6 Things To Know About Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort [Review]

I stayed at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort, one of the most affordable resorts at Walt Disney World, and enjoyed its big, playful theming and access to Disney resort amenities. With a preferred room, we found it a great combination of price, convenience, and location while staying in the Disney World bubble.

Here’s what you should know before booking a stay.

Booking Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort

I booked 1 night in a preferred room at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort for our last night at Disney World. We stayed off-site for a few nights during our early December 2025 visit, but needed a place to stay for 1 more night. Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort was available at a great price, even in Disney World’s busy holiday season. I paid a discounted Disney World annual passholder rate of $188 for a preferred room with 1 queen bed and 1 queen-size table bed. I used my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and earned 2 Capital One miles per $1.

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1. It Has Oversize Sports Theming

Like other All-Star resorts, Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort leans into its theming in a big way. Each section of the resort is themed around a different sport, with oversize icons such as football helmets and basketball hoops.

We stayed in the Surf’s Up section closest to Stadium Hall (the main amenities building), which had a surfing theme with oversize surfboards, a huge shark fin, and waves on top of the building and guardrails.

Theming at Disney World’s Moderate and Deluxe resorts is done well but far more subtly. The playful design at Value resorts is one of the reasons I like them.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, at the Moderate level, is decidedly tropical, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, a Deluxe resort, has savanna views with a breathtaking lobby filled with African art and artifacts. But none of the Moderate or Deluxe resorts have the same level of big, bold design that carries the whimsical, deeply themed feeling of the parks into the resorts.

2. Preferred Rooms Offer Convenience

In Surf’s Up Building 1, we had parking on one side with the pool, food court, lobby, and bus transportation on the other. It took no time to get to our room from the parking lot, and reaching the food court, bus transportation, arcade, and shopping was even easier.

The building faced the pool, and we walked past the bathhouse — with restrooms and laundry facilities — on our way to Stadium Hall for amenities.

We left early in the morning for Disney’s Animal Kingdom to take advantage of our early entry benefit as resort guests, and I placed a mobile order for breakfast while getting ready. Picking up our order took me less than 10 minutes round-trip, including walking from our room to the food court, picking up our ready order, and heading back to the room to grab bags and get on our way.

Preferred rooms typically cost about $10 to $20 more per night than standard rooms. It was worth it for us, knowing we wanted the convenience of close parking and amenities as we juggled park visits on our check-in day and an early morning departure.

We were in a preferred room, but it was no different from a standard room, except that it was closer to the amenities. Inside was practically identical to the room we stayed in at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, but we didn’t have to make a trek to get there.

The room was compact but functional, with:

• 2 queen beds (one of them a Murphy-style pull-down bed) with 3 small nightstands
• Dresser with drawers and storage for extra bedding
• Wall-mounted TV
• Minifridge and coffee unit featuring Joffrey’s coffee pods and shelves
• Connecting door for an adjacent room
• Wall hooks for storage
• Bathroom with a separate shower and toilet room, and numerous storage shelves in the powder room

The Murphy-style pull-down bed was a space saver, giving me room to work during the day and then folding down into a comfortable bed at night.

For such a compact room, there was a surprising amount of storage. In the powder room, there was an open closet unit with an upper shelf and more shelves along the wall. Each of the nightstands had a small cubby shelf, and there was storage under the bed, 3 large dresser drawers, and additional shelving at the minifridge and coffee bar.

3. There Are Multiple Recreation Areas

Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort features 2 pools. We were closest to Surfboard Bay, which has an adjacent kiddie pool. Although the pools are heated, I wasn’t brave enough to test out a December swim.

Additional activities lined the pool area, including giant chess and a Ping-Pong table.

There’s also Grand Slam pool, which is shaped like a baseball diamond and features Goofy on a pitcher’s mound. Both pools offered complimentary towels.

A unique feature of this resort is the football field in the middle of the Touchdown! section. It has yard markings, goalposts, and huge football helmets. A small playground with climbing and slides is nearby.

A milelong, paved jogging trail connects Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort to Disney’s All-Star Music Resort and Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort.

The Game Point Arcade, just around the corner from the main lobby and across from the food court, is open from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. daily. It’s one of the largest arcades I’ve seen at a Disney World resort, and it features massage chairs for taking a load off after a day at the parks. Each day from 4 to 5 p.m., there’s an arcade tournament with prizes.

