How are Pop Century and All Stars?

[dlurk]

I heard that the cheaper resorts are like staying in a dorm. Is it really like that?

 

[Carolwoodpr]

I have not heard that from friends I know who have stayed there, but am interesting in hearing the answer from the experts here.

We are also looking at one of those resorts so as much as we can find out about them beforehand would be great!

 

[grinningghost]

Nope, not like a dorm at all. I just got back from POP and have stayed at ASMU and ASMO. AND I moved my DD into her dorm - so I have experience with all of them.

No - not like a dorm at all. Rooms are quite small, so if you have more than 2 people, you might consider a moderate just for the tiny bit of extra space. But the theming and the pools and the food courts are excellent. Nope, much better than dorms.

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

I heard that the cheaper resorts are like staying in a dorm. Is it really like that?[/QUOTE

They are plain vanilla accomadations. They are very family oriented. The pools are fun. Plenty of busses. If you like to spen alot of your vacation at a resort then try to upgrade. If you want a clean room with ample food offerings in a family atmosphere give them a try.

 

[mattsmom2000]

We just came back from All-Star Sports and we loved it. My DS is 8 years old and it was right up his alley. It is very kid friendly. The theme in the room is great for kids. It is plain vanilla with simple accomodations, but in my opinion, I would rather spend less on a room that I am hardly in and spend the money on better things like souviners and things we will remember. We will remember the room, but it is not the MOST important thing to us on a vacation. There is everything that I need in these rooms. They have comfortable beds, adequate bathroom, hair dryers, TV, iron, safe, etc. Everything that I look for in a room. Enjoy your vacation and don't stress too much about the room. The only thing in my opinion that I missed staying at a value is a sit-down (table service) restaurant. All they have is a food court (counter service).

 

[PrincessTiffany]

I heard that the cheaper resorts are like staying in a dorm. Is it really like that?

We have stayed at ASMo and Pop. We liked them both, but ASMo is our favorite value. We have four kids and it is very family friendly and our kids love the movie-themed decor and decoration. The fantasia pool is very cool. We feel it is a real value for us. We don't really spend that much time in the room, pretty much just sleep and shower. Afterall, we are there to be in the parks, not the room. We get two rooms because of the number of people in our family and it is plenty of room for us.

 

[Carolwoodpr]

Thanks so much. That is what I had thought I had heard, and I too would rather spend less on the room and more on souvenirs since this is a short trip, and our first trip.

 

[Pkdcoastrs]

As a person who normally stays in "Value/Moderate" level resorts but who has also stayed at the "Deluxe" resorts .....

The VALUE resorts are still 100x better then a regular hotel room. If you plan to basically sleep and swim, GO FOR IT!!! The rooms are clean, look fun, are fun, and you get the same great transportation!!!

If you want to have the full experience of sleeping in, room service, rental boats, etc..... and plan to relax then go for the DELUXE resorts!


I get so bummed when people post and rip on the more basic resorts ....sometimes that extra $$$ a night being spent on the hotel makes a big difference to whether the trip does or doesn't happen!

Anyway, we have stayed in the All Star Sports and Pop Century a few times and both are GREAT!

 

[sdzman]

Are the 3 AS hotels attached? Can you walk from any of the AS to the POP?

 

[klofan]

Yes! Thats what it felt like. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it felt like dorm rooms. I've never stayed in a dorm, but I've visited. Everything is very plain and concrete. But I would rather stay at a value than off-site any day. And I think they are a good bang for your buck. But I LOVE their food courts. The ones at the deluxe resorts aren't great. The value ones have a great selection.

 

[Stichfreak]

i stayed at ASmovies last time i went and loved it, the theme was awesome, and this time im staying at pop century and am very much looking forward to it...this is going to sound random but my gf and i are both huge disney freaks and when we get married not soon but one day, we want to go to disney for part of our honeymoon then do a disney cruise for the second part. first question anyone ever done disney cruise? whats it like? and second does animal kingdom lodge have a honeymoon suite? we would love to stay there so thought i would ask thanks for any help

 

[goofy4tink]

A short story....I own at DVC, at BWV. But, when I'm not staying on points at BWV, you will find me at POP. So....last month I took my 31 y/o dd to WDW for her first ever trip there. I didn't want to use expensive weekend points at BWV, so booke POP for our first two nights. My dd loved it there. In fact, when my ds and ddil drove over from Tampa to visit us while we were at POP, they fell in love as well. The decided to let their 19 y/o dd (ds's step dd) stay at POP with her friend during Night of Joy this coming Sept.
When my dd and I moved over to BWV, I think dd was a bit disappointed. I think we could have just stayed at POP and she would have been thrilled!!

