Disney’s three All-Star Resorts sit shoulder to shoulder on the same stretch of West Buena Vista Drive, share one price tier, and still fit very different families. This guide compares All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, and All-Star Sports on rooms, dining, pools, transportation, theming, and amenities.
By Favorite Grampy | Last Updated: August 2026 | Verified against Walt Disney World’s official resort pages
Which Disney All-Star Resort Should Your Family Book?
Book All-Star Music if your family needs room to spread out. It is the only All-Star Resort with family suites.
Choose All-Star Movies for the boldest character theming your little ones will recognize on sight. Pick All-Star Sports if your kids live for game day, or if your trip is built around a tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports.
All three sit in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Resort Area and share the Value tier, the least expensive rung on the Walt Disney World resort hotel tiers. All-Star Movies and All-Star Sports hold 1,920 rooms apiece. All-Star Music has 1,604 rooms, and 192 of those are family suites.
Standard rooms across all three measure roughly 260 square feet and sleep up to four adults. Nightly rates in 2026 generally land somewhere between about $150 and $300 before any discount, depending on the season and the night of the week.
One caveat matters right now for families comparing the three. According to Walt Disney World’s All-Star Movies Resort page, guest rooms there are under planned refurbishment through January 2027. Families sensitive to construction noise should look at Music or Sports first.
All-Star Resorts Comparison Table
| Resort | Opened | Rooms | Themed Sections | Main Pool | Food Court | Best Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Star Movies | 1999 | 1,920 | 101 Dalmatians, Mighty Ducks, Fantasia, The Love Bug, Toy Story | Fantasia Pool | World Premiere Food Court | Preschool and elementary kids who love the characters |
| All-Star Music | 1994 | 1,604 (192 family suites) | Calypso, Jazz Inn, Rock Inn, Country Fair, Broadway Hotel | Calypso Pool (251,418 gallons) | Intermission Food Court | Families of five or six, and families wanting the calmest of the three |
| All-Star Sports | 1994 | 1,920 | Surf’s Up!, Hoops Hotel, Center Court, Touchdown!, Home Run Hotel | Surfboard Bay Pool (242,471 gallons) | End Zone Food Court | Sports-obsessed kids and ESPN Wide World of Sports teams |
Swipe left to see all columns on mobile.
Disney All-Star Resorts Quick Facts
Do all three All-Star Resorts cost the same?
They share the same Value tier rate structure, so standard rooms price out within a few dollars of each other on most dates. Expect roughly $150 to $300 a night before discounts.
Which All-Star Resort sleeps six people?
Only All-Star Music. Its 192 family suites run about 520 square feet, sleep up to six adults, and include two full bathrooms plus a kitchenette.
Can guests use the pools at all three resorts?
Yes. Disney confirms that guests of any All-Star Resort may swim at all six pools across the complex, which is a short walk between properties.
What Room Types Can You Book at the All-Star Resorts?
Every All-Star Resort sells two room categories: Standard and Preferred. The interiors are identical, so you are paying for location, not a nicer room.
Preferred rooms sit closest to the main hall, the food court, the feature pool, and the bus stop. That building is Cinema Hall at Movies, Melody Hall at Music, and Stadium Hall at Sports. Standard rooms sit farther out and can mean a walk of several minutes with a stroller.
Most rooms hold one queen bed plus one queen-size table bed, a Murphy bed that folds down out of a table against the wall. A limited number of rooms offer a single king bed instead, and those typically sleep two. Disney lists a beverage cooler, in-room safe, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, telephone, and complimentary Wi-Fi in every room.
The Family Suites at All-Star Music
The family suites at All-Star Music are the reason many larger families pick that resort over its two siblings. Each one runs about 520 square feet, sleeps up to six adults, and sits in the Calypso and Jazz Inn buildings.
You get one queen bed in a separate bedroom plus two queen-size pull-down beds in the living space. The suites add a second full bathroom, a kitchenette, a microwave, a refrigerator, and a coffee machine. For a family of five or six, that second bathroom alone changes the morning.
One Booking Change That Did Not Affect the All-Stars
Disney simplified room categories at its Moderate resorts for 2026 bookings, dropping view-based names in favor of Standard, Preferred, and King Bed. The All-Star Resorts were already sold by location rather than view, so nothing changed here.
That said, one detail still catches families off guard. Disney charges an additional nightly fee for the third and fourth guests age 18 and over in the same room, and it is easy to miss when you are comparing quotes.
How Does the Theming Differ at Movies, Music, and Sports?
All three resorts use the same architectural formula: pairs of three-story motel-style buildings arranged around courtyards, each pair wrapped in enormous painted icons. What differs is the subject matter, and for kids that difference is everything.
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
All-Star Movies opened in 1999 and splits its ten buildings into five film sections. You get 101 Dalmatians in buildings 1 and 4, Mighty Ducks in 2 and 3, Fantasia in 5 and 8, The Love Bug in 6 and 7, and Toy Story in 9 and 10.
This is the easiest of the three for young children to recognize. A four-year-old who has watched Toy Story forty times will lose her mind over a three-story Woody standing beside her building. Buzz, Herbie, Pongo, and Perdita all show up at similar scale.
Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Meanwhile, All-Star Music leans on giant instruments rather than characters. Its five sections are Calypso, Jazz Inn, Rock Inn, Country Fair, and Broadway Hotel, decorated with oversized maracas, bongos, trumpets, trombones, cowboy boots, and a pair of enormous jukebox stairwells.
Of the three, this one reads as the quietest. There is less for a small child to point at and name, which some parents count as a drawback and others count as a relief.
Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
All-Star Sports was the original, opening in 1994 as Disney’s first Value resort. Its sections are Surf’s Up!, Hoops Hotel, Center Court, Touchdown!, and Home Run Hotel, with three-story surfboards, basketballs, tennis ball cans, football helmets, and a giant Coca-Cola cup used as a stairwell.
In fact, the sports theme draws a specific crowd. Youth teams competing at ESPN Wide World of Sports book here in blocks, which is wonderful if your kid is on one of those teams and less wonderful if you are not.
Look up the ESPN Wide World of Sports event calendar before you commit to All-Star Sports. Cheer and dance competition weekends fill the resort with teams, and the food court at 7:00 a.m. becomes a different experience entirely. If your dates overlap a major event and your family is not part of it, book Music or Movies instead.
Where Do You Eat at Disney’s All-Star Resorts?
None of the three has a table-service restaurant. Each one runs a single large food court plus a pool bar, and that is the whole picture.
All-Star Movies operates the World Premiere Food Court, laid out like a grand movie theater lobby with five quick-service stations. Breakfast brings Mickey-shaped waffles and bakery items, and the rest of the day covers pizza, pasta, burgers, and grill items. Silver Screen Spirits Pool Bar sits beside the Fantasia Pool.
All-Star Music runs Intermission Food Court, with Singing Spirits Pool Bar between the food court and the Calypso Pool. All-Star Sports runs End Zone Food Court, where Disney’s own description promises burgers, hot dogs, pizza, pasta, smoothies, and gelato, with Grandstand Spirits Pool Bar out by the water.
For dining, three practical notes matter more than the menus. Mobile Order through the My Disney Experience app cuts the counter line at all three food courts. Refillable resort mugs are sold at each one and work at beverage stations across Disney Resort hotels for the length of your stay, though not inside the theme parks.
Beyond that, families weighing the standard Disney Dining Plan should look closely at the table-service credit. That plan includes one per person per night, and none of the three All-Star Resorts has a table-service restaurant to spend it at. Every one of those credits means a bus ride to another resort or a park, so the Quick-Service plan often fits an All-Star stay better.
The food courts at all three resorts have microwaves available for guest use, and the rooms have a beverage cooler rather than a full refrigerator with a freezer. Grocery delivery to Bell Services works beautifully here. Grammy and I bring breakfast items and shelf-stable snacks, then eat one real meal out per day instead of three.
Which All-Star Resort Has the Best Pools?
All-Star Music wins on size. Its guitar-shaped Calypso Pool holds 251,418 gallons, making it the largest pool at any Disney Value resort, with a Three Caballeros fountain in the middle that sprays swimmers.
All-Star Sports comes in close behind. Surfboard Bay Pool holds 242,471 gallons and is ringed by three-story surfboards, with a kiddie pool tucked behind Stadium Hall. All-Star Movies centers on the Fantasia Pool, where a Sorcerer Mickey fountain presides over a kiddie pool and a separate water play area.
Each resort also has a quieter second pool. Movies has the hockey-rink-shaped Duck Pond Pool at 105,438 gallons, Music has the grand-piano-shaped Piano Pool at 106,036 gallons, and Sports has the baseball-diamond Grand Slam Pool with Goofy pitching from the mound.
At the pools, one rule works in your favor. Disney confirms on its All-Star Sports pool page that guests of any All-Star Resort may use the pools at all three, so you effectively get six pools no matter which one you book.
Naturally, there is a limit to what a Value resort pool delivers. You will not find a waterslide or a hot tub at any of the three, and the second pools have no lifeguard-led activities. Families who want a slide should compare against Pop Century or a Moderate resort instead.
How Does Transportation Work at the All-Star Resorts?
Buses are the only complimentary transportation from all three All-Star Resorts. There is no monorail, no boat, and no gondola connection to any of them.
Each resort has its own bus stop listed on Disney’s bus transportation page, positioned right outside the main hall. Disney also runs direct bus service between the All-Star Resorts and Blizzard Beach, which is genuinely convenient since the water park sits just up the road.
As a result of the location, Magic Kingdom is the longest ride of the four parks from any All-Star. Animal Kingdom and Blizzard Beach are the closest. Plan on roughly 20 minutes of travel plus wait time on a normal morning, and more at rope drop.
That said, one quirk deserves a mention. During slower periods the three All-Star Resorts sometimes share a bus route, which adds a stop or two at your sibling resorts before you reach the park. It is rarely more than a few extra minutes, but it surprises first-timers.
Families who want to compare this against a resort with walking or gondola access should read our Disney Skyliner guide, since none of the All-Stars connect to it. Overnight self-parking is complimentary for registered guests at all three, and theme park parking is included with your stay.
