I Need Some Advice & Peace of Mind

[Snoopygirl]

Hey there!

Ok....we already have a vacation booked for May/June 2013.

Well, my mom & I are planning on going to FL for a friend's wedding in early Dec. The wedding is at an Embassy Suites in Downtown Orlando and we were just going to get a room for 2 nights just for the wedding. Making it a quick 2nt/3day trip.

So....I get to thinking, hey, maybe we could extend it for a day and do Epcot (my mom's fave park) for a Mother/Daughter mini trip. I don't have any points as I already banked for our 2013. Plus, there is NOTHING available right now in a studio for Dec. 1-4


I looked at Travelocity and a couple other sites and can get one of the All-Star resorts or Pop at about $100/night.


So......please give me any feedback you have on these resorts. We have never stayed Value before. Will I miss anything???? I told my mom, it's just a place to sleep.

Thanks!!

 

[jimmytammy]

Hey Snoopygirl

We like the All Stars(Sports is our fave, based on proximity to front area). It is basically quiet, clean rooms, plenty of room for 2, buses stop at Sports 1st so good chance you will get a seat, typically drop off at Sports 1st after a park(they share with Music and Movies). POP is nice but huge, long walks to front area from a lot of the rooms.

We stay at All Star Sports a lot of times when we are beginning a trip, so we save pts on weekends. All Stars have good choices of food in food courts. If you stay here, ask for Touchdown bldg, this will put you really close to front area, buses, food court, etc.

Our 1st stay on property was at Sports and we thought it was great. Nicer than a lot of comparable hotels(Holiday Inn, etc.). I remember my dad saying he was really surprised at the place being so nice considering it under the value tag. He wasnt expecting much. Its not DVC, but its nice for value for sure.

If you have AP, be sure to ask for discount(these will be available soon I feel sure)or AAA if you have this. May get a better rate than $100.

 

[DebbieB]

Hey there!

Ok....we already have a vacation booked for May/June 2013.

Well, my mom & I are planning on going to FL for a friend's wedding in early Dec. The wedding is at an Embassy Suites in Downtown Orlando and we were just going to get a room for 2 nights just for the wedding. Making it a quick 2nt/3day trip.

So....I get to thinking, hey, maybe we could extend it for a day and do Epcot (my mom's fave park) for a Mother/Daughter mini trip. I don't have any points as I already banked for our 2013. Plus, there is NOTHING available right now in a studio for Dec. 1-4


I looked at Travelocity and a couple other sites and can get one of the All-Star resorts or Pop at about $100/night.


So......please give me any feedback you have on these resorts. We have never stayed Value before. Will I miss anything???? I told my mom, it's just a place to sleep.

Thanks!!

I wouldn't mind considering this is an "extra trip". I joined DVC in late 1999 and in 2003 my mom and I decided to a last minute trip in October for MNSSHP. Since I didn't have any points available and it was an "extra trip", I didn't mind staying at CBR. My mom, who was originally against me buying DVC, made the comment "I don't like this one room thing" (we always stayed in a 1 bedroom DVC). Someone got spoiled.........

 

[Missyrose]

Hey there!

Ok....we already have a vacation booked for May/June 2013.

Well, my mom & I are planning on going to FL for a friend's wedding in early Dec. The wedding is at an Embassy Suites in Downtown Orlando and we were just going to get a room for 2 nights just for the wedding. Making it a quick 2nt/3day trip.

So....I get to thinking, hey, maybe we could extend it for a day and do Epcot (my mom's fave park) for a Mother/Daughter mini trip. I don't have any points as I already banked for our 2013. Plus, there is NOTHING available right now in a studio for Dec. 1-4

I looked at Travelocity and a couple other sites and can get one of the All-Star resorts or Pop at about $100/night.

So......please give me any feedback you have on these resorts. We have never stayed Value before. Will I miss anything???? I told my mom, it's just a place to sleep.

Thanks!!

Did you look at Art of Animation? It's Disney's newest resort and it looks amazing! The price for a standard room should be right around what you'd pay for Pop or the All-Stars.

