All Star Movies Resort at Walt Disney World is a value resort. It is themed with popular Disney movies. You’ll find giant icons like Fantasia Pool and Herbie the Lovebug and it is one of the cheapest resorts on Disney property. All Star Movies is part of the All-Star Resorts. Other resorts include All Star Sports and All Star Music.
Price: $112 to $210 a night depending on season; $15 fee per 3rd and 4th adult (first 2 adults pay no fee)
Room size: 260 square feet with 2 double beds or 1 king bed
Sleeps: Up to 4 people + one child under 3
Room count: 1920 rooms
Photo credit: Thank You Ashley S.!
Room features: 2 double beds (one is a murphy bed in updated rooms), a table with 2 chairs, an entertainment center, outlets & USB ports, a mini-fridge and wall-mounted television, bathtub and toilet inside the bathroom, vanity with single sink located in the vanity area with barn style door to close off the area from the room.
Available to Request: bed rails; Pack N Play
Buildings: 101 Dalmatians, Toy Story, Fantasia, The Mighty Ducks and Herbie: The Love Bug. Each building features oversized icons related to their theme.
Food options: Cinema Hall food court open from 6 am to 11 pm; pizza delivery is available to your rooms from 5 pm – 12 am. There is also a poolside bar at the Fantasia pool.
Pools: The main pool is the Fantasia-themed pool that features a Sorcerer Mickey that sprays water at the guest. There is also a kiddie pool and a water play area. At night, there is a movie shown by the pool.
The Duck Pond Pool is a hockey rink-styled pool located in the Mighty Ducks section. It is out of the way and less busy than the Fantasia pool.
There are no slides or hot tubs.There are towels, life jackets, showers, lockers, restrooms and a laundromat at each pool area.Lifeguards on duty from 10 am – 10 pm.
Cinema Hall: The lobby is home to the check-in area, the Cinema Hall Food Court, the Reel Fun arcade and the gift shop.
Donald’s Double Feature: Is a gift shop, located near the food court, it carries popular Disney souvenirs, basic health and beauty items and snacks.
Activities: Nightly Movie at the pool; Daily Pool Party at 3 pm; Poolside Activities from 1:30 – 7:30; Arcade; new balance Running Trail; Pin Trading in the lobby from 5-5:30
Playground: Located near the Toy Story section
Amenities:
24-hour front desk
atm
check-in and guest service
childcare service
complimentary wifi
daily mousekeeping
designated smoking area
dry cleaning
fridge
gift shop
hair dryers
handicap accessible rooms
ice machine
ironing boards
irons
kiddie waiting area in lobby
laundry facilities
luggage service
Magical Express
mail services
merchandise delivery and pickup
online check-in
outdoor smoking areas
resort airline check-in
safe
wake- up call service
Parking at the resort overnight is $15.
Transportation: This resort only offers bus transportation and there is only one bus stop at this resort located by the main lobby. At times you may share a bus with the other All Star resorts. The All Star Movies bus stop at the parks is usually located at one of the stalls the furthest from the entrance.
Distance from parks by bus:
- Animal Kingdom – 10 minutes
- Hollywood Studios – 10 minutes
- Downtown Disney – 15 minutes
- Epcot – 15 minutes
- Magic Kingdom – 15 minutes
Mailing Address: 1901 West Buena Vista Drive, Orlando, FL 32830
Phone: (407) 934-7639
Featured Reviews:
This review comes from my reader Cindy…
We stayed at All Star Music from 11-28-09 through 12-04-09. There were four of us, my husband, my mom and my then 3 year old son. We decided to stay at this resort, because of the cost and the fact that we could get a family suite. We try to save as much as possible on our Disney World trips, so that we can take more of them. So we don’t stay at deluxe resorts and tend to stay mostly at value resorts. However, the thought of my husband and I sharing a full size bed, instead of a queen sized drove us to our decision of this family suite. It was cheaper than getting two adjoining rooms, but was plenty big enough for us.
The suite consisted of a living room with a pull out double sized sofa, where my son and mom slept. She said it was very comfortable. There was also a chair and ottoman, where each of them pulled out into a twin bed.
Then there was the bedroom with it’s own tv ( a plus) and one queen sized bed. There was also a small kitchen area with a microwave, fridge, sink, and coffee maker. And there were two bathrooms. This was a plus with a little one that had only been potty trained for about 6 months at the time. Because some times when he had to go he had to go right then. It was plenty of room for the 4 of us and even if we had 2 more people it would have been okay. Of course it would have been more crowded, but I think we could have done it.
The amenities are the same as any other value resort at Disney World.
The food court was okay. Busy a lot of the times and we were there during a slow period. It was really packed at breakfast time. No favorite food.
The resort buses were great. I think there were only like 2 times that we had to share a bus with the other all stars. I don’t remember ever having to stand on a bus leaving our resort, which I did have to do on our last trip where we stayed at CBR. The walk to the bus stop from our room was short, because the family suites are located in the preferred buildings, so they are close to the main pool, bus stop and food court. When leaving the parks, our stop always seemed to be the bus stop that was the farthest from the park entrance. I really think it’s Disney’s way of saying if you pay more money you get a closer bus stop. :) The buses weren’t that crowded except at park closing. But I don’t remember waiting for a really long time during any of our trip.
Yes, we would stay there again. We actually had it booked and then changed to CBR for our trip that we just got back from before Thanksgiving. The only reason was because of the better free dining plan with the moderate resort.
The only thing I didn’t like about the resort was that you had to check out the life vests from the arcade. And you had to show a Key to the World, because they would charge you 50 bucks if they weren’t returned. They must have just started this, because we had stayed at Pop in March of 2009 and the vests were at the pool. And we found out that at CBR this last trip that the vests were at the pool. So I don’t know if this is something only at ASMusic, only at Values or if it is something that they tried and have now decided against it. But it was kinda a pain to have to walk into the arcade with just my suit on and then fortunately I had my Key. And it could have been a lot worst if we gone to the other pool and not the main one which was at least close to the arcade. But still annoying.
This review comes from my reader Phil….
We have stayed 3 times at All-Stars Movies. It is considered a value resort, and for the amount of time we spend in our room, we thought it was crazy to spend a lot of money just for somewhere to sleep and shower. The room has 2 double beds, vanity in the room, and the shower/tub and commode in the other room. The room was big enough for me, my husband and our 2 daughters. The rooms we have stayed in have always been clean. We ask for preferred view for our room when we book through our travel agent to get us as close as possible to the main building (food court, gift shop, bus stop). I did not like having to pay extra for our fridge ($10.65 per day) but we needed it to hold our breakfast stuff and water. The food court is pretty good. My family loved the fruit, carrot cake, and waffles especially. Bus service from the resort is good. However, when you leave the resort to go the parks you will find that the All Stars bus stops are always furtherest from the main gate of the park. Also, most every return trip to the resort the bus was packed beyond comfort. One night we had to wait 45 minutes for a bus back to All-Stars from the Magic Kingdom. Our last visit All Stars Movies was switching computer systems and we had a lot of trouble with getting keycards that would work. We went through 5 sets of cards and were even locked out of our room one night and had to get management to let us in. I was very dissappointed in their who cares attitude about the whole thing. For that reason I may not want to stay there again but my girls love it so good with all the giant characters around the rooms I may let them talk me into it.
You might consider staying at All Star Music.
Learn more about the Walt Disney World Resorts and contact Destinations in Florida to help you book your perfect resort.
I like staying at the all star movies. The Hotel is very clean and close to all of the parks. I like the fact that you are part of the Disney feeling when staying at the resort. Everyone is very friendly and the food is reasonable. Another nice feature is that you have shuttle buses that will take you too all of the parks, it may take a little longer than some of the nicer resorts, but if you don’t mind waiting a little long for the bus than no worries. Most often you can get on a bus every 15-30 minutes. I remember one time there was a huge line of people waiting to get to Magic Kingdom and they called in another bus to get us all there that much sooner. Plus you can buy refilable cups for $14, this might seem like alot but when you are at the resort for 7 days you can get your fill worth. We would fill them up before we would leave for the park to have something to drink there without having to pay for another drink at the park and then you have it for your return trip to your room since you have to go past the food court. I haven’t stayed at one of the more elaberate hotels and don’t think I would. The price is right, rooms are themed and the pools are awesome. You can’t go wrong. I love it and can’t wait to go back. Oh and there are so many photo oportunities at the hotels.
When we took our first trip to Disney in 2006 we knew without a doubt THIS was the resort for us. Our daughter was 6 and our son was 3 and the big bold characters were exactly the kind of fun we had in mind with our Walt Disney World trip. When we arrived we checked in and were told we had rooms in the Mighty Ducks wing. This was the gamble we had taken staying here and we had lost. Neither of my kids had seen that movie and I was crushed. In a rare moment I spoke up and asked if there was any way we could be anywhere else. She gave us a room in the Toy Story section and I got to be a hero for the day :) The big Buzz and Woody statues were so much fun for my kids, they just loved it, and the movie theme decorations in the room were great. Every aspect of that resort was playful and whimsical, everything I love about WDW.
The kids had fun swimming with their dad in the big pool and playing in the playground right next to it. It was a great place to spend a midday break from the parks.
We ate at the food court a couple times and the food was pretty much what you would expect. Nothing to rave about but nothing bad.
The buses can take a long time, but that really didn’t bother us. After a 20 hour long drive down we’re just happy to let someone else do the driving.
The downsides to this resort are now that we have stayed at a moderate my kids want to go somewhere with a slide, and my husband loved having a hot tub. These are two amenities they miss at the All Star Movies. With our growing family we have essentially out grown this resort unless we want to gamble on the two connecting rooms which is a request, never a guarantee. I know it is almost always granted but I love my time planning for a WDW trip, and don’t know if I would want to spend that time just hoping my family would be in a connecting room.
I give it a solid B rating though. I love the theme and the value can’t be beat!
This past year we ventured off to DisneyWorld for Thanksgiving and decided to give AllStar Movie Resort a try. We were greeted at the hotel check-in warmly and pleasantly and were thrilled by the guest shop that adjoins it as well as the specialized greetings we all were given. Upon arrival to our room we were a little taken aback by the almost Howard Johnson like atmosphere w 101 Dalmation wallpaper and designs everywhere. The kids thought it was great but the rooms (we had 2) were small and the beds were doubles with mid-range mattresses in them. Needless to say we didnt sleep very well. The pool down the way was great however it was cool outside and the kids had to stay in the water or they would freeze so we didnt enjoy that area too much. The picture area outside of the hotel was great and shot some fabulous pics there so that was a plus. As far as the bus ride, well that was long and we did have to wait a while for the bus for Magic Kingdom to come but it’s Disney so…..So compared to DisneyWorld itself, we found the hotel unsatisfactory. We wont stay there again.
We have stayed at the AllStar Sports resort twice. Once for our honeymoon in November 2000 and then on our last trip in November 2010. Both visits were very nice.
The rooms were very clean and the beds were very comfortable. We have had both the king size bed and the double beds. We never had trouble getting extra linens and we loved the way that the staff would arrange our daughter’s animals on the bed.
The walk to the bus stop was not bad- we have had the preferred location and the standard location and could not tell a difference between the two. The buses were aloways pretty crowded in the evenings and we do like the fact that AllStar Sports is the first drop off location of the AllStar Resorts. This was very important when traveling with our daughter.
The food court was pretty typical and was more crowded in the mornings than in the evenings.
We would definitely not be opposed to staying in this location again.
We stayed at this resort for my daughter’s 14th birthday back in March 2009. I took my daughter and 2 of her friends for a special stay at Disney, (we usually stay off property just outside the main gate on Irlo Bronson Pkwy) I had always heard of how much more convenient everything was at the resorts, and this being the first time we’d actually stayed on property we weren’t disappointed.
We drove over right after school got out on Friday from Tampa, and as soon as we walked into the reception area, I knew this would be a very special memory for my daughter.
Upon checking in, we were each given a “celebration” pin to wear for her birthday, and each of the girls were also given their own key card with their names on them! They were all excited to be able to use the cards to run down to the food court in the morning to pick out their breakfast.
After taking our bags to the room we caught a bus over to Downtown Disney for some food & shopping. (I absolutely loved not having to drive through the Friday night traffic to Downtown Disney!) The girls enjoyed their shopping and we took advantage of having our purchases delivered to the resort, which made for a more comfortable ride back.
I think the best thing about staying at the resort with older children was that they could go together to the food court, gift shops and pool, which made them feel a little more grown-up.
On the day of my daughter’s birthday, mousekeeping left her a signed birthday card from Mickey and they decorated the room with the glow-in-the-dark bracelets & hats we had gotten from the dollar store. When we got back from the park that night, the girls were all excited about how the room had been decorated just for them.
We stayed at the All Star Movies from May 21 – 28, 2011. We chose this resort because of the cost. We don’t hang around the resorts during the day, so really all we do is sleep there. We would rather spend our time in the parks.
The rooms were very clean and our room was very close to the quiet pool. It wasn’t a very far walk to the food court or the buses. The food court had a great selection of food to choose from. My favorite was the full breakfast and the chicken quesadilla.
The was usually a very little wait time for the buses. Sometimes we did have to stand going to the parks and coming home from the parks. A few times we shared a bus with the other resorts coming home from an Extra Magic Hour park. The walk from the bus drop off to the parks was not bad at all.
I would definitely stay at the All Star Movies again. The cast members were all very helpful and friendly. A wonderful experience!
My daughter and I stayed here 2 years ago. Picked for the cost and that it had all the different kid themes, Fantasia, Toy Story, Dalmations. My daughter enjoyed the little kiddie pool area right by the big pool. On our last day, we found by Herbie a spray fountain area for the kids. The food court had a good selection. Never had to wait to long to get on the buses, downside, the value resorts are always the farthest walk for the pickup spots at all the parks. I would stay there again, as rooms were nice and clean and great value for the limited time we actually spent in our room.
Why did you choose this resort? I went here the first time on my honeymoon and we were both Disney movie fanatics especially Fantasia so it was a perfect fit. We ended up in a Mighty Ducks room, but that was okay. The rooms are small but it was to be expected and all we did was sleep in it anyway. After getting a divorce I needed a new memory of Disney to bring back the joy so my new fiance and I brought his two girls and mom this past summer and ended up in the 101 Dalmation rooms. I liked these better because they were closer to the lobby and I liked the theme better.
What were the resort rooms like? They were the perfect size for a small family and for the most part you just sleep in the rooms anyway so as long as you have room for your stuff it makes little difference.
What were the amenities of the resort like? The two pools were awesome even though I never went in either; but the girls loved the Fantasia pool! I spent my time at the resort taking pics of the decor. I loved the Toy Story are! Of course my favorite area was probably the shop….. mainly for pin trading!!!
What was the food court like? The food court had good food and wasn’t too expensive especially for breakfast. Unfortunately, for me, with my allergies I had a very hard time finding things I could eat since a lot of things are pre-made or premixed.
