Disney's All-Star Movies Resort (Disney Value Resort) Reviews and Ratings - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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We stayed here a few years ago, just DH and myself, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We requested a quieter area and got just that in the Love Bug section. We also ate at the food court a number of times and were quite satisfied. The pools looked like fun, although we did not use them. The staff were always friendly, the room adequate for the two of us and mouskeeping did a terrific job. Sometimes the bus service was not very good, especially at the end of a day at the parks. But, it was free and got us to the Magic safely. Who could ask for more?
Would (and have) recommend this to friends. Would surely stay here again.
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In 2003, I called the hotel to confirm our reservation and request a room in the Toy Story Wing if possible, they gave us a room in the "Buzz Lightyear" Building. Our sons were thrilled especially since Buzz was their favorite character. The only thing that needs improvement there is the bus service. The resort itself is adorable and kids really love it!
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Deslyn's first trip to Disney World June 2008
Last edited by PrincessMommyof3; 01-14-2008 at 01:11 AM..
Reason: Add ratings
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We visitedASM for the first time in Apr 2007 and had the best family vacation ever!! It was not only our first time at ASM it was also our first time at Disney ever!! I give the place an over rating of 9. The theming was outstanding and we especially loved wizard Mickey at the poolwhich was great. The room was excellent and I gave the amenities an 8 rating only because we had to rent a fridge. The mousekeeping was tremendous, with several towel animals made for us daily including making scenes with them and my kids stuffed animals. It was truly magical. My kids and the mousekeeping staff also wrote letters back and forth to each other daily which made it like my kids had special penpals. They looked forward to returning to the room almost asmuch as going to the parks. The grounds were excellent and everyone on staff no matter where made us feel special. The bus service was great never more than a half hour wait for any bus. The artist who did the characatures (sp?) named Jeff was fabulous, my kids had them done and they came out so nice we framed them once we got home. The foodcourt had a great variety of decentt food. Only once did we run into an overpacked foodcourt and that was at like 11pm at night lol. For first timers we could not have asked for more! We recently joined DVC and my kids were disapointed that we could not go back to the ASM as a part of it lol. In fact we are thinking of doing a 3 or 4 day cruise perhaps next year and will include a stay at ASM as a part of that trip regardless of being in the DVC now, that is how much we enjoyed ourselves there. The best part was the place was pretty cheap to stay at. A great choice for first timers or folks looking to be at the parks day and night and just lay your head down at night. The arcade was also very good according to my children. I really don't have a bad thing to say about the place, the food,or the staff there, it was so magical. Overall it gets a 9 from us for a rating and we highly recommend it. I have seen pictures of the other value resorts and this one looks the best to me if you want a Disney look and feel. We stayed in the Herbie buildings on the top floor and it was nice and quiet at night and only a short walk from the foodcourt area. Also the pool bar was great to get an adult cocktail while the kids played in the pool, and the store also sold beer by the six pack to bring back to the room for the adults. A nice way to relax and unwind after a long day at the parks. For the money and experience this place cannot be beat by any of the other values to me.
We stayed at the ASM in 2006 for the 1st time. We stayed at the Herbie Bldg. The rooms were small but we were hardly ever in the room anyway so it was accomodating. The layouts of the resort with all the large characters was a real treat for my 4 yr old. Even my son who was 14 at the time enjoyed it. Though we drove and mostly used our car for transportation we did utilize the bus service a few times and did not wait too long. The food court was good with plenty of choices. Overall we were so pleased with the facility we are staying their again in September 2008 with my parents and sister as well.
This resort is GREAT!!! When we went-we needed 2 rooms since there was 6 of us and it was wonderful having that other bathroom in addition to the extra space that was STILL cheaper than the Deluxe resort that we would have had to choose.
The staff was great and the food at the food court was too. I had NOT ONE complaint about our stay and will stay there again with no problems. The theme was great-we stayed in the Toy Story area and it was PERFECT!!! I say stay here to everyone I know that is going.
Have a great trip!!!
My Husband and I stayed at the All Star Movies Resort for 10 days! I was worried after reeading some reviews but we enjoyed our belated honeymoon enormously! Not to mention it was a nice break from the kids (6, 3 & 1)! Ya I know not nice we went to WDW and we left the kids at home.
We flew into Orlando from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and found it kind hard to find the Magical Express but the airport staff was friendly (I realize that is not about the hotel but I thought I would mention it the signs were very small). Check in at the hotel took almost no time at all and we received our keys and were headed to go check out our room.
