All star movies or pop ?

[kathy040690]

Hubby and I are doing our first solo trip in April for the star wars race weekend (as long as I can score tickets when they go on sale)
We will be traveling on a budget (not a tight one) and are considering staying at either pop century or all star movies !
Which would you chose and why from those two ?
We are go go go people who basically need a room to sleep and shower!
Also will be celebrating both of our 30th birthdays and 10 year wedding anniversary while there !!!

 

[tguz]

I would choose the Pop and we have stayed both places since 2017. Both will have recent refurbed rooms but the Pop is on the Gondola line and I think that is very cool. We liked the food court in Movies better if you eat at the resort which it sounds like you don't. We only did one time at each resort. We chose Pop again this Summer and leave in 2.5 weeks.

 

[PollyannaMom]

...will be celebrating both of our 30th birthdays and 10 year wedding anniversary while there !!!

Congrats!!

Of the two, I've only stayed at Pop, but I loved it and would definitely recommend it!

 

[Pkltm]

I will be in the minority here for sure, but I really dislike Pop, we stayed there in 2010, then 2012 and most recently this past April. While the refurbed rooms are very nice, we have had some bad experiences with staff there and buses. We have stayed at all levels of the resorts, and I would choose All Stars and AoA over Pop any day.

 

[SG131]

I like both resorts, but would pick POP for the Gondola. Though, without the gondolas being open yet there is a bit of an unknown factor there as far as how they will operate. I still think it will be better than a bus regardless.

 

[Nick6300]

Congrats on your upcoming celebrations! I personally prefer the theming at Pop, and like having exclusive buses instead of occasionally sharing them with the other All Stars. I like the Pop restaurant. And the gondolas are rumored to be done relatively soon. Typically pick 90's near the parking lot to cut over to the bus stop.

We're typically on a budget and have this very choice and typically pick All Stars, mainly because of the cost difference. And 1 of our group doesn't care for the Pop theming, and half of my party is too chicken to go on gondolas. Movies has some of their refurb project done... I'd think/hope they'd be done by April? Somewhat of an equalizer. If the cost difference is negligible to you, I'd probably pick Pop.

 

[Ohanaof3]

I have stayed at Pop a few times, and liked it a lot. OP mentioned bad experiences with the buses. Especially if you want to get on a bus after fireworks/park close, the line was always super long. The food court was good, and walking to Art of Animation was easy to do. If you stay there, look for for a preferred room. The first time I stayed, I was in the 80’s with a 20 min walk to my room. Refilling my resort mug was a 40 min thing.

On my next trip, I am staying at Movies for the first time for 2 days at the end of my trip. I talked to someone who stayed at all star music for the first time last year, and she said the buses were super quick, and they were not ‘shared’ between the other resorts while she was there most times. If they were, the stops were so close together, which sounds more pleasant than my experience at most of the moderates I have stayed at. They have a secret menu, and in my research of the hotels, I found it is much smaller, they have 1920 rooms compared to pop’s 2880. (which maybe means no 40 minute walk to refill mugs in a standard room?)
Have fun picking your hotel!

 

[Nick6300]

I have stayed at Pop a few times, and liked it a lot. OP mentioned bad experiences with the buses. Especially if you want to get on a bus after fireworks/park close, the line was always super long. The food court was good, and walking to Art of Animation was easy to do. If you stay there, look for for a preferred room. The first time I stayed, I was in the 80’s with a 20 min walk to my room. Refilling my resort mug was a 40 min thing.

On my next trip, I am staying at Movies for the first time for 2 days at the end of my trip. I talked to someone who stayed at all star music for the first time last year, and she said the buses were super quick, and they were not ‘shared’ between the other resorts while she was there most times. If they were, the stops were so close together, which sounds more pleasant than my experience at most of the moderates I have stayed at. They have a secret menu, and in my research of the hotels, I found it is much smaller, they have 1920 rooms compared to pop’s 2880. (which maybe means no 40 minute walk to refill mugs in a standard room?)
Have fun picking your hotel!

