Recently, we filled you in on the BIG problem with Disney World’s Moderate Resorts (“big” being the keyword in that situation!). Today, we’re talking about all things Value Resorts!
Disney’s Pop Century Resort
As their name implies, Value Resorts can definitely bring a lot of value to your Disney World vacation. But if you go in with the wrong expectations, you will quickly discover some of the MAJOR problems with these hotels.
Disney World’s Value Resorts provide tons of, well, VALUE for those looking to save money while still staying on Disney World property. If those on-property perks are important to your family but you want to stretch your vacation dollars as much as possible, you really cannot beat the Value Resorts.
Pop Century Resort
These hotels (Disney’s All-Star Sports, Movies, and Music Resorts, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, and Disney’s Pop Century Resort) are going to be your “budget” accommodations, essentially providing you with a place to rest your weary head at the end of a long day in the parks and not a whole lot else. Not as glitzy or glamorous as the Grand Floridian, that’s for sure, but these Value Resort options have their own charm. These work out perfectly for many guests, but we wanted to make you aware of some potential issues you could run into!
They Accommodate a LOT of Guests
While Disney World’s Moderate Resorts accommodate a lot of guests spread out over a sprawling property, the Value Resorts accommodate a lot of guests…but close together in far fewer buildings. The Value Resorts will certainly feel more crowded than many of the other hotels on Disney World property simply because there are a TON of rooms over a smaller footprint.
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
To give you an idea, the five Value Resorts combined have over 9,000 rooms — that’s a lot of people! Art of Animation is the smallest but still has nearly 1,000 rooms (and those family suites can accommodate up to 6 guests!).
Art of Animation
While these resorts offer a great value in terms of price, you’ll have a LOT of neighbors in close proximity to you. Disney World vacations are pricey, so lots of guests will opt for the hotel that gives them the best bang for their buck.
How About a Stay at Pop Century?
Because these rooms are at a lower price point, the Value Resorts are often where you’ll find larger travel groups, like the cheerleader teams that compete at ESPN Wide World of Sports. These are extremely hard-working kids, but their daily schedule may not line up exactly with your vacation schedule (they get up pretty early to head off to compete!).
Click here to read why you SHOULD consider staying at a Value Resort!
Most of the Guest Rooms Are SMALL
A disadvantage of the Value Resort is that the rooms are the smallest of all of the Disney resort options. Simply put, the rooms at the Value Resorts are teeny-tiny. This may not be a huge issue if you tend to pack light or you’re only traveling with one or two other people, but families may quickly run out of elbow room once you unpack.
Murphy Beds at All-Star Music Family Suite
Another “side effect” is that the Value Resort buildings pack A LOT of those tiny rooms into one building. This means you’re closer to your neighbors than at other resorts, and you have more neighbors, as well! Both of these factors can mean rooms in the Value Resorts aren’t as quiet as some of the moderate and deluxe resorts, where guests are more spread out. For this reason, we recommend being prepared with a white noise machine or app on your phone to help muffle out those environmental noises of your neighbors.
Full Room at Pop Century
Ironically, if you’re looking for MORE space, you may be able to find that at the Value Resorts! Disney’s All-Star Music Resort and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort offer Family Suite accommodations, which sleep up to six guests as opposed to a standard room which only sleeps four. But along with the extra space of these suites, you can expect to fork out some extra bucks. So, keep that in mind when weighing the pros and cons of choosing a room.
Click here for a list of things you WON’T find in your Disney World hotel room.
There Are Limited Dining Options
While every Disney World hotel offers dining options for their guests, you won’t necessarily find the same type of dining options at each resort. The Value Resorts are limited to only one Counter Service dining location across the entire resort. You may be able to also include the hotel’s pool bar if you’re looking for something to munch or sip on while lounging by the pool.
Everything Pop
On top of the dining options being limited, you will also find that the food available is limited to your standard “food court” menu. You can count on Mickey Waffles for breakfast, Chicken Nuggets for Lunch, and Pizza for dinner. You may find a few exceptions (one of our favorites being the Roxy Counter at All-Star Movies), and there’s certainly nothing wrong with Chicken Nuggets (we love ’em!), just don’t go into lunch expecting anything life-changing. All of the Value Resorts have their own food court, and many of the options are the same across the board, though you may find some unique items here and there.
