We've stayed at both and we personally prefer ASmu
I can completely understand your concerns about a value in August. Keep in mind though, that it's most likely families just like you! Since school is still not in session there really aren't "groups" at the resorts so you'll find most of the guests to be families like yourself.
Some people make the values out to be a resort that attracts "the wrong kind" of guests. In both our stays (Pop and ASmu) we found this to NOT be the case. The kids scream just as loud at the moderates and deluxes as they do at the values! We never found out of control teenagers (or even adults), no stumbling drunks, and no unruley children at all hours of the night.
Now, you are going to have to keep your expectations in reason to avoid disapointments. Obviously POR is going to "trump" ASmu in terms of resort amentities and grounds, but it's not say that ASmu is "nothing" in comparison!
Check-in went smooth and we were able to have access to our room right away (11am). From the second we diembarked from our ME bus, the CMs were friendly, inviting, and extremely helpful.
The rooms are actually really cute! We found them to be pretty spacious and with two rooms, you'll have plenty of space. Our rooms were clean and we loved the overal decor and theme... we thought it was very much "moderate" quality. The plumbing noise was never an issue for us... but yes it's louder than most; we barely noticed it!
We preferred the food court here compared to POR but it's definately you typical "mall" food court and the sitting area is showing it's age. We never found it to be "mobbed" and even when getting breakfast at peak eating time, we were able to find a booth without an issue (the resort was sold out too).
We loved the overall "feel" and layout of the resort. It was pretty simple to get around and even the two farthest buildings are less than a 5min walk to the main building.
The pools were never over crowded but did get busy in peak afternoon times. Again though, we saw nothing out of the ordinary here. Families were friendly and inviting and we loved having pool side games and an evening movie each night!
I couldn't say enough good things about the CMs, everyone from the manager to mousekeepers. We received amazing service to the point where we almost feel spoiled. Lifeguards were attentive and fun, CMs were constantly cleaning the grounds and food court (including CM managers in dress slacks!) and we recieved towel animals every night.
Overall? We'd go back in a heartbeat and are actually considering changing from the beach club to ASmu for Sept. I went in expecting the worse from past reviews and things I read on here... yet walked away with a new favorite resort.
