Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort

The collection of three All-Star value resorts is located in the Animal Kingdom Resort Area at the southern most end of the Walt Disney World Resort. At Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, large icons celebrate the films and decorate the grounds of these ten buildings, while the buildings themselves as well as each of the rooms in the resort are decorated with additional images.

The five celebrated films span many decades of movie-making, bookended by ground-breaking animated features. Fantasia, released in 1940, has its own area, as do the Toy Story films that began in 1995. The other films are Herbie The Love Bug, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and The Mighty Ducks. The impressively large icons dedicated to each film are truly a striking sight. Overall, the All-Star Movies resort has the feel of a motionless Disney parade, with entertaining images around every corner.

Disney All Star Movies lobby
Disney’s All Star Movies lobby can be a busy place.

The Resort Layout

At the entrance to the All-Star Movies Resort is the expansive Cinema Hall, where the Main Lobby, the concierge desk, the World Premiere food court, and the Reel Fun Arcade are all located. The Fantasia, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Toy Story buildings are the closest to Cinema Hall, while The Mighty Ducks and The Love Bug are a bit farther away.

The Fantasia buildings are covered with brooms carrying water pails that stretch well above the three-story height of the resort. These, along with a giant blue sorcerer’s hat, celebrate the famous “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” segment of Fantasia starring Mickey Mouse.

The area devoted to The Love Bug features Herbie, of course, the titular pearl-colored Volkswagen Beetle and copious checkered flags. In front of the One Hundred and One Dalmatians buildings are towering statues of Pongo and Perdita, while their spotted puppies decorate the railings all over the buildings themselves.

In The Mighty Ducks area hockey sticks, nets, and hockey helmets are the name of the game. Finally, in the Toy Story area, many toys from the beloved films can be found including Woody and Buzz in giant icon form, and also an enormous bucket with Green Army Men in the act of climbing from it onto the roof.

Services and Features at All-Star Movies

The Disney value resorts are fairly limited in terms of the services and amenities they provide. Even so, All-Star Movies offers everything most guests require for their vacation. The concierge can help guests secure theme park passes for each day of their vacation, and help to arrange show tickets and dinner reservations. Room service is available in limited form – guests may order pizza, salads, and snacks delivered to their rooms, but for a wider variety of food it is necessary to visit the food court in person.

The resort icons are bigger than life.
The resort icons are bigger than life.

The resort has two pools, the larger of which is located between Cinema Hall and the Fantasia buildings. This “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” themed pool features a large icon of Mickey in his apprentice garb, and water shoots from Mickey’s fingers for a little extra pool magic. The second, smaller pool is in the area dedicated to The Mighty Ducks, and this ice rink shaped pool has face-off circles on the pool bottom, and Goofy staring as a hockey goalie.

Children with energy to spare can expend some of it on the resort playground located near the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” pool. The Reel Fun Arcade is also a great place for children and adults to pass some time out of the sun playing state-of-the-art video games.

World Premiere Food Court

Disney’s value resorts typically do not have a sit-down restaurant. Nevertheless, the World Premiere food court at All-Star Movies does provide a wide range of food selections for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are five different movie marquis in the food court, designed to resemble the lobby of a fancy movie theater, and each has a different range of dining options from which guests may choose. These are all “fast food” options, so guests looking to diversify their dining with a more formal experience should plan to visit another resort or dine at one of the many great restaurants at Disney World’s four theme parks.

Adult guests may want to note that the Silver Screen Spirits bar, next to the Fantasia pool, serves drinks throughout the day, and can also provide guests-on-the-go with a quick continental breakfast in the mornings.

World Premier Food Court
You can enjoy great food options at the World Premier Food Court.

A Compact Design

The All-Star resorts are all quite large, and All-Star Movies alone has 1,920 rooms. Nevertheless, the resort has a compact design and takes up a fraction of the space of the moderate Coronado Springs Resort, which has a similar number of rooms. The compact design offers some advantages, since it means that even the rooms farthest from Cinema Hall are still in easy walking distance of the food court, check-in counter, and other resources located in this main building. It can, however, make the resort seem crowded, particularly if you visit the pool, food court, or other common areas during peak times of day.

The Fantasia, Toy Story, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians areas are considered to be the preferred locations due to their proximity to Cinema Hall and the main pool. This often means higher prices during the peak season, and can also mean more noise from frolicking pool guests and general traffic. If you don’t mind a slightly longer trek to the food court and the pools, opt for a room in the Love Bug or Mighty Ducks area to really get the greatest value from your value resort. Of course, the kids in your family may have strong opinions on the topic of where to stay!

Getting to the Parks

Getting to each of the Disney theme parks from All-Star Movies is a bit of a journey. Even the Animal Kingdom is too far to walk unless you are particularly intrepid. That means joining the lines at the front of the resort to catch a bus to the park of your choice. These lines can be long, and the buses, particularly to the Magic Kingdom, are usually packed.  Prepare yourself mentally for this and set your mind to be thankful that you can leave the driving to someone else.

Disney's All Star Movies bus loading area
Disney’s All Star Movies bus loading area is where you can
catch transporation to the theme parks.

Is All-Star Movies for You?

The All-Star Movie resort is a terrific option for families on vacation with young children. This value option has everything a kid could want or need for their stay: pools, an arcade, a playground, and many of their favorite Disney movie characters. Adults may regret the lack of sit-down restaurants, spa services, or a fitness center that many of the more expensive resorts feature. However, this value resort is a terrific way to keep your vacation affordable, or to allow you to spend your resources at the theme parks, shows, and other parts of Disney World.

Are you a fan of Disney’s All Star Movies Resort?