If you’ve read our All Star Music Review, you know that we stayed there on our 2018 trip. What we didn’t tell you there, we ended up moving to the All Star Sports Resort for our last two days. Why did we do this? We only scheduled our stay for Saturday-Wednesday and then booked a hotel off property for Wednesday and Thursday nights. As Wednesday drew to a close at Epcot, we got very sad about leaving Disney and booked a room at All Star Sports at about 5:00 P.M.
We then had all of Thursday to relax and explore the new resort we were staying at! We ended up staying in the Tennis Court themed area, which ironically was right across the parking lot from our room in the Rock Inn area at All Star Music. There are 5 different themed areas at the All Star Sports Resort, the lobby building, and 2 pools. Like the All Star Music Resort, the All Star Sports Resort packs amazing value for the price and can be a great inexpensive way for your family to stay on Walt Disney World property.
Disney’s All Star Sports Resort Origin Story
As part of CEO Michael Eisner’s plan for a “Disney Decade,” he commissioned the building of 7 new resorts to expand the revenue stream for the Walt Disney World complex. Just one year after opening Hollywood Studios, Disney was ready to start planning their next theme park and part of that was expanding the resort accommodations to handle all the new guests.
A 3 resort “value” complex was one of the first items on this list. Eisner knew that middle class families were the key to unlocking the revenue and attendance growth that they were hoping to achieve. With the help of architectural firm Arquitectonica, Disney was able to achieve a massive 300 acre, 5,760 room resort complex to satisfy the “cheap” hotel boom that they would need.
All Star Sports was the first of the 3 “All Star” Resorts and opened on April 29, 1994 to great reviews for its larger than life theming based on different sports.
All Star Sports Themed Buildings
There are 5 themed guest room buildings on the All Star Sports property: Surf’s Up, Hoops Hotel, Center Court, Touchdown, and Home Run Hotel. When you enter to check-in you will arrive in Stadium Hall, where there is a food court, pool bar, arcade, and gift shop.
Stadium Hall
Stadium Hall is your go to spot for guest relations issues, food, drinks, and more. Upon arrival, you can either do a mobile check-in on your My Disney Experience app or go to the front desk for a more personal experience. Check-in time is 4:00 P.M. at Disney resorts but most times you can check-in a little early. If you arrive way early in the morning, the front desk WILL hold your luggage while you go off to do other things on Disney property.
Surf’s Up
The Surf’s Up rooms are located directly behind Stadium Hall and are the closest to the bus stop. If you’re not able to walk super far distances or just want to be close to the food court and bus stops, be sure to request staying in Surf’s Up. This area features giant surf boards on the fronts of the buildings and the main pool between the two buildings, behind Stadium Hall.
Hoops Hotel
If you weren’t able to guess, Hoops Hotel is themed around basketball and features a larger than life basketball court, giant basketballs and hoops, and a 60 foot long whistle. When exiting Stadium Hall, walk past the Surf’s Up section and Hoops Hotel is on your right.
Center Court
Have you ever dreamed of meeting John McEnroe or Serena Williams? You won’t at Center Court, but you can meet Donald Duck on the tennis court with 51 foot tall tennis racquets and 5 foot wide tennis balls. Center Court is on the opposite side from Hoops Hotel, just passed Surf’s Up and on the left. This is the area Megan and I stayed in.
Touchdown
The second closest set of rooms to Stadium Hall is the Touchdown guest rooms. These feature massive football helmets and is the area where guests can enjoy movies after dark. When exiting Stadium Hall, take a sharp left and you will arrive here.
Home Run Hotel
Home Run Hotel is the last guest room area at All Star Sports Resort and features the Grand Slam Pool as its centerpiece. This resort area is themed just like a baseball stadium, including stadium lights, massive baseball bats, and large Coke cups on the edges of the buildings. Home Run Hotel is located just passed the Touchdown guest rooms, on the very left side of the resort area.
All Star Sports Pools
We’ve already mentioned both pools at the All Star Sports Resort complex: Grand Slam Pool and Surfboard Bay. These two pools hold a combined 362,061 gallons of water. Surfboard Bay is located directly behind Stadium Hall, while Grand Slam Pool is located to the left of Stadium Hall, when you walk out the back, in the Home Run Hotel guest room area.
All Star Resort Jogging Trail
The All Star Resort complex also features a jogging trail around the entire 3 hotel facility. The 1.5 mile loop is perfect for those wishing to maintain their fitness regimen while on vacation or if you need to take the kids for a walk on an off day.
All Star Sports Transportation
The All Star Sports Resort has two transportation options: Disney Transport Buses and the Minnie Van system through Lyft. The buses provided by Disney are free to use and will take you to all the theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs.
How late can I use a bus at All Star Sports?
The buses drop off at the resort for 1 hour after the park closing time (or Disney Springs closing time) and stop picking up from the resort 1 hour before park closing time. Since the parks close at different times, buses will stop coming and going at different times.
For instance, Animal Kingdom closes at 8:30 P.M. so the Animal Kingdom buses will stop coming to pick up at All Star Sports at 7:30 P.M. but will keep taking you from Animal Kingdom to All Star Sports until 9:30 P.M.
Since Epcot closes at 9:00 P.M. the Epcot buses will stop coming to pick up from your resort at 8:00 P.M., but will keep taking you from Epcot to All Star Sports until 10:00 P.M.
How early can I use a bus at All Star Sports?
In a similar fashion, buses start running 45 minutes before the parks open. Since all of the parks open at the same time (exception being the water parks), all of the buses start running to the parks at the same time.
Can I take the bus with Extra Magic Hours?
Yes! This works the same way in that buses run 1 hour after, stop running to the parks 1 hour before closing, and start running 45 minutes before opening. Knowing your daily park schedule will tell you the exact time.
How often do buses show up at All Star Sports?
As with all Walt Disney World resorts, buses show up approximately every 20 minutes. Sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little sooner based on traffic in the area.
What about using the Disney Skyliner?
As of now, the Disney Skyliner only goes directly to 3 resorts: Pop Century, Art of Animation, and Riviera. Guests at All Star Sports are free to use the Disney Skyliner at any time, but it does not go to or from the All Star Sports. Feel free to read our guide and look for updates about the Disney Skyliner.
Your Thoughts
Have you stayed at the All Star Sports Resort before? Let us know in the comments what you think of this Walt Disney World Resort! We love to hear feedback. If you have a trip coming up and you are staying here, let us know. As always, we would appreciate it if you would check out our other content as well!
