Thinking about staying at a value resort at Disney World? AWESOME! We love the value resorts and stay at them pretty regularly. In this post, we’re going to get you up to speed on the value resorts. We start with reasons to stay at the value resorts (admittedly, mostly money and fun). Then we get to the ranking of the best Disney value resorts. Since there are only five, we just rank them all. Read on for the full scoop on Walt Disney World’s value hotels!
Besides the reviews of every hotel (links are found later in this post), we have the following posts:
Complete Guide to Disney World Hotels — post to start picking your hotel and for understanding the key differences between the different hotels at Disney World
Benefits of Staying at a Disney Hotel — covers the perks associated with Disney hotels
Best Disney World Value Hotels (this post) — in-depth mostly objective look at and ranking of the value resorts
Best Disney World Moderate Hotels — in-depth mostly objective look at and ranking of the moderate resorts
Best Disney World Deluxe Hotels — in-depth mostly objective look at and ranking of the deluxe resorts
Ranking of the Best Disney World Hotels — our more subjective ranking of all the Disney hotels
If you’re looking for an introduction with quick, practical information about all the hotels, check out the guide post. If you’re looking for more detailed analysis, visit the different categorical rankings (like this one). And if you just want to know what two people who do this for a living think of every hotel, check out that last link.
Disney Value Resort Basics
If you want to skip this section, click here to jump down to the rankings.
The value resorts are Disney’s lowest-priced resorts. There are five value resorts at Walt Disney—Pop Century, Art of Animation, All-Star Movies, All-Star Sports, and All-Star Music. Nights at value resorts start at $133 for standard rooms. All-Star Music and Art of Animation also have more expensive family suites that start at $336 per night.
The All-Stars are sometimes referred to singularly as “All-Star Resort” because they are all a part of one giant campus. The only amenity they share, though, is a single bus route. Pop Century and Art of Animation are also near each other, connected by a small bridge over Hourglass Lake. They share no amenities other than a Skyliner stop, though you can walk from one to the other’s food court if anything on the menu catches your eye.
All the value rooms—except the Art of Animation Family Suites—have “motel”-style doors that lead directly outside. Value resorts have the most basic dining options—food courts, pizza delivery, and no other restaurants. (As we’ll discuss, we actually really like the value food courts.) All have multiple pool areas and activity schedules with things like pool games and nightly movies under the stars.
Reasons to Stay at Disney World’s Value Resorts
If you already are set on a value hotel and just need to know how we rank them, click here to jump down to the rankings.
1. Disney Hotel Perks
Value resort guests get all the perks of the other Disney guests. If you are used to staying off-site, you might not know what you’re missing!
Early Theme Park Entry is the big one—you’ll be able to enter the parks 30 minutes before other guests, every day. There are a lot of Disney hotel guests using this perk, but it’s better to be among them rather than behind them. You’ll also get to buy individual Lightning Lanes at 7AM rather than park open time, which can be a huge benefit on busier days when these can sell out quickly.
Some non-Disney hotels get access to some of these perks (and some of these have lower prices than the value resorts), but only the Disney resorts have access to the full suite of benefits for your Disney vacation.
2. Spend Your Savings On Something Else
For some families, a hotel is just a place to put your head between theme parks, dinners, bars, shows, and any other Disney experience you can think of. Why not save $200 per night on the resort and spend that $200 elsewhere? (Honestly, with Disney World’s online check-in you could go an entire hotel stay and only ever see your room and the bus stop.)
Staying at a value resort doesn’t have to mean your entire trip has to be value-focused. For the most part, we stay at value resorts because we spend so little time at our resort during trips, so we’d rather have that money for all the other great things at Disney World.
$200 per night is dinner for three at a signature restaurant. You can take a tour (like Keys to the Kingdom). You can mini-golf at Fantasia gardens. You can buy more merchandise. You might even be able to add a day or two to your trip!
3. Transportation isn’t So Bad Anymore
Reports of poor experience with the Disney buses continue to happen, but this isn’t unique to the value resorts. Getting between some deluxe resorts and some parks is no picnic sometimes, either.
But we do feel like bus transportation is improving. If nothing else, the addition of bus wait times to the My Disney Experience app means you shouldn’t be stuck endlessly waiting.
