Value Resort Rankings at Disney World
Which Walt Disney World Value Resorts are best & worst? This list ranks Art of Animation and Pop Century, plus All Star Movies, Music & Sports. Our #1 hotel might surprise you, but we’ll cover why it’s our top pick–plus pros & cons, photos, transportation, and other info. (Updated January 22, 2024.)
If you’re unfamiliar with Walt Disney World resort pricing or how far your money will go, start by consulting How Much Does Walt Disney World Cost in 2024? That should help you narrow down your search to a tier or two of different on-site or off-site hotels. Walt Disney World can be unexpectedly expensive, so be sure you calculate all costs before booking.
For those who have a bigger budget or want to splurge (as always, we’re big fans of split stays!), you might also consult our Moderate Resort Rankings and Deluxe Resort Rankings. If you really want to be inundated with info, check out our Rankings of ALL Walt Disney World Hotels from Worst to Best. (Spoiler: #1 is a Value Resort!)
If you’re trying to do Walt Disney World on a tighter budget, the good news is that the Value Resorts can be great hotels. They’re excellent options for people who won’t be in their rooms much, families with small children who enjoy animated characters, guests doing Disney on a dime, or even those who are frugal and don’t think the higher-tier hotels offer sufficient bang for buck. (As much as we enjoy the Deluxes, they’re tough to justify without great discounts!)
To be sure, the Value Resorts are more expensive than off-site accommodations, but the added perks like park transportation and Early Theme Park Entry can tip the scale in their favor from a money-saving perspective. In Are Walt Disney World’s Cheapest Hotels Actually Good? (second spoiler: yes, they are!), we make the case for choosing Value Resorts over off-site accommodations or more expensive on-site ones.
Frankly, we love the Value Resorts and think they’re tough to beat from a cost-benefit perspective. If money is no issue or you’re able to splurge, looking at more luxurious accommodations is a good idea. But if you’re saving for months just to make the trip happen and you’ll need to make difficult budgetary choices, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the Value Resorts.
We’ve stayed at every single Walt Disney World hotel numerous times, and like them all for different reasons. A lot of diehard fans are passionate about their favorite resorts and turn their noses up at the Values. Sometimes there’s good justification for this, but there’s also a lot of snobbishness. Point being, don’t blindly buy into the hype and splurge on an expensive hotel solely because of FOMO or to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak.
Let’s begin the breakdown of Value Resorts by discussing the single biggest differentiator among them, which is transportation. Previously, this simply focused on bus transportation, which tends to be better at Pop Century and Art of Animation. This is the case because the three All Star Resorts sometimes (but seldom) share buses.
Now the much bigger reason is the Skyliner gondola transportation. This offers aerial transportation from a shared station between Pop Century and Art of Animation to Caribbean Beach, where guests transfer for either Epcot or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Total Skyliner transit time from Art of Animation or Pop Century is under 10 minutes to DHS or under 15 minutes to Epcot. This is a considerable improvement over buses.
We’ve used the Skyliner countless times, including from Pop Century to rope drop both Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot. In our view, this transportation system is an absolute game-changer. Instead of relying on inconsistent and unpredictable buses–which can be frustrating if you’re in a hurry–you can take the smooth Skyliner for efficient transportation to two of Walt Disney World’s most popular parks, plus a whole bunch of hotels.
With that said, the Skyliner hasn’t been free of problems. It goes down regularly between the months of June and September due to storms, and bus transportation often is not efficiently deployed as a backup. Due to this, and the nature of the transportation, those with fears or heights or other concerns may not wish to use it.
For those guests, it’s less of a perk and more of a drawback for both Pop Century and Art of Animation. The Skyliner is built into the cost of both hotels, and is a huge advantage that justifies the premium pricing…but only for those who will use it. If you will not use it, you’re paying extra for no reason.
It’s also fair to point out that the Skyliner can be a liability instead of an asset sometimes during storm season. We typically do not book Skyliner resorts in August or September due to the heightened possibility of the gondolas going down due to thunderstorms and lightning. If you do book then, be very mindful of the weather forecast. When the Skyliner goes down, “backup” bus transportation often isn’t as efficient or well-communicated to guests.
