Please tell me all about All Star Movies...the good and the bad!

[marcyinPA]

We've pretty much decided "last minute" to book a trip to the world for my dh's 40th birthday. We are on a budget, but with the free meal plan, we got a quote for the All Star Movies, 7 day non-park hoppers, free meals for 6 nt/7 days Sept. 28-Oct4 for 2 adults and 2 kids, ages 6 and 10....$1350.

We've never stayed at a value resort, only the cabins, POR and off-site. We were never opposed to going value, we just were always able to do a bit more financially than we are now. I know the rooms are small....and I know they are crazy with kids. But what else can you tell me about this resort? How does it compare to the other values? I have boys who are into movies, sports AND music...so themeing-wise, I think any of the resorts would appeal to them. Personally, the movie theme seems cooler to ME than the other themes.

Opinions please??

 

[Merandab4]

I have never stayed at any of the all star resorts, so this is not my personal opinion, but just what I have heard from others and Castmembers.

1. The theming is great.
2. The food courts are great.
3. The pools can get crowded
4. If you stay at any of the All-Star resorts, the bus will stop at all three of the resorts, (movies, music, and sports) before dropping you off at your respective park. Same as on the way back.

I think you got an awesome deal. Have fun and happy b-day to your DH?

 

[Bob P]

Hi Marcy,

If you do a search on this board you'll find lots more opinions on ASMV too.


Enjoy,

Bob

 

[CheapMom]

I have stayed at values, mods and deluxes and ASMO is my very favorite because of the memories we have made there. When my (then) one year old saw that giant Buzz Lightyear- it was priceless.

 

[Ron G]

The positive - fun resort, large foodcourt & arcade, really feels like Disney with all of the icons around the resort.

The negative - all 3 all-star resorts share the same bus system, movies is the last to get picked up in the a.m. (sometimes the seats would already be filled when it got to us) & the last to get dropped off in the p.m (when you're dead tired)

Ron

 

[hennajo]

On our first trip to WDW we stayed at ASMov. It was only 2 of us, and we liked it. Rooms were clean and comfy. No problems at all with noise...we were there in early November...we had a standard view room in one of the Dalmation sections, so we were close to the bus stop. Food Court was just fine. The only thing I did not like was the fact that the bus stops at all 3 Value resorts...not a big deal until the end of the day when everyone is ready to go back to their resort and then it got really crowded. But everyone was helpful and friendly and we enjoyed our stay. I would have no problems staying there again.

 

[karynnix]

The rooms are SPOTLESS. Even clean under the beds! The pools are great. The food court is awesome and everything is close, so you don't have to walk far. Although, the A/C in the rooms leaves a little to be desired. Make sure you crank it down to about 60 degrees to make it bearable! We figured that out on our 3rd day there!

 

[Tamie]

We stayed at the ASMO a couple of years ago. I did not think that the rooms were that small, there was 4 of us; a 5yo, 12yo, husband and myself. As for a lot of kids it wasnt bad at all and I thought that the bus service was great, never had to wait very long either way.

I loved it there....we are going back in August and that was my 1st choice of where to stay but we may be bring a friend of my daughters so we will need a room that sleeps 5, so we booked the POR instead. Kinda disappointed.

It has a great theme, the rooms are decorated great and I loved the bathroom decor. My son loved to play in the toy story room area.

You will have a great time there.

 

[chipper10]

My Dh and I stayed there in 2002 when we were dating. We stayed in the Toy Story Building and we loved it. Lots of fun. The pool was packed at times though.

-Nicole

 

[Tetonman]

We've stayed there twice, this past April with our 6,4,and 2 year olds and once in 2003 (4,2, and 9 months old). We absolutely love it. The theming is great, it is not as loud as people think at night. Mostly there are families there who get back from the parks and go to bed...

The rooms are small for 4 adults, but fine for two with kids.

The food court has great food and the check out lines move quickly.

We also bought our beer at the onsite store rather than the bar and saved $2/bottle. We set up our chairs on the terrace (all doors face outside) and had a nice husband and wife time together while the kids fell asleep.

The pools are great. If the big fantasia Mickey pool is crowded, go to the Mighty Ducks pool which is always clean and uncrowded. (And we've never had a problem with towels.)

The CRs at check-in are fine. Mousekeeping is as close to perfect as you can get at Disney. The lifeguards are good with kids too.

The arcade is small, but there are lots of games for pre-teens, teens, and little ones to play.

Buses were great. Yes, you are farthest from MK. But there are many buses running and the waits will not be that long. And I think the bus stops first at ASMovies, then goes to the others so you are in good shape to get a seat.

Have a great time!

 

[lbgraves]

We have stayed at ASMo in the Toy Story section & really liked it. In 11/03 the *** all shared a bus but in 12/04 there was a seperate bus for each AS resort. We found that to be much nicer. When we were there last week we saw busses with either All Star Movies or All Star Sports on the front so we figured that it was still set up with seperate busses. I will never forget DD who was 3 yo on our first visit looking outside the window to say goodnight to Buzz.

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

We've stayed at ASMo twice, once in 2002, and most recently in Oct. 2004. We loved the resort. Last time, we were in the Buzz Lightyear building, which was perfect for my Toy Story fanatic 3 year old DS. Here are our pros & cons:

Pros:
* Loved the food court. We liked the pizza, the Mickey waffles, and DH even got grilled salmon one night that he really liked (and he's picky about his salmon) We got refillable mugs, but I never saw the milk spiggot that another poster on another thread mentioned. We discovered that getting a larger container of milk in the gift shop was cheaper than getting 1/2 pints in the food court, so we did that.

* Check in was super fast last time. We arrived at 11:30am & were about 2nd in line.

* Staff is always super friendly. I never felt like I was "looked down upon" for chosing the value resort.

* The Toy Story & Dalmation buildings are super close to the main building and bus stops.

* Bus system was great! We were there Oct. 1-8 last year, so about the same time as you'll be there this year. We never shared a bus in the mornings with the other All Star resorts. And we never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus. Most often, there was a bus waiting for us! At night, especially at park closing, the All Stars lines will be among the longest. However, they have more buses for those 3 resorts. At those times, instead of separating everyone out into individual resort, they just load 'em up & stop at all three. This is fine by me, as I'd rather be on an AC'ed bus than standing with two tired children waiting on a bus.

* Mousekeeping did a great job. They arranged our kids toys in fun ways each day.

* The theme is fun! You're totally surrounded by Disney magic 24/7.

Cons:
* The only one I can think of is that, for some strange reason, with four people in the room, mousekeeping only left us 3 towels and washclothes for the first 2 days. I had to call for an extra set each day. The second time I called, they brought up a bunch of extras, but told me to "hide" them. They said if mousekeeping saw a bunch of extras, they wouldn't leave any new ones. ??! Anyway, after receiving our secret stash, we were fine for the rest of the week!

Go & have a blast! Wish I was gonna' be there too!
Christy