It's no secret that the cost of a Disney vacation keeps climbing, and those of us with the itch to visit often must find affordable ways to do so. Disney World's value resorts offer guests the thrill of staying on Disney property—and all the comforts and conveniences that come with it—at a reasonable price point.
That price point can vary considerably from resort to resort, however, and a stay at All-Star Sports could save you significantly more than one at Art of Animation or Pop Century, where resort guests pay slightly higher rates, primarily for access to Disney's Skyliner. Even the small difference in rack rates for All-Star Movies or All-Star Music versus what I paid for four nights at All-Star Sports can really add up depending on the time of year. I'll break down those differences in cost in my resort review below.
No matter which one you choose to book, the value resorts are aptly named, and despite having stayed at nearly all of the deluxe resorts at Disney World over the years, I had a surprisingly positive experience at All-Star Sports.
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All-Star Sports Review
Disney's All-Star resorts are known for housing the least expensive rooms at Walt Disney World. All three are located in a small resort neighborhood some distance from Magic Kingdom but near Blizzard Beach Water Park and Animal Kingdom. Each one features a motel-inspired room layout decorated with larger-than-life design elements that reflect its stated theme. I have previously stayed at All-Star Music and All-Star Movies, where the respective theming appealed to me more than the sports motif.
Read our reviews of the other value resorts
I'm not a huge sports fan, and I've always been a bit wary of staying at All-Star Sports due to the various youth teams that tend to crowd this particular resort. Word has it these groups of kids and teens can get loud and rowdy, and I enjoy a quiet, relaxing atmosphere where I can retreat from the overstimulation of the park environment.
That being said, I'm a former high school athlete myself, and I can get casually enthusiastic about certain sports. This piece of background information may be relevant to my overall impressions of the resort, which I found to be a delightful contrast to my preconceived notions.
Last-Minute Availability on a Budget
My family booked our stay at Disney's All-Star Sports Resort just over two months in advance. We had planned a fall break trip in October, which we decided to reschedule following the predicted severity of Hurricane Milton. At the time, there was still plenty of standard room availability at the resort throughout December—even during Christmas week—and during the first week of January, when we visited.
Our budget for this trip was strictly limited, and our decision to stay at All-Star Sports over its sister resort hotels was based solely on cost. Since we had Disney Visa rewards points available to use toward the price of our vacation, we booked our stay directly through Disney. We did this over the phone, while cancelling our October plans during the last 15 minutes before midnight on our previously scheduled arrival date.
Rack rates for a standard room at All-Star Movies and All-Star Music for our January 2-January 6 stay would have cost us $761 for the duration, before taxes. That's $202 a night, with the exception of January 5, which was $155. We paid $536.80 for our stay at All-Star Sports (that's $142.40 a night for the first three nights and $109.60 for the last night!), saving us $224.20 over the other All-Star resorts! Although the All-Stars often list identical or comparable rack rates, this is not the first time Disney has presented us with the option of a cheaper stay at All-Star Sports. For reference, a standard room at Art of Animation for those dates would have cost us $1064, and Pop Century would have cost us $953. You can get the best rates on a hotel stay here via our travel partner Get Away Today.
Sporting Event Vibes
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As I mentioned before, my family and I are not sports fanatics. We like sports, but the idea of giant sports equipment as hotel decor didn't specifically excite us. So, I didn't expect much in the way of ambiance at this resort. However, we ended up really enjoying the feel of All-Star Sports!
We requested a room near the pools and lobby and ended up in the Home Run Hotel section of the resort, which turned out to be an ideal location for us. This section, in particular, created the distinct impression of being at a live baseball game, with tall scoreboards, manicured grass, and stadium lights that further enhanced the effect at night.
Home Run Hotel
This was the scenery from our “standard room with a parking lot view,” and I have to say, it was quite serene. With its baseball diamond pool and surrounding green spaces, Coca-Cola-cup-enclosed stairwells, and the iconic wooden Louisville sluggers, baseballs, banners, and pennants bringing America's favorite pastime to the exterior walls, Home Run Hotel is hands-down my favorite area at All-Star Sports. It's definitely a whole vibe.
