Exploring Disney Value Resorts

There are 3 main Disney Resort Categories. Today, we will focus on the Value Resort Category. As the name would suggest, this category offers the lowest rates on Disney property. The standard amenities of a food court, swimming pools, Disney transportation, pizza delivery, and most important, Disney Magic.

Although the food choices at the Value Resorts are not the same level as a Moderate or Deluxe Resort (those resorts offer table service restaurants), the food court at Value Resorts provide many options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late night snack. The main pool at the Resorts also have a pool bar.

By staying at a Disney Resorts, guests receiving complementary transportation to and from Orlando International Airport via Disney’s Magical Express. Guests also are provide complementary transportation to and from Disney Theme Parks, Disney Water Parks, ESPN’s Wide World of Sports and Downtown Disney. This eliminates the need to rent a car for the week, saving you hundreds of dollars. Plus you do not have to pay for parking. If you drive to Disney or decide you would like to rent a car, Disney Resort Guests can park for free at the Theme Parks. Also, only Disney Resort Guests can take advantage of Extra Magic Hours. This is my favorite perk for Resort Guests. On select mornings, 1 Disney Theme Park opens up an hour early exclusively for Disney Resort Guests. This allows you to ride your favorite attractions before the general public is even allowed to enter the Park. This is especially good for the super popular attractions like the Fantasyland attractions in Magic Kingdom and Toy Story Mania in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Also, on select nights, a Disney Theme Park is open up to an extra 3 hours after the park closed to normal guests. On some nights, the Magic Kingdom is open until 4 am! As you can imaging, not many little children are awake to ride Dumbo at 2 in the morning. With a little afternoon nap planning, you can get on all your favorite attractions over and over again without a wait.

Currently, there are 4 different Value Resorts, each with their own unique theme. There is All Star Sports, All Star Music, All Star Movie, and Pop Century. Opening in Spring 2012, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will open (more on this in a later post).

All Star Sports opened in 1994 and was the 1st value resort. There are 5 different “Sports” at the All Star Sports resort. Touchdown! is the football themed section which features 2 goal posts and a football field for your future Tim Tebows to play. Homerun Hotel is the baseball theme section of the resort. This section has its own quite pool along with an oversized Coke cup, giant bats, balls, and and a scoreboard. Center Court is a tennis themed area with giant rackets and tennis balls. Surfs Up celebrates the sport of, you guessed it, surfing. This section has oversized surfboards and lifeguard stands. Hoops Hotel is the basketball themed section of the resort. Giant megaphones and whistles make up this section of the resort. I personally like to stay in the Touchdown! section because of its location to the main building and pool area.

All Star Music also has 5 sections each themed with a different style of music. This was the second Value Resort to open on Disney Property. Jazz Inn, Rock Inn, Calypso, Country Fair, and Broadway Hotel. Each section features oversized items from each type of music.

All Star Movies was the third Value Resort. The 5 themes for this resort are based on popular Disney movies. The Might Ducks section features a giant hockey themed pool. 101 Dalmatians features a 35 and 40 foot Perdita and Pongo, respectively. The Toy Story area features a 35 foot Buzz Lightyear and a 25 foot Woody. Fantasia and Herbie the Love Bug round out the other 2 themed sections.

Pop Century opened in late 2003 and features pop culture icons from past decades. Big Wheels, Rubix Cubes, Sock Hop Dancers, and gigantic jars of Play-doh are the decorations for the various decades. This Resorts has 3 pools each themed differently. There is also a large lake, but you can’t swim in it.

The standard room size of these hotels are 260 square feet and can accommodate up to 4 guests. There are some family suites that can accommodate larger families.

The Value Resort Category is perfect for young families and couples that are traveling to Disney on a budget. They are also great for long weekends when you will be spending most of your time in the theme parks anyway.

Do you have a favorite resort, have a question, or would like to read more about a specific topic? Let me know.