Disney’s All Star Sports Resort
Hello fellow Disney enthusiasts. I’m going to start this review off backwards..
In conclusion, would I stay at the Disney All Star Sports Resort again?
Yes.
It’s great for the price, the theme is amazing, the buildings, the details are all still on par with everything else you find at Disney.
If I could change something, what would it be?
To be nearer to the main pool and main building.
Would I look into getting a dining plan next time?
Yes. Especially if there’s an offer for free dining. If there’s no offer at the time of booking I think I’d look into staying at a hotel that offers more kitchen amenities so we could at least make some of our own food.
Is the location good?
Yes. Longest bus ride is about 10 minutes (complete guess) with no traffic.
My partner and I have just touched down back in the UK after 2 glorious Disney filled weeks at the Disney All Star Sports Resort.
So, whether you’re aware or not there are three Disney All Stars Resorts - Sports, Music and Movies.
We happened to choose Sports because it was the best financial choice for us at the time, it being the cheapest choice (and we all know there’s no cheap when it comes to Disney). We managed to get the package for £1702 for the both of us with TUI. This price was standard luggage and extra legroom for my long leg beau. This did not include prices for park tickets or any type of meal plan.
The checking in process was easy. We were given our free magic bands that I had pre-chosen on the Disney website - if anyone would like more information about how to do this let me know because I had a few people messaging on Instagram asking for help.
We were offered the option not to have housekeeping for the duration of our stay in return for a $130 Disney gift card that could be used anywhere in Disney World, so we opted for the gift card. We were regularly checked on by housekeeping if you were in need of anything throughout the duration of the trip.
I also received my Happy Birthday badge upon request at the check in desk. We were handed a map of the grounds that held 5 different sport themes buildings. There is surfing - nearest to the Surfs Up Pool (larger pool of the two) nearest to all amenities like front desk and food court, basketball, tennis, baseball (nearest to the children’s pool) and football.
We were allocated to tennis. Tennis was a 5-7 minute walk away from the main building which isn’t ideal but not a concern either.
The overall theming to every building was sensational. Gigantic sport equipment engulfed the buildings and the colours are so vivid and bright. Like everything at Disney the detailing was beyond anything you’d ever expect.
Tennis included enormous green tennis rackets over the buildings, giant green umpire chairs either side a large tennis court where Huey, Dewey and Louie played baseball and an angry Donald stands with his tennis racket on the opposing side.
Unfortunately we did not get the glorious views of the Ducks playing games but views of the tall greenery over the opposite side of the building. We were allocated ground floor which in some cases is more accessible and easier after a busy day at the parks.
Our room was basic. I mean basic, but what more can you expect from a budget hotel. I did think that with other budget hotels you would at least have a kettle and or a microwave if you’re staying for 2 weeks. We were equipped with an iron which I am very thankful for, a mini fridge and a safe. No kettle, no microwave.
We also had Disney toiletries like face soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner which are all attached to the wall, I found this really convenient and handy (also relieves the temptation to take the free Disney bottles home to show the relatives). We were provided with towels, small ones, even smaller ones and flannels. The bathroom was petite and had a bath shower and of course a toilet.
We had a small flat screen TV with many, many sports channels (to which we didn’t understand for the first week until Josh clicked and reminded me, we are staying in the SPORTS resort). We had the usual Disney information channels and some regular TV and movie channels. Two double beds took up the majority of the room (not the larger double beds you’d find in hotels but regular ones).
At night you could hear other guests flushing their toilet or going in the shower. You could hear the TV in the next room if you were quiet in yours. At one point I heard somebody snooze their iPhone alarm 3 times at 7am. My point is the walls are thin. It didn’t bother us, we were up early and the housekeeper would come and knock around 9am anyway to see if you needed anything. Shortly after that the maintenance guy would knock to check if the toilet flushed and your room lock was working correctly (this didn’t happen everyday but it felt like it).
The food at the hotel was near enough the same menu everyday. It changed throughout the day, breakfast, lunch and dinner but I feel everytime we ate at the foodcourt it was the same food being offered. All the meals are available on the My Disney Experience App, the menu, the price and the times of day that meals change. I found the prices were reasonable. Reasonable for Disney. Although this time we didn’t have a meal plan because we just missed out on the free dining offer with Attraction Tickets Direct and I didn’t have enough information on whether or not the dining plan is actually worth doing. I do feel like now we’ve been and we spent so much of our money on food it would be worth doing obviously if you’re staying onsite.
Another option we used throughout our stay was UberEats. I really believe we spent more money on UberEats due to pure convenience, than we would have spent if we ate at the foodcourt. I mean, one morning I spent $40 on Ihop for Josh and I, once the delivery fee, the tip and the service fee is applied it all adds up but it literally gets delivered to wherever you want. We got it delivered to the nearest car park to us and walked maybe 30 seconds to get our food.
So from that experience I will be keeping my eye out for the free dining plan offers with various ticket venders. We did find some great deals with UberEats so we will probably still use them in the future for something different to eat or if we’re craving a McDonalds at 4am.
The Disney transport that is included in the stay when you stay onsite is brilliant, can’t fault it. Some days there would be no time for buses being displayed and we’d be waiting there 40 minutes to find out when our next bus was, this was usually Typhoon or Disney Springs. I found it so easy getting from park to park and back to the resort. It’s more convenient than having to wait around for the ferry, locate your car and queue to leave the car park. The buses ran every 20 minutes and you were back to the resort in no longer than 10 minutes? The furthest park away from us was Magic Kingdom. You could locate bus times either via the app or on the screens located at the bus departure zones.
I hope this review gives you some sort of insight of what our experience was like. Of course everybody’s experiences are different. I’ve written this honestly and openly and in a way I, as a blog reader would want to read it.
All comments, help, advice is always welcome and be sure to check out the Instagram page @smalltimetravellers. It’s not the best but we’re growing and learning and we’ll get there someday.
Second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning.
Tay x
