Disney World Hotel Reviews + Guide [2024]

This post provides a quick overview of each of the hotel options at Walt Disney World. We start by reviewing the types of hotels at Disney World before moving onto a hotel-by-hotel guide to the resorts actually operated by Disney at Walt Disney World. This is the perfect place to start if you’re trying to pick your Disney World hotel!

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Besides the reviews of every hotel (links are found later in this post), we have the following posts:

So if you’re looking for something with more practical information about the hotels, you’re in the right place. If you’re looking for more detailed analysis, look inside the categorical rankings. And if you just want to know what two people who do this for a living think, check out that last link.

 

Types of Disney World Hotels

You can click here to jump to the guide, which goes through each Disney operated, non-DVC hotel one by one, listing pros and cons of each. Before we get to that guide, we want to quickly discuss some of the other hotel options that we won’t be going into in detail.

“Disney Hotels”

This is what the bulk of this guide (and most of our hotel content) is about, and when we say “Disney Hotels” we’re referring to hotels that are owned and operated by Disney.

These include places like the Grand Floridian, Caribbean Beach Resort, and the All-Star Resorts. These hotels have access to the full set of benefits for guests of Disney hotels, including Early Theme Park Entry and early access to Lightning Lane purchases.

Typically, people call these “on-site” or “on Disney property” hotels, which is a bit of a misnomer because there are hotels on Disney World property that are not operated by Disney, and we’ll cover them in just a second. Again, if you just want the breakdown of these hotels, you can click here to jump to the guide.

Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) Properties

DVC hotels are owned and operated by Disney, and there are a variety of them at Disney World. You don’t have to be a DVC member to book a DVC property—they are bookable with cash and are categorized as “Deluxe Villas” on the Disney World website.

These properties also have access to the full set of benefits for guests of Disney hotels, and include properties like Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, and Bay Lake Tower.

We don’t cover the DVC properties in this post because they’re really a distinct set of properties with a unique set of considerations. They have kitchens or kitchenettes, and some have in-unit washers and dryers, for example. Some of them are more expensive that deluxe hotels but have worse transportation (because it’s common for DVC guests to drive or visit for longer periods of time).

If you’re interested in reading more about these, we’re happy to direct you to the Disney Tourist Blog ranking of the DVC properties.

“Other Select Hotels”

This is where things get tricky. Now we’re talking about hotels operated by companies other than Disney—like Four Seasons or Marriott. Some of these hotels get access to some of the perks that Disney hotel guests get. Let’s talk quickly about these hotels, and particularly which perks they do and do not get.

(Note: You should always check with the hotel to see what perks will apply during your stay. These can and do change.)

Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin (and Swan Reserve). The Swan & Dolphin are operated by Marriott. Guests at the Swan & Dolphin have access to Early Theme Park Entry and early purchases of Lightning Lanes.

Four Seasons Resort Orlando, Waldorf Astoria Orlando, Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, and Disney Springs Hotels. The Disney Springs hotels are a set of seven hotels located just outside Disney Springs. Along with the other three hotels, these hotels have access to Early Theme Park Entry BUT NOT to the early purchases of Lightning Lanes.

For many guests, Early Theme Park Entry is the most important perk for their Disney World stay. These guests effectively can choose either a Disney hotel or one of these other select hotels.

While you won’t find a room at every price among these options, we strongly believe everyone should put a good amount of consideration into staying at a Disney hotel or one of these select hotels.

“Good Neighbor Hotels”

Good Neighbor Hotels are hotels near Disney World that carry a Disney stamp of approval. These aren’t run by Disney, and they don’t have any special perks, but Disney thinks they’re good enough to call them Good Neighbors. Besides being okay hotels, the Good Neighbor Hotels do have (1) transportation to Disney World, possibly for a fee, and (2) a specialist who can help you with planning your Disney World vacation.

All The Other Hotels

This area of Florida is filled with hotels and motels of every type. There’s little chance we’ll ever make it to one of the Good Neighbor Hotels, let alone any other hotel. If hotel rates are so bad that we don’t want to pay for a Disney hotel or even one of the lower-priced Disney Springs hotels, we’re probably going to look toward an Airbnb...