- All-Star Movies: World Premiere Food Court
- All-Star Sports: End Zone Food Court
- All-Star Music: Intermission Food Court
- Pop Century: Everything Pop Food Court
- Art of Animation: Landscape of Flavor Food Court
World Premiere Food Court at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
With so many guests staying at these hotels, you may experience some pretty crowded dining halls when it comes time to eat. Dining at your hotel can often be a convenient way to grab some food before you hit up the parks, but when it comes to the Value Resorts, you might be better off snacking in your hotel room and finding better (and perhaps quieter) meal options elsewhere. And don’t pass up the pool bars, these spots usually offer some fun non-alcoholic smoothies or shakes and unique cocktails for a bit of additional vacation sippin’ fun!
Click here to read why people HATE specific Disney World hotels.
There Are Limited and More Crowded Transportation Options
Disney World offers a number of complimentary transportation options to all of their on-property hotel guests, including those staying at the Value Resorts! This is an awesome perk that can save you a ton of money (no need to rent a car or rely on rideshare services), but again, when you consider the sheer volume of guests staying at the Value Resorts, you can potentially run into some issues.
Bus stop at All Star Movies
Typically, each Value Resort only has one (yep, ONE) bus stop. Remember earlier when we said the Value Resorts all have around 1,000 rooms or MORE? Imagine all of those guests wanting to head to the park at the same time. The line for the bus can get pretty long pretty fast, especially around park open and close times. And unfortunately for guests staying at the All Star Resorts, the bus is going to be your ONLY complimentary transportation option. Plus, depending on how busy the resorts are, your bus loop may include the OTHER All Star Resorts as well!
Waiting for the bus at Pop Century
Both Pop Century and Art of Animation have the benefit of a Disney Skyliner station, providing guests with quick and easy access to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Generation Gap Bridge connects Disney’s Art of Animation and Pop Century and is also the location of the shared Skyliner Station
The tradeoff, however, is that you may find even MORE limited bus service thanks to the Skyliner. If you aren’t interested in this gondola system as a means of transportation, you may have an even harder time dealing with the buses.
Did you hear Disney’s Magical Express service is ending soon? Here’s how else to get from Orlando International Airport to Disney World!
Limited Amenities
The word of the day is definitely “limited.” The Value Resorts offer your basic hotel amenities, with pools, playground areas, some dining, etc.
The value resorts do come with some fun-themed pools!
Plenty of Disney World guests don’t need those added amenities like gyms, spas, or other recreation options, because you’re spending so much time in the theme parks! In those situations, it probably doesn’t make any sense to dish out extra dollars to stay at a Deluxe Resort if you don’t plan on using their higher-end amenities.
Big Blue Pool
If you’re looking to spend more time at your hotel, you may find that the Value Resorts don’t offer much more than a place to sleep at night. Just keep in mind, however, that if you do plan on taking a day off from the theme parks, you may miss some of the added amenities and perks that come with staying at a Deluxe or even a Moderate Resort.
Click here for a list of what’s included when you stay on-property at a Disney World hotel.
There are certainly some major pros when staying at a Value Resort, the big one being that you’re saving a ton of cash. That can wind up in your family being able to stay at Disney World even LONGER (and who doesn’t love that?). Just keep in mind that you ARE trading certain amenities and, well, luxuries by choosing to stay at a Value Resort. As long as you go in with your expectations where they should be, you may find that your family actually prefers to stay at a Value Resort! If you go in with your expectations too high, however, you may wind up being extremely disappointed.
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To be fair, many moderate resorts also have many hotel rooms….
Animal Kingdom Lodge: 1,307 Caribbean Beach: 1,536
Swan and Dolphin: 2,270
Coronado Springs: 2,384
And while yes, there aren’t as many amenities at Pop as there are are a resort like the Contemporary, the people staying at a value resort are used to regular, not deluxe accommodations. The rooms are actually the same size that you would find in any value hotel anywhere else in the U.S. Plus the theming is sooo fun for the kids at value hotels! Don’t knock them; they are really great and still magical- it’s Disney World after all!