I think having some of the refurb done at Movies is an equalizer somewhat when compared with Pop. Maybe someone can chime in but I think I've heard that the refurbished rooms are similar to Pop's (i.e. queens, maybe wood floors)? I've probably stayed at Pop about 10x but much more at All Stars. And I think I've always experienced stopping at the other All Stars for pickup/drops offs. Certainly not every time. But occasionally. Our last trip at Sports... if you're trying to get to rope drop for Pandora and you have to do the extra 2 stops to the right instead of turning left out of Sports, it can make a difference.

Do you usually try to request certain rooms with standard? We're typically not staying at Pop during Christmas or New Years type busy seasons, but usually able to request the 90's facing the parking lot, for instance, when booking and then re-asking at check in right after requesting our special celebration buttons. That cutting the corner of parking lot walk from the 90's is a really quick walk to the bus stops - not 20 minutes.

Can you elaborate on this secret menu at Movies?

 

[kathy040690]

We dont really have room preferences or anything like that. Since it will jsut be the two of us and neither of us are picky. Just want a clean place to sleep !!!

Its $400 more for pop so I think I am leaning more on all star movies for that reason.. less we spend on hotel more we have to spend in the parks !!!

 

[Ohanaof3]

Have fun at all star movies!
Dis unplugged did a hotel review at all star movies about a year ago, and ordered from the secret menu.

Hopefully I added the link correctly.
Just ask the food court staff about it, and the will bring out a briefcase that contains a viewfinder with the menu. It looks like a fun experience.

 

[bfost87]

I think having some of the refurb done at Movies is an equalizer somewhat when compared with Pop. Maybe someone can chime in but I think I've heard that the refurbished rooms are similar to Pop's (i.e. queens, maybe wood floors)? I've probably stayed at Pop about 10x but much more at All Stars. And I think I've always experienced stopping at the other All Stars for pickup/drops offs. Certainly not every time. But occasionally. Our last trip at Sports... if you're trying to get to rope drop for Pandora and you have to do the extra 2 stops to the right instead of turning left out of Sports, it can make a difference.

Do you usually try to request certain rooms with standard? We're typically not staying at Pop during Christmas or New Years type busy seasons, but usually able to request the 90's facing the parking lot, for instance, when booking and then re-asking at check in right after requesting our special celebration buttons. That cutting the corner of parking lot walk from the 90's is a really quick walk to the bus stops - not 20 minutes.

Can you elaborate on this secret menu at Movies?

The furthest room at 80's from the buses, is 0.28 miles (approx.); that's less than 10 minutes - not 20.

 

[Ohanaof3]

Wow, I guess I hit a nerve, sorry guys. I stayed for 9 nights on that trip. After we went to a park each day, we would walk back to our room. I was the designated carrier of stuff, and didn’t want to bring the mugs with me to the park. I would then walk back to the main lobby for refills and then walk back to the room and sometimes food too. I did time myself. It was 40 min to get back to the room. I might have been moving slower than you guys at that point. And google maps.

Next trip I treated myself to a preferred room, 5 min from the lobby.

As I am a single Mom with 2 teen boys with special needs, the worst thing on that trip was when I tried bringing 3 sets of luggage by myself to the magical express luggage area. I brought half the luggage, and they wouldn’t take it until I brought all of it. I left my luggage there, but they made no promises that nothing would happen while I got the other luggage from the room. (They are not supposed to do that, but they took pity on me) It took me an agonizing 45 min (everything was packed) to get back to my unattended luggage. It turned out okay, but when we got to the plane, the pilot announced they were waiting on some stray luggage. Probably ours.

 

[Nick6300]

Wow, I guess I hit a nerve, sorry guys. I stayed for 9 nights on that trip. After we went to a park each day, we would walk back to our room. I was the designated carrier of stuff, and didn’t want to bring the mugs with me to the park. I would then walk back to the main lobby for refills and then walk back to the room and sometimes food too. I did time myself. It was 40 min to get back to the room. I might have been moving slower than you guys at that point. And google maps.

