5 Walt Disney World Value Resorts in Orlando, Compared (2026)

We open the Value list with the best pick for families: Disney's Art of Animation Resort, the newest Value resort at Walt Disney World (it opened in 2012) and themed all the way through from four films you'll recognize: The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Cars (a full Radiator Springs town square) and The Lion King, with three-storey giant character statues to photograph all over the grounds. What wins families over is the Family Suite (Cars, Nemo and Lion King zones), which sleeps up to 6 with a separate bedroom, a kitchenette and two bathrooms — a sleeps-6 room with a kitchen at Value pricing is genuinely hard to find anywhere else. Add the Big Blue Pool, a Finding Nemo themed pool that is the largest resort pool at WDW (with underwater speakers piping Nemo audio while you dive), plus a Skyliner hub straight into Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Score 8.6/10.

Our #2 pick and the best value of the Skyliner resorts — Disney's Pop Century Resort is a Value-tier hotel themed around American pop culture split by decade, 1950s through 1990s. The headline draw is the 4-storey giant icons scattered across the resort: Lady and the Tramp, a giant blue yo-yo, a Rubik's cube, Baloo and Mowgli, an 80s mobile phone, Winnie the Pooh — plus era slogans painted huge on the buildings like "CAN YOU DIG IT?" The same selling point as Art of Animation is the Disney Skyliner hub (linked by the Generation Gap bridge across the lake), a gondola that runs direct to Epcot and Hollywood Studios — only here it costs less. The kid highlight is the flower-shaped Hippy Dippy Pool with a splash zone and giant floor games (hopscotch, Twister), plus the Everything POP food court famous for its legendary tie-dye cheesecake. Straight talk: standard rooms sleep only 4 and are small (around 260 sq ft), the resort is large with long walks, and Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom mean a bus. But for Skyliner plus fun theming at the lightest price, it is hard to beat. Scores 8.6/10.

Our #3 pick for the cheapest suite option, Disney's All-Star Music Resort is a Value resort built around five music zones (Calypso, Jazz, Rock, Country, Broadway) with oversized icons everywhere: a giant electric guitar, a 3-story jukebox, a giant cowboy boot, a saxophone and a Broadway sign. The standout for families is simple: it is the only All-Star with a Family Suite, which sleeps up to 6, runs about 520 sq ft, and comes with a small kitchenette and 2 bathrooms — and it lands clearly cheaper than the sleeps-6 suites at Art of Animation. The big kid win is the Calypso guitar-shaped main pool, where Three Caballeros statues (Donald and Jose) spray water, plus a Piano-shaped pool. Straight talk: you reach every park by bus only, the standard rooms are older and smaller, and the suites are dated next to Art of Animation. For a family of 6 on a tight budget, it still works. Score 8.2/10.

Our #4 and the most wallet-friendly pick for Disney movie fans — Disney's All-Star Movies Resort is the cheapest Disney resort there is, with five film-themed zones: Toy Story (giant Woody, Buzz and Green Army Men statues), 101 Dalmatians, Fantasia (Sorcerer Mickey), The Love Bug (Herbie) and The Mighty Ducks. Toy Story kids go wild for the 25-foot Woody and 35-foot Buzz photo ops, and the headline for little ones is the Fantasia main pool, where a Sorcerer Mickey statue sprays water under a red movie-curtain arch, plus a Duck Pond pool. Rooms were renovated in 2019 with Mickey, Minnie and Donald artwork and a Murphy bed. Straight talk: rooms are the smallest at Disney (~260 sq ft, sleep 4) with firm beds, transport is bus-only (shared with the other All-Stars, often slow), the vibe runs big-group and noisy, and there's no Family Suite or character dining. But if you want real Disney for the lowest price with a Toy Story-mad kid, it's a value and genuinely cute. Scores 8.3/10.

We close the list with the cheapest resort of the bunch — Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, a Value resort themed around 5 sports across its zones: surfing (giant surfboards), baseball, basketball (a giant whistle), tennis (an oversized Spalding tennis can plus a Donald and Daisy racket), and American football (a giant helmet). Sporty kids get to photograph icons standing 3 storeys tall all over the property. The kid magnet is the Grand Slam pool, shaped like a baseball diamond with Goofy on the pitcher's mound spraying water, plus the ocean-themed Surfboard Bay pool. One honest heads-up: Surfboard Bay is closed for refurbishment January to April 2026 — during that window you use Grand Slam or the pools at All-Star Music or Movies. Rooms are renovated with Mickey artwork and a Murphy bed, but they're the smallest at Disney (around 260 sq ft, sleeping 4), transport is buses only, and it's the least character-driven of the All-Stars. For a sporty kid plus the cheapest real Disney stay, it earns its 8.0/10.