Review: Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
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OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S ALL-STAR MUSIC RESORT
I’ve stayed at Disney’s Value Resorts more than a dozen times, and all four over the last year or so.
These stays confirm the order in which the value resorts are recommended.
Disney’s Pop Century Resort is still number one among the values.
After Pop Century, the rank is, in order, All-Star Movies, All-Star Sports, and All-Star Music.
These rankings of the three All-Star Resorts are very close. Of these three,
- All-Star Sports is the most convenient, but kid appealing only if your kids are into baseball, football, basketball, surfing, or tennis
- All-Star Movies is the most broadly kid-appealing, and the most comfortable of the three
- All-Star Music is the most compact, most lovely, and the only one with family suites
You can have a wonderful visit at any Walt Disney World resort hotel.
However, this site recommends that first time visitors to Walt Disney World who can afford it should stay at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, a deluxe resort, and that those who can’t should stay at Disney’s Pop Century Resort, a value resort.
(It also suggests that first time visitors should avoid the moderate resorts, while noting that these resorts are wonderful for visits after the first. See this for why.)
Compared to other Walt Disney World owned and operated resorts, the value resorts are distinguished by having the lowest prices and smallest rooms.
You likely will never stay in a hotel with smaller 2-bed rooms.
I could not imagine staying in one of these rooms if I had to add a crib as well (the room sleeps four in two full-size beds, plus one more, younger than three, in a crib; a crib fits best between the credenza and closet area.)
However, if your family will fit, the values have much more kid appeal than the moderate resorts, the next higher price class (about twice as expensive, but with much bigger rooms and nicer landscaping.)
(See this for much more on resort distinctions by price class–value, moderate, deluxe, etc.)
Compared to staying off-site, the value resorts are distinguished by their higher kid appeal, convenience, and access to certain key perks that off-site hotels can’t provide.
DISNEY’S ALL-STAR MUSIC RESORT
Resorts are ranked on this site for first time visitors based first on their kid appeal, and then on their convenience.
On this basis, Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is the fourth best value resort for first time family visitors.
However, for larger families looking for value pricing–up to six adults or kids older than three–the family suites at All-Star Music are a wonderful choice.
The family suites were created from two standard-sized rooms.
A family suite fits two in a private queen bed–the only queen available at the values.
A second living space has a couch, chair and ottoman that each convert into a bed–the couch into a full, and the other two into twins.
It also includes two baths and a kitchenette with sink, mini-fridge, and microwave.
These rooms are very popular, and as a result hard to reserve. Many more similar rooms will open at Disney’s under-construction value resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.
See this for more on larger families.
Kid Appeal. Several of the deluxe resorts–notably, the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Polynesian Resort–have spectacular kid appeal. None of the moderates do.
All of the value resorts–Disney’s All-Star Sports, All-Star Music, and All-Star Movies, and its Pop Century Resort–have terrific kid appeal.
This appeal comes from the approach to theming they all share: bright and vibrant exteriors, framing much larger than life objects of interest to kids.
These objects reinforce that these resorts were designed for the sake of kids…and not necessarily for adults!
Of these, Disney’s All-Star Music is the least kid-appealing. (Pop Century has the most kid appeal.)
All-Star Music’s theme is…music.
Its ten three-story buildings (all with elevators) are grouped into five areas, each area themed after a musical genre (two buildings each): rock, jazz, calypso, Broadway, and country.
This musical theme is less about Disney than the movies theme at All-Star Movies, and less broadly interesting to kids than the sports theme at All-Star Sports.
(I do have to note that All-Star Music is the favorite value of many adults–including me.
The resort overall has the most simple and graceful layout of the values–see map below.
Moreover, the area between the two pools, flanked by the Jazz buildings, is the loveliest space in the values.
My photo of this space at the right hints at this, but does not do it justice.)
Convenience. Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is the least convenient of the Value resorts.
During all but the busiest seasons of the year, the three All-Star Resorts share buses, except for the Magic Kingdom, to which each has its own bus.
Shared buses stop first at Sports, second at Music, and last at Movies.
What this means for Music is that other than to the Magic Kingdom, all your buses in both directions have at least one more stop besides Music itself.
For shared buses, at Sports, you are the first stop back; at Movies, the last stop out. At Music, neither. This is why I rank it least convenient.
Best places to stay at All Star Music. This site suggests that first time visitors stay in standard rooms, and not specially seek preferred rooms (because they won’t be spending much time in their rooms, or going to the main resort food area often).
The single exception is visitors to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, who should always pay for savannah views.
Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is divided into five areas.
Click the map to see the general layout.
Of these, a third floor room in buildings 2 or 9, the Jazz Inn, away from the pools, is the best place to stay.
Music has the same problem the other values do: it can be packed with teenagers who are at Walt Disney World as part of a tournament or other sports event.
As a result, the resort can be very loud and boisterous. Buildings around the pools are particularly so.
At All-Star Music, buildings 1 and 10 (the Calypso area) frame the main pool, and should be avoided.
Because of the layout of All-Star Music, no other buildings frame a pool, but many rooms are close to pools.
Of all these buildings, the Jazz Inn Buildings 2 and 9 are no worse than any others, but are the closest other than Calypso to the main dining, shopping and bus stop area. They also have the loveliest landscaping, and are hence recommended.
Ask for the third floor because it is also the top floor, which makes it quieter.
BEST FOR:
Families than cannot afford a deluxe resort, or who are otherwise on a tight budget, who can fit into its small rooms, and find the Music noted an attractive theme. Larger families looking for value prices.
WORST FOR:
Families who are tall or otherwise won’t fit into full-size beds, or who have more than two adult-sized people, or who will be using a crib.
This review continues here.
LINKS FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD
- For where to stay, see this
- For your next best choices, in order, see this
- For picking your resort based on appeal to kids, see this
- For picking your resort based on convenience, see this
- For where not to stay, see this
- For what you get in each resort price category, see this
- For Walt Disney World resort price seasons, see this
- For the value resorts, see this
- For differences among value resorts, see this
- For the moderate resorts, see this
- For differences among moderate resorts, see this
- For differences among deluxe resorts, see this
- For the Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) Resorts, see this
- For suites at the deluxe resorts, see this
- For a (geeky) overview of comparative room size, see this
- Large families should look at this, and also at
- Military/DOD families should look at this
- Tightwads should look at this
- Families seeking the most comfortable place to stay should see this
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