Are Disney World’s Cheapest Hotels Actually Good?
I still remember the first time I heard a scary story about Walt Disney World. I was a kid, maybe around 10 years old, and my parents were talking with a family that was staying at the new on-site budget motels. I don’t recall their laundry list of complaints, but the one has stuck with me for years since: the toilet exploded.
Stupid as it sounds, I imagined something like the Hollywood Tower Hotel, but with exploding toilets. Everything I envisioned was almost certainly untrue, but I was a kid with a vivid imagination. What’s particularly aggravating (at least for me) is that I still remember this silly conversation, but yet I have zero memories of Horizons. Memories can be cruel.
This isn’t the only horror story about Walt Disney World’s budget motels I’ve heard over the years. When Sarah and I started returning as adults, there were plenty more tales we were told about the overcrowded, dirty, poorly-maintained, low-quality motels. We even had our own unpleasant experiences during Pop Warner and another youth sporting event. It’s not just us. I’ve read reports and seen questions on social media and online forums that essentially ask: are Disney’s All Star Resorts “good enough” for a family on a tight budget traveling to Walt Disney World?
Yes. That’s the answer to the titular question. Disney’s All Star Resorts are perfectly adequate, at bare minimum. I’m not going to bury the lede, make insinuations, or lead you to question whether the All Stars are sufficient, safe, scary, subpar, and so forth. The point of this post actually isn’t to cast doubt about the All Stars, but rather, debunk some of those ‘horror’ stories, and recast Walt Disney World’s “budget motels” in a different light. In other words, we’ll explain why the All Stars aren’t just “good enough,” but rather, are actually good.
As background, we’ve stayed at every single one of the All Stars (Movies, Sports, and Music) multiple times in both the old and new rooms at each of the resorts. This includes three stays in the last year (family suite once; standard rooms twice), with one more reservation on the books going forward and probably another this year after that. Bluntly, I would not keep booking a particular hotel if it regularly (or even occasionally) had exploding toilet incidents.
With that in mind, let’s take this point by point and discuss the potential problem points that Disney’s All Star Resorts do not actually have…
Maintenance & Upkeep – There was a time from the aughts right up until the room overhaul began that the All Stars were in rough shape. Faded decor all around, woefully outdated posters, and details that had not aged well and were in need of outright replacement.
As someone who has actually stayed in shady motels around Orlando and Anaheim, I would stop well short of calling the All Stars that, even at their lowest point. Truly sketchy motels have an unsafe and unsettling quality to them; the All Stars never had that. They just were not up to Disney’s standards.
That has changed in the last 5 or so years, and even more so in the last year. Along with the room overhaul, common areas were refreshed, oversized icons were thoroughly cleaned and given a fresh coat of paint, and everything looks crisper and nicer as a result. There are still elements of the hotels that are dated, but they’re little things–small cues that the hotels were built in a different era, and not major components of the properties.
In short, maintenance and upkeep are now every bit as good at the All Star Resorts as other hotels at Walt Disney World. There are no noteworthy cleanliness issue, and to the extent that anything is dated, the same type of thing exists pretty much every at Walt Disney World. One person’s dated detail is another’s nostalgia.
The oversized icons, exterior hallways, and general thematic style of the All Stars are certainly not for everyone, but “not to my tastes” is certainly not the same as “poorly maintained.” In my view, the upkeep is no better or worse at the All Stars on average than other hotels at Walt Disney World.
Quality – Monorail loop and Crescent Lake area resorts are higher quality than the Value Resorts. Regardless of thematic tastes, it’s fair to say those are a rung or two above the Value Resorts. Those being more luxurious or having a greater sense of immersion isn’t really in question. They also have a better set of amenities, indoor hallways, table service restaurants, and objective features that are absent from the All Stars.
So this isn’t really about that. When questioned about the quality of the Value Resorts, the focus (it seems to me, at least) is less about the checklist of amenities and more about the subjective side of things. In particular, the most common query I’ve heard is whether the rooms are decent.
There was a while that my answer would’ve been something along the lines of “it depends.” They were cramped, dark, dreary, outdated–like Motel 6 but with a few Disney decorations affixed to the walls. Those original rooms were in keeping with what you’d find at real-world motels, but Disneyfied.