On a recent week long trip to WDW back in October, my husband and I decided on Pop Century Resort for the convenience of the Skyliner (Loved It!!!) and the value to stay on property with the perk of early entry to the parks! We spent two days at Epcot and a day at Hollywood Studios which meant three days we could ride the Skyliner to our resort! The Skyliner was clean, well operated, and a nice ride at the end of long days in the parks. I certainly do not feel cheated out of more amenities for staying there. Our room was a spacious room with a dining table and very comfortable bed for sleeping, nice bathroom (I enjoyed the shower caddy with the H2O products!) and TV! The only neighbor noises we heard were from folks walking past our door, otherwise, it was a quiet resort. I would recommend Pop Century Resort to anyone! The cost of a WDW vacation is so expensive, I felt we made a great choice of a value resort for ourselves and made the best of our time going to the parks!
I agree with Rebecca. The Value Resorts are ‘fun’ for kids. As Passholders we visited many of the resorts several times a year and with our 4 children as they grew up. That’s the point here. DFB did a good job in comparisons. Basically if your looking to save ‘a little ‘ money and are accustomed to average hotel room sizes, then don’t pass up these resorts. Our kids absolutely loved these resorts when they were young. As they grew we moved on to moderates.
It is true value resorts are crowded, noisier BUT I travel by myself(disabled senior person, and I use a scooter to get around. I LOVE POP centuray because of that the staff I find are more helpful and the other guests are not snobs
The other item missing from the value resorts, that we discovered 2 weeks ago, is they don’t have hot tubs at the pool. After walking 10 to 13 miles a day… we rely on a hot tub to relax those muscles!
We have found that POP is the best of the Value resorts. They do not share the bus system with any other resort. We only use the resort for sleeping and showering. We tend to stay at the parks all day, even when we come as a family of nine. We are able to share adjoining rooms with a pack and play. We also have access to Shades of Green, military hotel, but find Pop a better value. However, that has now changed with the money-grubbing big wigs at Disney. We will now reconsider Shades or staying off property, if we return. There does not appear any reason to stay on property. Loss of the benefits of staying on property, and the money grabs now make it hard to choose a Disney vacation. Might have to consider the cruise line a better choice for a Disney vacation.
Hello my family and I where in Disney world during Christmas holidays 2021 we stayed at the pop century it was very quiet at night, we loved riding the skyline the value resorts are very cool I’ll be staying in them again when my family and I return too Disney World. 16 yrs ago my husband and I took our daughters when they where 12yrs& 9yrs old in 2006 we stayed at the all star movie resort it was quite. We had a great time on both trips
We stayed in the All Stars Movies. It clearly is a “budget/value” resort. It seemed quite similar to a Motel 6. It’s great if you have no desire to lounge around the resort or eat there. Perfect for a hot shower and bed. Our preference is Wilderness Lodge or Port Orleans Riverside.
We stayed at Old Key West and it was impossibly far to the restaurant or main pool. If there was internal transport we never saw it. Nice rooms, but not great for the kids. This year we will get a family suite at Art of Animation. We will be in a building by the pool.
My wife and I have stayed in a wide range of Disney Hotels. Both Riverside Resorts, Old Key West, Caribbean Beach, AK Lodge and Jumbo House. Kidani Village. All Star Movies.
What is the reason you are staying at a WDW Hotel, to visit the Parks? That you are spending very little time in your hotel because most people are up early to get to the parks and stay late. All day is spent at the parks. So, spending Deluxe Disney Hotel prices for the same size room make little sense.
As far as crowds, I don’t see much difference in the crowds between the hotels. If anything, the difference is in how many kids are at the value and moderate resorts. So, if it’s kids that bother you, by all means look to the Deluxe resorts because most families can’t afford the 6 to 8 hundred a night to sleep prices.
If you are looking to spend your vacation at the hotel, you may like places like Old Key West. Miles and miles of hotel rooms weaved around a golf course. No great theming, nothing is close, food courts are tiny and not family friendly.
