Disney’s All-Star Music Resort With Kids: Honest Review

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Large silhouette of a saxophone player painted on a circular backdrop at Disney’s All Star Music Resort, part of the resort’s oversized music-themed décor. — Everywhere you turn, the All Star Music Resort leans into its theme—this saxophone silhouette was just one of the many larger-than-life touches.

I stayed at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort with my 2 kids on a Disney World trip in fall 2024, and it ended up being a better fit than I expected.

At the time, my daughter was not quite 2 and my son was 3. I was the only adult on this trip, so I paid close attention to the details that make a Disney resort easier or harder with young kids: room setup, stroller logistics, transportation, food, and places where kids can safely burn off energy.

I had stayed at Disney’s All-Star Resorts before having kids, but this was my first time staying at All-Star Music with my own kids. I knew it would be one of the more budget-friendly Disney resort options, but I was not sure how it would feel with 2 toddlers and a stroller.

Overall, it worked really well for us.

The standard room was tight with a crib, and the resort is bus-only, so this is not a perfect resort in every category. But the playground, pool, food court, price point, and easy Disney resort logistics made it a surprisingly good fit for this trip.

In this review, I’ll walk through what Disney’s All-Star Music Resort was actually like with kids, including the standard room, transportation, pool, playground, food court, and the pros and cons I noticed during our stay.

Is Disney’s All-Star Music Resort a Good Fit With Kids?

Yes, Disney’s All-Star Music Resort can be a great fit with kids, especially if you want a more budget-friendly Disney resort and do not mind relying on buses.

This is a Value Resort, so I would not go in expecting a luxury hotel experience. The rooms are smaller, the dining is quick-service only, and transportation is bus-only.

But for the price, I think All-Star Music gives families a lot of what they actually need on a Disney trip.

It’s a good fit if:

You want one of the more affordable Disney resort options
You want access to Disney resort perks without paying Moderate or Deluxe prices
You are planning to spend most of your time in the parks or at the pool
You want a simple quick-service food court
You have toddlers or young kids who need space to play
A fenced, shaded playground matters to you
You are considering a family suite
You are comfortable using buses for Disney transportation

It might not be the best fit if:

You want Skyliner, monorail, boat, or walking access to the parks
You want a larger standard room
You want table-service dining at your resort
You plan to spend a lot of time relaxing in the room
You want a quieter or more upscale Disney resort feel
You are traveling with a crib and need extra floor space

For us, All-Star Music worked because we needed a practical Disney home base more than a resort we planned to spend all day inside.

The room was small, but manageable. The playground was one of the best parts of the stay. The pool worked well with toddlers. The food court was easy. And because I was traveling alone with both kids, those simple logistics mattered more to me than having a fancier room or a more central location.

🎸 If you’re considering Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, it may be worth checking current rates through Undercover Tourist before booking. Their Disney resort prices are often lower than booking directly through Disney, which can help if you’re trying to keep the trip budget more manageable. 🎸

Location and Layout: Simple, Spread Out, and Easy Enough to Navigate

Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is one of Disney’s 3 All-Star Resorts, along with All-Star Movies and All-Star Sports.

All 3 are Disney Value Resorts located in the Animal Kingdom Resort area of Walt Disney World.

All-Star Music is themed around different styles of music, with sections inspired by Jazz, Country, Rock, Calypso, and Broadway. The theming is colorful and oversized, but it felt a little calmer to me than some of the other Value Resorts.

That is one of the things I liked about it with kids.

It still felt fun and very Disney, but it was not quite as visually intense as Art of Animation or even All-Star Movies. For this trip, that worked well. My kids had plenty to look at, but the resort did not feel overwhelming.

The main building is where you’ll find the lobby, gift shop, Intermission Food Court, arcade, and bus stops. The Calypso Pool is located right outside that main area.

The resort does have some spread to it, so room location can matter. If you are staying with toddlers, a stroller, or young kids who are tired at the end of the day, I would pay attention to how far your room might be from the main building, pool, food court, and buses.

One thing that makes All-Star Music different from the other All-Star Resorts is that it offers family suites.

We stayed in a standard room on this trip, but the family suites are worth knowing about if you want more space without moving up to a Moderate or Deluxe resort. They sleep up to 6 people and include a separate bedroom, living area, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchenette.

For larger families or families who want extra space, that can make All-Star Music a very practical option.

Transportation: Bus-Only, Unless You Have a Car

All-Star Music is a bus-only Disney resort.

There is no Skyliner, monorail, boat, or walking path to any of the theme parks. If you are relying on Disney transportation, you should expect to use buses for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs, and the water parks.

That is one of the biggest tradeoffs of staying here.

