Help me pick a budget friendly resort. . .

[DznyDreams]

I have a thread on the Resorts board (see link below), but I know you guys have a more active board. I'm hoping that several budget-minded folks like me stay at the values and can help me sort through the options.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2413920

If you have a moment, I would really appreciate your input!
TIA!

 

[*pixie*dust*]

Pop Century rooms were recently rennovated. They are set apart from the All Stars and don't share buses with other resorts as the All Stars sometimes do. Pop is also the newest of the Value Resorts. Some have said that they took what they learned from building the All Stars and improved on it with Pop. I have stayed at Music, Movies and Pop and found them all pretty similar. Pop is more nostalgic for adults. My son loves Movies because of the Toy Story section.

 

[TnTWalter]

They have their own buses. They even have a pool bar. Their pool is fun. Beautiful lake [although can't walk all the way around because of the half that was never finished].

We were 50s by the bowling pin pool. It was great. Jan so pools weren't hopping. I would say lake side would be quiet but more of a walk.

Read the POP century thread to learn more about it.

80s section would be closest to the bus stop. We weren't terribly close to the bus stop or food court but didn't bother us.

Trish

 

[ajh88]

I don't really have a lot of factual information to give, because I've only ever stayed at All-Star Sports. I do believe the rooms there have been renovated relatively recently (in the past 2-3 years anyway).

I will say that I did NOT want to stay at a value the first time we stayed there - I was pretty against it, but it made financial sense. Since then, we've stayed there 2 more times with no hesitation. As with any hotel, it depends on what time of year you go and the luck of the draw with fellow guests (as to whether or not they are rowdy or calm). We've always had good luck to be either away from noise or just in a quiet section of the hotel.

The upside of AS-Sports is that it is the first stop (or at least used to be) on the All-Star bus route. If the bus didn't fill up, we did stop at the other All-Stars, but on days when the sports bus was full, we just headed straight on to the parks with no additional stops. Plus, there is only one stop at each All-Star, so it's really a max of 3 stops anyway (whereas other, larger hotels have multiple stops inside the resort complex). I never felt like sharing a bus with the other 2 All-Stars was really a big issue.

So, even though I can't really answer your questions specifically, we are fans of AS-Sports.

 

[laurafergie]

My DH and I stayed at Sports. We were originally supposed to stay at Pop, but when the last year Buy 4 Get 7 promotion came out, to get it we had to move. At the time, I was NOT happy, but it turned out great. We were in the back where the basketball stuff is facing the woods and near the parking lot. It wasn't a bad walk at all to the food court and bus area.

The Sports is the 1st bus stop for the All-Stars and as a PP said, will bypass the others if the bus is full. On the same token, it is the last stop coming back. But I didn't find it an issue - I have stayed at a couple other resorts and did not find the Sports buses worse.

I had thought the theme-ing would be tacky, but it wasn't, just very Disney. I didn't feel that the room was overly small and the fact our room faced the woods was a bonus. The room was in good repair, the beds were comfy. I had no complaints and if it worked out that would stay there again, I would.

 

[weewuvvdisney]

We have stayed at the AS Music and Movies. Never had a problem. We leave early in the am and return in the pm.

Wouldn't even think to spend more to stay at a more expensive resort. If I had more money to spend, I would spend it on doing things or buying things.

The value resorts are clean, comfortable and very convenient.




Jan

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

We have stayed at all the Values except Music. Pop is our favorite because of the buses and theming. The lake side is quieter, but we always seem to end up in 80's which is very close to the bus stop. Their food court is fantastic with lots of variety. We use Values for shorter stays, but if we are staying for a week and plan to spend more time at the resort, we like Mods or Deluxe if we can get a good rate.

 

[lindsey]

We have stayed at AS Movies, AS Music, and POP - and enjoyed all three. We were at the very back at Music, but the theming is so interesting, we didn't mind the walk. There were a few times where the busses were crowded, but we just went with the flow.

 

[tink&stitchmom]

The Sports is the 1st bus stop for the All-Stars and as a PP said, will bypass the others if the bus is full. On the same token, it is the last stop coming back. But I didn't find it an issue - I have stayed at a couple other resorts and did not find the Sports buses worse.

Last summer we stayed at the Sports and it was the first stop on the pick up and the first stop on the drop off to the All Stars.

 

[Mrs D]

After staying at VWL and BWV I was a little hesitant to stay at a value. After our trip to Pop in December I will never hesitate to stay at a value again!

The rooms were very clean, comfortable and provided all the basics we needed (of course I got in on a fridge swap which made the trip go a little more smoothly). The resort itself was fun; my DS4 asks when we are going back regularly! The food court was great, the selection of items from the "grocery" section was exactly what we needed, the gift shop was WAY better than WL or BW, CMs were great and mousekeeping was very good. The buses ran efficiently and it was wonderful not to stop at any other resorts!

While the kids are little and we fit comfortably into a value room, we will likely be returning to Pop!

HTH!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

We always stay values (see below) and LOVE them. I always say if we won the lottery we'd still stay at the All Stars, we'd just stay longer. Our favorite is Sports for busses and we just have fun there and the CM there for some reason seem the best. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it there!