First Time Staying in a Value Resort

[ojeight]

Not to sound like a snub but I usually stay at the deluxe resorts. For the first time I will be staying at a value resort, All Star Sports, Dec 15-21. I got too good a deal to pass up and too be honest I am looking forward it. I understand the rooms are smaller there are fewer amenities, which I am fine with as we are two adults with no kids I usually only sleep and shower in the room unless I’m m on club level where I do enjoy the snacks. . Besides for what I have mentioned, what should I prepare myself for? Do the buses get so crowded that I have for two or three to be able to get the parks and back to the resort?

 

[WEDWDW]

During my most recent visit to All-Star Sports,I decided to keep a record of my Bus travels.

I hope this info showing when we shared Buses with Music and Movies and also the travel times will be helpful to you.

(It takes the Buses about 2 minutes to travel from Sports to Music and about 2 minutes from Music to Movies.)

I also did some Park Hopping:
Monorail from TTC to Epcot----9 minutes.
Monorail from Epcot to TTC----7 minutes.
Express Monorail----4 minutes
Friendship between Epcot and DHD----20-30 minutes(We actually did make it in 20 minutes one day!)

Saturday April 18----Sports to Epcot----8:23AM to 8:33AM----10 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports----4:46PM to 4:58PM----12 minutes----Share

Sunday April 19----Sports to DAK(EMH)----7:44AM to 7:52AM----8 minutes----Direct
DAK to Sports----12:51PM to 12:57PM----6 minutes----Share
Sports to DHS----5:37PM to 5:57PM----20 minutes----Share
MK to Music----10:31PM to 10:52PM----21 minutes----Direct
(Hopped on a waiting Music Bus and then walked back to Sports.)

Monday April 20----Sports to MK----6:49AM to 7:04AM----15 minutes----Direct
(BOG Breakfast!)
Epcot to Sports----12:31PM to 12:42PM----11 minutes----Share
Sports to Epcot----2:44PM to 3:04PM----20 minutes----Share
Epcot to Sports----7:00PM to 7:12PM----12 minutes----Share

Tuesday April 21----Sports to DHS----7:58AM to 8:10AM----12 minutes----Direct
DHS to Sports----11:01AM to 11:15AM----14 minutes----Direct
Sports to DTD----2:23PM to 2:50PM----27 minutes----Share
DHS to Sports----9:57PM to 10:09PM----12 minutes----Share

Wednesday April 22----Sports to DAK----7:33AM to 7:44AM(EMH)----11 minutes----Direct
DAK to Sports----12:29PM to 12:37PM----8 minutes----Share
Sports to DHS----1:30PM to 1:49PM----19 minutes----Share
MK to Music----9:25PM to 9:40PM----15 minutes----Direct

Thursday April 23----Sports to Epcot----11:10AM to 11:19AM----9 minutes----Direct
DTD to Sports----5:18PM to 5:37PM-----19 minutes----Share

Friday April 24----Sports to Epcot----8:06AM to 8:17AM-----11 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports----10:27AM to 10:43AM----16 minutes----Share
Sports to Epcot----12:23PM to 12:43PM----20 minutes----Share
Epcot to Sports----9:14PM to 9:30PM----16 minutes----Direct

Saturday April 25----Sports to DHS(EMH)----7:20AM to 7:30AM-----10 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports-----4:16PM to 4:30PM----14 minutes----Share

Sunday April 26----Sports to MK----9:15AM to 9:30AM----15 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports----12:20PM to 12:32PM-----12 minutes-----Share
Time to board THE SAD BUS!!!!BOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

[ojeight]

Thank you. I don't mind sharing the bus with the other resorts.I have done that before. Also not sure due the amount of rooms in the values of they have more buses running or it is even necessary.

Any other things I should expect. I am actually looking forward to staying in the value but want to plan accordingly.

 

[Bree]

There is no coffee maker in the room. Bus stops have no protection from the elements. Beds are doubles and not queens. Only one sink in the bathroom area. I can't remember the hair dryer situation, but I always bring my own no matter where I stay.

 

[skysmom99]

I like the values but I always miss my coffee maker.

 

[maxiesmom]

The bus stops have queues. You have to line up in order to be in line for the bus, there are no covered seating areas.

 

[Ali]

If you are at the All Stars during POP warner you will wait for food court and bus because they take up a few buses on their own.

