Value Resort Recommendation

[autigger]

My wife and I are taking our young children (3 years old and 1.5 years old at time of trip) to Disney for the very first time in September. nether my wife or I have been to Disney since the mid-eighties.

We initially wanted to say in one of the new "Family Suites" at All-Star Music, but you cannot stay at a suite and take advantage of the "free dining" offering. Thus we now plan to stay at value report and get two adjoining rooms. Which value report is the most recommended?

All-Star Movies seems to get the best reviews. However, the drawbacks appear to be larger crowds and the fact that is last in line for bus drop-off and pick-up among the All-Start reports.

We are also considering Pop Century because it is newer, has its own bus service and had more small kid play areas (play fountains).

Any recommendations are appreciated.

 

[NoNoNoNoNo]

pop, for new beds alone!

 

[dazzer68]

ive only stayed at music in 96 and movies in 2006!
but visted all the value resorts while we were there last. and i prefer the movies
spoerts and music look a bit old and tatty now and all seems a bit smaller than movies which is newer and more open and airy and it fells the most disney because of all the themeing around,
didnt visit pop as it looks abit tacky!! (we have a holiday chain in the uk called butlins and its full of low lifes, looks like that!)
we are going to movies again in two years time My 40th!
so what if theres a q for the buses! its only a few extra minutes. at least the other resorts get of out the way when your tired and coming home from the parks!
plus the kids will love the mickey mouse pool and the toystory area with the huge buzz and woody great fun !

 

[autigger]

Thanks! I think we are leaning toward the Movies. My only concerns were the transportation and the fact that it is probably more busy than the others this time of year.

The fact that you are returning is a nice endorsement!

 

[eroyee]

value resort?

:wave: POP CENTURY.:animwink: It is the coolest resort. Buses are great. Lots to look at. Great food courts. Nice rooms. Everything is great. Please think about it. thanks. :sohappy:

 

[NoNoNoNoNo]

allstar rooms are dingy

 

[nibblesandbits]

I've stayed at Pop twice in the past year and it is wonderful. (After the first time last year in May, I liked it so much that my fiance and I decided to stay there again in January) It's nice because it is newer. It also has it's own bus line which I'm going to guess is a little easier to handle with the little ones. Pop has a great feel to it...it has the larger than life replicas just like the other resorts do. The food court is very nice and offers a lot of variety. The pools are great and themed very well. My favorite is the Hippy Dippy pool in the shape of a flower, but there is also the computer pool and the bowling pin pool. Plus, there is an outdoor bar at the Hippy Dippy pool. I don't know if they have anything like that at the All Stars. And Pop is in no way any more "tackier" than any of the other value hotels.

However, that being said, if I didn't stay at Pop, I think my second choice would be Movies.

I also suggest checking out the resorts on allearsnet.com. Deb has pictures of all the resorts so you can find the one to meet your needs and desires.

My one question is this though...and I don't know if it's prying...but why do you need adjoining rooms. It sounds like you are just a family of four. (and two of the children are young) If it is just the four of you, one room will be sufficient. (especially since there is no kitchen or anything like that in any of the Value rooms, besides the family suites.)

 

[Raven66]

I second everything nibbles said. POP is great. We have also stayed at movies before and we really enjoyed it. We just like POP better. We like that it has it's own buses and so much stuff to look at.

Have fun!

 

[shoppingnut]

We initially wanted to say in one of the new "Family Suites" at All-Star Music, but you cannot stay at a suite and take advantage of the "free dining" offering. Thus we now plan to stay at value report and get two adjoining rooms. Which value report is the most recommended?

Why is it you can't get the dining plan for free, it's still disney property, just wondering.

 

[Pumbaas_Bug]

We have stayed in All Star Movies twice during the month of September (2003 and 2004) and had a great time. On both occaisions it was very quiet at the resort and we also got our room preference (high floor and Toy Story) We never had to queue for a bus (which was great as we did not hire a car) nor were they crowded when they arrived. The theming was great and you can easily walk between Movies, Sports and Music.

