Disney’s All Star Movies Resort Review
All Star Movies Resort is a Walt Disney World hotel in the “Value Resort” category that offers budget accommodations while still offering on-site Disney perks such as Extra Magic Hours, Disney’s Magical Express, and Disney transportation. In this hotel review, we’ll share photos from our stays at All Star Movies, thoughts on whether you should consider it if you’re weighing the Value Resorts, and offer some general planning info about the hotel.
Disney’s Value Resorts are quite divisive. Some people love them, some people love to hate them. Some people think they are tacky with poorly-made rooms, some people think they offer a cheap alternative to Deluxe resorts while still allowing Guests to take full advantage of on-property benefits. Although the Value Resorts are far from our favorite resorts, Sarah and I come down on the side of liking the Value Resorts–for what they are.
April 2018 Update: Room refurbishments have started and will occur in building by building phases (building 10 is currently down and will be the first finished, likely in late May or early June 2018) at All Star Movies to refurbish all rooms through November 2018. This will be a dramatic redesign strikingly similar to the updated rooms at Pop Century Resort, with only minor thematic flourishes to differentiate the rooms. This refurbishment should be fairly unintrusive to guests staying at All Star Movies, and we would not recommend altering your vacation plans as a result.
We think the divisive nature of the Value Resorts comes down to the fundamental question as to the nature of your visit. If you’re taking a commando-style, “the room is only for sleeping” trip during which you want to be in the parks as much as possible, a sub-$100 night room that offers perks such as the Disney transportation system and Extra Magic Hours is a great idea.
Conversely, if your resort is a large aspect of you vacation and you plan on spending a lot of time there, you may not think to highly of the Value Resorts. From my experience, this goes for all of the Value Resorts, especially the three All Star Resorts, which differ from one another little besides in theme.
We have stayed at each of Walt Disney World’s Value Resorts: Art of Animation, Pop Century, All Star Sports, All Star Music, and All Star Movies. Essentially, they are basic accommodations that are stylized with Disney icons. Sometimes we are traveling to Walt Disney World on a budget and the parks are a priority. The Value Resorts work well when that’s the case. If that’s the nature of our trip, we actually prefer saving money by staying at the Value Resorts since we won’t be in the hotel much, anyway. (Plus, I don’t mind what others sneer at as the garish design of the Values.)
I think the Value Resorts get bashed for their design far too frequently. Disney fans often lose sight of something: that a big part of Walt Disney World is captivating the fancy of children. I’m not suggesting everything should be squarely aimed at kids or that all we need kiddie coasters, but I do think the Value Resorts have their place. I know if we would have stayed at them when I was a kid, I likely would have loved exploring them. As an adult, sure, the Polynesian is much more to my liking. But for kids, giant toys and figures of their favorite Disney characters are pretty appealing.
With my theoretical thoughts concerning resort tiers in mind, here are my thoughts specific to All Star Movies: it’s an okay resort, but definitely not the best of the Values. Ultimately, I think I’d rank them: Art of Animation, Pop Century, Music, Movies, and Sports. Art of Animation and Pop Century are no-brainers in the #1 and #2 spots.
There’s far less of a difference between any of the All Stars, but we consider Music the best since it seems the ‘freshest’ and tends to have fewer large groups than Sports. For the most part, though, there’s little difference between any of them. Room size, amenities, transportation, location, etc., is all pretty much identical among all of the All Star Resorts at Walt Disney World.
Movies is probably the most dated of the three. Even as its World Premiere Food Court now has an updated menu, it never received the large-scale refurbishment the other All Star food courts received.
That, plus the fact that the Mighty Ducks are still heavily showcased, despite no longer being relevant, makes its age really show. If we are looking for the cheapest Value Resort, we usually opt for All Star Music during the Christmas-season, or All Star Sports any other time of the year (being careful to consult the ESPN Wide World of Sports calendar, first). We rarely stay at All Star Movies.
Aside from the Mighty Ducks area, you also have sections of All Star Movies that are themed to 101 Dalmatians, Toy Story, Fantasia, and Herbie: The Love Bug. I’m not sure I’d consider Herbie a timeless Disney creation, either, but the rest hold up well. We generally recommend the Fantasia or Toy Story sections to those guests who want to stay at All Star Movies. Both offer the best of location and decor.
