Stick with Pop?

[Kermit_The_Frog]

My sister and I are planning on going to WDW for our 2nd of what hopes to be an annual trip. The first time we stayed at Pop and loved it. We want to stay somewhere different every trip, but don't feel like we can afford to move up to the moderates yet. We're pretty young, early 20's so we don't care about noise or large crowds or amenities at resorts. We can't decide if we should stick with Pop or try one of the All-Stars, let me know your thoughts.

 

[blue_eyes5212]

My sister and I are planning on going to WDW for our 2nd of what hopes to be an annual trip. The first time we stayed at Pop and loved it. We want to stay somewhere different every trip, but don't feel like we can afford to move up to the moderates yet. We're pretty young, early 20's so we don't care about noise or large crowds or amenities at resorts. We can't decide if we should stick with Pop or try one of the All-Stars, let me know your thoughts.

I'm probably one of the few people who prefer the All-Stars! I know there are a whole lot of POP fans on these boards, but my first visit was to All Star Music and I think that would have to be my favorite value! I'm not sure why I didn't fall in love with POP like a whole lot of people on these boards, but I didn't think POP seemed as swamped with people as the All Stars. I like staying some where different every trip too, and my DH and I don't care about the amenities either. We are not ones who are going to rent watercraft or something like that and if I want to eat at one of the sit-down restaurants I make an ADR and go eat there. So the values work just fine for us, even though I am debating staying at CBR next because I like the theming.

Have a magical time where ever you decide to stay!!!

 

[hlane]

I am the opposite, our first (and only) trip we stayed at ASMo and LOVED it. This next trip we're booked at Pop and I am nervous that it won't be as magical for us I'm trying to decide if we should stay with Pop or switch to ASMo again

 

[minnie61650]

All Star Music is my favorite resort. It tends to be the quietest of all the values.


All Star Music just underwent a refurbishment of all of the rooms and was completed in June 2007.


Here is a website with photos of the newly refurbished rooms at All Star Music.

Look at the Jazz Inn section with new posted:

http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_asmu.htm




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All Star Music is my favorite. It is quieter because more couples stay there. I love staying at the Calypso 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.

The Calypso pool at ASMu has Donald Duck.

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.

A WORD ABOUT BUS SHARING

To me Bus Sharing at the All Stars is really a non issue.

In the mornings during Park opening hours each All Star usually has a dedicated bus.
During mid day it is usually just our stop and maybe one more on the way to the parks. On the way back sometimes it is all 3 but often Sports and Movies share and Music has it's own bus back. Each of the All Stars usually has it's own dedicated bus back from the MK.
That is a big plus. It seems like the Music bus stop usually has the shortest of the three All Star bus lines.

I guess some people who stay at POP see all 3 All Star names on the return sign of our bus stop when they head to the POP bus stop and think All Stars also has 3 stops on the way to the park.
(Even when we stop at another AS resort to load up it has not taken more than 5 minutes and we are on our way!)

The pools at The All Stars are very kid friendly.

When staying at the All Stars you can use any of the All Star pools.That means 3 main pools ,3 quiet pools and 3 kiddie pools to chose from.

The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.

The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

And the Surfs up pool at All Star Sports has giant surf boards.

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 theming is pure Disney.

My last 7 visits have been at The All Stars and during the fall of 2005 when we took dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3(at the time) for 8 nights we stayed 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 fun at Disney!

 

[MissMet]

My sister and I are planning on going to WDW for our 2nd of what hopes to be an annual trip. The first time we stayed at Pop and loved it. We want to stay somewhere different every trip, but don't feel like we can afford to move up to the moderates yet. We're pretty young, early 20's so we don't care about noise or large crowds or amenities at resorts. We can't decide if we should stick with Pop or try one of the All-Stars, let me know your thoughts.

Don't feel bad about not being able to afford a moderate. I've stayed in every category & I LOVE POP. My two absolute favorite resorts are BWI/V & POP. Personally, I wouldn't pay extra for the moderates, they feel no different than the values. But I do understand wanting to stay at different resorts. I would say try one of the all-stars. I love pop, but you'll never know if you love another unless you stay at it.

Plus, at our age & with only a room of two, a value is perfect for us, we're never in the room anyway. My best friend & I took at trip to POP in '06 & loved it. I was 20 she was 22.

 

[f7prez]

Like you said, you want to stay at a different resort each time.
Switch to one of the allstars. Then you will be able to compare the two, and give your opinion to another Diser that asks which one is better.

 

[ntsammy5]

Stayed at all the All Stars and POP. They're all godd. You'll like any of them. Find one that's themed to your liking and go there. I took DS a few years ago and stayed at AS Sports near the Football. He loved it. Oh I forgot to mention, he was 21 on that trip.