Airbnb Near Disney World

Once you start looking at hotels without special perks, you should open up your planning to Airbnbs near Disney World. The Airbnb market in the Orlando area is quite deep, and you can find units of all sizes and locations. Families and travelers visiting for longer periods of time (anything over five nights) may find the value of an Airbnb, usually with a full kitchen, appealing.

Even though we put them last in this discussion, many Airbnbs are nicer than a lot of the hotels you’ll find in the area. This really isn’t a “quality” question. It’s more a question of what you do / don’t need (daily housekeeping? an on-site restaurant? early Lightning Lane booking?) and what suits this trip.

Guide to Disney Hotels at Disney World

Now for the real meat of this post—the Disney hotels, broken down by category and location. We’re going to start with a list of the resorts broken down by tier (and sometimes subcategories). Then we’ll provide a bit of information about the categories and each individual hotel.

 

Walt Disney World Deluxe Resorts

Remember, if you’re set on a deluxe hotel and want to see more detailed comparison, you’ll also want to read our ranking of the Disney World deluxe hotels. (Links to reviews are located further down in this guide.)

  • Monorail Resorts

    • Disney’s Contemporary Resort

    • Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

    • Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

  • Boardwalk Area Resorts

    • Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

    • Disney’s BoardWalk Inn

    • Disney’s Beach Club Resort

  • Other Deluxe Resorts

    • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

    • Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Walt Disney World Moderate Resorts

If you’re set on a moderate hotel and want to see more detailed comparison, you’ll also want to read our ranking of the Disney World moderate hotels. (Links to reviews are located further down in this guide.)

  • Disney’s Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter

  • Disney’s Port Orleans Resort - Riverside

  • Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (Skyliner)

  • Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Walt Disney World Value Resorts

If you’re set on a value hotel and want to see more detailed comparison, you’ll also want to read our ranking of the Disney World value hotels. (Links to reviews are located further down in this guide.)

  • Disney’s Pop Century Resort (Skyliner)

  • Disney’s Art of Animation Resort (Skyliner)

  • Disney’s All-Star Movies, Music, and Sports Resorts

Campgrounds & Cabins

  • The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

  • The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

Walt Disney World Deluxe Resorts

In this section, we’re going to give an overview of the deluxe resorts and then move onto a location-by-location breakdown of the hotels. When we get to individual hotels, we’ll quickly list some “best” and “worst” points for for each, but it’s important to remember that the below list—Things Every Deluxe Resort Has—and the area-specific discussions (like “Monorail Area Resorts”) will also be relevant to your decisions.

Things Every Deluxe Resort Has

We’re going to start with an explanation of the things that separate the deluxe resorts from the other resorts. With a variety of hotels at each level (deluxe, moderate, value), you may find some of this in the other tiers, but we still want to give you an idea of what distinguishes these hotels

Extended Evening Hours. The only “perk” that isn’t available at every Disney hotel is Extended Evening Hours. This perk is exclusive to deluxe hotels and grants guests of these hotels access to select parks on select nights, usually for two hours after the park closes to other guests.

 

“Grown Up” Theming. Unlike the value resorts, which favor gigantic, colorful cartoony figures, the deluxe resorts take a more serious approach to theming. You won’t see a giant statute of Ursula at these resorts—you’re more likely to find model ships or African artifacts.

Table Service Dining. All the deluxe resorts have both a “signature” and a “casual” table service restaurant. Most also have a character meal. The flip side of this—which we constantly harp on—is that their quick service options tend to be insufficient. Most moderate resorts also have casual table service restaurants, but none of the value resorts do.

Non-Bus Transportation (Almost). Animal Kingdom Lodge has only bus transportation to the parks. Wilderness Lodge has a boat to Magic Kingdom that isn’t much better than a bus. The other six deluxe resorts all have better-than-the-bus transportation to at least one park by monorail, walking path, or boat:

  • Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Beach Club — Walk / boat to Epcot and Hollywood Studios

  • Polynesian, Contemporary, Grand Floridian — Walk / boat / monorail to Magic Kingdom

Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom compensate for this with comparatively low prices.