If you are driving to Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios from an All-Star, take the car. The bus is the better choice for Magic Kingdom, where driving means parking at the Transportation and Ticket Center and adding a monorail or ferry leg on top. That one decision saves my family close to an hour on a park-hopping day.
What Amenities Do All Three All-Star Resorts Share?
The three resorts run nearly identical amenity lists, which is why the choice really comes down to theming, suites, and crowd. Each has an arcade, a playground, a laundry room at each pool area, a gift shop, and nightly Movies Under the Stars screenings on select nights.
On top of that, every All-Star guest gets the standard Disney Resort hotel benefits. Early Theme Park Entry gives you 30 minutes in any of the four parks before regular opening, every day of your stay. You can also purchase Lightning Lane passes up to seven days ahead rather than three.
For example, the arcades carry the resort names: Reel Fun Arcade at Movies, Note’able Games at Music, and Game Point Arcade at Sports. A jogging path of about one mile loops the entire All-Star complex, which is the one recreation feature that works across all three properties.
What’s more, there is a benefit the All-Stars do not receive. Extended Evening Hours, the after-hours park access some families plan around, is limited to Deluxe and Deluxe Villa resorts. If that perk is a priority, a Value resort is not the right fit.
Which All-Star Resort Fits Your Family Best?
Here is how I match families to these three resorts after years of sending them.
Book All-Star Movies when your kids are three to eight and the theming will genuinely delight them. Hold off if construction noise would ruin your trip, since guest room refurbishment there runs through January 2027.
Book All-Star Music when you have five or six people, when you want the largest pool in the Value tier, or when you want the calmest of the three. The family suite is the single strongest reason any family picks this resort.
Book All-Star Sports when your kids are athletes, when you are attending an ESPN Wide World of Sports event, or when the surfboards and basketballs will land better than princesses and dalmatians.
Who Should Skip the All-Star Resorts Entirely
Skip all three if you have five people and no interest in a suite, because standard rooms cap at four adults. A Moderate resort like Port Orleans Riverside sleeps five in a standard room and gives you a table-service restaurant.
Skip them if you want a sit-down restaurant on property, a waterslide, or a transportation option other than a bus. Skip them, too, if your family needs quiet and your dates land on a large youth sports weekend.
Of course, plenty of families book an All-Star precisely because it costs the least and they intend to be in the parks fourteen hours a day. For that family, spending an extra $150 a night on a resort they will barely see makes no sense at all.
Preferred rooms cost more for location only, not for a better room. If your family walks well and you are heading to a park by 8:00 a.m. anyway, put that money toward a Lightning Lane pass instead. If you have a toddler in a stroller, a grandparent with a hip, or a napper who needs a midday return, Preferred earns every dollar.
Frequently Asked Questions About Disney’s All-Star Resorts
Are the All-Star Resorts too far from the parks?
They are the farthest Disney resorts from Magic Kingdom, and that is worth knowing before you book. Animal Kingdom and Blizzard Beach are close by, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios are a reasonable ride, and Magic Kingdom is the long one. I plan on about 20 minutes of driving time plus bus wait, and I have never found the distance to be the thing that ruined a trip. Rope drop mornings are the hardest part, so get to the bus stop 15 minutes earlier than feels necessary.
Can five people stay in one All-Star room?
Not in a standard or preferred room. Those cap at four adults, plus one child under three in a crib on request. Your only option inside the All-Star complex for a party of five or six is a family suite at All-Star Music, which sleeps up to six and adds a second bathroom. If suites are sold out on your dates, your advisor can price out Art of Animation suites or a Moderate resort room that sleeps five.
Which All-Star Resort is the quietest?
All-Star Music, most reliably. It has fewer rooms than the other two, the theming draws less shrieking from small children, and it does not attract the tournament groups that fill All-Star Sports. If quiet matters, ask for a room in the Jazz Inn or Country Fair sections, away from the Calypso Pool and the bus stop.
Should I worry about the refurbishment at All-Star Movies?
Walt Disney World has confirmed guest room refurbishment at All-Star Movies running through January 2027, with alternate walking paths possible during the work. Rooms remain bookable throughout. For a family in the parks all day, the disruption is usually minor, but for a family planning midday naps and pool afternoons, I would book Music or Sports on those dates instead.
How Can a Travel Advisor Help You Pick the Right All-Star Resort?
Choosing between three resorts that cost nearly the same amount is exactly the kind of decision where a second opinion pays for itself. A Favorite Grampy Travels advisor can check which family suites are actually open on your dates, flag a tournament weekend at ESPN Wide World of Sports before you book into it, and tell you which sections at each resort sit closest to the bus stop.
Beyond that, your advisor watches for discounts after you book and applies them to your existing reservation when they land. That alone has saved families hundreds of dollars on a week-long Value resort stay. A planning fee may apply depending on the size and complexity of your trip, and charging one is standard practice in this industry.
Reach out for a complimentary consultation and we will match your family to the right All-Star. You can also meet our advisors and pick the one who fits your travel style.