We stayed in the Mighty Ducks Building on the second floor in a corner room. Only 1 night for about a whole 30 seconds did we here anything outside our room! The rooms were kinda on the small side but all we wanted was a place to put our head down. We decided that paying more money for a bigger room would have been money wasted!
We swam in the Duck Pond Pool all time because it was the closest one and the pool was almost empty with everyone at the bigger pool!
We never waited every long for the buses either! I think 10 minutes was our longest wait in the whole 10 days. My only complaint was the buses were crowded and one time I got kicked in the back very hard and the guy never said sorry but that is not the fault of Disney.
The food court had a nice variety. Everyone could find something. A few mornings we walked down the McDonald’s at the end of the resorts. It’s just a little past the All Star Sports Resort. It took about 10 minutes but, the walk was nice.
If you have to or are planning on doing any washing while you are down there, I would recommend bringing your own quarters and laundry supplies! The change machine did not always work and the soap and fabric softener was rather expensive! I know at the Dollar Tree Stores (a US chain for fellow Canadians reading this) you can get a small bottle of Purex that does nine loads for a buck as well as fabric sheets or liquid.
We enjoyed out trip so much that we have already planned to go back this December! This time we are going to be introducing the kids to the World.
I would recommend this Resort to anyone who is just looking for a place to rest their head and want to have the magic of Disney all over. The GIGANTIC statues were a lot bigger then I ever thought! You really do have to see them to believe it.
*** Just a little tip for the people who stay in the Duck Buildings! Get off the bus at the All Star Music Resorts and walk back to your room it is a lot faster then getting off at the All Star Movies and back tracking to your room. We did this every time we were headed straight back to our hotel room and not to the food court or main building.
((Preface, for a brief note about my ratings ... on average, I would expect a Value resort to score around 4 in each category, a Moderate to score around 6, and a Deluxe to score 8. I'm stingy with 9's and 10's, as well as going more than 2-3 points above the expected score for a given price point. So those 8's, 9's, and 10's you're seeing, are pretty darned phenomenal, from me!))
My partner and I stayed here in 2001, and were both very pleased overall; about the only flaw I could possibly point to is the bus service, and it was not a significant flaw, at all.
We were in a third-floor room, away from any of the pools - which, seeing as we didn't plan to avail ourselves of them, was not a problem at all. The room was nice, quite well cleaned and very tastefully decorated; we had somewhat dreaded being in an "all disney, all the time" atmosphere, but the in-room decor was very understated, not really pushing "oh my god, Disney!!11one!!1" on us. A few nice movie posters, framed, on the walls; I remember one of the room lights, a wall sconce, was done up to look like a box of movie-theater popcorn. A mickey theme, in black and white, worked into the tiles in the bathroom. Tiny little mickey-head icons in the carpet pattern. Otherwise, just a nice, cheery room.
The food court had a pleasingly (and surprisingly) wide selection, and we never really grew tired of eating there - even over the course of a two week stay (we badly overestimated the time we'd need ). The prices in 2001 were very reasonable, although they will of course have gone up in the intervening years.
With the advent of the Disney Dining Plans, vacation-planners should keep in mind that this resort (and both of the other All-Star resorts) offers only counter-service meals; for table-service dining, you'll have to head to one of the parks or even one of the other resorts.
And the cast members, from front desk staff, to "mousekeeping" (I love that Disney-fied word), to "just" the folks cleaning tables in the food court ... all of them clearly enjoyed working there, and helping make guests' time in the World as enjoyable as possible - even enjoying, it seemed to us, going out of their way to do so.
The only real drawback, for those using the busses, was on the return trip in the evenings; at that point in time, the system tended to gt a bit overloaded, and - to be honest, our own fatigue at the end of a long day probably compounded this - the rides seemed to take interminably long, especially as all three All-Star resorts "share" the same busses, which means there are a lot of people
who needed to use those relatively-few busses. One supposes that having extremely overtired youngsters in tow might make this even more onerous, but even with that, it wasn't truly unpleasant ... just "less than perfect", I suppose is the best description.
As for the public spaces ... gorgeously done. Tons of characters and other icons from the Disney movies we all, young and old, remember from our childhood; the pool nearest the food court, at least when we were there, had a statue of Mickey, as the Sorceror's Apprentice from Fantasia, as it's centerpiece; in the late evenings, after the youngsters had all been tucked in bed (and most of their parents, as well) it would get JUST cool enough for the heated pool to form a layer of mist/fog on it's surface, and the visual effect was quite nice (and photo-worthy).