How were the resort buses? Crowded, but i already knew that. I never had to deal with a full bus… and i didn’t mind standing. Getting out of the parks was hectic, but I always tried to take my time leaving so everyone else would be out of my way.
Would you stay at this resort again? Maybe, but want to explore the others. I will be in the pirate room in the Caribbean Resort in July and next year we are doing a big family trip with several first timers and we are going to do the Pop Century.
I really enjoyed the Movies resort. My now husband and I stayed there in 2007. The food on the resort was great and there was lots of choices. The mini store inside was also nice because you could do some mini gift shopping while there or get some late night snacks. The pools were great and I liked the different movie character statues that were all around the resort. It was fun to go around and take pictures. Each part of the hotel is in a different movie theme. We were in the Mighty Ducks section which is fun because I loved that movie growing up. The only down side was the bus. It was crowded at times and we had to wait for a while since it many times made stops at the other all-star resorts. I think disney busing in general isn’t always the best thing however. We also went in spring so there was a lot of dance groups and music groups staying in the other two all-stars. I would stay there again however, we really enjoyed it!
*WHOOPS- FAVORITE AMENITY=
I would say we really liked the decorations and we loved the pool! One night they showed an movie out doors next to the pool, we didn’t watch it but seemed really cool! Also, they ran dance and holla hoop contests at times which were really fun.
I am happy to see this posting opportunity because we just stayed here (6/1/11-6/8/11) and I have A LOT to say!
Why did you choose this resort?
I chose it because we wanted to pay the least amount for our room but still stay on campus. The movie value resort specifically, looked more child orientated with it’s themes and decorations. The themes and decorations were spectacular and we loved the pool with sorcerer Mickey!
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable?
The room was fairly small, but I was not concerned about this. the beds were nice and big, we had just enough room for the pack n play, our luggage and the fridge we ordered. We have 2 adults, a 4 y/o, 5 y/o and infant in our family.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one?
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods?
The food court was a nightmare. We only went there twice, and at very off meal times and it was still QUITE a wait to get your food and most of the tables were taken. Can’t imagine what it would be like during a meal time! We avoided it like the plague. Thank goodness, before even going, we had decided to do breakfast in our room (breakfast bars, bananas, milk, etc.) in order to avoid the lines and get a fast start on the day :) the one breakfast we had there was tasty (eggs, french toast, potatoes) and the one lunch we had there was just ok- definitely edible but nothing special. It was amazing to me how much more smoothly the quick service restaraunts ran in the actual park. I am not sure why it was so different between the 2.
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time?
The bus line, in general, was fine. Our walk was minimal as we ended up with a “preferred” room at the resort because when we booked, the regular rooms were all out. Our room was in the dalmation building 1 and was very close to bus stops, food court, etc. There were many times we were able to walk onto the bus within minutes from the line. Most people on the bus were courteous and kind. Our worst wait was the first day when we stayed at MK until closing. Then that bus wait was about an hour, yikes! but we never had that wait again. Even if you leave just 20-30 min before closing, most of the lines are decent.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason.
no, I don’t think so. I would only stay there if this was the bare minimum we could afford to go again. I would probably even stay off campus if we don’t do the food plan.
Overall, I was NOT immpressed by this resort in any way. The food court was horrendous with the wait times. The room had beautiful headboard and dresser but large cracks in the sink and stains on the chair cushions. The towels were not very nice (not what I would expect from Disney!), several times our dirty towels were left still on the floor, even when the beds had been made.
MORE IMPORTANTLY; The first day we checked into the room, we found metal pieces on the floor (hook earring back, a u shaped sharp piece of metal) and a whole fake FINGERNAIL on the floor just under the edge of the comforter. It was enough to give me the heebie jeebies the whole trip. Not to mention, I have an infant who spends a lot of time on the floor. Also, the first day the pack n play and fridge were not ready in our room, as requested. Lastly, the first morning, I called down for extra towels and shampoo, which never came. I think these first impressions, really ruined the room for me. I would still say, go ahead and stay there if you’ve already booked- as just a place to crash but don’t expect anything great.
The pool area was nice, and the parks themselves were wonderful,as well as, most of the sit down restaraunts were phenominal! (especially for us with a child with food allergies, the chefs and managers just bent over backwards to ensure his safety and eating options! just WONDERFUL)! Overall we had a GREAT trip, loved it! Just the room was yucky!
My husband and I stayed there last Sept 2010 for 4 days.
The lovebugs were everywhere. The were all over our hotel door and as soon as you open the door they all flew in. Then you had to try to get them out. I think brooms need to be in all the rooms for this reason. lol
They didn’t keep up on the towels by the pools, so we always bring our own.
But, overall it was okay, The price was right at the time.
Why did you choose this resort? What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable?
We have gone 2 times in the past 2 years. The first time was with my Mom (she paid) so we didn’t choose, the second we went and chose to stay there. Both times we stayed in the room with 3 adults and one child. We had plenty of room as long as we kept things kind of in order. Loved that they had the security box in the room with a key to put our small valuables in. I did bring my laptop and we almost always left it out and never had any issues with it. Loved that the cleaning staff always put my son’s stuffed animal on the bed and organized his stuff for when he got back.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one?
Because we went in December we never used the pool but it looked nice. The only problem we have had there is last year, we brought a surprise gift for my son to have delivered to the room. We went to eat luch and took our time getting to the room because they said to give them about 30 min. to get it there. It took about 3 hours to have it delivered. We were not happy about having to wait that long but it eventually got there, no harm done. We were waiting on my Dad to get there anyway.
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods?
The food court was like any other we have been too. Nothing super special but the food was pretty good. The staff was always very nice and accommadating. At one of the places we ordered food for all 3 of us, but we had to wait on my son’s food. Once his finally came out they took our plates back and gave us fresh food, it hadn’t taken all that long to get his but she insisted on us having hot food.
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks?
When we went the buses weren’t too bad. First thing in the morning was usually a wait, because everyone was there; leaving could be interesting because of long lines if you stayed until closing. Our walk from our room wasn’t too bad. We stayed in Herbie both times. We always had a good laugh in the lines talking with others too. My son thought of it all as just another ride to go on. :)
How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time? The walk to the gates was not bad. We always had my son’s stroller with us so he rode and we walked. The buses were very crowded first thing in the morning, around 12-1, and right after closing which we expected anyway. The 12-1 time slot was usually familes with little ones going for naps, we know cause we did it once or twice.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason.
We are staying there again in December when we go with my Mom and family again. We are very excited. My son doesn’t know yet but he wants to go back and see the giant Herbie again. We will probably use this one again if we go on our own again as well.
We stayed 1 night last summer so that my children could say that they stayed on Disney property. The free parking if you chose to drive was nice. The room was TINY. We were so hooked by the basic disney experience that we are considering buying into the vacation club for our next trip. We would go moderate the next time for the fridge, closer location, etc…
Why did you choose this resort? We originally stayed there because AS Music was booked up. We loved it as much as we do AS Music, but find it works best for us now that we carry the 2 year old with us since he knows the characters.
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable? The resort rooms have two full beds or one king and are plenty big enough for us. I’ve been with three teens, with DH and two teens, and with three teens and an infant. It all works just fine.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one? Our favorite amenity would be the Fantasia pool. We should be able to take DGS2 to the arcade on his next visit to this resort since he will be old enough to play some games.
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods? A lot of variety for every meal and great snacks. Our favorite foods are the Mickey waffles and the Chicken parmesian. DD20 loves the pizza!
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time? Out of all our AS resort stays, we’ve never waited long for a bus. The buses have never been overcrowded when we were there and from our experience, they don’t often share with the other AS resorts.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason. Absolutely! I love it and the little one loves it so we will definitely be back!
We stayed here over Labor Day in September of 2009. The rooms were kinda small for a family of four, but nicely decorated. We stayed outside most of the time, and the kids loved the outdoor area. We walked all over it when we weren’t at the parks. The restaurant there was nice, and we ate breakfast there every morning as part of our dining package. The food was good. We stayed in the Fantasia building and loved every minute of it. The pool and playground was nice for the short time we were actually at the room. When you’re at Disney, you tend to have busy days! We never tried the buses as we drove our own car. We figured out buying a double stroller off Craigslist for 50 dollars was cheaper than renting one there for the five days, so we drove our van to each park. We never had to wait when we were ready to go or leave. We will probably always do this as we only live 8 hours away from Disney World. We would like to try other resorts when we go again next year, but I wouldn’t mind staying here again if it was the cheapest option.
The last time I commented on this post was (comment #8 back in April 6, 2011) it was based on my experience I had staying at ASMo in 2009. We’ve since returned back there for our stay 2 weeks ago in the end of May, 2011, so I thought I’d give a more updated review.
Something I must’ve overlooked or forgotten about last time, was how kid-friendly they are. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise considering it’s Disney, but I am SO grateful and thankful. We got to ASMo via the Magical Express. As soon as we got off the bus at ASMo 2 Cast Members approached us: one to happily welcome us and one to happily welcome my 2 small children. The one who welcomed my kids were armed with stacks of Mickey stickers, ready to spoil them with as much stickers to satisfied their heart’s content. They asked them questions about their travels, asked them who they were most excited to see, etc. He entertained my kids while my husband and I gathered our heads and our luggage. He kept my kids occupied & out of trouble so that we could get organized. Do you have any idea how HAPPY and GRATEFUL I was of that after being stuck on a plane for 4 hours with them? Do you have any idea how happy my kids were to get stickers & to be allowed to be kids after being required to behave and sit still for 4 hours??? Words cannot describe it.
This time, we stayed in one of the Preferred Rooms, in the Toy Story building. We all liked the decor more largely because it’s a more current theme, and we could relate to it moreso than Herbie the Love Bug (where we stayed last time) but was it really worth the extra money? Probably not. (We only stayed in a Preferred Room because it was the only option to take advantage of the kids stay & play free promo they had going on when we booked our trip. I specifically requested the Toy Story building because we would’ve liked it more than Fantasia or 101 Dalmatian. There was no guarantee that we’d get Toy Story of course, but thankfully we did.) Don’t get me wrong, Buzz & Woody are definitely fun and my kids loved it, they screamed with glee for a good 20 minutes when they learned they were “staying in Andy’s room” but they wouldn’t have complained if we would’ve gotten Herbie again or Mighty Ducks. I will admit, they definitely enjoyed walking through the door to and from Andy’s room each day and greeting RC. I didn’t much care for having to walk through the smoking area to get to our room each time (it’s right in the entry way to the Toy Story buildings.) I know that on some Disney related message boards, they mention that noise can be a factor with Preferred Rooms as they are closer to the main lobby & clubhouse (in this case, Cinema Hall & Fantasia Pool) but that was never an issue for us, even when they had loud music playing in the Fantasia Pool for their Pool Parties. (The Pool Parties seemed new. I don’t recall them having that 2 yrs ago, but definitely a fun thing to do if you’re taking a mid-day chill break at the pool. Kids who participate can win prizes.) The only noise we ever heard was our neighbors flushing the toilet on occasion, but then again, we got that when we stayed in the Herbie room as well as when we stayed at Caribbean Beach, which is a Moderate resort. I thought that by staying at a Preferred Room that we’d have a shorter walk from the Cinema Hall to our room, and really, compared to our Herbie room last time, the walk was not much of a difference. ASMo isn’t as scattered as some of the other resorts. The distance difference, imho, doesn’t really justify the extra cost of staying in a Preferred Room.
I’d read that Disney is starting to remodel (new chairs, tables, drapes, painting, flat panel TVs) the All Star Resorts (Sports, I believe is done being remodeled, Music is mostly done, and they’ve just started with Movies) so I was hoping that we’d get one of the remodeled rooms. We did not get a remodeled one, but our room was just fine. It was mostly clean, and in great shape. There were only 2 negatives: 1. my kids found a couple of raisins on the floor, probably because the vacuum couldn’t pick it up and it was camouflaged in the carpeting. Leave it up to kids to find things like that. No biggie, we just picked it up, threw it away and went on our merry way. 2. there were stains on our bed spread, which I guess it shouldn’t be surprising because I know they don’t change those after each guest. I’ve read enough about hotels and motels to know to yank those off and not use them. The fleece blankets underneath do get cleaned regularly (I saw Mousekeeping yank some off and tossed into the laundry pile as I walked past their cart one day) so if you’re cold in your room, just buzz Mousekeeping to bring you more blankets. A few things I know people complain about AS resorts are the lack of towels in the pool area, that you have to bring your own. That really isn’t or shouldn’t be a problem, really. There are little signs in each room that notifies you that there are no towels in the pool area, to bring your own, and if you need more, Mousekeeping will happily inundate you with towels. I asked for 2 more towels, Mousekeeping brought me no less than 5, telling me to just hang on to them in case I need them for the pool. I always had an extra stack of towels at any given time. Mousekeeping were very attentive and considerate to us. They welcomed us with a towel Mickey head on our bed, and one day, one of my kids’ stuffed dino (from Build-A-Dino) “magically” greeted us at the window of our room holding a balloon we had in our room. My kids got a huge kick out of that. There really isn’t anything that “triggers” Mousekeeping to add that extra touch. They just do it if they have a chance or feel like it. We did tip on one day, but that didn’t get us anything special. We tipped again on the day we left, along with a thank you note, mostly because we were grateful for their services and how kind they’ve been to us.
Another thing I read about people complaining about AS resort towels is their quality. Fluffy cloudy luxury they are not, but sandpaper they’re not either. They’re fine & absorbent. Lastly, is the complaint about the toilet paper. People complain that it’s rough, 1 ply tp. It’s not. It’s 2 ply, though it’s not the best fluffy soft tp you’ll ever use. It is in fact, rather thin. If that’s something you can’t tolerate, it then bring your own and plan on bringing it with you to the parks too because it’s the same texture and type they use at the parks. Really, the thing that annoyed me the most about ASMo rooms were the low flow faucets & showers, and I know that’s not exclusive to All Star Resort rooms, they are all over Disney World Parks & Resorts as part of their Green Movement. I get it, but imho, it’s annoying. It takes forever to try to wash hands & shower (extra fun when showering young children who hates using immovable shower heads and it just trickles water & soap into their eyes.)
To answer the specific questions mentioned in this post:
Why did you choose this resort?
The short & very frank answer is, it’s cheap! You don’t break the bank to get the benefits of staying on-site. You still get the Disney treatment, attentive, helpful, awesome Cast Members, great service that can’t be matched elsewhere, especially on a budget.
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable?
They were acceptable and just fine. It serves its purpose for us for now, but as my kids get bigger, I have no doubt we’ll want and need more room. After staying at the Caribbean Beach in the past, the rooms at ASMo weren’t noticeably smaller. In order to get noticeably more space we’d have to upgrade to a significantly pricier resort than many Moderate Resorts.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one?
I was really impressed with the Pool Parties at the Fantasia Pool, and I was very impressed with how well things ran at the resort in general. Things were always kept clean at the food court. Things ran like well oiled machines, typical of Disney.
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods?
