If you are planning on staying on property, you are probably wondering what is the best value resort at Walt Disney World. There are 5 different value resorts to choose from, so which one is going to be the perfect one for your family?
Pop Century – This resort was built in the early 2000’s. It has a huge food court with multiple food options. It has 3 different pools. It has it’s own dedicated bus and never shares with another resort. The rooms are almost identical to the All Stars, but since it is a newer resort, it is not as worn out. Sports teams will also choose it because of it’s proximity to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, but it seems to have a better balance of sports teams and families.
Art of Animation – The only rooms at this resort with a value price are the Little Mermaid rooms. But Disney usually excludes those rooms from promotions. The rooms were built at the same time as Pop Century, but sat as an empty concrete shell for over 10 years. They renovated it and built The Little Mermaid rooms, but these rooms are the furthest from the lobby and the building does have a dated feel. This resort also has 3 themed suite options that sleep 6 guests, but expect to pay $300 a night for your room. The pool is one of the best on property and when you go under water, you can hear Nemo and friends.
The All Stars – The All Star resorts were the original value resorts. Built in 1994, they are the oldest of the values. Depending on how busy it is, sometimes the All Star Resorts will share buses. They are all beside one another, so even if they do share buses you do not have to go very far. The biggest drawback to the All Stars is that they are outdated, worn out and are the first choice of sports teams who are competing at Walt Disney World.
All Star Music – Of the values, this one has the best pool. It also has family suites that sleep 6 that are about $75 a night cheaper than the suites at Art of Animation. It has a newly remodeled food court.
All Star Movies – This resort has really cute themeing, especially in the Toy Story building. The food court has been remodeled recently.
All Star Sports – This resort is the first choice for sports teams. There are times when the majority of the guests are cheerleaders. That can happen at all of the All Star resorts, but they navigate to this one because of it’s sport theme.
So which one should you choose? Hands down, it’s Pop Century. It runs very efficiently, has the dedicated buses, awesome food court, great pools and a really great atmosphere.
Learn more about the Walt Disney World Resorts and contact Destinations in Florida to help you book your perfect resort.
We just came back from Art of Animation and stayed in the Little Mermaid room with a lake view over to Pop. We didn’t find it tired. The themes in each area (Nemo, Cars, Lion King and Little Mermaid) were superior to Pop by far. I didn’t find the layout of each resort to be different, other than the food court and gift shop combined at Pop, which made things crowded. Art of Animation hands down has a better pool and atmosphere.
We really enjoy the All Star Musical resort because the family suites are very roomy. The newly remodeled food court has a great variety of food choices. The buses are constantly arriving and departing. The staff is very helpful and it offers the best value for the money. We will be going again!
We just stayed at pop and even though it does not share a bus we usually ended up waiting for a second one as the first would be full. The food is large but so is the resort so it was just as busy as other all stars. It is also part of he shop that is there so we seemed to be bumping into people’s bags. The views seemed to be trees and bushes in missed the openness of movies resort. But the staff at this resort were the best I have met in a long time. Very friendly and helpful.