Choosing an All-Star value resort at Disney World is the way to go if you are looking to save money while immersing yourself in the Disney World bubble! We’ve enjoyed our budget-friendly stays at a few of the All-Star resorts at Disney World.
Disney World as three All-Star value resorts to choose from:
The Three All-Star Resorts
The three All-Star resorts all have similar features. They are all located in the same area of Disney World (Animal Kingdom) and you can actually walk from one resort to the other using the jogging trail. All three are separate resorts, but the jogging path connects them if you want to explore the grounds.
Created with the most budget conscience guests in mind, these three value resorts provide a wonderful, colorful Disney themed stay, complimentary bus transportation, early theme park entry and reasonable dining options. Each All-Star has it’s own bus stop, front lobby, pool and playground.
We usually drive from New York to Disney World. Parking at the All-Star resorts has never been a problem for us. Guests at the All-Star resorts enjoy complimentary parking during a hotel stay. Standard theme park parking is included for registered resort guests too.
All-Star Rooms
Over the last few years, the rooms at All-Star Sports, All-Star Movies and All-Star Music have all be renovated. Having stayed at an All-Star resort before and after the recent renovations, the changes are really nice and make the rooms work a little better.
Rooms at the All-Star properties are the smallest of the Disney resorts at 260 square feet. The majority of rooms include two queen-sized beds to comfortably accommodate 4 people, but there are some rooms with 1 king bed. To make the smaller rooms feel a little more spacious, one of the Queen beds is a Murphy bed. The bed folds up and an attached table is available with room for two people.
In our room, the bathroom included a shower/tub and a toilet with a door to the room. Outside of the bathroom, a good sized single sink vanity with barn door separating the vanity from the bedroom.
We found plenty of USB charging stations, a TV, small refrigerator, coffee-maker, decent counter space, in-room safe, free wi-fi and our luggage was able to slide under the bed for easy storage.
The All-Star Music resort offers affordable family suites that can sleep up to 6.
Pools at the All-Star Resorts
Each All-Star resort has a pool and a playground. The pools are very large but unlike the more expensive Disney properties, there are no slides or water features. We always plan a pool day when at the parks.
- All-Star Movies: Fantasia Pool and the Duck Pond Pool
- All-Star Music: Calypso Pool and Piano Pool
- All-Star Sports: Surfboard Bay Pool and Grand Slam Pool
There for all three resorts offer campfire activities, movies under the stars and an arcade.
Where to eat at the All-Star Resorts
Each value All-Star resort offers a food court available from breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition to the food court, you will find a poolside bar and in-room pizza delivery available in the evenings.
There are no table service dining restaurants at the All-Star resorts. The food at each of the three are similar with pizza, fries, chicken fingers readily available. For breakfast, plenty of Mickey waffles to go around. The operating hours tend to be around 6:30 AM – 11:00 PM.
If you purchase the Disney mugs available in the food course, they make for nice souvenirs and you get free refills for the duration of your stay at the resort. The mugs were last around $21.99 per person.
While not located at the three resorts, along the main road leading to the All-Star resorts you will find the only McDonald’s on Disney property.
Hotel Categories at Disney
The All-Star resorts fall into the value resort category. There are actually a total of five value resorts with the other two being Disney’s Pop Century and Disney’s Art of Animation. You will find that Pop Century and Art of Animation are a little more pricey because they provide access to the Skyliner, an alternative form of Disney transportation.
Resort hotel categories at Disney World include:
- Value
- Moderate
- Deluxe
- Villa
As you might have guessed, the value resorts are the most affordable. As the price point increases from category to category you generally get larger rooms, more elaborate pools with slides, and closer proximity to the theme parks. The moderate and higher level resorts also have more dining options that includes at least one table service dining option.
Choosing an All-Star Resort
All-Star Resort hotels are all very similar in design, layout and offerings. We usually just pick an All-Star based on the theme. Prices for the all three options start as low as $120 per night depending on the time of year.
For my family, the value All-Star resorts have given us the chance to fully immerse in the Disney bubble on vacation! We park the car and don’t need to leave. The food court, the hotel rooms, the theme parks, the pools, the entire experience is all about being at Disney World.
We are not the family that is a up at dawn waiting for rope-drop. We move at our own pace but don’t stay until the theme parks close and sometimes need a break for my son to decompress (and my husband). As a result, we spend a fair amount of time in our hotel room. As our kids have grown in size, we’ve outgrown the rooms a little for the time we spend in them. We have moved up to the slightly more expensive moderate hotel class for our stays. For me, the other part of the move up was greater food variety, pools with slides for the kids and a table service restaurant.
For a quick trip, a family that won’t be in the room much and doesn’t mind the longer bus ride from the resorts to the parks, All-Star resorts are the way to go for a budget-friendly Disney World experience.
