All About WDW Value Resorts

I have been lucky enough to have stayed at many of the Walt Disney World Resorts and there are pros and cons to staying at any one of these. In the past I have helped friends and family arrange their WDW vacation and one of the questions I constantly get from those who want to stay on the property is “Where should we stay?”

That is a difficult question to answer. I usually answer that question with my own question which is “Do you have an idea as to what you want to spend a night for a room?”

Sometimes I get a good answer but mostly the answer I get is shrugged shoulders.

So when I DO get down to brass tacks, I find myself talking quite a bit about not only the cost of a particular resort but the pros and cons of each resort and type of resort.

So if you will indulge me, I’ve been thinking about jotting down some notes on this topic and thought, “Why not put together an article on this topic?”

So with that I’d like to talk about the value Resorts.

The Walt Disney Value Resorts are the least expensive resorts on the Walt Disney World Property.

They are:

• All-Star Sports

• All-Star Movies

• All-Star Sorts

• Pop Century

• Art of Animation

Back in the late 90’s and earlier this century those rooms were relatively cheap and even though the moniker for these resorts is “value” it’s a relative term when you think of the other resort types on the property.

I feel it is dangerous these days to mention prices for resort rooms. So much is dependent upon when you go that it’s best to talk about price range.

So what kind of price range comes with Value Resorts? Well…here is my best guess:

• All-Star Resorts – When it comes to the All-Stars you can expect to spend anywhere from around $185-$255 per night depending upon when you go. Having said that there is a Disney+ deal going on for the summer with a $99/night offer.

• Pop Century – This used to be my “go to” resort when I would shoot down to Orlando for a special event or to check out some new happenings. It was relatively inexpensive and worked well for my budget. These days the price range for Pop century runs anywhere from $235 to as much as just a bit over $300. Crazy.

• Art of Animation – As much as this resort is classified as a value resort, I see it as a hybrid…sort of a Value-Moderate resort, simply because of the price of the rooms. You are lucky is you can secure a room for under $300 a night. You can pay as much as $350 per night. Remember that Disney+ promotion I mentioned earlier? Well that promotion includes a $229 price tag for a family suite at the Cars Art of Animation area. This promotion covers July and August.

Okay enough about price. Now I am going to attempt to list pros and cons for the value resorts. I think it helps in the decision process to understand what you are and are not getting for your money at these resorts.

• Value resorts come with the typical WDW food court. Each value has its own food court, and I must say that over the years there have been a lot of improvements and by that, I mean more diverse offerings. Personally I think the Art of Animation food court, Landscape of Flavors, offers the best choice of things to eat. If you are looking for a nice sit-down restaurant you will not find it at a value resort.

• Recently many of the WDW resorts have been going through a refurbishment to make the rooms more functional. Over the last year or two I have stayed in a value resort as well as a DVC resort and there is a striking similarity. Both have been refurbished with Murphy beds which replace the pull-out beds from the couches. What is nice about this is that there is plenty of space in the rooms when the murphy bed is up and most importantly the Murphy bed is a real bed and much more comfortable. You can easily sleep four people in a value room although I would say value rooms are best for maybe two adults or a young family of four.

• For a lot of folks, access to the parks is important. Of course there is bus service from all these value resorts. You might say that Pop Century and Art of Animation is more centrally located than the All-Stars. Traveling to a theme park via bus from these resorts has its pros and cons…obviously taking a bus means you don’t have to worry about parking at the park and taking a tram as you are dropped off near the park entrance. Of course at the end of a long day standing up in a crowded bus for about a 30-minute drive may not be your cup of tea. The other important factor about location is that it makes you think twice about perhaps going back to your resort in the middle of the day and then returning to a park later in that day. There is a standing thought about using WDW transportation and that is always allow a 60-minute window between point A and point B.

• Some people have mentioned to me that the noise level at value resorts seems to be higher than what you experience at the other resorts. I think the reason for that is because you will find younger families with younger children at these resorts and with younger children comes excited children so expect the noise.

Of course value resorts, just as the deluxe resorts, offer guests early entry access to the parks which can serve well when you are looking to do a lot for the day.

Over the last several decades I have noticed that value resort room rates have risen at a faster clip than any other resort type. However, as they are still the least expensive rates on the property, they remain most popular.

It’s important to weigh in on price, location, and other important factors when making choices and if you are not too picky about things you can still give yourself and your family Disney magic 24/7 by staying at a value resort.

See you next time.