We took our 3 kids to WDW 14 years ago (our 1st and only time) but stayed at the Holiday INN. We have never stayed at a Disney Resort and our budget this time will be moderate or Value. Should we stay at POP Century or All-Star Movie Resort? If we can swing Moderate what's fun for the "old folks"? I should mention that we are between 45 and 52. :D

I would love to hear your comments! It will just be me and my husband. We will be celebrating our birthdays and our 27th wedding anniversary! :) We are going Sept 23 to Oct 2nd 2008. Oh, and what will the weather be like?

Several years ago we stayed at the All Stars. We thought it was nice for the money,rooms are not real big. I don't know anything about the Pop Century my girlfriend from high school and I are planning on staying there in April if she can get off from work (we are 50 +). I have read alot of good reviews about Pop Centry and it seems to be the pick among the value resorts. If I could swing it I would do a moderate, I love Port Orleans French Quarter, it is smaller of the moderates and has a very nice comfortable feel.One thing I liked alot about staying there is you can take a boat to Downtown Disney.We have also stayed at the Riverside the grounds are larger.. Moderates run about $50 more a night. I think all of the Disney properties are nice it just depends how much you want to spend and what extras you want.
Visit the Disney website and compare.
Have a nice trip::

POFQ is actually my favorite. unless AP rates come out in March though, I'm staying at ASMo for the first time. In the past, I've stayed at POP when I've had to.

ASMo is said to be the most visibly Disney themed resort. POP itself is newer (but AS has been through refurbs since) and larger and has just 1 bus stop for each hub and never shares buses, but that's also because it's so busy and the buses are so full, it doesn't need to share.

I stayed at POP last year and liked it a lot. I really liked the food court and that they had their own bus. Brad is right, sometimes they were full, but I think we only had to wait for a second bus 1-2 times.

Personally, Im not much of a value fan. If I had to choose between moderates, one of the two Port Orleans resorts would be my choice. We are POR fans for sure and there are others who love POFQ as well. You wont go wrong with either. The theming is great and you do get some extra features such as a whirlpool and additional dining options.

One thing, though... Most of the values and moderates have 2 full-sized beds. I know that for the Mrs. and I, this was a "cozy" situation. (We are used to a Queen bed at home.) So, if you think that you would like to have a King sized bed, then you might have to consider a Moderate. (I am not sure if the values even have any King / Queen rooms... but someone can jump in with specifics.)

I've stayed in a Pop room that had a king bed (not a request, and it was actually a wheelchair accessible room, even though I didn't request that, either).

I'm just a smidgen younger than you, and if I'm going for a VACATION (in all caps), I much prefer the slightly more calm feeling of the moderate resorts. POFQ is my favorite, but I think there are people that pefer each of the moderates.

The weather at the end of September is likely to still be hot and humid.

But, you should be getting in on the beginning of the Food & Wine Festival - one of my favorite events at WDW!

I have stayed at the Pop Century and ASMu, but not ASMo. While I like the Pop Century, I am staying next January at ASMo just because I have never been there. Pop Century is quite nice and I liked ASMu as well. The food court at ASMo looks impressive.

I have also stayed at the moderates, but believe in saving money too - especially since I tend not to be in the rooms much. Room doesn't seem that much smaller than other hotels. I stay in hotels all over about 50-60 nights a year.

For full disclosure - I am tranferring to the ALK for a couple of nights after ASMo next year, but like the value resorts when I am just visiting parks to save money yet still be in the Disney experience with its amenities.

Any of the Allstars are good.
Pop is a variation that is newer and the pools are a bit nicer and bigger.

I think that the Fantasia Pool at Allstar Movies is the nicest pool of all the Allstars.
My kids' favorite Allstar is Sports, but I think that is nostalgia for their old high school cheerleading days.

If you decide to do one of the moderates I would recommend the Alligator Bayou section of Riverside Port Orleans. It is walking distance to POFQ and the room is big and has a trundle bed that allows it to sleep 5.
It also has a curtain that will partition off the sink area into a dressing room which comes in handy.

However, the pools in Port Orleans are small.

My kid's favorite pool is the Dig Site pool in Coronado Springs, which is also a moderate and is beautiful. It also seems to have the best bus service.

September is hot.

Pop. If you plan on taking the bus to the parks, Pop is the way to go. But all the value resorts are pretty much the same--loud and crowded.

If your budget can afford it, a moderate might be better. POFQ was really nice, not too big and quiet. I enjoyed it. The beds were strangely small though...

However, the pools in Port Orleans are small.
They may be smaller in size, but I never found the ones at POR to be crowded, even during the intense heat in August. The non-feature pools, are also rather good sized.

