Which "All Star" Resort?

[RyMickey]

We haven't stayed at an All-Star resort in over a decade so my knowledge is somewhat limited. We have relatives -- 2 adults + a four year-old -- heading down to Florida with us in October and they are wanting to stay on the cheaper end of the Disney scale. (We are staying at Boardwalk on our DVC points.)

Anyway, I was leaning towards Movies since it may be the "cutest" for the four year-old, but does anyone have any thoughts otherwise? Pop Century is certainly still in the running as well, but I figured that may be too spread out and large in terms of bus transportation. Art of Animation appears to be the most expensive of the group, so I think that's out of the running.

I can't seem to remember in terms of bus transportation -- Does each All Star have its own bus or do they all share? That may be another factor to think about.

If anyone has any thoughts to pass on, it'd be much appreciated.

 

[jessrose18]

I have always loved music. Not the funnest theme, but always quiet and clean. I have never had to share buses but we also usually rent a car. I love the pool area. We have also stayed at Art of Animation little mermaid rooms, the themeing is so cool, the pools were gorgeous, but the price is a lot more per night that other values. I would pay up to $20 more a night for AofA at most, but we don't have kids either..... tough call!

 

[Howgreat]

We've stayed at Music 3 times and have never had an issue. The room has always been clean and we like the food court. This is one reason we've only ever stayed at the values. We've never had a problem, so why pay more for a mod?

 

[wendybeth75]

We liked Sports pretty well. It's been about 10 years since we stayed there. I understand they have a new food court.

 

[RyMickey]

Thanks...I've stayed at Sports and Music in the past and thought they were certainly fine and had no problems.

However, does anyone know if each All Star resort has their own bus or if they share? (I know JessRose mentioned she didn't have to share, but that she mostly drove, so I wanted to just check again.) And if they share, does anyone know who gets picked up first and who gets picked up last? (I ask this and have yet to look at the Transportation Board which I will do as soon as I post this.)

Thanks again.

 

[pat fan]

Music is our favorite!

As to the bus question, on occasion they share, but not always. In my experience, it is usually it is for dropping off at the resorts, not going to the parks. When they DO share, it really is no big deal. The bus drop off areas are pretty much across a parking lot from each other, so it is a minimal addition in time when it does happen.

 

[2Tiggies]

We liked Music the year we stayed there. It had a lovely atmosphere, there was a great schedule of activities for the kids, food court had plenty of variety and despite arriving on Easter weekend, it was never unpleasantly crowded. We also enjoyed using the quiet piano pool as DD was not a strong swimmer at the time and it gave us lots of space and allowed her to have fun without feeling overwhelmed by crowds.

We also liked that being in the middle of the three resorts because if we ever did share a bus (only really during the very quiet periods like midday or after very late night EMH for example) we were never the last stop either to be picked up or dropped off Bus service was possibly the best there that we have ever experienced at a Disney resort and I only recall once waiting long for a bus and that was for DTD, but you will find that with most resorts as the DTD buses are nowhere near as frequent as those serving the parks. Music gets my vote

 

[dpswift]

The bus sharing has never been an issue for us and we stay at Movies which if sharing is the last stop. Sports is first. I have seen times where Sports and Music share and Movies has its own but I do not know how common it is. I would not let the bus sharing be the deciding factor as it is not really a big issue.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I hear so many people talk about the buses being an issue at All Stars, and it really isn't. They do share occasionally, but only at quiet times, mid-day, etc. And, in reality, most of the moderates/deluxe either share buses or have multiple stops within the same resort. But somehow it's an issue for people at AS--don't understand it at all! Pop is HUGE and even though they don't share buses, you're sharing with a ton of other people staying at that one resort. Look at the lines waiting for buses outside the parks--POP is almost always one of the longest! You may end up having to wait for 1 or 2 buses before you get to the front of the line.

Personally, I think the three AS resorts are very similar in size, amenities, layout, etc. It really becomes a personal preference for the family. We've stayed at Sports and Movies and been happy with both. LOVED the Toy Story section, but my boys loved the football section at Sports.

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

We prefer Sports. With a boy you just can't beat the theming! Plus we love that when you do have to share a bus with the other all stars, Sports is the first pick up and drop off!

 

[DisneyGal24]

Another vote for Sports! It's our favorite! It has a compact layout and is very easy to get around. We were in the home run hotel section and it was a short walk through the football field to get to the food court. We enjoyed the home run pool too.