Really want to try AS resorts..just how small are the rooms?

[onceuponadream]

We have reservations at CSR because my in laws have a conference at CSR the week after we leave (they are staying an extra 5 days). We would love to save the money however and try an All Star resort as we are park people and are only in the room to sleep and take an occasional swim. We have 4 kids (11,8,6,3) and there will be 4 adults. DH and I in one bed, FIL, MIL in another. That leaves 11 year old in one and 8 and 6 year old in the 4th. We usually take an air matress for 3 year old and has been no problem at Holiday Inn or similar hotels. Are All Star resort rooms similar to those chains? I have looked at all the pics I can find and in some the rooms look large and in some small. Anybody have experience fitting 2 adults and 2 kids comfortably in an All Star room? We've stayed previously at POFQ and CBR and have been fine but I know those rooms are larger...anyone

 

[CamColt]

We fit 3 adults(myself, DH, & DM) and 2 kids(4.5 and 20) mos in one room. The youngest was in a crib(pack n play) and we also had a double carriage stored in the room. We had no problem whatsoever. In fact we all fell in love with ASMO on that trip!

 

[DISMOMof3]

Just back from the AS Sports we thought the rooms were just fine. I actually liked it better than the CBR. We had 5 in the room and there was no problem. Kids 2, 10, 11. The 3 kids slept together in one bed and seemed fine. By the end of the day they are so tired I don't think it bothered them much. I would say they are average size rooms. It was very clean. We did take a sleeping bag and there would have been enough room over by the window & door, but no one ever used it.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

Hi!

Looking at my old Travel Industry Reference Guide from WDW, a typical room at the All Stars is approx 260 sq. ft. I've stayed at ASMo twice and I think with two rooms you'll be fine. I have to say that our last trip with two small kids, DH and I, an ECV, a pack and play, and all our luggage - well, I thought it was too cramped. But this always comes down to personal preference, we just like more space. If you only sleep there and with two rooms I think it'll work. ASMo is VERY CUTE. Our room was clean and in good repair. Have a great trip!

 

[grinningghost]

We stayed at ASMu last trip and thought the room size was okay. It started to seem a bit cramped when we started "acquiring" stuff like souveniers and dirty clothes, etc. But for the price, theming, pools, food court, etc. it was well worth the money. Much more fun than off-site anyday.

 

[jiminyfan]

We just stayed at the All-Stars for our first time in September and we were very pelased. After 25 or so trips at deluxe and moderates, we decided to try the value resort and lliked it a lot.

As space goes, we first were taken back by the "size" it looked small. but, onjce we got moved ina nd settled we didn't notice that much of a difference from the moderates. In fact, the drawer space was a lot more. We had two room for our group and used the "closet" (not a real closet but shelf area for hanging clothes) in the one room to store the suitcaes and the area under the sinks to store some.

After asking my wife for years to try All-stars she is now hooked on saving the extra room money (honestly - how much time to you really spend there) on food, fun and gifts.

WE are going back in January/February and staying at ASMusic. Hey at $49 a night, it is a great deal.

To put the cost in perspective. Lat October we stayed at AKL with an AP discount spent $1600 or so for a room for ten nights.
We thought that was a good deal as we wanted to stay there.
This trip we spent less than that on TWO rooms, all of our food (INCLUDING a night at the CHEF'S TABLE at Victoria & Albert's {over $400 itself}) and all of our gifts, colelctibles and etc.

For the money value, ther eis NO question to us. We will save on the room and add MORE of the extras to the vacation.

 

[tink2dw]

We were Mom,Dad, and 14yr. Teen,and All Stars Music was way to small!! And DO NOT expect any in room themeing,you won't get any!! Unless you enjoy that motel six feel.

When I go to WDW I want in room themeing,too!

 

[Luv2Roam]

I have stayed in CSR, POR, ASMu & ASMO. If I had to pick one with less theming, it would be CSR (although I thought they all had it and were fine). But that's just my opinion.
It is the size of a standard, small hotel room.
There's just the two of us and it's fine. After three, I would think it starts getting crowded. But we are only use to the two of us. So any more than that would make us feel crowded anyway. WIth kids, you are probabaly use to more togetherness.
If you had the mod room and a value room, side by side, you might be able to see the difference. But to me, it's not enough to be really concerned over, unless you have a lot of stuff.

 

[Magic2000]

We've stayed at the All Star Movies twice now; once with 2 adults and 2 kids and we were fine. The room was not that crowded at all. The bathrooms are a little small, but still fine for my family. I also had my stroller with me and we still fit fine in the room. Last Nov/Dec, there were five of us going, so we got 2 rooms and had more than enough room. Actually, we would have fit fine even with the five of us in one room (the two bathrooms were nice to have though)!

I think you'll really enjoy your stay at the All Stars!!!

 

[onceuponadream]

Thanks so much for all your replies and opinions ! To us, a hotel room is a hotel room (as far as theming on the inside...our kids don't really notice). They are more excited just to be in ANY hotel Now location...to be able to stay at Poly or CR or an Epcot resort...that's different. Okay back to reality. As jiminyfan so eloquently phrased it..we don't have the luxury of staying at a deluxe resort AND being able to afford to eat at Disney as well as take as many trips as we would like to. So since we've eliminated the deluxes (at least for the time being) we always choose between mods and value. We have always chosen mods. I think we read a lot of negative posts regarding the amount of unruly kids running around at all hours of the night as well as unkept rooms before the last few trips at All Stars. That scared us away. We are really thinking about 2 rooms at Movies...but then we may never have a chance to try CSR which some people really love and some don't. We like POFQ better than CBR but they were both fine and we had 2 fabulous trips. Why is choosing a resort so hard??? Thanks again for your help..I have until AP rates are released to make a decision.