Of the value resorts, I think the Pop is by far the best. Much nicer landscaping, excellent food court, and their own busses. But my personal tastes lean towards the moderates. I've stayed in them all, and enjoy them all for different reasons. Look at them online and see which theme best appeals to you. My personal favorite is the Coronado Springs Resort, with the rooms laid out around the 15 acre Lago Dorado Lagoon. But you can't go wrong with any of the moderates. And any on property stay is preferable to off property. There's something about being totally immersed in the Disney magic for the entire length of your stay that's very special.

They may be smaller in size, but I never found the ones at POR to be crowded, even during the intense heat in August. The non-feature pools, are also rather good sized.

We stayed in PO in June and found just the opposite to be true.
My kids are big kids, college age then, young adults now.
Anyway, I researched the pools because we don't have easy access to one at home and because they had so enjoyed the Dig Site pool at CB.
Anyway, we looked at photos of the pools at POR and POFQ and they looked like fun in the pictures.
However, in person they look small by current standards.
And they were full (really full, like cruise ship pool full)of people, mostly little kids.
So full that my kids didn't want to use the pool.
One commented that it looked too full of "kid pee".
And later in the evening when the crowds thinned out, the slides were turned off.
We were there for 6 nights and never found a time when the slides were on and the pools were not overcrowded.

So for us, PO is lovely, but been there done that.

I know that swimming pools have evolved over time and are now much larger.
Just compare the pools at the Allstars. The newest Allstar has the best pool.
And Pop has much larger pools than Movies.
Port Orleans has had time for the landscaping to mature, but the pools perhaps could stand to be enlarged.

So, if you think that you would like to have a King sized bed, then you might have to consider a Moderate. (I am not sure if the values even have any King / Queen rooms... but someone can jump in with specifics.)

The Disney Value Resorts have King Beds in the disabled accessible rooms; they can be requested but will not be guaranteed. Obviously, if a person with special needs requires the room, they get it.

The Disney Moderate Resorts have King Bed Rooms as a specific booking category, at a higher rate.

In general, at the Disney Deluxe Resorts, you may request a King Bed Room but it will not be guaranteed. (The Polynesian does not offer King Beds.)

I stayed at All Star Movies last August and loved it. If you'd like a quieter experience, I recommend The Mighty Ducks buildings. They're away from most of the foot traffic and we only had one incident with noise. A loud family decided to start yelling and splashing around in the pool at 1am, but one quick call to the front desk took care of it a few minutes later.

As far as King beds go, just request an accessible room and hope your request goes through. My mother actually needed one of those rooms, and there was a bit of a delay at check-in while they secured one. But everyone was helpful otherwise.

However, if you're going to take the resort bus to the All Star complex, leave before the parks close or a long time afterward. They will be super crowded on most nights. Afternoons and mornings aren't bad though. Pop Century usually only has one destination by bus, there will be more of them, and it's close to DHS if that matters to you. It's nice to be pretty close to at least one park.

Super cute buildings, pools (as great as the Fantasia pool is, I think I preferred the Duck Pond), and decor at ASM though. Very "Disney" in the truest sense. The food court is also excellent for what it is.

In some ways, I actually found this hotel better than Saratoga Springs, which we also stayed at last year.

I haven't stayed at Pop so I have no opinion on that resort. We have stayed at ASMo and Sports. I recently got out our pictures from those trips, both in June of different years, and was amazed at how many empty pool chairs there were. Other than a few college aged couples hanging on each other in the pool, there was still plenty of space for everyone. We stayed in preferred rooms each time and never felt that it was noisy or crowded. And I must tell you that my husband absolutely HATES crowds. If it had been crowded, he would have definitely let me know it! :rolleyes:Though I will say there was a difference in the crowds between the first week in June and the third week. It was more crowded later in the month.

This trip we will stay at POFQ, but when I look at the pics, I almost wish we were going back to Movies. The pictures of my son in front of the HUGE Buzz and sitting in RC are too cute for words!

I really wanted to stay in the All-Star Movies. I will tell my mom!

I've stayed at both POP and ASMo and I prefered POP. I enjoyed the theming at both, but really I comes down to the bus situation. Sometimes all the All-Star resorts have to share a bus. It's ok if you are going to or coming back from Downtown Disney/Water Parks, but its pain when it's combined a major park. I was suprised when I stayed there one summer and all 3 resorts were combined one night coming back from then-MGM. I also saw it again this January at EPCOT after the fireworks. POP doesn't share its bus with any other resorts.

I love POP because the food and shops goes together! And that's why our family are staying again in Pop Century this year!