Opinions on AS Mo needed

[Spartan]

I'm thinking of doing a couple of days at AS Movies this time as I'm thinking my 5yo son would really enjoy it, but I'm not finding too much info on it - seems like all info for the value resorts is related to POP. Are the rooms starting to look worn down? Is POP really that much better for a value? Would one of the other AS's be better?

Sounds like the themeing would be great for a 5yo who's very much into Dis characters and movies, but looking for opinions from people who been there recently. Thanks.

 

[Zandy595]

We haven't stayed there in a couple years, but we loved it when we were there. We always got either the Buzz or Woody building and found it to be a short walk to the buses/foodcourt. You can't beat the theme for little kids.

Have you checked out the All-Star Movies FAQ's Thread?

 

[CamColt]

We have stayed there 3 times(once in Toy Story and twice in Mighty Ducks)and loved it each time. Bus service is great, food court is convenient, CMs are friendly and helpful...and the Disney theming cant be beat!!!

 

[hipporina]

We love ASMo and will return there in Sept. I have heard really good things about POP too, but I felt the themeing there would fly right over my kids' heads. Last time we were at ASMo, my kids adored it. They thought it was as cool as the parks. It was a simple decision for us to pick ASMo again.

 

[princess-rn]

I hate to be the bad news bear..but we too decided to stay at ASMo for the last day of our trip. I thought it would be great for my 2 1/2 yr old. I have posted this before so I'm going to copy and paste it here. It's long.....


We've ALWAYS stayed at POFQ and LOVED it. I still have NO complaints about it. However, this time I decided that we would try a "value" resort. I've had tons of people ask me.."Why do you insist on staying at a moderate resort..they are the same as the value resorts"....(MAN were they wrong) I decided to book ASMo for our last night at WDW since we just really needed a place to sleep before the long drive home on Monday. We spent our day at MGM and Mk. Checked into ASMo around 11pm. I was VERY optomistic about the resort. First thing I didn't like though..I waited in a LONG line to get checked in and no one that worked there really seemed to care. 30 mins in line I finally get to someone to check me in. As the CM is checking us in (DH and DS were in the car..DS who is 2 1/2 was asleep.) he giggled and said "I see you need bed rails". I smiled and said yes, and explained that I have a two year old that will be sleeping by himself in one of the double beds and I feel more comfortable with him having them. He (the CM) giggled again and said so YOU need them. I was like "what??" I just ignored him. (with a smile on my face though..I'm still very optomistic) He told me we were in the fantasia building...room 5703. 1st floor. Well..I didn't care where we were...I just wanted to get some sleep..I figured we would check the resort out tomorrow a little before we left. Much to our dismay...we found our room. Right behind a big broom stick right beside...THE POOL!! The pool which had about 20 screaming children in it at almost midnight. Again..still optomistic...I'm sure we can't hear them from inside the room..or so I thought. We stepped into our room and were immediately disappointed. #1 It was HOT and stuffy in the room. I checked the air conditioning and it was set on 40 degrees!!!! It was more like 75-80. #2 It was a KING size bed...not the 2 double beds that I had asked for. (Have you tried sleeping with a 2 1/2 year old lately??) #3...the bathroom...what were they thinking when they made a shower with nothing to hold the water from going all over the floor?? DH said "oh..the floor is slanted..it will be fine. Once we took a shower..it was a different story. Sure the floor is SLIGHTLY slanted...but not enough to keep from flooding the entire bathroom everytime you took a shower. It was just ridiculous. #4 The toliet felt as if it were going to topple over when you sat on it. It was like someone forgot to bolt it down. I was FURIOUS!!!! to top it all off#5..I think the walls were made of Paper. We could hear every conversation going on outside, in the rooms around us, every toliet flushing. It was soooo loud. We were so tired and all I really wanted was a good nights sleep. DH calmed me down and kept me from calling the front desk to complain. DS was already asleep and DH felt the room was good enough for what we needed it for...sleep. I was exhausted...and I did manage to fall asleep quickly. HOwever About 1 1/2 hours after I fell asleep I heard someone knocking at the door...I looked out the peep hole and saw that they were delivering the bed rails?????!!!! WHAT??? Ummm...I don't think my DH and I will fall off the king sized bed. Plus it's past 2am...ARGH!! I just went back to bed. I didn't want to deal with that right now.
Then around 7am I heard ANOTHER knock at the door and someone saying "housekeeping". I went to the door (yes the privacy card was in the door) and she said "are you checking out today??" I said "yes" and she said Ok..and walked away. I continued to hear her going to EVERY other room and yelling "housekeeping:"...It was very annoying. but yet again I fell back to sleep. Around 9am ANOTHER knock at the door. "housekeeping"...This time I tried to ignore them..but she just kept knocking. (same lady as earlier) Finally I went to the door and she asked me the SAME question. "are you checking out today?" I told her yes and that she was just here 2 hours ago. She nodded and said "oh yes..you are right.": I asked her what time it was and she said 9:10. I asked her if there was a reason I was being bothered about checking out when checkout wasnt' until 11am? She didn't say a word..but just walked away. I had enough. I went and flooded out the BR yet again by taking a shower and then woke DH and DS up and told them..LETS GET OUT OF HERE!!!! I did let the CM know when I was checking out that I wasn't happy and why I wasn't happy. She said "oh..I'm sorry to hear that. Have a safe trip." WHATEVER!!! I can promise you that I will NEVER NEVER stay in a value resort again. I know their are "deluxe resort snobs"...WEll just call me a "moderate resort snob"...