The food court was pretty standard. Be forewarned that the lines to the Roxy (where the grill is) is always the longest. It’s the most popular as that’s where burgers and fries are found. You can easily spend 30 minutes just waiting in that line even when it’s not super busy.
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time?
In short the buses, are kinda sucky mainly because you have to share with the other All Star Resorts and Movies is always the last stop so you get the most crowded buses getting on, and you’re the last one off a crowded bus going back to your resort. The walk to the bus from the hotel rooms is not bad at all. It’s a short walk for the most part, around 5 minutes. Walking to the gate isn’t terrible but it’s frequently the furthest stop away from the gates of the parks. Sometimes the parks will separate the All Star Resorts into different buses, but it’s commonly combined. BUT with that said, All Star aren’t the only resorts I’ve seen with combined buses. I’ve also seen combined buses for the Grand Floridian, Contemporary and Polynesian resorts, as well as other Deluxe Resorts, and they can get crowded too. It’s just that you can count on All Star Resorts to share buses the majority of the time. The wait time for the buses were also not bad at all. I think the longest we had to wait was about 20 minutes, and that was only once or twice.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason.
I would stay at All Star Movies again, but the next time we go, if we can swing it, I would like to stay at a resort with more transportation options. After a while, crowded buses just becomes an annoyance, and adds to the grumpiness of an exhausted, and over heated family. It is neither fun or magical to have to deal with exhausted, passed out kids & their strollers on a bus packed like sardines. (Unlike buses strollers do not need to be folded up on board the Monorail or Friendship Boats so kids asleep in their strollers can be left alone and wheeled onto the Monorail or boat!) Another reason that we’d like to try another resort is for a change of scenery. We’ve stayed at ASMo twice in a row now, I’d like to experience something different if we can. I definitely don’t mind ASMo and do think it’s a great option for those who wants to experience the magic of Disney on a budget, but I do dread the crowded buses. However, I do think it’s important to note that I don’t think crowded buses is exclusive to All Star Resorts. I think crowded buses is a WDW-wide issue, but staying at a resort with more than one transportation option does make it less stressful and more pleasant when traveling with small children.
I admit that All Star Movie was our 1st trip hotel and has a special place in my heart. Trip was February 2005.
Why did you choose this resort? My oldest, 3 1/2 at the time, was big into Toy Story. So we knew from the start, we had to stay there and repeatedly asked about getting into the Toy Story area.
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable? The rooms were nice and cozy. At that time, yes they were big enough for 4. 2 adults, 3 1/2 yr old and 14 month old. Today, they wouldn’t be big enough.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one? The pool was nice. The Toy Story play area was probably the favorite.
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods? We didn’t eat in the food court except 1 time for breakfast. We had to get Mickey Waffles. We brought our own food and ate as cheap as possible for having an extremely picky toddler.
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time? I don’t remember the buses.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason. Yes but only if I can stay in the Toy Story area.
We made our first trip to Disney 4/17/10-4/23/10 and stayed at the All Star Movies. We were traveling with my 2yo and my parents. We requested the Toy Story building with a view of the courtyard. This was wonderful as we were close to the lobby/dining/pool etc. Added bonus was the fact that my son was over the moon “staying in Buzz’s house!”
We were able to get adjoining rooms with my parents, which helped to make the room feel a little larger. The rooms were a little tight on space, considering we had our son on an inflatable mattress, though we found out later that Disney will provide you with bed rails if you request them. Note to self for the next trip! With two double beds, my husband and I opted each to have a bed for ourselves so that we would get enough rest from the busy days.
We did not get a fridge, but were still able to to do breakfast in our room. I was impressed with the dining options. Reading reviews, I was preparing myself for only having a choice of burgers or pizza, but was pleasantly surprised by the options. When my son wanted rice and peas for dinner, thankfully there was a roast chicken option served with rice and veggies! I loved being able to feel good about getting something that was seemingly healthy into his little body. :)
Transportation service was fair to good. Only twice did we have to wait more than 30 minutes for a bus, but they were always over packed. I wish they could have a few more buses driving the routes at peak times. Even with the transportation time and challenges, I loved having the option to hop the bus back to the resort for my sons nap time and for my husband and I to rest and recharge.
The rooms were very clean and the Disney staff is wonderful. When my husband was sick, they arranged for transportation to take him to minor medical and the drug store to get a prescription. This happened before we even set foot through the Disney gates. The staff made an impression on us right away. Speaking of staff – the housekeeping team is awesome. I loved the towel animals we came home to, which were always interacting with our son’s toys. He got such a kick out if it!
In my mind, for the price, it can’t be beat! We’ll be back here for the next few trips. When our boys get a little older, we’ll probably upgrade just to get the space.
My family of four stayed in the All Star Movies. We came during off peak. September 12,2010 September 19, 2010. It was our second trip to Disney. The first time we paid the extra money to stay at The Animal Kingdom Lodge. We only used their pool once, and barely saw any of the animals, leaving early and getting home late we decided to try a value resort so that we could stay 8 days versus just 4. IT WAS SO WORTH IT! The All Star Movies has a great atmosphere. My kids loved the huge statues throughout. We stayed in a room overlooking the huge chessboard. The room was a normal size, we did opt for the in room fridge for a small extra charge so that we could have breakfast and cold drinks and bring home all our leftovers. (we added the dining plan so we had lots of leftovers) The bathroom was great the fact that the vanity area was seperate from the actually shower and toliet was a huge bonus. We spent very little time in the room, The restauraunts in the building were just fine. Purchased the refillable mugs which worked out great. The pools were very large and easy to get to, and never to busy. My only complaint was the laundry area. Not enough machines that were working, but a small complaint. The bus area was never busy when we left in the morning, never had to wait very long for a bus. In the evenings when we were leaving the park there was always a wait, and we were always the last off, but it was a good unwind time and we always talked about our favorite part of the day and what we were looking forward to the next day. Also we played three rounds of golf, and the front desk arranged all the transportation and handled the golf clubs, which was a great relief. Overall the resort was amazing. It may not have some of the perks of some of the larger more expensive ones, but my family was able to stay for a full 8 days with dining plan, for the same price I had paid for 4 nights and no dining plan the year before. I am going for the Disney Experience not the hotel room! Plus we ate at some of the more expensive hotels on our dining plan, so for that night we got walk around and view it and we always felt the same, it was not worth 4 less days at Disney.
We have stayed at a lot of WDW resorts! I am an adult with my own family now, however, when I stayed at All Star Movies I was just a girl! I loved it! It was fun and themed so cute! We also had great Mousekeeping that trip and they left towel animals every day! (which they have yet to do for my 4 year old daughter). Although the resort was spacious there were coffee carts stationed around in the morning for guests to fill up their mugs, I’m not sure if they do this anymore but it was a nice touch. I enjoyed it when I was younger. Although now, I prefer rooms with refrigerators to keep bottles of water cold that way I don’t waste snack credits. My mom has often said that was one of her favorite trips we have taken and one of the funnest resorts! Great picture taking spots too!
We stayed at All-Star Movies five years ago. We had a great time and felt that we got our money’s worth for it being a “budget” resort. It was clean and friendly.
We stayed in the Dalmation section. It was a nice location – close to the main building. It was good to be close, due to having a three year old with us at the time.
We did have the dining plan and felt that we had more than enough food. Since our room did not have a fridge – due to being a “budget” resort, we made our own out of the ice bucket and some towels. It worked to keep our drinks cold that we had gotten on our food plan.
All Star Movies was a good fit for our family. My daughter loved the main pool and the kiddie pool area. We did not get a chance to head over to the Mighty Ducks pool, but hopefully one day we will get to!
I have (and would) recommend this resort.
We stayed at the All Star Movies just this year! We went from May 06 to May 12. We have two children that are 5 and 2. Our room was in the Toy Story section, which was a huge hit with the kids! The room was right in front of the huge Buzz Lightyear and Woody. Rex and Bo Peep were there as well as a racecar, Andy’s door, and a giant checkerboard!
We chose this resort because of the price and it is kid friendly! Our children really enjoyed staying there. The staff is so friendly and wonderful to talk to if you have questions.
The resort rooms were very clean and comfortable. We loved the Toy Story theme!
The amenities were awesome! The Fantasia pool with the huge Mickey was so fun to play in! There was a fountain that shoots out of Mickey! My 2 year old son loved it! The refillable resort mug is the best. We could get drink refills whenever we wanted. Plus, the food court was so good! We loved shopping in the gift shop and playing at the arcade!
The food court was delicious! They had really good pizza, salad, and ice cream!! Thank goodness for the Disney Dining Plan! :)
The resort buses were so nice to have and not worry about parking. The walk took about 5 minutes and the longest we waited was 15 minutes and that was for the Magic Kingdom! It was nice that they had air conditioning. They were not overcrowded at all! The resort bus stops at the park were a little far away because they are the value resorts, but it was tolerable.
Oh my goodness, Yes we would definitely stay at this resort again! As a matter of fact, when we go back next year, we are staying there and going to try to get in the Toy Story building again!! :)
I prefer Pop Century. Often large groups with few adults stay at the other value resorts. The last time we stayed at this resort children ran around at all hours of the night.
I stayed at the All-Star Moviesresort and it was an extremely nice stay. Movies by the pool every night, food was delicious and the room, from what time we spent in the room was very, very nice, Me, my daughter, and my mother-in-law went from May 22-May 27,2011. I plan on another trip there, hopefully at the same resort in a couple yrs, this time with my bf and his 2 kids, along with my little one.
The staff was very nice and helpful when we needed them. Especially one of the staff members at the concierge desk, she got us a cab I believe it was our 2nd night there to the Magic Kingdom, and paid for the cab with a taxi voucher. Very nice thing that happened there. So, I recommend this resort, andI hopefully to stay there again very soon.
I chose the All-Star Movies resort for the price, plain and simple. And I thought it would be more fun for my then 8 year old daughter than the All-Star Music or All-Star Sports resorts. We stayed in the 101 Dalmatians building. :-) And I knew we had no intention of spending any more time than necessary in our rooms or at the hotel, so we really had no reason to get some fancy expensive room w/spa service & all that other junk. And the hotels w/daycare, what’s up w/that? Why are you at Disneyworld with your kids if you’re going to stick them in daycare? lol Anyway… we just didn’t need any more than was provided by the All-Star Movies resort.
The rooms were perfectly acceptable, I have definitely stayed in far worse rooms in my life. There were two double beds, and it was just my daughter and me, so it was plenty. We each got our own bed, the A/C was WONDERFUL (we went the end of August… it was at LEAST 90-95 degrees every day we were there, so coming back to our room and having the A/C keeping it nice & chilly in there was awesome!), the rooms were clean & comfortable, I have no complaints.
The resort itself was nice, the pools were nice, there was a walk-up bar for cocktails for mommy, :-)… my only complaint really w/the resort amenities is the gift shop in the lobby could be a little better stocked when it came to travel items and toiletries… I mean people are coming there for likely a week or so at a time, it’s possible and even likely they may have forgotten something… would be nice if the resort kept more of those types of items stocked… I think I forgot a razor, and they didn’t carry razors… needless to say by the end of the trip I really had no business wearing shorts! lol Other than that though, no complaints w/the amenities…. like I said, we had no intention of spending any more time there than necessary.
I thought the food court was great… the only thing I would change would be to add a sit-down option… we had the dining plan, 1 counter meal, one sit-down meal and one snack per person per day, and we ended up running out of counter meals and trading in some sit-down meals for a counter meal instead, because we didn’t want to take out a whole bunch of time at the parks to have sit-down meals at the parks (we did I think twice in the 7 days were there), and it would have been nice to be able to use a sit-down meal credit for breakfast before we headed out to the parks for the day, or for dinner in the evening. But as far as choices, it was wonderful. My daughter is kind of a somewhat picky eater, and there were still plenty of choices to get her fed without issue. I did get the refillable mug that you can refill at the restaurants & stuff for free, but the only problem w/that is the cafeteria at the resort closed fairly early (well, early in relation to returning to from the parks at like 1 a.m.) and there was no way to refill my mug after a certain time. After stumbling in from a long hot day at the Magic Kingdom, it would have been nice to be able to get a nice cold drink in my mug, but I ended up having to pay $3 at a vending machine instead. But overall the food was good, we mostly ate there for breakfast and I remember having some pretty darn good french toast. :-) It was nothing extremely fancy, but there were grab & go items and made-to-order items, and lots of choices.
The resort buses were good, all except for one night, leaving the Magic Kingdom. Apparently there was some problem with the buses, and we ended up waiting like three hours after the park closed to get a bus back to the resort. We saw other buses for the higher-priced resorts come and go, even empty, while we waited… a woman in a wheelchair was waiting in line and had two small children asleep in her lap, a boy had gotten sick in the line waiting for the buses and we had to stand there w/the smell and nastiness for 3 hours, no place to go to the bathroom, no place to get anything to drink, no place really to sit down. A girl who was also waiting for the bus ended up walking out in front of one of the buses and blocking the way, trying to get them to take us to our resort… the bus was actually for the Contemporary Resort… the one that’s RIGHT THERE from the Magic Kingdom, w/the monorail going THROUGH it??? Yeah, they couldn’t give us that bus, even though it was empty besides. BUT that was just one night, the other nights were fine, all other bus trips were uneventful, quick, and the A/C in the buses was pretty good too! One thing I would change about the buses is to make the seats out of something that the backs of your thighs won’t stick to quite so bad though! Oh, and we were all handsomely compensated for our troubles the night of the 3-hour wait, too, I will give them that… they tried to make it right as much as they could.
Our walk to the bus stop from our resort room wasn’t bad at all, but we were very close… like there was our building, a treeline about maybe 10 feet deep, and then the resort parking lot, so we were pretty close to the buses… I can imagine it might have been a bit more of a hike for the rooms further out. The walk to the park gates from the buses wasn’t bad either, I think the Magic Kingdom gate was the furthest from the bus stop, but even that wasn’t bad. The most crowded I ever saw the buses was the night of the 3-hour wait… they were pretty close to or at capacity at park closing times too, but they were never unbearably jam-packed.
The bus trip from the resort to the parks was a little long, like 15 minutes each way. It wasn’t too bad though when you’ve been hitting the parks all day long and you got 15 minutes to just sit & soak up some A/C, but if you want to run back to your room mid-day, like after some time at a water park to clean up & get dressed & stuff and head right back out again, you could end up wasting some time on the buses. Still not bad to chill & soak up some A/C though, but you could tend to feel the need to rush stuff a little more knowing that you’ll be spending a half-hour round-trip on the bus.
