Help me, a 'sort-of first timer,' choose a resort!

aprilmay

Earning My Ears
Joined
May 12, 2012
Messages
19
Hi All! I need some help choosing a resort for our family's first time at WDW in April 2013.

I have been to WDW many times as a child and each time stayed at POR. I LOVE it there. But this is the first time my two girls, 5 and 2, will be visiting, and my DH and I would like to save some cash and go with a value resort. However, I can't decide which one we should go with. I've sort of narrowed it down to AoA, ASMovies, and Pop.

Here's what's important to us in no particular order. Which resort would you you pick, considering the following?

*Theming - My girls will be 5 and 3 when we arrive. They would enjoyed big, bold themes with lots of characters.

*Distance to pool/main building/buses from NON-PREFERRED rooms - They're small, so a 10-15 minute walk to get a drink frightens me. Honestly, this is my only hesitation with AoA, though if the positives outweigh it, I'm still very open to AoA.

*Convenience - We will have a car, so could take the bus or drive to parks/ADRs. Are the resorts equal in terms of convenience? We will DEFINITELY be returning to our room to nap midday before returning to the parks in the afternoon.

*Pools/common areas - Hopefully, it will be warm enough to enjoy the pools, as my kids adore fun pools. Other resort activities would just be a bonus.

I'd love to know which of the three - Pop, AoA, ASMovies - you'd choose and why!

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi!

I have stayed at All-Star Movies and Pop. I have visited AoA.

If you are concerned about the walk to the food courts than all of these resorts are in the same category.

My most recent stay was at Pop and I was in the 50's section. It wasn't a very long walk, but my room was the furthest away from Everything Pop. I would get a Preferred Room at Pop if the walk is a concern.

The Value Rooms (Little Mermaid) at AoA are much further from the Food Court. The theming is spectacular there though! I think your girls would love it!

I stayed at All Star Movies when I was in 7th grade. I loved my stay there from what I can remember. We were in the Toy Story section in a non-preferred room and I don't remember the walk being horrible.

If I had to choose between those resorts based on theming and distance to the transportation, I would choose All Star Movies. A lot of people do not like the All-Stars, but I really enjoy them. I stayed at All Star Music in June and would definitely stay there again!!
AoA would be a second choice based on the Little Mermaid rooms alone.

Hope that helps! Let me know what you choose! :cool1:
 
AoA is a great choice, and you can cross the bridge to visit Pop. I think your young children would enjoy AoA characters much more than the Pop icons.

I am staying at ASMovies. There's lots of icons there that will delight your kids. I got a great tip that I'm going to put to use. If you ask to stay at the Mighty Ducks buildings, they are extremely close to the Food Court and Bus Stop for ASMusic. And they are one of the few non-preferred buildings (the other non-preferred is Love Bug buildings). Use this link to get maps of the resorts.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/
 
Of the 3 values you have chosen, movies is the most compact. We have stayed preferred and standard and the standard rooms at a very short walk to the amenities. I haven't stayed at AoA but have stayed in a standard room at pop and it was a long walk to the buses and food court. Personally, movies is our favorite value and I think your girls would love it.
 

We finally decided on AoA! I had just about book ASMovies when I decided to present the two options to my husband and just let me choose. Once he saw the photos of AoA, he agreed that the girls would have a FIT over all of the characters and theming. So we booked it! Thanks for all your input, Folks. Very helpful!
 





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