Luv2roam: I would love to hear what you thought about the resorts you've stayed at. We've also been to CBR and POFQ. How would you compare CSR/CBR as we weren't that fond of CBR (just too big and too many bus stops). How would you compare those to the AsMo. We're HOPING to get AP rates. Historically Mods would run about $99 and Value $72 with tax per night. We need 2 so it's a $60 difference every night for 9 nights. Splitting it with the in laws we would spend $300 more to stay at CSR over As. Is the pool at CSR and the room size worth it??

 

[MidwestPiglet]

Here's my 2 cents on All Star Movies. The rooms are pretty small, but you really can't beat the price. I think it's comparable to a motel room, rather than a hotel room.

We stayed there in September, 2001 -- Myself, spouse and 5 year old. Our 5 year old is VERY ACTIVE, but at the end of the day she plunked out in front of the TV to watch toons. Whenever she needed to move around, we'd stroll the grounds with her and check out the store or pool. She LOVED the theming.

My spouse felt very cramped. He's got insomnia, so there wasn't a lot of room to "hang out" to read a book or have a snack.

Enjoy your stay wherever you decide!

 

[tink2dw]

AP rates were deleased last Monday!!!

Annual Passholder rates for 1/1/03-2/12/03 super discounts of up to 40%

www.MouseSavers.com

 

[jel0511]

I've stayed at ASMo and I think the rooms are way to small, but I'm a deluxe kind of gal. I like the larger rooms, theming of the resorts, and the closeness to the parks you get with a deluxe. It all depends on what you want. A lot of people LOVE the All Stars and will stay nowhere else. Me on the other hand, need more room, since we are usually only in the parks in the morning and tend to relax and hang out in the afternoons at our resort, so paying for a deluxe is part of our Disney experience. My sister has stayed at both a moderate and a value resort and she can't tell the difference in terms of room size. She said, the moderate room might be bigger, but there is bigger furniture there, so it just seems the same. Personally, if I had to choose between a moderate and a value, I'd pick vaule based on my sister's observation. To me, there really isn't much a difference in the two, so I'd save the bucks and stay value.!!

 

[Luv2Roam]

I'm a deluxe kinda gal too -- but live in a value budget! Well, I would be okay if I didn't buy enough pins to put a down payment on a house!

Our first REAL trip and our first on-site stay was at CSR. We really enjoyed it. It wasn't perfect, but VERY nice.
But honestly between our mods and value stays, we have been treated the best at the AS', hands down.
POR was the worse. It wasn't horrible. But bad enough it was a live and learn situation. Many people LOVE POR. We didn't. The grounds and the bakery were great. The rest. But everyone's stay is different. Just as if we stayed there again (which we won't) I sure our experience would be different again
We haven't stayed at CBR or POFQ. I would shy away from FQ only because of POR. But that isn't fair, but it's true for me.
Once I stayed at ASMo I understood perfectly when others complained that CSR was *too spread out*. ASMo was extremely convenient. (We were in the Woody building - #9.)
We stayed in Castias 4 at CSR, by my choice. And it's not a terrible walk. But at the end of a lonnnng park day, it can seem a mile away to get a *free* refill at night.
The Pepper Market is really good. Again, I know many don't like it. But we really did. There were four adults in our party, and one is particular. (Not a picky eater, just particular on his food.) The PM food passed his test even.
If there was a convenient bus to CSR/PM, we would eat there during our stay.
Last January we got ASMo for $55 a night (AP rate). We are getting that with the ASMu this coming January. For the price, it can't be beat!
Sure an in-room coffee maker and an outdoor hot tub would be nice. But AS' have their own perks == organized bus service and great CM's top the list, not to again mention the $ per night.
DH used the CSR hot tub 3 or 4 nights (even in JANUARY!) and each time the water was lukewarm. He said the bathtub water was much hotter. So how much into play did that hot tub matter anyway?
And the POR hot tub is dinky! Most people have bigger hot tubs in their back yards. (Not us -- we have none! )

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

If I might add my two cents in here...

A few people have talked about lack of theming... and while, on an "adult" level, this might be true... however, I've noticed that a lot of younger kids seem to REALLY like the outer themes of the buildings, and the large icons and whatnot. So, if your children have a favorite theme, try to get that particular section. (For example, if they like Toy Story... they'd get a kick out of staying in the Buzz Lightyear building)

Another item to add... the All-Stars receive the most amount of busses, and the shortest interval between busses.

 

[onceuponadream]

Thanks again for all the help. My in laws are visiting us this weekend and we've reviewed the posts. I think we are going to try AsMo and use the extra $300 for Mothers Day out and souvenirs...

Chip 'n Dale Express...thanks for the note about the transportation. I figured as the cost of the room went down so did the frequency of the buses. I think your post sealed the decision!

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by onceuponadream
Chip 'n Dale Express...thanks for the note about the transportation. I figured as the cost of the room went down so did the frequency of the buses. I think your post sealed the decision!

Bus frequency is based soley on demand. And, with 6,000 rooms give or take... the All-Stars take the cake.