I would definitely stay here again. It’s just not worth it to me to pay to stay at some fancier resort. I guess maybe if I were going on my honeymoon or something I might want a fancier resort, but for kids & stuff, all we needed was a room w/beds and a shower and A/C, and it fit the bill, without breaking the bank. I didn’t have a HUGE amount of money to blow on this trip, week at Disney costs enough money WITHOUT paying a premium for a room where you’re only going to sleep & shower. Staying at a value resort was even more worth it when it made it so we were financially able to extend our stay from 5 days to 7, and didn’t have to worry so much about pinching pennies on souvenirs & stuff. :-)
We used a Disney Resort child care facility for the first time on our most recent trip and we were very grateful that the option was available. While it’s true that WDW is a lot of fun for kids, it’s also for adults, with many things adults can’t easily do with kids in tow including dining at restaurants such as Victoria & Albert’s which does not permit kids under 10. My husband and I took advantage of a Children’s Activity Center discount voucher that came with our travel documents and we had a date night at one of the parks sans kids. We had a lovely, uninterrupted dinner with adult conversation with each other. We enjoyed rides that our kids were too small or too afraid to go on….together. We were able to take in the sights & sounds WDW has to offer that often gets overlooked with kids in tow. We held each others’ hands and walked around like a couple, not strollers or little hands yanking us in different directions!
We paid good money to go on a Disney vacation, adults deserve to have some adult oriented fun too. A few hours at a child care facility where I know they are well taken care of and having fun is a lot cheaper and less stressful than having relatives come along, lol.
For our honeymoon we were on a very limited budget and staying at a value resort was the only way we could afford our trip. I am very glad that we did stay! It was an excellent trip!
Our room was by the front of the hotel by the pool, we had two queen size beds and for us that was very helpful when we wanted to take a nap during the day. At this resort the pool was right by our room, along with the bus stop, dining and the game room. The food court had many options for people who are picky like me. I was really excited about the fruit bowls in the morning and the yummy Mickey waffles!
I was very grateful for the bus stop being close to our room because by the 9th day my feet were very sore. Each bus runs about 10-15 minutes between pick ups. This is one of the great perks for staying on site, the bus is free and there is never a worry about how to get somewhere and walking to the back of the parking lot. The bus system is at the front of the parks and depending on where your room is there are multiple stops at this resort for the bus. The other benefit of the bus, when you have walked all day and stayed for the excellent shows in the evening they drive you home, and when it’s dark many families have sleeping children which is an adorable sight! During peak visiting times after the shows are finished in the evening the buses will be full. But WDW does an incredible job making sure there are extra buses running to make the wait time as short as possible. My suggestion is to take it slow heading back to the bus or leave a few minutes before the shows are over.
After this trip we have stayed at this same resort two more times!
I stayed here on my honeymoon in 2009, because personally why spend more if we arent going to be in room all that much. The rooms were clean and more than adequate to our needs. Comfortable bed, and great themeing to the room. we had a nice view of the pool, and enjoyed the access to the food court.
The food in the food court was great. And more than satisfying. As a matter of fact I couldnt even eat half of the food I was given!
The buses were quick and access to the parks very direct. Overall I truly enjoyed my time at this resort.
I am a native Floridian so Disney comes 2nd nature to me and my family. I have been staying that the All Star Hotels since they opened.
I enjoy the All Star Movies because it is a value resort and we enjoy going so frequently.
Since I got married and had kids we are now a party of 4. The rooms are plenty big enough for my family. My youngest sleeps in a crib that is delivered prior to our arrival, and my oldest sleeps in between the double beds “camping style” so my husband and I each get a bed, as we are not exactly little people.
I find them to be more than accomodating, we spend all day and most of the evening in the parks so by the time we get to the hotel we see the backs of our eyelids.
I enjoyed the Commissary at the hotel, I think that is a wonderful idea to feed the family either in the morning, or if we head back early. It is a less expensive alternative to the park food. I also enjoyed the unlimited drink cup.
The Food Court served your typical family foods. I enjoyed the additional healthy selections they had to choose from because eating fried foods everyday is not so great!
The buses are a great idea, we use them occasionally but tend to prefer our own transporation. Being a hotel guest, you receive free parking at the parks and this way we can come and go as we please and carry everything we need to bring.
I would absolutely stay at this resort again, I enjoy the price, the quality and the convenience. Disney knows customer service and does it better than any company in the world. It doesn’t matter if you are a guest at the value resort or a guest at the Grand Floridian you still receive the royal treatment.
I will continue to use the Value Resorts to save money for Character Meals and Toys for the kids to enjoy. I am so excited for the new Animation Hotel to open as well and can’t wait to stay there as well!!
We stayed in ASM March of 2010, 2 adults, one child. We really like the food court, and the pool. The room however, was a huge disappointment. Never staying onsite before, I just expected alot more. The rooms were obviously dated, they were awful. We are from the south, and used to the heat, BUT we did not like that u could not turn the air down to your own likings. We had to call maintence a few times, which would turn a ket it get it to go down 2 degrees less. We actually went to walmart the 2nd night and bought a fan, cause it was that warm in there. Finally after complaining, the next night, they switched us to Pop century, saying because it was newer, it would be better running AC. Pop Century wasnt much better. I wonder if the moderate or the higher hotels have better rooms with better AC, if so, I would say it would be worth the money, cause our room was miserable. It felt as if we were staying somewhere we paid 50 bucks a night for or something. We also had to request them make a towel animal. I was told they dont normally do it with the child in the group is under 2. Which I think is crazy, basically telling me they only do it for a paying child to the parks… when we finally got a towel creation it was something very simple and not done very well. No special things left in the room at all. Just a very blah stay at ASM and Pop.
We stayed in the All Stars Movie Resort on our honeymoon 5 years ago. I loved it! I enjoyed the theme and everyone was SO NICE! We casually (on purpose) mentioned it was our honeymoon and the sweet little perks were incredible. We came back to the room one day to find a large balloon in the room, attached to an autographed picture of Mickey congratulating us!
The room was clean, if a little smaller than I expected. Everything went off without a hitch, we had a perfect stay. Everyone from the front desk to the food court workers were very helpful and polite.
The bus system worked great- I don’t think we waited more than 5 minutes for a bus the whole time we were there!
We stayed at All star movies because of the Toy Story theme. My boys had fun playing in that area. The pool was a great pool but unfortunately 10 minutes after we got in someone pooped and the pool had to be cleared.
We were not able to eat the food there. My mom had breakfast and it made her sick. My son is gluten free and we had called ahead and were informed the chef would make him something special. When we asked the chef he said he was to busy and just eat what was available. We weren’t asking for much just a couple of scrambled eggs. The rest of Disney is awesome with gluten free so we just ate at the McDonalds that is close by.
The rooms were clean but small next time I am stopping and buying a cheap coffee maker for my room. We had to keep my sons medicine on ice because the fridge we ordered didn’t arrive.
I probably would stay at an all star resort again because the price is just to low to complain compared to the rest of the resorts.
We stayed that the AS Movies resort from 5/28/11 – 5/31/11. We have stayed at a couple of the moderate resorts as well, this definitely did not compare. You definitely get what you pay for. The staff was friendly, as they were throughout Disney. The rooms were very tiny. We were in a preferred room, which was very close to the pool, transportation, and main building. They played movies at night which was a pro and con. It was very loud and kept our children up at night. The pool was overly crowded at all times. Our room was fairly run down and they were working on the room next to us. They would start around 7 in the morning, which was 6 our normal time, so my children were woke to that noise every morning. The food court was never able to keep up with the amount of people. There was always a long wait. Overall, you pay to be close to the parks. It’s still a Disney resort, so the kids enjoyed walking around it.
We stayed at the All Star Movies for the first time in June 2010. We usually always stay at one of the value resorts. While I liked the decor of the resort, it was my least favorite of all of the values. We like a few others above had problems with placement of the other parties we were traveling with. They had us all in different buildings and I made our reservations at the same time and linked them together. The rooms were very clean and allowed plenty of space for my family of 4.
Pools are great….Play areas are great
Food court has a variety to please anyone regardless of what they like.
Buses were not a problem, bus stops were clean. Not much of wait time considering it was the middle of June
I would stay at Disney’s All Star Movies again, but I would probably look at All Star Sports or Pop Century first. I am looking forward to the new value resort next year.
We like staying there when we are participating in running events because its geared for the athletes. Many of the athletes stay there, and you generally have people on a similar sleep schedule. There are also many people there who will have similar sleeping patterns, and its possible to make friends that enjoy your same activities .
We chose it because of the price – you only sleep there anyway right?!? It was a tad small because we had a crib in there with us, but without that it would be just fine! We only got drinks as we were passing through the food court in our refillable cups, but the employees there were super friendly. We had no problems with the bus at all, in fact we loved the free transportation. We had very little, if any, wait time, but we were there in the off season. We would definitely stay there again! Can’t wait!! :)
Being annual passholders, we have virtually stayed at almost every Disney resort. Whether it be the value resorts or the deluxe, it is Disney so it is nice! With the deluxe resorts, you pay a higher price but you are paying for location. I tell people that it all depends on how much time you are actually going to spending at the resort and how light you want your pocketbook to be.
I will say, however, of all the value resorts, the All Star Movies resort is probably my favorite. Not only is it just nostalgic of the magic of Disney film and animation, it is also the smile it brings to my children’s faces. It’s like staying in a cartoon yourself. I would recommend this hotel to anyone visiting or staying on property for the first time or fiftieth. Nothing like disney magic to end your day :)
I’ve stayed at all of the value resorts, and all at different times of the year, and with different sized groups. When I stayed at All Star Sports, it was with a group of 17 and they blocked us rooms that were together, the food court was great, and All Star Sports is the first stop on the bus route, so you can always get on, and in the evening, you don’t have to wait to get off. My brother and I also celebrated a birthday while we were there, and the food court was good about a cake, and letting us push the tables around so that we could all sit together.
I stayed at All Star Music in the spring with a school band trip. In both instances, with a large block of rooms, we were in the building furthest from the food court. At Sports, it was baseball, and at Music it was Broadway. However, my grandmother was with us on the band trip, and they were very good about coming with a golf cart to give her a ride because it was too difficult for her to walk the distance.
The others have been great for their individual experiences as well. The pools have all been great, and it’s always been great to walk around the resorts and see the decorations in the other sections. My daughter has always loved that she can go and run around Woody and Buzz at Movies, and running on the football field at Sports, and even “playing” the piano at the pool in Music. When you’re planning to spend most of your time in the parks, these resorts are a great choice. I actually took a trip to Pop Century where we squeezed 4 adults and 2 babies into that room, and it was a little crowded, but since all we were doing was sleeping there, it really didn’t matter. The arcades also all have some decent games for entertaining kids of all ages (and adults, too) and are open pretty late. I also found that getting around and finding things like laundry facilities, is easy at all 4 resorts, especially after taking a tour around the resort to check out all of the other themes.
We stayed at Disney Movies resort 2 years ago. The kids loved all the huge Disney characters around the courtyard. We all loved the pool. It is really big and we didn’t feel crowded at all even though the pool was full of people. The rooms were really small but we didn’t spend much time in there other than to sleep. If you are looking to do Disney on a budget but to get the whole on Disney property experience then Disney Movies is the way to go. It was also nice to be able to go back and forth from the park. We also liked the dining area. They have it set up where you can get in and out really fast. I recommend buying the drink mug which allows you free refills. It is the best deal.
We chose the All Star Movie Resort because it was the cheapest resort we could find. My husband and I went for our honey moon, which we were paying for ourselves. We weren’t expecting much, but were very impressed with the resort overall.
The rooms are very basic and similar to a typical hotel room. Since it was just the two of us we fit just fine, but if we had more people (up to 4) it wouldn’t have felt too cramped. The bathroom was nice and included a tub if you had small children. The decorations were also a nice touch in the rooms.
The pools were really neat and although when we went it was too cold for me to swim (there were people in the pools because they heat them), it would have definitely been my favorite amenity.
The food court was great. We bought the mugs you can refill while staying at the resort, which was a great idea. The food tasted great and they had soymilk, which I found amazing since I have a milk allergy. The drink selection was also great. I believe we ate there about 3-4 times and had no complaints about the food.
The best thing about staying on Disney’s property is the transportation. I don’t think we waited more than 5-10 min for a bus from the resorts and never missed a bus because of too many people. Depending on where your room is, it is a good distance that you have to walk to get to the bus stop. The distance is long enough that you would want to get your stroller out to walk there, BUT much better than having to pay to park.
We would definitely stay at this resort again. The price was amazing and it met all our basic needs. If you plan on spending a lot of time in your room I wouldn’t recommend this resort, just because there’s not that much space. The pools are great, if you enjoy that. However, if you plan on spending your time at the parks or other Disney places, I highly recommend saving the money for your adventures instead of where you’re sleeping.
I have been to all the values many times, we love it! We have a family of 6 now, but the place is clean, we felt safe walking around, the eating place is nice, can get very busy at breakfast and dinner time!I would reccomend this hotel to anyone wanting a value hotel, my favorite has got to be POP, there is just something about that place..just brings me back.I love nostalgia. The rooms at Movies are basic, the theming is of course movies, so your lights over the bed are stars. It is your basic hotel, its perfect for our family, we are commando most of them time, eccept when its just me and hubby, then we relax, use the pool, bar, ect..its pretty quiet eccept during cheer week..lol! My kids are 15,11,7,and 2.:O) We love the huge movie icons, there always great picture spots..you can walk around to find your favs., and trust me they are so much bigger than you think.haa!:O)
Food court:basic foods, chicken, pizza, friespasta,salads,bakery,ya know foods we all love!Hey..its vacation, there’s no calories!!Haa!!
The buses: Reg buses, we never waited more than 15 min for any of them!
The staff:Always friendly here!!
I believe on one of our stays they got the blow up movie screen next to the pool, the kids would sit in the pool, and the me and hubby would sit on the deck chairs(it was too cold)!!
During the day they had like little dance contests, and such.
Tips: Bring your towels from your room to the pool.
Downside, even the campground now has a hot tub and a water slide!
So, what’s the reason we picked this resort, well , we go every Christmas with the family, and whatever hotel is available, is the one we go with!! The price is right, many times we have gone to book, and this was the only hotel with openings. We live in Tampa bay, and this year have season passes, so we get a few more perks this year.
The arcade is up to date, with a few oldies but goodies too!!Sorry for hopping all over, but I was thinking as I was writing..lol!!
■Why did you choose this resort? we stayed at AS Movies when my brothers & I were small(ages 16& 12). We didn’t really have much of a say when it came to choosing a hotel(mom & dad did that for us)
■What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable? We had two rooms since there were 5 of us but it was great because us kids had our own room and had our own ‘space’ from mom & dad at times. The rooms were plenty big and there was more then enough room for 5 people to move around. The rooms were very acceptable and we’re planning on taking our 3 year old to Disney in the fall and we’re staying at AS Movies.
■What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one? The pool & arcade were awesome! I think my favorite was the food court because when we’d come back late from the park we were able to get a snack before walking all the way back to our rooms.
■What was the food court like? Any favorite foods? The food court got an A+ from our entire family! There were many options of food to choose from. The crossiants were by far my favorite(very yummy!)
■How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time?We never waited more then 10 minutes for a bus leaving the resort. The walk to the bus stop wasn’t to bad,however when it poured at night it was a little wet. The resort bus stops at the park were great. There were covers over every bus stop location inside the parks which was a plus on the hot days(thank you fans!) I don’t ever remember the buses being overly crowded at any given time.
■Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason.
We are actually planning on staying at AS Movies when we take our 3 year old to Disney in the fall(this will be our 3rd trip with her) she’s most looking forward to getting to see the giant Buzz Lightyear!
Pros: Rooms were clean and neat. I wouldn’t expect less from Disney. Priced inexpensive. Grounds were immaculate and pleasing to the eye.
Cons: There seems to be a greater prevalance of late night noise at this resort, and no, I’m not talking about kid noise. I expect kids to be noisy. I’m talking about the noise from adults coming in real late (after midnight) and shouting from the balcony or sidewalks. You don’t see this in the upscale Disney Resorts.
Overall – the stay was pleasant. Lots of activites geared for the kids – like movies by the pool! You get what you pay for! We’ll pay extra next time and stay at a more exclusive Disney Resort like the Wilderness Lodge.
We have only been to Disneyworld twice, and they were both last year. The first trip we stayed at Caribbean (moderate) and when I talked my husband into going a second time in just 3 months (yay me!) we decided that we would try to cut a little cost and stay at All Star Movies. Honestly, I was really nervous since we loved the amenities and style at the moderate. When we got to the hotel late at night after driving 8 hours, I waited about 45 minues to check in. I was not impressed! After that we went straight to our room and we were pleased to see that we were close the food court, and the pool was literally right outside our door.
The room looked like a regular hotel room, no frills, but Mickey and friends were all over the walls and my kids loved that!! We were in the Fantasia building and right next to us was Toy Story, which I would have requested if I had known how they were layed out. But we loved all the characters statues all over the property, and had a great time wandering around checking it all out. The kids thought it was great! The pool is very large and fine for cooling off, but didn’t compare to the Caribbean kids pool, which is awesome.
After our first trip of using the park buses every day and having some horrible times with my 2 year old, we decided to drive to the parks. We were so happy to see that the location was PRIME for driving quickly to the parks- with the exception of MK. For example, our day at Studios started out getting there, parking, and as we were unloading and spraying sunscreen, we realized we didn’t have our 2 year olds shoes. Ooops! So I took the kids in the park and my husband drove back to the room, got the shoes an met us in the park just 30 minutes later.
Overall, we were very pleased with our decision to stay at Movies and would absolutely stay there again. I don’t go to Disney to hang out in a hotel, so I would rather stay in a smaller, but nice room and have lots of fun at the parks and downtown Disney.
We stayed there in Sept of 09. My husband and I had planned a Disney land and sea honeymoon (Aug ’07) that was derailed due to him having some back problems that would ultimately force him to end up having surgery.
By the time we were able to go back, we had our son and he was 9 months old. I knew I couldn’t leave him at home, even if it was my “honeymoon”. When we got to Movies, and took the long walk back to our room (we were in the REALLY, REALLY cheap seats in the back), I realized that even though we told them we were on our honeymoon, they had given us two double beds. We were able to call and change it right away, but had to make another long walk up to the front desk to get our key cards changed.
I have to say that I was really bummed by the rooms. I really expected that no matter where we stayed they would be these amazing like Marriott rooms, but these looked like they could be a southern motel 6 or something. I knew that we picked the rooms because they were the cheapest and we really didn’t spend much time there (we didn’t even go back for naps…just let the baby sleep in the stroller)…..but I just had it in my head that the room was going to have this feeling of warmth and awesomeness that is so the Disney style. Like I said, I hoped something nicer, like Marriott grade, but this just didn’t live up to that. There was enough room for us though. We even had a pack and play brought in for my son and it was ok. Again, for basically just sleeping in, it was good enough. If we would have hand more older kids with us that needed to run around, I think that would have felt a little tight.
On the plus side, I was a housekeeper for 2 years in high school, so I’m very thorough when checking out the state of the room. I check behind everything. Everything was clean, but just seemed very well worn. I also LOVED the big pools!!! I really felt like a kid when I saw the giant Fantasia hat in the middle of the pool. We kept saying we were going to use it, but I don’t think we ever got to. I told my husband that the next time we came, we wouldn’t bother to get tickets to parks for the day that we got there or the day that we left (the day we got there, we had only about 3-4 hours in Animal Kingdom after all of the traveling, riding the buses from the airport, and the checking in and all….and when we left, it was to get on the Disney cruise, but we had to get on our way about noonish and that was too much for that day)….so we said we would just make those days pool days.
I remember that the food was pretty good. I liked that we could buy a mug for something cheap (maybe $6…I don’t remember) and use it for the entire trip to keep coming back. We would fill up in the morning and then be good for a while. I honestly don’t remember having anything too totally memorable at the hotel….it was our sit downs at “The Brown Derby”, and “Le Cellier” that really stick in my mind!!! But I know that the food was like generous portions of fast food and we thought that (even though we did have the dining plan) the prices were fair.
If I had to do it again, I would probably stay there again, bc we are still about the same financially, but I am praying for one trip that is “THE WORKS” and we get to stay somewhere amazing and basically be waited on hand and foot!!!
Oh yeah…I didn’t have a problem with their shuttle service at all. Since we had the wee one, we pretty much never go tto the parks early, but always stayed late…and i know I posted about my magical moment (over the weeknd)…that was this trip. We were told NUMEROUS Times that they never leave anyone behind. We found that to be 100% true when we found out that the Magic Kingdom was “open” after it closed. Apparently a lot of people knew that and we didn’t. We finally left the park about an hour and half after it closed and we had asked someone that looked official in MK if the bus thing was really true. She said “Yep! It’s my job to see how many people are still floating around and let them know when they can be done for the night.”
I have been to Walt Disney World Florida 9 times now and almost every time stayed at one of the three All Star Resorts. All-Star Movies is GREAT. Each room has two double beds and a small table with two chairs ideal for electronics and bags etc. The food court has a great choice of food although does get repetetive after a two weeks. Their is a shop and arcade at the resort, great for the kids when it gets too hot outside, REALLY friendly staff, check in is quick and efficient, staff are always happy to help, ice machines and vending machines are located in every building and an ice bucket provided. Theres a safe in the room, small, but big enough to hold money, cameras, phones and iPods etc. Absolutely amazing decorations – large iconic figures from movies everywhere you look. Really original and imaginative just like the shapes of the pools. Would ALWAYS recommend the All Star Movies resorts whether your looking to go cheap or not.
My family stayed at the All Star Movies Resort in July of 2010. My husband and my twin 6 year olds and I loved the room! We were staying 6 nights so we decided to go with the All Star Movie for the price! We had our days pretty scheduled and knew we wouldn’t be in the room for much of the time we were there. The room is not big but it was very clean. Everything I read said that the 101 Dalmation rooms were closest to the parking lot and the pool. I would suggest those rooms as well. They were a very short walk to the pool and the food court for refilling mugs and getting snacks! We live in Georgia so we drive our car everywhere instead of waiting on buses. So being close to the parking lot was convienent for us!
The rooms are themed really cute. Our Disney travel agent knew that we had medicine that needed to be kept cold so she set up our refrigerator at no charge. The bathroom has a short wall of hanging and a shelf above the bar so there was plenty of room for our clothes and places fo us to get our bags off the floor. There is a small table and 2 chairs so the kids could eat cereal each morning in the room. The kids loved looking over the balcony at the giant characters all over the resort! They had fun climbing up in the giant TV and taking their picture!
In true Disney fashion, attention to detail is everywhere! Even the Mickey head on the bed with towels is so cute when you come into the room the first time! The kids also loved all the different “animals” they made out of the towels and put in the windows of the rooms!
The pool is very big and cute with the Fantasia Mickey in the middle. Just a word of “caution” for those mom’s packing swim gear. My kids learned to swim with flippers and I packed a big pool bag with those and tons of other things. They are not allowed in the pool. The life guards don’t allow anything “extra” at the pool. So don’t use up space in your suitcase with pool “stuff”. Just go and swim to cool off but leave all the stuff behind!
Everything about the All Star Resorts is fun and family friendly. They are not the fanciest hotel you will stay in but for the money, they are fun and clean!
Why did you choose this resort? The price. With all the costs associated with going to the parks we wanted to keep the hotel costs down.
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable? The rooms are starting to look worn, bedspreads are fading. The tile in the shower was cool, looked like a filmstrip. But basically an ordinary budget hotel room. It definitely did not have a “Disney” feel to it.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one? We weren’t there too often. We liked seeing the Disney outdoor statues and decorations. There was no hot tub there.
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods? Several areas with different types of food.
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time? The buses came and went pretty quickly, so there was never a long wait for the bus. They usually were pretty full though. We were fairly close to the bus stop, it is right in the front of the main building. i don’t think the walk to the gates was that far. We only went to the Magic Kingdom.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason. Probably if we were trying to budget. When we checked in, we had to wait an hour in line just to check in. After traveling all day with the kids and it being dinner time, it was not a pleasant wait time. My son was also hospitalized while we were staying there. I went to the front desk and asked if they could do something special for him (have Mickey call the room, sent a little note, etc). After waiting a long time and talking with several people there, they promised to send a balloon to the room, and it never came. They just did not have the same feel as other Disney properties we have been on.
Why did you choose this resort? Well, basically this was only our 2nd time staying on Disney property and it was in our price range. It was back in like 1999 I think….
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable? The rooms were pretty basic….nothing special really. Outside entrance, extremely small bathroom, very cramped corners. At the time when it was only my (then boyfriend) husband and I it was fine, but I wouldn’t stay there having young children now. Maybe we’ll go back years later as our children are older, but I doubt it.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one? When we were there the pool was freezing and the arcade was always busy with kids. And, so being there without kids didn’t impress us. And, I like a warm pool! lol
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods? In the morning and at the end of the night the food court was crazy busy. I liked the food and had a good variety. Only wished the food court would stay open say like an hr or so later than the latest park. Many times we’d get back and want a snack and the food court was already closed. :(
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time? I felt like we were herded like cattle. Packed in til they couldn’t get another person on the bus. But if you wanted to wait for the next bus to come along to get a seat you’d have to wait for a very long time for another bus to come along. Our walk from our room to the bus stop wasn’t much at all. Our room was very close to the main building.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason. I probably wouldn’t stay at this resort again. Since then we’ve been able to stay at some of Disney’s Deluxe and DVC resorts and the rooms and service provided there just doesn’t even compare. We swapped through Interval when you were still able to do that so got to experience the Disney magic there without paying the high price. They would welcome you home every evening, were super nice and acting like they wanted to help you, never had to wait long for a bus and the buses were never even half full. It’s like whatever you wanted, they would do everything they could do to help you. But when we stayed at ASMo we felt like we didn’t matter as much, the cm’s weren’t as nice, especially in the food court. I even noticed a difference in the guests…..they were nicer at the more expensive resorts. This is just our experience as I’m sure there are others there that love the resort….
In August. 2008 we took our First trip to Disney, and stayed at the All Star Movies. At the time we had only our 2 small boys (4 & 23 months!) and we chose there so they could be in the Toy Story area, It was no problem requesting to stay in that section. Outside of our Window was the Massive Buzz & Woody and they were So thrilled! We have a photo of my tiny boys standing in that window in amazement at their Giant Heros!
The room was accommodating in space for our family of four, with two queens. We also had requested a Pack N Play for our room so we didn’t have to use car space taking ours. They had forgotten it but we had one to our room in less than 10 minutes of calling the front desk. The boys were thrilled to see “Mickey” on their bed and in the pics on the wall! The bathroom could have used some TLC but it worked! We were there for the Value and the Characters. My boys were fascinated with the pools and we enjoyed eating (Dining plan..Love it!!!) at the food court area. We Didn’t use their buses b/c of our need for two strollers, bags, etc. But we never saw a line waiting to get on one, it seemed to be running smoothly in passing. The special part of that was we found out we were expecting again while we were there and in the room! It also happened to be our Anniversary! ;) I love saying our daughter was there with us! LOL
I would love to stay there again but our now Family of 6 needs a bigger space! =) I would have no issues ever recommending the value resorts. The Staff was also very friendly and helpful! They helped make our Disney Vacation Memorable! :)
We stayed at All Star a couple years ago and loved the fact that the 5 of us (2 adults, 1 teen, at 6yr old and 3yr old could stay in a nice size suite with two bathrooms!!! The kids loved the piano pool (warm!!!) Disney buses were great! Would definately stay at this Value resort again!!!
We have stayed at All Star Movies 2 of the 5 times we have been to DisneyWorld. Our first and Second trip. We choose this resort for cost, the value is a great value for your money. 4 of the 5 times we have went we have had the free dining deal and worked out with staying at a value Disney was paying us to come visit for 10 days.
The room is that, a room. But how much are you in your room other than to sleep and shower. My kids were 3 & 4 and 4 & 5 those trips and the size of the room worked out great. We have found with the values and even the moderate resorts the kids like to “camp” on the floor with their sleeping bags leaving the 2 full beds available for both my husband and I to have our own. The maid service is a lot of fun at the values it seems, always moving our stuffed animals around, making great wash cloth animals.
The amenities are all very similar at the values, food court, simple pool. When we went and the kids being so young they really loved all the larger then life icons all over the property. These are the best pictures I have of them is with all the statues all over. The ice cream area was also a real hit with the kids I remember.
We have always driven to Florida for our trips, from WI to Orlando 5 times. We don’t use the Disney transportation as much just do to the convenience of being able to drive ourselves, free parking at the parks and it is quicker. But when we have used the transportation it was easy to get on and get off at the parks, and always friendly from the driver to the other passengers.
We have been choosing to stay at Caribbean Beach the last 2 trips, kids are getting older (now 7 & 8) and we have noticed they enjoy the pool much better for not to much more out of our pockets at Caribbean Beach but we will always go back to a value if needed. It is a lot of fun to try out different resorts also don’t forget to make dinner reservations at them all when you have the free dining plan. This always you to get a up front view of what happens at the resorts at all times of the day. We even just like walking around them. You also may run into a PhotoPass photographer and have some great families photos because of it.
Have a great trip, save some $$ and go back the next year!!
Stayed at the all-star movie resort 2 years ago. We were a little nervous that we would not be happy with it because the last time we were there we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge which was amazing, We ended up being more than happy with the movie resort. The rooms were just like any motel but the common areas were great. Loved the pool and we stayed in the toy story wing so the kids loved all the characters. For the price it was great and would recommend it. The only negative was no fridge in the room. We bought a cooler and filled it with ice every night t keep what we needed cool.
Why did you choose this resort?
We chose this resort because of the pricing and the theme!
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable?
The resort rooms were really comfortable I loved the theming in there! It was just my husband, me and our 2 month old so we found it comfortable. We were just there for one night and we enjoyed our resort and it was very relaxing!
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one?
We loved the arcade! I think for down time this is the best thing ever! The pools are always themed awesome!
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods?
The food court is always the best! I think my two favorites at the food court would be the burger, and chicken nuggets. I also love mickey waffles! Those are the best!!!!
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time?