Overall, to any family and/or fan of Disney movies, I cannot recommend All-Star Movies strongly enough. Don't let the price or the "Value" label fool you: this is not just a cheap, Disney-themed motel; it's simply a way for you and your family to enjoy some Disney Magic, without breaking the bank.
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--Sean
Last edited by Pax; 07-24-2008 at 03:32 AM..
Reason: Rethought some of my scores, after recent discussions and refreshed memories.
Great resort at a good price! It is clean, easy to get around and has most of what you need. It is good for kids and families, but for adults only I might recommend something with a hot tub (moderate resorts and up).
The food court has a very good selection, tasty food and like most Disney dining is very accommodating of food allergies. (Talk to a chef on your day of arrival and they can help you plan ahead so you only have to wait once.)
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I did not enjoy this resort @ all! The busses to and from the parks were ridiculous. The three All Star Resorts share busses most of the time. It was such a pain trying to get onto a bus to go to a park because they were already full! We would wait 30+ minutes for a bus to pick up from the hotel. Getting off the bus was also a pain. You had to get around other guests to get off @ your stop because they were going to the next stop. Most times we would get off @ the first All Star stop and walk to Movies..... We finally figured out to do the same to catch the bus! We would walk over and catch the first bus just so we could sit or even stand some days! Did not enjoy the All Star Mo Resort @ all!
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We did not like this resort at all! Mind you it was in the summer so it was very busy. There were a ton of guided tour groups. The food court was horrible. The food was sub-par unless you ate chicken fingers and burgers which we dont!! The mouskeepers were great and the scenery was fantastic.This however did not make up for the lackluster in the other areas.
We just got back from a stay in ASMo from Aug 30 to Sept 6 2008. It was our second stay in ASMo in the last 5 years and we once again enjoyed it greatly.
We stayed in rooms 3717 and 3716 - adjoining rooms with an interior connecting door ( six family members) - in building 3, the Mighty Ducks. The rooms were ground floor level, located on the far side on the ASMo complex. We used the ASMu bus stops for transportation needs because they were closer to us than going back to the Movies bus stop.
As with all the All Star resorts the theming and magic is over the top and loved by all members of our party. The food court wasn't used by our family except to order some pizzas on Friday night by our teenagers - the pizzas were large and not bad tasting, but options were very limited.
We didn't encounter any real problems with the busing system on our trip. The bus routes were broken out into three distinct runs on our trip (Movies, Music and Sports) and not shared between the resorts. We occasionally had to wait for a second bus when we stayed to park closing to get back to the hotel, but it was expected.
Even with 2 rooms it was slightly less expensive than the family suites and less expensive than moderates and deluxes.
Would definitely recommend this resort to families on a budget or those who love the over the top theming of Disney
Except for some minor problems (that seemed much worse at 3 AM) at check-in the rest of our stay here in June 08 was great. We were in the Dalmations Building (my request), the kids loved the Fantasmic Pool, the food court was crowded but we always found a seat and there was enough of a selection that everyone was happy.
During the AM and PM rush we did not share buses with the other AS resorts and had no problems with the bus service except for once during the middle of the day (we had a wait as during the off hours we did share a bus) and since there was a huge tour group at the Movies resort one evening there was such a line that we would have had to wait for at least 5 buses.
We ended up jumping onto the near empty Music bus and walking - which was a nice relaxing walk in the evening.
All in all teh kids loved it and I would definitely stay here again.
We stayed here with my DS9 and my DD 14. The resort was full of teenage groups that ran wild especially around the pool until the wee hours of the night. In the morning you could see the carnage around the pool that required several CM's to clean up. The All-Star resorts seem to be the furthest bus stop at every park and the busses are always jam packed. The food court is ok, but doesn't offer much in the way of variety. On the plus side, the price is right. I'd just suggest asking for a room away from the pool and any teenage groups that may be staying at the hotel, and renting a car to get to the parks.
We literally just got home from Disney as I write. We stayed a second time at the All Star Movies and have decided it will be our last time. Our room was in the Toy Story section, which I believe to be probably the best of the area in terms of proximity and quiet. However, this hotel due to its value ends up being under siege from "groups" - I believe Brazil is having a vacation this week as there were at least four groups of different travel clubs there. Ultimately this makes the whole bus experience dreadful. As I was reading in one of our travel books, the All Stars have over 5,000 rooms - almost twice as much as the nearest resort hotel - overall the crowds do more damage to the value proposition than anything Disney could do. Besides that, we found the rooms to be just too small for a family of four with two strollers to get in the door. It was nice, but we'll be upgrading the resort next time.