Club Level. If you choose, at the deluxe resorts, you can upgrade to Club Level for access to the club lounge and small food servings throughout the day. If you’re interested, you should read our opinion on Club Level at Walt Disney World (that post also links to our reviews of every club level).

Because we consider location to the the biggest factor in picking a deluxe resort, we’re going to break this list up by location. This also allows us to discuss features common to the resorts in those sections—so make sure you read these introductory sections, or you’ll miss some important factors. Then we’ll quickly address each hotel individually.

Monorail Resorts at Disney World

There are three monorail resorts at Disney World—Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian. These are commonly called “monorail” resorts because the monorail stops at them, connecting them to Magic Kingdom. As a result of this convenience (and their overall quality), these are the most expensive of the deluxe resorts.

The resort monorail stops at Magic Kingdom, then Contemporary, Transportation and Ticket Center, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and back to Magic Kingdom. A loop takes around 15 to 20 minutes.

There is a walking path that connects Transportation and Ticket Center to Polynesian to Grand Floridian to Magic Kingdom. There’s a separate walking path that connects Contemporary to Magic Kingdom.

Because they’re so well-connected, it’s incredibly east to access to lobbies, grounds, bars, and restaurants of the monorail resorts from each other. So if the only reason you put Grand Floridian over Contemporary after doing your research is because of the restaurants, ask yourself whether $200 per night is worth the 15-minute monorail ride between the two resorts.

Finally, these hotels all have theme park view rooms with views of Magic Kingdom. For more on these, check out our post comparing theme Park Views at the Monorail Resorts.

Disney’s Contemporary Resort

2025 Rates Start At: $609 per night
Review of Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Review of Atrium Club Level at Contemporary Resort

Great Things About Contemporary

  • Short walking path (10 min.) to Magic Kingdom

  • Garden Wing rooms are cheapest of the monorail resorts

  • New Incredibles Rooms

  • Theme Park View rooms are among best on property

  • California Grill is a “bucket list” Disney restaurant known for its amazing views

Not-So-Great Things About Contemporary

  • Transportation to Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom is just average

  • Low room rates sell out quickly

  • Overall theming is less appealing than other deluxe resorts

  • Pool area is less appealing than other deluxe resorts

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

2025 Rates Start At: $734 per night
Our Review of Disney's Polynesian Village Resort can be found here.
Review of King Kamehameha Club

Great Things About Polynesian

  • Resort-wide theming is among the best at Disney World

  • Great Moana-themed rooms

  • Walking path to Magic Kingdom (25 minutes)

  • Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto and Tiki Terrace are two of the best bars at Disney World

  • Pool is probably the second best at Disney World (Yacht & Beach Club first)

  • Great firework viewing, with music, from beach

  • ‘Ohana is one of Disney’s most popular restaurants

Not-So-Great Things About Polynesian

  • Price over Contemporary hard to justify

Great Things About Grand Floridian

  • Bucket list item

  • Most “luxury” feel of any resort, due to theming

  • New Mary Poppins rooms are beautiful

  • World class restaurants

  • One monorail stop, walking path (12-16 min) to Magic Kingdom

Not-So-Great Things About Grand Floridian

  • Luxury theming isn’t the same as actual luxury

  • High prices are wholly unjustified

Boardwalk Area Resorts

Similar to the three monorail resorts, it makes sense to group the three Boardwalk area resorts together. These three hotels—BoardWalk Inn, Yacht Club, and Beach Club all sit around Crescent Lake, a small body of water between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Yacht and Beach sit on one side of the lake, with BoardWalk Inn along the other. A full loop around the lake is 0.8 miles.

The ground floor of BoardWalk Inn (along with its DVC counterpart, BoardWalk Villas) forms the Boardwalk entertainment district—a boardwalk with bars, restaurants, shopping, and activities (surrey bikes, a few carnival games).

Now, this is no match for Disney Springs, to be clear. But when you add in the restaurants at Yacht Club and Beach Club, and note that the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin (operated by Marriott) are also a short walk away, you’ve really got quite the resort area going on.