Also, the parks were very quiet for the whole period of our stay, with most rides being walk-on apart from at the weekends when it was busier.

We are going back again in September for three weeks (YAY!:sohappy: ) but are staying in Port Orleans Riverside as we fancy trying out another hotel, but would definately reccommend Movies.

 

[autigger]

We wanted either a suite or adjoining rooms so that the young children can maintain their regular nap and bedtimes schedule without my wife and I having to sleep then also. We can shower, get ready for the next day, watch TV, ect. while they sleep. The All-Star family suite was the perfect solution for our little ones, but you could not take advantage of the "free dining" unless you had a regular room. There is also a chance that my mother-in-law may also come along.

 

[Tornado]

didnt visit pop as it looks abit tacky!! (we have a holiday chain in the uk called butlins and its full of low lifes, looks like that!)

Hahahahahaha, couldn't be further from the truth, Pop, and all Disney Resorts in general, are nothing like Butlins.

 

[Dwarful]

we have stayed at all of the value resorts. Pop is nice with the kiddie pool area, but it does feel a bit spread out. Personally, with children that small I'd keep them in the room with me and just have one room, but that is a personal choice.

Movies doesn't always share a bus. In the mornings and evenings when crowds are heavier they run so many buses the lines not all that bad. Honestly and we've been at the all stars in June. Our next trip we are going back to Movies, the kids LOVE the theme, something about Andy's room and the Dalmations etc., it just feels more Disney.

Either way you can't really go wrong.

 

[autigger]

Apparently, the "free dining" is not available for suites or three bedroom villas. I don't know why. I too would be interested in an explanation. Perhaps the suites are in enough demand that they do not have to offer them with the free dining promotion. It seemed a little arbitrary to me as well.

Two adjoining rooms at a value resort is actually cheaper than one family suite at the All-Star Music. We will actually save money, plus get free dining.

 

[autigger]

with children that small I'd keep them in the room with me and just have one room, but that is a personal choice.

We are not leaving in the room by themselves, I doubt I would do that when they become teenagers, we are just trying give them the best sleeping situation so that we all can make the most of our time at Disney.

I don't intend to sound defensive, I just wanted to clarify. I too would never leave small children in a room by themselves.

 

[PintoColvig]

I've stayed at AS Sports three times. It is fairly compact as a resort so there isn't a lot of distance walking to get to the buses, etc. I've found the transportation to be better there than the other All-Stars because when they are sharing buses, Sports is first to be picked up when heading to the parks and first to drop off when returning. Having said that, we are trying Pop Century for the first time this May. We found the prices to be slightly lower (by about $5) than the All Stars.

You will like Sept., I believe. I've been just about every recommended slow time and Sept. had the lowest crowds. But, it will still be plenty warm for pools and water parks.

 

[Lefty]

Pop Century is very nice.

 

[col]

gotta be all star sports i just loved my time there -it was my first time staying at a disney resort and i really didnt want to leave i just loved everything there.

i have also stayed at PC and wont be doing that again i was thinking of changing resorts coz i didnt like PC one bit.

even the bus system at sports didnt bother me compared to PC.

 

[stitch131313]

I've stayed at AS Sports three times. It is fairly compact as a resort so there isn't a lot of distance walking to get to the buses, etc. I've found the transportation to be better there than the other All-Stars because when they are sharing buses, Sports is first to be picked up when heading to the parks and first to drop off when returning. Having said that, we are trying Pop Century for the first time this May. We found the prices to be slightly lower (by about $5) than the All Stars.
QUOTE]


The reason Pop is a little cheaper is because the All-Stars are in another county. They are in Osceola County and the Tax there is 13.5%. And if anyone is staying at the All-Star look for me on the front desk and say HI:wave:

 

[Dwarful]

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I was just thinking that to need 2 rooms you would want the children to sleep in their own room, there are people that do that. Depending on how much you'll be in room you might not need to pay for 2 rooms. We have actually had 5 in a room when we had 3 rooms and 12 people, the kids kept wanting to stay with grandma! Again, sorry if I offended you, certainly didn't mean to.