Today, I invite you to join me on a tour of Disney’s All Star Resorts! Spread over a vast expanse, Disney’s All-Star resorts comprise 30 (three-story) motel-style guest-room buildings. Although the three resorts are neighbors, each has its own lobby, food court, and registration area. Disney’s original version of a budget resort features three distinct themes executed in the same hyperbolic style.
All-Star Sports features huge sports equipment: bright football helmets, tennis rackets, and baseball bats—all taller than the buildings they adorn. Similarly, All-Star Music features 40-foot guitars, maracas, and saxophones, while All-Star Movies showcases giant popcorn boxes and icons from Disney films.
The food courts were recently refurbished, and all three resorts offer in-room pizza delivery. Lobbies are loud (in both decibels and brightness) and cartoonish, with checkerboard walls and photographs of famous athletes, musicians, or film stars. There’s even a photo of Mickey Mouse with Alice Cooper. Each resort has two main pools: Music’s are shaped like musical instruments (the Piano Pool and the guitar-shaped Calypso Pool), and one of Movies’ is star-shaped. All six pools feature replicas of Disney characters, some shooting water pistols.
At 260 square feet, standard rooms at the All-Star Resorts are very small—the same size as those at Pop Century Resort and slightly smaller than Art of Animation’s standard rooms. Each room has two double beds or one king bed, mini-fridge (no coffeemaker), a separate vanity area, and a table and chairs. Bathrooms have curved shower rods, which is an improvement. Except for artwork and bathroom wallpaper, all three resorts’ rooms are furnished identically, and no rooms have balconies.
All-Star Music offers family suites in the Jazz and Calypso Buildings. The 192 suites measure roughly 520 square feet (slightly larger than the bedrooms in the Fort Wilderness cabins), plus a pullout sleeper sofa, a chair bed, and an ottoman bed. We’re not sure we’d let adult friends (ones we want to keep, anyway) on the sofa bed or the chair or ottoman beds, but they’re fine for children. A hefty door separates the two rooms. The All-Star Music Family Suites also feature flat-panel TVs plus two bathrooms—one more than the Fort Wilderness cabins. The suites cost about 25% less than the cabins and about 20% less than the Art of Animation Family Suites, but they don’t have the kitchen space or appliances to prepare anything more than rudimentary meals. If you’re trying to save money by eating in your room, the cabins are your best bet. If you just want a little extra space and somewhere to nuke your Pop-Tarts in the morning, the All-Star suites are just fine.
Here is a slideshow with pictures from all three of Disney’s All Star Resorts. The hotels are a good low-budget option, especially if you know that you will be spending most of your day in the parks. Small children will love the theming and most of the pools. My favorite resort is the All-Star Movies.
[metaslider id=4892]Liliane Opsomer is the coauthor of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids. If you enjoyed this post, sign up for our newsletter here.