Clean, Quiet Rooms
Although they're some of the smallest at Walt Disney World, the standard rooms at All-Star Sports feel more spacious after their recent refurbishment. The new floor plan includes a queen bed and a queen-sized Murphy bed, which conveniently provides a table with seating during the day and pulls down to create accommodations for up to four adults at night. My family of four is as accustomed to sleeping in a pop-up camper as we are a Disney deluxe resort, and we were content with our clean and comfortable room in the Home Run Hotel wing.
We also enjoyed the updates to the decor in these rooms, with artwork featuring Mickey, Minnie, and Donald above the queen bed and Huey, Dewey, and Louie above the Murphy bed, in the drawing style of the award-winning Disney Television Mickey short cartoons. With fresh white linens on platform beds and new faux hardwood flooring, the new styling is sleek and modern, if ubiquitous (the design is similar to many other Disney resort refurbishments and identical in every All-Star resort).
Standard rooms feature sink and shower areas separated from the sleeping space and from each other with sliding doors, to maximize bathroom use during the morning rush, which is nice. We found plenty of storage available, with space for suitcases under the bed, cubby shelves under each nightstand table, a dresser with cabinet shelving and deep drawers, copious bathroom shelving, utility knobs on the wall for coats and the like, and a narrow open closet with hangers, more shelving, and space for shoes underneath. The room also includes a mini-fridge (or, more specifically, a “beverage cooler”), and a small two-cup Cuisinart coffee maker, with paper cups and coffee pods available in the drawer below.
Peaceful Pathways
Keep in mind that my family checked in the day after New Year's, when the crowds at the parks and other resorts were still formidable. All-Star Sports was, in contrast to Polynesian Village, for example, shockingly quiet and downright tranquil. This may not always be the case, and during youth sporting events in particular, we know this resort tends to be a hub of activity. You can avoid these All-Star Sports crowd surges, though, with careful planning.
In the past, when my family has stayed at the All-Star resorts, we haven't spent much time exploring the terrain, choosing instead to fill our days with the attractions and entertainment in the parks. This time, however, we scheduled an entire resort day and were able to thoroughly immerse ourselves in everything All-Star Sports has to offer. We especially enjoyed strolling along the peaceful pathways surrounding the main resort areas, where we rarely encountered another soul.
Disney Details
In addition to the strong iconic character presence at All-Star Sports, like the agitated Donald figure on the tennis court, we were happy to see some of the more subtle details Disney is known for, even at a budget resort. The imprints of seashells and starfish in the paved, sand-colored trails through the Surf's Up! section are a good example of these light Disney touches. There's also a portion of the Surf's Up! pathway that features boardwalk-style planks, which are really effective in giving that area an authentic feel.
Grand Slam Pool
Winter weather didn't stop us from swimming at the resort pools during our first day at the resort. We braved the chilly January air to experience All-Star Sports to the fullest!
We were the only guests swimming with Goofy at the smaller of the two resort pools, just around the corner from our room. The water was just warm enough to keep us cozy—that is, until the mad dash through the cold for our towels on a nearby lounge chair. Cast members provided sports-themed beach balls for us to toss around, and my kids loved the fountain spray from Goofy's cannon on the pitcher's mound.
Surfboard Bay Pool
Surfboard Bay is the primary pool at All-Star Sports, and while there are no fancy slides or splash pads here, it's a good-sized pool for the resort, and the surrounding shark fins and surfboards give it a beach vacation aesthetic. This is where you'll find cast members facilitating daily poolside games and activities.
Convenient Food Court with Decent Menu Options
Value resort critics often list a lack of dining options as one of their major drawbacks, and I get it. There are no table service restaurants at these resorts, and the quick service spot might seem a bit like a glorified school cafeteria. But wait—these food courts can be super convenient and kid-friendly! If you're traveling to Disney World by car and arriving late in the evening, like we were, you might want to grab a no-fuss dinner before unpacking and settling into your room for the night. End Zone is the perfect place to do this.