Now, let’s take a look inside the rooms…
Unfortunately, we don’t have photos of All Star Movies since they were last refurbished. The biggest difference is that the comforters have been removed, and the headboards swapped out.
They also no longer have the CRT televisions, and instead have a more streamlined dresser. If you’ve seen the room photos in our All Star Music Review or All Star Sports Review, you know exactly what these rooms now look like.
Just swap out the music or sports poster on the wall for a movies one (well, unless you’re in the Mighty Ducks section…then it’s movies and sports. BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!)
Okay, let’s take a look at the pools. All Star Movies has two pools. The feature pool is the Fantasia pool, which is located directly behind the Cinema Hall lobby and food court, between the two Fantasia buildings. You could say this is the best “themed” area at All Star Movies. To be honest, it might be the best-themed area at any of the All Star Resorts. It’s pretty cool.
The Fantasia pool features a giant Sorcerer Mickey on a platform with streams of water shooting out from its base…just like you’re on the “set” of Fantasia, ha.
The Mighty Ducks section of All Star Movies contains the Duck Pond Pool. This is the resort’s quiet pool area, and is themed to look a like a hockey rink. It includes Goofy in a Mighty Ducks uniform as goaltender, and everything.
If you were not a child of the 1990s, this might be a bit perplexing…Goofy in the jersey of an NHL team based in Anaheim, California? First, shame on you for not seeing the ultimate film trilogy 1990s cinema. Second, in addition to making the movies, Disney used to own the NHL team.
However, Disney sold the Mighty Ducks (now just the Ducks) over a decade ago, and I don’t think anyone under the age of 25 has even seen the movies, so this area now sticks out like a sore thumb. Walt Disney World might as well theme an area of a hotel to Chicken Little.
Next up, dining at All Star Movies. The World Premiere Food Court actually isn’t that bad; it has a fairly diverse menu that includes options like the Turkey and Muenster Sandwich and Italian Sandwich, both of which are solid. We do not think it’s as good of a food court as the redone End Zone or Intermission food courts, but it is not bad, either.
Overall, All Star Movies Resort features a fun design-aesthetic that most kids will love, but it definitely isn’t for everyone–especially those on an adults-only Walt Disney World trip who want a relaxing hotel. If you’re reading resort reviews because you want to determine which resort is the “best” at Walt Disney World, All Star Movies definitely is not for you. It’s not even the best Value Resort, or the best intersection of quality and price among the Value Resorts. If you’re looking for a cheap place to stay while you’re at Disney, and you don’t want to rent a car or you want to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours (or both!), All Star Movies is an okay choice. However, even then we can’t help but think you’d probably be better off booking one of the other Value Resorts. Basically, unless your kids are huge Mighty Ducks enthusiasts, look elsewhere.
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…
Are you a fan of All Star Movies, or is it too basic for you? Any comments on the bus transportation at All Star Movies? What about the food court? Any other tips to share concerning All Star Movies? Where does it rank for you in terms of hotels at Walt Disney World? Do you prefer staying off-site? Hearing from readers is half the fun, so please share your thoughts in the comments!
We are travelling to this hotel in November this year. First time at a Disney Resort, so we are very excited. The room request section on the website has me a bit perplexed. Do you happen to know what “Grandstand section” is? Or perhaps, you could share what room request you would choose? high floor? landscape view? Any opinion would be appreciated.
We stayed at all star movies….one of the worst trips ever…will never come back to the all star resorts.
I forgot to mention that we will have a toddler in tow. She was 5 months last visit and she’ll be almost 18 months this visit.
Okay… Question. We stayed in Mighty Ducks at Movies last fall and we absolutely loved it. While looking to book this year’s fall trip the site is telling me that Movies is unavailable for my dates (I plan on calling soon to verify this)… If we have to choose a different resort I’m trying to be prepared and get as much info as I can. Last time we got a King sized bed at Movies and the staff were super helpful. We used all of Music’s amenities (food court, bus, gift shop) because they were a 5 second walk from our mighty duck door. So I know we like the facility but I am trying to figure out how the rooms compare to Movies.