We have stayed at other value resorts, but on this particular one night stay we were mostly there as just a one night stay. So we didn’t use the buses we mostly just stayed there to have family time before deployment.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason.
I would love to stay at this resort again, we didn’t get to fully enjoy the whole resort and all of the amenities! Plus we did have a little one so we couldn’t do all the fun kid things like we can now!
The first time we took our oldest two grand daughters to Disney we stayed at All Star Movies. We had two double beds, plenty of room. Large lobby and gift shop. There was a small breakfast when we were there, but had a good variety for the kids. We were there for Mickey’s Magic Christmas and wouldn’t you know we picked the coldest night on record at Disney for that date! We had a super time, everyone on staff at All Stars were so courteous and helpful. As luck would have it, I became ill and needed to go to the emergency room. The staff call a cab for me, even watched for me to return. ( it was 2am before I could come back). The heated pools were the most fun. Grand Dad ran the kids out and they jumped in! I am sure we looked like nuts! All Star Movies is a great place to keep on budget, always a Disney bus and so very clean! Get’s our thumbs up!
oops, sorry, I didn’t see the questions you wanted answered, so here we go!
Why did you choose this resort?
It’s from the first visit my children and I took back in 1995. I called Disney to inquire and the agent suggested late November to early December for best travel time and then suggested All Star Movies :-) We did try Pop Century when it opened but didn’t care for how huge it was.
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable?
The rooms were fine for us, and still would be now that my children are in their twenties (when they were little I would take turns which child I’d sleep next to) and as adults my son takes a bed and my daughter and I share. In honesty though, if you are not a single parent traveling you may want to opt for a moderate, the beds are bigger and there is a bit more privacy in the wash room area for changing.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one?
Pretty standard amenities, two full size beds, table and chairs……fun decor
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods?
It’s cute there, the kids really loved the theme when they were little, and even in later years when we’ve stayed we still get a kick out of all the fun touches around the resort. The food court is good, lots of variety.
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time?
The buses normally came very frequently, actually better than when we stayed at Animal Kingdom lodge! there is a bigger walk from the stop at the parks but that really isn’t a big deal
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason.
Oh yes, this is our favorite Value resort
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME! I must be tired! We stay at music not movies! holy cow I’d better go to bed LOL
We stayed at the All Star Movies resort in December of 2010. It was myself, my husband and our 2 year old son. We booked our vacation last minute and were looking for the best value. We booked under the free dining plan special.
It was unseasonably cold when we were there, so we didn’t get to use any of the pools. We were close to the Fantasia pool and it looked really neat.We did use the arcade and had a lot of fun there. We were in the 101 Dalmatians building and very close the food court and transportation.
We ate in the food court most every day. We only ate breakfast there once, and it was chaotic. Lunch and dinner were much calmer We enjoyed the line that had the carved turkey and other meats for dinner and loved the refillable mugs.
The buses were ok.We never had to wait very long at the resort or the parks. My biggest complaint is that they share the same bus with the other two all star resorts to all the parks, except the MK. So by the time they got to us, they were packed. It’s not too much fun to try to juggle a toddler, stroller and a diaper bag while standing on a moving vehicle.
I would definitely stay again at All Star Movies. We had a great time and it will be special to us because it was our first family vacation for the three of us.
My husband and I stayed there a couple of years ago for 5 days w/ 2 of our grandchildren, ages 3 & 4. We had a great stay. It was so convenient and comfortable. The kids loved every minute of it. Our housekeepers left us a very clean room and a little surprise everyday, they were great! Disney Value Resorts are a very good place to stay at a very good price! We recommend Disney All Star Movies to our friends and family all the time!
As I type we are staying at Dianey’s All Star Movies for the second time. Our first time was in 2008 and we chose ASM because we needed three rooms and this was the most inepensive way. That trip was wonderful and we thought we give it a try again this trip to save money for spending. Our room is in the 101 Dalmations section which is a preferred room and in the building that was just redone two weeks ago. Our room has two full beds, a vanity area, separate tub area, small table/chairs, tv, nightstand, and a dresser. We requested a portable crib for our 1 year old and were brought a basic Graco Port-a-crib. The room is plenty big for our family of four and conveniently located.
There are two pools at the ASM and the smaller pool rarely has very many people in it. Despite that fact our son still prefers the main Fantasia themed pool because they play games throughout the day in that area (hot potato, Disney trivia, hula hoop contest, etc). At night they show movies on a large screen near the pool.
The food court is large but very busy, especially at breakfast and dinner around 9. Basic foods, nothing that really stands out. Like all resorts you can buy your refillable cup to use throughout your stay. Foodcourt closes at midnight.
The transportation available are the buses. Buses are shared with the other All Star resorts for Epcot and Animal kingdom. There is almost always someone having to stand on the buses because they tend to pack them as full as possible. Also, they ate always the furthest bus stops at the parks.
We did have some issues with my mom’s room this trip. When we arrived the computers were down so they were unable to get us in our rooms. They gave us a free park ticket and told us to come back later. When we returned and actually got our rooms, my mom’s wreaked of smoke. They temporarily pit her in another room until they could completely strip the original room and re lean it. The next evening it was better and they moves her stuff in. However, within two days it began to smell like mildew because the carpets never got to dry after the two cleanings. We reported it this morning, but 12 hours later and no followup. Two other issues we’ve had were requesting extra blankets through housekeeping, they were never delivered, and 2) it took 4 requests and 2 days to get our refrigerator. Then it was delivered at 12:30 at night. :0(
I’m not sure if we will stay here again. We stayed at the Pilynesian last time and while it was more expensive, we had no issues like we’ve had this trip. Not sure that saving the money is worth the headache.
We stayed there with 2 of our boys, and my mom and two sister. We had two standard rroms that were decent size for sleeping but not much hanging out.
They were clean.
The food court really was a bit expensive but the we purchased the cups you can constantly refill and that was a good deal. Breakfast we good except that my husband had an allergic reaction while eating a made to order cheese omelete- he is allergic to shrimp so the obviously were not cleaning the pans well in between.
The pool was out favorite spot at the hotel the kids just didn’t want to get out.
The bus picked us up fairly quick but the ride back from the parks there was a long wait and was very crowded.
I would go back because it really was a good deal and now that our kids are a little older the could more enjoy the arcade and fountain beverages and take FULL advantage of the pool and not mind the waits quite as much.
I have stayed at Disney All-Star Movies. I have also stayed off site and at some of the moderate resorts. When I went to All-Star Movies, it was before I had children and there were only 2 of us in the room, so it was plenty big enough. I personally prefer the value resorts because I am the type of person who spends very little conscious time at the resort. I want to be in the parks for the most part. We chose this resort because I had stayed off site before, and it was a pain when we wanted to use the water parks to carry suits around all day, then they are wet, etc, and the off site hotels, most of them only had shuttles to the parks in the morning and returning in the evening. Also, if you purchase items in the parks, you can have them delivered to your room in a Disney resort – no carrying it around all day!
I don’t remember much about the food court except definitely get the mug! We were only at the food court for breakfast, and I am not much of a breakfast person. All other meals were had in the parks.
The buses are the least convenient. Longer lines and farthest away. That being said, it was all still reasonable, and the only time I really noticed much of a difference was when the shows let out and the parks were closing, so there was heavy usage at those times.
I would definitely stay in this resort again! In fact, I would only consider a “nicer” resort if they matched the price. Being on site is SO much more convenient, and I was completely happy with the room, amenities, transportation, etc.
We took our two little ones on their very FIRST Disney trip back in November of 2011. We chose to stay at the All Star Movie Resort because of the Toy Story and Dalmation Buildings and also because of the amazing price! At the time they were offering a 30% off discount for Florida Residents so we were able to book the resort for only $69 per night (which was cheaper than any Holiday Inn or other “cheap” hotel we could have stayed at!).
The room we stayed in was in the Dalmation Building. It had two Double Beds, Table with Chairs, Television, Closet Area, Bathroom with tub/shower combo. It was perfect for our family of four (with a 4 and 3 year old). Our favorite amenities are the fact that while considered a “value” resort it is still considered a Disney Resort so you have access to ALL Disney properties and transportation systems! Just being able to use the bus system and monorail to get to the parks was a huge time and money saver for us and so convenient! They did have a nice food court but we did not use it. We did like that right outside the All Star complex is a 24 Hr McDonalds so that was used for a cheap breakfast and late night snack while there!
As stated the Resort Bus system was wonderful. Our walk from the Dalmation buildings were very close. The Buses ran every 10 minutes so we never had to wait very long. Being a “value” resort we did notice that the Bus stop at the gate to the Magic Kingdom was one of the farther ones away, however it was MUCH closer than anything we could have gotten by self parking in the parking lots. The only time we noticed the buses being overcrowded was at park closing, other than that we took several trips into Downtown Disney as well as to Epcot and MK in the mornings and there was ample room.
I would ABSOLUTELY stay at this resort again! For a young family on a tight budget this was a perfect resort. The rooms were what I would call “normal” hotel rooms, but really how much time do you really spend there while on a vacation to Disney?!?!
LOVE the All Star Movies Resort! This was our first Disney Resort we stayed at over twelve years ago. We are Disney fanatics, awesome decor, and food court. Lots of choices. Would recommend this resort to anyone!!
On our last trip in April we stayed at Pop Century Value Resort. We love this resort. This time we had the preferred room in the 60’s buildings. The walk from the car w/ the luggage was a struggle but other wise it was nice. We were lucky to be on the ground floor. Our walk in the mornings to the main building was nice walking past the flower pool and Baloo statue.
The resturant was busy in the mornings but found there to be more seating than at All Star Movies or Music. (ASMovie’s July 2010, ASMusic Nov/Dec 2009).
I prefer PC to All Star due to the bus route. At All Star the bus goes to each resort to and from the parks. At PC you go directly to the parks.
The Gift shop at PC is also much larger than those at All Stars.
Favorite food, PC has a special waffle that says Pop Century on it, where at All Stars its Mickey. All the other food seems to be typical Disney fair.
Planning to go back to PC in Sept for DS’s 9th bday.
We live in Florida, about an hour and fourty minutes away in a little town called Palm Coast. We go to Disney frequently and occassionally I can talk my husband into staying there. I would highly recommend it. We stayed at the All-Star Movies Resort in the Toy Story wing. It was my husband, my daughter who was 8 at the time and my 3 year old son. We chose this one because of the price and how close it is to the parks.
We were able to get the Toy Story wing with two queen beds. The rooms were great, so much so the kids wanted their rooms like it. It was my son’s birthday and I had called ahead, they had a signed Buzz Lightyear picture waiting for him at the front desk. The cast members there were awesome and check-in was quick! The kids went crazy with all the giant statues of the characters located all over the resort. You could almost spend a day just taking pictures of them all.
We loved the pool areas. I love that there are multiple ones to chose from. The food court was great and , of course, child friendly. It was great to stay there and get the buses to the parks. Spending the $11 at the time just to park is such a pain. The bus ride was great, it was the first time for my son so he thought that was a ride.
We stayed here in October of 2010. And we chose it because both of my boys love Toy Story. Our room was conveniently located right by Buzz and Woody so they got to see them every day, which they thought was really cool.
My oldest (who is 4) loved the pool theme from Fantasia with Mickey squirting water from his hands.
We did not have a single problem with mousekeeping, the staff, or anyone. We had a great time and I would stay here again.
My opinion is, we spent minimal time in our room – enough to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep and get ready. I see no need to pay more for a room when I spend that little time in there.
We stayed there on 5-17-2011 to 5-25-2011. It was my husband, my 2 children 7 & 9, and I.
We chose this hotel because it was a great price $69.00 a night, which I consider a great price for a basic room that is clean and a place to rest our exhausted heads at night. The food court is adequate, with your basic “Disney” food, Chicken fingers, pizza, fries, salad….etc….My personal favorites were the mickey shaped waffles, and the bakery cookies with a scoop of Edys between…
My kids loved the pool and the arcade, and I enjoyed the drinks next to the pool LOL!
If you are looking for basic, family friendly, then this is the place for you!
We love, love, love the Movies. We just left last week ~ it was our 10th stay at this wonderful resort. The theming is our absolute favorite ~ the attention to detail in the icons ~ partictularly the Buzz and Woody is so amazing to us. We love the staff, food court, and expecially the pool. We have spent countless hours playing in their wonderful pool and have met so many wonderful friends there:) We find the transport to be wonderful as well. We did a split stay last week between the Movies and the Polynesian and our 5 year old cried to go back to the Movies Resort ~ LOL!!!
All Star Music is my favorite value resort. Here’s why: it’s small, so no matter where your room is it’s not too far from the buses or the food court, secondly, it’s location is better than Movies and Pop. Sports has the same advantages (it’s right next door) but I just prefer the music theme.
We’ve staying in All Star Movies, All Star Music and the Campground.
The staff at the All Star resorts are wonderful. We’ve staying in their joint rooms. They’ve always taking our kids stuffed animals and arranged them on the beds or chairs when they’ve cleaned the room. Once we came back and the chair was between the window and the curtain (curtain closed) and they put all the kids animals on it so it looked like they were waiting for us to come back. My kids LOVED it. We’ve never had to wait long for buses or food. We’ve ordered the Pizza from delivery and that was fast and good.
The Campground is fun. Of course it’s more “on your own” but plenty of buses. They also have alot of neat activities (campfires, pony rides) and you can rent golf carts to take yourself around. (We did that and it was fun). The sites are nice sized and seperated nicely. The bath houses are not too far of a walk.
Disney seems to take your visit an extra mile. I’ve NEVER had a bad experience with Disney vacations.
We stayed at ASMo for our very first family trip back in 2008. My son, then 2 and a half had on obsession with Toy Story. Since the values were our budget, we opted to stay there as a surprise to him. The Toy Story rooms are preferred rooms, so we did pay more, but to open our hotel door to see the huge Buzz and Woody and my son’s face was worth it.
I know a lot of people complain about the shared bus system in All Star Movies, but when we went the Movies branch was the last to board and the first to drop off, so we never visited the other hotels, which was nice!
The rooms were acceptable. Small, and some visible wear and tear, but we felt they were extremely clean. Granted, we stayed at the Pop the following year, and felt the newly refurbished rooms there were a notch above ASMo, but at the time, we didn’t feel that they were bad.
The lobby and gift shop are smaller than the Pop. The Fantasia pool was less crowded than the Hippy Dippy Pool however.
Overall, we enjoyed ASMo, and the extra magic it brought to our Toy Story week at WDW, but we’d stay at the Pop over it.
We chose to stay at All-Star Movies for my son’s first trip to Disney World because he was obsessed with Toy Story and I knew he would love the larger than life icons!
The rooms were nice, but very basic. We enjoyed the theming of the rooms. They were definitely big enough for our little family of 3. We also had a pack n’ play in the room.
We loved the pools and the arcade at All-Star Movies. They were definitely my son’s favorite! The pool was mine!
The food court served up standard food. We enjoyed the Mickey Rice Krispy treats and the pizza. We also had the pizza delivered to our room one night.
