Pop Vs. ASMusic Vs. ASMovies

[nklooz]

Hi all,

Please chime in on which would be the best. We stayed at POR this Sept, but, am considering the option of doing a Value & taking advantage of some of the extras we didn't this time: Water Parks, BBB, Cirque, etc.

Would love to know which of these is the best & why? Here are a few of my preliminary thoughts:

Also, my biggest concern w/the value category is having horrible and inconvenient and lengthy bus rides everywhere we go. How will the busses compare to our experience at POR?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

Pop: Newer than all Stars, would have its own bus service, but, then don't have buses from the other two resorts that you can hop on if yours doesn't come along

ASMusic: Newly redecorated, but, how is the theme?

ASMovie: Seems like the best theme but pics. make it look like the most outdated.

 

[nannerbadnanner]

I have stayed at all three All-Stars and Pop, and I think they are all great. If you choose the All-Stars, I would go with Sports because it is the first pick-up at the All-Stars. Pop is self-contained, but it is also probably the biggest. We only use Disney transportation occasionally because we drive, but we found we didn't have to wait too long at Pop.

We found Music to be the quietest and most restful of the All-Stars. I don't think the theme is as fun as the others, but it has a much more subdued atmosphere. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed the Sports. I dreaded staying there, but I loved the pools and the icons there. Music was probably my least favorite. It was cute, but it just didn't so it for me.

I really love the Pop Century. I think the pools, food court, and shops are great. We have never had noise issues, but it does appear to be busier than the All-Stars. We also had a much longer check-in time at Pop than we ever did at the All-Stars. We have stayed in the 50's (Bowling Pins) and the 70's (8-Track tapes), and I liked the 50's better because it was quieter. I also think the layout of the Pop is better than the All-Stars which means less walking after a long day at the parks!

Good luck with your decision! I don't think you can go wrong with whatever you decide.

 

[canron]

iv stayed at allstars and pop many times,,the only diff is pop is louder ..buisier,,,4 floors and packed at all times..walls are so thin you can hear every word in the room next to you ,,you can hear every toilet and tap going all day and night..allstars is smaller ..quieter,,,3 floors so less people around,,but its still buisy,,built better and is not as noisy,,but its disney and you cannt have a bad time anywhere,,so take any and enjoy or just do a split and see for yourself

 

[TinkBride]

Hi all,

Please chime in on which would be the best. We stayed at POR this Sept, but, am considering the option of doing a Value & taking advantage of some of the extras we didn't this time: Water Parks, BBB, Cirque, etc.

Would love to know which of these is the best & why? Here are a few of my preliminary thoughts:

Also, my biggest concern w/the value category is having horrible and inconvenient and lengthy bus rides everywhere we go. How will the busses compare to our experience at POR?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

Pop: Newer than all Stars, would have its own bus service, but, then don't have buses from the other two resorts that you can hop on if yours doesn't come along

ASMusic: Newly redecorated, but, how is the theme?

ASMovie: Seems like the best theme but pics. make it look like the most outdated.

I am glad you asked this, because we are trying to decide the exact same thing, for the exact same reasons, so I am going to hop along for the ride with you, if you don't mind!

 

[cukal6]

We stayed at the Pop in December and we will never go back. It was very loud and it took over 2 hours for us to eat because of all the people. We were there during Pop WArner so that could have made a difference. Also found the transportation very crowded. I've never stayed at the others but I don't think we'll be doing a value any time soon.

 

[xnascar2x]

We stayed at Movies back in Aug and had an awesome time. I would stay there again in a heart beat.

 

[SereneOne]

My parents are in their early 60's and I put them up in ASMu...

 

[nklooz]

We stayed at Movies back in Aug and had an awesome time. I would stay there again in a heart beat.

Did you feel that the decor, bedding, furniture, etc. in the room at Movies was outdated? I really think that DD8 would like the movie theming better than the music, but, also don't like the idea of outdated bedding and furnishing.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

It sounds like AllStars might offer a little more peace and quiet after long days at the parks.

Anyone else w/ advice/perspective, please chime in!

 

[JennyDrake]

I have also stayed in all the values more than once.

Music is my favorite because it is quieter and has more of an adult crowd as it seems to be the favorite for budget honeymooners. At first teh theming didn't grab me, but once I slowed down and really looked it at, I think I like it best of all the values. For instance the New Orleans rose garden and wrought iron bench in the jazz section, the horse corral with real saddles in the country, etc.

Movies has the most colorful, charming theming, but it is so hard to get a room there as it is very popular.

Sports IMHO has the best bus schedule/service; while I certainly would stay there again, I'm just not a huge sports fan. ("Real" sports fan--I like the resort.)

Pop has the best food court with more offerings, including the grilled flatbreads. It also has an indoor lounge and an outdoor lounge. I've probably had the best front desk service (of the values) at that resort. What keeps Pop from being my favorite is just the size and hence, number of people. it seems the food court was constant, loud mayhem--not matter what time of day or night, and there was always something of a line at the bus stops (from the resort or from the parks back.)

I don't think you can go wrong with any of them; and I will happily continue to visit!

 

[marg21]

hi cant help with pop centry but have stayed in movies and music and would go bk 2 either we did try 2 get into sports 4 next yr but they wouldnt take us there or movies because off kidz ages????? they seem the same 2 me but we are stayin in the music again which we can live with the was doing the room up next door but 2 2 use last xmas when we was there and we was aloud a bit off a nose threw the window it looks g8t so cant wait but wot ever u decide u will ave a fab time and as 4 the buses we always use them and dont ave 2 much trouble

 

[phillyatdisney]

I have stayed at all 4 hotels and by far liked the movies the best.... the atmosphere was great and the pools were enjoyable.

The sports and pop century hotels were also good, would recommend them.

