momomonster
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2003
- Messages
- 177
The following is just my opinion, obviously, so YMMV. We chose to stay at a value resort for this trip even though weve stayed moderate in the past and love the architecture of the deluxes. Although we did visit four of the deluxes this trip, we did not see the rooms and I cannot comment on those. Its just the two of us, were in our mid-30s, we love fine dining, and we do not like to drive during our vacations. I snagged a deal for $69 a night, so after all was said and done we paid $405 for five nights at the All Star Music.
In general, we DID get our moneys worth and I do not regret our choice in the least. We requested a king, but got a double room in a perfect location and I didnt want to complain and get moved someplace less desirable. Check-in was efficient and we did not have to wait (but at 8pm Tuesday night I doubt there was a wait in any of the resorts).
Our room was 9643, third floor of the Jazz Building number 9. From our door we could see past the Calypso Building and directly at Melody Halls food court. To our right was the parking lot, giving us VERY easy access to load and unload the car. We were around the corner from the ice machine, so we could easily refill our cooler every other day. Had we needed the elevators, they were just around the corner from our room, as well. The room overlooked a gorgeous stand of palm trees surrounding a playground we only saw used once during our five days. It was quiet, but I imagine if you wanted to sleep in you would hear other families walking by the room or whatnot anytime past 9 am or so.
The décor was fine and the size was plenty for two. I knew it would feel like a motel and it did. Cheap toilet paper, plastic cups, rough fire-retardant bedspreads, and little counter space- all the usual suspects. But, for $69 on-site, I wasnt expecting the Ritz.
The Intermission Food Court served fast food that was as good as that served in the parks, if not better. We split a childs baked chicken meal and a steak salad the first night for less than $13 and enjoyed everything. The last morning we split an adult breakfast platter and a chocolate croissant for around the same price and I was surprised how yummy everything tasted.
Yes, the food court was a bit of a mad house at times, but no different than the parks. I must say that children at the resort were very well behaved and we did not see the shrieking and whining we witnessed at our visits to the Contemporary and Polynesian. If someone thinks paying more for deluxe will provide a more peaceful experience, I would say theyre going to be disappointed. There was a baby crying in the Polynesian lobby we could hear throughout our meal at the delicious Kona Café.
Speaking of the Poly, it reminded me a lot of the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal where we stayed a few years ago for half the money Disney charges. Granted those rooms did not have balconies, but I didnt see the balconies being used by many guests during my visits to the deluxes and I have to question their worth. Im sure theyre worth it to some.
I love modernist architecture and I expected to adore the Contemporary, but it felt weird to me. It could be a result of the construction or the conventions going on, I dont know what, but it felt cold and sad and the gift shop was full of whining children demanding parents buy them this or that.
The All Star Music buses worked very well in most cases, except for a few times when we saw a bus pulling away and had to wait 20 minutes for another. No biggie. We used the boats several times between the Beach Club Resort (had to have some gelato!), Wilderness Lodge (had to see the atrium!), and parks, and we found them to be slow and inefficient. Epcot resorts in particular shared buses which dragged out travel times a great deal. I think the values have the deluxes beat as far as bus transportation goes. Of course being on the monorail would help getting to/from MK or Epcot.
The two resort pools were large and nicely themed. Tons of activities were provided at the main pool during our stay, including movies, contests, and music. We had an enjoyable swim one night at the smaller pool and had plenty of space to splash about. Yes, the deluxes had much nicer pools with waterfalls, slides, and hot tubs, but we did not miss those things because a little pool time goes a long way with us.
Having said all that, we would probably stay at the Port Orleans again for our next stay. Being that we love fine dining there were a few times when we would have loved to hop a boat to Downtown Disney for dinner instead of being a stuck with only fast food at our resort. Facing a long bus ride or squeezing in a dinner at another resort made us feel stuck a few times at Music. It didnt ruin our vacation by any means, but we missed having more easy options for table service dining.
Dining and ride reviews are coming! Stay tuned!
