Originally Posted By CMM1 Although there doesn't seem to be much to separate these resorts, any insider views on which one(s) are a little better than the other(s)? Birnbaum's guide says All-Star Sports is slightly better due to larger food court .....
Originally Posted By smeeeko All Star Movies is the newest of the 3.. but we usually would stay at All Star Music in the past because lots more families tend to go to the Sports and Movies one.. My fave Value is Pop Century though. We've stayed here in December 05 and plan to return in late September for food & wine fest at Epcot this year.. I think Pop Century has a larger foodcourt but I try to avoid the food courts for anything but breakie as it's pretty unedible, and you can get budget minded meals elsewhere on property that won't make you sick later. =P When is your trip?? There are other things to consider besides foodcourt.. buses, not to mention any giant sports convention that may be in town while you are staying there at all stars. I personally think Pop Century bus service is better as there is only the one bus stop so it doesn't stop at any other resorts like All Stars tends to.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Movies is the best of the three, but If I were you, I'd be at the Wilderness Lodge.
Originally Posted By danyoung The best All Star resort isn't an All Star - it's the Pop Century. Disney learned a bunch with the All Star project, and put it to good use with the Pop. Much nicer landscaping, better furnishings in the rooms, a very nice food court. It's much closer to a moderate, at a value price. It's the only one of the values I'll stay in when money's tight.
Originally Posted By dsnygrl4evr Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by better. As you stated, they are all very similar aside from theming. All Star Sports does have a bit larger food court, which is really the only other thing that sets it apart from the other two. Now, unless you are speaking strictly of the All-Star Resorts, POP Century is better, IMHO, than ANY of the All-Stars, for several reasons. IT has it's own bus, it is newer, and fresher, and a little less, how should I put this, "value like"! Well that's my 2 cents, I am sure someone who's opinion is worth more than that will come along shortly!
Originally Posted By Labuda No idea which All Star is best, but I, like Dan, will stay at Pop Century when the budget is tight. Pop is a great little hotel, and the one time I saw the All Stars (drove around the campus on one of our recent trips), I was shcoekd at how dirty the All Stars looked - especially sports!
Originally Posted By disneyrunner I stayed a movies in May and liked it, but if I were to do it again, I would blow off the theme of the hotel and get whichever one has the first bus stop (music?). Movies is last and watching 3 or 4 busses go by before you can get on is a drag! I liked the food court, as I usually stay at POFQ and their food court is tiny.
Originally Posted By dixielandings I prefer the Movies it is newer has a little better theming and the parking is more convenient to the rooms the toy story area is a kids dream come true
Originally Posted By I_Heard_A_Tink Of all of the value resorts, All-Star Music is my favorite & POP being my least favorite. But no matter what....you'll have a blast!
Originally Posted By BlazesOfFire Since it says pick the best All-Stars, i think Movies is the best. I prefer that theming to the others.
Originally Posted By FenwayGirl Have not stayed at Pop yet (not sure if you would classify it as one of the All Stars), but we have stayed at the Movies a few times. The kids loved it and yes...The Toy Story section is a childs dream come true!
Originally Posted By jkayjs It depends on what matters to you. Movies is the newest and in the best condition right now. As for food courts I can see very little difference. But if being first on/off the buses counts then Sports is the choice. But as everyone has said PC is the best value resort esp if any of the above counts, newest, food court is ok and best of all you don't share buses at all.
Originally Posted By danyoung >Of all of the value resorts, All-Star Music is my favorite & POP being my least favorite.< Wow - that's the first time I've seen anyone say that the Pop was their least fav. Do you mind outlining why?
