Just Back, A.S. Movies Info

[coach323]

I thought that some of you who plan on visiting the All Star Movies might like some information on the resort. We had a letter in our rooms that said the main pool would be closing on June 9th and they would be providing shuttle service to the other All Star resort pools. I was disappointed with the bus service to the parks. The bus service was late on our first early entry morning. It is pretty disappointing to get out to the bus pickup at 7:20 and wait untill 7:55 before the first bus arrives. By the time we got our bags searched and were admitted into the parks it was about 8:20. I was not happy to find that all three All Star Resorts share many of the same busses. All Star Movies was the last stop and many of the busses were standing room only. My family decided that the bus service was more trouble than it was worth so we started driving to the other resorts and then using their transportation to the parks. We drove to the Polynesian and rode the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and we rode a boat from th Boardwalk to Epcot. It was a little bit of a hassle to drive to the other resorts but it was worth it to avoid the All Star bus service.

 

[EpcotBill]

Why didn't you just drive to MK and Epcot instead of parking at another resort?

 

[lisajl]

That's what we did...we drove to all the parks. I was not waiting around for a bus. We had not been to WDW in so long, I told my DH...let's go!

Got in the car and got there quicker than the buses with front area parking.

Lisajl

 

[disneyjunkie]

When we were there in August 2001, the resorts were sharing buses. DS and I were staying at Sports so for us crowding wasn't a problem. By the time the bus would get to Movies, there wouldn't be any seats left.

The only time we didn't share a bus was EE for MK and after E ride night.

 

[Mickeygirl]

Did they say how long the pool will be closed We will be there July 9, also was the smaller pool still open

Thnaks for the info

 

[*Fantasia*]

Originally posted by EpcotBill
Why didn't you just drive to MK and Epcot instead of parking at another resort?

I was going to ask the same question. It would probably been faster and it's a straight shot to go directly from the AS to the parks.

When we stayed there in Sept 2000, the Movies had it's own transportation. We didn't share it with anybody else. We always find a place to sit.

Hmmm...I guess it's a good thing that we are staying at the Sports. I would hate to stand holding my two young children in the bus. I just hope that the bus will be on time to get to EE park. I am more worried about the CBR, the place is huge and that means more people there and that could mean the bus can get crowded!

 

[Tara]

Aside from the pool closing, you pretty much described both our stays at AS resorts, one at Movies in 1999 and one at Music in 2001. The bus service wasn't terrible, but it was slow, and it was almost always crowded. I was always a big proponent of using a towncar service and not renting a car, until I stayed at AS resorts. Never again!

 

[CDisney]

The pool is important to us on Disney vacations, especially in the summer, so I called All Star Movies tonight about the closing and was told it would be closed until June 19th.

 

[DisneyBoundGals]

Is it possible that each of the value resorts could have/get their own busses as it gets more into the summer when Disney will be much busier?

 

[disney daft dad]

WE've stayed at Movies the last 2 years, and at busy times the 3 All Stars had their own busses.. only at slower times of day did we share with the other resorts. The exception to this was DD and tis service was the only torn in my side with regards to transportation... it did take roughly 50 minutes to get back at night and usually standing room only as the 3 resorts shared this bus.

hope that helps... still loved the resort, not the greatest fan of its food court....but hey, that's not a deal breaker!!

Disney Daft Mum

Val
xx

 

[luvaladdin]

Sorry to hear about the poor transportation. We've stayed at the All Stars, Movies also, many times and have always been very happy with the bus service. Hope that this is just an aberration and will be straightened out soon.

 

[Sonar]

I just got back from ASMo myself (was there from May31-June 5), and really don't have any complaints about the bus service. The longest I remember standing in line was 15 minutes for a bus to Downtown Disney.

Sorry to hear your experience didn't go as well as mine.

 

[justhat]

We stayed at ASMu over Valentine's Day/Presidents Weekend and even though it was not too crowded we almost always had our own bus to the parks, on the way back we sometimes had to stop at Sports. Transportation was sometimes very slow though, especially in the middle of the day, but it was better than the transportation at AKL, which was what really annoyed me since we paid about 6 times as much to stay at AKL and had better service at ASMu.

 

[robinb]

I'm sorry that you had a problem with the busses. I stay at All Star Sports and never have a problem. First ones on, first ones off. Plus, in the mornings and at park closing there are usually individual busses for each resort and they only share in the off-peak times.

Originally posted by coach323
We drove to the Polynesian and rode the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and we rode a boat from th Boardwalk to Epcot.

Hmmm .... didn't you see the signs that parking at those resorts to access the parks was prohibited? Perhaps you didn't think it applied to your family . It is a real pain in the butt for a Polynesian/Contemporary/Boardwalk/Y&BC resort guest to find parking at their own resort when people from other resorts and off-site take up parking places.

I totally understand why you didn't want to take the bus, we almost always drive to the parks and park in the appropriate parking lot. You can think of the tram from the parking lot an additional ride .

 

[coach323]

Robin, in response to your comments about driving to the other resorts, I asked the Disney information staff at the resort and they stated that Disney resort guests are welcome at all the other resorts. We ate at the ESPN restaurant on the boardwalk and we ate lunch at the Polynesian. I did not think it was inappropriate to use their transportation. I didn't know that guests staying at the Deluxe resorts resented the Value resort guest visiting the other locations.

 

[robinb]

I don't resent you visiting a deluxe resort to eat or to see the resort. That's cool by me. I don't care if you're staying at a Value resort, or a Moderate or another Deluxe or even off-site. You're given a 3 hour "resort pass" so you can have plenty of time enjoy the resort.

I do resent you leaving your car in the parking lot while you visit the park. Your car in a spot all day means I have a harder time finding a spot at my own resort. You would be amazed how much the Contemporary parking lot empties out after the MK closes and how hard it is to find a space before closing.

 

[lovndisney]

We stayed at the All Star Movies in 2000 and didn't really have any transportation problems.

We were told that at Opening and closing the resorts did not share the busses. In the after noon and early evening they do
because there isn't as much passenger traffic at that time.

I am sorry you had a bad experience. I hope the next trip
is much better.

Have great night
- Kim

 

[Pea Picker]

We have stayed at the All Stars 3 times and have never had a problem with the buses going to the parks. In the early morning when most people are going to the parks there seems to be buses for each resort. We have had to stop at all 3 resorts when returning from the parks. However what we do is use the bus in the morning and then return for a break and then use our car at night. That system works out very well for us. We park in the lot for each park and that gets us back to our resort quicker than taking a bus.

 

[disneys4me]

We just returned in May and we stayed at the AllStar Movies had no problem like some of the others have said in the afternoon when there is not much passenger traffic then they would share the buses but i absolutely loved allstar movies and my kids thought it was Great!

 

[I Need Magic]

Okay, now you've got me worried about being late for EE! Right now I have a car rental reservation, but was considering towncar instead. I'll be watching this thread closely!