, but ended up switching after five nights.
First, we have loved Movies in the past. We've stayed there twice (Jan 2007 and Dec 2007).
But this trip was less than magical. We stayed in a preferred room in the Toy Story section and the room was really in need of refurbishment. There was a large stain on the rug, the back of the door hinges were completely rusted over (not a big deal, but certainly not pretty), paint was peeling along parts of the outside building/railings, dust/crumbs in the corners, and things in the room just looked really worn and old.

People were smoking all over the place- completely ignoring the designated smoking sections (this is a problem all over Disney to be sure, but seemed especially bad here).

And there must have been some large foreign groups there because there were teenagers jumping all over the "toys" in Andy's Room courtyard early in the morning- and they were very loud.

The last straw was the black mold that we found in the bathtub, though (or, I should say.. that my 11 month old found ).
So we moved to Port Orleans Riverside and found it much more relaxing.
I wish I could have reported back differently, but this time we just didn't feel the magic there.

I really do love the theming at this resort and hope that they are planning a complete refurbishment in the near future, because we do love the larger-than-life icons throughout this resort.

Sorry you had such a bad experience this time as the movies resort. We stayed there in June 2007 and could not have asked for a better experience. Housekeeping was phenomenal.

 

[tinkermom23]

Hello all-
We are staying at ASMo in April and are very excited. At least I am, kids don't know yet. I love the disboards, I have learned so much! It's amazing all the information a person can get from this place! Anyway, I have a couple questions that maybe someone could help me with??

We are doing a fridge swap, but now I am unsure if there will be room for a fig, along with a stroller, stuff....... everything else in the room. Is there room for a smll fridge to tuck in somewhere or should we skip it?

We are bringing our own pillows (we're all picky about our pillows) but is there anything else that we should really remember for the room? I have a night lite, snacks, little gifts from "tinkerbell", what am I missing?

I have heard about family signs to put on your door, but I am not sure how this would work. I'm sure Disney would not appreciate tape adhesive on their doors. Some people mention magnets, but are the doors metal??

Does everyone leave "mousekeeping" tips for housekeeping? We are not frequent travelers, but we have never left housekeeping a tip before. Resturants & hairdresser yes, but not housekeeping. What do people leave and do you get a cleaner room? better housekeeping? do they make towel animals only if you tip??

One more question, our twins will have been potty trained for almost a year when we visit, but they will be under the age of 3. Will they be required to wear swim diapers at the pool? We visited a water park last month and I had to buy them at the water park for $3 a piece! The kids were not happy to wear them, especially since they don't even use diapers at bedtime!

Thanks for your help/advice. I love the planning part of the trip and I don't want to forget anything.

By the way, did I mention how awesome the Disboards are?????

 

[wishing4PA]

Tinkermom23,
We just got back from ASMo last night and had a great time. I can't answer all of your questions, but will respond to what I can.

We did leave tips for the mousekeepers. I made up daily envelopes ahead of time, and let DD4 decorate them with Disney stickers. DH said what for? What are they going to do aside from bring towels? The one secret I managed to keep before this trip (aside from riding up front in the monorail) was about mousekeeping and the towel animals. Tips aren't supposed to make a difference in whether you get them, from what I hear, but we were happy with mouskeeping in general and so I was glad that we had our envelopes and my only regret is that I didn't fill them with a little bit more. Not related to the tips, but we got animals almost every day, and the one day we didn't, mousekeeping must have been extra busy because our room was cleaned a little later than usual, but still DD's lovies were arranged with the pillows in a nice little setup. There was a bow in the toilet paper and our toiletries were lined up neatly on the sink. We were more than pleased with our mousekeeper. I did find a very tiny bit of mildew on our shower curtain, but we had Clorox wipes with us so I just wiped it off with one swipe. I think it was in a part of the shower curtain that no one would see while cleaning, unless he or she happened to stand inside the shower to clean, so I don't fault our mousekeeper for that. I know how hard it is to keep mildew down in the South. It's a constant battle for me at home.

