A Very Comprehensive Review of All-Star Movies Based On Staying One Night There With No Toy Story Pictures

No, I didn’t think it was possible either, but there are apparently more Disney resorts.

As one might imagine, booking your trip online is the easiest part of your Walt Disney World vacation. Assuming you know what you want, the whole process only takes a few minutes.

At some point in the booking process, you’ll probably get a popup window with an agent that can answer whatever questions you might have. They’re 74.6% accurate answers, which is 4.9% higher than what you’ll get over the phone. My favorite guest services phone interaction remains the person that told me I could walk in to Brown Derby, order a sundae, and get Dining Package tickets to Fantasmic. It took three calls until I finally got an answer on how much the Package cost.

Anyway, once you book, you’ll receive the above email along with a link to check-in online.

I prefer to check-in online because they’ll have your documents on hand when you arrive and there’s a separate, theoretically faster line at the resort for those who have checked in online.

It’s a pretty easy process. I don’t know if you’re like me, but for whatever reason I’m always convinced I’m booked for the wrong dates or will somehow show up on the wrong day. So I double check the dates “literally” 8,000.0 times.

You’ll confirm your itinerary basics like name and address as well as when you’re planning to arrive and depart.

And there’s an option to make “special requests.”

You’ll want to make most requests at the time you book. If you book online, you’ll want to call in with requests as these are the only options online. By phone, make your requests at the time of booking. Because I have a Preferred room, it does give me the option to choose a building. With Disney only “creating” more and more room types, you may not be able to request certain buildings without the Preferred, Water View, etc. upcharges. I would consider paying for a Preferred room at the Caribbean Beach Resort, Coronado Springs Resort, or Port Orleans Riverside. At the Values, I think it’s less necessary. I booked one because it was the only room they had available with the Passholder discount and I wanted to see the refurbished Movies’ rooms with my own eyes.

My brain can’t wrap itself around why anyone would want a room near the pool at the Value resorts. I chose 101 Dalmations because it looked to have the highest chance of being away from the noise and nuttiness of the pool.

That’s it, we’re in!

Then you’ll proceed just inside the main entrance to one of the check-in desks.

If you’ve stayed at a Disney resort, this bounty should look familiar. It’s a variety of advertisements and marginally helpful literature.

Here’s the room:

I thought about “adjusting” the colors so the room didn’t look so yellow, but I think this is pretty accurate.

The consummate professional.

The Values are so luxurious I almost immediately put my feet up.

And unsocked a beer. Long Hammer IPA is a beer that doesn’t get reviewed well on the “serious beer review websites,” but it’s one I’ve always enjoyed personally. Brewed in Seattle, it brings me back a bit to sitting out on the patio.

Just so you know which building you’re in.

The decor is otherwise pretty ho-hum.

I get a kick out of how people were complaining that the Value resorts are shabbily decorated.

So Disney goes all out at Art of Animation and people complain that the rooms are “too themed.” I’m not disagreeing with you.

More pictures than you probably want to wade through:

I BET THEY DON’T HAVE A MOUSE PROBLEM AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT!

You’ll now find “beverage coolers” in each of the rooms in the Value resorts. This may give you an idea about the size of them.

One thing I found annoying was that the temperature on the thermostat doesn’t illuminate, so if you want to know what you’re doing, you’ll have to turn on a light. I was surprised that the air-conditioner wasn’t as loud as my stays elsewhere. That, along with the fact that you can hear every time anyone around you flushes their toilets, are two of my major Disney resort gripes. The fact that they didn’t have fridges was also mind boggling, but at least they installed those.

The Internet seemed to work a lot better at 2am than it did at 8am. At 8am, the signal was lost multiple times and it was slower. Once I connected, I didn’t get the screen that “will prompt you to accept the terms and conditions” and Firefox didn’t want to open them either, so I had to go the Internet Explorer route. It would be helpful if they provided a url for the terms. I imagine they’ll have to do some upgrading with the FASTPASS+ roll out, but they probably won’t since it’s newly installed in most locations.

