Pros and Cons of Value Tier Resorts

The best way to stretch your vacation budget prioritizes staying at one of Disney World’s least expensive resorts.

You’ll get all of the highly-desired amenities by staying at an official Disney World resort, but you won’t break the bank.

Image: The Healthy Mouse

Deciding where to stay is still challenging, because you have your choice of five different excellent hotels.

So, let’s narrow it down. Here are the pros and cons of the value tier resorts.

All-Star Movies

Disney

The perception about resorts with “All-Star” in their name is that they are cookie-cutter carbon copies.

That’s not precisely true, as Imagineers have themed each one with a distinctive style, so you’ll always know where you’re staying.

However, these properties are similar enough that unless you have a strong preference between sports, music, and movie themes, you can just pick the cheapest one.

Thus, I won’t belabor the point that saving money should be one of your primary goals.

You want to spend most of your vacation budget inside the parks or on merchandise that you can bring home with you.

Still, All-Star Movies comes with one clear benefit.

The World Premiere Food Court is unquestionably the top dining experience in the Value Tier.

Disney has themed it to resemble a movie theater lobby, but the familiar layout will remind you of a high-class mall food court.

Circling back to the price, based on research I did for an upcoming book, this resort is often the cheapest option at Walt Disney World.

In terms of the cons, there are dramatically better options for large traveling parties.

Also, it’s often the worst reviewed of the various All-Star properties, probably because it somehow feels more basic than the rest.

It’s my favorite of the basic All-Star resorts, but please keep in mind I ran a movie website for 20 years.

All-Star Music

All-Star Music has an obvious pro that Sports and Movies cannot match.

Disney hosts Family Suites here capable of hosting up to six adults.

You’ll obviously pay more for a suite, but it’s shockingly affordable for any Orlando hotel, especially one on the Disney campus.

The reason you should consider this is that Family Suites are often cheaper than booking two different hotel rooms.

So, large families and/or close friends can save a fortune on the hotel part of their vacation budget.

When it comes to cons, the big one is what I already mentioned.

Movies is cheaper, and your goal is to save as much as possible on your hotel.

I’m not crazy about the logistics at All-Star Music, either, as I find the bus system to be particularly unwieldy.

I seem to be in the minority with this opinion, though.

All-Star Sports

The pro of All-Star Sports is its convenience, as there is a specific reason you’re likely to stay at this resort.

Disney hosts a metric ton of athletic competitions, starting with Peewee and going all the way up to collegiate level.

You don’t need to stay at this resort to participate in one of these activities; however, when you do, it’s the best one for logistics.

All-Star Sports is nearly as cheap  as All-Star Movies, and on some nights actually beats it in price.

The con circles back to the pro, as All-Star Sports is notoriously the loudest of, well, any Disney World hotel.

Excited children are competing, and they’re also on a Disney vacation.

If you were in their shoes, you’d yell and scream a lot, too.

For this reason, I generally tell people not to pick this resort unless they’re doing something at ESPN Wide World of Sports.

I apologize to diehard fans of All-Star Sports if this advice offends you.

Disney’s Art of Animation

While the final two resorts are technically in the same category, let’s be honest that they’re quite a bit fancier.

You’ll know this is true by the price, as Art of Animation and Pop Century hotel stays often cost twice as much as the various All-Star resorts.

Some Art of Animation rooms cost even more, but they’re definitely worth the money.

Many people reading this are emphatically nodding their heads in agreement, as they know what I’m about to say.

This resort hosts Family Suites, but they’re different from the ones at All-Star Music.

The ones at Art of Animation celebrate Disney’s storied history of animated classics.

Photo: Disney

You can stay in suites themed to Finding Nemo, Cars, or The Lion King.

You will never impress your children more than when you book them in one of these suites. I’m dead serious.

Your biggest problem will be convincing them to leave, because that’s where they’ll want to live.

As with All-Star Music, you will absolutely pay more for these Family Suites.

In fact, some of them cost as much as Disney’s Deluxe Tier hotels.

That is a clear con of Art of Animation of both Art of Animation and Pop Century.

When you spend this much, you’ll find even better amenities at Moderate and especially Deluxe Tier Resorts.

Pop Century

Art of Animation and Pop Century share a Disney Skyliner station, which is an invaluable resource for any property.

You’ll appreciate it that much more in the Value Tier, as it allows you to sidestep Disney’s bus system when traveling to EPCOT or Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

You can hop on a scenic gondola and relax while enjoying a bit of midair tranquility.

You’ll have a bird’s eye view of the gorgeous Disney World campus while you travel to half of its theme parks.

Pop Century is also renowned for Everything Pop, its unique store and food court combo.

Alas, I favor Art of Animation, partially because I’m mad at Disney for its recent Pop Century renovations.

Historically, my favorite part of the resort was its hotel lobby.

Almost out of spite, Disney tore down what I love, introducing a more generic backdrop.

That’s a personal gripe, but you’ll have a very real one with the price of this resort.

The regular rooms are every bit as expensive as those at Art of Animation; however, Pop Century doesn’t sell Family Suites.

Also, its theming isn’t anywhere near as “Disney.”

Pop culture fads are on display here rather than classic Disney movies, which isn’t quite what most fans want while at Disney World.

Final Thoughts

In a vacuum, I’d pick Art of Animation from this list, but then I also told you to save as much money as possible.

That’s why I generally tell my friends to stay at All-Star Movies.

Most of my friends are also movie lovers, which will make that resort more appealing to them than it may be to you.

For larger families, the choices is clear.

You either want All-Star Music or, for better theming, Art of Animation.

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Feature Photo: Disney