Additional activities include scavenger hunts, poolside activities, and arts and crafts.

Movies are shown at 8 p.m. on the Surfboard Bay pool deck on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and during our visit were “Tangled,” “Toy Story 4,” “Lady and the Tramp,” and “Home Alone.”

Each night, there’s a campfire with complimentary marshmallows (and s’mores kits available for purchase) from 6 to 7 p.m. near the Touchdown! buildings.

On Tuesdays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., there’s an All-Star lobby pajama party with games and dancing.

Guests can visit any of the pools, food courts, and other amenities at all 3 resorts.

4. It Has a Huge Food Court

There are 2 dining options at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort: the End Zone Food Court and the Grandstand Sports Bar, although they’re technically connected.

The End Zone Food Court is the main dining area, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It has typical Disney World food court fare, including burgers, family-size pizzas, pasta, chicken tenders, breakfast totcho bowls, Mickey waffles, and our new favorite, Mickey cinnamon rolls.

Disney Dining Plan quick-service meals or snack credits can be redeemed at the food court. There’s also a double-sided beverage station where you can fill Disney resort mugs (with unlimited refills during your stay) with sodas, coffee, or tea. Or you can fill water bottles with ice water.

You can order hot food at the stalls or pick up cold items in the market refrigerators and check out with cashiers.

Mobile ordering via the My Disney Experience app is available during the food court hours as early as 6:30 a.m. each day and as late as 11 p.m. each night. We did 2 mobile orders during our visit, and both were ready almost immediately, making for a quick pickup at the mobile order window just across from the beverage station.

Seating in the food court is plentiful, with a small section near the cashiers and a much larger section past the beverage station. We always saw more than enough seating for guests.

There’s also seating outside with a view of the pool. It’s next to the Grandstand Sports Bar, which serves Surfboard Bay pool and is attached to the End Zone Food Court.

Additional snacks and drinks are available in the gift shop, directly behind the bus pickup area.

5. Disney Resort Amenities Are Included

One of the great things about staying at a Disney World Value resort like Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort is that you can access Disney resort amenities while still paying a low nightly rate.

As Disney World resort guests, we had access to amenities including:

• Early theme park entry
• Complimentary water park admission on our check-in day
• Lightning Lane access up to 7 days in advance
• Access to dining plans
• Disney park transportation
• Hey Disney! voice assistant that offers wake-up calls, Disney trivia, and interactive experiences
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Complimentary standard self-parking at the resort and theme parks

On our checkout day, we hustled out early to take advantage of early entry at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, getting into the park at 7:30 a.m. instead of the usual opening time of 8 a.m. That gave us a quick line for Avatar Flight of Passage before the rope drop crowd arrived, and we followed it up with Na’vi River Journey, enjoying 2 rides that typically have moderate wait times before 9 a.m.

Hot Tip:

Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort is one of the few Disney World resorts that offers airport luggage transfer with Southwest Airlines. With advance registration, you can have your bags delivered to your resort after arrival. On departure, drop off your bags in the lobby during designated hours and send them ahead to Orlando International Airport (MCO).

6. Resort-to-Park Transportation Is Only by Bus

Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort is exclusively served by bus transportation, which guests can use to visit all 4 Disney World parks, both water parks, and Disney Springs. Other resorts may have additional transportation, including FriendShip boats, water taxis, monorail, or Disney Skyliner access.

Bus pickup is at the front of Stadium Hall. Lines are in an uncovered area at the curb, but there is covered seating under the building’s awning. You can also find digital signs displaying estimated arrival times.

Any of the All-Star resorts and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge are great for visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom, as they are the closest resorts to the park. We visited the park by bus in the afternoon and arrived in under 15 minutes, including the wait time for the bus. By car the next morning, we got there in under 10 minutes.

Hot Tip:

Learn everything you need to know about getting around Disney World in our guide to Disney World transportation.

Final Thoughts

Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort delivered everything we needed for our last night at Disney World. We had a comfortable place to stay with fun theming, efficient transportation, a massive food court, and access to Disney’s resort amenities at one of the lowest on-property price points. With a preferred room location, it was especially convenient for picking up mobile orders, accessing parking, and getting to the bus pickup area.

This resort is a solid choice if you’re looking for an affordable Disney World resort with big personality and easy access to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.