Originally Posted By I_Heard_A_Tink Sure, overall our experience was the worst there compared to the other value resorts. I am not saying it was incredibly awful or anything & I am not saying that I despise the place, it is just our least favorite of the values. We prefer the atmosphere at music over POP. It was our least favorite theming. Also, I feel that the unfinished buildings across the lake are an eye-sore. Anyone know why those aren't completed? At POP, for us, it seemed sooooo much more crowded than the others. Whether it was at the pools or at the food court & the bus line in the evening was disaterous. Thank goodness we had our car & only used the buses 2 times. We had issues with mousekeeping. We tip generously on daily basis too & I always straighten up our room before we leave. One evening we returned & our room was not cleaned, no beds were made, no fresh towels. We called & the lady told me that it was impossible & got down right rude with me. All I wanted was some fresh towels at that point. On another occasion we returned to find a vacuum in our room. I though that was kind of funny though. Another time only 2 fresh towels & there were 4 of us in the room. The food court was often dirty. The ketchup was often empty & hot chocolate was spilled every where. Floor sticky. Also, we found the some items were empty on a few occasions, puddings & bakery items. Front desk manager was extremely rude. I'll explain. We decided to check out at 7 pm & get a head start home. Well, before we even crossed Disney property my 3 year old threw up 2 times in the car & all over herself. Well, we needed to clean her up & tend to her so we decided to go back to the room. Well, they already had a cleaning person there. So, I went to the front desk & asked if we could have our room back so I can take care of my daughter & I was told no & that room was sold already. I explained everything to the guy but was still told no. Now mind you, I paid for the room already. Which I realize I did check out but I figured since it was in the off season they would accomodate us. I asked to speak with the manager & She said there were no rooms available. Actually she said there are no rooms available at the rate I paid. It totally baffled me. She then offered to refund my money but it was the money that I wanted. I only wanted to take my daughter in a room & give her a bath & let her rest. She got smart with me & of course I am so sensitive & literally broke down in tears. Again, I was told that they could not help us. We went back & forth for maybe 10 minutes. Now at this point I was starting to steam. It takes much for me to get heated & I had reached that point. I simply stated. Well since this is a public area I guess I will bring my daughter in here, covered in throw up & bath her right in the sink with chunks everywhere, in front of your other guests. Well that immediately changed her mind. She made a few calls & got us a room within a few minutes. Now I know I may have been wrong but it wasn't like I hadn't paid or was trying to get away with something free. I simply needed somewhere to take my daughter & again since I already paid for the room, I didn't think it was, apparantly I was mistaken. Anyway, that really took the cake with POP. But what I loved about POP was our room location. We were in the 70's building right by the play ground. The room was nice for a value. Most of the cast memebrs were so polite. I love the way that they dance when the hustle comes on....to funny! Also the selection of food at the food court was fantastic. There you have it. POP just wasn't our most favorite value. In fact, we were quite suprised during our stay that it wasn't the same (for us) as other values. Now again, like I said, I don't despise the place but it ended up being our least favorite. Would I stay there again.....of course....but it would be as a last resort.
Originally Posted By I_Heard_A_Tink Oops....should've mentioned that they accomadated us over at Sports. Because Sports had rooms at the rate we paid. Again that baffled me because it's not like a deluxe resort where the room makes a huge difference. "I didn't think it was, apparantly I was mistaken" Should read "I didn't think it was a big deal, apparantly I was mistaken."
Originally Posted By smeeeko ^I'm truely sorry your daughter got ill, but once you check out of a room they become available for the next guest. I don't know what the rate you got was but value season isn't necessarily the least busy of times anymore.. They can't give a room at the resort if there is none to give, nor at a rate that you may have gotten as part of whatever stay intailed. I don't work for disney but we've stayed there a LOT. Despite your bad experience I still think they did a pretty good job of accomodating you despite your wish to check out of your room early.
Originally Posted By I_Heard_A_Tink Hey, it's okay.....I was asked so I gave my thoughts. Besides I don't think being a TDLFAN2 is so bad! Like I said, not sure if I was wrong or not but needless to say, I was upset. I didn't know Disney's policy. I was happy that they accomodated us, of course but I wish things would have been explained to me at the time. It's over with & I'm over it. But the whole incident about my daughter getting ill is not the only reason why POP is our least fav.