Moreover, it’s easier than ever to Uber (or Lyft) around Walt Disney World, or you can use Disney’s Minnie Van service. If getting around quickly is your big concern, consider that two daily Uber—or even Minnie Van—rides will still be significantly cheaper than the premium you’d pay to stay at a deluxe resort (where you’ll still have long trips to some of the parks).
The Disney World Skyliner gondola system is available at Art of Animation and Pop Century. You won’t necessarily be blown away by the Skyliner every trip—if you only ride it twice, during peak hours, you might just shrug at it. But it can be incredibly convenient for a midday return to your hotel or basically any ride outside peak times.
4. Ample Quick Service Food
Food courts might not be for everyone, but we love them. Deluxe resorts often have limited, expensive, and sometimes downright bad quick service food options.
Yes—there’s a trade off. At a deluxe resort you can wake up and walk to a character meal for breakfast. Or you can have a wonderful, fancy dinner night with a firework view (for, y’know, $$$).
But you can always go to another hotel for a nice meal. You can go before or after you go to a nearby park. You can spend an extra $25 to Uber / Lyft / Minnie Van there. You can also find nice meals inside the parks.
On the flip side, we’ve had several stays at deluxe resorts when we get back a late hour and just needed a burger or pizza but the restaurant was closed, or had a more limited menu that also required a wait. If I’m coming back to a place night after night following long days at the park, I’m picking the place with the food court.
5. Suites at a Reasonable Price
Okay, this is maybe just saying “value resorts are less expensive,” but it’s an important point to make. Many people don't realize that Art of Animation has wonderfully themed suites that tend to price around a standard room at a deluxe resort. These include Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Cars themed suites. Read our Review of the Art of Animation Family Suites (Lion King).
All-Star Music also has suites, but they aren’t notably well-themed.
If you’d like some extra space without paying the $1000s you’ll see deluxe suites going for, Art of Animation and All Star Music’s suites are good options. (You might also consider an Airbnb Near Disney World if you need space at a reasonable price.)
6. They’re Not Stuffy
These next three points are all sort of the same idea—that being low-cost and fun doesn’t make the hotels bad and, in fact, can give them a more enjoyable “vibe” than the other resorts. We love and embrace this.
This is definitely just about taste, but some of the deluxe resorts can feel a bit stuffy. That can be nice for the right kind of day on the right kind of trip, but sometimes you want to be able to walk in flip flops to grab a pizza and a beer without feeling a little out of place.
The value resorts tend to be bumpin' with kids and adults alike running around, having a fun time. Keep reading this post and you’ll see us complaining about the number of teenage groups running around the All Stars—so obviously this is an “all things in moderation” sort of idea. (And to be clear, it’s not like there’s no fun at the deluxe resorts. We’re just talking general energy here.)
7. Fun Theming
There's not much to be said trying to compare theming between the deluxe and value resorts. They reflect completely different understandings of what theming is, frankly. The deluxe resorts are stunning, brilliant, and deep (at their best, not always). The value resorts are, in a word, fun.
Animal Kingdom Lodge may have a savanna with real animals, but Art of Animation has The Lion King's elephant graveyard as a play place. Yacht and Beach Club may have Stormalong Bay, but Art of Animation has the Cars-themed Cozy Cones pool!
Yes—I’d take Animal Kingdom Lodge and Yacht and Beach Clubs over Art of Animation if price were no issue—but there are just plenty of features at the value resorts that are entertaining, even if a bit kitschy.
8. Unbeatable Energy
We've written this elsewhere, but while Grand Floridian feels like an older couple taking a horse-drawn carriage down Fifth Avenue (or like I said above, “stuffy”), the value resorts feel like a family of five zipping through the streets of Hanoi on a motorbike. The energy at the value resorts is just something else.
Obviously this isn’t all or nothing. At each resort you’ll have kids running wild and kids keeping it cool, parents who let their kids do anything and parents who quickly reel them in, other guests who laugh at it and other guests who sneer. But the balances are different.