The new rooms are a totally different story. (For more, see our Photos & Video: Newly Reimagined Rooms at the All Star Resorts.) We’ve now stayed in these many times (they’re pretty much the same at all three All Stars), and have zero hesitations to return. The Family Suites at All Star Music have also been redone in the same style, and are a marked improvement.
All of these new rooms at the All Stars are a huge upgrade from the previous design, which was more minor leagues than all-star caliber. The functional improvements are tremendous, with a variety of space-saving upgrades that make the rooms feel larger. They also look bright and airy, which is a sharp contrast to the old style.
With that said, we’ve found some diehard fans who have complained about the new rooms, and others who call them sterile and hospital-like. Respectfully, we think that’s mostly the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia. To that point, I chatted with a manager at All Star Sports about the resort refurbishment during a recent stay. She told me that with only one (1) exception, the feedback from actual guests on the new rooms at All Star Sports has been universally positive. Across the board at the All Stars, guest satisfaction is up and Cast Members prefer the new rooms, too.
Crowds – Another common past complaint about the All Star Resorts is the crowds. Packed pools, overstuffed food courts during peak hours, tons of people loitering around the common areas, chaotic lobbies, and huge lines for the buses. We’ve experienced all of these things ourselves, so I know they actually happened and weren’t exaggerated.
That has not been our experience since the All Stars reopened. In fact, it also wasn’t our experience in the year-plus pre-closure, but we also always stayed while the room reimaginings were happening, which necessarily reduced the overall resort capacity and, by extension, cut down on overcrowding.
With that said, I’m hesitant to draw any premature conclusions here. I know at least two of the All Stars have been operating at reduced capacity due to staffing shortages and/or room refurbishments in the last year. With the former starting to be resolved and the latter ending, occupancy could spike again. I’m still skeptical that will be a frequent issue, though. (The worst we ever experienced was during Pop Warner, and that’s now hosted at Universal.)
Food – The food courts at the All Stars are nothing special. Suggesting otherwise would strain credulity and cast my credibility into doubt. With that said, they’ve all been refreshed in the last 5 years or so, and generally are more pleasant than they once were.
I cannot speak to breakfast, as it’s been years since I’ve wasted my money on powdered eggs and rubber bacon at a Walt Disney World food court. (Aside from ‘special’ breakfasts, we do grocery delivery and focus on fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods for our morning meal.)
However, I do think dinner has improved. In addition to the stereotypical fare, these food courts also serve up seared salmon, braised beef, pork loin, stir fry, and fried chicken. That’s better than I remember the options being a decade ago, but still hardly the pinnacle of WDW’s dining scene.
Failing all of that, there’s the remodeled McDonald’s within walking distance of the All Star Resorts if you need a late night Filet-o-Fish fix.
Transportation – There was a time when we built in the cost of two to three taxi trips with each stay at the All Stars, as bus lines over a certain length meant the waits would be unbearably long. That was about a decade ago–before Uber and Lyft came onto the scene. This was also at a time when shared transportation among all three All Stars was common, even during busier times.
We have not had this issue of late with bus transportation anywhere (Coronado Springs is the worst due to the addition of Gran Destino, and even that is not bad by 2007 to 2015 standards) at Walt Disney World. During our most recent stays at the All Stars, buses were frequent and efficient, and the only reason pickup times were ever inaccurate was when third-party Academy buses were dispatched (those aren’t connected to the wait times system), which was more like a “bonus bus” as opposed to an actual issue.
We’ve had zero problems making Early Entry or waiting in long lines when leaving the parks. Likewise, midday waits have been bearable, with no lengthy gaps or inconsistencies. The only caveat I’d offer here is that we’ve never left during the morning rope drop rush–our trips are always to arrive for Early Entry or later in the morning. Likewise, we never leave during the post-fireworks mass exodus. I’d imagine buses are still packed during those peak times, just like always.
Another caveat is that frame of reference matters. I’m comparing transportation at the All Stars today to how it was in the past; my perception is that it has improved as Disney has contracted with third party bus companies while also relieving strain on the system thanks to the Skyliner. If you’re comparing the All Stars of today to Pop Century of today, your perception will be very different.
