All Star Movies (standard) VS Art of Animation (Mermaid rooms)

[Minkishly]

Is it worth it to pay $37 more per night to stay at AoA? We'd be staying for 3 nights as part of a split stay.

(The initial plan was to stay at Coronado Springs, but we decided that since we were going to spend most of our time in the parks, we might as well save on the room and attend an extra dessert party. Just in case you saw my other thread and were wondering!)

 

[dansdad]

Is it worth it to pay $37 more per night to stay at AoA?

Having stayed at both in our opinion, no.

 

[Babsy]

Having stayed at both in our opinion, no.

Agreed!

 

[Minkishly]

Thanks! Hopefully we luck out and get one of those lovely refurbished rooms at all star movies.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Not worth it, if your primary goal is to just have a place to crash for the night. The LM rooms are pretty far from the bus stops, too, so extra walking at the start and end of long park days.

Now, if you were going to spend some time around the resort, it might be worth it for the big blue pool, the themed playgrounds, the great food court, the gondola transportation, the drawing classes, etc.

I generally think AoA is a better resort than the All Stars, but the LM rooms themselves are nothing special, and not worth the price if you aren't taking advantage of other resort offerings.

 

[ssi6]

Thanks! Hopefully we luck out and get one of those lovely refurbished rooms at all star movies.

I went last September after a 4 year absence and stayed Pop Century. When I walked in to my "refurbished" room I was totally shocked. It didn't look anything Disney like in the past. It was very eclectic looking to me and aside from the one portrait on the wall, you wouldn't have known if it was a Disney room or a room at a Hampton Inn. No Disney bed covers. No Disney border paper. No fun Disney light fixtures. I was very disappointed. It just felt plain weird after so many years of staying at Disney properties. I'm going back next month and will specifically book a resort that has not been refurbished.

 

[dansdad]

Thanks! Hopefully we luck out and get one of those lovely refurbished rooms at all star movies.

I hope you do too. They're a very big improvement .

 

[shocker]

I'm big on having quick access to Disney transportation options. That said, any 'standard' room will be further away & is in both your options. EXCEPT the rooms in the Mighty Ducks section of Movies. These rooms are actually closer to the bus stop for Music (and the food court) than most of the rooms at Music and you get your own quiet pool & a laundry room between these buildings. It is the 'best kept secret' of standard rooms at all of WDW. I learned about it on the Dis and have used it!! Request Mighty Ducks at check in. Use your refillable mug at Music.

The only downsides are the MDE app will only show you bus pickup times for your home resort, but you won't be using those AND if you have any purchases delivered to your resort you'll need to make a trip to Movies gift shop.

These are the best 'standard' options on site, IMO. Just be sure to catch the bus back to Music on your way back to your room

 

[mickeymom22]

We have stayed in both and enjoyed both our stays. If you are only using the room to crash in, I wouldn't pay extra for a LM room. If you are going to have down time at the resort, AoA has more to offer...animation classes, the main pool, cool theming to admire, ability to walk over to Pop Century and visit, nice gift shop...

 

[Minkishly]

Not worth it, if your primary goal is to just have a place to crash for the night. The LM rooms are pretty far from the bus stops, too, so extra walking at the start and end of long park days.

Now, if you were going to spend some time around the resort, it might be worth it for the big blue pool, the themed playgrounds, the great food court, the gondola transportation, the drawing classes, etc.

I generally think AoA is a better resort than the All Stars, but the LM rooms themselves are nothing special, and not worth the price if you aren't taking advantage of other resort offerings.

I'm considering coming back to the resort for a mid day break during the hottest hours. I know the commute is going to be time consuming, but it might be worth it to get a shower and a short nap. The hubs tends to get cranky when he's sleepy and I get cranky when I'm sticky. We're just overgrown kids, really.

I think the reason why I was considering AoA is mainly for the animation classes; but I guess we could spend an afternoon there and relax at AoA until it was time to return to the parks.

Thanks for your advice! It really has helped me to get a better idea of the situation.

I went last September after a 4 year absence and stayed Pop Century. When I walked in to my "refurbished" room I was totally shocked. It didn't look anything Disney like in the past. It was very eclectic looking to me and aside from the one portrait on the wall, you wouldn't have known if it was a Disney room or a room at a Hampton Inn. No Disney bed covers. No Disney border paper. No fun Disney light fixtures. I was very disappointed. It just felt plain weird after so many years of staying at Disney properties. I'm going back next month and will specifically book a resort that has not been refurbished.

I've never stayed on-site, so this will be our first time! I do prefer a more modern aesthetic, so I'm quite happy about the refurbished rooms. Although I guess if we stayed at ASMo and got one of the pre-refurb ones, it would be nice for us to experience what it was like for the last time. I think by the time our next trip rolls by, those would be gone. So it's win win!

I'm sorry you are disappointed in the new rooms though. At least there are still plenty of resorts that still have the older Disney charm. Have a wonderful trip!