You can walk to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios from all three of these hotels. There is also boat service to both parks. Visiting Epcot will involve using a different entrance than most other guests, but this isn’t a significant issue at this time.

Yacht Club and Beach Club are part of a single campus, and they share a pool (Stormalong Bay), though they have separate lobbies, theming, and room designs. BoardWalk is completely disconnected from Yacht & Beach.

As with the monorail resorts, you can easily access all the lobbies, grounds, bars, and restaurants of any of these resorts from the other two. Since the entire loop around Crescent Lake is just about a mile, you’re looking at a ten minute walk (or a two-minute boat ride) between Yacht & Beach and Boardwalk.

Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

2025 Rates Start At: $622 per night
Review of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.
Review of the Regatta Club, the Club Level lounge at Yacht Club.

Important Note: Disney has announced that from January 2025 through June 2025, Stormalong Bay, the feature pool at Yacht Club and Beach Club will be closed. We do not recommend staying at these hotels during this time, and recommend you instead consider Boardwalk Inn.

Great Things About Yacht Club

  • Stylish rooms (newer than Beach Club)

  • Best pool (Stormalong Bay, shared with Beach Club) at Disney World

  • Lower price than BoardWalk Inn

Not-So-Great Things About Yacht Club

  • We’ve had poor service at some on-site restaurants

  • Popular for conferences, leading to crowded/loud lobby and bars

Great Things About BoardWalk Inn

  • Shortest walk to Hollywood Studios and Boardwalk restaurants

  • Whimsical theming is more fun than Yacht & Beach Clubs

  • New rooms debuted in 2023

Not-So-Great Things About Boardwalk Inn

  • Prices inexplicably higher than Yacht Club and Beach Club

  • Pool not as good as Yacht Club and Beach Club

Disney’s Beach Club Resort

2025 Rates Start At: $613 per night
Our review of Disney’s Beach Club Resort is here.
Our review of the Stone Harbor Club Level at Beach Club is here.

Important Note: Disney has announced that from January 2025 through June 2025, Stormalong Bay, the feature pool at Yacht Club and Beach Club will be closed. We do not recommend staying at these hotels during this time, and recommend you instead consider Boardwalk Inn.

Note: The Beach Club rooms have recently been refurbished. We hope to stay in these new rooms and review them soon. Here’s a look at the new rooms over on Disney Food Blog.

Great Things About Beach Club

  • Best pool on property (Stormalong Bay, shared with Yacht Club)

  • Lower prices than BoardWalk Inn

Not-So-Great Things About Beach Club

  • Longest walk in the area to Hollywood Studios

Other Deluxe Resorts

There are two remaining two deluxe resorts, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge. We’ll to talk a bit more about each of them individually.

Animal Kingdom Lodge has the worst transport options (i.e. location) of all the deluxe resorts. You can’t walk to a single park, and you’ll be relying solely on bus transportation if you stick to complimentary options. The lower price makes up for that, as it allows you to Uber / Lyft / Minnie Van in a pinch.

With no resorts in the area, Animal Kingdom Lodge is left more to its own devices to entertain guests, and it does so very well, with stunning grounds, great dining, its own savanna (with animals), and plenty of resort activities. One curious element missing is a character meal.

Great Things About Animal Kingdom Lodge

  • Lowest prices of deluxe resorts

  • Best theming on property (tied with Wilderness Lodge)

  • Fantastic restaurant lineup

  • Savanna with real animals right outside resort (and savanna view rooms available)

  • Wonderfully themed rooms

  • Reasonably priced club level

Not-So-Great Things About Animal Kingdom Lodge

  • Bus transportation (or rideshare) to all parks and Disney Springs

  • No character meals on-site

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

2025 Rates Start At: $546 per night
Our review of Disney's Wilderness Lodge can be found here.
Review of Old Faithful Club

Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness Lodge have a lot in common. Both have large, grandiose, nature-themed lobbies. Both have poor transportation options. Both have relatively low prices (which allow you some extra money for rideshares).

