Our go-to resort at Walt Disney World is Disney's Pop Century Resort (which you can read all about in our Disney's Pop Century Resort review, but there have been a couple of trips where we just wanted some magic at the lowest price possible. That's where the Disney's All-Star Resorts come in.
✅ Great theming throughout
✅ New room designs are clean and fresh
✅ Great value option if you're on a budget
🚌 Bus is the only transportion to the parks and it can be quite a lengthy journey
Disney's All-Star Resorts Overview
The Disney All-Star resorts are Disney's first "Value" category resort. Disney's All-Star Movies was the final All-Star resort to open in 1999, following Disney's All-Star Sports and Disney's All-Star Music in 1994. They're motel-style buildings with room entrances on the outside. At Disney's All-Star Movies, there are different themed areas centered around the main Fantasia area and pool. There's also a Mighty Ducks-themed Duck area, a Herbie the Love Bug area, One Hundred and One Dalmatians area and a Toy Story area. The resort also features a large food court, shop, arcade and poolside bar.
Disney's All-Star Resort Lobby & Check-In
The lobby is spacious, bright, and welcoming. The massive stars across the top make it very clear you're at an All-Star resort! The smell of the lobby here is lovely. Although I can't quite put my finger on the scent, it's sweet and reminds me of cookies and cream. There's a cute little red carpet you wait on to be seen by a cast member. Once we were checked in, we headed to our room..
We've stayed in the Fantasia section before, which is my favourite. I love Fantasia, and the massive props are awesome. Although the Fantasia area is the "preferred room" area, you have to pay more for it.
However, on our most recent trip, we were in the Herbie Love Bug area. And while Herbie doesn't get my motors running, it is a beautiful, well-kept little corner of the resort.
Disney's All-Star Resort Rooms
The newly redesigned rooms now look similar across all of Disney's Value resorts, including Disney's Pop Century Resort. Most rooms come equipped with 2 queen-sized beds, and if there are just a couple in the room, the Murphy bed will be folded up to allow for some desk space. The beds are comfortable, and there's plenty of room to store your suitcases underneath. Although there aren't a lot of hangers available, there's plenty of storage scattered around. Keep in mind that the shower doesn't have a secondary detachable head like it does at Disney's Pop Century. However, there's still a sliding door closing off the toilet and shower (there are still shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner containers available). In the outside area, you have a single sink and lots of storage. There's a hairdryer included, which is stored in the cupboard.
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The room has all the basics that you need. On all trips everything was in good condition, a nice big TV, coffee maker, mini-fridge (cooler) the "Hey Disney" smart speaker which is useful for playing some Disney music in the background or ordering things from Housekeeping. I generally keep these things unplugged though.
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There are plenty of US plug sockets and USB-A plugs, but there's no USB-C so you'll need to bring your plugs or adaptors for those.
Disney's All-Star Resort Transportation
Disney's All-Star Resorts only offer bus transportation to the parks. There's no Disney Skyliner or Monorail available here. It's not the end of the world (as many resorts only offered bus transportation for years), but you definitely feel other transport methods missing after staying at Disney's Pop Century Resort and getting on the Disney Skyliner to EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Disney's All-Star Resort Food & Drink
Disney's All-Star Resorts have a decent-sized food court serving quick-service breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They offer a great variety of different foods to match most tastes. There are also some fridges at the back that stock beverages, sandwiches, and salads, as well as a bakery section for some carb indulgence. There's also a pool bar serving up cocktails to enjoy by the pool.
Disney's All-Star Resort Pools
Disney's All-Star Resorts have one main pool and usually one or two smaller ones. At Movies, the main pool is a Fantasia-themed pool. Each pool also has a laundry area where you can wash some clothes.
Disney's All-Star Resort Negatives
On our first visit (in 2023), we were quite frustrated with the housekeeping service at the resort. Since COVID, Disney Value and Moderate resorts have been reduced to housekeeping every other day. For some people, that's fine, but others (like ourselves) like to return to a clean and tidy room at the end of a long magical day - we're paid a lot of money and are on holiday after all - plus Housekeeping is priced in! Previously, if there was an issue, it wasn't much of a problem because you knew you were getting housekeeping the next day, but the way they work now, it can create such a frustrating pickle. On one of our "on" days, no housekeeping showed up. We called to get some fresh towels so we could shower, and then I went down to reception to report it and to make sure that we were going to get it the next day (which would technically be the "off" day). And as you probably already guessed, no housekeeping showed up then either. After a day at the parks, you return and see this; you just let out a sigh. Back to reception, I went. I was told I should have gotten it today; I explained again I didn't, nor did I the day before. That cast member didn't really say much and just typed some things into her iPad, and that was that. The next day, housekeeping arrived as scheduled, hurray! The next day was the "off" day, and the day after that, we should have gotten it again, and guess what... nothing. Once again, I had to take time out of my day to go down to the reception and sort it out. I think I might have dealt with a higher-up cast member that time as we went we went to the bar and returned to our room that evening; housekeeping had been sent back, and from that moment onwards, we had housekeeping every other day as we should.
As for the resort in general, the only real negative is that buses are the only option to the park, although there's not much Disney can do about that. And the bus rides can be quite long as Disney's All Star resorts are located on the southern part of Walt Disney World property. Depending on the time of year you go, you'll find that school groups tend to stay at the Disney's All Star resorts so they can often be crowded by a lot of kids.
Which Disney's All-Star Resort Is Best?
It depends on what you like! If you're a sports fan, then stay at Sports; if you're a music fan, stay at Music; and if you love movies, stay at Movies! You can't go wrong with any of them; it just depends on the theming you want to be surrounded with. The only thing I would say as a Brit is that the Sports one is more focused on American sports, so they don't have the same connection to a lot of British guests.
Disney's All-Star Resort Final Thoughts
If budget is your main concern, you will not have a bad time staying at the All-Star resorts, despite its reputation. We prefer Disney's Pop Century Resort (as we explain in our Disney's Pop Century Resort review), however, due to its popularity and the introduction of the Disney Skyliner, it is priced above the other Value resorts. Due to our mixed experience (primarily due to housekeeping) on our first visit, we were hesitant to try it again, but our second trip was perfect, so I don't suspect it's a widespread issue. We treat Disney's All Stars as a place to go for a cheeky trip that we want to go to Walt Disney World as cheaply as possible, but we will lean towards Disney's Pop Century Resort if budget allows (which isn't always the case). Aside from the housekeeping issues we had and the lengthy bus rides to the parks, it's a great resort. It's still very Disney and a Disney feeling resort so you won't miss out on any magic.
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