Please help me pick a resort!!

[littleshamrock]

Hi everyone!! My family and I will be going in March, and staying for a week(DS will be 4). We stayed at Pop last year, and loved it, however, we would like to try a new resort. We are open to Value and Moderate resorts. My DS loved the bowling pins @ POP (he loves bowling, I really don't know why...LOL), and I am sure that he would love to stay by Buzz & Woody @ All Star Movies. So, it's between that and the moderate resorts. My boyfriend would like to stay somewhere near a pool (for early morning swims), and I would like to be nearby the main building where dining is, and the such. Also, what are the arcades like at the moderates?? We had a blast in the POP one (and spent a small fortune, but that's besides the point). Transportation is also key (the most important for me), as I don't want to have very long transits and/or stops. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!
MB

 

[minnie61650]

Try the All Stars!

I am 55 years old and travel several times a year. I often stay at 4 star hotels.
So the deluxe resorts do not have anything special for me.
All Star is like being in the heart of the Magic and that is where I want to be.

All Star Music is my favorite.It is quieter because more couples stay there. I love staying at the Clypso building. It is closer to the pool,food court and bus stop.

Here is a site with a map of All Star Sports and All Star Music.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmap.htm
Scroll down.All Star Music is at the bottom of the page.
The Calypso buildings at All Star Music are #1 and #10 are nearest to the food court and bus stop.
They are the preferred buildings and cost about $12 extra per night.
The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

Here is the map of All Movies.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmovie.JPG
The Fantasia Buildings are the preferred buildings.
The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.
It is a great place to stay .
Preschoolers love it.
It is like being in the middle of a Disney Movie Fantasyland.
All Star Movies has pop up fountains now also.
The buses are wonderful.

Bus rides are quite short from the ALL Stars according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses-CBR buses---POPbuses--PO buses--- Contemporary
MK 20 min---- 20 min-----25 min------10 min---20 min(mono)
Epcot 10 min-- 15 min-----20 min------10 min---15 min
MGM 10 min----12 min-----15 min------15 min---20min
AK 10 min------20min-------15 min----15 min---20 min
DTD 15 min----20 min------20 min-----15 min---35 min

It only takes 10 minutes to get to Epcot,MGM and AK from All Stars.
MK is 20 min away. That's the same amount of time it takes on the monorail from the Contemporary.

I have visited WDW more than a dozen times with the 1st time in Oct. 1971. It was brand new. I've stayed at FW, Disney Inn, a few the of Hotels on hotel Blvd., CBR and the towers at the Contemporary. I got to see the MK from my balcony at the Contemporary and I'm happy I got to experience it once. I just prefer the All Star Resorts.
The theaming is pure Disney.
My last 4 visits have been at The All Stars and this fall when we take dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3 we are staying at the All Stars Music. I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic at the All Stars on his first visit.
Where else can one find Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse at the pool?
Have a great time at Disney!
Linda

 

[MandaPerry]

Hi everyone!! My family and I will be going in March, and staying for a week(DS will be 4). We stayed at Pop last year, and loved it, however, we would like to try a new resort. We are open to Value and Moderate resorts. My DS loved the bowling pins @ POP (he loves bowling, I really don't know why...LOL), and I am sure that he would love to stay by Buzz & Woody @ All Star Movies. So, it's between that and the moderate resorts. My boyfriend would like to stay somewhere near a pool (for early morning swims), and I would like to be nearby the main building where dining is, and the such. Also, what are the arcades like at the moderates?? We had a blast in the POP one (and spent a small fortune, but that's besides the point). Transportation is also key (the most important for me), as I don't want to have very long transits and/or stops. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!
MB

POFQ would be great with a 4 year old. Resort is compact, the pool is themed wonderfully for children & not far from any location. The food court is not far from any building either. We stayed in building 4 and we thought it was very close (but not too close) to everything including the bus stop. It really is a delightful resort. We found the bus service to be great also.

Manda's Mom

 

[poohguys]

We like POR. There is a lot to do there if you want too. Bikes, fishing and of course the pool. They have horse drawn carriage rides and our favorite the boat to DTD. We take the boat to DTD almost every night. It is a nice relaxing ride. Sometimes if you time the boat ride right you can catch the fireworks at DTD. (I am not sure if they still have them or if they do them every night.) It last about 25 mins. The food court is great-a lot to choose from. There is the main pool which has a slide and I think 6 other quiet pools. Have fun planning

 

[NYMomof4]

We like POR too! It has the feel of a resort and lots of natural scenery. Old Man Island has a great pool with a slide and my kids liked the convenient quiet pools too. When I think of POR I think relaxed, resort feeling and less commercial theming. It is a large resort, so see if you can request a room close to the food court if you go.

 

[Manon]

We really LOVE POR, but if you want a much smaller resort, less walking, with an absolutly amazing pool for your 4yo, POFQ is for you!!!!!

You'll love the difference in a moderate!!!

Good luck!

 

[michelewdw]

We love POR. We stayed in Alligator Bayou building 14. We were right by a bus
stop, very close to one of the quiet pools and also a few minute walk from the main building(food court, lobby,arcade, restaurant). The main pool was also less than a five minute walk from our room. The resort is beautiful and we did not have any problems with transportation to the parks. You can also take a boat to DTD and to POFQ.

Michele