Oh, one more negative about the ASMu I just discovered upon returning to work this morning. One of our coworkers told us they had ordered a bottle of wine for our room which we never received. I had no idea he was doing such a sweet thing and I dont know where the error occurred, but Id count that as a small negative on the resort until I learn more.
Happy travels, M.
In general, we DID get our moneys worth and I do not regret our choice in the least. We requested a king, but got a double room in a perfect location and I didnt want to complain and get moved someplace less desirable. Check-in was efficient and we did not have to wait (but at 8pm Tuesday night I doubt there was a wait in any of the resorts).
Our room was 9643, third floor of the Jazz Building number 9. From our door we could see past the Calypso Building and directly at Melody Halls food court. To our right was the parking lot, giving us VERY easy access to load and unload the car. We were around the corner from the ice machine, so we could easily refill our cooler every other day. Had we needed the elevators, they were just around the corner from our room, as well. The room overlooked a gorgeous stand of palm trees surrounding a playground we only saw used once during our five days. It was quiet, but I imagine if you wanted to sleep in you would hear other families walking by the room or whatnot anytime past 9 am or so.
The décor was fine and the size was plenty for two. I knew it would feel like a motel and it did. Cheap toilet paper, plastic cups, rough fire-retardant bedspreads, and little counter space- all the usual suspects. But, for $69 on-site, I wasnt expecting the Ritz.
The Intermission Food Court served fast food that was as good as that served in the parks, if not better. We split a childs baked chicken meal and a steak salad the first night for less than $13 and enjoyed everything. The last morning we split an adult breakfast platter and a chocolate croissant for around the same price and I was surprised how yummy everything tasted.
Yes, the food court was a bit of a mad house at times, but no different than the parks. I must say that children at the resort were very well behaved and we did not see the shrieking and whining we witnessed at our visits to the Contemporary and Polynesian. If someone thinks paying more for deluxe will provide a more peaceful experience, I would say theyre going to be disappointed. There was a baby crying in the Polynesian lobby we could hear throughout our meal at the delicious Kona Café.
Speaking of the Poly, it reminded me a lot of the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal where we stayed a few years ago for half the money Disney charges. Granted those rooms did not have balconies, but I didnt see the balconies being used by many guests during my visits to the deluxes and I have to question their worth. Im sure theyre worth it to some.
I love modernist architecture and I expected to adore the Contemporary, but it felt weird to me. It could be a result of the construction or the conventions going on, I dont know what, but it felt cold and sad and the gift shop was full of whining children demanding parents buy them this or that.
The All Star Music buses worked very well in most cases, except for a few times when we saw a bus pulling away and had to wait 20 minutes for another. No biggie. We used the boats several times between the Beach Club Resort (had to have some gelato!), Wilderness Lodge (had to see the atrium!), and parks, and we found them to be slow and inefficient. Epcot resorts in particular shared buses which dragged out travel times a great deal. I think the values have the deluxes beat as far as bus transportation goes. Of course being on the monorail would help getting to/from MK or Epcot.
The two resort pools were large and nicely themed. Tons of activities were provided at the main pool during our stay, including movies, contests, and music. We had an enjoyable swim one night at the smaller pool and had plenty of space to splash about. Yes, the deluxes had much nicer pools with waterfalls, slides, and hot tubs, but we did not miss those things because a little pool time goes a long way with us.
Having said all that, we would probably stay at the Port Orleans again for our next stay. Being that we love fine dining there were a few times when we would have loved to hop a boat to Downtown Disney for dinner instead of being a stuck with only fast food at our resort. Facing a long bus ride or squeezing in a dinner at another resort made us feel stuck a few times at Music. It didnt ruin our vacation by any means, but we missed having more easy options for table service dining.
Dining and ride reviews are coming! Stay tuned!
Oh, one more negative about the ASMu I just discovered upon returning to work this morning. One of our coworkers told us they had ordered a bottle of wine for our room which we never received. I had no idea he was doing such a sweet thing and I dont know where the error occurred, but Id count that as a small negative on the resort until I learn more.
Happy travels, M.