Guests – Few things drive me crazier than guests passing judgment or casting aspersions on their fellow guests at Walt Disney World. There’s a belief among certain people that they are “too good” for a Value Resort or want to stay at a more expensive hotel not for any substantive reasons, but so they aren’t around “lower class” guests. This type of sentiment or the idea that Walt Disney World should be even more expensive to price out “undesirable” guests (these are all air quotes, by the way) is absolute nonsense at best, and downright offensive at worst.
Money does not buy class. The opposite is also true: an absence of money does not mean an absence of class. Bad behavior transcends income levels, and if anything, there’s a straight line between higher prices and more entitled guests. Beyond that, whose place is it to pass judgment on the working class family that skimped and saved to afford a rite of passage trip for their kids to Walt Disney World, but could only afford the All Stars? Are they any more or less ‘worthy’ than the middle class parents who maxed out their credit cards to stay at the Grand Floridian?
This whole conversation makes me uncomfortable, but it’s nevertheless worth addressing because I’ve heard plenty of derogatory terms to describe the All Stars and their supposed clientele. It’s all BS. There is no material difference in the nature of guests at any of the resorts. I’ve witnessed obnoxious and drunken behavior out of business people at the Yacht Club and Gran Destino Tower, and have enjoyed perfectly peaceful stays at the All Stars. To be sure, the decibel level is higher when these hotels are hosting youth events, but it’s possible to get lucky or unlucky with guests behaving badly at any of the resorts. People are alike all over.
Value – This is another one where frame of reference matters. If you’re a large party pricing out vacation home rentals as an alternative and you’ll be renting a car regardless as part of a Central Florida vacation, your perspective will differ dramatically from a smaller party that would not rent a car and is staying exclusively within the Disney bubble.
If you’re comparing an off-property vacation home rental, it’s always going to come out ahead relative to on-site Walt Disney World hotels. Those homes are great for larger parties, offering tons of space and private amenities. If you’d otherwise need multiple standard hotel rooms or a multi-room unit at Walt Disney World, you will pay less off-site. There’s no two ways of slicing it–and that’s not a comparison unique to the All Stars.
A scenario we’ve now experienced multiple times, which is actually what prompted this whole post, closely resembles the latter circumstances as a smaller party. We’re taking a trip in late spring that will be focused on Walt Disney World and have already determined that it’s more cost-effective for us to not rent a car. In pricing out hotel options, the least-expensive hotels in the Flamingo Crossings or Disney Springs areas are $115/night, with the suites we like all costing over $150/night. Decent off-site accommodations are at least $100/night. To be sure, there are cheaper options, but nowhere we want to stay.
By contrast, All Star Movies has an average rate of $121/night with an Annual Passholder discount. Obviously, the average tourist is not an Annual Passholder, so let’s use the general public offer instead, which increases the cost to $128/night. That’s still only a $13/night surcharge over the options at Flamingo Crossings or Disney Springs, where we’d be using Uber or Lyft twice per day at an average cost of around $15 per trip (we leave early and stay late, so surge pricing would be unlikely to apply).
That alone makes the All Stars more reasonable, and it’s before even accounting for Early Entry or other perks. I’d also add the whimsical resort grounds and fun pools as strengths of the All Stars. Even more subjective and perhaps controversial, but I also prefer the new standard rooms at the All Stars to most of those at Disney Springs or Flamingo Crossings, and I’d also rather use the Disney buses rather than Uber or Lyft (especially from Flamingo Crossings, where pickup times are often lengthy).
To be fair, this glosses over a lot offered by third party hotels. This includes everything from table service dining options to hotel loyalty rewards to free breakfasts and probably much more. Nevertheless, if the cost of a standard room at a third party hotel is $30 or less per night than the cheapest Value Resort, I’m booking one of the All Stars every single time. The cost of transportation makes them equal, and all else considered, I’ll take the All Stars on balance. That’s just me, though.
The other comparison, and where things get trickier for me, is when comparing the All Stars to Pop Century. The price gap between these can vary, but I’ve frequently found it to be about $30 to $50 per night after discounts. For the same dates as the above comparison, it’s a $40/night difference.