BTW, we've stayed at CR, Poly, AKL, WL, SoG and BW. I prefer the All Stars for many trips because of the theming. We tend not to stay in the resort much anyhow. Now FW is a different story that I won't go into here. Have fun

 

[disneyfan2]

Pop is awesome, but for All Stars, I loved Movies. the Theming was amazing and i had no problems with anything at Movies.. whatever you choose, it will be magical!

 

[Evil Genius]

I'd stick with Pop. My last visit (End of September) I switched to ASMo and while the hotel was great the bus service was truly awful. I waited an hour 15 minutes at MK one time for a bus. Typical service was a 35 minute wait.

 

[Couturier]

WE are having the same issue! We stayed at POP last yr and LOVED it! It was great for the kids, and we loved the bus service. I was hoping to stay at Movies this time since we are bringing the baby (2, lol) and she will know some of the characters. The only thing that is holding me back is the bus service, I have heard many mixed reviews and I dont feel like we can wait an hr for a bus with the baby (okay toddler, but she is my last!)

Let me know what you all think!
Dana

 

[Lori77]

Just my two cents-

My husband and I have stayed at Pop many times. It is great, convenient, and newer. The food court is larger than other values. Bus service is usually pretty good as well.

This last September, we decided to try an All-Star so we could try another value. We stayed at All-Star Music. The room was nice and newer, but there was nothing that wowed me on the grounds. The pool was nice and large. Bus service was slow at times, but still ok.

We saw the other All-Star resorts and Sports just looked ok. All-Star Movies was, in my opinion, nicer and the food court was larger. The buildings were somewhat smaller as well. I would choose AsMo if I had to stay at an All-Star Resort again.

I think that we will plan on Pop again for our value choice though!

Hope that helps!

 

[Kermit_The_Frog]

Thanks for all in the info it certainly something to think about, here's another one. Last year we went at the end of May and next summer we are thinking about mid July. It might be the only time that fits in both of our schedule. I know July will be busier but how much of a difference will it make?

 

[twyla]

It's a big difference, many more kids for summer vacation, and much, much hotter. Personally, I make it a point to avoid WDW in June, July & August. I've grown spoiled. I don't want to wait in 2 hour lines over and over again. I like the cooler months when the I can be exhausted w/o suffering from heat exhaustion as well. If you can possibly make one of the other 9 months in the year, I'd do it.

 

[Lori77]

I would definitely choose Pop (more amenities, faster bus service) in July!

 

[simonkodousek]

I vote for ASMu!!

 

[SomDayMyPrnceWillCom]

My DD11 and I made our very first trip this summer, May 27 - June 2, and we stayed at ASMo. LOVED IT! We did not get a preferred room and we were in the back in the Mighty Ducks building not too far from the MD pool. It's a little bit of a walk when you are tired from the day, but it was still great. Nice and quiet area.

We are hoping beyond hope to go back this year about the same time, but we probably won't book until tax return time. I want to stay at the Pop this time just so we can try another resort also, but I'm really gonna miss the ASMo. I can't say that our stay was perfect but it was pretty close. A few snafu's here and there, but nothing I wouldn't expect to happen due to just chalking up to these things happen.

I'm 35 and I just adored walking past the Dalmations scenery every day. TheFantasia pool was great too.

I would definitely say to try out ASMo and I'm betting you won't be disappointed.

 

[Teacher510]

We've stayed at all the All Stars but we'll be going back for our 3rd time to the Pop.

 

[Kaler131]

I am the opposite, our first (and only) trip we stayed at ASMo and LOVED it. This next trip we're booked at Pop and I am nervous that it won't be as magical for us I'm trying to decide if we should stay with Pop or switch to ASMo again

I say stay with Pop. I have stayed at the All-Stars and liked them, and I have stayed at Pop now for the past 3 visits and LOVE Pop!!!!

 

[aubriee]

I've stayed at POP six times because of all the good reviews it gets. I really like the resort, however, last May I decided I wanted to try another Value so booked a preferred room at AS Sports. I was very pleasantly surprised. Bus service was great, my room was quiet, but again very close to the food court and buses, and the CMs were very friendly. This past Sept I had a preferred room at AS Music. It too was a pleasant experience, although surprizingly I preferred Sports. For my Dec trip I originally booked POP, but when the Chase VISA special came out I was unable to get the code at POP, so had to switch to either AS Sports or AS Music. I chose AS Sports and have no qualms about my decision. I'm afraid I've never stayed at AS Movies. Maybe because they're smaller, the AllStars just don't seem as crowded and busy.

I understand they are currently refurbishing the AS Sports rooms and Surfs Up pool.

 

[aubriee]

oops! double posted!