The Disney All-Star Value Resorts are, for many, the first experience had at a Walt Disney World Resort. They are cheaper, available more often, have suites for larger families, multiple pools and oh, did we mention cheaper? The first time we stayed at Disney we stayed at the All-Star Music Disney Value Resort, nothing could have been more magical at the time. We stayed in the country music building, and while none of us really like country music, it didn’t even seem to matter because we were at Disney! Here’s all of our reasons to love ( and maybe not love) the All-Star Music Resort experience.
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What Do You Get at a Disney Value Resort?
We’ve written about the All-Stars Value Resorts before, but are they for everyone? What are you getting or not getting for paying the lower price? Check out our Disney Resort Levels post if you’re confused on the breakdown of “hotel levels and pricing. Luckily, we’ll break this down for you so you can make your own call on your next, first, or only Disney resort experience.
All-Star Music Atmosphere
The All-Star Music Resort, alongside the other value resorts ( All-Star Sports and All-Star Movies), is considered the quintessential Disney vacation experience. Much like any National Lampoons Vacation, you and your family will all pile into an average sized room with way too much luggage and only a curtain separating the sink from the room. Mornings will be raucous and you’ll wish you were at the Grand Floridian instead. Later you’ll fight the crowds in the food court. Try to ignore the numerous families fighting at the pool. And, if you’re unlucky you’ll be sharing the resort with a high school band. Or a dance team. Maybe a toddlers in tiaras group and some spring breakers. As the cheapest resorts on property Disney Value Resorts are often the ones most groups and schools book throughout the entire year. Keep in mind this may also mean you and your family will be subject to witness questionable clothing choices. Vulgar language. And other things you may not think fit for public consumption. While these issues can arise at any resort, we do find them more often at the value resorts.
Thus is the plight of the All-Star Resort guest.
A Whole New World at All-Star Music
The affordability of the resort brings all kinds of people and experiences, but not necessarily bad ones. As a first time vacationer or if you’re traveling with children/tweens/teens…this sort of real life experience could build some much needed character. Not to mention soft skills they can use in life later on. They can order food on their own, figure out how much their food will cost, wait their turn at the drink station and clean up their trays when they’re finished.
If you, however, already have enough character an All Stars Music vacation may just test your nerves. And have you contemplating a second or third job to support a moderate resort experience in the future.
It’s a little like Camping
While you’re not camping and are actually at a bonafide Disney resort with top notch ratings, this resort sorta feels a little like camping. You’ll bond with other guests in the laundry building, because families staying here often have young children. You’ll be fighting off a cold and taking loads of vitamin C alongside all the other folks who didn’t do the weeks worth of Emergencee prior to their vacation. You’ll be trying to figure out if just ordering the in-room pizza is cheaper than going all the way back up to the food court for dinner. (P.S. it is.., and the tip is built into the charge.).
..And a little like being at an all night party
And just like everyone else at this resort, you’ll all be up late still filling your refillable mug at the drink machines for one last drink before bed. All while the music plays throughout the resort as the soundtrack to your vacation.
This resort always feels like a party, whether you’re up for it or not.
Just as there are times when we are up for the Disney chaos, there are definitely times when we’d rather be on a quiet beach somewhere. Thankfully Disney offer all sorts of resort experiences so we can pick and choose depending on the kind of vacation we need.
All-Star Music Rooms
The All-Star Music rooms are decorated in a classic Disney theme. Characters playing instruments adorn the walls, and just like any other resort room you’ll get your basic dresser, tv, table with two chairs and coat rack. These rooms don’t usually have a fridge or coffee maker, but Disney is upgrading rooms across all the resorts in preparation for the 50th anniversary in 2021 so amenities may improve.
What we LOVE about All-Star Music Rooms
Here are a couple things we loved about the resort rooms.
Large Picture Window: This may sound trivial, but every Disney pro vacationer knows the importance of decorating your resort window. You could hang lights, line up stuffed animals, make picture cut outs, anything. The holiday resort window decorations get way more elaborate so be sure to pack a little something extra for your window if you stay here.
Housekeeping and Towel Friends: A major perk of the All Star Resorts is that they have the largest housekeeping staff on property. Since they are technically the busiest resorts. This, however, also means that you can usually depend on a pretty regular housekeeping service and special fun like your rags and towels created into cute mickey creations. We haven’t seen too many towel friends at the higher end resorts, so this is still a major plus for this resort.
All-Star Music Resort and Grounds
Location: The layout of All Star Music is such that all buildings angle into a central aisle that leads to the main building with the food court. Additionally there is a path that connects all three All Star Resorts if you want to go off on a walk or gallivant to the other resorts. The layout here is by far the most crowd friendly. No building is too far away. Unlike the mermaid buildings at Art of Animation , all buildings here are also pretty close to parking if you’re driving in on your own. Though, note the new parking fees.
Cafeteria: The layout of the food court was designed with crowds and high traffic in mind. The dining room is separated out into a several dining spaces, so it cuts down on the crowd sound. It also has a central drink roundabout station. You can find tables outside to better disperse the crowds as well. Frankly, this place is always busy and loud so if that’s stressful for you, consider eating somewhere else. Otherwise, it makes a great cafeteria to grab a bite to eat.
Pools and Grounds: All Star Music is very well themed to all things Disney, as are all the Disney Value Resorts. They will by far feel the most “Disney” with the exception of Art of Animation. You’ll get colorful pools, fun photo ops and an opportunity to see both All Stars Sports and All Star Movies simply by walking a little further down the walking path.
All Star Music Resort Map and Buildings
Check out the All Star Music Resort Map for everything you need to help navigate this resort. Thankfully, all the All Star Resorts are connected by a walking pathway, so you can not only explore this resort but All Star Movies and All Star Sports as well.
All-Star Music Transportation
The All Star Resorts have their own busing system. If you haven’t been to Disney in a while we can’t stress enough how much of an advantage this is! In fact we had somewhat of a shock when we started staying at non all-star resorts where the buses don’t show up as often. This is always an issue in the evenings when you’re catching the bus from the parks back to the resort. All Star resort buses show up at the parks every 20 minutes or so. This time gets closer to every 10 minutes as the night crowds disperse. If you’re not staying at an all-star resort, you’ll be watching in envy as every bus that enters the roundabout is an all star bus, and you’re still waiting 40 minutes just to see one going to your better, higher-priced resort.
While a perk regarding the time it will take to get on or off your bus, keep in mind these buses will also be crowded on every trip. Which means you may be standing more often than you would like.
All Star Music Resort Review
So, what do we really think of this resort? Perhaps our best review of this resort is this. You and you alone choose if this resort will work for you. In all honesty, it worked perfectly for our first trip and a few subsequent trips to Walt Disney World.
We were thrilled to get a hotel for so cheap. Thrilled with our resort mugs as a perk of the Free Dining Plan offer. And since we planned to be in the parks all day every day anyway, the resort was an afterthought. While the chaos did feel overwhelming it was all part of our Disney experience. It wasn’t until we started staying at Caribbean Beach and Pop Century that we realized the Disney Resort experience could be different. For us now we must admit staying at All Star Music would not feel like much of a vacation. If you are however toting kids and just trying to get your family to Disney then this resort will work just fine. 🙂 Hopefully this has given you a little inside glimpse to Disney’s All-Star Music Resort. Whatever your resort choice, enjoy!
