Help me be excited for All Star Sports

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We are going to be going in September and staying in Sports as well. This is our first trip to WDW and looking forward to it. Actually, I am currently DD and DS think we are going next summer. It was nice to hear about all great reviews of Sports. Nice to know they have the first pick up and drop off.

Any ideas on the average bus times to the parks?

Thanks,

This is what I found online for commute time to the parks:
Magic Kingdom 20 minutes
Epcot 25 minutes
Hollywood Studios 17 minutes
Animal Kingdom 19 minutes

As a rule of thumb, we always arrive at the bus stop 1 hour prior to the time we need to be somewhere. So if Epcot opens at 9, we are at the bus stop at 8am. If we have an 8am breakfast ADR, we are at the bus stop at 7am. This works well for us, no matter where we are staying. It means you will most likely get to the park in plenty of time and be towards the front of the crowd.
 

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thanks everyone for sharing your love of Sports! I agree that Values get a bad rap, and usually its not necessary. We loved Pop and I know Sports will be great as well. Our girls are little and our time we mostly be spent at the parks (and in the pool) so Values are perfect for us and our budget. The more I look at pictures online, the more excited I get!
 

popcenturylover

Well-Known Member
We've stayed at POP, AoA, ASsports, & Caribbean Beach. While we loved the latter the values just scream "Disney" to me. We stayed at Sports on our trip last year in May. We requested adjoining rooms, ground floor, in Surf's up & that's exactly what we got! I wasn't excited about staying here but, it ended up being better than I thought! We were close to the main building & pool. You're the first drop off\pick up & the atmosphere was great! The only negative was that we were there during a cheer leading comp. & that's one place where they all stay so, you heard constant cheering & they were EVERYWHERE!
 

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We've stayed at POP, AoA, ASsports, & Caribbean Beach. While we loved the latter the values just scream "Disney" to me. We stayed at Sports on our trip last year in May. We requested adjoining rooms, ground floor, in Surf's up & that's exactly what we got! I wasn't excited about staying here but, it ended up being better than I thought! We were close to the main building & pool. You're the first drop off\pick up & the atmosphere was great! The only negative was that we were there during a cheer leading comp. & that's one place where they all stay so, you heard constant cheering & they were EVERYWHERE!

I totally agree about wanting the Disney feel. I love the big Disney characters that are all over the values. I love being in the Disney bubble. Several years ago, when my husband and I got married, a family friend let us use her DVC points as a wedding gift. We stayed in Animal Kingdom Lodge. Yes it was beautiful and very cool to see giraffes walking around outside your room. But it didn't have the Disney feel that we love so much. Our neighbors are also planning a trip this fall and had their heart set on Old Key West. Their thought is that while they're in Florida, they want to stay in a tropical location. When free dining was released they thought about tweaking their dates and staying at AoA instead to take advantage. But they were like nope, I can't stand the Disney characters every where. We are the opposite :)
 

popcenturylover

Well-Known Member
I totally agree about wanting the Disney feel. I love the big Disney characters that are all over the values. I love being in the Disney bubble. Several years ago, when my husband and I got married, a family friend let us use her DVC points as a wedding gift. We stayed in Animal Kingdom Lodge. Yes it was beautiful and very cool to see giraffes walking around outside your room. But it didn't have the Disney feel that we love so much. Our neighbors are also planning a trip this fall and had their heart set on Old Key West. Their thought is that while they're in Florida, they want to stay in a tropical location. When free dining was released they thought about tweaking their dates and staying at AoA instead to take advantage. But they were like nope, I can't stand the Disney characters every where. We are the opposite :)
Yeah, maybe when I'm "old" I will stay in another moderate or a deluxe but, for now we like the values. We have a 7 year old & we also have 2 grandchildren that love the big statues & "Disney" touches. Don't know where it will be but, we can't wait for our next trip!!
 

Scoppin

Well-Known Member
This is what I found online for commute time to the parks:
Magic Kingdom 20 minutes
Epcot 25 minutes
Hollywood Studios 17 minutes
Animal Kingdom 19 minutes

As a rule of thumb, we always arrive at the bus stop 1 hour prior to the time we need to be somewhere. So if Epcot opens at 9, we are at the bus stop at 8am. If we have an 8am breakfast ADR, we are at the bus stop at 7am. This works well for us, no matter where we are staying. It means you will most likely get to the park in plenty of time and be towards the front of the crowd.

Great, thank you for looking that up for me. I will take your advice and be at the bus stop an hour before we want/need to get anywhere. The closer to the front of the crowd the better especially since also need to take the 'random' security checks into consideration.
 

Scoppin

Well-Known Member
Yeah, maybe when I'm "old" I will stay in another moderate or a deluxe but, for now we like the values. We have a 7 year old & we also have 2 grandchildren that love the big statues & "Disney" touches. Don't know where it will be but, we can't wait for our next trip!!


