Magic at the Disney Value Resorts
by Capt. Bret Bowen
This is a review of Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort.
We stayed at the All-Star Sports for two days August 3 and 4 of 2009. We had not stayed here since 2001 since we bought into Disney Vacation Club. We planned this trip late so we had 2 days were we could not get a DVC room. We chose to stay at All-Star Sports once again. We arrive early right around 11:30am since we had checked out of the Villas at Wilderness Lodge and drove over. The line was about 6 people deep and went pretty quick. We pre-registered through online check-in so that helped when we got to the desk. We were given a room right away in the Touchdown section. As we drove we could see the All-Stars Music Resort located right next door. We drove around and unloaded the bags and off to the room we go. The room is on the 3rd floor. The All-Stars all have 3 floors and all areas have elevators. We are overlooking the football field on the 30 yard line. Off to the right are the Homerun section of the resort and the pool at Homerun. To the left is the Main building called Stadium Hall and inside is the food court. This is nice and close to everything we need. We have never stayed in Football before so this is a first. Just to the left of our room is one of the big helmets. I like our room but we did have one problem with the bedspread. Something was on it like tooth paste. I caught a mouse-keeper right outside the room and it was soon taken care of. First thing we do upon arrival is to unpack and put the TV on the channel 20 for the info about the All-Stars Resort. You can find out so much in such a short time and I am glad I did this.
Food at the All-Stars End Zone Food Court:
The All-Stars has a food court that has several stations. Everyone should be able to find something that they want to eat there. I had the chicken nuggets, grilled cheese (kid’s meal) and the adult breakfast from here and all were great. Prices were reasonable too. If you get that need for McDonald's you are in luck because just a few blocks before the All-Stars is a restaurant on Disney property. It has just been redone and looked great when we passed. While we did not use this at the All-Stars Resorts you can get Pizza delivered to your room. One thing I discovered was you can get a lot more than pizza delivered to your room. You can get Wine, Beer, Wings, Salads and Soft Drinks too.
Team Spirits Pool Bar
The bar at the All-Stars is located right next to the food court and can also be accessed from outside by the pool.
Fun things to do at the All-Stars:
Yes the All-Stars have two different pools. One is a baseball theme and the other is larger and is by the Surfs Up section right behind the main building. They do have a kids pool located close by the larger pool. One thing to remember is you will need a towel from your room or you need to bring one from home. If you wander out towards the Hoops section behind the main pool you will find a statue of the Big Cheese Mickey Mouse with flags and a sign that says All-Star Sports to take some cool pictures by. They also have a game room which is in the main building across from the food court.
Transportation at the All-Stars:
To get anywhere from the All-Stars you must take a bus. When we had been here before buses were great and this trip was no different. We never waited more than 5 minutes for any bus not even at Magic Kingdom at closing. The All-Stars have the best bus service on property.
Sport Goofy Gift and Sundries:
This is great as you head out the door to catch the bus. The only negative was they did not carry anything labeled with the All-Star Resort. When staying at the All-Stars Sports I get a feeling…. A very special feeling that the Disney Magic just never seems to stop. You leave the parks and arrive at the resort and the big icons just let you stay in that Disney Magic. It’s a larger than life feeling that just makes you feel like a kid again. Maybe it is just me but I really like this place.