Best advice is to examine what each resort has to offer and what fits best with your plans and budget. Do what work best for you and your family and don’t listen to what other people say works for them.
We try to stay at a different Hotel each time we visit. We will never go back to Old Key West for any reason whatsoever. We enjoyed All Star Movie and Port Orleans (Riverside preferred rooms) and French Quarter Our room at Riverside Alligator Bayou has a small pool right outside the door. Room slept 5 so our 3 granddaughters were great with it but if you are not in a preferred room, you could be in for a long walk to your room as it is a very large hotel resort. French Quarter is one of the smaller resorts and nothing is really all that far away.
Animal Kingdom Hotels are all more adult directed and not all that kid friendly. Likewise, Boulder and Wilderness.
Do your research before booking, For my 2 cents All Star Movies is about the best value WDW has to offer.
If it wasn’t for the Value Resorts, we would not be able to go to Disney as often as we do. Also, we found that we could sleep better with the two rooms so everyone can have their own bed and two bathrooms by booking two connecting Value Resort rooms. This was way cheaper than any other Disney resort with comparable beds/baths. This was great when we had two teens at home because we could go and come on our own schedules without bothering each other and did I mention, two bathrooms!! Our thought is that we aren’t going to Disney to stay in the hotel rooms so why pay an exorbitant price to sleep and bathe. We always request a room(s) on the back side away from the pools so it’s quieter and there’s less traffic. We also understand that no matter where you stay, it will be crowded because it’s Disney.
We just spent a week at AofA. Food was great. Hubs and I shared Turkey dinner for supper one night. Breakfast were excellent. Loved the ease of the skyliner.
Blue pool is wonderful! We had scooters so we utilized at family suite. It was perfect. Highly recommend
We started going to non-Disney hotels near Disney Springs, and have stayed at a Marriott near Flamingo Crossing. Enjoyed the price/amenities more there than at Disney. We go so often (monthly) we now rent an apartment within view of MK fireworks for less than we were paying for hotels.
With the price of moderate and deluxe resorts going thru the ceiling, the value resorts may just be the way to go. The way life used to be in the 1960’s and 70’s were you got to know your fellow guests. The pools are always great too.
I realize I’m not a typical Disney World guest, being over 65 and childless. I’ve generally stayed at Port Orleans, usually Riverside but as prices kept rising I decided to spend two nights pre-cruise at All Star Movies and see how I liked it. I loved the theming of the 101 Dalmatians room I had and I had no issues with the room size or buses and even the food court was fine the one night I ate there. The one thing I missed, and it was a dealbreaker, was the lack of a lounge. The only place to get a drink was the pool bar and it was so packed I couldn’t even get up to the counter to get a drink to take back to my room. I have always enjoyed stopping by the lounge after the parks and having some wine and bar food for dinner if I didn’t have other plans so it’s back to the moderates or deluxe resorts for me.
The problem is that you are paying almost (or over) $200/night for a motel room. If you can get past that, then the Value resorts are good. Otherwise, if you are going to pay $200-300/night for a room, it might make more sense to get a moderate or go offisite. Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve are deluxe resorts that are very close to Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, although they do have $40/night resort fees.
I have stayed at Port Orleans several time , but we love POP even more. I have three older teenage daughters and we travel with my sister so we get two adjoining rooms ..% ladies need at least two bathrooms. Love that we can walk to all the pools , the bus service is awful but the food court is great
This item is meant to make us aware. However, all it has done is raise our concerns because we are staying at All Movies last week in September/first in October. We are now expecting to spend a long time waiting for the bus, wasting precious park time 😞
Christopher, The Bus service at All Star Movies is really pretty good. The only problem is the amount of people early mornings. The bus’s run regularly. All the bus stops at ASM are right in front of the Main Building and Guest Services.
My family has stayed in several Resort Hotels, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Old Key West, PO Riverside, PO French Quarter, Carribean Beach All Star Movies, and Really All Star was the best all around. They have a great food court, Preferred rooms have good access, both pools are good with the large pool being the best, but the Duck Pond pool is far less crowded.