This was my experience there...I have a friend who stay there in the 101 dalmations area a couple of years ago and LOVED it. I think POFQ has spoiled me...I will not try a value resort again. I did hear lots of good things about POP though.

I hope you have a great trip!!!

 

[Zandy595]

We've stayed at CBR so I have something to compare the value resorts to (we've stayed at ASMo, ASMu, and POP). I have to say I'd much rather stay at a value. JMO

We never had any of the problems stated above. Didn't you have a shower curtain? I can't figure out how the bathroom flooded. Housekeeping never bothered us when I put the "Do Not Disturb" sign out. The earlier you check in the better chance you have of getting what you ask for (quiet room away from the main pool, double beds, bed rails, etc...). It might be inconvenient, but worth it in the long run, to check in before you go to the parks. You won't be able to get into your room, but at least you'll be assigned a specific room.

Sorry you had a bad experience princess-rn.

 

[LJH77]

Thats a really unfortunate experience you've had princess-rn - however I wouldn't let this stop you from ever venturing into a value resort again. I get the feeling that this was a run of unfortunate events for you and the fact that you were very tired probably made it seem even worse - I sympathise. Very odd about the shower - we had a bath with overhead shower in our room, this could have been a disabled room. Mind you that wasn't what you asked for so can see your point.

However I have stayed at ASMo and loved it.....I've also stayed in Port Orleans Riverside and loved it.....and I have also stayed in the Grand Floridian and loved it. All very different resorts but all with the same Disney Magic!

Spartan, unless it has gone completely down hill in the 3 years ( I think!) since I was there (which I doubt) I'm sure you'll have a lovely time - and your son will love the themeing!

Enjoy!

 

[disneydreamer98]

We have stayed at ASMo 3 times all with our DS (almost 5) and he LOVES it! If your Son even remotely likes Toy Story then definitely request to stay in one of the Toy Story Buildings! The look on my DS face the first time he saw the 35 foot tall Buzz Lightyear was priceless!!! There is nothing at all wrong with the rooms, not rundown at all. We have stayed at the Polynesian (before kids) and for the amount of time that we actually spend in our room, I cannot imagine us straying from the Value Resorts again. No matter where you are on the property...you get the Disney smile and service. It is very unfortunate, but I think that princess-rn just had a bad experience. Hopefully if you try it, you and your Son will enjoy it. I know that we always do!

 

[SpoonfulofSugar]

ASMo is the best value resort hands down IMHO. My DS3 loved it, between the Fantasia pool with Mickey the Sorcerer spraying water to the Herbie the Luv Bug play area, and the Toy Story theming (he loves Buzz and Woody). We also have stayed at POP and it didn't come close to being as fun as ASMo. We had no problems with the room as described above, that was unfortunate, but it could happen anywhere. I would recommend ASMo highly, especially with a young son.

 

[kim]

We've stayed at All Star Movies 3 times--most recently, July 2004. We've never had any problems there. We have waited in line to check in, but we did the same at POR when we stayed there. Our rooms always had a shower curtain, the air conditioner worked fine, we didn't notice a lot of noises, the CMs were friendly AND helpful. The rooms were clean and we've had plenty of towels. The food court is really good. Sometimes you do share a bus with All Star Sports and Music, but sometimes All Star Movies has it's own bus. We've stayed in the Toy Story section and Fantasia. We like the Toy Story area better. It's like being in one of the parks with all the big icons. I wouldn't hesitate to stay at All Star Movies again. In fact, the year we stayed at POR, we all agreed that ASMovies had more conveniences for our family.

Have a good time!
kim

 

[bear22]

We stayed there with my whole family, cousins included. We had 5 rooms next to each other in the Buzz building. The only complaint I had was the my trip was to short. Both of my kids (5&2) loved it. I would stay again.