For this particular trip, we had a rental car, so the bus-only setup was not a major issue for us. I was able to drive when I needed to, which made transportation feel much easier than it would have if I were relying on buses with 2 little kids and a stroller.

But if you are not renting a car, I would think carefully about the bus logistics.

When I travel alone with my kids, especially when they were younger, Disney buses have always been one of the more stressful parts of transportation for me. The stroller has to be folded, and then you are managing kids, bags, and the folded stroller while getting on and off the bus.

That can be a lot with young kids.

This does not mean All-Star Music is a bad choice. It just means you should know what kind of transportation setup you are choosing.

If stroller transportation logistics stress you out, or if you already know bus-only transportation is not your favorite, All-Star Music may feel less convenient than a Skyliner, monorail, boat, or walkable resort.

But if you are comfortable using buses, or if you will have a rental car like we did, the transportation setup can still work. I would just build in extra time, keep expectations realistic, and remember that the lower price point comes with fewer transportation options.

The Room: A Standard Value Room That Worked, But Felt Tight With a Crib

Two toddlers lounging on a white hotel bed watching tablets, with framed Mickey, Minnie, and Donald art above them—standard room setup at all star music resort with kids. — Post-park recovery mode. The standard room gave us just enough space to wind down.

For this trip, we stayed in a standard room at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort.

The room slept up to 4 people, with one queen bed and one pull-down Murphy bed that converts from the table area.

For just me and my 2 kids, the room worked. It gave us a clean, simple place to sleep, get ready, and come back to after the parks or pool.

But it was definitely not spacious.

We requested a crib for my daughter, and it was delivered to the room after we arrived. That was helpful because I did not have to bring my own, but once the crib was set up, the room felt pretty tight.

This was actually the last trip where my daughter slept in a Disney crib. She was not quite 2 at the time, and she barely fit. After this trip, she started sharing a bed with her brother on most vacations instead.

The room had a full-size bathtub, which I really appreciated with toddlers. Some Disney resort rooms have moved toward walk-in showers, but with little kids, a bathtub can make bedtime and cleanup much easier.

There was also a separate sink area with a privacy curtain, which helped a little when getting everyone ready.

Overall, the room did what we needed it to do.

It was not a room I would want to spend a lot of extra time in during the day, especially with a crib taking up floor space. But for a budget-friendly Disney resort stay where most of our time was spent at the parks, pool, playground, or food court, it was enough.

If you are traveling with babies or toddlers and need a crib, I would just go in knowing that a standard room at All-Star Music may feel tight. If you want more space, the family suites are probably the better fit.

Here’s a quick room tour of our standard room at All-Star Music Resort so you can see how the layout worked with 2 toddlers and a crib:

What It Actually Feels Like to Stay at Disney’s All Star Music Resort

All-Star Music feels simple, colorful, and practical.

It is not the most heavily themed Disney resort, and it is not the most relaxing resort on property. But for the price, I thought it worked really well with young kids.

The music theming is fun without feeling too overwhelming. There are oversized instruments, colorful buildings, and little details throughout the resort, but it still felt easier and calmer to me than some of the other Value Resorts.

For this trip, that was a good thing.

I was not looking for a resort where every walkway felt like a major attraction. I needed something affordable, manageable, and kid-friendly, with easy food, a pool, and places where my kids could move around safely.

All-Star Music gave us that.

It felt like a good Disney home base. We could go to the parks, come back for a break, use the pool, get food quickly, and let the kids play without the resort itself feeling complicated.

Pool and Play Areas

The main pool at All-Star Music is the Calypso Pool, located near the main lobby and food court area.

It is shaped like a guitar and has the bright, playful feel you would expect from a Disney Value Resort. My kids enjoyed the pool area, and it worked well for a simple resort break.

There is also a kiddie pool, which was helpful with toddlers.

This was not a fancy pool experience, but it did what we needed it to do. It gave the kids a place to splash, cool off, and burn some energy outside the parks.

Here’s a quick look at the Calypso Pool area so you can get a better feel for the setup:

The Playground: One of the Best Parts of the Resort

Fenced-in, shaded playground with blue and tan play structures at Disney’s All Star Music Resort—perfect for toddlers needing a safe break from the parks. — This playground was great for toddlers. It was fully fenced, nicely shaded, and tucked into the trees so the kids could play while I relaxed.

The playground was one of my favorite parts of All-Star Music.

It was fully fenced, shaded, and tucked away enough that it felt much easier to manage with toddlers. That made a huge difference because I was the only adult with both kids on this trip.

A fenced playground may not sound like a major resort feature, but when you are traveling with young kids, it matters.

