As a Walt Disney World Weekend Warrior who frequently books solo “research trips” at the last minute, I often don’t care where I stay. Which is partly out of necessity, because resort occupancy has been relatively high over the last few years–even after pent-up demand has faded.
Even though we’re DVC members, that’s never an option at the last minute. Well, unless I want a stray night at Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, or some random larger bedroom villa. I don’t think Sarah would be too pleased if I blew our annual points allotment on that, so we tend to save those stays for family trips that are planned further in advance.
Usually, I’m just choosing the best option out of whatever is available at the last minute. There are a few times this has gotten me into a jam. I learned long ago that you must book Jersey Week and Veterans Day dates at least a few months out, as I once had to stalk the booking website waiting for a cancellation. Other dates I tend to travel have gotten similarly difficult, including the start of EPCOT Festival of the Arts.
As I’ve mentioned before, the two resorts where I stay most frequently are Coronado Springs and All Star Sports. I actually just returned from a stay at the former in Gran Destino Tower (which I love), along with the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation. I didn’t mind the split stay–it’d be a while since I’ve done Art of Animation, the discount was inexplicably good, and I wanted to test Early Entry via the Skyliner over peak season dates.
There’s a point to all of this, which is that the two Value and Moderate Resorts I’ve found to consistently have the best last minute availability are Coronado Springs and All Star Sports. This isn’t hugely surprising, as Coronado Springs can be feast or famine depending on whether it’s hosting a large convention. If so, there’s no availability. If not, it’s often wide open in a variety of room categories.
All Star Sports has a similar dynamic with youth sporting events. Unsurprisingly, it’s the most popular hotel for ESPN Wide World of Sports participants, and there are usually large chunks of rooms blocked off for those athletes and their families. So it’s a similar story there, especially in the late winter and early spring when those events are more common. Now that Pop Warner is gone, the same isn’t true during the holiday season.
This ‘availability abundance’ is something I’ve noticed for the last 2+ years, and it now seems that Walt Disney World is doing something to address it: bigger discounts at both All Star Sports and Coronado Springs Resorts than their Value and Moderate Resort counterparts. At first, I thought this was one-time thing or perhaps a price mistake, but with this dynamic once again present in the latest round of special offers running through October, I figured it was worth quickly pointing out.
In the general public discount that’s available right now (through April 30), both All Star Sports and Coronado Springs Resorts have options in the top tier offering 25% off. By contrast, the other All Stars, Pop Century, and Caribbean Beach only offer 15% off. Standard rooms at Art of Animation are 10% off.
When it comes to the ‘Stay Longer & Save More’ special offer that runs through October 11, 2025, Coronado Springs peaks at the 30% off level and All Star Sports is in the 25% off tier. This isn’t quite as big of a difference as the earlier offer, as their counterparts are in the tiers immediately below. So it’s only a 5% difference, but it all adds up.
It’s a similar story for Annual Passholders and Florida residents, with these two hotels appearing in one of the top two tiers and offering savings of 30% or 35% off depending on the dates this spring, summer, and early fall. The king bed rooms at Coronado are up to 40% off. To the best of my knowledge, every single room-only discount released thus far in 2025 has followed this trend with superior savings at All Star Sports and Coronado Springs, so it’s likely this is the new normal going forward.
Up until a couple of years ago, I don’t recall seeing this type of dynamic. It used to be the case that the top tier of discounts was for Deluxe/Deluxe Villa Resorts, the middle tier was for Moderates, and the next tier was for Value Resorts. Sometimes there’d be a bottom tier with a hodgepodge of more popular resorts, but even that wasn’t common.
Price differences were achieved via rack rates (e.g. Pop Century has higher base rates than the All Stars) or categorical exclusions (for the longest time, the Little Mermaid rooms were never discounted). Accordingly, discount tiers were more straightforward.
That’s precisely why we’re calling attention to this. If you’re a longtime Walt Disney World fan, you’re probably familiar with the ‘old days’ of discount tiers, and maybe still accustomed to those.
It’s also possible that even first-timers already have resorts booked on the basis of rack rates, so perhaps you booked French Quarter or All Star Music not because you had a strong preference, but because you’d prefer those resorts for whatever reason, all else being equal.
Well, the reality is that pricing often is not equal post-discount as of 2025. All Star Sports and Coronado Springs Resorts are often considerably cheaper after applying special offers. Here’s a pricing comparison across various dates and discounts:
Actual post-discount prices are going to vary based on your travel dates and room category availability. As someone who feels strongly that Preferred Rooms are one of the Worst Wastes of Money at Walt Disney World, I’ll seldom opt for those (unless I have no other option).
