It’s another Magical Monday here on the blog. If you’ve missed this series and love Disney, make sure to check out the other posts in this series linked at the end of this blog post.

You might ask why an Illinois wedding photographer would be doing a series on Disney World. There are a couple of reasons that I’ve started this series. First of all, we have fallen in love with Disney. Adam and I had both been there as kids, but really fell in love with it when we went for the first time as a family in 2015. I spent hours and hours on the Internet looking at blogs and doing research. I just want to help you with your trip by sharing my tips, tricks and things we love so that maybe you won’t have to spend quite as much time researching as I did. Secondly, I would LOVE to shoot at Disney someday. Classy Disney-inspired wedding themes, Disney park engagement shoots or even a WDW wedding would be a dream come true for me. So, maybe these posts will reach someone planning something like that and I’ll be the perfect photographer for the job! J

Today I’m going to share a brief review of the All Star Resorts. This group of resorts includes All Star Sports, All Star Music and All Star Movies. They are considered Animal Kingdom resorts, meaning they are closest to that park. The All Star resorts are value resorts, so they are a great budget-friendly option. We stayed at the Movies the first year and Music the second.

All of the All Star Resorts are pretty similar. When we went in October, the average price was around $100 a night. We are a family of 7, so we booked two rooms and called to request connecting rooms. We didn’t have any trouble getting those both times. Even with needing two rooms, this was a cheaper option than a family suite at a different resort. I loved having two rooms because that meant two bathrooms and two mini refrigerators. It was also nice to have that second room for our toddler to take a nap while the older kids went in and out of the other room heading to the pool.

The rooms at the All Star Resorts are small. There are two double beds, a small table with two chairs, a mini refrigerator, a bathroom with toilet and full bath/shower and a separate sink with curtained area. We knew we weren’t going to be in the room much except to sleep, so the size of the rooms didn’t matter much to us and it was worth the savings.

The resorts have great pools! There is a larger pool and 1-2 smaller pools. They don’t have slides, as those are only found at moderate resorts and up. There is also a laundry facility, nice cafeteria with great kid-friendly choices and a gift shop.

The difference in the three All Star Resorts is simply theming. All Star Movies has large statues of animals, icons and characters from popular Disney movies that kids will recognize and love. All Star Music is music-themed, of course. There you will find guitar- and piano-shaped pools. All Star Sports is decorated in all things sports.

All of these resorts are connected by a great walking path, which is and enjoyable path for a morning or evening stroll. I don’t think there is a big reason to choose one of the All Star resorts over the other, except for the theming that you would most enjoy.

If you are looking for a budget-friendly resort option, the All Star Resorts are a great option! You won’t get a large room, fancy amenities or the luxury of being super close to Magic Kingdom, but you’ll save money and still be on property!

Heading to Disney soon and want to check out my other tips? Check out the series here.

6 Reasons to Stay on Property

3 Ways We Saved on Food at Disney

4 Character Dining Suggestions

4 Reasons to Love Disney in the Fall

Magical Mondays Intro Post