Standard value rooms facing an exterior walkway are grouped in three-story blocks and accommodate up to four, usually in two double beds.  These value hotels are comparable to a Holiday Inn Express, but with more Disney flair and the advantage of being on Disney property (albeit farthest from the theme parks). 

The only units with kitchen facilities are the family suites at Disney's All Star Music resort and the cabins at the Fort Wilderness Campground; both sleep up to six. Guest complaints include poor soundproofing between rooms and very long lines to board theme park buses during the busy season.  All value priced resorts are popular with groups, especially youth groups competing at the nearby Wide World of Sports stadium.

Disney's All-Star Resort

At 5,700 rooms, the All-Star is currently the largest hotel in the world. By separating it into three zones, each with its own check-in, and masking all the exterior stairwells with huge icnonic sculptures of megaphones, Coca-Cola cups, a tennis ball can and more, WDW succeeds in making these hotels seem more like fun and less like a convention center.

At Disney's All-Star Resort/Music (407/939-6000) there are wings dedicated to every tune from Calypso to Country Fair, with big bongos and other music props, containing 1,760 spotless but basic rooms with minimal services.

Big Family News: This resort is "testing" 90 one-bedroom family suites sleeping 6 that are WDW's best value at $179-$285/night. These new units were created from two old standard rooms; they are bright, and comfortably furnished. The bedroom has a queen bed, TV, chest of drawers, and ensuite bathroom. The living room has a leatherette couch that opens into a double sofa bed, an armchair that opens into a single bed, and a matching ottoman that pulls up and out into another single bed. There's a second bathroom, a second TV set, and a cheerful kitchenette with microwave, fridge, sink and coffeemaker.  The Music resort carries its music theme to the max with a guitar-shaped swimming pool. 

Disney's All-Star Resort/Sports (407/939-5000) is in the same ballpark, both in thematic emphasis and price-wise. Guests checking in will feel like they are entering a basketball gymnasium. Stairs are tucked into footballs and hockey sticks. This resort is said to be most popular with young boys, so it gets quite crowded over school breaks. 

Disney's All-Star Resorts/Movies (407/939-7000) has 1,940 rooms clustered into wings based on hit movies like "Fantasia," "101 Dalmatians" and "The Love Bug," whose wing has the Herbie car poking through the wall. These buildings have accouterments such as a 38-foot-tall Buzz Lightyear sign, a "Mighty Ducks" hockey-themed pool and a large character playground. A family favorite with what's considered the best marquee food court.

Disney's Pop Century Resort

This 2,880-room resort, the newest of all, celebrates American popular culture from the 1950s to the 1990s, with bright, bold, larger-than-life icons such as a Play-Doh can and the Rubik's Cube. Room blocks are divided by decade, with rooms around themed courtyards and stairs hidden by huge cellphones, bowling pins, Yo-Yos and more. Though accommodations are small, these rooms will accommodate a rollaway in addition to the standard, two double beds, if kids don't want to share a bed. The three pools (one larger, two small) are graced with peace signs, slogans, and Warholesque flowers; other pop culture cliches are on display in the lively food court. We heard from a resort manager that sometime in late 2008, the Pop Century's Legendary Years covering the decades between 1900 and 1950 will open on an adjacent site. For more information 407/938-4040).

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

With 784 campsites and/or trailer spaces, Fort Wilderness is prized by Disney cognoscenti for its authentic place in Disneyworld history. Just 35 years ago, this "wilderness" playground and ranch, along with the South Seas-styled Polynesian Resort and the ultra-modern Contemporary Resort, gave proof to Walt Disney's vision of a magical world where Americans could play at being anything they liked. The tranquil 740-acre property, including the historic Tri-circle-D Ranch and a fishing lake, has, since 1971, housed all the horses employed by WDW. Don't miss the "Walt Disney and Horses Museum" display on the property or the farm animals located nearby. Today, the very popular "Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue" (said to be the longest runnning musical in America!) is held nightly near the corral and trail rides, and there's a logpole store and restaurant housing Mickey's Backyard Barbecue.

An expanded Fort Wilderness has a marina with canoe and powerboat rentals, a small sand beach for sunbathing, tennis, rental golf carts and bicycles, and several playgrounds.  There are free nightly film screenings out of doors following Chip n' Dale's Campfire Sing-a-Long, the time when guitars, denim, square dancing and marshmallows take over. This is a free and fun night out for families staying at any property. From Fort Wilderness, there are myriad buses and free boat launch service from the north end, on Bay Lake, to Magic Kingdom. (For information on the Wilderness Lodge, see the Deluxe Resorts category.)

Sleeping facilities are extensive. The campground is divided into three sections with their own bathhouses and showers; the first two have the usual campground amenities of water, sewage and electricity, plus hi-speed Internet access. The northernmost Settlement, where once 10 Airstream trailers were available for rental, is packed with RVs in the million-dollar-plus range. Die-hard fans with tricked out golf carts and piles of Mickey plush in their windows spend months here, and it's the only WDW property that accepts pets. The Meadows area in the middle has smaller RV units, pop-ups, and tent sites for intrepid campers. This is closest to the main pool, arcade, snack bar and equipment rentals. The more wooded and undeveloped Outpost, location of 409 furnished cabins, is in the south. These 500-square-foot cabins have a big front porch with picnic table and grill, a small bedroom with a queen and two bunk beds, and a compact living room with small kitchen and a pull-down double Murphy bed. There's space, some wood paneling, lots of carpet, and tepid styling, but with two TVs and room to sleep 6, these are good value. Disney provides daily maid service at rates from $249-$$329/night depending on season. For more information 407/824-2900.

Book Early

As soon as you make some choices, work with a travel agent to secure reservations; many resorts sell out six to eight months in advance. However, there will always be room at the inn when you realize that 25,000 rooms are now available at Disney World. You can call Disney at 407/934-7639 or visit www.disneyworld.com to get more information and brochures.