Conference koolit::disney

    Disney's All-Star Resorts will be built in nearby Osceola County just
    north of Highway 192. The resorts will be divided into two themes -
    Sports and Music.
    
    All-Star Sports Resorts
    
    There will be several min-themes within this resort. The "Touchdown
    Hotel" for football; the "Home Run Hotel" for baseball; "Hoops Hotel"
    for basketball; "center Court" for tennis; and "Surf Hotel" for water
    sports.
    
    All-Star Music Resorts
    
    "The Country Fair" for Country Music fans; "The Jazz Inn" for the
    obvious; "The Rock Inn" for Rock fans; "Broadway" for theater fans, and
    "Calypso" for a touch of Spain and the Tropics.
    
    Both resorts will be open in two phases with the first 400 rooms
    expected ready for guests by mid-1994.
    
    Mike

From the Fodor's 94 Walt Disney World and the Orlando Area guidebook (reprinted
without permission): 

In this resort there are three-story stairwells in the shape of soda cups plus 
larger-than-life football helmets, surfboards, and baseball bats; the entrance 
features a baseball scoreboard, a huge whistle, and a tennis unpire's chair. 
Rooms in the three-story building are designed to accomodate four. The large 
complex, on a 246-acre site at the northwest quadrant of World Drive and the
highway 192 interchange, south of the Disney-MGM Studios and the Epcot resort 
area, is the first phase of a two-phase project that will eventually grow to 
3,840 rooms.
 
Scheduled opening: Late 1994

Facilities: 1,920 rooms
            Food court
            Restaurant
            Large pool area
            Children's pool
            Guest Laundry
            Games room
            Supervised children's program
            Baby-sitting

Credit Cards: American Express, Mastercard, Visa

Price: Moderate (Fodor defines moderate as $65 - $120 per night)     

For reservations:      WDW Central Reservations
                       Box 10100
                       Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
                       Telephone: (407)W-DISNEY

    Linda,
    
    That sounds like it will be located to the SW of the CBR or right down
    the road from MGM. There is a long road that goes behind MGM. I wonder
    if that road will lead to this new resort.
    
    Goodie....there are more places to explore next time I'm down there.
    
    Mike

    It is across the street (World Drive) from MGM.  They were building new
    roads to that section of the park last time I was down there im May,

    The 1994 Birnbaum guide lists prices for this resort as $69 - $79 per 
    night, scheduled to open in June 1994. 
    
    The detailed description says that the Sports resort is actually five
    buildings, each themed for a different sport. There are two pools
    and one kiddie pool. There is also a five stand food court with common 
    eating area and central beverage bar. 
    
    The rooms are small. Each is 260 square feet, while those in CBR, PO, and
    DL are 314 square feet. There are two double beds and only one sink. 
    
    Linda

    The rooms are most likely 4-5 feet shorter than the CBR, PO, DL
    rooms. My guess is that they are approx. 12 feet wide and around
    22 feet long.
    
    The price is tempting...would save me about $260 if I switched my
    reservations to this new resort.....and it's only down the road
    a bit.
    
    Mike

    From the 1994 MKC Membership Map it looks like the All-Star Resorts
    will be located behind Catastrophe Canyon.

    
    	We asked a cast member about the all start resorts because we
    	couldn't find them when we were down there. They are taking
    	reservations for them, and we were told they would be opening in
        May...
    
    	It would appear that the entrance will be off of the new ramps for
    	Buena Vista Drive exiting onto World Drive in the southern corner
    	near I192. They were not visible from the road (which is good if
    	you are staying there) and the new ramps/entrance were blocked
    	so you couldn't explore.... 
    
    		- Annie
    

    We tried to find the All-Star Resorts while at WDW in March and had no 
    luck. (If I asked to go down World Drive one more time I would have
    been hitchhiking.) Couldn't even catch a glimpse in the distance. 
    
    The free video has one shot of the water sports building: a railing
    that looks like waves in the water attached to a surfboard standing
    on end. There was nothing to give an overall perspective. 
    