For us, the key difference between the All Stars and Pop Century is the Skyliner. The gondolas are a game-changer for us, and we’ve previously gone as far as to say that we prefer the Skyliner to the monorails (outside of storm season). Value is in the eye of the beholder, but having Skyliner access to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios is absolutely worth $40/night to us. The Skyliner makes Early Entry easier and more predictable (at the two parks where I think it’s most valuable), facilitates midday breaks (from the one park where they’re most valuable), and makes it simple to do a nice breakfast or dinner at several different resorts.
Honestly, I think Walt Disney World fans take for granted just how impressive and unprecedented it is for Value Resorts to have access to such a streamlined transportation option. Gondolas are still a rarity in the United States, and even where they’re more common, they are pricey to use. Are there any other budget-friendly hotels that offer novel transportation?
Heck, just look at Walt Disney World before the Skyliner was added. The only resorts with non-bus transportation to the parks were all Deluxes, and the surcharge for monorail access was at least $100 night (the cheapest monorail loop rooms v. Wilderness Lodge, which is also a Magic Kingdom area resort; an imperfect comparison, but the best we can do). In light of that, $40 for the Skyliner seems perfectly fair. Beyond that, there are other minor reasons I’d prefer Pop Century to the All Stars, but they’re all significantly overshadowed by the Skyliner.
Ultimately, the answer to the titular question is an emphatic yes…as established by the fourth paragraph of the post and reinforced with the concrete and tangible examples of how the All Star Resorts have improved. Bus transportation, rooms, maintenance, and more have all improved by leaps and bounds in the last several years at the All Stars.
That sets the stage for what’s almost an entirely separate question, which is whether the All Star Resorts are competitive in terms of bang for buck. Despite their prices having gone up considerably from the halcyon days during the Great Recession when rooms were frequently under $80/night (I swear they were $49 at one point), so too have pretty much all hotels around Central Florida.
Given that and the improved quality of the rooms, transportation, on-site guest perks, and overall experience at the All Stars, I think a compelling case can be made for many parties to choose the All Stars over off-site accommodations. That’s without even addressing the emotional and subjective side of things–that emotional pull to be inside the Disney Bubble.
Finally, there’s the comparison to Pop Century, that other (regular) Value Resort at Walt Disney World. This is the point at which the comparison turns less favorable, and where I think Pop Century’s premium pricing is justified. Of course, reasonable minds may differ on the value added by the Skyliner (or any of the various variables discussed–or even overlooked–here).
With all of that said, we come full circle to the question of the title. If you’re a frugal traveler wanting to get the “full” Walt Disney World experience but unable to splurge or spend extra on Pop Century or another higher-tier resort, the cheapest hotels on-site are actually good. They’re not my first or even fifteenth choice among on-site accommodations I’d choose at Walt Disney World if money were no issue, but I don’t find myself regularly winning the lottery, so value does matter to me. I also don’t feel like I’m compromising on the quality of my overall experience when staying at the All Stars. If I did, I wouldn’t keep booking them!
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
Have you stayed at any of the All Star Resorts since their room reimaginings? What did you think of the room quality? What about the hotel(s) as a whole? How do you think these options compare to third party or off-site accommodations? What about relative to Pop Century or higher-tier hotels at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment that the All Stars are actually good hotel options for those wanting to be in the Disney bubble? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
I have gone to Disney World about eight times in the last 10 years. Pop century is our favorite.! When we go to Disney we are wide open from early in the morning to late at night. So all we really do at the resort is crash. The beds are very comfortable and I love that transportation is very easy. I would highly recommend pop century for the average family income.
We stayed at ASMovies for 3 nights the first week of January. I found a price sweet spot of $113 per night that became over $250 per night during marathon weekend. Since we spend the bulk of our waking hours at the parks All Stars are great for us. The refurbished rooms with the folding bed and actual sliding bathroom door are great for us.
We’re returning in June for a longer stay of 8 days this time in a family suite as my Mother in law is joining. You’re review of those rooms have us excited to try them. We usually would need 2 regular rooms and the suites are not only in the preferred area of the resort but have a real fridge plus microwave which we will definitely use. Would I stay at the Grand Floridian after winning the lotto, sure! but until then I’m all about the All Stars and maybe Pop too!
