All Star Music Resort is a value level hotel at Walt Disney World.  One of three All Star Resorts, this particular version has music-inspired decor sprinkled throughout.  The resort has two separate room types – standard hotel rooms and family suites.  We recently stayed in the All Star Music Resort’s family suite and this review will cover that experience, as well as our thoughts on the amenities, prices and the resort as a whole.

All Star Resorts don’t have the best reputation among Disney fans.  Common problems that are listed in All Star Resort reviews include (but are not limited too) the resort being too crowded, the rooms are outdated, the food is bad, there are too many kids running around (get off my lawn!), the bus transportation sucks and the prices don’t offer a good enough value.  Knowing all of this, my expectations were low upon arrival at All Star Music Resort.

We arrived on Thanksgiving and stayed through that weekend, so I thought the resort would absolutely be overrun with people.  After all, one of the reasons we booked that particular resort was because there wasn’t much availability elsewhere.  Fortunately, I didn’t think crowds or noise were much of a factor here.  That isn’t to say that others were wrong in their review, just that we didn’t run into any issues with overbearing crowds while at the hotel.

Having stayed at Pop Century and Art of Animation, the other two value resorts, I’ve grown accustomed and somewhat tired of the gigantic decorations spread throughout the grounds.  There isn’t much theme involved in that type of decorations, more just a “hey, you’re at a Disney resort so we’re going to remind you of that with a gigantic Disney character” vibe.  For some, that works but I don’t find it particularly interesting.

All Star Music Resort, surprisingly, handles that a little better than other value resorts.  While the lobby is far from incredible, there are a few nods to musicians in the form of photos throughout.  It did help that the resort had Christmas decor in the lobby, adding some life to the area.  Otherwise, I think that area would look pretty dull.

Where I do enjoy All Star Music thematically is in the different wings of the resort.  Each building in the resort had a different theme.  Our room was in the Jazz Inn area of the hotel.  Just down from our building was a street themed to Broadway.  No, this isn’t Imagineering’s best work but they are nice touches that make the areas more inviting.  The resort had more of a distinct theme rather than just having large characters throughout it.

All Star Music Resort still did look tacky in some places.  I don’t think the outside of the rooms themselves look good.  Much of the resort looks fairly tired and is in need of a new color scheme.  All in all, I don’t think the thematic design really moves the needle much in favor or against the resort.  There are some nice touches and some disappointing areas.

Moving on to the rooms.  The family suites sleep five adults.  If you’re traveling with young children then fitting a few more than 5 in wouldn’t be a problem as long as you have bedding.  Space isn’t much of an issue here, just the beds provided sleep 5.  For all intents and purposes, this room is a 1-bedroom suite.  Here’s a look at the bedroom.

It’s a fairly small room with a queen-size bed.  The bedding looked up to date and it was fairly comfortable as far as mattresses go.  I like the headboard quite a bit.  The rest of the room was somewhat ugly with tan walls and blue carpets.  It may be personal preference but tan walls in a hotel hardly ever work.  There’s a TV and dresser across from the bed.  The room does the job.

There is a kitchen with plenty of cupboard space.  There was no oven or stove but it did have a microwave and fridge.  If you want to have a meal or two in the room then this would probably suffice.  I am a fan of the Donald picture, although I can’t think of another character who would be more annoying with cymbals than him.

Here’s a hotel bathroom…

Extremely bright shower curtain aside, the bathroom was fine.  It did show age in the form of a few small stains in the tub, although nothing gross.  The sink and mirror were outside of the bathroom.  Maybe the best feature of the room is that there were two bathrooms (each looked exactly the same) so that made getting ready in the morning much easier.

Here’s a look at the main room where guests enter.  Both the couch and chair pull out into a bed, the couch being a double and the chair being a twin.  I think the furniture is fine, bordering on ugly 70’s style.  Both pull-out beds were pretty uncomfortable and my back was much happier after we stopped sleeping on the pull-out.  Still, I don’t think it would be a big deal for kids or even teenagers.  I do like some of the decor in this main room, including the music stand lamp and the Fantasia wall art.  The carpeting is kind of fun, as well.  The colors are pretty bad though.

Opposite the couch and chair, there was a table and TV.  Pretty standard hotel decor, although they were the nicest looking furniture in the room.  In fact, I like the table quite a bit.

Overall, this is far from a great room in terms of style.  But, it does the job and has plenty of space for five.  The extra bathroom is a great bonus for larger families.

Intermission Cafe is the resort’s food court.  We ate here once and enjoyed the food.  There are certainly better options throughout Disney World but this wasn’t bad if you are looking for a meal and staying at the resort.  We’ll have a review up before long.  The seating area wasn’t anything too interesting but there was a lot of space and the area was kept very clean.  The doors were unlocked all night so guests could utilize the soda machine if they had a refillable mug.  I wish more resorts followed that lead.

The main pool (there are a few other, smaller pools) has this amazing Three Caballeros water feature in the middle.  The pool is large and there are some fun games surrounding the area.  While not one Disney World’s best pools, I do like the decor and the area was inviting enough.

For some reason, this arcade is open 24 hours.  It is one of the biggest I’ve seen at Walt Disney World.  Thankfully, it will be open for those that can’t sleep at 3:30 in the morning and need to play some pop-a-shot.

While I’ve heard horror stories about All Star Resort buses, we only experienced one long wait for a bus.  The bus arrival time in My Disney Experience App is a lifesaver when it comes to these issues.  Use that!  All Star Music will have some crowded buses but I don’t think that’s enough to deter people from staying there.

All in all, the amenities aren’t spectacular but I thought they were well done.  Combine that with the thematic elements and All Star Music surpassed my expectations in that regard.  But, does that make the hotel a good value?

Finding a family suite (1-bedroom) is not an easy task at Disney World, especially if you are looking to save money.  Art of Animation offers the next cheapest family suite.  While those rooms are nicer than what is offered at All Star Music, they also cost at least $100 more per night.  If you go away from the on-site hotels and start looking at Disney Springs options, there are a few 1-bedroom suites that will be at a similar rate or cheaper than All Star Music.  Those resorts are probably slightly nicer but you are sacrificing some convenience as far as transportation goes.

We stayed at All Star Music Resort in a family suite for slightly over $250/night during one of the busiest times of the year.  Finding this room for right around $200/night is doable and a decent value.  As far as a standard room goes, I think there is some value if you can find a price of around $100/night.

Considering all of All Star Music Resort’s factors, I do think the resort holds some value.  If you can find a cheap price and keep expectations in tow then the resort will work for you.  On the other hand, if you are looking for a place to spend ample time lounging around the resort and aren’t going to spend most of your time in the parks then I’d recommend looking elsewhere.  All Star Music Resort is slightly dated and nothing about it will wow guests.  The rooms are very basic and fairly ugly.  With that out-of-the-way, it’s a decent hotel if you can find the right price or if you are on a budget.

Overall Rating – 6.5/10

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