So far I've stayed at the Yacht and Beach Club, Port Orleans Riverside/Dixielandings, and a couple of Lake Buena Vista resorts. I came to All Star Music expecting a more affordable stay with a cartoony feel, and exterior hallways. Our room, well, despite how powerful the toilet flushes sounded, could not flush paper, unless it was thrown directly over the hole. Water pressure seemed impressive, as the shower definitely felt more pleasurable than back home. So I can only assume the toilet problem was by flawed design. The shower and faucet dripped water longer than it should, and you had to aggressively attack the dial, otherwise it would drip all night. The stained grout didn't really bother me, but the missing grout did. What cultures could be evolving beyond the tile was unknown to me. The blow dryer also did not work. I had to try a series of gfci resets and tests on both the outlet and the device to finally get it working. It would only blow on low because the switch was broken. The humidity had caused the painted textured bathroom wall to peel up, exposing what I can only assume was the original 90s wallpaper. But they somehow managed to get a large amount paint on the bathroom light.
Room did not come with a DVD player. Ok, I suppose that's my own fault for assuming there was one, but it's 2016, how much would one of these cost Disney per room? I brought a power strip that everyone seemed to recommend doing. ...didn't ever need it. I would have brought my portable DVD had at least one of the threads I read mention doing so. And this leads to the other problems I had; from 6-10:15pm there were NO Disney cartoons, just dead air. So basically, coming back from the parks, there was no more Disney to enjoy as we wind down. Ended up watching Big Bang Theory and Family Guy instead. Thankfully my daughter had her iPad. Also thankful for the Disney Channels broadcast of Aladdin. But had I had a DVD player, I could've played one of the many Disney movies I brought.
The dead air was puzzling, as the channel worked in the morning and late evening. The tech guy they sent was able to confirm that others in our building had the same issue, and apparently the CMs in the lobby didn't even notice that during that time, their TV, which stays on that channel all day, was dead air. A quiet All Star lobby just seemed eerie to me. We later realized that during that time, they broadcast a program block that not only includes the new Mickey cartoons, but one involving Duffy. We notified them so they could pass along the info that it's the stupid Duffy bear that's ruining it (don't quite care for his attendance at the parks either.)
But since I'm on the subject of the TV, one night I came back and the TV wouldn't even turn on! I thought it was the remote, like maybe the battery was bad, but pressing the button directly on the TV didn't do anything either. The furniture was too heavy to move, so I couldn't unplug it from the wall, but luckily I was able to unplug it from the set itself. Once I plugged it back in, it worked. Since they sent out a tech to investigate channel 17s dead air, I told him of my problem with turning on the TV, and having to unplug it. He told me that it was common, and occasionally needs to be reset. I just thought, how many guests would know to do all this to get both the TV and the hair dryer to work? Had it not been for the channel, he would've been called out on two different days to turn on a simple TV or hair dryer. And those guests probably would've been pretty rude, as if it were his fault.
I was also forced to share a room with my husband of all people, which means that the room must be below subzero temperatures at all times. It bothered my husband to return to a room that had the AC off all day. But once turned on, it got pretty cold. There were storage space where I'd assume extra blankets and pillows would be, but nothing. I ended up sleeping my first night in a buttoned up jacket, pants, socks, and a throw blanket that my daughter did not want to leave in the car. The following day, I requested extra blankets and pillows (which my husband wanted). Just like with the tech, they were quick to respond and deliver, it's just that, I'd expect this from a Motel 6, but not Disney. Is this was their value resorts are like, or did I just end up with a crappy room?