We did bring our usual car full of "stuff" on this trip. And still fit in the fridge with no problem. We didn't have a stroller, but I think if we could fit in all our junk, anyone could.

The food court is wonderful. I wanted one of those cheese danishes for breakfast this morning, but we're home now.

There's really not much I would change there, other than have them have a few more luggage carts around for those of us that drive down and arrive with stuff scattered around the car (meaning we prefer to do it ourselves rather than have anyone haul up our stuff.) I did ask luggage services to move our fridge swap fridge to the next swapper's room at the end of our stay. I called and thought it might be a bit of a hassle or we'd have to sit around in the room for the next hour waiting for someone. The LS person who answered my call just said, "sure!" and that she'd send someone right up. And a few minutes later, a friendly CM was there to take it over. Such nice customer service!

When can I go back?

 

[tinkermom23]

Tinkermom23,
We just got back from ASMo last night and had a great time. I can't answer all of your questions, but will respond to what I can.

We did leave tips for the mousekeepers. I made up daily envelopes ahead of time, and let DD4 decorate them with Disney stickers. DH said what for? What are they going to do aside from bring towels? The one secret I managed to keep before this trip (aside from riding up front in the monorail) was about mousekeeping and the towel animals. Tips aren't supposed to make a difference in whether you get them, from what I hear, but we were happy we had our envelopes and my only regret is that I didn't fill them with a little bit more. We got animals almost every day, and the one day we didn't, mousekeeping must have been extra busy because our room was cleaned a little later than usual, but still DD's lovies were arranged with the pillows in a nice little setup. There was a bow in the toilet paper and our toiletries were lined up neatly on the sink. We were more than pleased with our mousekeeper. I did find a very tiny bit of mildew on our shower curtain, but we had Clorox wipes with us so I just wiped it off with one swipe. I think it was in a part of the shower curtain that no one would see while cleaning, unless he or she happened to stand inside the shower to clean, so I don't fault our mousekeeper for that. I know how hard it is to keep mildew down in the South. It's a constant battle for me at home.

We did bring our usual car full of "stuff" on this trip. And still fit in the fridge with no problem. We didn't have a stroller, but I think if we could fit in all our junk, anyone could.

The food court is wonderful. I wanted one of those cheese danishes for breakfast this morning, but we're home now.

There's really not much I would change there, other than have them have a few more luggage carts around for those of us that drive down and arrive with stuff scattered around the car (meaning we prefer to do it ourselves rather than have anyone haul up our stuff.) I did ask luggage services to move our fridge swap fridge to the next swapper's room at the end of our stay. I called and thought it might be a bit of a hassle or we'd have to sit around in the room for the next hour waiting for someone. The LS person who answered my call just said, "sure!" and that she'd send someone right up. And a few minutes later, a friendly CM was there to take it over. Such nice customer service!

When can I go back?

Thank you so much for the info. Now I really can't wait! Sounds like you had a great trip!!

 

[robinb]

The one secret I managed to keep before this trip (aside from riding up front in the monorail) was about mousekeeping and the towel animals. Tips aren't supposed to make a difference in whether you get them, from what I hear, but we were happy we had our envelopes and my only regret is that I didn't fill them with a little bit more.

It's really not a "secret" because tips DO NOT make a difference. I always leave a tip and I rarely get towel animals. In fact, we were just about the ONLY room without towel animals at ASMv on our trip in December and we tipped every day up to the day when housekeeping decided to skip our room altogether. If you want to tip, that's cool. I just don't want people to expect towel animals if they tip housekeeping.

 

[wishing4PA]

It's really not a "secret" because tips DO NOT make a difference. I always leave a tip and I rarely get towel animals. In fact, we were just about the ONLY room without towel animals at ASMv on our trip in December and we tipped every day up to the day when housekeeping decided to skip our room altogether. If you want to tip, that's cool. I just don't want people to expect towel animals if they tip housekeeping.

