Photo: Ivan Curra, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Walt Disney World planning
Disney's All-Star Music Resort: What to Know Before You Book
Disney's All-Star Music Resort is the value hotel families pick when they need a budget room and more beds than a standard Disney room gives them. It opened on November 22, 1994 as the second of the three All-Star resorts, after All-Star Sports earlier that year and before All-Star Movies in 1999, and it holds 1,604 rooms across ten three story buildings. Those buildings are split into five music themed sections, two buildings each, for Calypso, Jazz, Rock Inn, Country Fair, and Broadway, each marked by oversized icons that rise as tall as the buildings, from giant maracas and a three story boom box to enormous cowboy boots and saxophones. The one thing that sets All-Star Music apart from its two sister resorts is the family suite: 192 of its rooms are suites that sleep up to six, the first suites Disney built at a value resort, and the reason a larger family on a budget books Music instead of Movies or Sports. Recreation and dining are kept simple at the value price, with two themed pools, a single food court called the Intermission Food Court, and a pool bar, and getting to the parks is by Disney bus only. This guide explains what the value price buys at All-Star Music, when the family suite is worth it and when two standard rooms beat it, which section to request, and how the resort compares with the rest of the All-Star group.
Fast read
What matters first
Use this page as the practical filter before you open booking pages, maps, or official policy documents.
Why stay here
All-Star Music is the value resort you choose for a budget Disney room with the option of a suite that sleeps a larger family. It is one of Disney's value tier resorts, the cheapest rung of the on property ladder, and like its sisters it turns its buildings into giant sets, here built around five styles of music with icons as tall as the buildings. What makes it different is that 192 of its rooms are family suites that sleep up to six, the only suites in the All-Star group, so a family of five or six can stay in one Disney owned room at close to value prices. The trade for the low rate is a simpler set of amenities, with smaller standard rooms, two pools, one food court, and a pool bar rather than a table service restaurant. It fits families who need more beds on a budget, first time visitors watching the cost, and anyone who plans to spend their days in the parks and only sleep at the resort.
Getting to the parks
All-Star Music runs entirely on Disney buses. Complimentary buses serve all four theme parks, the two water parks, and Disney Springs, and there is no monorail, no Skyliner, and no boat at any of the All-Star resorts. The three All-Star resorts sit next to one another and share a single bus depot, so during slower seasons a bus may stop at all three resorts before heading to a park, which can add a few minutes to the ride. Plan on buses for every park day, allow extra time at the busiest morning and evening hours, and treat a rental car or rideshare as the only way to shorten the trip.
Where it sits
The resort sits in the Animal Kingdom resort area in the southwest corner of Walt Disney World, near Disney's Animal Kingdom, the Blizzard Beach water park, and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. It shares this pocket of the property with its two sister resorts, All-Star Sports and All-Star Movies, which sit directly beside it. The location is convenient for Animal Kingdom and Blizzard Beach and a longer bus ride from Magic Kingdom, but because every park is reached by bus from here, the resort's position matters less than it does at the monorail and Skyliner resorts.
Decision system
Park day gear worth packing
A compact set of comfort picks for long lines, heat, rain, refills, and high step counts.
The planning sequence
Use the sequence below to decide how this should shape the trip.
The theming
Five kinds of music, icons as tall as the buildings
The personality of All-Star Music comes from the giant icons bolted to the buildings, and knowing what they are keeps expectations in line with the value price. The resort is split into five sections, each themed to a style of music, and each section is marked by oversized props that rise as high as the three story buildings. Calypso carries giant maracas, congas, and a three story boom box, Jazz is lined with enormous saxophones and a walk through jukebox, Country Fair has towering cowboy boots and guitars, Rock Inn is built around a giant guitar, and Broadway is dressed in oversized theatrical masks. None of it changes the room inside, which is the standard value size, but the icons are why a budget resort still reads as a fully themed Disney hotel, and why children remember the place. The two pools play along, with the main Calypso pool shaped like a guitar and a smaller Piano pool in the Jazz section.