Cafeteria Style Food Lines
There are several different food stations at End Zone, serving up burgers and chicken, hot dogs, sandwiches, pizza and pasta, and a create-your-own-entree station with options like blackened salmon and beef stir fry. You can find beverages and grab-and-go items like fruit and salad in the refrigerated market area, and the bakery case contains bagels, muffins, croissants, brownies, cookies, cupcakes, and such. Other desserts and Joffrey's coffee are available here as well.
While this location does offer mobile order, I don't recommend using it here unless the lines are crazy long, because many of the items in the food court don't appear on the mobile order menu.
Warming Station
We often stock up on breakfast items before we arrive at Disney World to eat in the room or on the go, if we're rushing out to rope drop a park. Since there are no microwaves or toasters in the resort rooms here, you can use the ones at End Zone, should the need arise.
Themed Seating Area
Mickey, Minnie, and friends adorn the walls and partitions of the seating area in playful cartoon sports slides, and we enjoyed looking around the dining room to see all of the different scenes. Between the booths, tables, and bar areas, there was plenty of seating available for groups of all sizes.
“Bases Loaded Burger”and Fries
My husband ordered the specialty burger for dinner, which includes bacon jam, an onion ring, and beer cheese on a toasted brioche bun. He said it was delicious and more flavorful than many of the quick-service burgers elsewhere on Disney property. The fries were good, too—crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Chicken Parmesan with Pasta and Alfredo Sauce
I decided to try the pasta bar at End Zone and chose the grilled chicken parmesan with penne and alfredo sauce (marinara is an option as well). It might not look like much, but the chicken was high quality, with light seasoning and mozzarella on top, and the pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. Even the garlic alfredo sauce was better than what you would get at Olive Garden.
Chicken Tenders
My kids both went with the chicken fingers here, and my son said it was the best chicken he had all week at Disney—he would know, since he ate it at nearly every location. My daughter's kids meal included apple slices, a Danimals yogurt smoothie, and a drink.
Sport Goofy Gifts
You can find a decent selection of Disney merchandise at Sport Goofy Gifts and Sundries, along with a few groceries, grab-and-go beverages, and essentials like medicines, baby care products, and toiletries.
We always recommend purchasing groceries and supplies for your trip elsewhere, since you'll be paying a premium for these items on property, but it's nice to have them available at the resort in a pinch.
Easy Access to Souvenirs
Sport Goofy carries basic Disney apparel, as well as resort-specific shirts and the like. You can find themed merchandise like basketballs and footballs featuring Disney characters for sale here, in case you want to take advantage of the football field or basketball courts and didn't pack accordingly. There are also plenty of Disney pins, water bottles, coffee mugs, toys, and kitchen wares at this location.
If you have some time on your hands, it's fun to have a look around this shop and search for Goofy Easter eggs. There's a glass case on one wall filled with Powerline tickets from The Goofy Movie, an award for “The Perfect Cast,” and trophies like “The Goofy Cup,” “Most Valuable Goof,” and my personal favorite, “The Golden Garsh.”
Grandstand Spirits Pool Bar
If you're craving a poolside beverage, Grandstand Spirits has you covered, with frozen libations and a variety of boozy beach cocktails, in addition to a few snacks, including salads, subs, and Mickey pretzels. There's a bar outside near the pool deck, and you can also order from a window inside the End Zone Food Court dining room.
Movies Under the Stars
Like most Disney World resorts, All-Star Sports offers Movies Under the Stars on select nights throughout the week, and we were fortunate to catch Aladdin showing behind the Surfboard Bay pool. We shared the pool deck with one other family on our first night there, and we each relaxed on our own lounge chair while watching, with rows of chairs to spare. Although there was a bit of a glare on the screen from the outdoor lighting, it was still a magical moment. If you happen to be visiting in January, I recommend bringing a blanket with you for comfort.
Resort Activities
Staying at a value resort doesn't mean missing out on Disney fun! Games and arts and crafts at Surfboard Bay Pool aren't the only activities you can enjoy at All-Star Sports. Cast members host a pajama party in the Stadium Hall Lobby a couple of nights a week with dancing, a plushie parade, and a Disney bedtime story. You can also take part in a complimentary campfire marshmallow roast outside the Touchdown! buildings on several nights during the week.