We’ve pretty much narrowed down our 2nd and 3rd choices to Music, & Pop. I know very little about Pop Century. Do you have a blog post about each of these hotels? We also looked at Caribbean Beach… But nothing about it really stood out to me. We need side by side comparisons. Lol
Anyway, thoughts, suggestions?
I stayed at All Star Movies over the summer and I thought that since we were only at the room to shower and sleep, it was absolutely worth saving some money to be able to go on the trip, especially since we were barely at the resort anyway
I stayed at All Star Movies over the summer and I thought that since we were only at the room to shower and sleep, it was absolutely worth saving some money to be able to go on the trip, especially since we were barely at the resort anyway
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Oh boy …….I have stayed at all the value resorts(including AOA)except All Star Movies…………I booked a 8 day vacation there and it starts this Wednesday ……I am really hoping I like ASM resort……then again my nephew is the main reason for the trip:) …..its his 1st time and my 15th time.
If you’ve liked the other All Star Resorts, I’m betting you’ll like Movies, too. It’s not our favorite, but the quality difference between it and the other All Stars is fairly insignificant.
Yes your right:)………..Getting on a plane now and on my to Disney World ! ….All Star Movies here I come 🙂
This past fall, my husband and I traveled to WDW with our 4 year old daughter and my parents. It was the first trip back for my husband and I since the mid-80’s when we were kids, and the first trip ever for our daughter. We stayed the first 5 nights at the Poly since we really didn’t know what we were doing (lol) and we just NEEDED that monorail access. Our last night of the trip we booked the All-Star Movies since we just needed a place to stay the night before our flight out in the early morning. I mean, could we have had more night-and-day resorts in one trip? 🙂 But actually our daughter LOVED All-Star Movies, and we didn’t mind it that much, either, even having spent all our previous time at the Poly. I think we might have had rose-colored glasses on though, because when it’s your last night of vacation and no one wants to go home, everything around you looks grand and wonderful. 🙂 I don’t know that I’d do All-Star Movies again, but it fit the bill at the time for what we needed. Looking into a moderate for next year…(for that reason, THANK YOU for this blog!!)
I too have stayed at just about every Value and Moderate Resort as well as the Grand Floridian and agree with just about everything in this review.
As far as Moderate resorts are concerned, I am torn between Coronado Springs and Port Orleans Riverside.
Coronado Springs is a better overall Resort with better quality dining experiences. However, the Resort is much more expansive(aka: longer walks to the Restaurants, Check-in, Package pick ups, etc) and almost as far from the Parks as the Values.
Whereas, Port Orleans Riverside is more compact, has the Launches to D’town Disney and just as many amenities. Plus it’s closer to the Park. On the down side, the Restaurants need improving, specially ‘Boatwrights’. The quality of the food has gone down hill and there is no longer breakfast(of course, this may have changed in the 3-4 yrs since our last visit.
Finally, if you want to splurge, I highly recommend staying at the Grand Floridian or Polynesian. Everything about these Resorts provides a far and away more enjoyable and relaxing Disney visit.
My biggest complaint about the AS Movies resort was how hot our room was, ALL the time. If there were ceiling fans in the rooms, they would be more comfortable. We don’t spend lots of time in our room, other than sleeping but we want to be comfortable. For this reason alone we will not stay at a value resort again. PO French Quarter is our favorite followed by CB.
My family and I LOVE the All Star Movies Resort. The overlarge characters and colors capture Walt’s personality to a tee. He was always dreaming and planning big with an eye to detail. The ASMo captures the fun essence of being a child and each time I see the Dalmatian buildings I have to smile. The rooms may be a tad small, but they are intended for four people total not five like most of the Deluxe resorts. Our family of 5 stays in two rooms so that we have two bathrooms and fridges as well as lots of space to stay in which costs us less than one room with one bathroom at a Deluxe. We tried staying in Alligator Bayou at Port Orleans Riverside. We had wanted to stay there for years, but we ended up not truly enjoying our stay there. Everything was so very far from everything else. It literally took me almost 15 minutes to walk at a fast trot from our room to food court (I timed it twice!) which is not something you want to do with 3 kiddos in tow. We also did not enjoy the lack of food options in the food court. Not everyone wants to stay high end, much less pay so much more for a room that honestly is not that much bigger than ASMo. We love staying here because it is Disney and it makes us smile every time.