What makes All-Star Music different
All-Star Music is the value resort that added suites to the budget tier. It opened on November 22, 1994 as the second All-Star resort, and it holds 1,604 rooms across ten three story buildings grouped into five music themed sections, two buildings each, for Calypso, Jazz, Rock Inn, Country Fair, and Broadway. What sets it apart from the other value resorts is the family suite: in the Calypso and Jazz sections, 192 of the rooms are suites of about 520 square feet that sleep up to six, the first suites Disney offered at a value resort. The standard rooms are the usual value size and the amenities are deliberately simple, but the suite is the feature that pulls larger families to Music rather than to its sisters, and the giant music icons give the whole resort the themed feel that the value price is known for.
The family suite, and when two rooms beat it
The family suite is the real decision at All-Star Music, so it is worth understanding what it is. Each suite is about 520 square feet, sleeps up to six plus a child in a crib, and has two bathrooms and a small kitchenette with a microwave and a compact refrigerator. One bedroom has a queen bed, and the living area has two beds that fold down, one over the dining table and one from the couch. The suite lets a family of five or six stay in a single Disney owned room near value prices, which is its whole appeal. The honest counterpoint is that two connecting standard value rooms often cost about the same, sleep up to eight, give you four real beds and two bathrooms, and qualify for more of the room discounts that rarely reach the suites. Choose the suite when one room, a kitchenette, and a single key matter, and choose two rooms when you want more beds and a better chance at a discount.
All-Star Music, Sports, or Movies
If you do not need a suite, the next decision is which of the three All-Star resorts to book, because they are essentially the same resort wearing three different costumes. All three share the same value price, the same building layout, the same standard room size, and the same bus depot, and sit side by side in the Animal Kingdom resort area. The differences are theme and suites. Music is built around five styles of music and is the only All-Star with family suites, Sports is built around games like surfing, basketball, and football, and Movies is built around Disney and Pixar films and tends to be the most popular of the three with young children. With standard rooms identical across all three, pick the theme your group will enjoy most, and pick Music specifically when you need the suite.
Which section and building to request
Inside the resort, location is the lever most guests overlook. The five themed sections fan out around Melody Hall, the central building that holds the front desk, the Intermission Food Court, the main Calypso pool, and the bus stop, so the section a room sits in decides how far the daily walk is. Family suites are fixed in the Calypso and Jazz sections, so a suite booking already sets the location, with Calypso the closest to Melody Hall. Standard room guests have more say: the sections nearer Melody Hall mean a shorter walk to the food court and the bus, while the outer sections tend to be quieter. There is no charge to request a section, though requests are not guaranteed, so it is worth asking for a central building if convenience matters and an outer one for calm.
The Deep Arrival way to decide
Treat All-Star Music as a clean, cheerful place to sleep and shower between long park days, and let one question decide it: do you need the suite. Book the family suite when your group is five or six and you want them in one room with a kitchenette, compare it honestly against two connecting standard rooms first, and remember the suites see fewer discounts. Book a standard room here, rather than at Sports or Movies, when the music theme is the one your group likes best. Step up to Pop Century or a moderate for more space and a better pool, or to Art of Animation if you want a roomier family suite and will pay a little more, and pick a deluxe only when a short commute to a park is worth the higher price. The clearest case for All-Star Music is a larger family on a budget that wants real Disney theming and one room to fit everyone.
Planning traps
Mistakes to avoid
These are the small decisions that quietly derail an otherwise good plan.
Booking the family suite without pricing two standard rooms first. Two connecting value rooms often cost about the same, sleep up to eight, and catch more discounts, so compare them against the suite before you book.
Expecting moderate or deluxe amenities at a value price. All-Star Music has smaller standard rooms, two simple pools with no slides, and one food court, so book a moderate or deluxe if more space, a better pool, or a table service restaurant matters.
Assuming there is a table service restaurant. Dining on site is the Intermission Food Court and a pool bar, so plan resort meals around the food court and book any sit down meals at the parks or Disney Springs.
Forgetting the buses can be shared. The three All-Star resorts share a bus depot, so during slower times the bus may stop at all three before reaching a park, which is worth building into morning and evening park plans.
Sources checked
Official and supporting references
Use these links to verify live prices, dates, rules, and operating details before money changes hands.
FAQ
Common planning questions
Does Disney's All-Star Music Resort have family suites?
Is the family suite a better deal than two rooms?
How do you get to the parks from Disney's All-Star Music Resort?
When did Disney's All-Star Music Resort open?
What are the themed sections at All-Star Music?
What is there to eat at All-Star Music?
Continue planning