My kids could play, climb, and run around without me feeling like I had to chase them every second or worry about them wandering into a busy walkway. I could still watch them closely, but the setup gave us all a little more breathing room.

We spent a lot of time here.

For toddlers and preschoolers, this was exactly the kind of play space I appreciate at a Disney resort. It was simple, shaded, and contained, which made it much easier to use than some of the more open playgrounds on property.

Here’s a quick walkthrough of the All-Star Music playground so you can see the setup:

Giant Games and Small Kid-Friendly Extras

Two toddlers playing on a giant outdoor chessboard at Disney’s All Star Music Resort, surrounded by colorful buildings decorated with musical notes. — A giant chessboard turned into the best impromptu toddler activity.

Another thing my kids loved was the oversized games near the main area.

There were things like giant checkers, and for toddlers, that kind of simple setup can be enough to turn a random resort walkway into an activity.

It was not fancy, but it was easy. And on a Disney trip with little kids, easy counts.

Those small kid-friendly details helped make All-Star Music feel more useful than I expected. Between the playground, pool, giant games, and open outdoor areas, the kids had enough to do when we were not in the parks.

Dining: Intermission Food Court Was Easy and Practical

All-Star Music has one main dining location: Intermission Food Court.

It is a quick-service food court near the lobby, gift shop, bus stops, and Calypso Pool. There is no table-service restaurant at this resort.

For this kind of stay, the food court worked well.

I was traveling alone with 2 young kids, so I cared more about easy meals than anything fancy. I needed food that was quick, predictable, and close to the room, pool, and buses.

Intermission Food Court gave us that.

The menu had the basics you would expect at a Disney Value Resort, like pizza, burgers, pasta, and kid-friendly meals. It was not the most exciting food of the trip, but it was convenient and it did what we needed it to do.

Mobile order was helpful here too.

If you are coming back from the parks, pool, or playground with hungry kids, I would place a mobile order before you get there so the food is ready when you arrive. That can make a simple food court meal feel much easier.

The biggest thing to know is that there is no sit-down restaurant at All-Star Music. If you want table-service dining, you will need to go to a park, Disney Springs, or another resort.

For us, that was fine. On this trip, I wanted quick and simple more than I wanted a full resort dining experience.

Disney’s All-Star Music Resort With Kids: Pros and Cons

What I loved:

It was one of the more budget-friendly Disney resort options
The standard room worked as a simple home base
The room had a bathtub, which helped with toddler baths
The playground was fully fenced and shaded
The playground was especially helpful when I was the only adult with both kids
The Calypso Pool and kiddie pool worked well for a simple pool break
Intermission Food Court was easy and convenient
Mobile order made meals easier with young kids
The music theming was fun without feeling too overwhelming
The resort had family suites available if you need more space
It still gave us the Disney resort benefits at a lower price point

What I didn’t love:

Transportation is bus-only
It is one of the less convenient Disney resort areas for transportation
The standard room felt tight with a crib
There is no table-service restaurant at the resort
The pool area is fun, but not as elaborate as some Moderate or Deluxe resort pools
If you want a quieter or more upscale resort feel, this probably is not the best fit
If you plan on frequent midday breaks, the bus-only transportation may feel tiring

Is Disney’s All-Star Music Resort Worth It With Kids?

Yes, I think Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is absolutely worth it with kids if you are looking for a more budget-friendly Disney resort and you understand the tradeoffs.

This is not the resort I would choose for the easiest transportation, the largest standard rooms, or the most impressive pool. It is a Value Resort, and it feels like one.

But for our trip, it worked really well.

The room was small, especially with a crib, but it gave us what we needed. The food court was easy. The pool worked for a simple break. The playground was excellent with toddlers. And the price point made it easier to stay on Disney property without paying for a Moderate or Deluxe resort.

That is where I think All-Star Music makes the most sense.

If you want a Disney resort that gives you the basics, keeps the budget more manageable, and still gives you access to Disney resort benefits, All-Star Music is a solid option.

I would especially consider it if you are planning to spend most of your time in the parks and just need a simple place to sleep, swim, eat, and take breaks.

If you want more room, I would look closely at the family suites. We stayed in a standard room, and while it worked, I would not call it spacious with 2 young kids and a crib.

For us, All-Star Music was not fancy, but it was practical. And on that trip, practical was exactly what we needed.

If All-Star Music feels like the right fit for your family, you may want to check current rates through Undercover Tourist before booking. Their Disney resort prices are often lower than booking directly through Disney, which can help if you’re trying to keep the trip budget more manageable.

Have questions about this post or want help thinking through the logistics for your own trip? Join my free Facebook community for parents planning family travel. You can ask questions, share what you’re working through, and get real-life advice from other parents who understand how many little details go into traveling with kids.