Pop or an All-Star?

anewmac

Ive got nothing planned whats an OCVP to do?
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Apr 22, 2007
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We have deceided to do one of the value resorts after our cruise. Now I have a few questions. Being that this is our 1st time at the World.
  1. Which do most preffer, Pop or one of the All Star resorts?? WHich All Star if this is your fav, and why?
  2. If we are staying at one of these resorts, do they have transportation to and from the resort to the various parks? Is this included in the cost of the stay?
  3. Will transporation be included from the resort back to the airport (Orlando Int)? Is this an included cost or an extra cost?
  4. Does anyone know if Disney transportaion will pick us up from port after our cruise and take us to the resort, and is this also included in the price...? if not anyone know the cost?

THanks all trying to plan and budget and so much to think/learn about! Especially since this will be our 1st trip out that way.:scared1:
 
We stay at POP the last 2 times and will be staying there on our next trip. we love the atmoshpere. The buses do run from there to each park. That is about the only questions I can help you with.
 
I would most definitly stay a pop b/c the all-stars remind me of Disney motels...not so good
 
I would've said Pop hands-down but now with the recent renovation at ASMusic ( haven't tried ASSPorts but it's also newly renovated) the great bedding and gorgeous rooms there, plus the fun activities at the resort now have the two in a tie, IMO. If it's just for one or two nights, I'd say Pop. As to transportation, yes you can use DME which is complimentary from the resort to the airport at the end of your resort stay. You'll need to call and set it up in advance. You can use the DCL motorcoach from the port to ANY Disney resort, however it is not complimentary. It will be $35.00 pp one way for anyone age 3 and older, or twice that if you do r/t ( airport-port-resort) for a total of $70 pp. If you park at the pier, it's now $15.00 per day. As was mentioned, every WDW resort includes complimentary transportation to/from the theme parks as well as EMH.---Kathy
 

We have deceided to do one of the value resorts after our cruise. Now I have a few questions. Being that this is our 1st time at the World.
  1. Which do most preffer, Pop or one of the All Star resorts?? WHich All Star if this is your fav, and why?
  2. If we are staying at one of these resorts, do they have transportation to and from the resort to the various parks? Is this included in the cost of the stay?
  3. Will transporation be included from the resort back to the airport (Orlando Int)? Is this an included cost or an extra cost?
  4. Does anyone know if Disney transportaion will pick us up from port after our cruise and take us to the resort, and is this also included in the price...? if not anyone know the cost?

THanks all trying to plan and budget and so much to think/learn about! Especially since this will be our 1st trip out that way.:scared1:

Going down your list:
Which Resort: I really think it's a toss-up though Pop Century is newer so that should push it to the front of the list. We've stayed at each and to me, there's no overwhelming postive or negative for any. But if, i had to pick an AS, I'd say Movies, I like the theming a little more.

Park Transportation: Disney Bus Service to each of the parks at no cost.

Resort to Airport: You can use the Magical Express service to get back to the airport for no cost (except driver tip)

Cruise to Resort: I'm assuming it's not a Disney cruise or it would be all inclusive. Not sure about this one but an earlier poster had a suggestion. How are you getting to the port? We rented a car from Avis and took it to the Avis location in Cocoa Beach and reversed it getting back to Orlando. A lot of people on Cruise Critic speak highly of Art's Shuttle as well.
 
with the recent renovation at ASMusic ( haven't tried ASSPorts but it's also newly renovated) the great bedding and gorgeous rooms there, plus the fun activities at the resort now have the two in a tie,
Wondering what the fun activities are? We are going in April and I'd love to know.
 
We've stayed at all four values. Two adults no kids. Here is how I would rank them and why.

Pop Century - one bus line so not shared with any other resort. The icons are great and the shadowboxes with lots of trinkets from each decade are even better. It's a great place to start conversations about how things used to be.

All Stars - they can share buses. All three are about the same just with different theming.

Sports - our favorite because we love sports.
Movies - second - we love movies too but Sports doesn't seem to get as full as Movies
Music - third - there's not a classic rock or easy listening building!
 
For us, it depends on the mood of the moment.

We stayed at Music during our Christmas trip (and on several occasions in the past). The newly refurbished rooms were great. The kids loved the "idea" of being able to participate in the extra activities during the day and the movie at the pool at night (but never actually followed through and did any of them!!). The food court was very clean and never completely full, despite it being Christmas. Lines moved quickly. CMs were extremely friendly, engaging dd in an impromptu band outside the gift shop on Christmas morning. We were in Country Fair Building 6, which was a huge disappointment when we first saw it on the map (LOOOOOOOONG walk from the overflowing with luggage car). However, we ended up LOVING the location because it was so quiet and removed from the rest of the hub-bub. From an angle, we could see part of the quiet pool from our window. We also looked out on a little courtyard with picnic tables. Very nice. Wait for buses was never, ever long -- going either direction. We sometimes shared with the other resorts but not always. It seemed to have more to do with the time of the day (scheduling) than with how busy the buses were, as we occasionally had a bus nearly to ourselves but didn't go to another resort.

In July, we spent a night in Sports (and have stayed here on a couple of other occasions, too). Our room in Building 9 of the Home Run Hotel was one of the first that had been refurbished. We were so impressed during this brief stay that we decided to downgrade part of our Christmas trip to a Value and save some money in the process! From our room, we had a partial view of the Grand Slam Pool. While our room was in the back of the resort, we were able to park quite close by. Since we were only here for a night, we didn't mind the walk to the front of the resort. On other fairly recent trips, we have stayed in the Center Court section. The walk seemed about the same, without the added bonus of being able to see a pool. Again, we were favorably impressed with the food court, overall cleanliness throughout the resort, and CM friendliness -- all of which had NOT impressed us during stays in the past.

Since the kids have never visited Pop, that is where they have chose to take us during our March/April trip. Dh and I have stayed there for a night here and there before checking into our deluxe digs. We have always been impressed. The theming of Pop seems to appeal more to adults than do the All Stars. Our favorite room at Pop was in Building A in the 50s section, facing the Bowling Pin pool. The location was excellent, just a short walk to the front of the main building. I've never eaten at Pop, but the kids are excited by the prospect of tie-dyed cheese cake and Coke slushies. It doesn't take much to please them. I have read on these boards that Pop really needs refurbishing. Sports and Music definitely did and now seem so much nicer with new paint and furnishing. Hopefully, Disney will follow suit with Pop soon.

I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the Disney resorts. Just choose which one you can best afford and appeals most to you. Yes, you can have a bad experience at any of them (just as you could at any off-site hotel). But you're far more likely to have a truly magical visit...especially if you begin with a positive attitude. pixiedust:
 
I must prefer POP to the Allstars. THe rooms are the same size in all Value resorts (with the exception of the family suites - but I am not familiar with them). I stayed at POP in 2005 and ASMovies in 2006. POP was the winner in my mind, hands down. I much prefer the theming and the newness of the resort. But the buses are my main reason for preferring POP. Since POP doesn't share the buses with any other resort, this makes things much easier (less waits, less crowded buses, etc.).

But whatever you decide, I'm sure you will love it!
 


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