I know, I know, using the words value and Walt Disney World in the same sentence may seem like a contradiction in terms. But the deals are there if you just know where to look... and look no further than the All Star Resorts!

I have stayed at the All-Star Music Resort each time I've gone to WDW for the past four or five years. My main reason for doing so is the budget factor. The rooms cost $79-$100 on average, which is pretty darn cheap by Disney standards. Sure, it might be nice to win the lottery and therefore be able to stay in one of the luxury hotels sometime, but, in the meantime, I am perfectly happy and content with my little room in All Star Music. In fact, there are actually certain advantages to staying at one of the All Star Resorts that you won't find anywhere else! Here's the lowdown:

Rooms
Let's get this out of the way first. The rooms are pretty small. They've got the standard two double beds, one bathroom, one sink (on the outside of the bathroom door, which is nice), one small table, a chest of drawers, and a TV. But that really shouldn't matter, because you don't go to WDW to hang out in your room. You go to visit the theme parks and all the other fun stuff there is to do. Your room is where you sleep. Who needs tons of space for that???

You still get clean towels, maid service, free shampoo, plastic cups, pizza delivery, wake up calls, whatever. All the standard stuff. There are no extras, but they don't skimp out on the basics, either.

Grounds
The buildings are kind of...colorful.... and decorated with oversized musical instruments. But fun! The landscaping is very nice. There are also two large swimming pools with lifeguards on duty. The main pool has a little island with statues of the cartoon birds from The Three Caballeros, which spray water at you. The pools are spacious enough to accommodate a large number of people comfortably. That's a good thing because these are large resorts that house tons of guests... and lots of kids!! Be prepared for lots of kids!!

Some of the buildings are very far away from the bus stop and food court. If you get one of these rooms, you're in for quite a trek each time you want to catch a bus. Otherwise, everything is pretty close by.

There is also an adequate hotel gift shop and game room in the lobby.

Food Court
The food court opens early and closes late. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They've got the standard fare like BBQ, hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, sandwiches, chicken, etc. There is also a nice deli section with fresh fruit and salads. Unless you're looking for really fancy fare, you won't be disappointed with the selection here. The best part is the drink station in the middle of the dining hall. You can get all the refills you want here. Do buy one of the "refillable mugs" at the beginning of your stay!! They cost around $7 but you can refill them with anything in the drink station as many times as you want for the duration of your trip. This includes sodas, coffee, and hot cocoa. Quite a deal!!

For those of you who drink alcohol, there is a bar adjoining the food court out by the pool. IMPORTANT HINT!! If you are just looking to buy a bottled beer, you will save at least $2 by buying it in the gift shop instead!! I made the mistake of buying a Bud Light at the bar a few years ago. It cost me upwards of $4.00. Imagine my dismay when I was browsing the gift shop the next day and saw Bud Light (refrigerated, at that) for $1.50!!! No fair!!!

Buses
The bus stops, as I mentioned previously, will be either pretty convenient or pretty inconvenient to your room, depending on what building you get. Such is life. But the buses come so frequently that you will never have long to wait, which is a good thing! You might, however, end up standing up in the bus during peak times just because there are so many people cramming into them!!! This is uncomfortable at times because the All Star Resorts are not very close to any of the theme parks, so it always seems to be a long ride. A warning to the ladies: I have witnessed very little chivalry from men at WDW. Frankly, they don't care if you're standing-- they are tired and grumpy and they will probably not offer you their seat!! Oh well. Guess that's an old-fashioned ideal, anyway, eh?

The bus situation at the theme parks is another story altogether. One of the most amusing things about Disneyworld is the very obvious "class system" which unabashedly manifests itself at the bus stops. It's almost like Titanic.

When you visit any of the theme parks (or water parks, for that matter), you will notice that the proximity of the bus stops to the park entrance is directly proportional to the price of the resort. For example, if you are staying at Boardwalk or the Grand Floridian, your bus stop is just a hop, skip and a jump to the park entrance. How nice for you after a long day at the park. If you're staying in the "third class" All Star Resorts, however, you're looking at the longest walk possible from the bus stop to the front gate. At the beginning of the day, this leaves you tired before you even start. At the end of the day, you can only imagine....

But take heart!!! Unlike the Titanic tragedy, the lower class citizens at WDW always get the last laugh!!!! All Star Resort buses seem to come twice as often as the buses from the most expensive resorts!!! That means, at the end of the day after the fireworks when everyone is scrambling to get back to their rooms, your bus will come almost immediately. And if you miss it, there will be another one right behind it! I suggest you wave to all the poor upper-class citizens standing in an hour long line to get home.... poor things.

Overall
Overall, I really love the All Star Resorts. All the Disney magic is there. All the amenities are there. The bus situation is great, and you will get a wonderful night's sleep. What more do you need from a hotel??








Recommended: Yes