Brief overview on ALL Disney resorts (Disney's All-Star Movies Resort)

Member Name: Rosani

Product:	Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
Date:	19/10/01 (839 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Guest privileges, Extra-special treatment, Excellent facilities and locations (for Disney parks)

Disadvantages: All that pampering comes with a high price tag, Far away from the other Orlando theme parks

THIS OP IS NOT JUST ABOUT ALL STAR RESORT BUT ALL OF THE DISNEY RESORTS - IT WILL HAVE TO SIT HERE UNTIL A GENERAL SECTION IS ADDED!!
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I am a big Disney fan. You might have noticed by now if you’ve read any of my reviews on Disney properties. I just love going to Lake Buena Vista and just being on site brings back many memories of vacations, friends and experiences.

I have also had the opportunity to visit almost all of the Disney hotels and have even stayed on some. It’s not that I’m made of money, its just that I used to work for Disney and over the course of a year made many visits to the hotels and restaurants on property; I love them all. I really do – the service is the best, the facilities are all superb and you will be so spoiled that you will never want to leave. However, if I still wouldn’t recommend them to guests on their first Orlando vacation.

Why? Well, because I am assuming that the average UK tourist on a 14 or 21 day holiday will want to do more than the Disney parks, usually at least Universal, maybe Sea World, the Fashion Outlets, Florida Mall and the rest. All of these are relatively far from Disney and you will find that you spend a lot of time “commuting” to fun – except when you’re on a Disney park. Of course, you get free transportation to and from all Disney hotels from all Disney parks and resorts but you will not get transportation to Universal, say. You’ll have to drive yourself there (don’t even think about a taxi, too expensive, and normal city buses just don’t exist in Disney property).

Besides, if you are travelling with the family you may find that you are spending a lot (I mean a LOT) of money eating out in Disney property. Where are all the cheap restaurants that everyone mentions? Well, they are mostly on the 192 or International Drive, both at least 20 minutes away from most Disney ho
tels. So not only are you paying more for your stay, you are paying a lot more for your meals if you take them within Disney’s reach. If you have a car then you can drive to Int’l drive for meals, which isn’t very convenient, but if you have no car then you are truly stuck. Unless that is what you want – a total Disney experience.

Also, you’ve probably been out on a park the whole time and get back to your hotel completely exhausted and ready for bed. You will not really have time to enjoy the facilities in your Disney hotel if all you’re doing is using it for sleeping, showering and as storage for all your shopping. So it isn’t really worth it – better to stay somewhere outside Disney property and save time and LOTS of £££.

Nevertheless, if you decide that you do want to stay in a Disney hotel, what are they like? They all have the same high levels of service, good facilities, etc. One useful feature is that they all include the Length of Stay pass that is valid for all Disney parks for the length of your stay, even including your last day. You could potentially checkout, store your luggage and still have the whole day in the park if you wanted! Most Disney hotels will also have package delivery: any shopping you do while on the parks will be delivered to your hotel so you don’t have to carry it around all day. Disney hotel guests also get privileges like early admittance to selected parks on selected days, you can take a mid-day break and you get to enjoy the services of the Guest Relations desk who can make reservations for you and sort you out with pretty much anything.

As for the hotels themselves, they are divided up into Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Home Away from Home. They’ve all got pools, gardens, great rooms, etc. If I try to describe each one of the Disney hotels, this review would be about 20 pages long, so I’ve done a summary for each but email me if you’
;d like more information.
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VALUE RESORTS
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All Star Movies/Music/ Sports/Pop Century. These are all similar, the main difference being the theming as their name implies. They are excellent fun for the family and the theming is wacky.

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MODERATE RESORTS
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Caribbean Beach. This one is very large (6 islands on a lake) and is a great choice.
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Coronado Springs: have extensive conferencing facilities so sometimes feels more like a business hotel.
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Port Orleans: The best Moderate choice, it is beautiful and will make you feel like you should have paid more for such fantastic surroundings.
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DELUXE RESORTS
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Yacht/Beach Club: Gorgeous New England style hotel, fantastic service, tops restaurants and within walking distance to Epcot and Boardwalk so excellent location. My husband’s favorite.

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BoardWalk Inn: located on the Boardwalk, also within walking distance to Epcot, very lively.

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Contemporary: the one the monorail goes through, next to the Magic Kingdom. IS a bit dated (built in the 70’s and it shows) but very convenient for MK.

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Grand Floridian Resort & Spa: If I win the lottery, I’ll go to this one, definitely my favorite; very luxurious and located next to MK with a convenient monorail link. They also do the best afternoon tea in the park in the conservatory and features the most expensive restaurant in WDW: Victoria & Albert’s.

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Polynesian: South Seas glamour, most people either love it or hate it. Located near Magic Kingdom with monorail link.

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Wilderness Lodge: also near the Magic Kingdom, beautifully decorated in the style of the National Park lodges in the US. Very serene setting with some fantastic activities a
vailable nearby like canoeing, bicycling, etc.

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Swan/Dolphin: These hotels aren’t technically owned by Disney (but the standards are still high) but the only reason you’d notice is that they don’t offer all of the same privileges to their guests as if they were staying on a “proper” Disney hotel. For example, package delivery to these is not always available.

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HOME AWAY FROM HOME RESORTS
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BoardWalk Villas: these are villas with self-catering facilities which could be very useful or not, depending on how much time you want to spend food shopping out there. The BoardWalk villas are located close to Epcot and are very lively.

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Disney Institute: the best villas, located close to the Downtown Disney Marketplace. They include a full spa, a fantastic gym and a lovely campus-like setting.

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Fort Wilderness Campground: You read right, a campground. It’s highly unlikely that UK guests will bring their camping gear with them but if you did, these could be the place to stay. I mention it here because it makes a great daytrip destination for the activities on offer, plus lovely walks on woods, horse rides, canoeing, bicycling, etc.

I hope this helps you decide whether or not it is worth staying within Disney property and if you decide you want to go Disney, which hotel is right for you.

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