The music resort was boring and atmosphere was non-existent.

 

[disneyfan2]

We stayed at ASMo and hope for Music next stay, we found it was quiter and their seemed to be less line ups at the buses then at ours and POP.

 

[mbtileguy]

for the money the values are great and having stayed at a moderate and a value i think the buses were beter at the value. i also like the food courts better.

 

[DarthKTrava]

iv stayed at allstars and pop many times,,the only diff is pop is louder ..buisier,,,4 floors and packed at all times..walls are so thin you can hear every word in the room next to you ,,you can hear every toilet and tap going all day and night..allstars is smaller ..quieter,,,3 floors so less people around,,but its still buisy,,built better and is not as noisy,,but its disney and you cannt have a bad time anywhere,,so take any and enjoy or just do a split and see for yourself

I could hear toilets at Sports too. It's the super-loud new turbo toilets is why they're so loud.

 

[PurpleEars]

This is my 2 cents worth:

We have stayed in ASMu (May 2006) and Pop (Jan 2007) and we decided to go back to Pop for our upcoming trip for the following reasons:

1) No shared busing! We found that it added 5 minutes to each trip when we had to stop at one other resort both ways (ASMu is the middle of the 3 All Star resorts).
2a) Design improvements. They had a little shelf under the mirror at the sink at Pop, but not in the room we stayed in at ASMu (though that might have changed since we were there). That little shelf was great for my hair brush, contact lens case, tooth brush etc. It sounds silly, but the shelf made the sink area much more organized.
2b) Design improvements. We also noticed that the curtains in the room at Pop had different tracks for the left and the right "halves" of the curtains, and there was some overlap in the middle. This means less light was getting through, and we slept better as a result. The curtains at ASMu were on the same track, and there was a gap between the two side of the curtains. We tried to close it using a suitcase, but that simply did not work very well. (Again, this might have changed since we stayed at ASMu).

As for the noise, I heard toliet flushing and people coughing at both locations. The walls are thin, but we learned from the first trip and brought ear plugs along. Other than the occasional "flush" and "cough cough" during the day, we hardly heard anything in our room at Pop. (Remember, I slept with ear plugs at the Pop). That was a different story at ASMu, thanks to the very energetic people on various school trips meeting outside! I doubt my trusty ear plugs would have done me a lot of good! To be fair, I think if I had compared the two resorts at similar times of the year, they would be about the same in terms of noise levels.

We took the bus exclusively both times we went. I think the longest we waited for a bus was at park close at MK during our trip in May 2006 (about 30 minutes, if that). That was the only time we got on a coach to get back to the hotel. I think the buses in general are very good.

I actually liked the themes at both ASMu and Pop. Mind you, I was there for the parks, not for the hotel, so...

I think the bottom line is that you will enjoy whichever value resorted you ended up staying in. Afterall, it may be decided by factors such as which resort(s) are available at the time of year you'd like to go.

I hope this helps.

 

[KevGuy]

All Star Movies is the best asfar as I'm concerned!! Certainly the best theming and also the best foodcourt!

 

[aubriee]

I've stayed at POFQ (Dec 05), CSR (Dec 05), CBR (Dec '06), POP (Sept '05, Jan ' 06, May '06, Sept '06), and AS Sports (Dec '06). The worst bus service we've ever had was at CBR. It seemed to take forever to just get out the CBR gate. The best bus service we had was at CSR. AS far as the Values, AS Sports beat POP by a landslide as far as crowds, noise level, and bus service. AS Sports is the first pickup of the AS, so I never had to stand. Because they are smaller the All Stars just seem so much quieter than POP. One other point, AS Music just got through being renovated and they are now working on AS Sports.

Just for a point of reference I've also stayed at WL, AKL, and BWV. You should have no problem with any of the Values as long as you go in knowing what to expect. If you go in expecting TS restaurants, pool slides, and hot tubs, or not expecting the over the top theming you will be disappointed. I know the first time I checked into POP my first thought was what have I gotten myself into and how soon can I upgrade myself out of here. I even asked the CM checking me in about it. She talked me into trying it for a day or two. By the next day (after looking around some), I fell in love with it. I'm trying AS Music in a little over a week and will be back at AS Sports in Dec.

 

[xnascar2x]

Did you feel that the decor, bedding, furniture, etc. in the room at Movies was outdated? I really think that DD8 would like the movie theming better than the music, but, also don't like the idea of outdated bedding and furnishing.

I did not feel the room was out dated. Everything was clean. We stayed in the Toy Story section. My DD3 loved it! Everytime we walked past RC, she had to have her picture taken in it.

 

[sherabby]

I did not feel the room was out dated. Everything was clean. We stayed in the Toy Story section. My DD3 loved it! Everytime we walked past RC, she had to have her picture taken in it.

When were you there in August? We went Aug 14th to the 20th. We stayed in the CBR.

I have a question....are all the Disney properties guarded like ours was..meaning do you need your room key to get on the site or speak with a guard to let you in? We rented a car last year and plan to do it again next year. If we make dinner reservations at other hotels do they give you trouble getting onsite to eat?

 

[nklooz]

When were you there in August? We went Aug 14th to the 20th. We stayed in the CBR.

I have a question....are all the Disney properties guarded like ours was..meaning do you need your room key to get on the site or speak with a guard to let you in? We rented a car last year and plan to do it again next year. If we make dinner reservations at other hotels do they give you trouble getting onsite to eat?

Not all. Many of the people who eat at resort rest. are not staying there. The card checking is to eliminate pool hopping. You will notice, namely at the Deluxe resorts, signs saying that the resorts are for guests only, this is what they are checking cards for.

Definitely, go to other resorts, check them out, eat there, that is not a problem at all.

Thanks to everyone for all of the very very helpful info. on this post.