The only issue I have with All Stars is that, maybe because of their affordability, they can book up earlier and the prices can jump a lot over the weekends. As quasi-local APs (which admittedly is not most guests), we always check the prices of the values for quick weekend trips. Either they’re already sold out, or the prices are significantly more than the off property options. I know weekends cost more at all the hotels, including third party, but the cost comparison usually doesn’t work out for us at the All Stars. When we have stayed, though, we had no issues with cleanliness or transportation, loved the theming, and didn’t have any more problems with noise than we’ve had a moderates and deluxes (we’ve had some REALLY noisy Disney stays showing that you can’t just buy your way out of it).
It’s interesting that you mention this! I’m frequently booking last minute, but usually for weekday stays (rather than weekend), and I find the All Stars almost always have better availability than Pop Century or Caribbean Beach.
In fact, that’s how we’ve ended up here so much in the last year–we’d absolutely pay the premium for one of the Skyliner resorts (well, depending on rack rates and discounts), but they often are simply not an option. By contrast, we always seem to have our pick of the All Stars!
We stayed at the All Star Sports and Movies some years ago and my only real complaint was the bus transportation. Seemed we were end of line so first thing in the morning, they got filled before they reached us. That seems to have changed from one of your statements so that’s a good thing. We did a few moderate resorts after that and enjoyed them. They usually had less bus traffic returning late from the parks. This past November we stayed at Pop Century and I chose it mainly because of the Skyliner and it was a game changer to me also. Never a long wait outside of the initial rush first thing and even then it wasn’t more than 10 minutes it seemed. We got a first floor room next to one of the pools, the one not near the food court. That pool was wide open when we used it. Once in a while, I’d get a bad smell of cigarette smoke since they put the smokers right next to it. The food court wasn’t the greatest nor the worse so OK with us. Actually, having been to Caribbean Beach Resort a couple times before this trip, I liked the food court there. I read it got remodeled so we went there once on this trip, to me it was a step backwards and I won’t bother doing that again. Though I would like to go back to Port Orleans-French Quarter (my favorite mod resort to date), it doesn’t have Skyliner so we’ll see what happens if we go back anytime soon.
Disney needs to realize they could get family’s to stay longer if they tried to accommodate a wider range of options for all families. Michael Isner new if he kept people on property, they would make more money. Only building high end resorts will price out a large swath of families. There is a reason Universal is chipping away at the market, better options at better prices.
I have stayed at many Disney hotels including the Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom and most recently this year at the Dolphin but I have to say my fondest memories are of the All Star Sports Resort. Our first stay was for a baseball tournament at the Wild World of Sports Complex and we loved it so much we have stayed there three times since. Rooms and food court are great, pools are fabulous and my 6 kids had a blast playing on the football fields. If you want a finer meal there are many options at parks or other hotels.
All Star Sports is a homerun in my book?
We enjoyed our stay at Pop Century for all the reasons you noted. The only drawback not mentioned is the new flooring, in my opinion. While it must be easy to maintain, the laminate floors make it much louder than the resorts with carpeting. We were on the third floor and heard every step in the room above us and probably the people below us heard ours! I’m not sure if this is a trend for other refurbishments, but I hope they add rugs or something to dampen the noise issues!
We just stayed in early Feb at All Stars Music in a family suite (thanks to your review!) and loved it. We normally stay off-property to save money but after reading your review of those rooms I decided to look and we paid under $300 a night. I thought this was a pretty good deal considering it really was 2 rooms put together. The rooms were great and we had a full size frig and microwave and 2 full bathrooms. We are early AM to late PM park people so did not use any of the facilities besides the bus. The property was clean and well-maintained and cutely themed. We only heard noise when in the parking lot and that was from practicing cheer teams. Really have no complaints and it was a treat to be on-property, away from the Orlando non-magic. 🙂
I’ve stayed at All Star Music twice before and twice after the renovations, and never had a bad stay. Crowds, guests, and transportation were all fine. The last time I came there after staying at Old Key West for a couple of nights, which seemed very tired, dated, and much less functional compared to the new ASM room.
I’ve never had a toilet explode at WDW, but one trip I did have a toilet overflow at midnight the first night we arrived at the Beach Club! Thankfully they sent someone up from engineering right away to fix that problem.
I’m not sure there are any confirmed cases of exploding toilets at the All Stars. Perhaps at Sports–after all, it is the original A.S.S. at Walt Disney World.