 

[Spartan]

Thanks for all of the quick replies! My son loves Toy Story (I kind of like it myself as a matter of fact ), so this might be a good surprise for him. We'll probably only stay there for a couple of nights, as a trip to Disney is just not the same for me without staying at POR.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

We really liked ASMo's, the only negative for US (I'm emphasizing the "US" as I know this isn't a problem for a lot of people) is that I feel the rooms are small for our family of 4. We just like more space. Other than that I've stayed in the Dalmatian section and my family has stayed in the Toy Story section, both away from the pool but didn't find them to be a long walk to the food, pool etc. My kids had a blast playing around Andy's Room, we had a great 2nd story room right over it. Love the themeing, very Disney. It is a busy family resort so expect that kind of atmosphere, I wouldn't call it laid back or anything. Lots of fun - enjoy !

 

[princess-rn]

We've stayed at CBR so I have something to compare the value resorts to (we've stayed at ASMo, ASMu, and POP). I have to say I'd much rather stay at a value. JMO

We never had any of the problems stated above. Didn't you have a shower curtain? I can't figure out how the bathroom flooded. Housekeeping never bothered us when I put the "Do Not Disturb" sign out. The earlier you check in the better chance you have of getting what you ask for (quiet room away from the main pool, double beds, bed rails, etc...). It might be inconvenient, but worth it in the long run, to check in before you go to the parks. You won't be able to get into your room, but at least you'll be assigned a specific room.

Sorry you had a bad experience princess-rn.

Yes, I did have a shower curtain but the shower curtain didn't touch the floor and the floor had nothing (no bath tub not even a small barrier) to stop the water from flowing on across the entire BR floor. I don't know any other way to describe it. There was nothing there to catch the water except a small drain in the floor. It was awful!!!

Yeah..I know me being tired did have something to do with my issues..but I believe I would have had the same problems with it if I wasn't tired. I know we should have checked in before we went to the parks..but we were just trying to enjoy our last day at disney. I admit this was MY fault because I should have just left it alone and stayed in POFQ for the last night of our trip. That is what I will do next time.

I know most people have a great time at the all stars resorts. I tried to stay open minded...but I just can't do it again. I hope everyone has a great trip!!

 

[bishop1989]

Stayed at ASMO when my daughter was 4 and she absolutely loved the place. It is by far my favorite Value Resort.

 

[Spartan]

Yeah..I know me being tired did have something to do with my issues..but I believe I would have had the same problems with it if I wasn't tired. I know we should have checked in before we went to the parks..but we were just trying to enjoy our last day at disney. I admit this was MY fault because I should have just left it alone and stayed in POFQ for the last night of our trip. That is what I will do next time.

I know most people have a great time at the all stars resorts. I tried to stay open minded...but I just can't do it again. I hope everyone has a great trip!!

I appreciate the info. I like to hear the negative as well as the positive. Sounds like you must have had a wheelchair-accessible room? My favorite is POR, but some stays there have been better than others, including one time that our check-in took over an hour. Also, they timed the rehab good as we were very close to not going back due to the shape the rooms were in.

What's "Andy's Room" - a playground?

 

[Zandy595]

What's "Andy's Room" - a playground?

Andy's Room is the courtyard between the Buzz and Woody buildings. You walk through a giant door (Andy's room door) to get into Andy's Room. There are huge building blocks and a lot of the characters from the Toy Story movies. I haven't been there in a while so I can't remember everything that's there.

All-Star Movies Pictures

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

Andy's Room is a themed play area between the two Toy Story buildings 9 and 10 http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/asmv_map.jpg . Not a playground really, but the kids like it and lots of photo opportunities. Here's a few of our pics http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ladytrampscampandangel/album?.dir=/2233&urlhint=actn,ren:s,1:f,0

 

[Zandy595]

Here are some more pictures. http://www.grandgetawaystravel.com/AllStarMoviesPictures.html Scroll down to Toy Story.

 

[disneydreamer98]

What's "Andy's Room" - a playground?

Andy's Room is the courtyard area between the two Toy Story Buildings. It has the 35 foot Buzz and a Woody just as big except he is sitting down. Then there is a big door to "andy's Room" where there is a big icon of Rex and Bo Peep as well as some oversized ABC blocks and checkerboard with Checkers. I really wouldn't call it a "playground", but the kids definitely play around in the area and enjoy it. Lot's of great photo op's! There is also a RC (the remote control car that Buzz and Woody rode on in the movie) that is large enough for the kids to sit in. If you go to www.mouseplanet.com you can access "Trip Planning", "WDW" then select "ASMo photo tour". There are some great pictures of the grounds.