Some consider boat access to Magic Kingdom to be a perk of this hotel, but we strongly disagree, finding boat transportation to be only as good as bus transportation.

Great Things About Wilderness Lodge

  • 2nd lowest price of deluxe resorts

  • Best theming on property (tied with Animal Kingdom Lodge)

  • Good restaurants, including fantastic character meal

  • Two pools

Not-So-Great Things About Wilderness Lodge

  • Bus to three parks, bus or boat to Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney World Moderate Resorts

The moderate resorts are the middle tier of Disney World’s hotels, between value and deluxe. Personally, with one exception, we don’t feel like they hit a “sweet spot”—if you’re on a budget we just recommend the values (and spend any extra savings on things like dining or tours), and if you’re looking to “treat yourself”, save up for a low-priced deluxe like Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge. (If you can’t afford a full trip at a deluxe, consider a split stay.)

Most rooms at these hotels are much closer to the value rooms than the deluxe rooms. French Quarter, Caribbean Beach, and Riverside recently received slight refurbishments, but these made the rooms just average.

Coronado Springs has the best rooms, having recently received a complete, “hard” refurbishment. And the Gran Destino Tower offers some of the best rooms at Walt Disney World right now.

The grounds are sort of like the value resorts but with “grown up” themes (French Quarter even has a few plastic figures). They don’t have the depth of the deluxe resorts. Room doors still face the outside (except at Gran Destino Tower), and you’ll be walking amongst a gigantic field of different buildings.

Dining options vary at the moderate resorts. Three of the four have on-site table service, but guests of Port Orleans — French Quarter will have to walk ten minutes to Riverside for a table service meal. Guests at Coronado Springs get the most variety of dining.

What really defines these resorts for us is their generally poor transportation situation. Riverside and Coronado Springs rely solely on buses that make multiple stops around the gigantic resorts.

Caribbean Beach has only buses to get to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom, but now has the Skyliner delivering guests to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. French Quarter usually has its own bus that makes a single stop, which makes it a standout among the moderate resorts.

Important Note About Driving

If you have a car at Disney World, you may find the moderate resorts significantly more tolerable, as there tends to be parking available near each building. Parking is once again free at the hotels, and hotel guests get free parking at the parks as well.

Before we dive into each hotel, I want to provide a really quick synopsis based on what we just discussed. You can honestly sort through these four really quickly:

  • Port Orleans French Quarter - Smallest moderate, good transportation (bus only, but usually only a single stop), average rooms, can walk to Riverside easily

  • Port Orleans Riverside - Large, beautiful grounds, rooms recently “soft” refurbished

  • Coronado Springs - Best rooms, most dining options, but bad transportation and a “convention hotel” vibe

  • Caribbean Beach - Newly refurbished rooms, large, new main building and dining options, okay transportation (poor bus service, but has Skyliner)

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter

2025 Rates Start At: $289 per night
Review of Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter

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Great Things About Port Orleans — French Quarter

  • Small size makes for short walks to rooms

  • Usually has its own bus with a single stop

  • Theming is fun for adults and children

Not So Great Things About Port Orleans — French Quarter

  • Have to walk ten minutes to Riverside for table service dining

  • Rooms recently only “soft” refurbished (i.e. not up to Coronado Springs quality)

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort - Riverside

2025 Rates Start At: $289 per night
Review of Port Orleans Resort — Riverside

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Great Things About Port Orleans — Riverside

  • Grounds are absolutely beautiful and have a real “wow” effect

  • Table service dining on-site

Not So Great Things About Port Orleans — Riverside

  • Rooms recently only “soft” refurbished (i.e. not up to Coronado Springs quality)

  • Large size means multiple bus stops and/or long walks are daily occurrences

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

2025 Rates Start At: $268 per night
Review of Caribbean Beach Resort
Review of Under the Sea Rooms at Caribbean Beach

Note: The regular (not Under the Sea) rooms at Caribbean Beach are undergoing (or have undergone) another round of small refurbishments. Based on what we’ve seen so far, we’d place these about the same quality as the Port Orleans rooms. They don’t particularly impress us, but we hope to stay in them soon.

