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Once again I turn to my friends here on Intercot for Disney help!
We are looking to book a trip for our DD next January. DW and I stayed at the All Star Sports this past March and enjoyed it.
For those of you who have stayed at both POP and All Star Sports could you provide the Pro's and Con's of each resort?
A major pro for us at pop is the singular and centralized bus stop for all the busses. At all star, you have one bust stop per sports music and movies, however these three separate resorts share busses for each park. This is quite an innconvinence for us because we do not typically rent a car and rely solely on bus transportation.
Another pro for pop is it's location. It's very close to Epcot, The studios and also typhoon lagoon which are our favorite parks. The all stars are quite a long ride away from the major parks, except AK and BB.
It really comes down to you and what is important to you. If you are renting a car, my pros are not relevant to yours.
One big con for Pop is that it is now considered a "preferred" resort as of 2012, which means it will cost a little more than the All-Stars. I guess this is due to its popularity. I like both resorts a lot. I don't find the bus thing really a big deal. Yes, you have a dedicated bus at Pop, but buses don't tend to come as often so every bus at Pop tends to be filled to capacity, especially those going to MK and Epcot. I've timed the buses at All Stars and Pop and found it takes about the same amount of time because the buses at All Stars come more often even though they share them. Also, when the crowds are higher the All Stars sometimes get their own buses. For me it comes down to which theme you like best. They are all fun. It might come down to money, too, since the All-Stars will be cheaper as of 2012.
One big disadvantage to the All Stars is that's where groups usually stay, especially Sports. But, I've found if you request a room that does not face one of the big play areas noise is generally not a problem.
Pop has a larger food court. More selection also. Of all the value resorts, Pop is always our first choice.
I've stayed at POP and enjoyed it, and am doing All Star Sports in about a month. The sole reason for me not doing POP is because POPs rooms were not as discounted as much as All Star Sports or Music for that room only offer posted above (both POP and Movies were considerably more expensive than the other two) I have however gone to All Star Sports for a "mid day break" and looked around. One thing I will say is that I definitley found the food court at POP more attractive. Does that mean better? Not necessarily. Just one of those things having to do with Sports being 10 years older than POP I guess.
Let me just say that whenever I see a POP vs All Stars debate (including right now with one of the posts above me) the big subject is always "POP has it's own bus". Strmchsr kind of summarized what I was going to say pretty well. Yes POP does have it's own bus line, but I have also noticed more All Star busses than POP busses while waiting to leave a park, so you are often stuck with waiting for more than one bus, especially in the evening, as they aren't as frequent. I have also been stuck waiting for more than one bus at POP as the lines for a certain park are very long. This is one good thing about Sports, they are always the first on, so by choosing sports over Music or Movies, you effictivley get in front of 2/3 of the people waiting to get on that bus.
Another thing to consider is that the All Stars are all just under 2000 rooms each with one bus stop for each 2000 rooms, whereas POP is just under 3000 with just one bus stop, so that "1" bus stop can kind of come back to haunt you if you have a far off room. Very painful and long walk after a long day at the magic kingdom.
Another popular subject is the Turbo Flush toilets at POP that are very easy to hear in the next room over. Although they were possible to hear I don't think I was that bothered by them (my dads snoring is much worst LOL), I also don't think I've heard much debate on that for awhile, so maybe it's been fixed at POP, or added to All Stars.
Bottom line, you've stayed at Sports before, and if there were no flaws that bother you, you should probably just go with that one.
I'll be there in a month and can make my opinionated comparison. I do love Pop, but love moderates and deluxes more.
I was debating on the POP or All-Star Sports as well but am leaning towards the Sports because I am taking a couple of boys (7&9) for their first trip. I thought Sports as much more boyish and don't think they would get the gist of POP as much as their aunt (her second trip). Heck, I am just excited about throwing in a little unexpected trip to the world.:high5:
Well, I say POP, but I haven't been to sports to compare. I was at POP this January and truly enjoyed it. It was not too crowded. Bus stop was USUALLY a quick wait. Service was pleasant. Not too many loud kids running around lol. I would absolutely stay there again (if I couldn't afford CBR or Poly.) Be sure to watch out for sporting-related events where large groups stay at the AS-Sports. The noise level might be very annoying and you might see long lines everywhere.
We have stayed at all 3 AS and Pop and AS Sports is still our fave! We did stay at ASM this past feb and really liked that one too. We didn't love Pop. Happy Planning!! :mickey:
be aware that Pop is becoming a "preferred" value resort....which will offer you all the same amenities of the other values resorts with the added benefit of higher nightly rates. ;)
Thanks everyone! I certainly appreciate the replys to my question. I still need to make my final decision, but I have a bit of time to work with. At least now, I can make a more informed decision. Thanks again.