Now, let’s cover some commonalities of the Value Resorts. All of Walt Disney World’s Value Resorts are large and spread out, and don’t have internal transportation. We don’t consider it that long of a walk, but if you are trying to herd a slew of kids, you might disagree. At every Value Resort except Art of Animation, preferred rooms are available that are located closer to the lobby, but they have an additional cost.
Standard rooms are all fairly similar, too. It cannot be stressed enough that the Value Resorts are very basic accommodations in terms of the rooms. These rooms are small and along the lines of what you’d find at a nicer Best Western or Motel 6.
Disney fans may gasp at that comparison, but we feel it’s true–at least to an extent. The big way Disney’s Value Resorts deviate from other budget accommodations is that they include Disney decor, which alone is probably enough for the average Disney fan or guest to consider them a great deal superior to those other brands of hotels. The point is, at their core, these are not high-end hotel rooms.
Design, in general terms, is pretty consistent among the Value Resorts. All are very plain buildings that are dressed up with oversized icons that relate to the hotel name. They’re decorated, not themed. While the Moderate and Deluxe Resorts attempt to transport you to another time and place, the Value Resorts look more cartoonish. Their style is very divisive, with some Disney fans finding them garish clutter tacked onto low-rate motel buildings and other fans finding them to be fun and whimsical ways to experience a Disney hotel on the cheap.
If you are in the former camp, you probably already know Value Resorts are not for you, and there’s little point to this list of rankings for you. Regardless of how you feel about the Value Resorts, the fact is that they have plenty of fans. Many people, especially small children, prefer this larger-than-life style to the more elaborate and nuanced design of the higher-tier hotels.
We’ve stayed at each of the Value Resorts on numerous occasions, most recently in Winter 2024 with a stay at All Star Sports. This includes stays at every single Value Resort in the last 16 months, including 4 times at All Star Sports. While their style isn’t our favorite, we can understand why they appeal to kids. We find the criticism to be a bit over the top and cynical. Different strokes for different folks, and all that.
The All Star Resorts have more in common, too. They also use shared buses to get to the parks during slower seasons (or times of day), which can be a big issue and time drain. While kids who are fans of sports, movies, or music may disagree, we feel that the decor is pretty much the same across the three resorts.
Movies and Music seem very similar to one another (most Disney movies are musicals, so this makes sense), with Sports differing more. The All Star Resorts are also older than Pop Century or Art of Animation, and in many places, the age difference really shows.
With that said, let’s take a look at the rankings!
5. All Star Movies
All of the Value Resorts have received very similar reimagined rooms, with the All Stars getting completely identical designs. Above is a photo of the new room from the opposite perspective as the new room (below that) at All Star Music. We’ve stayed in these new rooms several times, and find them to be huge upgrades. They’re not perfect–you can read about the pros & cons in our Photos & Video: Newly Reimagined Rooms at the All Star Resorts post.
These new rooms are definitely a step in the right direction, but All Star Movies could still use some more help. The Mighty Ducks are still heavily showcased, despite no longer being relevant. Photos in the lobby are faded, as is hotel signage. It also doesn’t help that All Star Movies was the first to receive the new rooms ~4 years ago, whereas Sports and Music have received their updates mostly in the last couple of years. That means the same style is fresher at Sports and Movies.
4. All Star Sports
All Star Sports has now received the new room upgrades that are huge improvements in terms of utility and aesthetics. If you’re booking a room at All Star Sports going forward, you’ll receive a new room. Of our three stays here in the last year, all of them have been in new rooms, and these have had noticeably less wear and tear than their counterparts at All Star Movies. That makes a big difference, and is pretty much the reason why Sports ranks higher than Movies.
It’s not just the rooms. As a whole, Sports looks like it has received more TLC than the other All Stars, with freshly-repainted icons and well-maintained grounds. In years past, it was common to see faded and dirty details; that’s not the case now. Beyond that, the food court was never overly-crowded and the recreation options were surprisingly good.
