All Star Music v. Pop Century

[KAT1811]

We added two nights on both the front and back end of our vacation due to the airline fares. Believe it or not it will cost less to spend the time in Disney rather than fly home (only because there are so many of us, we have 5 tickets to buy)! So we are looking for a place to sleep with no frills (staying somewhere fabulous would defeat the purpose)! LOL! Our options are All Star Music or Pop Century? Which one would you choose and why?

[ajpa]

Pop only because it is newer.

[dreamfinder55]

To me, the themes are better at Pop Century.

[Itchy]

I have stayed at ASM, ASSp and POP Century,
of all those I would hands down go for POP.

I found that the food court was better.
The souvenirs area was great.
The buses only serve POP and not other resorts.

The rooms were about the same overall.

Happy picking. I just wish I was the one with that problem.:mickey:

[disneymom15]

We've stayed at all 4 values. POP is are favorite. Agree with above poster for reasons.

[jnfr2424]

I've stayed at ASMu and POP and POP was much better the themed plus you don't have to share a bus Go POP

[ransam]

i really liked the POP....

[Buttercup]

ASMusic is a 'shared resort' with ASSports. So it's significantly smaller: smaller food court, etc. I prefer Pop because it's newer and doesn't share a bus line with another resort.

[BigRedDad]

I've never been to ASM but stayed at PC. Pop Century was an incredible stay. It may be because I set my standards so low to start with. I actually enjoyed staying at PC more than WL. Now, my WL trip was unique and may be the reason I will be biased towards it. So, take that comment with a grain of salt.

Pop was just so much fun for us: the giant icons, the different themes, the main pool, the kiddie fountain pool, Goofy's fountain, the ducks, rabbits, snakes (sorry ladies).

[KAT1811]

I've never been to ASM but stayed at PC. Pop Century was an incredible stay. It may be because I set my standards so low to start with. I actually enjoyed staying at PC more than WL. Now, my WL trip was unique and may be the reason I will be biased towards it. So, take that comment with a grain of salt.

Pop was just so much fun for us: the giant icons, the different themes, the main pool, the kiddie fountain pool, Goofy's fountain, the ducks, rabbits, snakes (sorry ladies).

Funny you say that but I feel the same. We stayed at the Beach Club one year and it was my least favorite resort out of all the resorts I have stayed at. It just didn't have that happy go lucky, fun Disney feel to me. IMHO it's not setting our standards low just looking for different atmosphere. I love the upbeat fun atmosphere I get at the values and mods in Disney.

Outside of Disney I love a premium, luxury resort but when I'm in Disney with the kids the crazier and more upbeat the better!

[jenseib]

We love Pop too. We have stayed there 3 times and just love it. I have alot of pop pics in my trip report on the TR board "3rd times a charm parts 1 and 2"

[Greenlawler]

Another Pop fan here. We have done the All Stars. I found that the All Stars just seemed a little more worn out. The rooms are the same but the atmosphere at Pop is much better. Really there is no contest. All Stars need a face lift.

[GBBT]

We've stayed at POP the last few times we've gone.I f I couldn't stay at POP,I'd stay at All Star Movies. I rank the Values:POP,ASMovies,ASMusic and last..ASSports.That is all.

[darthmacho]

While recognizing the newness and the transportation advantages of POP, I was forced to vote for ASMu. I'm just not enamored with the theming of POP, and I found Music to be colorful and fun. Apparently I'm in the minority.

[wdwnomad]

I guess I am in the minority. I prefered Music over Pop. From my experience, Pop had the worst bus service out of all of the value resorts. Pop's buses were always full no matter what time of day is was. Yes, the All Stars share buses but typically that was during the middle of the day. At park openings and closings each All Star had it's own bus. This makes the crowds more manageable during the busy times. I also didn't like the set-up for Pop's food court and gift shop. Since they are pretty much one in the same the gift shop was always a zoo. Finally, sure Pop was the most recently built value resort but Music was renovated last year. The refurbishment was done very nicely adding alot more storage space to the room.

[WVParkfan]

I'd also go with Music. Our stay at Pop was nice, but it was the loudest resort I've ever stayed in at Disney. And since there are other options, I choose to never stay at Pop again.

All Star Music is our favorite value (and we've stayed at all of them).