But in all likelihood, what was said and what my 10-year old brain remembered are two different things.
“If you’re a frugal traveler wanting to get the “full” Walt Disney World experience but unable to splurge or spend extra on Pop Century or another higher-tier resort, the cheapest hotels on-site are definitely good enough.”
After making such a fine case for the All Stars (and having stayed at them many times I agree with all your points) I think calling them “good enough” might be the wrong choice of words. I don’t like the sound of “good enough”. “Good enough” sounds a bit condescending and I hear a big “IF” following it. I would prefer to end that sentence with”… the cheapest hotels on site will definitely give you that.”
I’ve always enjoyed my stays at the All Stars but then I get a kick out of giant dalmatians, staircases designed to look like goalie nets and walking down “Broadway” to a piano pool.
I find the All Stars perfectly fine. The All Star Disney resorts definitely remind you you’re at WDW in case you’d forgotten. Those rooms are especially exceptional for families who will only be there to shower and sleep.
Everybody’s different and their situations dictate their objectives. I’m not referring to financial situations though that obviously plays a huge roll. What I’m talking about is things like first time or 100th time, how many are you, how long are you’re staying. Our kids have grown up and we have jobs that allow us to go for weeks at a time. Therefore we prefer split stays. Our next trip will see us twice at POP (which I originally booked at All Star Movies but later changed because of the Skyliner (despite it being storm season) and a couple of days at Beach Club (1st time and we want to access that pool without hoping the fence) and then our favorite, Wilderness Lodge. On days at higher end hotels we spend more time there than the Parks to enjoy the amenities they provide. Monday night taking advantage of EPCOT evening hours within walking distance of BC sounds great to me. Doing Mickey’s NSSHP and then a boat ride back to Wilderness is the ticket.
As to the financial aspects, it’s only my opinion but no matter how much money you have it’s crazy to pay the price of high end resorts and spend all day and night away. Plus be very careful about using credit cards. This year the Fed will raise interest rates at least three more times. Many cards are nearing 30% (Best Buy 29.49%, LOWEs 26.99%, Paypal 28.24%, Amazon 29.74%, TJX 29.99%, BJ’s 28.74%). Actually our lowest cards are our Disney cards 20.24%. Don’t buy anything on credit unless you can pay it off before the interest hits.
Every chance we get we buy Disney cards at Target for 5% off. Then we go to Disneygiftcards.com and condense them up to $1,000 a card. Use them for EVERYTHING at WDW.
If you spend a couple of weeks or make a couple of trips each year to WDW the Annual Pass discounts almost pays for the AP.
But here’s my best tip.
If you want to save money and make the most of your trip you have to read year round the #1 Disney blog. I’m looking at you Mr and Mrs Bricker. Thanks.
“I think calling them ‘good enough’ might be the wrong choice of words.”
Great minds must think alike, because I actually edited that sentence and updated the post title while you must’ve been writing this comment.
The “good enough” parts just weren’t sitting well with me, so I modified some of the text to highlight that the All Stars are actually good. I know that’s a minor distinction, but I like it better. I didn’t like implying that these hotels are ‘less than,’ so to speak.
Oh, and totally agree about credit cards. We use them religiously to accrue rewards, but I haven’t the slightest inkling as to what the interest rates are on any of them because we’ve never paid a dime in interest. When used correctly, they are great tools–but they come with dangerous downsides. Sorta like a chainsaw, I suppose.
I knew a juggler who juggled gas powered chainsaws while they were on. Sounds like a set up with the punchline, he now goes by the name Lefty. I forget what the trick to it was or if there was one but what I remember vividly is how awful those exhaust fumes were. He also did sword swallowing (no trick) and ate fire. I can’t imagine he’s still alive.
Agree about the proper use of credit cards.
We pay EVERY BILL with our Disney cards for the points. Food and gas with the Premiere for 2% rewards and everything else with the regular Disney card, from the electric bill, insurance, apple (yeah 99 cents for the cloud) to the monthly kindle. Every household has at least $1200 in monthly bills alone which gives you $144 found money over the course of a year. Then there’s everything else: gas, food, car repairs, vitamins, clothing, gifts, Disney Tourist Blog recommendations on Amazon. We rack up at least $50 a month in Disney Rewards Dollars.
