Help with All Star rather long sorry

[Brumeiser]

We are finally taking my ds who will be 2 1/2 at the time to Disney in the fall of 2004. I noticed going over these boards someone was talking about getting this resort for 55 dollars a night. How does one go about doing this? We are very flexible next year in which we will plan our trip to correspond with this type of rate. When my wife thinks of staying on site she hears the register running and running. To get a rate for under 75 dollars a night I will have no problem in talking her into it. We are planning next year because in October of 2004 they are eliminating my department at work so I will be unemployed. So I would like to go before this happens. Who knows if we will ever make it down again. My ds who will be 18 at this time is going along also. So there will be 4 of us. This is our bargain for him. I told him if he graduates from high school we will take him down to Disney with us. He brought his grades up from a D minus average to a C this year his Junior year. This is great motivation for him. Also how soon should I book?

 

[Pig Pen]

Go to mousesavers.com and get familiar with the site. That's the best place to learn about deals at WDW resorts. I don't know if the rates will ever get down to $55 again, but you can find some good deals.

 

[bobcat]

Since you are flexible you should be able to get a great rate. Going off season will help. Also www.mousesavers.com will tell you all the current codes and she even has historical rates available as a guide.

Once Pop Century opens, it's another value resort, that should help to free up rooms at the AS. Knowlege and persistance can help you do Disney on a budget.

 

[April76]

I highly recommend the All Star Movies --- your 2 1/2 yr old will love the giant icons and if he is a Toy Story fan he will enjoy staying in the Buzz or Woody buildings which overlook "Andy's Room" - a courtyard with a giant checker board w/pieces, large blocks, Rex, Bo Peep, etc. Outside the room is the RC car from the movie that kids can climb on... the main building/food court is just a short walk along with the Sorcerer Mickey pool and the other building with different movie icons (Fantasia, Dalmations, Mighty Ducks, etc.) there is a "quiet" pool behind the Mighty Ducks building

I even "enjoy" doing laundry there -- since the laundry facility is poolside... I put on a load of wash and take a swim.... it doesn't get much better than that .

Your 18 yr old will enjoy being on park property because it will allow him to be totally independent of you (when you wish) -- he can easily hop one of the complementary Disney resort busses which will go directly to any of the four Disney theme parks.

The food court is a good place to grab a meal or quick snack... there is always a pretty good variety and the prices aren't too bad -- For instance, you can get a huge breakfast or choose a small box of cereal...piece of fruit, a bagel, muffin, etc. There's plenty of variety in other meals too.

We have stayed at all three All Star resorts, and Movies is definitely my favorite (in case you couldn't tell) .

Good luck --- have a great trip!!!

 

[welovedis]

I agree with the above posters, Mousesavers.com is a great resource tool for researching rate & code info. Once at that site just click on Walt Disney World on the left side menu, then click on Disney Resorts. A little down the page it gives you a place to click and brings you to a page with the seasons and their rates.

For 2003 here's a breakdown of the rates with no discount for all of the All-Star resorts:
Value Season (1/1-2/12, 8/24-10/1, 11/2-12/19) $77/$87
Regular Season (4/27-8/23, 10/2-11/1) $99/$109
Peak Season (2/13-4/26) $109/$119
Holiday Season (12/20-12/31) $114/$124

The lower price is for a regular building, the higher price is for the preferred building (closer to the food court, bus stop, main pool). We stayed in a non-preferred building (Toy Story 10) and it was no longer than a 2-3 minute walk at most.

Depending on rate codes available you can get these rooms at a great discount. Another way to sometimes score a great price is to plan on buying an AP (annual pass) to get some terrific rates. These are not guaranteed but can be as much as 40% off the rack rate which would put your cost at about $52.xx for a standard room during value season. You don't have to have the AP when you make the room reservation, you do have to have it when you check-in and only one person in the group needs to have purchased this type of pass. Depending on how you long you are staying the room discount could pay for the cost of the pass! These discounts are not guaranteed but you could book for the season you want to go and then call back if you see a code or an AP rate that would apply to your travel dates.

HTH!