I'm big on having quick access to Disney transportation options. That said, any 'standard' room will be further away & is in both your options. EXCEPT the rooms in the Mighty Ducks section of Movies. These rooms are actually closer to the bus stop for Music (and the food court) than most of the rooms at Music and you get your own quiet pool & a laundry room between these buildings. It is the 'best kept secret' of standard rooms at all of WDW. I learned about it on the Dis and have used it!! Request Mighty Ducks at check in. Use your refillable mug at Music.

The only downsides are the MDE app will only show you bus pickup times for your home resort, but you won't be using those AND if you have any purchases delivered to your resort you'll need to make a trip to Movies gift shop.

These are the best 'standard' options on site, IMO. Just be sure to catch the bus back to Music on your way back to your room

I was actually second guessing staying at ASMo because I *didn't* want to end up in the Mighty Ducks section (no refurbished rooms). But now that you've put it this way, I guess it wouldn't be horrible if we got a room there after all! Thank you for sharing such great advice!

We have stayed in both and enjoyed both our stays. If you are only using the room to crash in, I wouldn't pay extra for a LM room. If you are going to have down time at the resort, AoA has more to offer...animation classes, the main pool, cool theming to admire, ability to walk over to Pop Century and visit, nice gift shop...

I wish Pop was available. It does sound like a good middle ground between the two. We actually would be staying at Pop for a week before moving to either ASMo or AoA. I just couldn't get Pop for the entire duration of our stay. I guess at least this way we'd get to experience another resort, in spite of the inconvenience of having to move.

Whichever way it is, I'm sure we'll enjoy the resort we choose, like the way you did. Thank you for taking the time to help!

 

[ClapYourHands]

I'm considering coming back to the resort for a mid day break during the hottest hours. I know the commute is going to be time consuming, but it might be worth it to get a shower and a short nap. The hubs tends to get cranky when he's sleepy and I get cranky when I'm sticky. We're just overgrown kids, really.

I think the reason why I was considering AoA is mainly for the animation classes; but I guess we could spend an afternoon there and relax at AoA until it was time to return to the parks.

We did not stay at AoA last trip, but we went there for our midday break one day. We were at AK super early for EMH rope drop, then took a bus to AoA in time for the first drawing class (11:30?), and stayed for lunch in the food court before heading over to HS for the rest of the afternoon.

Since you're doing a split stay, maybe you could plan a break at AoA on the day you check out of your first resort, but don't yet have a room ready at your second. The day we went was the change-over day on our split stay, so we really had no place to do a midday nap/shower anyway.

 

[k5xs]

I went last September after a 4 year absence and stayed Pop Century. When I walked in to my "refurbished" room I was totally shocked. It didn't look anything Disney like in the past. It was very eclectic looking to me and aside from the one portrait on the wall, you wouldn't have known if it was a Disney room or a room at a Hampton Inn. No Disney bed covers. No Disney border paper. No fun Disney light fixtures. I was very disappointed. It just felt plain weird after so many years of staying at Disney properties. I'm going back next month and will specifically book a resort that has not been refurbished.

Huh. We LOVE the Pop refurbished rooms!

As for theming, the big piece of Disney art above the bed was attractive, and IIRC, there was one embedded in the murphy bed headboard as well. There was no doubt in our minds that we were at a Disney resort.

We love the new flooring, the lighting, the HUGE television, the USB outlets, the new see-through fridge, and the new bathroom design.

No complaints from us. To the contrary, we very much prefer the new rooms.

 

[DizzyDis]

I have done both and do prefer AoA, for the pools (the one right by the LM rooms is nice, as well as the big blue), the overall theming is much more likes the Disney I grew up with, and I found the food court was much better. Also the flexibility to wander over to Pop if you feel like exploring. For a relatively small difference, I would going AoA.

 

[Moliphino]

I went last September after a 4 year absence and stayed Pop Century. When I walked in to my "refurbished" room I was totally shocked. It didn't look anything Disney like in the past. It was very eclectic looking to me and aside from the one portrait on the wall, you wouldn't have known if it was a Disney room or a room at a Hampton Inn. No Disney bed covers. No Disney border paper. No fun Disney light fixtures. I was very disappointed. It just felt plain weird after so many years of staying at Disney properties. I'm going back next month and will specifically book a resort that has not been refurbished.

The non-refurbed rooms at the All Stars are in pretty rough shape, from my experience (Movies, late 2017). I would not want to stay in one of those for any length of time. Everything was worn out, even the electrical sockets.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Having stayed at both in our opinion, no.

Correct. Lol. I agree with this. Not at all worth the extra cost. First of all, your chances of getting a refurbished room at movies is pretty good as most of the resort is refurbished (just checked, only the Fantasia and Dalmations buildings are being worked on. Everything else is completed). That means 2 queen beds vs 2 double beds at AoA. And youre paying an extra $37/night for what?? The big blue pool? The atmopshere? Well the theme at movies is pretty amazing. So truth be told, AoA is not worth it. I'd stay at movies.

 

[goofyintoronto]

The non-refurbed rooms at the All Stars are in pretty rough shape, from my experience (Movies, late 2017). I would not want to stay in one of those for any length of time. Everything was worn out, even the electrical sockets.

Exactly. The new rooms look waaaaaay nicer and cleaner.