Value Resorts

[JSparrow]

For anyone who's stayed at any of the Value Resorts, which is best? I'm looking into staying at one but don't know which one is the best to go with. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[TikiLounger]

Thank you for asking this question! I have my first-ever trip to a value resort booked for June (POP Century). I'm very interesting in reading about other experiences. So, I don't really have any advice for you, just happy you posted this question! :thumbsup:

[Tygger7]

My favorite is Pop Century...it's the newest of the value resorts. The bus service is very good, and they have started refurbing the rooms.

[Jenemmy]

Well, you are probably going to get a lot of different opinions. I have stayed at 3 of the 4 Values and if I had to rank them, it would be Movies, Music and then POP. They are all the same when it comes to the actual room and all have great pools, nice food courts and a large gift shop, so go with the theming that most interests you. When I stayed at Movies, i had young kids that idolized Toy Story.....staying in the Toy Story section with a 3 story tall Buzz Lightyear was magic for them :mickey:

My issue at Pop was simply personal preference. There was not one thing "wrong" with it, other than it was just a little too over the top and in your face for me. The decor is...well, loud. LOL. Some people may just love that about it. It could have been my timing, but the food court always seemed packed and, frankly, kinda messy. I did not have that when I stayed at Movies and Music. The gift shop is attached to the food court at POP as well, so that may contribute to the feeling of congestion.

I know the All Stars share a bus, whereas POP has its own, but I honestly never saw much difference in wait times.

So, if there are kiddos involved, I vote Movies in the Toy Story or Dalmation area and if it is a grown up trip, I vote Music. have fun!

[azcavalier]

Stay away from Sports. In many ways, it's identical to Movies and Music except for the obvious sports theme. However, since it is "Sports" then that's where all the youth groups seem to stay (Pop Warner, Cheerleading teams, etc). Many of those kids do things like stay in the pool (loud) as late as possible, and then there's the always hilarious "let's run down past all these rooms at midnight and knock on all the doors and then run away giggling" hijinks.

Yeah, we'll never stay at Sports again.

[disneymom15]

We stayed at all 4 values. We've been many (30 plus) times since 1995. Our favorite is POP. Next would be Movies, and it's a toss up on Sports and Music. I wouldn't hesitate on staying at any. They are all good, just prefer POP. The food court is larger and prefer the buses at POP.

[DisneyFr33k]

We've stayed at All Stars Music, All Stars Movies and POP.

POP is our favorite because:


Themes are really neat
Pools are nicer
Newer rooms
Dedicated bus service - just for POP. AS shares buses and if you stay at Movies, many buses are full by the time they get to you.

[sassy2000]

I have stayed at all 4 and it really just depends on your personal preference for themes. We like 1. Music, 2. Movies, 3. Pop, 4. Sports.
Music offers movies out by the pool which is fun. Our kids liked Movies better because of the Toy Story & 101 Dalmations themes. Pop does not share a bus so that may be a factor during busier times.

[Strmchsr]

I've stayed at all 4 and really I think it just depends on which theme you like. The point made about AS Sports is valid, but you don't have youth sports groups staying there year round. Some folks talk about buses at Pop being better, but, while Pop doesn't share a bus I also noticed that buses come less frequently at Pop so I ended up waiting just as long to get on one and they were just as packed. Also, the All Star Resorts do not always share buses. During the most crowded times one or more may have dedicated bus service. Usually Movies. Food courts and rooms are all about the same. So, I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I have liked all 4. If I gave you any ranking it would purely be on the basis of my preference for theming, not any legitimate pluses and minuses.

[megustamex]

I also like Music the best (recently rehabbed, the only value that has a DJ with games and music by the pool and night movies that my kids love). I prefer the theming at any of the AS resorts better than Pop just because of the "Disney" theming vs. the pop culture theming. I like to feel like I'm staying in the park. Sports would have been my second choice and is also rehabbed recently but if you're worried about the cheerleader groups I guess I'd go for Pop over Sports as my second choice. Movies has the best theming of all of them IMO and my favorite food court setup, but it is the only one that hasn't been recently rehabbed. It's been getting some bad reviews based on that, so I'm waiting to return until it's been rehabbed.

I don't take the buses so I can't comment on any recent bus trips from the AS resorts. I do like being able to walk around and visit the different AS resorts and pools - you don't get the variety at Pop.

[pox24]

No contest... Pop:thumbsup:

[i'm grumpy]

Pop! :thumbsup:

[sammysmom]

We love POP Century:) Bus service is great and they have the best shakes and sundaes down in the food court!