The Value resorts aren’t much more than “just a room” and they don’t afford a lot of space or privacy. They are a great option if you’re on a tighter budget and/or don’t plan to spend a lot of time back at the resort. Staying at the Polynesian and spending four out of seven days at Epcot without afternoon breaks or early returns doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, especially if you’re driving yourself. I would tell you that there’s really nothing at the Deluxes that’s “deluxe,” outside of the price. Rooms at the Polynesian in 2013 are a minimum of $422/night, up all the way to a maximum of $665 for the “Garden View.” “Magic Kingdom View” would run you between $570 and $857. Conversely, staying tonight at the Orlando Ritz would run you $239. For $507, you could stay the night in a Magic Kingdom View Contemporary Resort room. Or for $28 less, you could upgrade your room at the Ritz to an Executive Suite with a view of the lake. I’ll see you at the Ritz and use my $28 to grab some sushi at the California Grill. But!!! You’re talking to someone that has only stayed on Disney property when visiting “on vacation,” including a particularly memorable stay at the Polynesian. So I don’t even take my own advice and realize “there’s something about” staying on-site.

The beds were perfectly comfortable I thought.  I didn’t get a wink of sleep, but for whatever reason didn’t after the Halloween or Christmas Parties last year either.

Who knows what this view will be called come 2015. Partial Pongo?

We’ll take a look around outside before returning to the resort’s quick service.

Mickey is a lot of fun at the feature pool.

I’m not sure if whoever decided which movies to use should be fired or given a Nobel Prize.

On one hand, The Mighty Ducks is clearly one of the finest films ever made.

But is it really the movie you’d pick out of Disney’s entire catalog?

And with Sports just a few minute walk away.

But it’s here if you want it. These rooms are also the furthest from Movies’ main building and closer to Music’s across the street.

The rules.

Back to Dalmatians:

And Fantasia, which borders the resort’s feature pool:

Am I the only one a little creeped out here?

Over to Love Bug, which is the weakest movie choice in my opinion:

Ummmmmmmmmmmmm somehow I managed to skip the Toy Story section entirely. You can take away my blogger card. I’ll return for the dinner menu and the Toy Story pictures. And we’ll head out to Old Key West Resort too, I think that’s the only one that hasn’t gotten a full spread.

This water feature also sits in the Fantasia section near the pool.

At least it works!

And hair wraps, $2/inch from 4pm – 10pm.

Back inside to the arcade:

About what we can expect.

Donald’s Double Feature:

For breakfast:

I opted for the Mickey Waffle with Bacon ($5.99) with a side of Breakfast Potatoes ($2.49). I still feel a little bad about eating Mickey’s face, but the Mickey Waffles really are very good, freshly made while you wait a minute or two. That’s a healthy side of syrup. The bacon wasn’t anything to write home about – your typical extra crispy variety. The Kids Picks version comes with two smaller waffles in addition to a beverage that looked like a hefty enough portion. That may be a smarter way to go.

For $2.50, this was a pretty sad side of lukewarm potatoes. I wouldn’t order them again.

Oh, you.

And they picked Herbie.

Bar o’clock:

The menu should look familiar.

This is the London Broil Dinner, which was $10.69 if I recall correctly. I’m not sure it photographed well, but it was actually really good and a ton of food. There’s a fourth piece of broil that is hidden underneath the other three slices and you have your choice of two sides from a variety of options in addition to the roll. The broil was sliced fresh off of a larger slab of meat that was well seasoned and cooked perfectly. Now I wouldn’t travel from the Polynesian over here on Disney transportation to order it, but it certainly comes recommended if you’re staying at the resort. They had some other good looking entrees as well and the menu should look similar/mostly the same to the All-Star Music version.

Here it is over at Sports.

Oh look! At least we know what’s on the menu. Larger: http://www.easywdw.com/reports5/moviesoptions.jpg.

There you have it!