We always take our own car to Disney so we have never ridden the Disney transportation.
We would stay at the resort again, for the awesome price and the theme!
I stayed at the all Star one time and would recommend it to familys that just don’t have the budget for Deluxe hotels. I enjoyed it a great deal.
Thank you all for your insightful tips! I am in the process of planning our first “family” vacation to WDW for Thanksgiving week and the information is very overwhelming! I love this blog because I find LOTS of tips every day I read it!
I’ve stayed at the ASMo twice–once with my sister (most awesome road trip, ever!), and once with my family (parents, sister, and grandmother). My sister and I stayed in the Toy Story section, I can’t remember which section we were in the second time (possibly 101 Dalmations?). I’ve also stayed at the Caribbean Beach, and quite honestly, I liked ASMo better! We don’t spend a lot of time hanging out at the hotel, and the ASMo was completely comfortable for our needs.
The buses can get crowded, as every time I’ve stayed there they shared with the other All Stars (at least until it was at capacity). I think that would be my only complaint.
The food court was good. There were a good number of options, enough for anyone to find something they like. I highly recommend getting the refillable mug, as you WILL use it. The first time we made the mistake of not getting one until closer to the end and realize how silly we’d been.
Overall, I think the ASMo is a great resort, and even better if you have kids who love one (or all!) the movies featured. We will be staying there again soon, with all the kiddos on their first trip! I can’t wait to pull up to the front of the resort! :)
We stayed here 4-5 years ago and really enjoyed it. It was a nice budget ended resort, but still did not have the perks of the better Disney resorts. We had to share buses with other properties and the food selection was quite limited. It is a great price to stay on Disney Property, but if you can afford a little more do the Caribbean Beach or something similar.
We stayed at All Star Movies 10 YEARS ago ;) and it was a WONDERFUL experience! My grandparents took all their kids and their grandkids to Disney for a week and we all stayed in the hotel together. So we had a group ranging in age from 70 to 2 and we ALL had a GREAT time! We ADORED the pool and spent a LOT of time in it! The food was so much better than we expected (sometimes “value” resorts get a bad name…and there was no reason for it!). The shuttle service was fast and efficient and the staff was SOOO helpful!
No complaint here! We had a blast!
The atmosphere of Movies is the best of the value resorts. If you are like my family, you spend minimal time at your resort so the value of the Movie resort is so worth it. The pool is awesome with sorceror Mickey.
I have stayed in the room with 4 adults and one under 3 and it was just fine. Not huge but like I said, I seriously do not need all the extras especially if I am not in the resort to use them.
The food court food is not outstanding but far better than cheap continental breakfast. The food court is large and the souvenier shop on site is handy.
I loved All-Star Movies and it is the only value resort I will stay at especially with my little ones. And in off seasons the prices can dip down around $69!
We just stayed at All-Star Movies in December. We had previously stayed at All-Star Music. We liked the layout of Movies better as most buildings were a more managable distance to the main building (we stayed at one of the furthest away ones as Music so this seemed not so far away). Our room was great for the price and we were very pleased with it. My kids love the All Star resorts and looking at all the big things. We sometimes have to convince them that we need to go to the parks as they love to explore the resorts too much!
we stayed in all star movies way back in 2002 it was my son’s and hubby’s first trip to wdw and my first time staying on park!! we chose movies because of price and theme. we were very happy!!! our boys were then 9 and 4 now they are 18 and 13 and we still talk about all the fun it was staying there!! the only thing is pay the extra for a pref. room we didn’t and it was tough on us since our then 9yr old son was in wheelchair. they did however give us a ground floor. but because a local travel agency did our trip and we didn’t know what to expect.( no couponing to disney site back then) but now we know and are excited about staying in yet another value resort this year it’s all star sports!!! we are soooo happy to be going back!!
over all you can’t beat the price and comfort of the value resorts considering you get all the fun/ theme with the lowest possible price tag!!
We stayed at the All Star Movies in 2003 and again in 2007. Both times due to budget. Every time we have stayed at an All Star ( I stayed at a sports as well) I swore I would never again, but what happens is that I want to go to Disney all the time so we sacrifice and stay there because it is cheap!
Well after the last time we were there in 2008 (stayed at the Nick hotel) we still again promised we wouldn’t – the reason being, when you see the lines for people waiting for the All Star properties (except Pop) they are packed! It is late, you are tired and you want to just get on a bus. The lines for all the other resorts are practically empty and the All Star’s are so jam packed it is actually comical to see (when you are not actually heading for that line!) This last time at Disney we kept seeing that happen at every park and we agreed we didn’t want to deal with that again.
On another note, the rooms were fine, if a bit small. Provided what we needed but I am a more seasoned traveler now and when I go away I want every aspect to feel special. I want to come home to a deluxe hotel now. I also don’t really prefer the hustle of the foodcourt. It provides what you need but it can get crazy in there!
Both times we picked movies because we all are diehard Toy Story fans and did love the Toy Story statues around the resort.
My daughter and I stayed at the ASMovies Resort March 2011. I chose the resort for the large movie character themed buildings. I knew my 6 year old daughter would love that. I also chose this one because it was nice on my budget. I will say that the service reflected the price we paid. I was unimpressed with their service. It took 7 hours for us to get our luggage brought to our room from the airport. I had to call them 3 times to get the bags. The bags finally showed up at 2am. I fell asleep with my contacts in, with my clothes on and my daughter did not have her medicine to take before she fell asleep in her clothes. I tried to stay semi awake to listen for the knock at the door letting us know our bags had arrived. So I was exhausted our first day heading into the park. That was really inconvenient. If I had known it was going to take that long to get our bags to the hotel I would have picked them up myself. Also I had checked into our hotel online the morning we were to fly into Orlando so that I could ensure that we had our room when we arrived at 8pm at night. I also had to order a refrigerator to store my daughters antibiotics in and wanted to ensure it was there to keep them cool so I paid the $10/day fee and requested the refrigerator be in the room when we arrived. NO refrigerator. I had to call for it and the only reason they were wiling to send someone up with it right away was because I told them I had to store my daughters medicine in it. Otherwise I was going to have to wait until the next day to get it, when housekeeping would have time to process the order. The rooms were decent enough. There were only two of us so the size was perfect. If we had anymore people I would have felt very crowded. The bathroom had black mold on the walls and ceilings. That concerned me a bit. The maid service was wonderful. My daughter did not like that someone came in our room and undid her cleaning and bed making skills though. I will remind her of that in 10 years when she doesn’t want to clean her room. I was disappointment to discover that you had to pay a daily charge of $10 to use their internet service in your room and it wasn’t wi-fi. You had to hook up to their Ethernet cable. The cable did not even work for my laptop computer. I called for help and was told to go to the front desk and ask to be moved to another room. So I did. It took the front desk over 24 hours to not respond and I had to call to follow up. I was told they could not move us and they would send out a technician to check to make sure it wasn’t working and see if it could be fixed. Someone made it out the next day and left me a cryptic message on my bed side table that made no sense to me. I had to call to ask what they meant. Come to find out the line worked fine but my computer was missing the drivers to recognize a non wi-fi connection. HUH? I asked if the hotel had a public computer area where I could attempt to download the drivers. I was told not at your hotel. At that moment I kind of wished I had paid more money for a nicer hotel. Now I could really see why the hotel was cheaper.. you pay more for the quality service and nicer amenities. Lesson learned.
The food in the buffet/cafe area was so so. I didn’t love it. It filled our tummies and sometimes that was all that mattered.
I thought the buses moved quickly though I was not fond of having to stand in a crowded bus being thrashed about with aching feet at the end of a long day of walking through the parks. I am very surprised they are allowed to drive those buses with people standing that way. I think there was only one or two times we had to stand and wait a long time for a bus to pick us up. For the most part we weren’t waiting long. I did think it would be nice if they had covered waiting areas for those buses as the sun can get quite hot while waiting at the hotel for the bus to take you to one of the parks.
If I go again I will save just a little bit longer for the hotel with more amenities and better service.
We stayed at All-Star Movies about 8 years ago for our very first trip to Disney with our kids. We stayed here because we had a Florida resident offer and the value resorts fit our budget. At the time our kids were 5 and 2 1/2 year old twins so the 5 of us in one room. My parents and 2 younger brothers stayed in an adjoining room. The rooms are on the small side with 2 double beds, a small table with 2 chairs, unenclosed closet area and dresser. They also have exterior entrances and staircases. It was cozy for our family of five and also for my folks next door with my full-grown brothers. The rooms were clean, brightly decorated, and mousekeeping always did creative things with all of my kids stuffed animals.
The best part of staying in this resort is oversized movie icons. My kids went wild over the supersized characters. We were in the 101 Dalmatian area and my toddler daughter’s favorite part of each day was greeting Pongo and Perdie in the mornings and then telling them good night before she went to sleep.
The pools looked very nice at the hotel but we were there in early January and swimming was the last thing on our minds. :)
We ate at the food court only once, for dinner, so we didn’t really have a favorite. The food there was just so-so but then, at the time, I thought most of the WDW property food was just so-so. It really seems to me that the quality of food offerings at Disney has really improved over the years. We always eat breakfast in our room when we travel so I don’t know what that meal was like.
We thought the bus transportation was efficient. Our walk to the bus stop wasn’t too far and we never waited very long for a bus. My kids had never ridden a bus before so they thought this was a very fun part of the trip. However, when leaving at a park closing time, the buses can be crowded. It is true that the All-Star resorts share buses and this can make things a little more difficult at peak traveling times.
I would absolutely stay at the Movie resort again. We actually wanted to on our last visit but couldn’t get a room there so tried Music instead. Now that we have 4 kids, we have to get 2 rooms but this is still cheaper for us than other resort options and gives us 2 bathrooms, 2 tables for breakfast, and 4 beds. If your budget is tight, the value resorts work just great for a place to sleep at night and kids will love the theming here.
We stayed at the Movies resort in Dec. 2008, during the busiest week of the year (Christmas – New Year’s!) We were in a regular room with my husband, myself, and our then 5-year-old and 1-year-old girls. The room was very clean and great for us. It was small, but we weren’t there much except for sleeping and showering. We ate at the food court a few times and it was fine. I got the refillable resort mug and enjoyed being able to get free beverages throughout the trip (only at the resort, not in the parks). The mug made a great souvenir.
We had no trouble with buses. We almost never had to wait for a bus. However, as it was the busiest week of the year, I am sure Disney had every bus imaginable in use!
It was a little cool for me to get in the pool, but my 5-year-old got in the wading pool and also enjoyed playing on the playground.
I will definitely stay here again. We are looking at taking a trip next Feb/March and this resort will be my first choice. I am going to request to stay in the “Toy Story” section because my now-four-year-old daughter LOVES Toy Story and I think she will get a kick out of it!
I love the Value resorts, and I don’t know if I will ever be willing to pay more money (that could be spent on extending our vacation or on souvenirs or Disney dining plan) for a moderate or Deluxe resort.
We have stayed at all of the value resorts and Music is our favorite. The landscaping is beautiful. The room was super clean, the bus service was great, and the cast members were very helpful and sweet. Our first value stay was at Movies, which was beginning to feel a little run down, however, it is currently about to be refurbished, so I would put that one back as my second favorite. It comes in second because the theme is more fun, I think, than Pop or Sports. Of course, that’s just personal taste. :)
■Why did you choose this resort? This was our first trip to Disney. We knew that we would not spend a lot of time in the resort so we chose a value. I think that having a seven year old, this was also the most “disney like” of the resorts. She loved all the oversized icons around the resort.
■What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable? The rooms were on the small side, but were clean and sufficient for us. I found them totally acceptable and mousekeeping was great about leaving towel animals and numerous “extras”. My little girl still talks about the mousekeeper setting up her stuffed animals and how froggy was holding the remote like they had been watching tv while we were gone.
■What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one? We didn’t really spend a ton of time at the resort. We actally only went swimming one time the whole week. The pool was fine for us. My husband and kiddo went into the pool and I had a well deserved margarita in a lounge chair.
■What was the food court like? Any favorite foods? The food court for me was the worst part of the stay. I am a vegetarian and ordered a veggie burger, they told me it would take a little bit because they were cooked to order in the back. I said that was fine, they didn’t seem very happy about the request. While I was waiting they made some kind of roast beef? sandwich which aparently was a mistake. The plate had fries on it also. They pulled the sandwich off the plate and dumped the fries back in the bin along with pieces of the roast beef. When my sandwich was done I asked if it was possible to get new fries and they guy said “These were just made less than 2 minutes ago” I said that they had roast beef in them now and I would prefer meatless ones. Overall, the cast members in the food court were not very friendly. We ended up not going back the rest of the week.
■How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time? Buses were great, didn’t wait more that 15 minutes ever and usually wasn’t even that long. We stayed in a prefered room so the walk was not bad at all. The buses normally were not crowded although there was a big group one of the days, they filled up the first bus and were packed in with us for the second.
■Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason.
I would stay here again. We are planning a trip in October and will stay here or Pop Century. I really did love it overall.
My family (myself, hubby, and our 2 girls) has stayed at All-Star Movies twice… once in 2007 and again in 2010.
When booking our trip in 2007, we chose All-Star Movies mainly because it was a Value Resort (my husband is of the mindset “why pay for a big hotel room when the only time we’ll be in it is to sleep?”)This was our first family trip to Disney World and of the Value Resorts, I thought my daughters would like it’s theme the best. When we booked our 2010 trip, we had a PIN code to use for any Value Resort and just happened to get ASMovies.
The room size did not bother us on our first trip (the girls were only 4 and 6 at the time, and therefore, smaller!) but last year it seemed like we were cramped. And sleeping on a full-sized bed was not fun.
We ate at the food court a few times, more so on our first trip. I can’t remember what we had, but I do know it was good food. However, on our most recent trip, one side of the drink station was closed for maintenance. That area was so crowded and since there was only one side open, the ice machines kept running out.
Believe it or not, there were many times we had a resort bus all to ourselves! Not sure how we managed to time that, but there were times we’d get to the bus line in the morning to find it completely empty.
Would we stay at a ASMovies (or any Value Resort) again? No. In fact, on our last trip, my husband even said to me “I think we’re done staying at the Value level.” Now that our girls are older there just isn’t enough space in the room. And having just one bathroom sink is a bit inconvenient. Other hassles were how far we had to walk to get to the front desk, food court, buses, etc.
The resorts are definitely a great price, and I think for the most part a good value for young families. But for larger families or those with older kids, I think you’d be happier with a larger room.
So for a family of 4 with older kids, where might you recommend? My kids are young now so Value Resorts still work for us, but I can see it being cramped when they’re a bit older, but not old enough to have their own rooms. In my experience, Moderate resorts (we were at CBR before kids) aren’t much bigger if bigger at all, and their bed accommodations are the same as Value Resorts. Jumping to something such as the Ft. Wilderness Cabins is also a significant jump in price and not always feasible nor is it a fair deal for those who only use their hotel rooms for sleep & shower. I’m definitely interested in ideas to stay on a budget while still having enough room to accommodate a family of 4 with older kids.