For most people the Hotel is just a place to sleep and rest between park visits. So, spending Moderate or deluxe resort prices makes no sense All the Disney resorts are overpriced. All Star Movies is equal to a Motel 6 or Best Western.
Christopher, your time frame might not be too bad for bus transportation. My understanding is that the All Stars all use the same busses. So, depending on how many people are vacationing at that time and staying at All Stars will determine how busy the busses are. Hint: don’t leave the parks after the fireworks, busses are very crowded no matter which hotel you are staying at. Especially from Magic Kingdom.
David Dominie, we have stayed at All Star Movies twice. Each of the 3 All Star Resorts have their own bus to and from the Parks. In all the Resorts the only 2 resorts that share a bus are Port Orleans Riverside with Port Orleans French Quarter and the 2 Animal Kingdom Hotels share a Bus. However, the Port Orleans Bus service at times has separate bus service.
The Bus service with the All-Star Resorts is still very crowded, mainly due to the fact that they are very large resorts.
Caribbean Beach and Old Key West have internal bus routes because the resorts are large and spread out. The bus runs around each resort every 30 minutes in addition to the regular park bus service. Each stop has a TV schedule so show the next bus for each destination.
We like the aerosphere of Caribbean Beach, the lively music at the stops, but again the bus service is crowded and depending on where you are in the route you may not get on the bus because they are often full.
Old Key West is our least favorite resort. In fact, I will never stay there again. It is very spread out, we were put in a section as far back as you can get from the main desk, pool and store. It was a 40-minute walk, our view was a service road and the air conditioning system for the resort. At over $400.00 a night I was not a happy Camper. We complained and got nowhere with the desk, only after posting on Travel advisors did Disney call and offer to change our room.
In addition to Bus service the Port Orleans Resorts and the Old Key West both had boat service to Disney Springs which was really nice. Caribbean Beach now has Gondola service to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, so there are other options to those parks. The Boats seem the best and are seldom crowded to the point of not getting on. The Gondolas OFTEN have a long line and can take some time to get on as well as the transfer points of getting off one route and onto another for the two different parks.
The Bus service that WAS shared with several Resorts was the Magical Express, but alas that service has been DISCONTINUED.
Best of luck on your Vaca, make the sest of it.
Everything is a trade-off. If you’re going for park visits from the first moment the rope drops until they chase you out at night, a discount non-Disney hotel might work best since all you’re doing is staggering in the door and going to sleep, then getting up first thing and going right back to a park. An inside-the-park-system-resort gives you discounted airport shuttle, free park shuttling, relaxation time, early entry, real food on site instead of ordering take-out, and family space, which is a perfectly good reason to spend the money on it. In fact, during the off-season book an extra ‘slack’ day at the end of your stay if you can just to wander around the resorts and enjoy them. After all, if you get rained out of a park, you can use that as a park day instead, and if not, strolling around the resorts and admiring them gives you valuable experience if you want to try a different one next trip. Plus I found the resort people really like it when you tell them how beautiful their workplace is, AoA in particular.
The bus service inside the park if fee not matter where you are staying. You can use the bus to visit hotels or park jump. I agree that the Disney Hotels are overpriced. If all you are doing is sleeping at the Hotel. The benefits are early entry and ease of travel. Once you get to DW you don’t need a car anymore . Unless you are at a Deluxe hotel you will be back at the hotel before the parks officially close to everyone. So you can enjoy the Pools, Food Courts and shopping. They all have arcades, may have evening programs such as movies. There are benefits to staying on property but there is also a cost factor. You have to decide which works best for you. When my wife and I go we stay at a different hotel every stay. Some we really liked, some we will never do again, and that again depends on what you want to do. If you have kids some resorts are more geared towards them (Like the all star resorts. AOA) while others are geared to a general family experience (PO Riverside, Carribean Beach) and still others that are more geared towards Adults. (Copper Creek, AK, Old Key West) Again the best advice is the Disney World Guide Books sold at book stores and lots of on line. Several videos on line have resort Hotel room and grounds tours. What kind of food each resort serves and type or dining venue for each. Food Courts at the all star hotels are great hits with the kids, while AK’s Bamas or the Cooking Place will appease the adults. Research, Research, Research.