Folks if you’re reading this conversation about credit cards DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO THIS AT HOME unless you budget faithfully and have some knowledge of Dave Ramsey (who would tell you to use that chainsaw on ALL your credit cards).
Using a Disney credit card is ok I guess, but you can get similar rewards in cash using a non-Disney credit card. Why lock yourself in?
JOJO you are 100% right that there are credit cards with better options than Chase Disney and I believe Tom has even done a blog about them. Thing is I’m perfectly happy with Disney Reward dollars and my cards have pictures of Mickey on them.
I meant to end that last reply with What’s in your wallet?
My calculus on the Pop Skyliner premium is this. How much does two Ubers to the parks cost per day? Less than the Skyliner premium. So, as much as I love the Skyliner, it is not worth it to me. And, of course, it is not always running. And forget returning from Epcot to Pop after the fireworks. You’re looking at a long wait in line.
To each their own, but I’d estimate our average usage of the Skyliner is about 2.5 daily trips when we stay at those resorts. I leave when it first opens, return ~1 hour after rope drop, go back out midday, and return one final time 30-60 minutes after park closing. Almost never wait in a line more than 10 minutes long.
Even at 2.5 daily trips, you are probably correct that Uber or Lyft comes out about the same price or maybe even a little cheaper. Personally, I’d pay a premium for the Skyliner. It’s much more enjoyable than Uber or Lyft, and usually more efficient.
To each their own, though. Always worth discussing the pros & cons, and different planners’ cost calculus!
Can’t argue with your logic Matthew. I would point out that with the Skyliner you can park hop, or make a stop at CBR or Riviera for a lunch on a couple of different days. Bur all in all if you’re there for a week and only spend 2 or 3 days at HS and EPCOT you will be losing money on the other 4 or 5 days as compared to the All Stars which I love as well.
My family and I (2 adults 2 kids) spent 9 days and 8 nights at Disney Pop Century in Sept. We had a great time and found the resort well maintained. We were there for Hurricane Ian and the next day they had maintenance crews repainting anywhere that had chipped paint etc. We never had an issue with the cleanliness of the Food Court or our room.
It was our first time at Disney and we picked Pop Century because we felt we would not be in the room a lot so we didn’t feel the need for a huge room with lots of extras.
The buses were always on time and the Skyliner was great! We would book there again no problem!
Gonna stay at All Music Resort soon.
Stayed in almost all of the Disney Resorts at least one night.
Going back to the Value is for us right now with all the parks, golf and restaurant reservations, not to mention airline costs…
I LOVE All Star Music Resort. Love The Beach Club more, but not this year.
When I first started reading the article, I though you were going to trash the All Stars; but I was wrong. I am glad you did not. I have been taking girl scout groups to Disney since about 1998. The groups range in size from 30-135 girls and leaders. The All Star Resorts made it very affordable for these girls who saved over a one/two year period to be able to come to Disney. The only one I do not like is Sports because of the teams and the way they behave. The coaches and/or adults that accompany the sports team pay no attention to the kids. On the other hand, all the girl scouts I have taken know what is expected of them and knew I had the right to send them home (at the parent’s expense) if they caused problems. Of course, I can only speak for my groups. Sure, I personally have stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but what teenager could afford to do that. All Star Music and Movies are a great place to stay especially for the girl scout groups I took to Disney.
Taking groups of up to 135 (!!!) Girl Scouts to WDW sounds like a challenging but fulfilling experience. My Boy Scout troop only had ~15 kids in it, and we were always up to mischief…thankfully, it was always confined to campgrounds and other outdoorsy places. I cannot imagine over 100 of us and at Walt Disney World. It probably would’ve turned into a scene from Lord of the Flies. 😉
I have a personal goal to stay at every resort at DW, but even with that goal I often just pick whatever is cheapest or most convenient to what I want to do. With the new room redesign, the All-Stars are actually perfect for trips alone or with my partner where I can work from the hotel room during the day and hit the parks at night. I love the Deluxe hotels, but man it’s hard to justify the extra few thousand dollars in overall price difference (even when booked through dvc.) I just don’t have a significantly more magical time for the cost. (Deluxe and club level is a great splurge for when you’re planning to spend the day at the hotel, admittedly…but if I’m spending the day at work or in the park, value are just too valuable, heh.)