[Dznygrl79]

My Fav is Pop, my last trip I had enough money to stay at a mod. but still chose POP ( I am in the same boat again for next years trip but Pop has become a second home for me). I have stayed at All Star Sports and been bombarded by teams of pee wee league footballers and it was awful, however this was a personal opinion. I also like the food court at Pop better I think that its larger maybe the layout is just different but it has a little more breathing room imho.
Good luck just go with whatever theaming appeals to you.

[cer]

We like Pop, but have not stayed at Movies or Sports.

[jiminylover]

Pop I think is our favoirte. We have stayed at all of them except the sports. We like them all but Pop I think is best.

[brownie]

We've only stayed at All-Star Movies but are planning on staying at Pop Century this fall. We've enjoyed our stays at All-Star movies. The food court is good. I like the Toy Story buildings. I'm looking forward to checking out Pop Century.

[mjm12000]

I have stayed at the POP and loved it, a total blasat from the past. If you like nostalgia you will love the theming. If I was to go back and had to pick a different value resort I think I would go with Movies because of the fun theming. So basically I would say to go with what theme you find the most entertaining and pleasing to your taste as the hotels are all very similar in their offerings.

[harlowandthemermaid]

I have stayed at all of the values except Sports, and I like Pop the best simply because of the location. Pop seems more centrally located as far as drive times to the parks, the All Stars are near Animal Kingdom and seem a little farther from the parks. As far as the All Stars go, I think I like Music and Movies equally. I think the layout of Pop is better than the All Stars too, some of the rooms I've stayed in at the All Stars were very far from the food court.

[MickeyFanKY]

I have stayed in the Pop, Music, and Movies. I think they are all basically the same. If children are part of your travel party, then I would vote the Movies. Children love the movie theme. My second choice is the Pop. My son like the Pop, he was 9 yrs old at the time.

Just remember that the Movies, Music, and Sports all share a bus (or at least they did when I stayed there). Personally I didn't notice a difference between the Pop and All Stars bus service.

[paragon]

Hmmmm. We have stayed at each. Our favorite is Movies. It just feels better to us.
Pop is nice, but as others have said it can be a bit crowded, ( it is the largest of the values, they snuck in a fourth floor ) the colors are very bright and cheery there, but we decided that we prefer Movies. All are very similar, but the food court and gift shop at Pop are connected, and in the All Stars they are separate. They made a few simple floor plan changes in the lobby at Pop, the lobby rest rooms are on the opposite side, actually closer to the pool, so it makes a little more sense. Food is the same at all of the values for the most part. Pop is really only half complete, with the still abandoned second half across the pond. We have no issues with busses,since we rent a car. many people say that the All Star busses are more crowded because they share, but the reality is, since Pop is larger anyway, the capacity may still be the same either way. The busses can only hold so many passengers, so it doesn't matter which resort. Sometimes people make it seem like the ride takes forever from Sports to Movies, but the hotels are side by side and its actually a very short trip to each, plus, during extra heavy volume times, they adjust the busses, so its possible Movie may have its own bus if at full cap. Movies is the farthest away from everything, at the very end of Buena Vista drive. Overall, we only use the resort for sleeping, and usually for breakfast only. What we found most helpful though, was that during our stays, we always take some time to go look around all the resorts, to see what they are like, and if we would want to stay some time. We usually do this on our last day, while killing time before the ride back to the airport.

[homeschool mom]

We stayed at Movies and Sports several years ago, but Pop has been our resort of choice for all of our most recent trips. We really enjoy it, especially the 50s section!

[JerseyDad]

....although we have stayed at All Star Music (once...and didn't really care for it) our choice for a "value" resort will always be Pop Century. It just seems to be "brighter" if that's the correct terminology. Even though it's larger...with 4 story buildings vs. 3 story ones at the other values...it's never been overly crowded. The bus service has always been great...and yes it is the "newest" of the values.
And something else about POP that I'm not sure matters to others..or is even noticed...is that the landscaping...seems to be more "lush"...as compared to the others.

....I'm hooked on POP....what can I cay.

[AdventurerKim]

We love POP! Great fun atmosphere, music, and decor. And best of all...ONE BUS STOP!

[jensantuit]

I've stayed at all four and Pop Century is my favorite followed by All Star Movies, All Star Music and lastly All Star Sports. Pop is the newest value resort and we like their theming. They also have the best chocolate chip cookies in the food court, I would have one every night. :blush:

[goofygirl67]

I have stayed at all 4 value resorts. I prefere Movies, then POP. I have only stayed once each at the other 2 but keep going back to the others. I am planning to see if I can get ASMovies for a SW weekend trip. Also the only time I stay in the values is for a weekend trip when I am a park commando. For me, if I stay longer I like to stay in style for a week trip, that way I can relax more at the resort.