Where to stay?? I'm torn

[angeluna]

I've lurked forever, but finally decided to post. We are going to WDW Dec. 14-23 (9 nts). We've (me, DH, and DS 13, and DS 5) stayed at All Star Movies three times and Carribbean (?) once. The moderate was nice but spread out. Also, we didn't see a big difference for the increase in price. Now, I've dreamed of Poly and thought about BC. I just don't know if I can justify the cost difference. I mean, I do love to shop you know!

 

[addicted2disney]

I know how you feel. I have stayed at Movies, Sports, POP, Port Orleans river side and French Quarter, Dolphin and Boardwalk Villas. I thought when we did Dolphin at Thanksgiving last year, and Boardwalk in January that we would never go back to the value resorts. Im booked for Movies for this Thanksgiving, and we are planning on 2 rooms at Movies for January. The deluxe resorts are pretty... but we never spend time in the room. We went with 5 families in January... 25 people.. and we all stayed at Boardwalk Villas. The location was awesome.. but every family said.. "its nice here, but lets go back to movies". So.. after trying the others.. we are going back to value resorts. We like them. The kids love them. I missed the food court when we were at Dolphin and BWV. If rather have the exta money in my pocket for other fun Disney things.. like 2 nights at MVMCP!!!

 

[eeyore45]

Well, my first thought is "if it aint broke, dont fix it"!

for me, I loved the Poly, hook, line and monorail oh and Volcano slide...

but I didnt pay 300 bucks a night either (more like a pixie dust of $99) SO... that being said, we're trying POFQ in oct - can we go "down"? From what I've read, YES!!

I also considered seriously renting points and staying at the BC or YC!!! Here at the Dis, lots of posts on how to rent points, and how much it costs (the link wasnt working when I first posted... fingers crossed, its just "MY" problem!!_

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=28

 

[minnie61650]

Call me a resort SNOB but I say ALL STARS ALL THE WAY!
I am 55 year old and travel several times a year. I often stay at 4 star hotels.
So the deluxe resorts do not have anything special for me.
All Star is like being in the heart of the MAGIC and that is where I want to be.

All Star Music is my faveroite.It Is quieter because more couples stay there.I love the Clypso builing it is closer to the pool,food court and bus stop.

The buses are wonderful.

Bus rides are shorter from the ALL Stars than POP according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses----Pop buses-----Poly
MK 20 min-------MK 25 min-----10 min
Epcot 10 min----Epcot 20 min----10 walk+10min mono
MGM 10 min------MGM 15 min-----15 min
AK 10 min--------AK 15 min-------15 min
DTD 15 min-------DTD 20 min------25 min

The All Star resorts have 1960 rooms each.
Pop has 2,880rooms.
That means more people in the pools,food court and in line waiting for the bus at POP.
When phase 2 of POP is built it will be 2 bus stops at POP and the 2 POPs will have the same # of rooms as the 3 All Stars.

Also All Star is closer to the main road to get to parks and thats why bus rides are shorter from there than from POP.

A WORD ABOUT BUS SHARING:

It is usually just our stop and maybe one more on the way to the parks. On the way back sometimes its all 3 but often Sports and Music share and Movies has it's own bus back.

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!)

I love the All Star Resorts --they can't be beat. 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 theaming is pure Disney.
My last 4 visits have been at The All Stars and this fall when we take dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3 we are staying 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 on your trip!
Linda

 

[nanalisa]

Angeluna, maybe you could split the difference and stay at Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge. They are classified as a deluxe but cost less, between the deluxe and moderate. Plus they have bunk beds in some of the rooms which your sons might like. I've heard that the WL is lovely at Christmas time and has a boat to the MK which is a little extra fun. If you decide to stay at a moderate, look at the resort maps and request a building that is close to the places you want to be. Sometimes it works

 

[bubba73]

Ok, I will probably make a few people mad but that is not my intent. We are all different people with different point of views so here we go. I have stayed on property at the Hotel Royal Plaza, Swan, and Pop Century. Pop was the best by far. The resort was great, the food court was good, and the theming was fun. Plus, it cost less. Since I am only looking for a place to shower and sleep, I can't justify spending $150 a night or more. I have talked with a bunch of people that have stayed at the All Stars as well as Pop and they have told me that they prefer Pop as well. They say the rooms are larger and the buses are better. Now, I may be the only one that did this but I didn't even use the bus while I was there. I never knew that you could get a free parking pass to the parks when you stay on property. We drove there everyday, got AAA preferred parking, and never had to pay for it. Oh yeah, we past all the buses on the way in so we were ahead of the line. My recommendation is Pop and drive. Then you don't have to wait in any bus lines, period.