However, All Star Sports still ranks below Music because it’s frequently the home base for groups attending ESPN Wide World of Sports events. If you consult the ESPN Wide World of Sports Calendar and you’re completely sure there are no groups, you might decide to opt for it. We stayed at All Star Sports during a recent youth event and had a room in the “Touchdown” section right above the football field where kids often play, but had zero issues with excessive or late night noise. That has not been our experience in the past, so we generally recommend avoiding All Star Sports during these ESPN events.
The other big upside to Sports is that when the All Star Resorts are sharing buses, it’s the first stop the buses make. During busy hours, the bus will often fill up completely at All Star Sports, skipping All Star Music and Movies completely. For this reason, the bus service at All Star Sports is the best of the three. (During our recent stays, we’ve found this is most commonly an issue at the end of the night when the parks are busiest; transportation ops will pack everyone heading to the All Stars on the same bus, and have another ready to go when one is full.)
3. All Star Music
All Star Music has now been totally updated with the new rooms, pictured above. Again, these are a significant upgrade from the old rooms, as they have numerous functional and space-saving improvements. All of that is incredibly useful given the small size of Value Resort rooms.
Other upsides to All Star Music are that it’s less expensive than Pop Century and Art of Animation, it has a refurbished food court, it’s rarely (if ever) overrun with pre-teen athletic groups, the decor is good and not too dated (by All Star standards), and it’s the middle bus stop. Another point in the favor of All Star Music is that it’s the only one of the trio to offer family suites, which are far cheaper than their counterparts at Art of Animation (but not as good as those Lion King, Cars, or Finding Nemo family suites).
Finally, none of the All Star Resorts is better than the others by a wide margin. If your kids are most interested in sports, movies, or music…stay in the “topic” that appeals to them, especially if decor is a big deal. The only time we might caution against that is when a large group event is happening at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, in which case you should probably avoid All Star Sports–or at least request a room away from the football field.
2. Art of Animation
For the sake of this comparison, we’re only looking at the common areas and standard rooms in Art of Animation, all of which are in the Little Mermaid section of the hotel.
The family suites are incredibly nice and worthy of consideration for families who want more space, but they arguably don’t even belong in the Value Resort category. Their nightly rate is considerably higher, making them more comparable to the Fort Wilderness Cabins and other unique room categories.
When it comes to rooms, the Little Mermaid rooms fall short of the newly-redesigned rooms at Pop Century and All Star Movies. The Little Mermaid rooms have received a light refresh recently, but nothing on par with Pop Century. You can read all of our quibbles with these in our Little Mermaid Room Review. Suffice to say, these are minimally decorated, a long walk from the lobby, and way overpriced.
However, the common areas make Art of Animation winners among families and elevate it further. This is especially true of the Cars wing, which is the best area at any of the Value Resorts. The Nemo, Lion King, and Little Mermaid grounds have fun decor and some interesting design touches, but they don’t have the depth of the Cars wing, which feels like a low-budget Radiator Springs.
Art of Animation also scores points for the Finding Nemo pool, which is the best pool at any Value Resort, and one of the better pools at Walt Disney World (if you don’t mind the noise). For a quieter option, the Cars pool is also exceptional, and has a Cozy Cone Motel vibe to it.
That’s ultimately what weighs Art of Animation down to the #2 spot for us. You’re paying a significant premium for inferior rooms (unless your kids are diehard Little Mermaid fans), and for being just as far from Art of Animation’s main amenities as you would be if staying in some rooms at Pop Century. Why not just pay less, have a better room, and walk over to Art of Animation Resort to enjoy it?
1. Pop Century
In the course of discussing the other Value Resorts, we’ve more or less touched upon the biggest upsides of Disney’s Pop Century Resort, which has been the long-time top pick for Value Resorts among Walt Disney World fans. To reiterate: new rooms, Skyliner transportation, lower price points, and convenience to Art of Animation via Generation Gap Bridge all make Pop Century a winner and our #1 pick.