I think the large Disney statues and all the other touches will add to our first magical visit. I am certain DD and DS will be out on the grounds trying to find all the statues and requesting pictures with all of them. :)
 
We have stayed at both Pop and Sports and we had a great time at Sports. I have 2 boys and last time we stayed there, they were 12 and 9, but even if your girls are not into sports, you can hang out at the surf's up pool, not an overly sporty theme. The rooms are very similar to Pop, as is the layout and the lobby. Other than the decor, they are practically the same. We didn't have any issues with the buses in late August of `14 - in fact, we were there this very week. I would stay there again in a heartbeat if it meant spending less on the room and had more $$$ for other things!
 

louisianab

New Member
I stayed at Sports in early Oct of 2014. It was a great time, the busses were always pretty fast and the pools weren't too crowded. We stayed in the football rooms and the location was good, between the two pools. It was also nice to go explore at the other two All Stars on foot without being worn out.
 

Disney Stine

Active Member
How much fun would it be to watch Olympics highlights and some Disney sports inspired movies/ tv shows (even ones with Mickey and the gang!) to get you pumped for the sports theme?!
Disney makes all of their resorts magical but for some reason I always felt more at home at the All Stars (each and every one of them) because that's where I grew up staying with my family. Of course I love the feeling of the moderate and deluxe resorts but the All Stars consistently holds a certain ambiance and nostalgia whenever I walk through those doors.
Enjoy your stay!
 
I've never stayed at the Pop, but from what I've seen it's very similar in its formatting to the All-Stars (motel-style room setup, pools, giant statues, etc). It's the same thing with a new theme, so enjoy the fresh look at a comfortable layout!
 

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
POP imo is run down I like Sports the best of the All Stars. Here are some photos from past trips. https://michaelsphotos.smugmug.com/THEME-PARKS/WALT-DISNEY-WORLD/DISNEYS-ALL-STAR-SPORTS-RESORT/

Awesome pictures! I really love the Surfs Up section :) I know we most likely won't be there though since we didn't pay for a preferred room. I also love the baseball section ( we are a big baseball family) but I don't necessarily want to be there since its the furthest from the food court & buses. So we will see! Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures!
 

Jeff456

Well-Known Member
Sports is the only one of the all stars I've never stayed at but I loved the other two, sure it will be just as good! I don't tend to stay in values anymore because upgrading is worth it for "free" DDP but if that offer was ever removed I'd happily go stay in any of the all star resorts!
 

LieutLaww

Hello There
Premium Member
In the Parks
No
I have stayed there the last 2 times I went, it is a perfectly fine place to stay for a value, and as others have said you are first on and off the buses that go back to the All Stars
 

Minthorne

Well-Known Member
I stayed there so many times back in the 90's in my 20's - it's a great resort! I recall many a long bus ride back from pleasure island to the room by the big surf boards! Kongalush!
 

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hi everyone. We are back from our trip and I feel compelled to bump this post. First of all, I really appreciated everyone's kind words and memories about All Star Sports. It really allowed me to go into our trip with excitement and an open mind. We walked around the entire resort and I have to say, my favorite part was the baseball section! It was so perfectly themed, especially the pool. I loved it there! Our room was in the tennis section.

I just finished my trip report which included my thoughts on Sports, but I thought I'd post here too. I am not typically one to complain but when it comes to how we spend our hard earned money, I don't mess around. We left Sports with an overall bad feeling and will not be returning.
To briefly summarize, on our first day, we noticed a strong sewer smell by the pool. To the point where we sometimes had to hold our breath when we walked by. Not pleasant.
We had connecting rooms with my parents. There was a broken piece of metal between the two doors. My one year old cut her foot on it when she crawling by. I also cut my toe on it on a different day. Both were bleeding. We told a manager about this and he said he would arrange for maintenance to come by and fix it. No one ever did so we covered it with bandaids.
On Monday of our trip there was a big storm. The walkways were covered in mulch, sticks, trash and debris. When we checked out on Saturday, all the mess was still there. It was never cleaned up. Sad.
The drink station was frequently out of coffee, iced tea, cream etc. Every day, something was out. Even at 8am. When we asked for something to be refilled, the CMs would stand around talking to each other while we stood there, mug in hand.
And finally, I was up in the middle of night every night with our one year old. One night, while she was laying on the floor near the sink for a diaper change, a cockroach ran out of the bathroom towards us. I woke my husband up to take care of it.

I complained to a manager about all these things in a very nice way. Just to let him know we were unhappy. He could have cared less. Didn't even bat an eyelash when I told him about the cockroach. He tried to give us extra fastpasses as compensation. I said no thanks so he offered a $50 room credit. Half of a night.

Overall, we did not feel like we were 'in the Disney bubble' like we did at Pop. Pop was always neat as can be, the CMs went out of their way to say hello to us, always saying Good Morning Princess to my daughter, or have a magical day princess. We didn't experience any of that at Sports. It felt like your typical Holiday Inn. We personally will never stay there again :(

But again, I do appreciate everyone's opinion! It makes me think our experiences were not the norm.
 
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