 

[maxiesmom]

If you are at the All Stars during POP warner you will wait for food court and bus because they take up a few buses on their own.

I didn't have that problem when I stayed at the Music with the Pop Warner groups.

 

[Tonberry]

Pop Warner is not as bad as people make it out to be. But Pop Warner never runs that late into December anyway. It's always the first or second week in December. So no need to worry about that.

You can actually request a king size bed rather than the 2 doubles. King size bed rooms are handicap accessible rooms. I asked a CM when making our reservations for our prior trip to All Star Movies if any king beds were available. He said that if they have enough handicap rooms available, I can have one. Sure enough, when I checked in, I was given a room with a king bed. The only difference is that there is no bathtub, just a shower. But that was fine with me as I only take showers anyway.

 

[goofy4tink]

If you are at the All Stars during POP warner you will wait for food court and bus because they take up a few buses on their own.

The PW kids won't be an issue at this time of year...they should be there earlier in the month. As others have noted, buses are fine....the value resorts tend to have slightly better bus service than most of the deluxe resorts. You may have to wait longer for a bus at park closing, but if you hang out at the park for a bit, the lines should dissipate a bit by the time you get there.
I haven't had any issues with the food courts. They can get crowded at busy times of day...park opening, dinner time. If you plan accordingly, you should be okay.
Yes, the rooms are smaller...if you can get a king bed, you will have more room to move around in.

 

[PlutoFan76]

I've stayed at BW and Poly. My last trip was at POP. I did not miss any of the amenities. The biggest difference to me was the vibe. When I leave the park I really want to relax and escape from the insanity a bit. At POP, I felt like I was still in the park and it was hard to relax. This was a combination of the decor, the noise, and the overall vibe. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this and many people prefer it this way. Since you said you tend to just sleep and shower in the room, I suspect you will enjoy it. I just wanted to mention to you that there is a another difference. Like I said, I didn't even notice the change in amenities. I preferred the bus not making a bunch of stops like the BW bus. I wouldn't have known the square footage was different if someone hadn't told me, I preferred the breakfasts from the food court to Ohana's (gasp...I know), I was just exhausted all the time and didn't feel like I was actually resting when I was at POP.

 

[JennyDrake]

Request a TOP floor room NOT facing the pool. Much more quiet. As you can see in my signatures, I *like* the values!

Oh, the pools do not have deep ends like the quiet pools at the moderates and some of the deluxes.

 

[Stinky_Pete]

Prior to my stay at ASMo, I had only stayed at BWV and WL. When I booked my first solo trip a couple years ago, I just couldn't justify spending the kind of money to stay at those places. Plus the prices had gone up so much since I had stayed there last. So I booked at ASMo and was a little concerned I would be disappointed. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

The room was clean and everything worked properly. I requested a room with a king bed in a quiet location and that's what I got. Top floor facing away from the quiet pool.

I have stopped swimming at Disney pools. Usually too many kids doing who knows what. So I didn't bring a swimsuit. The quiet pool in Mighty Ducks section seemed to mostly have adults sunning themselves and I regretted not bringing a swimsuit. I almost bought one in the gift shop.

I'm an early riser and would go to the ASMu food court because it was closer. There was never a crowd early in the morning and I enjoyed my breakfast.

I then went to the bus stop and it seemed almost every time that the bus pulled up a very few minutes after I got to the bus stop. Because this was before park opening, the buses weren't crowded. They also didn't "share" with the other All Stars in the mornings. Some people on here seem to make a big deal about that even though it's mainly only in the middle of the day when the buses aren't busy anyway.

If I stayed until a park closed I would just hang out on a bench for 20-30 minutes to let the mobs clear. No huge lines at the bus stop.

I saw a PP mention she stayed at POP and it didn't seem relaxing. I have to agree with her that I had that same experience when I stayed at POP. It seemed like walking around the resort, or going to the food court, there were mobs of people everywhere! Even in the food court at the end of the night just before it closed it was mobbed. That was not my experience at All Stars. So while some of the amenities may be the same at All Stars and POP, I had totally different experiences at the two. I would not stay at POP again, but my next trip is booked at All Stars.

 

[Upatnoon]

Not to sound like a snub but I usually stay at the deluxe resorts. For the first time I will be staying at a value resort, All Star Sports, Dec 15-21. I got too good a deal to pass up and too be honest I am looking forward it. I understand the rooms are smaller there are fewer amenities, which I am fine with as we are two adults with no kids I usually only sleep and shower in the room unless I’m m on club level where I do enjoy the snacks. . Besides for what I have mentioned, what should I prepare myself for? Do the buses get so crowded that I have for two or three to be able to get the parks and back to the resort?

