I had never stayed on a Disney property in Orlando before. Much like most people, I didn't see the point in spending so much money when I could spend half, (or less), for a place with a kitchen and more room. In fact, I only chose to stay at one this time because I wanted to be better informed about what a Value Resort is like and what are, if any, the privileges/conveniences of staying on property.
First, I have to tell you that we selected the mid-level dining plan, called the "Disney Dining Plan." I will go into more detail about the plan in another blog, but I suffice it to say that it is TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!! I mention it here because, as part of the dining plan, you get a refillable cup that you can use up until midnight the day you check out. It can be used for all non-alcoholic drinks or ONE alcoholic beverage at any resort. It is not refillable at a park. Still, before we left for the park, we filled the cups and, when we got back to the resort, I dropped the kids off at the front entrance to fill them again. After I parked and arrived in our room, I had a nice cold Diet Coke waiting for me!
I was curious about what a Value Resort was like. To be honest, my daughter is quite skittish about "iffy" places to stay. That's totally my fault. She is a competitive Irish dancer and we travel a lot. I typically will get a Hilton or Marriott room, because I get points and, eventually, a free room. That said, my daughter has become used to a little higher level place. She was nervous before we got there. (In the past, we have actually left hotels because of her anxiety regarding this.) I was definitely concerned, because I wanted it to be good...for all of us. I kept reminding her,(and myself), that this is a Disney Property and, therefore, well taken care of...and, for my daughter's sake, I prayed I was right.
I was!!! While the rooms were smaller than what we are used to, they were very clean and maintained the theme throughout. The biggest thing to consider is that the beds are FULL size mattresses, not Queen. The general layout of the room is that of a typical motel: You enter the room where, on one wall, there are two Full beds and, on the other wall, a dresser with TV on top and a small table with two chairs. A very pleasant surprise is that, inside a compartment of the dress, there is a mini-refrigerator. That came in handy with some snacks we had!
We stayed in the FOOTBALL themed wing of the hotel. Each wing is actually three 3-story buildings with an elevator where the three buildings meet. The outer stairs were covered with large, metal footballs, (you'll see in the pictures). The BASEBALL-themed wing had large Coke cups covering the outer stairs. The TENNIS-themed wing had tennis ball cans covering the stairs. I didn't get a good look at the SURF'S UP-themed wing.
Our room, again, looking like a typical motel room, had small theme details. The picture behind the beds showed Mickey in a football uniform in the typical Heisman trophy pose. The shower bathroom was red, white and blue, with a shower curtain showing all sorts of cartoon drawings of our favorite Disney characters. There was a shelf with pegs for towels or bathing suits. That shelf had characters on it, as well. It was very obviously not a DELUXE resort, but it was comfortable and my daughter was fine in it!!!!
There were LOTS of things for families to do. Between themed buildings, there was some sort of layout relating to the theme. For instance, between two of the FOOTBALL buildings, there was an astro-turf covered mini football field. Every time I went by there, there were kids or families playing soccer or throwing a football. Between two of the TENNIS buildings, there is a tennis court. While we were there, it wasn't open, as it was being redone. There is a big arcade room for the kids and games for every age! Two pools are on property. The largest one is just outside the main building, where registration, the food court, the gift shop and arcade are located...and next to the SURF'S UP building. This pool is huge! It was very busy, but there was plenty of room for anyone who wanted to swim. There was a snack bar at this pool. The other pool was a personal favorite of mine. We are a big baseball family!! This pool is shaped like a baseball field. Well, the actually pool is the infield, so...a square pool. The cement around the pool, where the lounge chairs are, is shaped like the outfield. One of the entrances to the Baseball building looks like a Baseball scoreboard. On one side of a building, at the top, it looks like bleachers in a park.
In the pictures included, you will see the outside of the building with big letters spelling "ALL STAR SPORTS." Take a close look at this one. To the right of the picture, you are looking at the registration entrance. I took the picture from the place in the parking lot that is reserved for guests checking in. We never parked there again, as we had parking that was closer to our building. To the left in this photo, you will see people hanging around. This is where buses pick up and drop off to and from the various Disney Parks and Disney Springs. Because I have an annual pass and one of the perks of that is free parking, we drove every day. So, I cannot really give a review of the timeliness of the buses. I have heard complaints that some buses stop several places. I'm not sure if that is the case for the All Star resorts. I do know that I saw buses returning and the electric sign scrolling at the top of the windshield specifically named only one resort. So, I THINK the bus might go from the resort STRAIGHT to the park...but I am not sure.
Bottom line, for the money, the Value resort is DEFINITELY a good deal. You still can take advantage of the dining plans. There is not a sit-down restaurant here, but we had plenty of places to eat. My only complaint is the out-dated plug system...for all of our cell phones that everyone had to charge. And this complaint is not one worth complaining about. It is an easy fix. I would not hesitate to book a client in a a value resort now. I just have to remind them about the FULL size mattresses.
And, to close with my goals stated in the first paragraph, (can you tell I am a teacher?), I am now convinced that staying on property has so many perks that, along with the Dining Plan, I will never NOT stay on property again. And please know...I do NOT get a travel agent discount!
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