So, you want to go to Disney World and stay on-site? Have you considered the value resorts at Disney World?
There are 3 categories of Disney World resorts: Value, Moderate and Deluxe.
There are benefits to staying at all Disney resorts, but today we will be focusing on the pros of staying at value resorts at Disney World.
This post is all about why you should stay at one of the value resorts at Disney World.
Value Resorts at Disney World
Before we get into the benefits of these resorts, here is a list of the value resorts at Disney World:
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
Now, let’s get into why you should stay at one of these value resorts at Disney World.
1. They are a lot more affordable than Moderate and Deluxe Resorts
As the category name suggests, value resorts at Disney World are the cheapest on-site hotel option.
That being said, don’t let the term “value” trick you; you still pay a premium to stay on Disney property.
To give you a rough estimate, you can stay in an All-Star Sports standard room from $128 per night (based on 2023 prices).
But this can exceed $250 per night at busy times (including Christmas and New Year).
But when you can easily spend a few hundred or even $1000+ per night at Moderate and Deluxe resorts, this is clearly a more budget-friendly option, if staying on-site at Disney World is important to you.
RELATED POST: The Best Disney World Value Resorts You Should Stay At
2. Choices of Standard and Preferred Rooms
The following resorts offer both Standard and Preferred rooms:
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
They all sleep up to 4 guests.
Standard rooms will be the cheapest option; however, they will likely be further away from the resort’s main amenities, food courts and transportation.
If you’re willing to pay a little extra, you can opt for a Preferred room, to be closer to some of the resort’s amenities.
It’s often about $20 to upgrade to a Preferred room (sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more).
If you want to minimise the amount of walking you have to do around the resort, spending the extra money on a Preferred room might be worth it for you.
After all, you do plenty of walking in Disney World. (On my last trip, I was walking up to 29,000 steps a day!).
3. The Option of Family Suites
Maybe Standard and Preferred rooms at Disney World value resorts aren’t for you. Maybe you need more space, or you’re travelling with a larger party.
This is where the family suites at the value resorts come in.
Family suites are offered at:
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
These family suites sleep up to 6 guests.
The pricing for family suites at All-Star Music at $323 (based on 2023 prices).
This isn’t cheap, but it’s significantly cheaper than the suites at Art of Animation – which start at $459 (also based on 2023 prices).
For a value resort, these are not inexpensive, so it’s worth researching and crunching the numbers before you spend at least a few hundred per night to stay at a 3-star hotel.
RELATED POST: The Worst Disney World Value Resorts You Should Avoid
4. Perfect if you spend most of your time at the parks
Are you at Magic Kingdom for rope drop? Are you still at Epcot after the fireworks? Do you skip the afternoon break from the parks?
If so, it is unlikely that you’re spending a significant amount of time at your resort.
If so, why splurge on a moderate or deluxe Disney World resort – if you’ll lack the time to appreciate it?
5. Great transportation at the Value Resorts
Every Disney World value resort provides “complimentary” transportation to all the parks and Disney Springs.
RELATED POST: How Many Parks Are There At Disney World – All The Disney Parks You Need To Know
The All-Star Resorts provide bus transportation to the parks at Disney Springs.
But the Pop Century and Art of Animation provide guests with the Skyliner to Epcot and Hollywood Studios – as well as buses to the remaining locations.
In fact, since the Skyliner opened in 2019, transportation at Pop Century and Art of Animation at Disney World can be better than some moderate and deluxe resorts.
For example, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (a moderate) and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (a deluxe) only offer bus transportation to the Disney World parks and Disney Springs.
So, if you stay at a Disney World value resort, you may experience transportation on par to – or better than – certain moderate and deluxe resorts.
6. Perfect for smaller parties
If you are a solo traveller or a party of two, you may not need a huge room or suite.
260 square feet (the average room of a standard room at the All-Star Resorts and Pop Century) may be perfectly adequate for you.
In this case, a larger room may be money down the drain.
7. Value Resorts are more heavily “Disney themed”
One of the most unique qualities of the value resorts at Disney World is that they feel like an extension of the theme parks.
If you didn’t know, you might think this photo was taken at Animal Kingdom:
But, you would be mistaken. This was actually taken at Art of Animation.
If your kid (or you!), are fans of the Disney characters, Value resorts may be the way to go for you, as Moderate and Deluxe resorts tend to have more subtle Disney theming.
Here is a list of areas of Disney value resorts based on famous films (& characters!):
- 101 Dalmatians – Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Fantasia – Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Toy Story – Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Love Bug – Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Mighty Ducks – Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Broadway Hotel – Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie at Center Court – Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Lady and the Tramp in the 50s section – Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Mowgli and Baloo in the 60s section – Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Mickey Mouse (telephone) in the 70s section – Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Mr and Mrs Potato Head in the 80s section – Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Roger Rabbit in the 80s section – Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Ariel, Flounder, Ursula, King Triton, Sebastian and Prince Eric in the Little Mermaid section – Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Lightning McQueen, Mater, Guido, Luigi and the rest of the gang in the Cars section – Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, Scar, Mufusa Shenzi, Banzai and Ed in The Lion King section – Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Nemo, Marlin, Dory, Crush, Squirt, Mr. Ray, the infamous seagulls and jellyfish in the Finding Nemo section – Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
8. The great amenities
Even though they might be cheaper than Moderate and Deluxe resorts, it doesn’t mean they skimp on the amenities.
Here is a list of amenities you get access to when staying at the value resorts at Disney World:
- They all have at least two swimming pools
- Every Disney World value resort has an arcade
- They all have quick service dining locations (the Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort has a wider selection of dining options).
RELATED POST: 8 Reasons Why Disney World Quick Service Dining Is Better Than Table Service
9. The cheapest way to qualify for Early Theme Park Entry
If you stay in a Disney World resort, you can enjoy Early Theme Park Entry.
This means you get an ENTIRE 30 minutes in the parks before the general public. Okay, maybe I’m being slightly sarcastic, but it is nice to have a little headstart at rope drop. Even if it’s only half an hour.
Ta Ta For Now
What is the biggest reason you love staying at Disney World resorts? Or, if you’ve never stayed at a Disney World value resort before, what makes you the most excited about your future stay? Let me know in the comments!
This post was all about the 9 reasons why you should stay at the value resorts at Disney World.
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