That’s a good goal to have!
I also do a lot of hybrid trips where I go out in the morning for Early Entry, return for a few hours to work, and then head back out midday for the rest of the evening. For my purposes, a hybrid of Pop Century and Coronado Springs would be just about perfect…but often it’s tough to compete with the price of the All Stars (especially when I don’t “need” to revisit a different resort for room updates or whatever).
I love the value resorts,. In the real world, I prefer interior-door-style hotels to exterior-door motels but at Disney I prefer the opposite. And I enjoy the giant theming – I can get a “nice” hotel anywhere in the world. We’re also “park people”and not “resort people” so the pools, food options, and the like matter less to us than they might to others.
I’m fine with exterior hallways; it’s the lack of balconies that gets me.
We are both parks and resorts people, all depending upon the trip. With that said, I’ve found that we frequently spend time at resorts at which we’re not staying–and when we are spending a lot of time at our resort, it’s usually in the room to work. The one big exception seems to be Club Level-focused stays, with a lot of time spent going back and forth between the lounge and the pool.
I’m with you on this Tom. I don’t mind exterior “hallways”, in fact every one of the doors on my home open up onto the exterior BUT there’s something to be said to sitting on the balcony at Animal Kingdom in the morning with giraffes eating about 20 feet in front of you.
“People are alike all over.”
So true!!!
That’s actually the title to one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes. The episode is such a poignant and incisive that I’ve taken to using its title and key line out of context. I think it still works pretty well.
It’s been 15 years since we stayed at Pop Century. I don’t have any bad memories of it (granted we weren’t seasoned Disney travelers back then to make comparisons), but man, the creepiness of the abandoned Legendary side across the water has definitely stuck with me. Monochrome and in disrepair, it looked like something straight out of a horror game.
Interesting. I believe those rooms that were originally going to be the early 2oth century at pop are now the little mermaid non-suite rooms at art of animation?
Yeah, that was creepy–definitely had Silent Hill vibes.
And yes, the Legendary Years became Art of Animation. It would’ve been awesome to see that built as the second half of Pop Century, but I think the route they opted to go (with characters) probably made more sense.
Likely for the best. Can’t imagine many kids clamoring to stay in Depression-era digs.
I also spent my 21st birthday at Pleasure Island that trip – equally creepy and abandoned, but at least they had the mercy to demolish it the following year.
We’ve never stayed at All Stars, but stayed at Pop Century for our second trip with the kids (this was before it had the Skyliner). We had a great trip at Pop Century, but had one complaint with the rooms that isn’t any different at All Stars, so we never considered them. Our problem with the value resorts was the size of the rooms. We are family of four and are two of of us are not small people (former collegiate athlete sizing). We weren’t in the rooms very much the whole trip, but it still felt extremely cramped. I would still rather stay anywhere on property vs. offsite just to be in the bubble. As unpleasant as the buses can be, my idea of a Disney vacation involves never dealing with parking or parking lots.
The rooms are definitely on the smaller side for a family of 4, but they are much better now than they were pre-refurbishment. (With the exception of Coronado Springs and the family suites/cabins, I think this is probably an issue at all of the Value and Moderate Resorts.)
Value resorts, from my experience, are where large groups stay and are not for me. I have found adults fighting, swearing and teens running around at all hours, especially in the summer months when the kids from Brazil come.
They leave their food trays all over the food court, spill drink and food on the floor. and fail to pick up after themselves. Staff tell me it’s their culture and clean up after them. Not good. The group leaders of these tours are just as bad – young adults that like to party with the teens they are in charge of.
No thank you. Best to try to go when no groups are there, but Disney keeps coming up with ways to take kids out of school for sports and cheer and dance competitions to keep the money rolling in. You will find these groups in Feb., March, April, and even May in addition to the Brazilian groups that come June, July, and August. In sept. the UK floods in and pulls their kids from school because it’s cheaper to go to Disney in Sept. and according the the UK guests I spoke with, they get school fines each day their kids are out, but they don’t care because it is still cheaper to come in Sept. Sad. I can imagine these kids as adults blowing off work to travel when it’s convenient financially regardless of an employer’s needs.