Game Point Arcade
Game Point Arcade rounds out the recreational amenities here and is home to classic and modern favorites for your gaming pleasure. Daily afternoon arcade tournaments offer prizes for skilled players.
Other Areas of All-Star Sports—Surf's Up!
While we stayed at the Home Run Hotel area of the resort, we also spent some time exploring the other parts of the resort. Not every area is created equal—I'm looking at you, Hoops—but in general, each set of buildings has its own charm.
Surf's Up! is the most centrally located themed area at All-Star Sports. The ocean-like aqua buildings are adjacent to the Stadium Hall Lobby and surround the main pool area. Schools of fish swim between the ground-to-rooftop surfboards lining the exterior walls, and the stairwells are enclosed within enormous lifeguard stands. Overall, the design of this area succeeds in creating a beach vacation feel.
Touchdown!
To get to Stadium Hall from our room, we had to cross the expanse between the two Touchdown! buildings, which happens to be a regulation-sized football field, complete with turf and real uprights at each end. It was a great place for my kids to stretch their legs and play, and it stayed mostly unpopulated during our time there, though I imagine it might get noisy in that area during busy seasons.
In this section, silhouettes of fans in the stands adorn the sides of the buildings, and flags spelling out the word “Touchdown!” fly from each yard line marker. Bright, three-story-high football helmets sit in the center of the T-shaped motel layout on each parallel side, and brown footballs wrap around the stairwells.
Center Court
Center Court is the tennis-themed area of the resort, and it's a lot of fun in its own right. Jumbo Spalding tennis ball cans are the stairwell-housing end-caps on these buildings, and between them is a turf-covered tennis court, surrounded by giant bubble-gum pink rackets and yellow tennis balls. Here we found Donald Duck's nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, interrupting Donald's tennis lessons with a pick-up game of baseball.
Hoops Hotel
Finally, the sun-bleached primary color palette and underwhelming whistle and megaphone props make the Hoops Hotel area the least desirable home base for a stay at All-Star Sports. I admit, this could only be a personal opinion, based on my lack of zeal for the sport in general. I will say that the usable basketball courts here give this otherwise fairly “meh” area some modest appeal.
Bus Transportation
Finally, we come to the downside of staying at All-Star Sports. Buses are the only Disney-provided mode of transportation available at these value resorts, and during the busy season, all three All-Stars may have to share them. If you drive to Disney World like my family does, this isn't a deal-breaker, since you can simply use our own vehicle to get around on property. Still, I recommend taking the bus to Magic Kingdom to avoid a long walk from the parking area at the Ticket and Transportation Center, where you'll transfer to the monorail or ferry boats to get to the park entrance. Those who fly to Disney World, however, will have to make the buses work, rent a car, or pay to use a Minnie Van, Uber, or Lyft.
Transportation is unfortunately one aspect of the All-Star resorts that makes me miss the experience of staying at a deluxe Disney hotel, where I can walk, take the monorail or water taxi, or wait on a comfortable bench under a designated covered bus stop for my resort-specific bus. The chain-linked switchbacks of the standing queue in front of Stadium Hall definitely leave something to be desired, and if you want to avoid waiting through three bus cycles at the end of the night after walking in the parks all day, you might want to look into other options while staying here. On the plus side, All-Star Sports is the first resort in the loop, so guests here will be able to board the buses first.
We Would Stay at Disney's All-Star Sports Resort Again
With prices rising, not only for Disney experiences, but in general, it's nice to know Disney-loving families like mine can still make the occasional Disney vacation happen on a budget. To me, it will always be worth it to stay in the midst of the magic, and with nightly rates that rival Holiday Inn and similarly priced hotels, All-Star Sports is a terrific value.
My family didn't expect much before arriving, and we were pleasantly surprised with the level of theming and upkeep at this resort. I recommend it to anyone planning a visit to Disney World on a budget.
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