    Linda

    Has anyone stayed at the All-Star resort yet or are we going to be the
    first.  I could not justify spending US $121 at the CBR when I could 
    get a room there with a King size bed for US $79.  It just leaves
    more money to spend in the parks.  We are set to stay the last week of
    August. 
    Trip report to follow in September some time.
    regards,
    
    JP

    Last night I picked up a brochure at the Disney Store on PLM in Nashua. 
    Inside were pictures of the rooms in the All-Star Resort. The pictures
    were taken from the far inside end of the room (where the bathroom and 
    sink would be) looking toward the door. It looks very much like the 
    "economy priced" resorts, although more plain. The walls are the usual
    yellowish color with a colorful border at the ceiling. The beds 
    have plain beige headboards with blue trim around the edge. The spreads 
    are very colorful and appear to have multiple sports scenes on them. 
    The armoire is plain red. There are regular striped curtains at the
    window. A small table and two chairs are by the window. There are 
    star-shaped lights, mounted on a star-shaped red background, over 
    each bed. The most likely place for the reduction in space versus
    PO-DL-CBR is in the bathroom-sink area which, unfortunately, we can't 
    see. It looks like a perfectly comfortable, although somewhat
    utilitarian, room. 
    
    The brochure containing these pictures has blue at the top and bottom 
    and a picutre of a little girl hugging Mickey in the middle. It says
    Disney at the top, "Once upon a time is here" on the picture, and 
    "Walt Disney World Florida 1994 Vacations" on the bottom. This is the 
    only place that I have seen All Star Resort room pictures. 
    
    Linda 

    An article I read on the All-Star said that the beds were higher so
    that they could accommodate your luggage.  Also, as far as bell-hop
    service, it will take an hour for your luggage to reach your room.
    
    Julie
    

    We drove to the All Star Resort to check it out while we were at WDW
    last week. The entire sports resort is open and the music resort is
    partially completed and occupied. I wish I could think of a word
    stronger than TACKY to describe this place, because it really is worse
    than that. The final straw was the three-story-tall conga drum, the
    crossed three-story maracas, and the banana leaves decorating the edge 
    of the roof of the Calypso Hotel. That's not to say the the three-story 
    football helmet or Coca-Cola cups were much better! Kids will love it; 
    parents will be less enthusiastic. We didn't get to see the inside of 
    a room, but we did drive around the parking lots. At all the hotels it
    was a long walk from the car to most of the rooms. 
    
    I would stay there if I had an unexpired annual passport, a really
    cheap airfare, and couldn't afford a more expensive room for a quick
    three or four day trip to WDW. Otherwise I would opt for any of the
    slightly more expensive WDW resorts. 
    
    Linda

Hello,
      I am planning a trip to WDW with my family for early September 1995. Last
year, we went on a UK package deal with "Airtours" staying at the Comfort 
Suites in Kissimmee. This year, we would like to stay in one of the Disney
owned resorts.

We have been looking at the All-Stars resort - yes, I know it's been called
"tacky" elsewhere in this conference but my thinking is:

(a) It's relatively inexpensive ( I didn't want to say cheap!)

(b) It's "new" therefore clean (?) (the comfort suites were not very clean)

(c) It looks very similar to the comfort suites in terms of amenities.
eg pool, jacuzzi, rooms and room size.

(d) plus all the other advantages of being on property.

I have priced the Airtours all-star resorts package versus fly-drive only and
booking the all-stars seperately.....the package deal is MUCH more expensive 
(suprise suprise!)

Given that our decision is fly-drive and book seperately, a few questions.....

Would it be better to pre book the all-stars or could we wait until we arrive
down there in September and book then? I assume I would be able to use my MKC 
card for discount no matter which choice I made? I "could" book through the 
London Disney office but would I get a better deal waiting till I get there?

Also, has anyone actually stayed at the all-stars resort? - if so, I would be 
very much obliged if you could send me some detailed info/opinions on what it
was like. 

**I might be as well paying the extra $'s and staying at the CBR...any other
suggestions?

So many questions......so many decisions to make...roll on september....
  I look forward to your replies.

By the way, are there any dates during september which should be avoided with
regard to school vacations etc??
                                   thanks,
                                          Stevie.

RE: .14
    
>>Would it be better to pre book the all-stars or could we wait until we arrive
>>down there in September and book then? I assume I would be able to use my MKC 
>>card for discount no matter which choice I made? I "could" book through the 
>>London Disney office but would I get a better deal waiting till I get there?

    I think you should book now.  That way you're assured of a room
    (shouldn't really be a problem in September, but who knows?) and
    you can always work to get a better deal between now and then.  You
    can cancel your reservation any time up to 48 hours before arrival
    and you get a full refund of your deposit - which is only one
    night's stay + tax.  
    
    I don't know anything about a London Disney office - so maybe there is
    a difference between booking internationally vs. domestically.  You
    could book the room - tell everyone what rate you were quoted and
    then folks here state-side could tell you if you've paid too much.
    
>>Also, has anyone actually stayed at the all-stars resort? - if so, I would be 
>>very much obliged if you could send me some detailed info/opinions on what it
>>was like. 

