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2014 DISNEY WORLD PRICES TO COME OUT JULY 10

Disney World’s 2014 prices and packages will be out, reportedly, on July 10.

If this happens (sometimes delays come up) and if things works as they have in the past, as of that date or shortly thereafter you’ll be able to book packages for 2014 up to 500 days ahead on Disney World’s website–through the week before Thanksgiving 2014.

(Note that you can always book “room only” 500 days ahead–just not always on the website…)

Once the prices come out, I’ll fix my 2014 price seasons forecasts, and use those–and an updated version of the 2014 Disney World crowd calendar, which I’ll also get out in July–to revise the 2014 week rankings, if needed.

DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JULY 6, 2013 TO JULY 14, 2013

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the table, but organized by park, not by topic.

(And for more on July 2013 at Walt Disney World, see this.)

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For the first page of this review of Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, click here.

Disney’s All-Star Music Resort completed a room refurb project before reopening from its pandemic closure in 2021.

The key positive features of the refurb are the change from full beds to queen beds and addition of coffee makers, which, until the latest round of value resort refurbs began at Pop Century, were unheard of in value resort standard rooms.

Less universally praised is the bright white color scheme–exacerbated by the loss of the colorful bed stripes, which has happened generally across Disney World resorts–and the fact that one of the queens is a fold down bed that disappears the table and chairs while it is down.

Here’s a photo tour and my observations–based on an identical refurbed room at All-Star Movies, as my resort material has gotten a little behind since the pandemic…

One side of the room has a thingy with the coffee maker above and the mini-fridge below, the dresser and TV, and a connecting door, if present.

This side of the room from the back.

The coffee thingy has multiple cubbies, a general feature of the value resort refurb program.

The drawer in the thingy contains the coffee and tea supplies, and also drinking and coffee cups.

The mini-fridge, as is common in new Disney World rooms, has a glass front so you can see what’s inside without opening it. I popped a shelf out of its supports with my book, but I fixed it later!

The dresser has drawers on one side and shelving and a safe on the other, is flanked with two sets of power points each of which can charge four devices, and is topped with a 54-inch TV.

The three drawers are 31 inches by 13 inches but only 4.5 inches tall.

There is still much more storage in these new rooms than in the pre-refurb rooms at the All-Stars–their pre-refurb dresser/ mini-fridge combo is shown above.

Back to the refurbed room, next to the drawers are shelves and a safe.

I measured the safe as 19 inches by 15 inches by 6.5 inches tall.

By the connecting door you’ll find this coat rack.

In the back of the room are the sinks, closet, and, in a separate space, the toilet and shower.

Following the details of the Pop Century here as in most other matters, the overall bath and dressing area are now closed off from the rest of the room with a sliding solid door, rather than the fabric curtain you’ll find in un-refurbed value resort rooms.

Here’s the sliding door closed.

Note all the crannies and cubbies around the sink.

The cubbies to the left of the sink have the hair dryer and iron.

On the right side of the sink you’ll find this new make-up mirror.

On the side of this space is a solid hanging closet. There’s 19 inches of hanging space inside.

The toilet and tub are enclosed by this two-part sliding door.

The tub is enclosed with sliding doors–a more straightforward arrangement for most than a billowing shower curtain, but an awkwardness for bathing children.

The shower has a rain fall head, but not the hand-held shower head that also comes with the Pop refurb. Other minor differences from the Pop refurb: no luggage rack and no extension to the clothes rod on the ironing board side of the closet.

The toiletries are in the bottles that we’ve been seeing in recent refurbs across the resort.

Back into the main area, the other side of the room has a table and chairs and a fixed queen bed.

The bed side from the back. Note the seven visible pillows–there’s one more in the closet.

A closer view of the fixed queen…

…and of the art above it.  Just with this, these refurbed All-Star Music rooms have more Disney theming than any previous version of Music…and there’s more to come.

Another feature of this refurbed All-Star Music room is space under the bed for storing your suitcases.  There’s 14.5 inches of clearance, which will fit most rolly bags. I stuck mine in sideways to show how much clearance there is.

There’s a table with a cubby below and power points above between the bed and bath wall…

…and another between the bed and table.

The distinctive feature of this room renovation concept is the fold down bed, found behind this table and chairs.

Stack the chairs in the corner…

…pull the two handles, and the table disappears and this bed replaces it.

Nephews also appear.