Next trip I treated myself to a preferred room, 5 min from the lobby.

As I am a single Mom with 2 teen boys with special needs, the worst thing on that trip was when I tried bringing 3 sets of luggage by myself to the magical express luggage area. I brought half the luggage, and they wouldn’t take it until I brought all of it. I left my luggage there, but they made no promises that nothing would happen while I got the other luggage from the room. (They are not supposed to do that, but they took pity on me) It took me an agonizing 45 min (everything was packed) to get back to my unattended luggage. It turned out okay, but when we got to the plane, the pilot announced they were waiting on some stray luggage. Probably ours.

Sorry - I wasn’t accusing you of exaggerating about the 20 min walk. Simply asking if you already map out hotel layouts beforehand and tried to request closer to the bus stops or dining if not wanting to pay for preferred. Pop is a large resort and there’s definitely long walks from the rear bldgs - Back facing rooms: been there. And it stinks after a long day of being on your blistered feet to have a long walk from the bus stop.

 

[Nick6300]

Have fun at all star movies!
Dis unplugged did a hotel review at all star movies about a year ago, and ordered from the secret menu.

Hopefully I added the link correctly.
Just ask the food court staff about it, and the will bring out a briefcase that contains a viewfinder with the menu. It looks like a fun experience.

Thanks for sharing! Cinnamon bacon cheeseburger sounds really weird, but I bet I’d try it. Portion sizes for all of the meals look huge.

 

[Nick6300]

We dont really have room preferences or anything like that. Since it will jsut be the two of us and neither of us are picky. Just want a clean place to sleep !!!

Its $400 more for pop so I think I am leaning more on all star movies for that reason.. less we spend on hotel more we have to spend in the parks !!!

$400 difference isn’t nothing to me either. the gap in pricing for Pop from the All Stars is widening with its popularity.

 

[Mazz519]

We used to love the All Star Movie resorts they are so much fun to walk around and explore

 

[BillyFeat]

We dont really have room preferences or anything like that. Since it will jsut be the two of us and neither of us are picky. Just want a clean place to sleep !!!

Its $400 more for pop so I think I am leaning more on all star movies for that reason.. less we spend on hotel more we have to spend in the parks !!!

For $400.00 less I would stay at All Star Movies. I really enjoyed Pop my last two stays but it's not worth the extra money.

 

[SUSAN O'BRIEN]

I have only stayed at POP Century and because of my age perhaps enjoyed the nostalgia around the lake and the interesting tidbits of history posted around it. Beautiful grounds and scenery and the new skyliner seems a draw. Having skied in Colorado and riding a skyliner there, I imagine the view will be amazing. That being said, I must choose myself between Movies and POP. Never been to Movies. I will only be one night and the difference is $57 for that one night. What I enjoy is having two resorts to wander as well as two resort schedules, food courts and pool bars at POP. I believe because I am going at a busy time, All Star Movies will perhaps have a dedicated bus, but no guarantee's. POP does and can use AoA bus as well. I believe that it is possible to walk to each All-Star as well from Movies and utilize their facilities too (including bus). Am I correct? Anyone out there who might have some insight for a one night stay and using Magical Express from both leaving from MCO, please weigh in on the extra $57 and whether you believe it is worth it to stay at POP over Movies. Thanks.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

$400 premium for POP is way too much. I would go with All Star, definitely! If you said the $400 was to go up to Moderate, then maybe but not to another value resort

 

[scard192]

we are booked at Pop for April 2020. I prefer the theming at Movies but we are hoping for a discount and Movies is almost always excluded. The week we booked for only Preferred at Movies, Standard at Pop. 2 rooms at Pop was only $200-300 total for the week; feel that its worth it due to Skyliner to 2 parks at Pop.