Great Things About Caribbean Beach Resort

  • Skyliner access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios

  • Recently refurbished main building and food court are great

  • Good table service on-site, walkable to Riviera Resort for more dining

  • Pool has fun “pirate” theming appealing to many kids

Not So Great Things About Caribbean Beach

  • Large size means multiple bus stops and/or long walks are daily occurrences

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

2025 Rates Start At: $260 per night
Review of Coronado Springs Resort
Review of Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs

Coronado Springs requires one quick note. The bulk of the hotel is contained in buildings around a lake. There is also Gran Destino Tower, which has its own room designs. Overall these are all excellent rooms, but the Tower rooms are slightly better, and the Tower is more convenient.

Great Things About Coronado Springs

  • Recently “hard refurbished” rooms are the best in the moderate category

  • Gran Destino Tower is one of Disney’s most beautiful hotel buildings

  • Option to Upgrade to Club Level

  • Dig Site pool area is one of the better themed pool areas at Disney World

  • Wide range of dining options, including multiple table service options

Not-So-Great Things About Coronado Springs

  • Large size means multiple bus stops and/or long walks are daily occurrences

  • Has a real “convention hotel” vibe (as it actually targets these guests)

Walt Disney World Value Resorts

The value resorts are possibly the most under-appreciated resorts at Walt Disney World. Say what you will, but these are cool, fun, lively, almost trippy places.

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If the Grand Floridian is a wealthy older couple in a horse drawn carriage riding down Fifth Avenue, the value resorts are a family of five hanging off a motorbike zipping through the streets of Bangkok. This isn’t Disney life at its most elegant, but it might be Disney life at its best.

Let's be clear before proceeding. Value resorts have food courts, not restaurants. The rooms are smaller than the rooms at deluxe resorts. You're sticking to bus transportation (or Uber). The theming is not subtle. And the details, the amenities, everything else, well...you'll get what you paid for.

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As with the moderate resorts, it makes sense to quickly discuss what sets the value resorts apart from each other. Then it’s pretty easy to identify the “great” and “not-so-great” elements of each.

Rooms at the Value Resorts

Pop Century, All-Star Movies, and All-Star Music all have newly, fully refurbished rooms. All-Star Sports surprisingly reopened without these new rooms, though it now has them. Art of Animation rooms received a “soft” refurbishment—these rooms still lack the overall quality and functionality of the newer value rooms, but they also retain a level of theming not seen in the other value resorts.

New value room

New value room

Rooms are the factor we weight most in comparing the value resorts (with transportation being the next biggest factor). Some people don’t like the new feel of the refurbished rooms.

We get that they’re a step in the direction of a “clean” and “modern” aesthetic. While we don’t care much for that among the deluxe and moderate resorts, we find it to be an improvement over the old value rooms.

 

Transportation at the Value Resorts

All the value resorts have bus transportation to get to all the parks and Disney Springs. Pop Century and Art of Animation have their own buses almost all the time, while the All-Star Resorts share during off-peak times.

Pop Century and Art of Animation also have Disney Skyliner access to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. This is a great perk, particularly if you’re the type to go back and forth between your room and parks, or to park hop (e.g. you could hop from Magic Kingdom to Epcot to make your return home easier).

The bus situation is…debatable. We’ve never been bothered by the sharing at the All-Star Resorts, though I know buses do fill up, leaving some guests behind, sometimes. You can walk from Music to Movies with no problem (some Movies rooms are even closer to the Music stop than the Movies stop), so this all seems to be splitting hairs.

If you don’t mind walking—we actually enjoy walking—you can also also take an Art of Animation bus and walk to Pop Century, or vice versa.

Other Differences at the Value Resorts

Here are some other differences between the value resorts:

  • The theme at movies is slightly more “Disney” in the traditional sense that you have giant Woody, Buzz, and Dalmatians sitting around

  • Pop Century has a slightly better food court than the All-Stars; Art of Animation has the best food court of the value resorts

  • All-Star Sports can be a wild west of teens and tweens (engaged in various sporting competitions throughout the year)

  • You can walk easily among the All-Star Resorts; you can walk easily between Pop Century and Art of Animation

And just for completeness, here are some quick profiles of the value resorts.