 

[hakepb]

Hey Snoopygirl

We like the All Stars(Sports is our fave, based on proximity to front area). It is basically quiet, clean rooms, plenty of room for 2, buses stop at Sports 1st so good chance you will get a seat, typically drop off at Sports 1st after a park(they share with Music and Movies). POP is nice but huge, long walks to front area from a lot of the rooms.

We stay at All Star Sports a lot of times when we are beginning a trip, so we save pts on weekends. All Stars have good choices of food in food courts. If you stay here, ask for Touchdown bldg, this will put you really close to front area, buses, food court, etc.

Our 1st stay on property was at Sports and we thought it was great. Nicer than a lot of comparable hotels(Holiday Inn, etc.). I remember my dad saying he was really surprised at the place being so nice considering it under the value tag. He wasnt expecting much. Its not DVC, but its nice for value for sure.

If you have AP, be sure to ask for discount(these will be available soon I feel sure)or AAA if you have this. May get a better rate than $100.

You nailed the reasons why I liked Sports the most. In comparison to an offsite, you still have Disney landscaping, security, theming... (you may not use it, but no DvC can match the variety of a Value food court)

But the sports theme for mother/daughter? I'm not sure. Ive heard music was a little more for adults. And for one day I might be willing to go against my Sports recommendation.

 

[DizBub]

Personally, I would go for Pop. The All Stars all share the same bus. That's why some people prefer ALL Star Sports, because they get picked up 1st in the morning. If you are at All Star Movies the bus is full by the time it gets there. Pop used to have it's own bus but I imagine it's shared with AoA now. Plus Pop is closer in. Long bus ride to and from All Stars, especially when there is standing room only.

 

[hakepb]

Personally, I would go for Pop. The All Stars all share the same bus. That's why some people prefer ALL Star Sports, because they get picked up 1st in the morning. If you are at All Star Movies the bus is full by the time it gets there. Pop used to have it's own bus but I imagine it's shared with AoA now. Plus Pop is closer in. Long bus ride to and from All Stars, especially when there is standing room only.

Incorrect on sharing, My experience in 3 or 4 all star stays, and based on some recent reports... MK and EPCOT get dedicated busses from each all stars. DHS and DAK get dedicated busses in peak time. I wish the EPCOT area resorts had that same dedicated bus schedule.

 

[Chuck S]

I like POP much better than All-Stars, they have a more spacious food court, and the resort personel seem friendlier. I would bet that the new Animation resort is really nice, though. All-Stars would be my last choice for onsite, just based on my own experiences. If there were studio availability, you could borrow points from next use year, even though you've already banked, assuming you have enough points.

 

[CarolMN]

The first week of December is Pop Warner time. Even if you are only using the room to sleep, you do NOT want to stay at the same resort as the Pop Warner kids. (Noise plus full food courts & pools plus cheer leader practicing).

Make sure you find out where the PW kids will be staying before you make a reservation. They usually stay at one of the values and one of the moderates.

 

[Snoopygirl]

The first week of December is Pop Warner time. Even if you are only using the room to sleep, you do NOT want to stay at the same resort as the Pop Warner kids. (Noise plus full food courts & pools plus cheer leader practicing).

Make sure you find out where the PW kids will be staying before you make a reservation. They usually stay at one of the values and one of the moderates.

Thanks for the heads up on that! How would I find out where there are staying??

AoA was a little more $ than Pop and All Stars. I may be able to convince her (since she'll be paying for the room and I'm paying for rental car & park tickets) to maybe move up to a moderate. We stayed at Port Orleans before we joined DVC and we really enjoyed that resort.

 

[raftislander]

I would stay at Pop because then you could walk over to the new AoA resort and check it out. Plus you could eat in its food court, which has gotten great reviews. I have not stayed at Allstars- only Pop. It is a basic room but there is lots of Disney atmosphere and it might be fun for your mom to take a walk down memory lane with all of the memorabilia displays.

 

[ddhoeg]

I would stay at Pop because then you could walk over to the new AoA resort and check it out. Plus you could eat in its food court, which has gotten great reviews.

We thought the AoA food court was great! They accept TIW card and also have the build your own salad and gelato stations - two things BCV used to have but no longer offer.

Enjoy your mom/dot trip