I measured the fold-down bed as 59 inches by 79 inches–just an inch short on both dimensions of being a queen, but it’s so much larger than a full (which would be 54″ by 74″) that none can quibble at calling it a queen.

The mattress is a full 12 inches deep–as deep as that of the fixed queen. This bed is entirely appropriate for adults, and in fact adults might prefer it, as they can put the kids in the fixed queen and use the table until they themselves are ready for sleep.

There is yet another table and cubby and power point between the fold-down bed and outer wall.

The addition of the queen-sized beds and coffeemaker is a clear win, as is the safe, the shower head, the sliding solid door to the bath area, and the make-up mirror. The loss of the table when both beds are down is a bit of a pain, but as noted there are a couple of work-arounds–e.g. putting the table users in that bed.

And I know I repeat myself, but queen beds and a coffee maker wildly improve the livability of these rooms.

THE FAMILY SUITES AT DISNEY’S ALL-STAR MUSIC RESORT

This review continues here.

MATERIAL IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S ALL-STAR MUSIC RESORT

• Overview of All-Star Music
• Accommodations and Theming at All-Star Music
• Photo Tour of a Standard Room at All-Star Music
• The Family Suites at All-Star Music
• Amenities at All-Star Music
• The Pools at All-Star Music

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them

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The Value Resorts   Art of Animation    Pop Century    Movies    Sports    Music

DISNEY’S ALL-STAR MUSIC RESORT FOR FIRST-TIME VISITORS

I’ve stayed at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort six times among my 30+ stays at Disney World’s value resorts (so far), most recently in January 2018.

These stays confirm that All-Star Music, although it’s my own personal favorite among the value resorts, is the lowest-ranked value resort for first time family visitors to Walt Disney World.

You can have a wonderful visit at any Walt Disney World resort hotel.

However, this site recommends that first time visitors to Walt Disney World who can afford it should stay at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, a deluxe resort, and that those who can’t should stay at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, a value resort.

(It also suggests that first time visitors should avoid the moderate resorts, while noting that these resorts are wonderful for visits after the first. See this for why.)

Compared to other Walt Disney World owned and operated resorts, the value resorts are distinguished by having the lowest prices and smallest standard rooms.

You likely will never stay in a hotel with smaller 2-bed rooms.

Like most other standard rooms at the value resorts, standard rooms in All-Star Music sleep four in two full-size beds, plus one more, younger than three, in a crib; the crib fits best between the dresser and the closet wall. (Refurbed rooms at Pop Century have queen beds, not full beds.)

However, if your family will fit, Disney’s All-Star Music resort, like the other value resorts, has much more kid appeal than the moderate resorts, the next higher price class (about twice as expensive, but with much bigger rooms and nicer landscaping).

Moreover, All-Star Music is one of two value resorts (Art of Animation is the other) that also offers family suites–spaces twice as big as standard rooms, that sleep 6.

For a detailed review of the All-Star Music family suites, and a comparison to other large family options including at Art of Animation, see The Family Suites at All-Star Music.

(See this for much more on resort distinctions by price class–value, moderate, deluxe, etc.)

Compared to staying off-site, the value resorts are distinguished by their higher kid appeal, convenience, and access to certain key perks that off-site hotels can’t provide.

Note that the long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly B., can help you book your Disney World vacation at All-Star Music or anywhere else–contact her at at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499.

DISNEY’S ALL-STAR MUSIC RESORT

Resorts are ranked on this site for first time visitors based first on their kid appeal, and then on their convenience.

On this basis, Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is the fifth best value resort for first time family visitors.

Kid Appeal. Several of the deluxe resorts–notably, the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Polynesian Resort–have spectacular kid appeal. None of the moderates do.

All of the value resorts–Disney’s Art of Animation resort, Disney’s All-Star Sports, All-Star Music, and All-Star Movies, and its Pop Century resort–have terrific kid appeal.

This appeal comes from the approach to theming they all share: bright and vibrant exteriors, framing much larger than life objects of interest to kids–like the cowboy boots in the image above from the Country Inn area of All-Star Music

These objects reinforce that these resorts were designed for the sake of kids…and not necessarily for adults!

Of these, Disney’s All-Star Music is the least kid-appealing. (Art of Animation has the most kid appeal.)

All-Star Music’s theme is…music.

Its ten three-story buildings (all with elevators) are grouped into five areas, each area themed after a musical genre (two buildings each): rock, jazz, calypso, Broadway, and country.

This musical theme is less about Disney than the movies theme at All-Star Movies, and less broadly interesting to kids than the sports theme at All-Star Sports.