    Can't help you here - never been to All-Star resorts.
    
>>**I might be as well paying the extra $'s and staying at the CBR...any other
>>suggestions?

    You should price this out and decide if it fits into your budget.  From
    reading this conference - CBR is far more preferable than All-Star. 
    I've stayed at Port Orleans which is another economy priced hotel and
    really enjoyed it.

>>By the way, are there any dates during september which should be avoided with
>>regard to school vacations etc??
  
    I don't think you'll have much of a problem with school vacations in
    September - schools usually begin late August/early September so they
    haven't been going long enough to have vacations yet.  Two tips though
    from someone who has stayed at WDW in September:
    
    	1) The parks generally begin restricting their operating hours in
           the late September/early October timeframe.  I went the last
           week of September of '93 and our last day there was the last
           day before the reduced hours (i.e. open was an hour later and
    	   I think close was an hour earlier).  So you might want to 
    	   schedule your vacation to occur prior to say September 26th.
    	   You can also try to find last year's September operating hrs
    	   in this notesfile to use as a planning reference.  Disney won't
    	   announce this year's September hrs until early August most
    	   likely.
    
    	2) My least favorite memory of that September visit was EPCOT
           because Disney was having Teacher-Student Field Trip days
    	   during the times that we were there.  Sounds innocuous enough,
    	   but trust me - its a hassle.  There were loads of kids who
    	   were generally unsupervised or little supervised.  The chaperone
    	   to child ratio was like 1:15.  Most of these kids were fine, but
           far too many were just rude.  We left early, and complained to
           Guest Services.  What I would recommend is that as you get 
           closer to September - call and ask what days if any during your
           vacation will EPCOT be holding these days and then work your
           EPCOT visit around them if possible.  Thankfully, MGM and MK
           don't hold such visits (probably because they don't need to).
    	                                                                
    Gary

We visited the All-Star Sports Resort last July. We did not stay there,
we just checked it out.

Compared to the other Disney Resorts it is not as inspiring, or 
as invlvoled, or as convenient, or as fancy. 

However, it is still a nice, new, themed setting. Personnally, I would rather
stay at the Carribean or Wilderness lodge, etc. But, my kids loved it
at the All-Star and they would like to stay there in the future.

I would definitly choose the All-Star versus an off-site place; just
because you do have access to the benefits a staying at a WDW hotel.

Doug

    There may be an MKC discount in September for the CBR, PO, and DL
    trio. Check this out before you commit and yes I'd make my reservations
    ASAP.
    
    Mike

    To answer a few things that weren't answered...
    
    The MKC discount doesn't apply to the All-star.
    
    

Ditto on all said so far, and...

I visited but did not stay there.  I found the common areas to be well
laid out and to be spacious.  Good pool area, good food court area. I
agree that the rooms are likely to be good and clean, but, even the oldest
Disney hotels are all very clean and pretty.

As for travel in September:  We travel in the fall every year.  I find that
hours are curtailed very early in September, usually the day after Labor day.
Yet, the crowds do not diminish as quickly as they used to.  Around the
country (and world), school starts at various times.  If it starts a week or
two later in Georgia then there will be crowds of people.  We travel in
October more than September now.

Call and ask about special events.  Those bring crowds, too.  The days in
January during the new Marathon were not pleasant.

Definitely stay at All-Star rathar than off site.  Just avoid taking too many
pictures of the outsides of the buildings... :-}

Bill A.

Actually, I think I will be taking my kids to see the All Star resorts because
I think they will really like the outside of the buildings.  It's a kid
kind of thing.  :-)

    Carol

     '
touche!


I handn't thought of the kid appeal.

bill a.

    A friend is staying at All Star Music in about week or so, so I'll have a
    report from someone who stayed there!!  She's counting the days now.
    
    
    Stay tuned,
    Susan

    My friend leaves tomorrow for her vacation, and will be staying at 
    the Music resort (after visiting with family).  When she gets back,
    she'll give me all the details.
    
    
    Susan

I can answer the "where are they" for All-Star Sports and Music Resorts.

When you enter WDW on World Drive from US 192, heading north, the first
thing you come to is Disney/MGM Studios on your right (East side).  The
next exit is Buena Vista Drive, where you can turn right to reach EPCOT
resorts, Disney Village, the north entrance to MGM, Typhoon Lagoon, etc.

You can now Exit there heading WEST and 1/2 mile later you reach Blizzard
Beach, and another 1/2 mile (at the end of the road) are the All-Star
Resorts.  Sports is first, Music is back a little further.

