When travelling to the house of mouse, vacationers to the
Orlando area know that there are many choices for your hotel stay. On my most recent Walt Disney World Resort visit,
I once again returned to the bubble of being “on property” and stayed at
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort. This
was my first stay at a value resort in about 15 years as recent family trips
have found us preferring moderates or deluxe resorts on property or choosing to
stay for free using our Hilton points at one of the nearby off-property
hotels. I have to say that I was really
impressed with my stay at All-Star Movies and wouldn’t hesitate to stay there
in the future or to recommend it to friends and family!
If you are unfamiliar with the All-Star Resorts, there are a
few things to know first before we dive into the specifics of Disney’s All Star
Movies Resort. First, the three All-Star
resorts are built along the same stretch of road closes to Disney’s Animal
Kingdom Park and include the following themes – Music, Sports, and Movies. Each resort is very similar (minus the
theming obviously) and guests at one resort are welcome to enjoy amenities at
the other All-Star properties. The
All-Star resorts along with the Disney’s Pop Century have been undergoing and
are still working through renovations to update the rooms. With these things in mind, the information
I’m going to share with you about Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort would also be
likely to translate well to the other All-Star properties.
In my opinion the two most attractive things about Disney’s
All-Star Movies Resort is the pricing and the theming. I may drink the dole whip flavored Kool-Aid
with a fancy Mickey straw, but even I can admit that a Disney vacation is
downright expensive. This is really rock
bottom pricing when it comes to a Disney hotel stay with pricing fluctuating
between $100 and $200 per night depending on season, room preferences,
etc. During my stay, the average price
per night for a standard room was $133 and on a trip that I priced out while
writing this, it came up to $114 per night.
That’s a great deal when you consider that you get all of the perks of
staying on Disney property including complimentary roundtrip transportation to
and from Orlando International Airport on Disney’s Magical Express, Extra Magic
Hours in the parks, access to the Disney Dining Plan, early access to Advanced
Dining Reservations and FastPass+ reservations, and much, much more. If you’re a family that spends most of your
time out and about in the parks anyway, this is a very budget friendly option.
Next, let’s talk theme.
I LOVED the themes of Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort as everywhere you
look there are larger-than-life tributes to your favorite Disney films. I was solo on this trip, but my two young
boys would go absolutely nuts here! You
will make no mistake about the fact that you are in Walt Disney World. Each section of the resort has a different
theme based on a Disney movie. A quick
walk around the resort will highlight Toy Story, 101 Dalmatians, Herbie the
Love Bug, Fantasia, and The Mighty Ducks.
The resort also features two themed pools including the main pool
featuring Sorcerer Mickey from Fantasia and a “quiet pool” featuring Goofy
playing hockey in The Mighty Ducks area.
The theme was so amazing that it may make be break my own Disney rule of
staying at a different resort each vacation just to experience it again.
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| A hidden playground! |
Speaking of pools, the resort does feature some amenities
for families to enjoy, although this where you will start to see a different
between value resorts and those in other categories. I found a nicely hidden and shaded playground
for little ones in addition to the pools to enjoy some downtime at the resort
with you need a break. They also have an
outdoor area where movies play at various times. The food court features all quick-service
items – no sit down restaurant at any of the All-Star properties. The food was what you would expect from
Disney quick service – good, but not great.
It was hot and service was friendly and fast. There also is a gift shop (imagine that!) at
the resort to pick up all of your Disney vacation goodies. There’s nothing “fancy” here and certainly no
amenity that stands out to make that the reason you book this resort in my
opinion, but everything was clean, friendly, and certainly met my needs.
The rooms are also another place where you will see a
difference in categories at the Walt Disney World Resort. Again, my room was clean, comfortable, and
certainly met my needs, but nothing to write home about – which was totally
fine because most mornings I left my room by 6:30AM and didn’t return until
10PM or later. I stayed in a room that
had not been renovated yet and that was also handicap accessible so my pictures
are probably very different than others out there. My room featured one King bed, some furniture
around the room, a TV, the dressing area with a vanity and sink, and then a bathroom
that was all open including a wheel chair shower. If you are considering a stay here soon,
Google to get updated room pictures. The
rooms are being updated to include a Queen bed and then a Murphy bed to give
guests more options in their room setup while not compromising space. New carpet and updated bathrooms as well as
new art will all give the rooms a fresh feel.
I booked a standard room and was located in The Mighty Ducks section
which is the furthest away from the main building. I was actually directly next to the main
building for Disney’s All-Star Music Resort (literally just walked across an
driveway to get there) so the front desk recommended and I took advantage of
using that resorts restaurant each morning and bus transportation in the
evening.
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| Breakfast is always better when it's shaped like Mickey! |
The last thing I’ll comment on is the bus transportation
because I often hear people criticize this when it comes to the All-Star
properties. Common complaints are that
it is crowded and slow to these resorts.
I don’t think I would agree with slow.
After staying at a variety of properties from value to deluxe now in
recent years, I think bus transportation is bus transportation and they all run
on about that 15-20 minute schedule it seems.
I will say that busses were crowded, but again, I don’t know that I’ve
experienced busses at park opening or park close that aren’t crowded when
staying on Disney property. There are
times that a bus is shared among all three resorts so you do sometimes make
multiple stops picking up and dropping off guests. This isn’t always the case though. Overall, I would not have any bus concerns
scare you off from staying on Disney property.
You’re in Disney. It’s crowded.
So, to wrap all of this up, I stand by my previous thoughts here on the blog that there's not a "bad" choice of where to stay on Disney property - just what's right for you and your family. I really enjoyed my stay at Disney's All-Star Movies Resort and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. If your family prioritizes budget and time in the parks with young kids, this is probably a great choice for you. If you are looking for a quieter, slower paced resort as you want to build more R&R time into your Walt Disney World Resort vacation, consider staying at a moderate or deluxe property to enjoy more of the amenities offered there. I hope this helps you plan a stay that is "practically perfect in every way" for your family when visiting the Walt Disney World Resort!