Best Disney World Value Resorts (Complete Ranking)
Here for yet another ranking? Here’s how we rank the value hotels at Disney World. We’ll do you the solid of starting with #1, but we still recommend the full list, as every hotel has some advantages over its competition. We also have a more complete guide to the hotels of Walt Disney World.
For each hotel on this list, we provide a link to our review of that hotel. Those reviews have a lot more photos and video of a room at each hotel. A lot of finer details we don’t discuss in these snippets are covered in those reviews.
Rates are 2024 standard room rates (suites where noted) including tax, rounded. MouseSavers has a full rate table for every Disney hotel. Keep in mind, during deals (or by booking through someone like Priceline or Expedia) you may be able to beat these prices.
And as with our moderate and deluxe rankings, we try and keep this pretty objective. Even though we might prefer some small touches here and there, this list focuses mostly on the things that will most significantly impact your vacation.
1. Pop Century Resort
2024 Rates: $183 to $392
Read our Full Review of Pop Century Resort
Pop Century is an easy pick for the best value resort at Disney World. Even better, the reasons why it sits at the top allow us to quickly get to what sets the value resorts apart from each other.
Unlike the All-Star Resorts, which share buses, Pop Century has its own bus service and Skyliner access (shared with Art of Animation) to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. While we didn’t need Skyliner access to put Pop above the All-Star resorts, it makes the decision that much easier.
Along with having its own bus service, you can also use the Art of Animation buses if you don’t mind the walk between the hotels. We do this regularly. It won’t always save time, admittedly, but it also will pretty much never cost you more than 10 minutes max.
The proximity to Art of Animation brings us to another point—Art of Animation’s Landscape of Flavors Food Court. That food court is easily the best food court in the value resorts, if not all of Disney World. From Pop Century rooms, you’re looking at a maximum walk of about ten minutes to Landscape of Flavors, with some rooms at Pop being closer to Landscape than some rooms at Art of Animation. (The Pop Century food court, Everything Pop, is also going to be totally sufficient for most trips.)
At this point, you’re thinking “great, I’ll stay at Art of Animation.” But Pop Century has two advantages over Art of Animation (for more on this topic, read our comparison of Pop Century and Art of Animation).
First, Pop Century has lower prices than Art of Animation. Standard rooms at Pop Century are cheaper than standard (Little Mermaid) rooms at Art of Animation by about $25 per night. Moreover, it’s more common for Pop Century rooms to be included in discount offers than the standard rooms at Art of Animation.
The second is room quality, though not everyone shares this opinion. We prefer the new rooms at Pop Century to the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation (pictured next), both in terms of aesthetic and function. Look at the rooms, read our reviews. If you don’t agree, fine (and we concede this is a much tighter competition now that the Little Mermaid rooms have been updated).
You should also know that Art of Animation primarily consists of family suites, which Pop Century doesn’t have. These rooms are the best of the value suites. But if you’re comparing standard rooms—Pop Century vs. Art of Animation Little Mermaid—it’s also helpful to know that the Little Mermaid rooms are the farthest from the amenities at Art of Animation.
In a sentence—Pop Century are similar enough in most regards, but we prefer the price and room design at Pop Century.
2. Art of Animation Resort
2024 Rates: $209 to $413
2024 Suite Rates: $478 to $963
Read our Full Review of Art of Animation Resort
Read our Review of the Art of Animation Lion King Family Suites
Read our Review of the Art of Animation Finding Nemo Family Suites
Well. This section seems a little superfluous given how much we’ve already talked about Art of Animation. But there’s still a little bit left to say.
In addition to the things we talked about above—location, transportation, food court, and room types—Art of Animation has great pools and a great splash pad. The rooms at Art of Animation have improved in recent years, and they’re not as far behind the newest value rooms as they once were.
The real question here is how to compare Art of Animation to the two All Stars with renovated rooms. At the low end, Art of Animation costs $209 for a night. All-Star Movies and Music $76 / night less.
In previous versions of this list, I had Art of Animation down in the fourth spot, reasoning nothing about Art of Animation (namely Skyliner + better room theming, pools, buses access, and food court) justified the higher price. Nowadays, I’m a bit less sure.