Pop Century’s biggest downside is that the cartoony, oversized icon style simply works better in the context of Disney animation. This style appeals primarily to kids, and Disney characters will resonate with them more than pop culture references.
Personally, I think in terms of overall ‘value’ (not simply what’s cheapest), Pop Century excels. It is worth the slight premium for superior dedicated bus service, better dining options, and far superior rooms. If you’re a couple without kids simply looking for the cheapest way to stay on-property at Walt Disney World, Pop Century should be your top pick.
So there’s our take. Whether a Value Resort is right for you in the first place is something you should also consider. If money is no object and you don’t have kids, you’re likely better off in a Moderate or Deluxe Resort. If money is an issue or you think your kids will prefer the Values, give them serious thought.
If you’re still undecided after reading this or overwhelmed by the complexity of planning a Walt Disney World vacation, you might want to consult an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner (Disney’s term for a travel agent). They receive commission from Disney, so most authorized planners will not charge you for booking the vacation package and planning services. The fee-free Authorized Disney Vacation Planner that we recommend is Be Our Guest Vacations. Their services don’t cost extra, they’ll help choose the right resort for you, book your vacation, help you with dining reservations and itineraries, and apply the best discounts to your reservation.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Is it worth it to you to stay at a Value Resort, or would you rather just splurge and stay at a Moderate or Deluxe Resort? Which Value Resort is your favorite? Do you agree or disagree with our WDW Value Resort rankings? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I’m comming over from the uk and currently torn between staying in pop , AoA or all star sports or stepping up to moderate Caribbean, port Orleans or colnardo. We are two adults planning to visit mid – late September. Is the extra cost worth the expense?
We stayed at Port Orleans a few years ago and LOVED it. Its small so everything–bus stops, pool, dining, lobby–is just a short, easy, 1 minute walk away. Rooms were really nothing special but they are laid out in two story buildings so you feel like you are in a cozy little resort. My daughter loved the pool. I highly recommend this resort if you are thinking of splurging on a moderate. I have heard that all of the other moderates are so huge that you literally need a shuttle to get around. NOT so with Port Orleans. On the other hand I will tell you that this year we’re going on a tight budget and downgrading to Pop Century. Only because I think a trip to Disney at a value resort is better than no trip to Disney at all! And that’s all we can afford at this time. And that’s fine with me. Hope this helps.
Hi Tom, I am a little picky but not THAT picky. I have a 2 and 7 year old that we are taking to WDW and I just don’t know if which resort to pick. I know the kids would love all the decor at AoA but I hate that people describe it as a “Cheap Motel”. I have even read a review about a person having bed bugs in their room! Should I just suck it up and take them to AoA or shell out more money for a better quality hotel? It is truly more about them I want them to just have a great time all around including the hotel rooms. Please help. Which would you pick in a situation like this?
We decided to stay at All Star Music because we did not plan to spend much time in the room. Due to 5 days of torrential rains we spent more time thN planned. Our room was dated, would not step on carpet without shoes on and the bathroom smelled like the Everglades on a hot humid night. The place was a 100% disapointment from the food court, the rooms and the many times they had to close the pool to remove poop or dirty diapers. Please do yourself a favor and upgrade a bit and do not stay at these poor excuses of a resort
We stayed in the Broadway section at Music in November 2016. While the room is just basic, Mousekeeping did a great job- better than we’ve had at some of the moderates- so no smells and no fear of carpet. The food court was excellent too. Even the bus service was quick. Our only complaint was that the smoking policy wasn’t enforced. It was a low crowd time, so that may have made a difference. I booked Pop for October to save a few $, but after reading this, I think I’ll switch to AoA. It’s where we usually stay when we book a value and I’m thinking it may be worth it to cut back in other areas.
stayed at low budget hotel 1 night, after staying 5 days at a deluxe resort, will NEVER do it again..
Here were a few issues…
1. no coffee, waited in like for about a half hour at the breakfast counter for coffee.
