Swap All Star Sports for Pop Century?

[kadypants]

Would you swap All Star Sports for Pop for an extra £300?

We have two young children and the main reason we are tempted is the option of the Skyliner rather than just relying on the bus.

What would you do?

[ely3857]

Definitely. For that price I’d happily move to a Skyliner resort. I don’t know how long you’re going for but for my dates and length of trip there’d a huge increase in cost between AllStars and Pop

[Guest]

I would because I think Pop looks nicer than the All Stars resorts and it is refurbished recently, whereas not sure that the All Stars have been.

I don't know about the Skyliner though, in a way it puts me off, I am not sure I like it and if I found that I didn't, I heard the buses to Epcot and HS are quite limited now.

[Hughseysar]

I would , so much nicer

[disneypars]

Definitely. Pop has been refurbished whereas All Star Sports will be the last in the All Star resort group.

[sky13]

I definitely would (though that might depend on how many days that £300 covers), and not just because I love Pop...

The advantages Pop has over All Star Sports are:
1) Skyliner
2) Fairly newly refurbished rooms (Pop) vs rooms that haven't yet been refurbished (Sports)
3) Pop usually has dedicated buses, with very rare sharing of buses with AoA (though admittedly the All Star resorts only share at off-peak times). You also have the option of taking a bus back to AoA then walking back to Pop. However, Pop does now have reduced bus frequency fo DHS and Epcot due to Skyliner.
4) Slightly better location on WDW property - I feel Pop/AoA are in a slightly more centralised location compared to the All Stars.

Google around to see reviews of the refurbished Value rooms (currently at Pop and All Star Movies, with All Star Music in the midst of being refurbished). Look for photos of the unrefurbished Value rooms.

I've stayed in both types and the refurbished Value rooms are a huge upgrade - everything has been replaced and upgraded. Things that have changed with the refurb include changing from carpet to laminate (?) flooring, from 2 twin (I think) beds to 2 queen beds (one of which is a pull down bed), adding a food area with mini fridge (also in unrefurb room) and coffee maker (new to refurb room), changing the curtains for the sink and bathroom to sliding doors, complete refurb of the sink and bathroom with addition of overhead rain showers, room being much brighter with more lighting, room safe changing from a weird vertical wall safe to a huge safe inside one of the cupboards, addition of a lot of wall outlets and USB charging ports.

It's a huge upgrade and I would definitely pay extra to be in a refurbished Value room compared to an unrefurbished Value room.

Also, Skyliner. I stayed in Pop about 3 months ago and loved the Skyliner. Almost always no wait to board (or at most around 5 minutes as it loads very efficiently), and once you're on board it's less than a minute before it departs the station. From Pop it took just 10 minutes to get to DHS, and 20 minutes to get to Epcot, including the change at CBR. The Skyliner stations at DHS and Epcot are almost right at the entrance, compared to bus stops which are further away from the entrance.

Full disclosure that there are some downsides to the Skyliner - mainly that it may not open early enough for early morning openings, and it may not stay open late enough for late nights. So you might still need to take the bus between Epcot and DHS. Also, the Skyliner does have occasional breakdowns. And in adverse weather (any hint of lightning in the area) the Skyliner will stop running for safety reasons.

[Merryweather17]

Swap, just do it, nicer rooms, skyliner and a larger resort with more space and pools. It is a no-brainer for us.

[kadypants]

Originally Posted by ely3857

Definitely. For that price I’d happily move to a Skyliner resort. I don’t know how long you’re going for but for my dates and length of trip there’d a huge increase in cost between AllStars and Pop

See more...

Thank you. We are going for a week onsite at the beginning of summer hols next year.

Originally Posted by Claudette

I would because I think Pop looks nicer than the All Stars resorts and it is refurbished recently, whereas not sure that the All Stars have been.

I don't know about the Skyliner though, in a way it puts me off, I am not sure I like it and if I found that I didn't, I heard the buses to Epcot and HS are quite limited now.

See more...

Thank you. I definitely think the rooms look nicer, much more modern and fresh.

Ahh I hadn't thought about buses being more limited. But I guess that's something that only time will tell.


Thanks for all the advice everyone... we have switched

[kadypants]

Originally Posted by sky13

I definitely would (though that might depend on how many days that £300 covers), and not just because I love Pop...

The advantages Pop has over All Star Sports are:
1) Skyliner
2) Fairly newly refurbished rooms (Pop) vs rooms that haven't yet been refurbished (Sports)
3) Pop usually has dedicated buses, with very rare sharing of buses with AoA (though admittedly the All Star resorts only share at off-peak times). You also have the option of taking a bus back to AoA then walking back to Pop. However, Pop does now have reduced bus frequency fo DHS and Epcot due to Skyliner.
4) Slightly better location on WDW property - I feel Pop/AoA are in a slightly more centralised location compared to the All Stars.

Google around to see reviews of the refurbished Value rooms (currently at Pop and All Star Movies, with All Star Music in the midst of being refurbished). Look for photos of the unrefurbished Value rooms.

I've stayed in both types and the refurbished Value rooms are a huge upgrade - everything has been replaced and upgraded. Things that have changed with the refurb include changing from carpet to laminate (?) flooring, from 2 twin (I think) beds to 2 queen beds (one of which is a pull down bed), adding a food area with mini fridge (also in unrefurb room) and coffee maker (new to refurb room), changing the curtains for the sink and bathroom to sliding doors, complete refurb of the sink and bathroom with addition of overhead rain showers, room being much brighter with more lighting, room safe changing from a weird vertical wall safe to a huge safe inside one of the cupboards, addition of a lot of wall outlets and USB charging ports.

It's a huge upgrade and I would definitely pay extra to be in a refurbished Value room compared to an unrefurbished Value room.

Also, Skyliner. I stayed in Pop about 3 months ago and loved the Skyliner. Almost always no wait to board (or at most around 5 minutes as it loads very efficiently), and once you're on board it's less than a minute before it departs the station. From Pop it took just 10 minutes to get to DHS, and 20 minutes to get to Epcot, including the change at CBR. The Skyliner stations at DHS and Epcot are almost right at the entrance, compared to bus stops which are further away from the entrance.

Full disclosure that there are some downsides to the Skyliner - mainly that it may not open early enough for early morning openings, and it may not stay open late enough for late nights. So you might still need to take the bus between Epcot and DHS. Also, the Skyliner does have occasional breakdowns. And in adverse weather (any hint of lightning in the area) the Skyliner will stop running for safety reasons.

See more...

Wow, so much advice! Thank you so much.

I imagined there would be some downsides, there always are aren't there. I definitely expected breakdowns and closure during bad weather, but I guess there's not much can be done about that.

[LittleKezza]

Have you considered moving to Movies? Then you get the nicer rooms at basically the same price as Sport.