Disney’s Pop Century Resort

2025 Rates Start At: $183 per night
Read our Full Review of Pop Century Resort

Great Things About Pop Century Resort

  • Skyliner access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios

  • High quality rooms

  • Prices beat Art of Animation and are competitive with All-Stars

  • (Mostly) unshared bus with a single stop

  • Can walk to Art of Animation for their better food court

Not-So-Great Things About Pop Century Resort

  • Some people think new rooms lack heart

You might also want to read our post comparing Pop Century and Art of Animation.

Great Things About Art of Animation

  • Skyliner access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios

  • Best food court among values

  • (Mostly) unshared bus with a single stop

  • Little Mermaid Rooms are heavily themed

  • Best Value resort pool (with underwater music)

  • Grounds have heavy “Disney” theming (lots of characters)

Not So Great Things About Art of Animation

  • Room quality a tad behind Pop Century and new All-Star rooms

  • High price for Little Mermaid rooms hard to justify

You might also want to read our post comparing Pop Century and Art of Animation.

One More Thing: Art of Animation rooms can be divided into the standard Little Mermaid Rooms and the Family Suites. The prices for the Family Suites are more in line with moderate or even deluxe resorts, starting at $497 per night.

The Family Suites are worth looking into if you've got the money and are looking for something a little different. But don't confuse them with a deluxe stay. You’ll still have bad location and a lack of high-quality dining options.

Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort / Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort / Disney’s All-Star Music Resort

Note: We discuss the All-Star Resorts together, noting the differences briefly.

2025 Rates Start At: $133 per night
Read our Full Review of All Star Movies Resort
Read our Full Review of All Star Music Resort
Read our Full Review of All Star Sports Resort

Great Things About the Value Resorts

  • Lowest prices of Disney hotels

  • New, high-quality rooms

  • Resort theming is fun (but over the top)

Not So Great Things About the Value Resorts

  • Often share buses with each other

  • Some people think the rooms lack heart

Differences Between the All-Star Resorts:

  1. All-Star Movies has the most “Disney” theming (because movies, duh)

  2. The shared buses stop at Sports, Music, then Movies.

  3. All-Star Sports typically sees more large groups of kids visiting for athletic events at ESPN's Wide World of Sports.

Campgrounds and Cabins

The Disney website considers the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds their own category and places the Cabins in the Moderate category. Since these are really different places than the other resorts, we don’t see the point in ranking them alongside the other resorts.

The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

2025 Rates Start At: $480 per night

Note: Newly refurbished Fort Wilderness Cabins have debuted. We have not yet had the opportunity to stay in these, but our position on the resort as a whole is likely to remain unchanged—this is a very different type of stay.

Our Thoughts: As we cover in our review of The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, Fort Wilderness is a truly unique experience. There’s really no sensible reason to rank it against the other Disney resorts, which is why we don’t.

The Cabins at Fort Wilderness are good for guests who are driving to Walt Disney World and have longer stays. They are equipped with a kitchen, which is a great for saving money.

They also have a personal parking space, so those with cars can quickly jet off to the parks in the morning. Fort Wilderness is filled with recreational activities, which is why it’s better for longer stays.

Without a car, or for shorter stays, the Cabins are great accommodations, but the location and difficulties getting to and from your cabin make it a very inconvenient option.

The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

Rates Start At: $104 per night

We’ve never camped at Fort Wilderness, but we have stayed in the Cabins, which share the same amenities as the campsites. See above for our commentary on Fort Wilderness generally, or read our review of Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.

The campsites are the lowest-priced accommodations at Walt Disney World, which automatically piques one’s interest. If you have an RV / camper or are really into tent camping, it’s easy to see why these are appealing. If you’re looking for straight value, it’s probably more sensible to save a bit or find the All-Stars at a discount. Don’t come to Fort Wilderness to save, come to Fort Wilderness to experience Fort Wilderness.

All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered

Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.

Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.

When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!

Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.

Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.

Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.