(I do have to note that All-Star Music overall has the simplest layout among the values. Moreover, the area between the two pools, flanked by the Jazz buildings, is the loveliest space in the values. The photo at right hints at this, but does not do it justice.)

Convenience. Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is the least convenient of the Value resorts.

During some slower periods, the three All-Star Resorts share buses, except for the Magic Kingdom, to which each has its own bus.

When operating, shared buses stop first at Sports, second at Music, and last at Movies.

What this means for Music is that other than to the Magic Kingdom, all your buses in both directions have at least one more stop besides Music itself.

For shared buses, at Sports, you are the first stop back; at Movies, the last stop out.  At Music, neither.  This is why I rank it least convenient.

Best places to stay at All Star Music. This site suggests that first time visitors stay in standard rooms, and not specially seek preferred rooms (because they won’t be spending much time in their rooms, or going to the main resort food area often).

The single exception is visitors to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, who should always pay for savanna views.

Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is divided into five areas.

See the map for the general layout (as always on this site, click it to enlarge it).

Of these areas, a third floor room in buildings 7 or 8, the Broadway Hotel, is the best place to stay.

Music has the same problem the other values do: it can be packed with teenagers who are at Walt Disney World as part of a tournament or other sports event.

As a result, the resort can be very loud and boisterous. Buildings around the pools are particularly so.

At All-Star Music, buildings 1 and 10 (the Calypso area) frame the main pool, and should be avoided.  These are also two of the four “preferred” buildings–the other two are the two Jazz Inn buildings, 2 and 9, which I used to recommend before they were designated as “preferred.” (Note that Disney changes these designations from time to time–if Jazz is available to you, take it.)

Because of the layout of All-Star Music, no other buildings frame a pool, but many rooms are close to pools.

Of the six non-preferred buildings, all are about an equal walk from the shops, dining, transportation and main pool. The Broadway Hotel and Rock Inn have more convenient parking, but the parking lot near the Rock Inn is commonly used as a staging area for noisy youth groups (see above, taken from outside my room at the Rock Inn.  So pick the Broadway Hotel if you have a car, and either it or the Country Fair if  you don’t.

Ask for the third floor because it is also the top floor, which makes it quieter.

BEST FOR:

Families than cannot afford a deluxe resort, or who are otherwise on a tight budget, who can fit into its small rooms, and find the Music noted an attractive theme.  Larger families looking for value prices.

WORST FOR:

Families who are tall or otherwise won’t fit into full-size beds, or who have more than two adult-sized people, or who will be using a crib.

The long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly B., can help you book your Disney World vacation at All-Star Music or anywhere else–contact her at at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499, or use the form on this page.

PHOTO TOUR OF A STANDARD ROOM AT ALL-STAR MUSIC

This review continues here. 

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S ALL-STAR MUSIC RESORT

• Overview of All-Star Music
• Photo Tour of a Standard Room at All-Star Music
• The Family Suites at All-Star Music
• Photo Tour of a Family Suite at All-Star Music
• The Themed Areas of All-Star Music
• Amenities at All-Star Music
• The Pools at All-Star Music

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MORE FREE DINING FOOLISHNESS

My post last week where, inspired by my conversations with the Mysterious “B” about the recent flood of free dining pin codes, I inched back a bit from my prediction that we won’t see general public free dining in 2013 after September, has gotten a lot of reaction.

See for example this disboards thread starting at the bottom of the page on post number 2055, and of course the comments on the page itself, most fascinating, a few foolish.

I still don’t think we’ll see general public free dining after September, but I am not so firm on it as I had been, thanks to the delay in MyMagic+ and the resulting shortage of anything interesting for Disney World marketing to talk about to engender bookings in the non-holiday weeks of the fourth quarter of 2013.

What we are seeing, though, is a spate of pin codes, with word of more rounds of pin codes to come, a lot of hints dropped by Disney World cast members about upcoming deals (these hints could be referring to room rate deals, or free dining, or both), and some really interesting ways that people are getting pin codes.

HOW TO GET A WALT DISNEY WORLD PIN CODE

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JUNE 29, 2013 TO JULY 7, 2013

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the table, but organized by park, not by topic.

This will be the busiest week of the summer at Walt Disney World, thanks to the 4th of July holiday. For more on the Fourth of July celebrations at Disney World, see this.

(And for more on June 2013 at Walt Disney World, see this, and for more on July, see this.)

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