Beware of mobs. Sometimes large groups traveling together can flood the food court or bus stop.

 

[disnut8]

Not to sound like a snub but I usually stay at the deluxe resorts. For the first time I will be staying at a value resort, All Star Sports, Dec 15-21. I got too good a deal to pass up and too be honest I am looking forward it. I understand the rooms are smaller there are fewer amenities, which I am fine with as we are two adults with no kids I usually only sleep and shower in the room unless I’m m on club level where I do enjoy the snacks. . Besides for what I have mentioned, what should I prepare myself for? Do the buses get so crowded that I have for two or three to be able to get the parks and back to the resort?

With your mention that you are looking forward to the stay, I think you have everything covered. It will be different but we are value stayers and the only time we had to wait for a second bus to the parks was when we were down there earlier in the morning (we are later risers) but, the buses have never been very long in coming during those busy times. Never had to wait for a third bus.

I used to not want to use the buses after Illuminations but then I did. Yes, the queue for Pop Century was long when we finally made it out (we lingered quite a bit after the show) but there was a bus there and people were boarding it so we queued. The bus filled up so we prepared to wait. And we did. For about a minute until the very next bus pulled up and we were on it. The next time, we had to wait a bit more. For maybe ten minutes.

 

[dpswift]

Pop Warner is not as bad as people make it out to be. But Pop Warner never runs that late into December anyway. It's always the first or second week in December. So no need to worry about that.

You can actually request a king size bed rather than the 2 doubles. King size bed rooms are handicap accessible rooms. I asked a CM when making our reservations for our prior trip to All Star Movies if any king beds were available. He said that if they have enough handicap rooms available, I can have one. Sure enough, when I checked in, I was given a room with a king bed. The only difference is that there is no bathtub, just a shower. But that was fine with me as I only take showers anyway.

On our last stay at movies we had a non handicapped king room. So they do have some. It was however a connecting room which is another popular request.

 

[JessiMommy]

There is a difference in quality of towels, toilet paper, etc. from Deluxe to Value. (Not a big deal to us) As mentioned previously the beds are double not queen. The only issue we have at a value is noise level. I feel like the walls are paper thin and you hear every bathtub, toilet, toddler, etc. We usually request a more quiet area of a resort but at the values I still have a hard time getting to sleep with all the noise. Someone here on the Dis suggested requesting a top floor to avoid some of that. Next time we stay value I'm going to try that.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I know the feeling. I stayed at the All Star Sports in May of 2014... After staying in deluxes exclusively for gosh, over 10 years. Wasn't a bad experience in the slightest! It was just my best friend and I. Sure, the pillows are not too fluffy, and the rooms are smaller, but that's okay. The only thig I truly miss is how deluxes like the Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge are so compact and close together. The food court has a lot of options, and yes, the bus lines can get very long. The wait for a bus is no longer than any other resort. and they have the CM with the tablet that calls in extra buses when the line gsts too long. Very efffective. You will enjoy your trip, I'm sure of it

 

[mousefan73]

Buses are a non-issue IMO.. you can also stay at a deluxe and have the Monorail not working and wait 30 min. plus for boats....
:
to be honest the ONLY thing missing that one might NEED when comparing Delux vs. value are:

1. Coffee machine
2. body lotion and conditioner ( value have the combo thing only)+
3. some I believe might have a DVD player etc. USB ( mainly DVCs) could be wrong here.
4. Towels at pool and slide
5. Lounge, bar life, ( though Pop has a pool bar)
6. Room service
7. Table service
8. balcony

Most of these are nice to haves and that is why people pay more....but values, you still get a bed, pillows, blankets, safe, iron, comboa shampoo/conditioner, soap, in room fridge, TV, alarm, tissues, towels, daily room cleaning, free parking etc.. and bell services..


Pop is not bad, we liked it... like PP said,, it has that park feel to it, even at night the food court was crowded and noisy ( not in a bad way), but in a mall like way, where there was always action...

 

[TeachTink]

If you are at the All Stars during POP warner you will wait for food court and bus because they take up a few buses on their own.

I believe Pop Warner is Dec 5-12 this year, so OP will be there before.