2.Asked for a room on the first floor, cuz of a medical condition i was nervous to stay at the very top with balcony (where our room was), person at front desk said just try and get used to it … REALLLYYY???
3. Had the furthest walks to the bus at every theme park.
4. Never got a seat on the bus always had to stand, after waiting hours.
5.Very unorganized, told us to get our bags to check in, when we went up they were there so we had to call back down to cancel.
6. No offence to anyone but the people who were staying there werent clean, i was embarresed to be getting on the bus with people like that ..
These are just a FEW things that went wrong.. the only way i would recomend a hotel low budget is if you really truly cannot afford about $40-50 more for a nicer hotel.. even then, goodluck, stay out all night, and dont plan to go to the pool, its crowded and small and its horrific.
You are 100% correct. Worse place I ever stayed in. Would not recommend to my worst enemy.
My 5 year old and i are going to WDW for the first time this Christmas for 10 days. I figured since it was our first time we would do the AOA and stay longer… We also did the meal plan. Should I consider upgrading since it will be so busy? ID really like to get a decent nights sleep at night so i can endure the long day at the parks.
I wish I had found your blog two days ago! I just booked an anniversary trip for my husband and I in November and we are staying at the all-star movies value resort. After reading all the comments above I’m so afraid it’s going to be horrible. I have been to Disneyland numerous times but this is our first trip to Disneyworld. I think my greatest concern is the transportation issue. Has anyone been in November who can tell me if they had issues getting to the parks. Thanks.
You should still be able to change your hotel. I’d call your travel agent (if you used one) or Disney directly to figure it out!
Last Jan 2013 my Fiancee and I booked a 9 day vacation at AOA in The Little Mermaid room, but when we checked in the cast member handed us a map and room cards…….as we were walking away I noticed the map had Jungle Trees and things all over it so i went back and asked her “Did we get the right room”?……she said “I am so sorry, but we gave away your little Mermaid room by accident” and Upgraded you to the full Family suite in the Lion King section”……she said it so apologetically and sincere.
Needless to say I was very very happy and the room was so BIG and beautiful!:)………Thank You Disney!:)
Interestingly, you’re not the first person I’ve heard of this happening to. From what I understand, the Little Mermaid rooms are MUCH more popular than the suites, and Disney occasionally overbooks Mermaid and upgrades people to the suites. I certainly wouldn’t complain! 🙂
We always stay at the Pop Century Resort and we just love it there so that is definitely my #1 value resort. Since we often travel with my father who is disabled, we get a preferred room and the last time we went we got a preferred pool view room and it was wonderful. I will always go with a preferred room now when we go. We decided to stay at a moderate resort one time but because of the cost we couldn’t upgrade to a preferred room and we were about as far from the front of the resort as you could be and still be in the resort so to me it’s worth it to pay the little extra for a preferred room at a value resort.
ooh…I’m really worried about the bus situation now.I’m taking my best friend, who is sickly and cannot stand for long periods of time (we have plans to rest constantly throughout the day so she can save her energy for standing in line at the parks). She says her worst fear would be waiting for transportation. I think she’ll be very disappointed and i hope the bus travel from the Music resort doesn’t make or break her first trip! Any tips? She’s very against renting a wheelchair for the whole week since she doesn’t want to be travelling on the buses with it (but i think it might be worth it since she’d be first on and guaranteed a seat). She’s also very embarrassed to even NEED a chair, and is very worried that people will judge her for a non-visible disability…
There are benches at the bus stops
During peak transport hours the all star resorts do not share buses. When the bus arrives it will be empty. It’s during the day when the big rush is gone that they share buses. Same for the nighttime, no sharing. A wheelchair is definitely a smart idea. Even the healthiest people can be dogged tired from all the walking and standing.
Martha, I am disabled (can’t walk or stand long) and went to Disney World for the first time last November. I rented a scooter from Scooterbug. I was very happy with them and super glad I rented it. I rented one with a high back and a cane holder. I was able to enjoy the parks much more and save my energy for the things I wanted to do. WDW lets you on the bus first along with those with you and then you get off last. I found the drivers very nice too. Hoping to go back this fall and certainly will rent a scooter again.