I can see the rest of your points, but the “overlarge characters and colors capture Walt’s personality to a tee” remark seems like a pretty big stretch, to me.
I have stayed at all levels of Disney resorts, including the cabins at Fort Wilderness. A lot of times the resort decision depends on who I’m traveling with and the touring style we’ll be using. If it’s just my husband and I, who visit often, we’re not in a rush to see a lot and we’re just as happy relaxing at the resort, then we stay somewhere that has a bit of a more relaxed feel. Not saying you can’t relax at a value, but often times the moderates and deluxes have some areas that are quieter with less action. Actually, one of our favorite resorts is Caribbean Beach, for this very reason. Though it is sprawling and very large, that’s what we love about it. It’s a vacation within a vacation to us. So many winding paths and lush landscape, it’s really beautiful. However, when we brought our friends who were first timers, we stayed at Pop Century. We knew we wouldn’t be at our resort because they were going to want to see as much as possible. If we had paid the price of a deluxe, and even a moderate, we still wouldn’t have used anything more than what was in our room because we were out in the parks all day long. I have to say I really liked this post. Growing up and visiting WDW with my family we often stayed at the values. I’ve been at each one multiple times, apart from AoA. The bottom line is that I have some of my best Disney memories at the values, moderates and deluxes, and whatever the price was I paid for those stays was worth every cent.
It is my understanding now that all of the all star movies rooms have since been refurbished correct?
I couldn’t agree more! I’ve stayed at Music a couple times in the early 2000’s, and it was great for my theme-park Commando touring style, but my husband is interested in staying deluxe so we’ll be checking out your reviews and checking into renting some DVC points. 🙂
We have stayed at Value, Moderates & Deluxe Disney Resorts & my kids have loved them all for what they are – THEY ARE DISNEY! POP stays open all night & boy did they enjoy staying up until 2 am to swim – with many other children too! You’ll love a value too 🙂
Thank you both for your perspective on All Star Movies! Glad to hear that you both enjoy it! 🙂
The All Star Movies has been & always will be our favorite resort. First of all, its affordable. We don’t spend too much time in the room. The pool is huge & my daughter loves swimming under the Fantasia Mickey’s spray of water. But most important is all the precious, happy memories we have from staying at the Movies. When my daughter was 3 years old, she would kiss the Dalmation puppies good night before we turned in for the night. When I look at pictures from those days or just think about all the fun times we had there, it brings tears to my eyes. I try to stay at the movies every time we return to WDW. And when we get off the Disney transporration bus, it feels like we returned home. I don’t think you should discourage anyone from staying there. In fact, I would invite anyone with young children to choose it & start making happy memories to cherish forever!
So far Pop and Movies top our list, but we’ve never stayed at Music. The Andy’s room area of Movies always lures us in (4 boys who have all been fans at one time or another), but Pop won our hearts over last time.
Looking forward to our future stay at the Art of Animation.
Loving this blog the by the way!
Tom,
Hope one day you will have the opportunity to give Port Orleans Riverside a try. Think you would have a field day photographing the grounds there. Some of the most peaceful and relaxing non-park memories I have from our stay there were getting up in the morning and making the (long) walk along the water to the food court to get coffee and then back again. I know people complain about the sprawl there, but it actually helped me to slow down and relax and unwind a little bit. Think you and Sarah would be big fans.
On the Value Resorts, I’m right there with you. If you’re hitting the parks like a renegade, like we can tend to do, its perfectly suitable for crashing and burning at the end of a long day. And you hit the nail on the head about the decor. I love the Polynesian and dream of staying at that gorgeous resort one day, but the All-Stars and Pop do a solid job of channeling our inner kids again and letting us ooh and ahh at garish decorations and gigantic Disney characters. With so little opportunities in life to feel like a kid again, I’ll take that as an occasional win.
We have done Port Orleans Riverside a few times, most recently in 2012. It’s actually our #1 Moderate Resort! https://www.disneytouristblog.com/best-moderate-resorts-disney-world/
I talked myself out of booking a “value” room for this upcoming trip, thinking it would be less “magical” than our previous two trip’s to a “Deluxe” resort. After reading this I will probably give Music a whirl next time. Giving Riverside a try this time. Thanks Tom, as always, for the great reporting.