- First, don't believe everything you hear about sharing busses. We've been at the All-stars 4 times, and haven't shared very often. And when we have shared, it has been a great advantage to us, because we could take any of the busses and walk to our room.
- The Music is our favorite because of the great pool atmosphere! It has the best pools of the values.
- Music is the only one that has the Drive-in movies. They also have poolside games, and just an incredibly fun atmosphere.
- We've found Music to be the quietest of all the Values.

Pop is a fine resort, and I'm sure that some people love it. Based on our own personal experience, though, it is our least favorite on Disney property and we won't stay there again.

[megustamex]

Here's another vote for All-Stars, particularly Music. I don't like Pop's non-Disney theming, the food court was terrible how you had to walk through the gift shop every time you wanted to eat, and it seems like the location is just a little further from some of the parks. We drive so I don't care about the buses but I will admit that it seems like it's easier to get to the buses from any block in Pop than from the back of All-Stars. Also loved the party pool at Music and the rehab made the rooms new again. I love how any of the All-Stars make it feel like you are staying at the park even after you leave...Pop's theming just doesn't have the same effect.

[DisneyFr33k]

POP all the way! We've stayed at ASMu, and 3 times as ASMo, and tried POP last year. LOVED it! Newer, love the theming, and the dedicated the bus service is only to POP - no sharing with other resorts.

8 more days and we'll be there! :cloud9:

[Greenlawler]

Funny how you get so many opposite opinions.


Just to reply on a couple of things, I have no stock in either hotel so I am trying to remain objective.

"Noise Level"
This really depends on which area of the Pop you are in. If you are in the 60's or 70's area located right in front of the main hub then sure, but if you are in the 80's, 90's, or 50's then it tends to be much more peaceful.

The Food Court
. We have stayted off site a couple of times and driven to Pop to eat because we love the variety.

The Buses
Having three small children driving to Disney, we avoid the buses all together. It is so much more convienant.

[mdricks]

I voted for Pop but......

I couldn't help but notice your post said 5 of you. Have you considered a family suite at ASMu? I am going down with 3 other "grown ups" in a few weeks and we opted for the suite over POP because the bed situation is better, two bathrooms, a kitchenette with micro and coffee maker, fridge.

If it was me and the missus I would do pop. With a crowd you get more for your $$$$ out of a music suite than two rooms at Pop.

[Sylvia]

While recognizing the newness and the transportation advantages of POP, I was forced to vote for ASMu. I'm just not enamored with the theming of POP, and I found Music to be colorful and fun. Apparently I'm in the minority.

You're not in the minority. My first value resort was POP and I loved it. The 3rd time I wanted to stay there, I couldn't get a room for my planned trip. So, I "settled" for ASMusic. By the middle of the trip, a funny thing happened. I stopped missing POP and really began to appreciate Music. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I just spent my 3rd trip there and I'm getting ready to plan my 4th. Now, even though I can afford to stay at a Moderate or a Deluxe, I choose a Value. And, I choose ASMusic.

[Mickey91]

We enjoy the Pop!:mickey:

[GrmGrninGost]

Newer. Better atmosphere. We like the food court better. I like the gift shop better. I will say I have not been disappointed in the All-Star resorts when we have stayed there, but I prefer Pop! :mickey:

[BigThunderFan]

As we have never stayed at one of the AS resorts, I will just give my opinion on the POP. We loved it, the theming was great (and contrary to prior posts there was Disney theming), the food court was good (tye dyed cheesecake!!), and the buses were not shared with other resorts.

As for the noise level others have mentioned. They must be extremely light sleepers or have much better hearing than me. We did not hear any noise outside our room and we stayed in the '60s building right next to the pool.

No matter where you stay it will be fun! Wish we could spend two weeks in Disney!:mickey:

[alaMode]

we'd rather stay there than the Poly! We tried POP on a whim after staying at the Poly twice. We had a GREAT time there and really felt it was a great value for the money!

We also stayed on the first floor right off the Hippy Dippy pool. We didn't notice any excessive noise. There's plenty of seating around the pool to eat and watch the kids play in the pool. We enjoyed the food court/gift shop set-up. I LOVED the towel situation (leave the damp ones at the pool and get fresh ones delivered quickly to your room.) The transportation was excellent...

We'll be back in December and again in June. Can't wait!

Tess