Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort opened on April 29, 1994 as the first of Walt Disney World’s Value Resort hotels, and it’s still one of the cheapest ways to sleep on Disney property. The 1,920-room resort sits in the Animal Kingdom Resort Area at 1701 West Buena Vista Drive, spread across ten oversized buildings grouped into five sports-themed sections: Surf’s Up!, Hoops Hotel, Center Court, Touchdown! and Homerun Hotel, each decorated with giant sports icons like a football helmet the size of a house and a baseball-diamond-shaped pool.
Its appeal is simple: it’s an official Disney hotel at the lowest price point Disney sells, which means every perk that comes with staying “on property” — early theme park entry, free resort bus transportation, Disney dining plans, and package delivery to your room — is available here for less than you’d pay at a moderate or deluxe resort. For travelers who mainly want a place to crash between park days and don’t need a themed dining scene or a monorail, it’s a practical, kid-friendly base.
Stats at a Glance
- Resort: Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Location: Animal Kingdom Resort Area, Lake Buena Vista, FL
- Opened: April 29, 1994
- Rooms: 1,920
- Price tier: Value (roughly $149-$305/night for standard rooms, higher for Preferred rooms)
- Park transport: Disney Transport buses to all four theme parks, Disney Springs, and seasonally Blizzard Beach
- Perks: 30-minute Early Theme Park Entry daily, Lightning Lane purchase access, Disney dining plans, package delivery
- Theme: Competitive sports (baseball, basketball, football, surfing, tennis)
Rooms, Theming and Dining
Standard rooms sleep up to four adults in roughly 260 square feet, with one queen bed and one queen-size table bed; a single child under 3 can stay in a crib without counting toward that limit. The rooms lean on sports-themed bedding and character touches rather than elaborate in-room theming — the theming here lives in the buildings and grounds, not the rooms. The five sections each lean into a different sport, with the loudest visuals being the giant surfboards at Surfboard Bay Pool and the Goofy-topped fountain at the baseball-diamond-shaped Grand Slam Pool. Dining is limited to the End Zone Food Court, a quick-service space serving pizza, pasta, burgers and other counter-service staples; there’s no table-service restaurant on site, so guests planning sit-down meals need to travel to another resort or a park.
Getting to the Parks and Perks
There’s no monorail, boat, or Skyliner gondola access from All-Star Sports — Disney’s motorcoach bus system is the only transportation option to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs, with seasonal buses to Blizzard Beach when it’s open. Bus rides typically run 20-30 minutes depending on the park and traffic through the resort loop. In exchange for that longer commute, staying here still unlocks the same Early Theme Park Entry benefit (30 minutes before official opening, every day of your stay) as any other Disney resort, plus the ability to purchase Lightning Lane passes and use Disney dining plans.
Who Should Stay Here
All-Star Sports suits budget-conscious families of four or fewer, sports fans, and travelers who want official Disney perks without the moderate or deluxe price tag, and who don’t mind bus-only transportation and a food-court-only dining scene. Larger groups needing to sleep five or more in one room should look at a Family Suite elsewhere on property, since standard rooms here cap out at four adults. It’s also less of a fit for travelers who want walkable access to a park, a table-service restaurant on site, or the more immersive theming found at moderate and deluxe resorts — those upgrades come with a meaningfully higher nightly rate.
Explore more: More Where to Stay guides, Magic Kingdom guide, Animal Kingdom guide, Blizzard Beach guide.
Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort FAQs
Does staying at All-Star Sports include early entry to the parks?
Yes. As an official Walt Disney World resort hotel, All-Star Sports guests get the same 30-minute Early Theme Park Entry available to all on-property guests, every day of their stay, at whichever park they’re visiting that day.
How much does a room at All-Star Sports Resort cost?
It’s a Value Resort, Disney’s lowest price tier. Standard rooms typically run roughly $149-$305 per night depending on season and demand, with Preferred rooms (closer to the main building) running higher.
How many people can sleep in a standard room at All-Star Sports?
Standard rooms max out at four adults, with one queen bed and one queen-size table bed; a child under 3 can stay in a crib without counting toward that limit. Groups needing to sleep five or more should look at a Family Suite at another Disney value resort instead.
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Photo: Brian Marshall from Wales / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.