The truth is that while I prefer the functionality of the newer All Star rooms, the rooms at Art of Animation are a nice treat when it comes to theming. And with a toddler in tow, I’ve fallen in love with the Skyliner’s ability to efficiently get us between our hotel and two parks. Is life $76 / night better with these amenities? Well, it’s at least close.
I think you could make the case that the price isn’t justified, which makes this a comparison that sort of comes down to my hunch. And the truth is that if Art of Animation and All Star Movies were available at rack rates (standard rooms), I’d pick Art of Animation every time.
4. All-Star Movies and Music Resorts (Tie)
Movies 2024 Rates: $133 to $305
Read our Full Review of All Star Movies Resort
Music 2024 Rates: $133 to $305
Music 2024 Suite Rates: $336 to $696
Read our Full Review of All Star Music Resort
Note: All Star Sports rooms have been refurbished, so you could probably rank it equally with Movies and Music, if that is the biggest factor distinguishing these three for you.
No one likes ties on ranking lists, but in this case I think it’s pretty justified. The All Star resorts are nearly identical, except for the fact that Sports still has outdated room design. This makes Music and Movies basically identical, except for a few small things we’ll note.
First, All-Star Music is also the only All-Star that has family suites. These are lower-priced than Art of Animation suites, but also nowhere near as nice (you’ll have to search elsewhere for full reviews of these, sorry).
Second, when they share buses (which is often), your hotel choice might matter a bit. Buses tend to stop Sports-Music-Movies, which means you’ll have the longest journey to the parks from Sports and from the parks going to Movies.
I did have one experience at Movies where a morning bus was actually full by the time it left Movies, leaving several guests in line. In their value rankings, Disney Tourist Blog comments that if buses fill, they may skip Movies.
Those points aside, the three resorts are similar. Because they’re low-cost and a large complex, the All-Star resorts frequently host teenage groups (e.g. for athletic competitions). I don’t know if there’s anyone offended by my saying that under-supervised teenagers can be loud, messy, vulgar, destructive, etc…but it’s more common in that demographic than others.
That said, we do still stay at the All-Star Resorts occasionally. There are times, particularly during deals with no availability at Pop—when the price too low for us to resist. So nothing about the All-Stars is a dealbreaker for us. Let’s talk a little more about these hotels.
Because Disney is most known for movies, All-Star Movies has the most “Disney” feel to it of the three All-Star Resorts. All-Star Music doesn’t lean heavily into Disney classics, and Music and Sports are just themed straightforwardly to their names.
The new rooms are nearly (or actually?) the same as the new Pop Century rooms we love so much. The rooms at Sports are the only old rooms left right now.
We will note that Movies has the oldest food court of the All-Star Resorts, with the food courts at Music and Sports having been renovated in the past few years. That said, we really have no idea what the differences between the three are.
5. All-Star Sports Resort
2024 Rates: $133 to $305
Read our Full Review of All Star Sports Resort
Note: All Star Sports rooms have been refurbished, so you could probably rank it equally with Movies and Music, if that is the biggest factor distinguishing these three for you.
All-Star Sports—because of its theming—is the resort that most commonly hosts teenage athletic teams. For this reason, we try and avoid it (again, it’s not like I think these kids are Ronan the Accuser, destroyer of worlds…I’d just happily pay the same amount to stay at Music or Movies, or $50 extra / night for Pop to avoid them if possible).
All-Star Sports has the newest food court, but we’ve never paid close enough attention to notice a difference. I’ll admit—the theming is sort of cool. I don’t know if it’s enough to justify a stay, but check out this football field.
One big note—if having a seat on the bus is important, All-Star Sports is a good choice because it is the first of the All-Star bus stops.
Beyond that, there’s really no reason to pick All-Star Sports unless you absolutely have to have the theming (which, we admit, is unique). Like every hotel on this list, we’ll still choose Sports if the price is great—usually during deal season or through a site like Expedia—and Pop Century is unavailable.
The important thing with Sports, as with all the value resorts, is that you know what you’re getting into. The hotel won’t blow you away, but you will have Early Theme Park Entry. You will have a variety of easy, quick food available. You’ll have theming. And above all, you’ll have fun.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Genie+ and Lightning Lane strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Epcot Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Animal Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, and Hollywood Studios Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.