Thoughts and Observations from 8/11-8/15 Stay at All Star Sports

[Little E]

Hi Disfriends!

I thought I would give a summary of our brief, four day WDW trip that we squeezed in before my kids go back to school. This trip included my DS (22) and DS (20) and me. DH was swamped at work and had to sit this trip out.

We arrived on 8/11 and checked in to two connecting rooms at AS Sports. This was a new resort for us; we booked this trip pretty last minute and I knew with only three days in the parks we would not be in our rooms much. I have a goal to stay at all the on property resorts at least one night, and so this enabled me to check AS Sports off the list. (We are staying at BW this fall for our RunDisney trip and then I have BC booked for a March 2025 spring break trip, so after those trips I only have Coronado Springs and Saratoga Spring left!)

We found AS Sports to be very nice. We stayed in the Surf's Up section which is really close to the food court and busses. Our rooms were refurbished and clean, and the beds were comfy. My one request was connecting rooms (my guys would have been absolutely fine without connecting rooms, but it made things so much easier for me to have them connected right next door) and I was glad that Disney was able to make that happen. CMs were very nice, and we found the food in the food court to be tasty.

Busses were great; we did not wait for a bus for more than 5-10 minutes ever while we were there. Coming home from the parks, it was nice to have All Star Music as a bus option too; one time we waited a while for an AS Sports bus at EP, but we hopped on the Music bus instead and walked across the parking lot to get to AS Sports...a total win!

Our weather was great, albeit VERY HOT. We knew it would be crazy hot going in to this trip and we were expecting rain showers while we were there. Surprisingly it NEVER rained for the duration of our trip. No ponchos needed! We made the best of the heat by moving from one AC spot to another whenever possible. We stopped a lot for snacks and drinks to keep hydrated too.

DS (20) has always qualified for DAS, so we've never used the Genie+ system before. Because WDW changed the requirements for qualifying for a DAS, DS opted not to do the video chat with a CM to ask for it. I think he would definitely continue to qualify for a DAS under the new system, but he was SO anxious about asking for it and possibly being told "no" he was unable to psych himself up enough to call. He tried several times, and couldn't go through with the video call. His anxiety about not having DAS this trip and potentially not being able to manage the crowds and long lines led me to purchase the new multi pass and LLs. We were all a little anxious and skeptical about how this system works, but we found it to be pretty intuitive and relatively easy to navigate. Our first day in the parks was on 8/12 at EP. We were able to get multiple experiences at EP, and then at AK, and even at MK. We did three parks that day (almost 30,000 steps!) and were surprised at how many attractions we were able to access and experience. It was great! Our second day in the parks started at HS on 8/13, and the multi pass system didn't flow nearly as well for us. While we were able to the use the passes we preselected, once we finished with each one and tried to snag others, we found not a lot of options at not so great times. I'm wondering if this was because Rise of the Resistance was down for a prolonged period of time, which probably increased the demand for other rides? We hopped to EP after dinner and we were able to get on Frozen Ever After (one we were not able to ride on 8/12) on stand by right before the park closed. On 8/14 we did MK in the morning and had better luck with snagging additional multi passes after we used each one. While I'm really glad I purchased the multi passes and LLs, but it was a drag to have to pay so much for them. DAS was way easier to use for our family, and it gave DS lots of options and more flexibility than the multi passes/LL.

We did DAH at HS on 8/14 and enjoyed it. We did DAH at HS in March of 2023 and LOVED it then. It was a good experience for us this time, but we definitely won't do HS again. I think with the heat and the amount of parks and walking we did in this very concentrated trip, we were really tired by the time the party rolled around. We did several rides, but bailed out shortly after 11 pm. The three of us agreed we'd definitely like to try DAH at MK in the future. The concept is brilliant and it is amazing to have the park with such light crowds.

Here is what my notes say we did on each day of our trip:

Rides on 8/12
Guardians of the Galaxy x2
Soarin
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land
Remy
Under the Seas with Nemo
Expedition Everest
Dinosaur
Navi River Journey
Barnstormer
Space Mt
Thunder Mt
Buzz Lightyear
Pirates of the Caribbean


Rides on 8/13
Toy Story Mania x2
Rise of the Resistance
Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway
Rockin Rollercoaster
Star Tours
Tower of Terror
Slinky Dog Dash
Frozen Ever After


Rides on 8/14
Tron x2
Peoplemover
Buzz Lightyear
Carousel of Progress
7Dwarves
Haunted Mansion
Space Mt
It’s a Small World
Big Thunder Mt
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Tom Sawyer Island


8/14 After Hours Hollywood Studios
Star Tours
Muppet vision
Millennium Falcon
Rise of the Resistance
Toy Story Midway Mania
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Slinky Dog Dash x2
Tower of Terror x2
Rockin Rollercoaster