Art Of Animation is number 1 in my list because it’s my favorite resort!
We have stayed at Pop Century 3 times now. The last time we stayed the bathtub had a very annoying slow drip that I had to listed to all night each night. I really think that they need to renovate these rooms. The curtain divider and bedspreads are so worn. We were in their preferred room as well. I also noticed that the soap that they give you isn’t anywhere near as big as it once was. It was once a full bar soap and now just a small round bar. We do love the value and convince if the busses as well as the fun giant themed characters etc. but even the kiddie wading pool seemed a little molded looking in all the pics I took. I didn’t notice it while I was there too much until I got my photos back. So….my opinion is that the Pop Century needs an overhaul.
Tom,
My wife and I have become big fans of your blog. We find that your likes and dislikes usually line up with ours so your tips work for us. I have a question about the value resorts. We are DVC members but are making a quick trip down to Disney World in November for the Christmas Party. We want to save our points for a bigger trip so I booked into POP Century. I wanted to stay at AOA but since we are annual pass holders I will get the discount only at POP. In this article it said you can walk over to AOA for the food court. Is there any special requests for a room I should make that will put us closer to AOA? Thanks
Request a room in the “60’s” building. That’s the one right next to the bridge.
Perfect. I will request that. Thanks.
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To be fair to Best Western, BW is much better than Motel 6. I’ve stayed at BW recently and Motel 6 a few year back. The accommodations are significantly different. Whereas Motel 6 might charge $60 a night in the Los Angeles market, BW typically charges $100 to $140 a night. The bedding and decor at BW are significantly different and better. They are posh by comparison. Motel 6 is barebones and very dirty.
I visited Orlando and I have stayed at Motel 6 more than 10 years ago. I felt the price of $29 a night was worth it. However, now that I’m married with a kid, I upgraded my expectations. My next visit will be at the Disney’s Old Key West and I expect a much better experience. The way to afford it is own a timeshare. Trade your points for DVC. That’s how I did it affordably. I still have to pay a $199 transaction fee and a $95 resort fee, but I can stay 7 nights with free Magical Express transfer.
You mentioned a couple of times that Pop Century is more expensive than the All Stars. That is true if you are paying rack rate prices, but Pop Century is frequently less expensive than All Star Movies because Movies has been excluded from the last few rounds of room only discounts.
Sadly still being in college as you said the value resorts are all we can afford right now too! We’re barely in the room since we plan 8 day trips, with 8 days worth of tickets to Disney and Universal, so we’re fine with a value type hotel room since staying with Disney we don’t need to rent a car! Even to get to Universal, Seaworld, etc. the staff at the resort can set up reservations with large charter buses that stop at the resorts every day. For $18 a day you can’t go wrong there either, it’s a great service they offer!
Great post, Tom. The values are definitely worth considering for some families, and we’ve had pretty good experiences with them- staying at AoA Mermaid & All Star Sports in the past, and with a Pop reservation on the horizon.
I’m always amazed by people that complain about prices and claim they’re not getting a “value” (not just on resorts, but on food, tickets, etc.) Disney is all about supply and demand- if there’s a high demand and limited supply, prices will go up. Disney is clearly not in a position of having to give away hotel rooms or any other service they offer- they can still get high occupancy with high prices. Despite the monumental building projects taking place at Uni, or a plethora of off-site hotels, nobody can hold a candle to WDW just due to sheer size alone. If they were offering value rooms at $49 a night, they’d be booked solid a year or more in advance, and then people would complain about availability!
It’s concerning to me too to see the price of a Disney vacation go up year after year, especially as services dwindle, but there are still plenty of people (like me) that are willing to pony up the extra cash. Even if your family can’t afford it anymore, there are people somewhere (Europe, Brazil) that are willing to visit here and pay the premium, so Disney has no incentive to significantly discount. Is Disney becoming a vacation for the 1%, or maybe the 10%- yes, but in a climate where they need to deliver quarterly results to shareholders, that’s reality.
