The Value Resort Debate! Who is KING!!!

[AKNOTTS66]

Okay the point of this thread is to help me and my Fiance decide which value resort to stay at. We are really looking at Pop Century and All Star Movies alot but music is a tiny bit cheaper (save 70$).

From your experiences what did you like better about one value resort over the other?

*****Pops pluses seems to be
-dedicated buses
-Better food court
-more pools
-newer

*****Negatives over movies or music
-I like the theming of music and movies over pop
-music and movies are a tad cheaper
-farther away from parks(WWoS)


Anyone who has stayed at Pop or Movies/music/sports/AoA please tell me what you liked better at that resort over another value. I know there all almost the same but I was just wondering if one is run better. Pop gets a 82% and Cert of Excellance and Movies/Music get 75% and AoA gets 87% and cert.

 

[shyjade]

I've stayed at ASMo and Pop, and we are returning to Pop in November. While I like the theming at ASMo better and there was nothing bad with our ASMo stay, hands down the dedicated bus service at Pop wins it for my family. We also enjoy the serenity of the lake and having the ability to walk over the bridge and visit AoA and their food court.

 

[AKNOTTS66]

Did you request a certain building? I really dont wanna be super far away but i cant see preferred being really worth it. Theres no coffee pot in the rooms right?

 

[dawnhaze]

I hated Pop. The food court was a crowded nightmare and the food was bad even by Disney food court standards. I got awful service from multiple food court CMs, including a supervisor. There were bedbugs in my room and the management failed to deal with it properly. The entire stay was just bad and I wouldn't go back. YMMV.

I've never stayed at Movies, so I can't comment on it specifically. I do like the other 2 All-Stars. I'm still not a fan of their food courts though - I'm not a food court person in general. I've never found the bus sharing to be a major issue and I've always had at least some non-shared buses during my trips. The lengths of the bus rides to the parks differ by only a few minutes, and MK feels equally far from any of them, IMO.

 

[uvslinfo]

We loved Art of Animation. Large rooms and great theme but a little more expensive.

 

[bumbershoot]

Anyone who has stayed at Pop or Movies/music/sports/AoA please tell me what you liked better at that resort over another value. I know there all almost the same but I was just wondering if one is run better

I've stayed Pop preferred, AS Music family suite, and AS Sports (can't remember the category) and we've liked them all the same.

CMs move, managers move, etc...can't guarantee that any place will consistently be better run than the other, IMO.

 

[shyjade]

Did you request a certain building? I really dont wanna be super far away but i cant see preferred being really worth it. Theres no coffee pot in the rooms right?

I did, only because I really don't want to be stuck in the 80's & 90's section. But it's truly a compact resort (for being so big) and the walk isn't bad from MOST rooms. The only reason I would pay for preferred is to guarantee I don't get stuck in a far away room, but otherwise I don't think it's worth paying more for. And correct, no coffee pot in the rooms.

IMO, AoA is a wonderful resort but the standard rooms are VERY far from the lobby, food court & bus stop. If that wasn't the case, I would stay there in a heartbeat.

 

[Disneylover99]

Pop is King of course......It's the only place to get the king Cupcake!

 

[nagshead]

We are staying at pop next month for first time. Last year we did French quarter and loved it but we are doing a budget trip this year. We originally booked music but found out part of their food court will be under renovation during our trip so that was a no go for us

 

[houstonmama]

AoA..The LM rooms are adorable!. The whole resort is awesome. The pool and splash play area were a hit with my kids. I thought they would miss having a slide but my DD didn't even mention it. We were in a lake facing Ursula room. I didn't think the walk was a big deal.

 

[si-am]

I've stayed at all and really think Pop wins out.

Pop has less walking and nice landscaping. Really good bus service. The food court has made some unfortunate changes lately but we still like it. More adult friendly, in my opinion, with all the nostalgia of the decades.

AOA is less adult-friendly. Definitely geared more towards families and kids. Little Mermaid rooms are too far away. The food court is good, and the Cars section is really cool. Walking around this resort seemed hot and full of concrete, and they definitely need to plant more trees.

All Stars (and it's been years since I've stayed here) share buses sometimes. They seem more crowded. I don't like the food court layout as well, and these resorts don't seem as peaceful because there's no lake.

 

[TravelMommy]

We stayed at ASM and we stayed at Pop, definitely you get more of a resort feel at Pop. Resort is laid our well, not a long walk to food court and buses from anywhere in the resort. Pools are awesome. We loved the food court (but have not been there since the most recent menu change).

 

[wdw4rfam]

ASMO is our king in values. Can't say that I hated POP, just like ASMO much better. Don't care for the set up of the gift shop in the food court at POP, just added to the noise and chaos.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

We really liked our five days at Pop last May. The rooms were small but very nice. Mousekeeping was awesome. (We still have our towel animal!) The buses were fast and didn't share with any other resort. We were very pleasantly surprised. Our only issues were that the bus stop has no sun shade (the seats that are shaded are not part of the actual line-up queue to get on the buses), and long lines/mediocre food at the food court. I'm sure the lines are always long, but they had just changed the menus right before we arrived, so we wondered if the staff was still trying to work out the kinks. The food may be better now, but I can't speak to that. We would choose Pop again for a Value.

 

[Bilierka]

Have stayed at POP twice, including last month, both time in the fifties, loved it both times, room was spotless, very close to classic hall.

We always found space in the food court even during the busiest times and the food was quite good!!!

The buses were great, never waited more then ten minutes and that was only once.

POP gives you a lot of bang for your buck, I would recommend it to ,anyone.

 

[dpswift]

I love AoA but DH will not go back because of the long walk. Dh prefers POP.

Between POP and the All Stars, I think it depends on when you go and who else is there. I have had trouble getting tables during peak hours at both. I have had more problems with the bus service at POP however we have stayed there more. I have found that the buses are more crowded at POP.

If you end up staying in a standard POP room try for the 50s or the 70s. Both areas are close to the FC without paying extra.

 

[lustergirl]

I prefer AS Sports over POP. We stayed POP back in October 2010 and I thought it was too packed and chaotic. The All Stars are smaller in size and easier to navigate.

At POP I paid for a preferred room and was stuck on the 4th floor facing a parking lot. Not my idea of a preferred room

 

[spritna]

Pop wears the crown in book..we have stayed them all...but pop lets me do "the twist" in the foodcourt

 

[Mom22beans]

Wow! I am glad we made the decision to stay at POP for Christmas this year. I am planning our first trip with DD-5 and DS-3 and a not so willing DH all by myself and feeling soooooo stressed. Everything is booked now but now I have no idea whether I can do online booking, when I do it, what to do next. Good thing we have a few more days to be organized- we dont even have any luggage for pete's sake!!!! Yeah, it is that kind of trip planning!

 

[BethanyLynnFit]

First Post!

Have stayed at ASMu (in a family suite) and most recently stayed at POP over Spring Break 3/28-4/2/14. We really enjoyed POP!

We stayed in the 60's building, booked a standard view...but had a Lake view. It was a quick walk to the food court, bust stop, and our car. Kids loved the pool and swam every night!

We also enjoyed walking across the bridge to AoA. We ate in their food court the first night. It did seem much more crowded there however.