Coming back, you can go to the afore mentioned intersection to reach all
WDW attractions and hotels, or, there is a road just before Blizzard Beach
which heads south to join up with World Drive and the exit to US 192.

Bill A.

    I just tell people to drive by the CBR and take the first left after
    MGM Studios. Blizzard Beach will be on your left and the ASR will be
    on your right.
    
    Mike

    I will be staying at the All Star Music Resort on Sunday. When I called
    AAA back in mid-March, Dixie Landings and Carribean beach were both
    booked solid. It took the agent 2-3 days to offer me All Star Music.
    Because the booking was so "late," the only thing available was a
    "deluxe" room which meant a better view of the parking lot (well,
    actually something green and leafy, I believe). Part of the package (4
    days, 3 nights) was a "length of stay pass" gaining entrance to all
    parks, including Pleasure Island, Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach
    (which this time of year are only open until 5 pm). Because I requested
    a KING sized bed, I automatically defaulted to the Jazz or Calypso
    hotels. Broadway only has doubles.
    
    I also am entitled to a free refridgerator by requesting a king sized
    bed (otherwise there is a $5/day charge). As for requesting top floor
    or away from the pool..I was told the request would be forwarded, but
    nothing was guaranteed. I also could not confirm my reservation until
    3-4 days prior to checking in. 
    
    Even though there is a motor coach that picks up guests staying at
    All Star, I have a rental car and will probably drive it to the parks
    (parking is free under the length of stay pass). I'm also entitled to
    *either* a character brunch or breakfast/brunch at any participating
    hotel. I chose the Grand Floridian, and booked that three weeks in
    advance, there were only "a few openings" left for the time I chose. 
    
    When my confirmation in writing arrived from Disney, I received two
    laminated Disney suitcase tags, a listing of hours and special events,
    and a confirmation of my reservation. I won't know what specific hotel
    I'll be in until I check in on Sunday. The cost of this is $309 per
    person, double occupancy.
    
    I also bought the "Unofficial Guide to Disney World" and ripped out the
    sections for each major park and stapling it together. The thought of
    lugging that tome around all day was not my idea of a vacation! But it
    gives excellent advice to avoid crowds, where to eat, where not to eat,
    etc... and for $14 it seemed like a bargain.

    "Resort" is an overstatement for these rooms. Having stayed there for
    3 nights, most of the previous comments hold true. The outside decor is
    beyond tacky, the rooms are VERY small. I requested a king sized
    bedroom which automatically defaulted us to a third floor unit with a
    handicapped bathroom. Disney was in such a rush to get these rooms up
    that they never installed proper drainage. Meaning, there is a shower
    stall in the bathroom next to the toilet (the vanity is outside the
    bathroom in the bedroom) and unless you build a dyke with about 8 heavy
    duty towels you will flood the bathroom after taking a shower.
    
    We were supplied with lots of towels *after* I called maintenance who
    recognized "it was a problem" -- yet at check in they never informed us
    of this little inconvenience.
    
    The various themes (Broadway, Calypso and Jazz are the only ones
    available) all open up to a common pool area. I felt more like I was in
    a dorm at college than at a hotel. There is a food court area which
    offers moderately priced food in a common eating area. Unfortunately
    the condiments are left out all day in ice, which I quickly learned
    spoil rather fast. Be careful, the hot food is really greasy and
    tasteless. The only "room service" available is pizza. 
    
    Every third channel on the TV in the room was a promo for Disney.
    
    These motels were on the outskirts of just about every park. You can't
    see MGM from them, but you are down the street from Blizzard Beach,
    which I believe is also ironing out some kinks.
    
    The MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR advantages to staying here was that you were on
    the property, albeit in a cheap motel room, you could enter parks
    early, bus transportation was excellent, about every 10 minutes there
    were busses available to take you anywhere, and pickup at night was
    very fast too. You get one laminated card that acts as your room key
    and Disney park pass, and if you bought anything big and bulky it would
    be sent back to your room. You can choose a character breakfast at ANY
    hotel on site (we chose the Grand Floridian), and even though we slept
    there from Sun-->Wed, the pass was even good all day Wednesday (our
    check out day).
    
    There was a tremendous line checking in, but if you don't charge
    anything to the room or make phone calls, you don't even have to check
    out. Your room is prepaid before you even get there.
    
    Overall, I would defintely stay in the park again, but at Caribbean
    Beach or Dixie Landings which probably offer more ammenities, bigger
    rooms, and are more plush. But for $69 a night, you can't beat All
    Star, especially if you don't plan on being in the room alot. They were
    incredibly soundproof, clean, well lit and very safe. But just really
    far away from everything else.
    
