My family and I spent a week at Disney’s All Star Music in May of 2018. The All Star Resorts (Music, Movies and Sports) are Value Resorts. Our previous visit we stayed at Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside, a moderate Resort. I was not sure how my family would feel going from a Moderate to a Value Resort, and I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised.
We did pay extra to get a preferred room, these are rooms in buildings closest to the food court and main pool. Currently the 1-Calypso, 10-Calypso, 2-Jazz and 9-Jazz buildings are preferred. It was worth the extra cost to request one of these rooms, otherwise the walk to food court and more can become a hike.
The Main pool has a statue of the Three Caballeros, Donald Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles, in the middle of the pool. This pool is shaped like a Guitar! My daughters had fun swimming to the edge of this island (do note you can not climb on top).
There is also a Piano shaped pool, and this one was always less crowded and sometimes even empty! Therefore, at your Disney Resort be sure to check out the other options for pools. The lifeguard there even struck up a conversation with us, since we were the only ones there! We found all Cast Members at this resort helpful and friendly.
My youngest also adored the Ariel statue near the Piano Pool! Both pool sides had games to play as well.
We were pleasantly surprised on how little we waited for busses with Disney’s complimentary bus transportation. I would have to say we waited no more than 15 minutes, and hardly ever shared buses. Perhaps we just got lucky, however it seems like Disney has perfected the timing and reliability of bus transportation over the years. Having the screens present at bus stops is a nice touch, telling guests when the next bus will arrive for their location. Today, guests can even check bus wait times on their phone (through My Disney Experience App)!
One day, walking back to our room we spotted a real live Thumper! Unexpected animal encounters at Disney are fun!
Even more fun, are unexpected Character Encounters! We were lucky enough to meet up with Donald Duck while walking back from the food court one afternoon. By the way, the food court was adequate for my family. Our favorite food to grab from here was the Bounty Platter for breakfast and Pizza late night. Otherwise, we ate lunch and dinner in the parks. My husband and I purchased the refillable mugs (no dining plan), as we both drink coffee each morning it was worth the cost!
While hanging outside the Resort on the last day of our visit, waiting for Magical Express, we encountered Pluto as well! Learn tips on how to meet characters while at your Resort.
Ah, the arcade. Each Disney World has an arcade for guests, now you may think I would not spend money on an arcade when at Disney World! However, learn the best arcades on property and why you may end up there. After days of my children begging to go, I found a break in the afternoon and head on our way. The AC was welcomed during the afternoon heat, what happened next was Disney magic! When I went to purchase a game card for my girls to play a few games, the sign above was waiting for me! Instead, they got to try each game they wanted at no cost, talk about pixie dust!
For the first time while at Disney World, I decided to decorate our Resort Window. This was done for a couple reasons, first to spread some Disney magic myself and secondly, to make finding our room a breeze! I used cardstock to make Mickey & Minnie heads, bows and polka dots. I used removable double sided sticky dots to stick to the window (and pretested on a window at home).
Overall my family actually enjoyed the theming at All Star Music more than Port Orleans – Riverside. They felt it was more Disney and fun. The larger than life theming makes walking around the resort grounds visually appealing. Would we stay here again? Absolutely!
photos & review: Thank you, Sara!
Learn more about the Walt Disney World Resorts and contact Destinations in Florida to help you book your perfect resort.