I agree. I was tired when I wrote that and may have given the impression that tips and towel animals are related. I didn't intend to imply that. Sorry to anyone who thinks a tip will increase chances of towel animals based on my writing.

What I intended to say was:
- we did get some towel animals and my DD and DH were thrilled.
and
- I think mousekeeping did a great job in general, and I wish I could have tipped a little bit more than I did.

My "secret" was that I didn't even mention to DH that mousekeeping sometimes does the towel animals. So when some arrived, he was pleasantly surprised.

One not related to the other.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hey guys and gals! We are currently booked for a ten day stay at Pop Century. We normally stay at the CBR and have never stayed at a value resort.

We visited Pop during our 2008 CBR stay just to see what the resort was like. Well, I know this sounds crazy but I wish we hadn't gone to Pop. I feel like some of the magic and excitement of pulling into a resort for the very first time is gone. So, we are now considering a possible stay at one of the value resorts.

I have a few questions:

1) I've read that the three All Star resorts share a bus system. How does that work? Does it take long to reach the theme parks?

2) How's the food court? We won't be eating at the food court every day but I we do like to eat a meal or two there.

3) How's the storage room in the rooms? We will be there for 10 days/9 nights and I refuse to do laundry while there so we'll have a good bit of luggage.

4) We like to spend a down day at the resort. What are some things to do around the resort?


I appreciate your help in my decision making process.

 

[zdurfee]

We will be going to WDW in June. Which preferred building do you think is best. Which is less worn, and which might be quieter? I am looking forward to my grandchildren seeing it for the first time. Am anxiously waiting !!

 

[wishing4PA]

I have a few questions:

1) I've read that the three All Star resorts share a bus system. How does that work? Does it take long to reach the theme parks?

2) How's the food court? We won't be eating at the food court every day but I we do like to eat a meal or two there.

3) How's the storage room in the rooms? We will be there for 10 days/9 nights and I refuse to do laundry while there so we'll have a good bit of luggage.

4) We like to spend a down day at the resort. What are some things to do around the resort?

I appreciate your help in my decision making process.

Not sure I will be any help, but here's my opinion ...
1) When leaving a park, sometimes the sign says All Stars all go to one bus stop, and sometimes there's a different number for each All Star. Easy enough in practice. And sometimes you can hop a different bus even if they aren't sharing (for instance, the ASMu bus was pulling up, but no sign of our ASMo bus, so DD4 and I hopped aboard the ASMu bus in spite of her protests that it was the "wrong" bus, and we probably got back quicker.)
The MK bus trip takes forever (20 minutes?) but the other parks are short trips.

2) I loved, loved, loved the food court at ASMo. I wish I could get their quesadillas and cheese danishes at home. I had only a couple of food items at Disney that I wasn't thrilled with, and those were in the parks, not the resort.

3) Storage, um, is a little bit lacking. We managed. 2 adults, one child for 7 nights. 6 fairly average sized drawers, plus the little nightstand drawer, 3 hooks on the the wall, and the shelf over the clothes rod were it. We would have enjoyed a tad bit more space, but then we brought all but our kitchen sink. The beds were up on regular risers so I suppose with the right boxes we could have used underbed space, but we didn't.

4) We wish we had been there longer to swim some more (we had several 80 degree days.) I never made it to the ASMu poolside activities, and we got to explore and take photos around ASMu once but never made it to Sports to do the same. We never got around to using our arcade credits, and (not a "resort" activity but) I never got around to playing mini-golf. I have relatives nearby, so my one and only down afternoon was spent on a brief visit to them. I can't complain about that, but would have enjoyed a little more resort time. I wound up playing pick up sticks with DD4 on our very last afternoon because I had promised her we'd play some games on the trip and she never forgets a promise.

Hope that helps a bit!