Of the Value Resorts....

[umaangel00]

I am wondering which hotel of the all star (value) resorts are the best. We can't really afford to stay in anything other than a value you resort.

 

[aubriee]

Don't forget if you want to stay at a Value resort there is also POP Century. It's the newest of the value resorts and the only one that has a lake and a pool bar. They also have an icee machine in their food court which the other resorts do not. The CMs do the hustle and the twist at certain times of the day also, which is fun. In May I stayed two nights at POP, then rented DVC points at BWV for five nights, then went back to POP for a final two nights. When I booked it, I had serious doubts about it. Those huge icons just looked so gaudy too me, but I was pleasantly surprised and had no trouble returning to it after my five nights at BWV. The CM's were super friendly and really seemed to enjoy their jobs and everyone I met there (CMs as well as guests) just seemed happy to be there. It was a very upbeat, happy, friendly place. They also have their own buses that go directly to the parks or DTD, whereas most of the resorts (including the three AllStars) share buses.

I took my elder son and GD to WDW this past January and did a split stay at WL and AKL, but I enjoyed POP so much on my solo trip in May, that I'm taking my younger son and D-I-L to POP for a week in September. Oh one more thing, everyday at POP the housekeeper left three towel animals, whereas I never got towel animals at BW, AKL, or WL. It was obvious I was an adult traveling solo, but I still got them. She left them sitting in everyone's windows. I would move mine inside to sit on the bed, but most people in that area had their window sills full of towel animals.

 

[matt&jakesmom]

Just came back from the POP 2 weeks ago and it would get my vote. We have stayed at the ASMO and ASM. They are also both good, but I guess we got caught up in the "down memory lane" bit. In the lobby there are shadow boxes of items from the 50's thru the 90's. Also when you walk around the resort there are signs of events that happened during that decade. We really had a great time.

Any of the value resorts are good. I think it just depends on what you want to see and experience. You can try allearsnet.com and look at pictures of the resorts. That may help in your decision making.

 

[CharlesTD]

My favourite is sports but I am sure it is because that is the first ever resort I stayed in on property but the kids love the theme of Movies and music. You really can't go wrong with any of them and as it was mentioned POP. It has been a big hit with families and adults alike.

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

We've stayed at ASMu once and ASMo twice. We really enjoyed the value resorts! Our stay at Music was 10 years ago, before the Movies resort and before we had kids. We were in the Calypso building, which is now preferred. It was fun, but I don't think it would be as appealing as Movies to children.

We really loved the Movies resort. It is newer than the other All Stars. Our first stay, we were in the Love Bug building. Last fall, we were in the Buzz Lightyear building. We had requested to be in the Toy Story section, because my DS3 was a Toy Story fanatic. He was in heaven all week. I've said to others that he was happier there than he would've been in a suite at the Grand Floridian!

We had great experience with the buses -- never had to wait long. Most of the time a bus was waiting for us. The gift shop is great -- we quickly learned we could buy a quart of milk there for less than two 1/2 pints in the food court. The food court, tho, is good. We ate 2-3 meals there. We never experienced large, unruly crowds there. In fact, we are upgrading to a deluxe next time, and DH says he will miss the food court! Go figure!

We only visited the Fantasia pool at ASMo. It's large and has a statue of Scorcer Mickey that shoots water, but that's the only "theme." Still, it was cool after a long, hot day at the parks. There's also a baby pool, but we didn't venture over there. There is a playground. We walked by it everyday when we were in the Buzz building, but we never played. Our kids weren't too interested, as it looked like playgrounds in our local parks.

I had read opinions of some that people who stay in value resorts are treated lesser than those staying in mods or deluxes. I never found that to be true. The CMs at the resort were wonderful, helpful, and very friendly. The only issue we ever had was that mousekeeping would only leave 3 sets of towels when there were 4 of us in the room ?! After calling back to mousekeeping the first couple of nights, we were brought a stash of extra towels & wash clothes.

I have heard good & bad reviews of the values, but that's also true of the mods and deluxes too. Just go with the attitude that this is going to be the best vacation ever and it will be!

Have fun planning!
Christy

 

[klwdisney]

Don't forget if you want to stay at a Value resort there is also POP Century. It's the newest of the value resorts and the only one that has a lake and a pool bar.

Actually we stayed at ASMO for the Millenium Celebration and my husband spent all of my "nap times" hanging at their Pool Bar. I do think POP is the only Value to have a bar in the food court though.

We're staying at POP for the first time for our trip in October and I'm VERY excited about it!

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Of the Values I would choose POP.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

We have stayed at both POP and ASMU several times and enjoyed both. Pop is the newer of the values and it does have a Icee Machine in the food court. Which DD6 just loves.

 

[umaangel00]

Is the POP the same price as the others?

 

[Holly]

All Star Movies is our favorite of the values (although we have not stayed at the POP yet). The theming of the movies is spectacular and if you have young children you can't go wrong.

 

[daisy_77]

If you are planning a MYW package or booking a room only through Disney, all the values have the same price. I am going during Value Season and it is $77 a night.

 

[Debbie Jean]

Done ASMu and ASMo, both of which we liked.
But POP we loved!!

 

[klwdisney]

Is the POP the same price as the others?

Actually POP is technically in another county so the tax is cheaper...

 

[daisy_77]

Tax is less? That is awesome! Thank you for the info!

 

[Zandy595]

#1 Pop Century!
#2 AllStar Movies
#3 AllStar Music
#4 AllStar Sports (it's last just because I don't like sports and I've never been there)

 

[dyna]

Myself I LOVE Sports because it is the oldest of the value resorts and tends to be less crowded than the other resorts and when the buses share resorts in the middle of the day the bus stops at Sports first.

BTW Sports does have a pool bar but no icee machine.

DH wants to stay at POP when we go in a few weeks hope I not disappointed to bad but hoping he is and will be ready to move back home to Sports in May when we go back.

 

[Jabba1]

I'll be staying at Sports in Aug. I personally don't care which is the best because I won't be spending that much time at the hotel anyway.

But I'm sure I'll enjoy it just the same.

 

[aubriee]

All three All Stars and AKL are in the same county and have a higher tax rate than the other WDW resorts. I forget which county is which, but some resorts are in Osceola county and some in Orange county. For the All Stars it comes out to around $10.00/week higher than POP most of the time. Not a significant amount if you really prefer one of the All Stars. I'm thinking about trying All Star Music for a couple days of my Dec trip, but am hesitating because I enjoyed POP so much. I love being able to take an early morning stroll out over the Generation Gap bridge to look at the lake and also beig able to see Illuminations from the 50's building if I want.

 

[simba2]

I've only stayed at ASMo and POP, but my order of preference for those would be
l. POP
2. ASMo

The reseasoning is:
l. Buses for POP don't share with any other resorts. ASMo shares with Sports and Music and sometimes was full by the time it got to ASMo
2. POp has bars of soap and bottles of shampoo in the shower instead of liquid shower gel and shampoo in a dispenser on the wall

Other than those 2, they are basically the same -- just different theming.

People commented on the ice machine. The only one I noticed was the ice in the soft drink dispenser machine. Both hotels had this. You can fill your water bottle full of ice from this.

We just went to POP in May over Memorial Day Weekend and liked it.

 

[disneymom727]

We loved the All Star Movie resort. It was kind of small but most people don't spend a lot of time in the room anyway. It was great especially if you are travelling with children.