Because we were only there for a short time, we only did two TS meals. We ate lunch at Space 220; it's one of my guys' favorite places and it did not disappoint. We also ate at Steakhouse 71, another of our fav places. Our waiter, Peter, was especially awesome and he explained that the "71" is for the year that the Contemporary opened. He said all of the craft cocktails on the menu were designed specifically to tie in to the 1971 theme. We've eaten here many times and I never knew that!! We also used mobile ordering for almost all of our QS meals. I am a huge fan of mobile ordering, and I don't understand why I see so many folks not using this feature. I don't get why so many people choose to wait in hot, long lines for food, when mobile ordering is so easy! I always pay for food with a Disney Gift Card, and I love that I can type my gift card info in to pay for mobile orders.

On our travel day home, kid #1 flew back to Indy on Southwest much earlier than kid #2 and me. We flew three hours later on Delta back to Michigan. So, after kid #1 Ubered to the airport, DS (20) and I took a bus from AS Sports to MK. We opted to walk to the Contemporary and had lunch in the Contempo Cafe. I was bummed to discover I couldn't use mobile ordering here because we were staying at the Contemporary. I'm thinking this is a new thing? I feel like I've been able to mobile order at other resorts in the past? Maybe I'm misremembering??

This trip enabled us to get a quick Disney "fix" before school starts. It was a great time for the brothers to bond, and I love the fact that my guys still want to go to Disney with me. I'll take any time I can get with my kids.

Feel free to ask me any questions; I'll do my best to answer them!

 

[gottalovepluto]

CR blocked all non-guest mobile orders a while ago. People were trying to use it as a way to get rideshare drop offs at CR for access to MK.

Btw, you do know SAB will be closed March ‘25?

Glad it worked out so well even without DAS. I’m in the newly denied boat and will be switching to LLMP/SP and am a bit nervous so it’s good to read experiences like yours.

 

[Little E]

@gottalovepluto Interesting info re: CR mobile order. We tried to mobile order at Gasprilla Grille at GF and got the same "sorry, you have to be staying here to mobile order here" note on the app. I guess I get why they block access like that

We are bummed that SAB will be closed in March of 2025. We are DVC owners at GF, but we've always wanted to stay at BC for walking access to both EP and HS. We felt lucky to snag a 2 bedroom at BC at the seven month window; I know the only reason there were any available is because SAB is being refurbed. My guys are all OK not having access to it, and they know they'll have to use the quiet pools.

As far as LL/MP, overall we had a pretty good experience with it. I think our HS day was sort of a fluke not being able to access a lot of multi passes after our prebooked ones were used because ROR was down for a long time that day. It was definitely nice to be able to prebook passes seven days before we arrived...a great perk for staying on property. I even got the hang of "fiddle faddling" to modify times of passes. I watched Mammoth Club's Molly on YouTube; she has several videos that give master class level info on navigating the new multipage system. It made trying to figure everything out so much easier!

 

[MrsK53113]

While we were able to the use the passes we preselected, once we finished with each one and tried to snag others, we found not a lot of options at not so great times. I'm wondering if this was because Rise of the Resistance was down for a prolonged period of time,

That could be the case... but also, it was a MNSSHP day over at MK, so the park hours were shortened and a lot of people may have decided to just go to other parks. Plus, (and maybe this is just my opinion) Hollywood Studios seems extra crowded with high ride wait times/ low LL availability MUCH more than EPCOT.

 

[Counting Stars]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences Helpful to get your take on LLPM's. Also, I have wondered about using All Stars for few days before a DVC trip when short on points. It's good to hear that you found the resort to be a positive experience overall. Any reason for Sports vs. Movies or Music?

 

[Little E]

@MrsK53113 I didn't think about the MNSSHP party at MK affecting crowds. Good thinking!

@Counting Stars We had a good experience at AS Sports. Both of our rooms were clean and refurbished. I was thankful that I booked the preferred category; our rooms were in building 6 in the Surf's Up section and it was close to the main pool, food court, and busses, but the rooms were really quiet too. I would definitely stay here if I needed a less expensive room before transferring to another resort. I picked AS Sports specifically because I am trying to stay at least one night at every resort on property. We have already stayed at Pop and AS Music, so I can now check AS Sports off the list. It was also just slightly cheaper than AS Movies.

If all other things are equal and you're looking to stay at a value resort before transferring to another resort on property, I would pick Pop. AS Sports was nearly identical to Pop in all ways except two: 1. I like the food court offerings a little better at Pop. 2. Pop has the Skyliner. SO nice to be able to get to HS and EP from Pop. We really missed that at AS Sports.