You’re right… there isn’t much difference in a Value Resort room and a Moderate Resort room.
I have a friend who has 2 daughters who are older then mine, and Port Orleans French Quarter is her favorite resort. It seems to work for them.
I’ve never stayed at a Moderate, so I don’t have any personal experience with these resorts. We’re hoping to have another family trip in 2013 and I’m actually pushing for a stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge or Wilderness Lodge. Having a little over 2 years until the time we’d make the trip, I think we can (hopefully) save enough for a Deluxe. If not, we’ll try a Moderate and hope for the best!
Ok….we stayed here about oh…..10ish years ago. We were newly married, no kids and was my 6th trip to Disney and 3rd time staying on property. So, overall, we weren’t “experienced” travelers like we are now. Now, I consider myself a “hotel snob” so I will give you my honest review of this resort…..but will also be comparing this resort to others I’ve stayed. (At the time I thought this resort was fine since I really had nothing to compare it to. lol Now I know better! lol)
Why did you choose this resort? We chose this resort because it was cheap!
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable? The rooms were basic. Small room, exterior entrance, tacky decor and super small bathroom.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one? 2 pools, arcade, gift store and food court. We liked all those…..our room was by the main pool and close to the food court so that was nice. Not a long walk back to our room at the end of the night.
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods? The food court was a mad house. But had lots to chose from which was nice. I wish it stayed open past 11 pm though. The cast members who were cooking or serving the food were nasty.
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time? The buses were horrible! They would herd you like cattle….pack you right in and you’d have to wait a long time for another bus to come.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason. The only way I’d stay at this resort again would be if I rented a car and either had 2 connecting rooms or came without the kids….but I don’t see that happening very soon since our kids are 3 and 1.
Don’t get me wrong….the value resorts have a market and I don’t want to come off sounding better than anyone (probably already do and that’s not my intentions at all, I swear!) but we were able to stay at Boardwalk twice and Beach Club once (swapped our timeshare when DVC was still with Interval so didn’t cost us anything besides our swapping fees) (and one time splurged for our anniversary and “babymoon” and stayed at the Poly) and was amazed at how much better we were treated! Was so nice to get greeted with “welcome home!” every time we came back (no one ever said that to us at the value or moderate resorts), the buses were never crowded…as soon as one bus drove away, another pulled right up! The rooms are bigger and over all the people just seemed to be nicer….both cast members and guests. So now it’s hard to want to go back to a value or even a moderate and just get treated like a number. That was our experience….I’m sure other people had great experiences.
I totally agree with you! We stay at Disney several times a year, as we have season passes. The BoardWalk is GREAT!!!! We also love the Wilderness Lodge and cabins are nice too, but very secluded. We are in the process of staying at them all. :)
P.S. I don’t think you sound snobby at all!
Right on! This is why I don’t stay at a value resort. I like being treated well, I like having a nice clean room. I want our vacation to feel like a vacation – like we are “welcomed home”! I LOVE this review. I have never stayed at a value resort, and based on the many reviews here, I never will. Thanks for an honest opinion!!
“Welcome home” is one of the reason why DD and I love the values. I have had someone say it to me the past 3 trips. I guess it just depends on who checks you in. DD will walk by every now and then and tell me she wishes we could “go home”.
Why did you choose this resort?
We chose to stay at the All Star Movies because our friends were getting married at the Magic Kingdom. Free shuttle to and from was offered to us and we thought it would be nice to not drive home so far after a long night.
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable?
We ended up staying in “The love bug” room. The entire room was mismatched! The curtains had mickey and minnie mouse on them while the bedspreads were lion king yet the pictures hanging up were from the “love bug” movie. The carpet was very dirty and there was ring marks from drinks all over the small table. It was just my husband and I yet we had a room with two double beds in it so it was spacious enough. I thought for this to be a Disney resort it was unacceptable.
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one?
The only amenity we took advantage of was the free shuttle- we were there for a wedding therefore didn’t stay past one night.
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time?
We waited forever to get picked up by the shuttle to take us to Magic Kingdom ( I guess 7pm is busy for them although no one else ever got on). They had us wait by the front entrance of the All Star welcome center. Now when we took a resort bus from Magic Kingdom to Epcot for the reception those buses were on time and super clean- The bus driver joked with all of us and was very nice! We also took a resort bus home (about 2am) and the bus driver accomadated everyone by trying to drop you off closest to your hotel room as possible.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason.
I would not stay at the movie section again- I found the room to be very dirty and not what I would have thought from a Disney resort.
We stayed at this resort in Sept 2008. We choose this resort because of the price. We weren’t planning to spend a lot of time in the hotel room anyway!
The rooms were like any other hotel room, but with Mickey’s everywhere. :) We had adjoining rooms – my husband, my 4 year old daughter, 5 month old son and myself in one room and my parents in the other. Small for our family of 4, but we were only sleeping there so it was fine.
Honestly, we weren’t at the hotel much at all. We did swim for an hour or so at the end of the week and my daughter loved that, but she had no idea who Sorcerer Mickey was! They were very helpful at the front desk with any and every request and they were super sweet to my daughter the entire time.
We had a nighttime snack at the food court only once. I don’t remember much about it so it must not have been too spectacular. We did purchase the refill cup and went through every morning and got a drink on the way to the park. It was never busy for us, but it was a slow time of year.
We loved the buses. We hardly ever waited and when the buses arrived, they were not full, but again, it was a slow time of year. I didn’t like going to the other resort hotels, but it only makes since for Disney to run it that way. I felt like our walk to the bus stops was reasonable. They were as centrally located as possible and not any farther than any other bus! The bus was full on the way back each night, especially when we stayed until after the fireworks.
Yes, I would stay here again. In fact, my parents did on their last trip with my brother’s family!
We stayed at All Star Movies during our May 2009 trip for 6 nights. It was our first time going to WDW with kids (we honeymooned there and stayed at CBR in 2004) so we were on a budget, didn’t want to pay a lot for lodging, and would prefer to spend the money elsewhere. We picked ASMovies figuring it was the theme our kids would like the most and they absolutely loved it. We stayed in the Herbie the Love Bug building and it was a good experience…good enough that we’re staying at ASMovies again this May. :) The rooms were nothing spectacular or extraordinary. It was in essence a typical hotel room, but themed based on the building. Our room had Herbie themed framed artwork and wall paper. It was clean and served our purpose of having some place to sleep and shower. For what we wanted, there was no point in paying any more than necessary for lodging. I did and still do wish there were better sleeping options. We’re a family of 4 so I wish there was at least a sofa/love seat sleeper in the room.
Space wise, I don’t think the rooms at ASMovies were smaller, if at all than a Moderate resort like CBR. We requested a pack n play so that took up a good chunk of moving room in the room, but we weren’t cramped or anything. We still had plenty of room for our luggage and to move around.
The food court was pretty much just that. It doesn’t have a table service restaurant at the resort like CBR, just a counter service food court with your typical burgers, pizza things like that. Service, however, was a HUGE stand out for me. On our first night there the Cast Member who rang up my order at the food court, a lady named Alfonsa, was incredibly helpful in helping me getting the most bang for my dining plan buck. She was so friendly, and accommodating when she saw that I had clearly just got off the plane, and wrangling 2 small children who were just dying to run around after being trapped on a plane for hours. By the following morning, she’d remembered me by name and would address me like we were long lost friends. “Good morning, Kelly! How are you this morning? How are the kids? Did you get them a special treat? No? Go grab them something, I’ll hold your order,” she’d say with a soothing tone reminiscent of a caring aunt. By day 3, I felt such comfort and relief to see her each morning when we stopped for breakfast. She was incredible, no matter how busy it got in there (and that food court can get PACKED!) she’d always take the time to offer her soothing voice to calm a hectic mother with 2 little ones. When I got home, I wrote a letter to the manager of the food court praising Alfonsa. I hope she got some kudos for it and I hope I see her again this time.
As for the pool, there’s a regular pretty big size pool and a splash fountain. There’s also a pool side bar. We didn’t really get to use the pool since it rained during our entire visit to WDW but we did get to use the arcade a bit. It was your typical arcade.
Overall, if you’re looking to be pampered and be in the lap of luxury, then ASMovies isn’t for you…or any of the value resorts, for that matter. But if you’re looking for some place to put up those barking dogs at the end of the day without breaking the bank, or a place to dazzle the younger crowd then it’s a place to consider. My kids especially LOVED visiting the Toy Story building and seeing the sights. There’s also a sandy playground right next to the Toy Story building for the kids to just run loose and be kids while parents and caretakers catch a breather.
Just reading your post and your comment about Alfonsa jogged my memory! I’m pretty sure we saw her in Sept of ’08! I had forgotten all about her and how sweet she was until you wrote that! How funny!
Oh and as for the buses, after staying at CBR, I was VERY impressed with the All Stars buses. We never had to wait long for a bus, 10-15 mins tops. I remember having HUGE waits for the CBR buses and that was annoying. I was also impressed with the short walk from even the furthest building to the main building of ASMovies. It was just a brief 5 minute walk, WITH kids.
Living in Florida we go to WDW a lot so it is not cost effective for us to stay at moderates or Deluxes unless we get a really great deal. So it’s the values for us. Have stayed at Music many times. The rooms are decent size and always clean. Staff is friendly and helpful. My kids like the pool there. Really like the food court. Back in the day this was the first resort to offer veggie burgers for us non-meat eaters. Although this resort is smaller then Sports if you wind up back in Country it is somewhat of a walk to the buses and the food court. The only complaint I have ever head with the hotel is we traveled with my special needs son and always put in a request to be somewhat close to the front. This was before Preferred rooms came into play. We would check in and the castmember would very excitedly tell us we have you in Country. Can’t get any further away then that. It happened every time. You’d think staying here every 2-3 months we would get closer. After a few times of this happening the Manager gave us his card and said to call him directly a few days before and he would make sure we were taken care of. Now that is the Disney spirit I know and love.
Why did you choose this resort? I have stayed at ASMu with a party of 2 and a party of 5. The party of 2 had plenty of room in a regular room. The party of 5 stayed in the family suite.
What were the resort rooms like? Were they big enough for your family? Did you find them to be acceptable? The rooms were basic, but plenty for us. My trips to Disney are about being at Disney. I am only in my room to sleep. I choose the value resorts so I can afford to go back more often. The pull out couch, chair and ottoman (in the family suite) were not your “standard” sofa beds. They were comfortable with no “bar” in your back!
What were the amenities of the resort like? What was your favorite one? The main pool is great and a good size! The other pool is more quiet. They had kids games and movies at the main pool.
What was the food court like? Any favorite foods? The food court was crowded at times and the food was just ok. POP has the best food court out of the values I think. Favorite food: Mickey Head Rice Krispie treats, but you can get them anywhere.
How were the resort buses? What was your walk to the bus stop like? How were the resorts bus stops at the parks? How far was the walk to the gates? How crowded were the buses at any given time? I have rented a car for my past several trips. Years ago when the family went, they were crowded. The bus stop is outside the main building. The walk to the gates was a good walk. It’s only bad at night when you are tired. Walking to a park….you are so excited you don’t think about it.
Would you stay at this resort again? If not, please provide a reason. My first choice is POP, due to the food court. If I needed a family suite, I would choose this over the “mod” resorts because the family suite gives you 2 bathrooms and 2 tvs. This was a HUGE benefit with 5 people. The bedroom had a door, so it could be closed to give everyone some space or the adults time to talk.
We stayed at this resort on our last visit and will be staying here again this year. I chose it because it was the cheapest and I felt that we really wouldn’t be in the room/resort enough to pay a high price. Yes, the rooms are definitely on the small side, but it was fine for our family of four. We paid extra to stay at a preferred room because we wanted in the Toy Story section and it has the added bonus of being super close to transportation.
One thing that was wonderful was that although there were young children staying in rooms on either side of ours, we never heard them. They have great soundproofing!
We didn’t spend much time at the resort, we did use the pool a couple of times and it was nice. My kids loved the theme of our Toy Story area and we had a lot of fun taking pictures with all the statues.
We only ate at the food court once and it was ok as far as food courts go. One thing that I thought was absurd was that there was not a coffeemaker in the room. Not sure if this is true of all resort hotels but next time I’m bringing one!
The resort buses were fine and we never had that long of a wait. At night they seemed super crowded, but I am sure that is true of all buses when the parks close. There was one time that we did have to stop at all the other all stars resorts, I think it was when we went to Downtown Disney. That made for a long trip. Other than that, the buses were great.
All in all, I think it’s a good value for your money! Especially if you are not planning on spending a lot of time in your room!
All-Star Sports was the very first Disney Resort that my family stayed in. We have been hooked on the WDW Value resorts ever since. We love the cartoon size styling of the resort. The friendly Disney staff, the great food court and the easy transportation. Not to mention the amazing price! We will never stay off WDW property again.
We stayed at Disney All-Star Movies in March of this year. It was by far the worst experience we’ve ever had at Disney. We requested adjoining rooms (we have teens.) We checked in and then found that our room key did not work for one of the rooms. We called the front desk and no one showed up for almost an hour. A service person happened by and let us in the room which was already occuppied! We then went back to the front desk and they told us that they could do nothing for us. They tried to give us a room in another building. (One away from our kids!) The manager was rude and actually told us not to get upset because she was trying to help. We had booked that room 6 months in advance and they gave it to someone else! When we finally managed to get two room beside one another, we were in for another shock. There were actually dirty linens. (Wadded, wet bath clothes in the tub. Yuck!) It took forever to have them come change the linens. The cleaning staff was kind, but the front desk remained just as uncaring. I will never stay at Disney All-Star Movies again. BTW – We did stay at All-Star Sports a couple of years ago and it was great for the price.
I stayed at Sports for our last trip and one of the housekeepers stole my camera! Disney paid us the price of the camera $400 and gave us the photopass cd for free but nothing can replace the memories I lost on my camera. The atmosphere there wasn’t very fun either for little ones.
Over my life I have stayed at almost every Disney resort. It all depends on who I go with. If my parents were paying, we stayed at deluxe resorts but when I pay I stay at the value resorts.
I personally don’t find a huge difference. A bed is a bed, and they’re all clean and well staffed. I love being on the monorail route because I like it better than the buses but either way, they both get you to the parks. If you’re going to Studios or DAK it won’t matter since they don’t have monorail stops.
Since I read in one of the reviews about the long line for the buses after the parks close, I have a suggestion. Take the monorail to the TTC (aka Magic Kingdom parking lot) because they have another bus stop there that tends to have more buses. If you’re planning to go to Downtown Disney after the park, just walk to the Disney Contemporary because you can catch their bus downtown.
No matter what hotel you stay at, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND purchasing the travel mug in the food court. It’s great because you get free refills during your entire trip. They have everything: soda, coffee, hot chocolate, icees, tea, etc. Plus, the cup is good quality. I use them everyday to take coffee to work.