    If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to contact me
    directly.

Two friends and I just got back from staying 7 nights at the All Star 
Music resort, specifically, the Broadway section.

I was kind of expecting the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised.
We had a room with two double beds (not queen, alas), and although
it was on the small side, we coped pretty well.  Of course, we didn't
spend much time there; basically, we were in the room only to sleep!

The beds were quite comfortable, I thought (at least, the one *I* was
in was :-) ).  The room was very clean.  The sink (single) was outside
the bathroom (full tub/shower and toilet).  No real closet, just a wire
shelf next to the sink, but with REAL hangers (that you could actually
remove, as opposed to the kind you have to hook into the thingies that 
are attached to the rod - I hate those).

No mini-bar, but we picked up a cheap styrofoam cooler and kept it
filled with drinks that we picked up at a supermarket (Gooding's, in
a new shopping center down 192 towards Route 27, next to a new theme
park called "Splendid China").  Sodas in the vending machines were $1 (!).

The architecture of the resort is, to say the least, colorful. ;-)
The Music resort has a big guitar-shaped pool and a somewhat smaller
piano-shaped pool.  The piano pool is at the conjunction of the Jazz,
Broadway, Country Fair, and Rock & Roll buildings; the guitar pool is
next to Melody Hall (where you check in and where the Food Court is),
between the Calypso buildings.

HINT: If you like peace and quiet in the evening, consider getting a
room NOT in the Calypso buildings facing the pool...!  Both pools are
open 24 hours (!), and heavily populated with kids even well into the
evening (like 10:00 - 11:00 at night).  Thus they can be on the noisy
side.  The piano pool isn't as close to the buildings as the guitar pool
is.

We didn't eat at the Food Court except for a couple of breakfasts; the
breakfast food was okay, not great.  We had booked a "Fall Fantasy" 
vacation and so had coupons good for free breakfasts for two for the
length of our stay.  (These coupons were good at most, if not all, the
resorts, including character breakfasts.)

All in all, it was a pleasant enough place to stay, although it wouldn't
be my first choice if I had my druthers (my friends were a bit strapped
for cash, so I acceded to their wish for economical on-property
accommodations :-) ).

-- Nina

    
    thanks for the quick recap of your stay, nina...we are leaving for wdw
    next friday and are staying at the all star music (tho my other half
    would have preferred the sports one... ;>).
    
    can't wait to get out of here!!!!
    
    
    -raquel
    

    Hi, Has anyone stayed at All-Stars Sports Hotel? How was it? How easy
    is it to get from there to the parks? I understand that it is not on
    the monorail, will this be a problem for us? How long does it generall
    take to get from the hotel to the parks?
    
    Thanks, Judy

    Judy,
    
    I have not stayed at the All-Star, but most of the hotels are not on
    the monorail.  Only the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian
    are on the monorail, I believe.  We were very happy with the bus
    service, and never waited long for a bus (stayed at the CBR).  The ride
    to the MK from our hotel was about 15 minutes, yours may be a bit
    longer.
    
    Julie

    
    I stayed at the All-Star Music.  It was very easy to get to the
    parks.  Busses run directly from the hotel to MKC, Epcot and MGM.
    Also to Blizzard Beach.  It takes from 5 to 15 minutes.  
    
    Only problem is getting from another Disney resort like the
    Contemporary to the hotel.  You have to take the monorail to the
    transportation center.  Take a bus to the Shopping Area and then take
    another bus to the hotel.  That takes 1 hour. 

    Looking for suggestion for my sister.
    
    She is booked with her two daughter and another couple with 2 children
    for adjoining rooms at the All Star Sports.  Her questions to all you
    experts is that when she talked to the reservationist, she asked where
    was the best location to ask for.  They wouldn't help her, so I'm
    looking for help from you.  Is there a better building, floor, or
    whatever to request.  Please give pros and cons so that she can make
    her own descision.  One man(or woman's)poision (is that it?) is
    another's .......whatever.  Thanks for the help.  She needs to make the
    request ASAP so thanks in advance for any speedy responses.
    
    Beth

    
    
    re: a more specific question -.1
    
    PLease help!!!!
    
    I was pro-active in looking at the authors of the last few years trip
    reports and sent mail to those that stayed at the All Star Sports, but
    I have one remaining questions for those of you who may have stopped by
    or visited or whatever at the All Star Sport Resort.
    
    Can someone tell me the sport, i.e. football, hoops(B-ball), etc., that
    is closest to the food court and/or the bus transportation.
    
    Thanks in advance!!!!!    
    Beth .......and her sister who is the one going, not me :(