Did you know there are 3 (4 if you count campsites) resort categories at Walt Disney World? There are value, moderate, and deluxe resorts. While they each have their pros and cons I want to talk about value resorts today.
Value resorts have all the perks of staying on property like early entry into the parks, complementary transportation around property, movies under the stars, and more. However, they do lack some of the things offered at moderates and deluxe resorts like multiple dining options, water slides, hot tubs (but who wants to sit in human stew in 100 degree Florida weather anyway 🤷‍♀️), and larger standard rooms.
The All Stars
The All Star Resorts are 3 sister resorts that sit side by side: Sports, Music, and Movies. They tend to be the most budget friendly option. You’ll never guess, but the theming is sports, music, and movies- with a Disney twist of course.
The only form of transportation here are buses. This may sound not so great but the bus area is nice and organized and buses tend to run often and smoothly.
A perk of staying at an All Star is that you can visit any of their pools giving you access to 6 pool options.
For larger families that need extra room, I recommend checking out the All Star Music Family Suites. These family suites sleep up to 6 adults, have 2 bathrooms, and a kitchenette with a microwave, sink, and fridge/freezer. We have stayed in the family suites and I can’t recommend them enough for families that want some extra wiggle room.
Pop Century
Pop Century is a family favorite for us. It’s bright, fun, and features larger than life nostalgia. There are 3 pools to enjoy the Hippy Dippy Pool is the feature pool. The Bowling Pool and Computer Pool are smaller and don’t have as much going on. They are perfect for people that want to take a dip in the pool, but are overwhelmed by the pool parties and activities at the feature pool. Transportation options are buses and the SkyLiner. Buses will take you to all parks and water parks as well as Disney Springs. The SkyLiner will take you to Caribbean Beach Resort, Riviera Resort, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios.
Art of Animation
Art of Animation is simply the Disney-est of Disney. It is separated into Little Mermaid, Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Cars sections. This resort is primarily family suites set up similarly to the All Star Music suites, but are quite a bit pricier.
The Little Mermaid rooms are standard size HOWEVER I want you to note that these rooms are the furthest from food, buses, everything. It is a quarter mile walk to the lobby from this section. You may think that since you’re in Disney an extra quarter mile won’t make a difference, but I want you to consider the feeling of your swollen feet after a long park day huffing it back to your room for a shower. That’s all-choose at your own risk.
This resort is just awesome to stay or even just to visit on a resort hop day. Just remember, the pools are only open to resort guests. The transportation here is the same as Pop Century.
Don’t let anyone worry you about value resorts. I hear all the time “if you can’t go deluxe, you just shouldn’t go”. This is just so silly. These value resorts are so enjoyable, clean, and the perfect place to rest your head during your next Disney visit.
If you would like us to help you find your perfect value resort head over to the form and we’ll get back with you as soon as we can!
