Anyone who has taken a trip to Disney World knows that the cost can add up quickly, especially if you are planning some fine dining experiences such as Be Our Guest or Cinderella’s Royal Table. That is where staying at a value Disney property can be a great help.
The Disney Value Resort Hotels include the All-Star Resorts; Disney’s All-Star Sports, All-Star Music, All-Star Movies, Art of Animation, as well as my personal favorite, Pop Century.
Depending on the time of year, Disney’s value hotels start at $99 per night. As of last year, Disney also added a daily parking fee. The fee at value resorts is currently $13, which is less than most other non-Disney resorts in the area.
Each of the resort hotels offers a unique theme. All-Star Movies salutes classic Disney films including 101 Dalmatians, Toy Story, Fantasia, Love Bug, and Mighty Ducks. You can find larger than life decor outside of the buildings including giant Dalmations, Andy’s toys, and giant brooms. Even the pool is themed where you will find Sorcerer Mickey controlling the shooting water spouts.
Disney’s All-Star Music pays homage to various music genres including rock ‘n’ roll, calypso, country, jazz, and Broadway-style show tunes. Here you will find large-sized, music-inspired icons outside of the buildings and the hotel even boasts a guitar-shaped pool.
For the sports fan, All-Star Sports may be the place to stay! Here you will find sporty decor featuring some of your favorite Disney characters. The sports included are baseball, basketball, football, surfing, and tennis.
My personal favorite, Pop Century, allows you to experience all of the unforgettable fads from the 1950s to the 1990s. Each building represents a decade and includes decor items like a giant Big Wheel, Play-Doh, and Rubik’s Cube. Here you can reminisce with all of the fashions, toys, and catchphrases throughout these decades.
One thing Pop Century offers that the other value resorts do not…the brand new Disney Skyliner. Here you can take the Disney-themed aerial gondolas as your mode of transportation to get around the Disney World properties.
The last value resort is the Art of Animation. I have always found the prices to be higher than the other value resorts, but it is also the newest of the value resorts and most of the rooms are suites. This is a huge plus when vacationing as you have modern conveniences like a microwave and kitchenette as well as room to unwind after a day in the parks. At Art of Animation, you can stay and play in the fun-filled worlds of Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. This value resort has three beautifully themed pools.
All of the value resorts offer bus transportation to the parks, a major perk of staying on property. Depending on your pass type, this could potentially save you money as parking at Disney World parks currently costs $25 each day. The one thing I have noticed with bus transportation to the value resorts is that the wait time when leaving the parks can be long, especially at the end of the night. I can not speak about the aerial gondolas and their efficiency as they will be opening in the fall of 2019.
As for the rooms, they are modestly furnished with a dresser, small table, and two chairs. When booking with two kids you are given a room with two double beds. We always pair one adult and one child in each bed otherwise we are two very crowded adults. The room amenities are basic and include a mini-refrigerator, iron, in-room safe, and wifi.
One thing I discovered when we stayed at a value resort for a race weekend this year was that the rooms do not have coffee makers. Fortunately, there is plenty of coffee to be found in the food court.
Speaking of the food court, all Disney resorts boast a food court area with plenty of dining choices for everyone, the value resorts are no exception. Each resort is different with their offerings, but you can expect to find several quick-service stations to choose from whether it is time for breakfast, lunch or dinner. My kid’s favorites are the Mickey Mouse shaped waffles.
All in all, Disney value resort hotels are a great place to stay when you are wanting to save some money but still be on Disney property. You will still experience plenty of Disney magic and let’s face it, Disney’s customer service can’t be beaten!
We’ve stayed at all levels (value to deluxe) at Walt Disney World, but go back to the value resorts again and again. Pop Century is our favorite. You can’t beat the convenience and value!
We have stayed at the Art of Animation and LOVED it. The kids especially loved hearing the music underwater at the pool. 🙂 It’s hard to compare Disney resorts with anything else. We don’t do them every time, but really enjoy it when we splurge a little.
I had no idea these existed but will definitely look into for our next trip. Thanks for the tips!
So is Disney Value hotels different from the good neighbor hotels?
Great question Alicia! A good neighbor hotel is another great option when visiting Disney. Good Neighbor is an honor that Disney gives to the best hotels in the Lake Buena Vista and Kissimmee area. These hotels have high standards. They have shuttle services, they are close to Disney World, and have the customer service you know and love from a Disney Property.
We are planning on staying at the value resorts on our next trip!
We stayed at Pop Century and loved it! Unfortunately, the new Disney Skyliner was not open yet. We loved the hotel and my kids really enjoyed the pools. We also loved the 2 extra hours it gave us in the park. Thanks for sharing!
My family has never stayed on site at Disney. The Little Mermaid is my FAVE, so I’d probably check-in there under the sea! This is a great overview of the value resorts. Thank you for sharing!
I’ve stayed at the All-Star Movies and the All-Star Sports, but not the others (yet!). Next time I go, I’ll definitely have to stay at the Art of Animation!
I’ve been really curious about all of these hotels. Thanks for all of the info! This definitely will help me when I plan our next trip. Saving this one so I can reference it in the future. Thank you!
I always loved staying at All-Star Sports. Thank you for this breakdown, I think next time we’ll have to try Art of Animation!
Art of animation looks the best to me. Although I would rather stay at the grand floridian 😅
The Grand Floridian is absolutely beautiful! I would rather stay there too if budgeting wasn’t an issue. hehe 🙂
Wow! Thanks for sharing. It’s been quite a few years since I have visited a Disney park. I did not realize these value resorts existed! Will certainly explore some of the suggestions found here when we visit again in the future. I’m especially interested in Pop Century.
This is great! We have never been to Disney and we were hoping to make a family trip soon. Pinning this for future reference!
I love these suggestions! Each one looks great…but, Mary Poppins has my attention. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this helpful overview of the value resorts at WDW. We have never stayed at any of them before, so this was helpful.
We’ve only stayed at one value resort so far but we love that they are a great value for your money. I’d love to stay at Pop to check out the refurbishments. And of course I love that they added a Skyliner stop.
We’ve stayed in the Art of Animation suites and loved every minute of our experience! We’ll have to check out the All-Star resorts next time. Thanks for sharing.