The rooms at POP are just a smidge smaller than the rooms in most moderates. They have the same sized beds...doubles. You lose about a foot or so in a value room. The moderates have two sinks and a curtain area. The double sinks are the thing I miss the most when staying at POP, but not enough to make me pay the extra money to stay at a moderate!! I bring my own curtain. I never rent a fridge, so a free one doesn't matter to me.
My 14 y/o dd no longer enjoys the slides at the moderates, so the lack of slides at the values is no biggie.

I don't think of the values as 'dorms'. Sure, they kind of look like dorm bldgs, but that's about it. Where are you going to find dorm rooms that colorful? And the over the top theming makes up for any 'dorm' like feeling.

 

[mickaholic4077]

I don't think the values feel like dorm rooms and I have stayed at all of them.

 

[minnie61650]

I have stayed at all levels of Disney Resorts. My favorite Disney owned resort is All Star Music.

Here are a few reasons :



1. I can book a preferred room location.
The way All Star Music is laid out it "seems" smaller than most of the other Disney resorts. If I stay in a preferred building i only see the Calypso and Jazz builings on the way to to and from the main pool and the bus stop and food court. Since I stay in preferred room I know I am going to be close to the food court, bus stop, & main pool.

2. I enjoy the theming at the All Stars. All Star Music is also is the quietest of the values. Generally less people stay there and there are more seniors and couples and less young children because children enjoy the themes of the other values more.

3. The bus service at the All Star Music is very good. Since I use an ECV good bus transportation is essential.

4. The entry at the values and Mods are much more Handicap friendly.
I am able to get in and out of my All Star room unassisted. This way my husband can go and play a round of golf and know I can leave my room to relax by the pool if I choose.
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All Star Music is my favorite resort. It tends to be the quietest of all the values.


All Star Music just underwent a refurbishment of all of the rooms and was completed in June 2007.


Here is a website with photos of the newly refurbished rooms at All Star Music.

Look at the Jazz Inn section with new posted:

http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_asmu.htm




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DH and I enjoy the landscaping and peacefulness of All Star Music.
We enjoy relaxing by the pool (there are plenty of chairs and lounges), and the beautiful lighting at the resort by night.

I have never had the unfortunate experience of running into the any of the large
groups of teens who sometimes stay at the values on school trips.
As long as you can avoid those large groups I do not think Noise will be an issue.

*HINT if you close your bathroom door at night you might not even hear the turbo toilets.
I close my bathroom door and I don't hear them.
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I love The All Star Resorts.

I am 56 years old and travel several times a yearfor pleasure. I often stay at 3and 4 star and sometimes a 5 star hotels and motels.
So the deluxe and mod resorts are just another hotel/motel to me.
Staying at an All Star is like being in the heart of the Magic and that is where I want to be.

All Star Music is my favorite. It is quieter because more couples stay there. I love staying at the Calypso building. It is closer to the pool, food court and bus stop.

Here is a site with a map of All Star Sports and All Star Music.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmap.htm
Scroll down. All Star Music is at the bottom of the page.
The Calypso buildings at All Star Music are #1 and #10 are nearest to the food court and bus stop.

The Calypso pool at ASMu has Donald Duck.

The buses are wonderful.

Bus rides are quite short from the ALL Stars according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POPbuses--PO buses--- Contemporary
MK 20 min---- 20 min-----25 min------10 min---20 min(mono)
Epcot 10 min-- 15 min-----20 min------10 min---15 min
MGM 10 min----12 min-----15 min------15 min---20min
AK 10 min------20min-------15 min----15 min---20 min
DTD 15 min----20 min------20 min-----15 min---35 min

It only takes 10 minutes to get to Epcot, MGM and AK from All Stars.
MK is 20 min away. That's the same amount of time it takes on the monorail from the Contemporary.

