Pop vs All Star Music

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Hello!

DD and I are thinking about going to WDW in early May. I am trying to decide between ASMu and Pop. We have stayed at ASMo and loved it but I have heard some recent bad reviews about the room quality. Has ASMu been redone recently? We did stay at Pop in 06 but were not truly excited about it - housekeeping did not do a great job.

Which of the two do you like better & why?

Thanks for your input!

 

[bigbabyblues]

The rooms at ASMu have been refurbed in the last year or so. The new rooms look really nice, from the pictures I saw.

We've stayed at Pop twice and are going to ASMu this year for something different.

 

[Callalily6]

Ive stayed at both the pop and the ASmu. Pop won, hands down. Its just better.

 

[hsmamato2]

we stayed at both last Jan- we liked ASMU much better,it was just a bit less crowded and crazy feeling to us-

 

[Smooshdog]

I would rather not go to Disneyworld than stay at All Star Music again. Movies or Sports yes, but Music no. Stayed there three times and each time it was worse than the one before it, and that was not an easy thing to accomplish. However, having stayed at POP four times, each time at POP was great!

 

[sharonmickey]

I prefer ASMu to POP. IMHO everything was much nicer at ASMu - except the drink station but that is a minor inconvenience. My room was cleaner, the resort did not seem as busy, loved the food court, and the bus service was much better than POP. Some people love POP but I would rather stay at ASMu.

 

[typhoonlagooner]

My mom and I stayed at Pop in Jan '07 an ASmu in Sept '07...

Pop was our first value stay and we just weren't overly impressed. We LOVED what the value resorts had to offer (especially for that price!) but just didn't get what all the hype was about Pop.

After our disapointing stay there, we agreed to try an All Star. ASmu was actually our third choice (lol) but since we couldn't get standard at movies and the pool at sports was closed, we booked preferred at ASmu and crossed our fingers.

From the second we departed the ME bus at ASmu we were in love. We were the only two people to get off for ASmu and took that as a good sign! There was no line to check-in and we were greeted by a "goofy" CM in giant Mickey hat and gloves! We were able to recieve our requests (thrid floor, dbl dbl) and the room was ready (11am during a sold out week!).

The walk from the desk to our room was 90secs and as soon as we walked in we felt like we had already recieved twice our money's worth compared to Pop. The rooms are so nicely done with the two tone walls, new linens and carpet, new furniture, and new decor. The bedding was super plush and the room had more of a "disney deluxe" feel than the motel feel at Pop.

The resort was quieter and did not seem as busy. They played pool games and music daily and an evening disney movie on an inflatable pool side screen. CMs were top notch, helpful, and friendly. The food court is showing it's age but we preferred the offerings here compared to Pop and it never seemed as busy to us.

Mousekeeping was a pleasure and we recieved towel animals nearly everyday and turn down service on our last night. Room was clean and felt like it had never even been used before. Bus service was just as good if not better at ASmu compared to Pop.

Overall... we felt spoiled at ASmu and have no desire to even return to Pop. My own concern at ASmu is traveling during a school/sports/musical/tour group time though.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

Overall... we felt spoiled at ASmu and have no desire to even return to Pop.

DH & I second that opinion. We don't ever want to return to POP again. ASMu was so perfect for us - our standard room was better than the preferred room we paid for at POP. Loved the refurbished rooms at ASMu, the curtain in the bathroom area and the food courts. No problems with the bus system - only shared 1x and that was great!! Can't wait to go back again.......................

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Thanks for the input!

It seems like ASMu will be a great choice for us. I know that there are a ton of people on the DIS that love Pop. Pop was okay for us. Like I said before we had horrible experiences with housekeeping.

Does anyone know if the activities mentioned by a pp go on all the time (ie movies by the pool)?

 

[ariel3]

does anyone feel that the bus service at the all stars(esp. the music) is worse due to the fact that sometimes these buses stop at any or all 3 resorts. is it better at the pop because it is only one stop?

 

[Delta Hog]

So what have we learned?

1. Pop is great, it's better!

2. ASMu is great, it's better!


[I'm about to stay at ASMu on my first-ever trip to Disney, so I am hoping for 2..........]

 

[Jessma9902]

does anyone feel that the bus service at the all stars(esp. the music) is worse due to the fact that sometimes these buses stop at any or all 3 resorts. is it better at the pop because it is only one stop?

Yes! Much better for busing at POP than at the other All-Star Resorts. Especially with children who are either super excited and don't want to wait on the bus any longer than they have to, or who are exhausted and passed out on your lap on the way back at night- not having multiple stops is a feature that you forget about until you don't have it!

We love POP!

 

[maggs]

Just about everything at Pop was worse for us than at AS Music. Music was much more pleasant. The rooms were quieter with no smoke leaking through the vents and noise from our neighbors. I hated the way the shop and CS area at Pop were together and the area bewteen was one huge bottleneck. Housekeeping was very poor. As for the buses, the service was miles better at Music than Pop, even with a designated service for Pop. There will be a blue moon in the sky before I ever stay at Pop again.

Maggs

 

[dis2cruise]

I prefer ASMu to POP. IMHO everything was much nicer at ASMu - except the drink station but that is a minor inconvenience. My room was cleaner, the resort did not seem as busy, loved the food court, and the bus service was much better than POP. Some people love POP but I would rather stay at ASMu.

what is wrong about the drink station???

 

[G's mommy]

ASMu is the only value we will consider for more than one night. Our last stay at Pop really did us in, noisy rooms, crummy beds, people everywhere, bus lines 3 miles long at the end of the night. Pop is nuts, but some people like that I guess. The only thing better at Pop is the fact there is an inside lounge, nice if the weather is cold. Now that the rooms at ASMu have been refurbed, it wins out in my book.

 

[Kazzy1548]

Personnaly We tried Pop and didn't enjoy it . We plan to go to Music for our next trip.....

 

[jadedbeauty14304]

My first on-site stay was at ASMu and we had a good time. My second was at POP and it blew away ASMu. I like the theming better, the food court is better, the shop is better, there is a lake for nice evening strolls, the CM's were amazing, and the arcade is bigger and better too. There are lounges inside and out, the buses go straight to and from the parks without extra stops, and no matter where your room is located it is not too far of a walk to the main bldg.

I stayed at CSR and didn't like it as much as POP. I like loud, fun, Disney, it puts me My Dd10 loves the 60's theming too, she is a little