 

[minnie61650]

Ok, I will probably make a few people mad but that is not my intent. We are all different people with different point of views so here we go. I have stayed on property at the Hotel Royal Plaza, Swan, and Pop Century. Pop was the best by far. The resort was great, the food court was good, and the theming was fun. Plus, it cost less. Since I am only looking for a place to shower and sleep, I can't justify spending $150 a night or more. I have talked with a bunch of people that have stayed at the All Stars as well as Pop and they have told me that they prefer Pop as well. They say the rooms are larger and the buses are better. Now, I may be the only one that did this but I didn't even use the bus while I was there. I never knew that you could get a free parking pass to the parks when you stay on property. We drove there everyday, got AAA preferred parking, and never had to pay for it. Oh yeah, we past all the buses on the way in so we were ahead of the line. My recommendation is Pop and drive. Then you don't have to wait in any bus lines, period.

Sorry to burst your bubble but the rooms at ALL Stars and POP are both 260 square feet and the lay out is the same.
POP is newer but I also have heard more complaints about noise at POP.
I never stayed at POP so I won't rush to judgement on that one except to say ALL stars has always seemed quite to me once I close the door. I haven't heard pool noises or toilets flushing perhaps because it is older and the walls are more soild.
I think we both agree the values are a great place to stay.
Gotta love those food courts and the huge icons are so Disney and so much fun!
If you chose to drive that's fine but part of the vacation for me is not driving.
Enjoy your time at Disney wherever you chose to stay.
Linda

 

[angeluna]

You all are so wonderful! I really appreciate your input. I myself am a Mickey Mouse nut. The Fantasia building at Movies does seem more magical because of this. The Poly just looks so cool. But, I am like most of you. It's hard to pay that much extra (without pixie dust) for a place to sleep and shower. ???????? Oh well, keep the ideas coming. Thanks!

 

[Disney5Mom]

Our family felt the Coronado Springs was like a deluxe at a moderate price.It is spread out but we used the shuttle golf carts when we were tired. We loved the decor and the pool area.

 

[henrylovespooh]

We've (me, DH and DD2 and DS3) stayed at WL, CSR and ASMo, and we're going back to ASMo in October. I also stayed at the Poly and Swan years ago. When I'm at Disney, I basically use the room to sleep and shower, so unless a great deal comes out, I'll stay at ASMo. I just can't justify the difference. We stayed in the Toy Story section and loved it. The kids loved it and it was quiet. The Fantasia section also looked beautiful. I really felt like I was at Disney. The food court is great and has something for everyone. My kids liked the playground and pool too. And we never had a problem with the bus, and we took a taxi to AKL for $7 when we wanted to eat at Boma.

If it was just me and my husband, we might go deluxe, but when you have to pay for one kid to get in and two kids to eat, the value resort makes it less painful.

 

[MelodyMack]

I agree with the majority of posters and say VALUE ALL THE WAY! We stayed at Pop last time and really enjoyed it...only complaint was we did notice the plumbing noise that some other threads have mentioned.

We are going to stay at ASMovies this December and have requested a Toy Story room for DD's enjoyment (OK...and our own). I agree that we are only in the room for a few hours in the evening, and most of that is spent propped up in bed reading a book or watching TV. So he smaller rooms really are not an inconvenience.

Save the money that you would spend at a mod resort and use it for something that you will be able to appreciate...like retirement funds, college accounts, or (in my case) SHOES!!!

You're going to have a blast no matter where you stay!
Mel

 

[angeluna]

Just a quick update. With the new package codes, we can get POFQ for about the same price as we were going to pay for ASM. The only value they could get me was the POP. The theming seems to be more geared to adults rather than children. Correct me if I am wrong. Think about the FQ due to the smaller size. With DS 5 in tow, small may equal less meltdowns. You know, the kind they get when waiting for a bus and the third one has just arrived and it's just as full as the last two. So, that's where we're leaning towards now. Who knows though, the closer it gets, saving money sounds better and better.