A WORD ABOUT BUS SHARING

To me Bus Sharing at the All Stars is really a non issue.

In the mornings during Park opening hours each All Star usually has a dedicated bus.
During mid day it is usually just our stop and maybe one more on the way to the parks. On the way back sometimes it is all 3 but often Sports and Movies share and Music has it's own bus back. Each of the All Stars usually has it's own dedicated bus back from the MK.
That is a big plus. It seems like the Music bus stop usually has the shortest of the three All Star bus lines.

I guess some people who stay at POP see all 3 All Star names on the return sign of our bus stop when they head to the POP bus stop and think All Stars also has 3 stops on the way to the park.
(Even when we stop at another AS resort to load up it has not taken more than 5 minutes and we are on our way!)

The pools at The All Stars are very kid friendly.

When staying at the All Stars you can use any of the All Star pools.That means 3 main pools ,3 quiet pools and 3 kiddie pools to chose from.

The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.

The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

And the Surfs up pool at All Star Sports has giant surf boards.

Here are a few pool photos.

All Star Sports pool.

All Star Music Donald pool.

All Star Movies Mickey Pool.

I have visited WDW more than a dozen times with the 1st time in Oct. 1971. It was brand new. I've stayed at FW, Disney Inn, a few the of Hotels on hotel Blvd., CBR and the towers at the Contemporary. I got to see the MK from my balcony at the Contemporary and I'm happy I got to experience it once. I just prefer the All Star Resorts.
The theming is pure Disney.

My last 6 visits have been at The All Stars and during the fall of 2005 when we took dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3(at the time) for 8 nights we stayed at the All Stars Music. I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic at the All Stars on his first visit.
Where else can one find Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse at the pool?

Have fun at Disney!

 

[minnie61650]

Room size Comparison:

Pop Century/All Stars-260 Square Feet
CS, POR/POFQ-314 SF
Caribbean Beach-340 SF
Wilderness Lodge-344 SF
AKL-344 SF
Yacht/Beach-381 SF
Boardwalk-385 SF
Polynesian-409 SF-476 SF
Contemporary-436 SF
Grand Floridian-about 400-440SF
Ft Wilderness Cabins-504 SF
Family suites at All Star Music -520 SF
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The values do not have have a pool slide, a hot tub or a sit down restuarant. The values each have 2-3 pools and large food courts with many food choices.


The mods have pool slides, a hot tub and a sit down restaurant (POFQ doses not have a sit down restaurant but shares with POR.

I do not feel there is not much room size difference between a mod and a value.

Here is the layout of a mod.
The bathroom is about the same size as the All Stars but you will have 2 sinks instead of one.

POR room lay out

here is the All Star room layout'

All Star room layout

The mod has 54 square feet more than the value.
That means if both the mod and the value room were 27 feet long than the mod would be 2 feet wider. Just enough room for a double sink instead of a single.

To me there is not a lot of room size difference.

 

[stemikger]

We are a small family, there is only me, my wife and 13 year old. We have always stayed at the mods, but the last three years we have stayed at Pop. We really love this place. We actually prefer it over the mods we have stayed at.

The rooms are small, but we are never really in them. However, the mods aren't that much bigger. A family of 4 should not have any complaints. The atmosphere is very colorful and very Disney.

Our experiences with our stays has always been where we get a clean room, good service and we just love the atmosphere around the resort.

If you are used to a very fancy place, you will probably not like it. It reminds me of the roadside motels of yesteryear done Disney style.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

I know the food court over at All Star Movies and Sports reminded me of a dorm. Now the rooms and the food court over at Pop were anything but that. Great for families on a budget with lots of things for the kids to do. Pop is our favorite value resort!

 

[kmully]

We have stayed (two adults) at All Star Music 3x and Pop Century 2x.
We really loved it at both (Pop a little bit more), had no complaints except I would have liked a little bit better restaurants than the Commissary. We did find the food was fine, a good wide selection (and inexpensive) just not as enjoyable as sitting in a TS restaurant.
This trip it will be CSR, as it is my 50th birthday present but I agree with the poster who said that the difference in cost might be the difference in going at all.
PS We always ask for ground level rooms near a smaller pool, at the back, as we enjoy quiet and the walk.