Ranking Disney’s All-Star Resorts by Section with Building Recommendations

Disney’s All-Star Resorts are the cheapest rooms you will find on Disney World property. They are home to some really fun theming and larger-than-life icons! What section should you try to stay in? Which building is the best? I’m ranking the All-Star Resorts (including building recommendations) to help you make your decision.

All-Star Resorts

There are five value resorts at Disney World, and three of those are the All-Star Resorts: All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, and All-Star Sports. For the purposes of this article, I will simply call them Movies, Music, or Sports.

Like the term “value” implies, All-Star resorts rely heavily on cost and theme. Value resorts are the cheapest of the Disney World resorts, so if you are visiting Disney on a tight budget you will want to start by pricing out the value resorts.

The value resorts are also great if you plan to just sleep and shower in your room and spend your days in the parks. Many rope drop to close Guests book cheaper rooms because they do not plan to spend any time in their rooms or at the resort.

Value resorts are also more heavily “Disney themed” than the moderate and deluxe resorts. Because of the larger than life statues and Disney characters throughout the resort, families with young children love value resorts. Nothing says “I’m at a Disney hotel” like seeing a giant Woody statue right outside your room!

Which All-Star Resort Should You Stay At?

Each of the three All-Star Resorts are almost identical, so it only comes down to a few deciding factors. The first, and most important, is the fact that All-Star Music has family suites. These suites sleep up to 6 people and have a large kitchenette and second bathroom. The other two All-Star Resorts do not have a family suite.

The second is theming. Like the name implies, the exterior theming is different at each resort. It’s important to note that, minus the headboard artwork in the rooms, the interiors across all three resorts are exactly the same. You can see the inside of the rooms in this post.

So, if your family has a preference over Movies, Sports, or Music themes that will be a determining factor. You can get a run-down of each of the All-Star Resorts in our guide. Do note that the Sports rooms have been refurbished since that article was written.

Now, let’s get to the rankings! I’ll start from least desirable to most desirable and share which building I think is best in each section. Please note that unless you book a Preferred Room, you really have no control over which section or building you are placed in. This guide will help you when you list room preferences, but there is no guarantee.

#3

The worst sections to be in at the All-Star Resorts are the ones that are the farthest away from the main pool and lobby area. This is because they are the farthest from bus transportation, the food court, arcade/shopping, and bell services.

Hoops Hotel and Center Court sections at All-Star Sports are pretty far away from the main lobby and feature pool. This is especially true if you are in the very back of Building 3 and Building 4.

All-Star Music’s layout is in the shape of a guitar, and ranking the sections here is much easier. The secondary pool is in the center of four sections.

The absolute worst section to be placed in at All-Star Music is the Country Fair section, and I know this from experience. It is a ridiculously far walk to the main lobby, which is not fun at 2:00 am when Bell Services is not picking up the phone to bring your luggage to your room. Both buildings are the exact same in terms of distance to amenities.

For All Star-Movies this section is the Love Bug section because, you guessed it, it’s the farthest walk to the lobby and food court. Plus, it does not have its own little pool to enjoy.

The advantage of these sections is that they are much more quiet and private than the other sections. If you want complete tranquility, you are better off booking another resort. But, these back sections do not have the noise levels of the pool and lobby.

#2

This middle ranking of sections are those that are in somewhat proximity to the main area of the resort. They will save you some steps and also some money as they are not Preferred rooms.

At All-Star Sports that is the Homerun Hotel section. This section does have the advantage of its own pool, which is why I gave it a slight leg up compared to the Center Court and Hoops Hotel Sections. There are a lot of dedicated parking spots behind this section which is great if you may be driving. I do not think there is a better building of the two.

For All-Star Music, Rock Inn and Broadway Hotel would be my mid-choices. They are closer to the front area of the hotel than Country Fair but are still not ideal (unless you are looking for more tranquility without the number of steps). Buildings 3 (Rock Inn) and 8 (Broadway Hotel) would be my picks for buildings in these sections.

Mighty Ducks is my mid-choice for sections at All-Star Movies. It does have its own quiet pool, but it is still quite the trek to the lobby.

#1

Of course, preferred rooms are going to be the best ranked sections at the All-Star Resorts. That is because they are very close to everything. You are not more than a few minutes away from the pool, bus stop, and main lobby.

For All-Star Sports, the Surf’s Up section is the preferred section. You must book a preferred room to get placed here! Building 6 is more centrally placed in the resort, so this may be good if you want to walk around and check out the statues in the other sections.

While not preferred, the Touchdown Section is also a great section to be placed in. It is centrally placed between the pools and is pretty close to the main lobby. I do not think there is a better building.

The Calypso section is the preferred section at All-Star Music. It’s right behind the lobby and food court and surrounds the main feature pool. Both buildings would be ideal to stay in, so there is no preference on which building you get.

Jazz Inn is right between the preferred section and the rest of the sections. It’s a happy medium between them all if you don’t want to be near the action of the main lobby area but don’t want to walk too far to get to your room.

All-Star Movies is interesting in that there are three sections of preferred buildings here. If you are going to pay the money for a Preferred Room, I would not do it here. That’s because the Toy Story and 101 Dalmatians sections are not close to a pool like the other Preferred Rooms at Sports and Music.

Nonetheless, these two sections plus Fantasia are Preferred Sections and are very close to bus transportation and the lobby. I would personally love to stay in Fantasia if I wanted to be close to the pool but the Toy Story section if I wanted to be close to the lobby and bus.

Looking For More Rankings Like This?

So far, I have ranked POP Century by decades and Caribbean Beach Resort by islands. In the future, I plan to rank Riverside and French Quarter, so stay tuned!

You can also read my ranking of value resorts (which includes these three!) in this post.

Do you stay at the All-Star Resorts? What is your favorite section/building? Least favorite? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. And, share this post with a friend who is staying there soon!