WOW! After reading the excellent post and the 37 responses above, I almost feel compelled to write a short novel about my WDW hotel experiences here. But I shall endeavor to stay somewhat on the topic at hand. Value and Value plus resorts. For me this post couldn’t have been more timely. We received our first ever pin# offer. Our September 2014 plan was to combine a Discovery Cove, Seaworld, and Aquatica vacation with a side trip to Typhoon Lagoon and a MNSSHP. After considering the so called Seaworld/Discovery Cove Partner hotels, I was unable to find any three star/eight or above rated hotels for less than $89.00 a night. So I was thinking (a dangerous past time I know) about staying at a Value Resort using our pin# discount. Two new value resorts, and one value plus resort have opened since our horrendous August 1997 experience at the All Star Sports.
Our first and only sleepless night at a value resort was so bad that we feared for our lives and the kids. An all night drinking binge and body slam wrestling contest with musical accompaniment raged above our heads all night long. Coupled with a contest to see who could pile the furniture up the highest, jump off, and hit the floor making the loudest noise. After making up a secret door knock code with my wife, I went to the front desk and complained to a cast member. She courteously explained to me that despite Disney’s strict rules regarding the number of guests in a room, the value resorts were experiencing problems. The extremely cheap ($59.00 a night I believe) room rates had encouraged local groups of high school and college kids to all chip in a whopping eight dollars a piece to rent a room for the night for their drinking parties
For ten or fifteen dollars more a night, we stayed in a new Disneyworld hotel called “The Coronado Resort and Convention Center.” Our wonderful stay there was only topped by our last four days at the Polynesian. Where (wait for it) my kids thoroughly enjoyed the DIVING BOARD, 10 FEET DEEP END and slide at the pool. That was the last year for a diving board or a 10 foot depth at any Disneyworld hotel for insurance reasons. This was our one and only triple resort hopping vacation at WDW.
Many variables along with past Disney experiences go into a decision to stay on property; as well as the decision to stay at a Value, Moderate, or Deluxe resort. Tom, I know you have posted previously, your opinion that adults traveling without kids will most likely be happier in a Moderate Resort over a Value Resort. I certainly agree. Of course, on a strict apples to apples comparison, all WDW resorts are grossly over-priced! With the exception of the AOA, most value resort reviews I have read lately, rate them as a toss up to iffy at best. But before I take a second chance on a stay at a value resort, could you, Tom, or someone else please advise me how to find those $35.00 a night great value hotels in the WDW, Orlando, Seaworld area. I have tried Priceline, Hotels.com, Bookings.com, Expedia, Trip Advisor etc. I have yet to find one. Yes, I also tried those in the Unofficial 2014 Guide. Many thanks to Tom for the excellent and up to date Value & Value-Plus resort education. If anything I might go with the AOA. Although I am not sure I could get a good night’s sleep with Marvin, Nemo, and Dory’s fish eyes staring at me all night. Crush I don’t mind, he’s a really cool dude.
OMG, I did write a small novel. Sorry.
Ha, thanks for the extensive feedback. In terms of the cheaper nightly rates for hotels around Orlando, I think it varies largely upon season. I also think that, to a degree, the days of insane hotel deals is over. Recently, I have been unable to score anywhere close to the types of deals I could get even a couple of years ago via Priceline and Hotwire. Rates are still *good*, but I remember getting 4* hotels in major cities for $40/night a few years ago. Now, the same categories are costing over double that in many cases.
I could just have had really good luck before, or maybe I’m having really bad luck now. Who knows–what I’m doing is hardly a scientific experiment, just my anecdotal observation.
