Why a Value Resort?

Because the Walt Disney World Resort has so many resorts and room options, most people assume that they must all be expensive. They are not. Then you get some vacation planners that want the full-on Disney experience and want to stay at one of the deluxe resorts because they figure that the value ones must not be any good. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The first thing to take in to consideration is that you are hardly EVER in your room when vacationing at the Walt Disney World Resort. Our family gets a wake-up call every morning between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. and we are all showered, dressed and at the bus stop by 8:00 a.m. We want a FULL day in the parks. On an average day, the parks open at 9:00 and close at either 8:00 or 9:00 pm - on average. We will stay in the park the entire day. Then, by the time the park closes and you fight the crowds, get a bus and get back to the hotel, it's pretty late. Essentially we are just sleeping in our rooms so why would I spend $250 a night when I could spend $89?

I've stayed at three of the four value resorts with my husband and kids and I've taken a few trips with just me and my sister where we've stayed at the deluxe resorts and to be honest, yes, the deluxe resorts are beautiful and the rooms are bigger, essentially, I'm still just sleeping in the room.

Disney value resorts are not like off-site "value" resorts. These are not cheezy motels. There are three All-Star Resort: All-Star Sports, All-Star Music, and All-Star Movies. The fourth value resort is the POP Century Resort. All of these resorts have great themes and have these larger-than-life icons all around the buildings and complex. Their colors are all bright, primary colors that just grab your attention! POP Century has icons based on some of the biggest pop-culture icons of the last 50 or so years and each section is based on a different decade: 50's - 90's.

The All-Star Sports is completely sports themed, All-Star Music features all different kinds of music genre's, and All-Star Movies is based on some of Disney's best movies. We've stayed in the Rock n Roll building of All-Star Movies and in the Toy Story section of All-Star Movies - actually, we were right outside of Andy's room where there were three-story tall Buzz Lightyear and Woody! That was back in 2001 and the kids LOVED it! There was even a life-sized RC Racer that the kids could sit in and pretend to drive. I have GOT to scan those pictures in!

The rooms, in general, are pretty small. You can only fit four people in them and even then it's a little tight. You get two full-size beds, a dresser, a table and chairs, TV, night stand and your standard bathroom and vanity area. Like I said, if you are just going to be using the room to sleep in and crash for the night, then you would have no problem here. But if you need a little space to sprawl out...well, the All-Star Music Resort does now offer family suites! These suites sleep up to 6 adults and have a queen size bed, a full-size pull-out sofa, and convertible ottoman and chair sleepers. There are two bathrooms, a kitchenette, mini-refrigerator and microwave. There is a private master suite. This is a nice option because you can fit more people and it is still less expensive than moving up to a deluxe room which is the only option if you have more than 5 people in your party.

There is plenty to do on all of the Value Resort complexes, as well. Each resort/complex has at least two pools. Each resort is also equipped with a food court, gift shop, arcade, playgrounds and plenty of places to explore! Each resort has bus service to and from all of the theme parks, as well.

One down side to these resorts is that they not as close to the parks as some of the others. You can see Blizzard Beach from some, or Epcot's fireworks from others but for the most part, they are a bit remote. Another down side is that these resorts are usually the most crowded because they are such a great deal. Because of that the buses are more crowded and actually, the three All-Stars do tend to share bus service which slows things down even more at the busier times of year.

But if you are looking for bang for your buck, you cannot go wrong with a Disney Value Resort. The cost, the themes, the service...you never leave the magic of the parks because you are surrounded by it even back in your room.