PHOTOS: Renovated All-Star Music Family Suites Quick Photo Tour

We stayed in a recently renovated Family Suite at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort this week. The updated suites cover the same footprint but are a “gut” renovation that embraces clever design hacks to increase functionality. They also feature the “generic modern hotel” style found in other recently renovated hotel rooms at Walt Disney World. A brief photo tour, along with some thoughts, are below.

I knew that Disney was in the process of renovating at the All-Star resorts, but I did not expect to be placed in a renovated Family Suite during this stay. Upon opening the door, my first thought was, “Wow, this is nice!” The room still had a bit of a “fresh paint” smell to it, and the bright lights, large TV, and non-hideously colored furniture immediately made a good impression.

The Family Room

The previous iteration of the All-Star Music Family Suites had fold-out couch that converted to a 2-person bed and a chair and two ottomans that each folded out into single-person beds.

Although having an ottoman turn into a bed is novel, this new configuration is much better unless you really need three instead of two sleeping surfaces in the family room. The two queen-size beds that fold out from the wall are comfy, and there is adequate space to get around, even with them down. You do, of course, need to find a place to put the four chairs if you turn the table into a bed. Note that ottoman is empty and can be used for storage.

 

The sink area is separated from the rest of the family room by a lockable pocket door.

Kitchen

The kitchen has big counters and a huge refrigerator. This is a Value Resort, though, so no Keurig–just a single-cup Cuisinart. The kitchen is now located between the family room and the master suite.

Master Suite

What’s that? Yes, there is now a master suite (not just bedroom) at All-Star Music Family Suites. Before, the master bedroom had a door, but one had to exit the master bedroom and walk by the kitchen area in order to get to a bathroom.

Art

There is some music-related art on the wall, but gone are the wallpaper trim and shower curtains that previously let you know this was a “music” room.

Other Observations

Although some walls were modified to create the suite from two existing “normal” rooms at All-Star Music, the old version of the Family Suites at All-Star Music were more of a merger of two rooms than a creation of a suite. You could still see lights above where the beds used to be in the family room, and the switches that controlled them were in the middle of the room at a “bed” height. In addition, the toilets and showers were in the exact same locations, which presumably limited the amount of plumbing changes that had to take place. The new renovations do not seem like as much of a hack. The master bedroom now has an attached bathroom, and that bathroom has a shower without a tub. The electrical outlets all look new. The kitchen is less of a closet. The bathrooms also feel bigger, in part due to use of pocket doors. These are solid, lockable pocket doors, and I think they provide plenty of privacy. And all the fixtures are nice-looking. Overally, I found this to be a great upgrade. These rooms are now more in-line with the well-thought-out Family Suites at Art of Animation, but they also have big TVs, wood-like floors, 18 USB outlets, and other such features that are common in newer hotel rooms. The decor may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and the modern design contrasts with the garish 3-story maracas on the building’s exterior, but I feel that the rooms work well. I’m curious whether Disney will try to charge even more of a premium for these rooms once the renovations are complete.

What do you think of the new design? Let us know in the comments.