All-Star Sports vs. Pop Century Disney World Resort Guide 2023

Are you planning a trip to Disney World this year?

Pop Century Resort

If you are, you’re probably starting to think about what hotel you want to stay at. Let’s say you’ve got it narrowed down to Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort or Disney’s Pop Century Resort. Which one is right for you? Well, let’s find out!

Each of these hotels comes with its own merits and drawbacks, and with the All-Star Resorts being a little less expensive than Pop Century, that could sway you more in that direction. But hear us out before you make your final decision!

There’s no doubt that Disney vacations are expensive, and no one wants buyer’s remorse when it comes to what can usually be the most EXPENSIVE part of your Disney trip. We’re approaching this chaos-agent of a decision with as much logic as possible, so we’re breaking it down into five categories:

Common Ground
Theme/Rooms
Pools
Food
Transportation

We’re going to compare these two resorts o see where they stand to help you make the best decision on where to stay for your Disney World trip!

Common Ground

Both of these hotels fall under Disney’s value resorts category, which means they’re the most budget-friendly hotel category on Disney World property. Both hotels also have similar rooms, room sizes, and amenities, and both have strong theming: All-Star Sports is based on…well…sports. And Pop Century is based around pop culture throughout the decades. You’ll find HUGE icons around both resorts with those themes, including around their pools. Both hotels also allow guests to have access to Early Theme Park Entry.

All-Star Sports Resort

Each of these resorts is also divided into separate areas with specific names that come in handy when navigating around the resort (and they are HUGE). Because of their kid-friendly design (bright vibrant colors and fun theming), these resorts are also very kid-friendly, meaning that it’s likely you’ll see a lot of families with children at them.

Pop Century

You’ll also find the single shop at each resort very similar, although you may find some resort-exclusive merchandise, too.

Shop at All-Star Sports

However, the key difference is that Pop Century’s shop is actually combined with its food court (which we’ll get to in a bit). However, you’ll find very similar merchandise there.

Everything Pop! at Pop Century is a shop AND food court

At All-Star Sports, the rate for Standard Rooms starts at around $128 per night — these rates can be found at the times of the year when the parks aren’t so busy and rooms are cheaper. The most expensive room rate runs around $289 per night — that’s for a Preferred room during Christmas Week, when the parks are busier. Both room types can sleep up to four adults.

Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort

A standard room at Pop Century runs around $182 per night during the cheapest part of the year. The most expensive room during the most expensive part of the year can run $381 per night — again, that’s for Christmas week in Disney World. So there’s a bit of a price difference to look at when you’re considering these two hotels.

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Theme/Rooms

Although these are both value resorts and MOST of the value resorts have the same room themes, there are some differences between these two hotels, at least for the time being.

All-Star Sports

All-Star Sports has not yet had its rooms completely refurbished, so you might just end up with one of the older rooms. These rooms, though, are VERY SPACIOUS. There’s plenty of room for people AND their stuff. You’ll only find two room types here, though: Standard and Preferred Room.

All-Star Sports

ALL rooms at All-Star Sports have two double beds, which means that the beds here are smaller than the beds in the Pop Century rooms. Because many of these rooms are still awaiting refurbishment, they also feel very outdated and even a little dingy. However, you will find some Disney characters among the old decor.

Shelf with pegs

We also think these rooms feel a little dark — they certainly don’t have the updated lighting that we’ve seen in the other All-Star Resort refurbished rooms.

The rooms seem dark

The theming here is also over the top, and it’s all sports-themed. You’ll find all kinds of icons related to various sports, so if you have a favorite, you might want to request a specific room area.

All-Star Sports

Overall, the theming would be appreciated by those guests who are sports fans!

Pop Century

So the rooms at Pop Century were recently renovated to match those at the All-Star Resorts, so if you’ve stayed at All-Star Movies or All-Star Music, you’ll know what to expect. Even the basic design is the same. You can choose from a variety of room categories, though: may reserve a Standard Room, a Standard Pool View Room, a Preferred Room, or a Preferred Pool View Room.

Pop Century Standard Room

All room types at Pop Century are suitable for up to four people (any more than that, and things might feel cramped). Each room has a queen-size table bed (it’s a Murphy bed that folds up into the wall and becomes a table) and a queen bed or a king bed.

This table becomes a bed

Outside, you’ll have a theme that covers the 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s.

Pop Century Resort

The decor here is SO much fun that you’ll want to wander around and see it all. You’ll find a giant yo-yo, nods to specific Disney movies, a giant Rubik’s Cube, and more!

Results

For now, the winner is Pop Century. Although both hotels have fun theming throughout their exteriors, inside, there’s a real difference. The rooms at Pop Century are newer and include great uses of space, plenty of places to store your stuff, good lighting, and lots of outlets, including USB plug-ins. Once the rooms at All-Star Sports are completely refurbished, though, the rooms will be the same. We also think Pop Century would appeal to a broader variety of people because not everyone loves sports.

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