I agree with pretty much everything you’ve said except for ranking AoA over Pop as a place to stay…
If I’m visiting a resort to walk around, eat, photograph, take in the ambiance, etc. AoA would definitely be my first choice of the values. In fact, it’s probably the only value that I’d even consider doing that at. If I’m going to be staying at a value though, Pop is definitely my first choice – 2 reasons why:
1) While I think AoA definitely has the nicest exterior theming of any of the value resorts, the rooms themselves are, IMHO, unbelievably & unpleasantly loud and tacky. I stayed in a Lion King room last summer and when I first walked into the room I felt like I had walked into a cartoon – not in a “Wow, this is really immersive!” way, but in a “This is completely tasteless” kind of way. I know you don’t stay at the value resorts for the decor, but AoA is just way too over the top for me.
2) This will probably vary by provider, but I’ve noticed that with AT&T, I have poorer cell service at AoA than just about anywhere else in WDW. I’ve never had that problem at Pop.
To your point about being tasteless, I think that’s in the eye of the beholder. Someone with a degree in design, etc., probably wouldn’t think so, but I doubt the average kid is going to be so discerning.
In any case, I wouldn’t exactly call Pop the pinnacle of tasteful design. If you’re going down the road that the values go down, why not go all out?
Well, I guess like you said, it’s in the eye of the beholder. To me, the interior of the AoA rooms cross the line from “kitschy” to “unpleasant” that the other value resorts toe. I do think AoA has the nicest and best designed exterior theming; I just found the interior room designs to be offensively loud. And admittedly, The Lion King rooms are the only ones I’ve seen in person.
Just another comment since this story was just relayed to me, but friends of my family are at WDW as I type this. They are at AoA in a Cars suite to celebrate their grandson’s third birthday. They are paying over $300 a night for that ‘suite’ … their three day FLA resident tickets are $129 each.
They are not happy campers that a long weekend trip for a young child’s birthday is going to cost over $2500 (no airfare, they drove from SoFla) between the ‘value resort’ and the ‘special’ resident tickets and the ‘must do’ character meals. … I don’t blame them as I could fly to HK for a week with 4-star hotel and decent meals for that. Oh, and do HKDL too!
I agree, the undiscounted price of those suites is insane, and given that they haven’t been discounted much (and based on the sheer number of people I’ve seen at Art of Animation), people are paying it. I actually like those rooms for what they are, but that price is way over the top for what purports to be Value accommodations.
I didn’t wish to be overly harsh, Tom. You absolutely didn’t present the case that the value ‘resorts’ are a true value. As to the Best Western/Motel 6 comparison, I have stayed at some wonderful BWs in the USA that in no way compare to Disney’s motels. I have no experience with Motel 6 whatsoever.
I also can understand why someone might choose a WDW resort for a first trip or even a second or third. But many folks are simply addicted to the BRAND (want to debate that some people view Disney like a religion and whether that qualifies as insanity? 🙂 ) and may have 33 stays on property and none off.
I’m also not someone who simply stays off-property and has a anti-Disney bias. I stayed on property almost exclusively from the late 80s to the early 00s. Indeed, I have stayed at EVERY WDW resort (from values to DVC) that was built pre-2009 with the exception of ASMovies and WLV. At just the WL and DAK Lodge I have stayed over 100 nights — each. I’ve also done many stays at Sports, Music and Pop.
The thing is I’m a recovering Pixie Dust addict (at least in O-Town, just stayed at the lovely Sequoia Lodge at DLP) and I’ve gone through all the phases of addiction.
I remember when the value resorts were just that. I remember when the food courts had wonderful food at much lower prices (a real prime rib dinner at Sports for $9.99 with two sides and cornbread), fresh made to order pizzas etc.
Just like everything else at WDW, they have cut away all the deals in a never-ending zeal to take everyone’s last penny.
I look at prices for these motels, and that is what they are, and I think ‘Only Disney’ could get away with those prices and convince people they are somehow getting a deal.
I only stay on property now when I can get a 50-60% cast discount during the value seasons or using DVC points because there is no way I can possibly justify it. Even the deluxe resorts are largely that in name only. They are beautiful and themed, but they have the service of a 3-star Holiday Inn during the best of times.
So … that is where I am coming from.
Might I stay at a value resort again? Sure, if January comes like it did a few years ago and I can get $37 rooms at Pop, I’ll stay … maybe.