Which is to say that I’ll consider moving up hotels as opposed to categories. The very last screenshot is a good example of this. If I were faced with a choice of a Preferred Room at All Star Movies for $125 or a standard room at Pop Century for $141, I’m absolutely taking the latter. The Skyliner is worth the upgrade cost.
On the other hand, if it’s Pop Century for $141 or All Star Sports for $98, I’m almost certainly taking the under $100 per night room. I like the Skyliner, but not enough to drop over $40 per night on it, especially during storm season (and after my recent Early Entry experience). I could put the spread to a couple Uber/Lyfts per day and still come out ahead.
It’s a similar scenario with Coronado Springs vs. Caribbean Beach.
Caribbean Beach is my personal favorite Moderate Resort, and I’ve come to love both the Skyliner and its slate of amenities (I also walk over to Riviera a lot to use those). Out of the Moderates, the only resort with a similar (if not better) slate is Coronado Springs thanks to the core resort plus Gran Destino Tower.
The difference-maker for me is thus again the Skyliner, and the premium pricing for CBR is usually too much. French Quarter is another resort I’d consider as an alternative to Coronado if the prices are close, but honestly, CSR is just a better fit for my weekend warrior style trips. That’s me, though. If the difference is ~$10/night, I’d probably recommend French Quarter to the vast majority of Walt Disney World guests.
Of course, all of this assumes I have much of a choice in the first place. I usually do not, as even with superior savings, All Star Sports and Coronado Springs still seem to be the table scraps that remain with standard rooms when I’m actually going to book last minute. (All of the above comparisons are a few months out, hence the better availability.)
I’ve come to enjoy both All Star Sports and Coronado Springs Resorts for quick commando trips to Walt Disney World.
I especially like Sports when the hotel is simply a place to sleep, shower, shave, and so forth. You’re only in the room to crash after a long day, and are up early and out the door as soon as possible the next morning. The goal is to cram a weeklong trip into a long weekend.
Coronado is a better fit (at least for me) during slightly longer trips when I might be inclined to take a midday break (avoiding a midday storm, for instance) and use more of the amenities. As someone who routinely “forgets” to eat dinner and/or enjoys a good fourth meal, I’ve come to greatly appreciate both Dahlia Lounge and Three Bridges, both of which are underrated gems that are open until midnight most nights.
Suffice to say, I’m a big fan of these resorts and wanted to put in another “plug” for both, but especially All Star Sports for its bottom-dollar pricing thanks to superior savings on the special offer charts. This is part of our ongoing “initiative” to destigmatize the Value Resorts, as we think way too many Walt Disney World fans turn their noses up at them.
Their opinion often isn’t grounded in the present quality of these hotels, but in preconceived notions or stays decades ago. If you ask some of them when was the last time they stayed at the All Stars, the most common answer will be “never.” At the risk of stating the obvious, it’s impossible to have an informed opinion on something you haven’t experienced. Nevertheless, this leads to many first-timers or infrequent visitors fearing the cheaper resorts are not “good enough” for their rite of passage vacations.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. I wouldn’t keep staying at All Star Sports if it were awful–I can afford the extra $50 per night or whatever, it comes down to a cost-benefit analysis for me, and the upside of savings usually wins out. In combing through my costs for the last few years, the lowest amount I’ve paid for All Star Sports is $88 per night and the highest is $139 per night. If you’re going by general public discounts, expect to pay $100 to $160 per night–maybe more during peak seasons. That’s still impressively low for an on-site hotel.
There are certainly cheaper options in Central Florida. Doing a quick search, I see options for around $50 per night. After eliminating the shady options where I wouldn’t be comfortable staying, there are $75 to $95 hotels. If I wanted to stay at Flamingo Crossing or the Disney Springs Resort Area, I’d actually be paying about the same cost as All Star Sports. In many cases, more.
Regardless, the problem is that none of these are apples to apples comparisons. These are not the “all in” costs of something comparable to All Star Sports. You’re going to pay for some combination of parking and transportation (potentially both), and then there’s the value of Early Entry–and what an alternative to that like Lightning Lane Multi-Pass will cost you.
The bottom line is that the off-site alternatives are not as efficient and often end up costing more once you account for everything. If you’re concerned with saving money or even time, it’s difficult to beat All Star Sports as far as budget options go or Coronado Springs Resort for a mid-tier option at Walt Disney World. Obviously, these resorts aren’t for everyone–but they shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand, either, especially at these lower prices thanks to being in the top tier of the 2025 special offers.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on these hotels offering superior savings to the counterparts in their classes? Have you stayed at All Star Sports or Coronado Springs Resorts? What did you think of the overall experience? How do you think these options compare to third party or off-site accommodations? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!