Our resort of the month is the value resort that quietly plays a tier above its price: Disney's Art of Animation. It's where you land when you've got a bigger group and a tighter budget but don't want the trip to feel like a compromise.
The pitch: Family Suites
The headline here is the Family Suites, themed to Cars, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo. Each one sleeps up to six, with a separate primary bedroom, two more sleeping spaces, two full bathrooms, and a kitchenette — a genuinely rare amount of room at the value price. (The Little Mermaid standard rooms are the budget end if you don't need the space.)
The feature that seals it
Art of Animation is a Disney Skyliner station. That means a gondola straight to EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios — no bus, no transfer — which is a transportation perk most value resorts simply can't offer. On top of that: the Big Blue Pool is the largest pool at Walt Disney World (with music piped underwater), the theming is genuinely immersive with towering character statues in each courtyard, and Landscape of Flavors is one of the better quick-service food courts on property.
A value-priced suite that sleeps six, with a gondola to two parks out front. For a family that wants space and smart transportation without deluxe pricing, it's hard to beat.
Why this one for September
September is shoulder season — softer crowds and often softer rates — which makes it a smart window to book a Family Suite before the holiday surge. If a fall trip with the whole crew is on your calendar, this is the base camp to look at first.
One resort, sized up honestly — the suites, the Skyliner, and who it's really for.
It's one of every Disney World resort mapped in Starlit Magic — with transportation, amenities, and the honest trade-offs, so you can match the right base camp to your trip.
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Space for six, a gondola out front, and the biggest pool on property. Smart money for a fall family trip.