The Perks of Staying on Walt Disney World Property

Your first big decision when it comes to where to stay is figuring out if you want to stay on Disney Property or not. Every person and family has different wants and needs, so this is really an individual decision. There are almost always cheaper places to stay off property, especially for bigger families, but there are plenty of perks to staying onsite that may outweigh the cost.

Walt Disney World has more than 25 hotels located on property. These are separated into three categories, “value,” moderate,” “deluxe.”

Aside from the individual resort amenities, which are different, every resort guest gets the same basic perks. That means that, whether you are staying at the cheapest resort or the most expensive resort, you will have these same perks. The lists of perks include:

• Free transportation to and from Orlando International Airport
  

• Free transportation from your resort to each park and Disney Springs

• Extra Magic Hours

• The ability to schedule your Fastpasses 60 days in advance (30 days before offsite guests

• Access to the Disney Dining Plan

• Free Magic Bands

• The ability to charge purchases to your room

• The ability to have Purchases shipped to your room for free

• Free parking at the parks if you are driving (though you do have to pay overnight parking fees at the resort)

You can see that there are plenty of perks to staying on site. The free transportation is a a big perk to a lot of people. Not only does it save you from having to rent a car, but you also don’t have to worry about driving yourself and dealing with Florida traffic.

Prices for all the resorts vary by season and time of year. Disney offers discounts on their resorts pretty regularly, so make sure to check the Disney World website for details on when they are being offered. One of the most popular discounts is free dining. Disney will offer one of their dining plans for free if you stay onsite certain times of the year (announced beforehand). The offer is usually limited, so make sure to grab it as soon as possible to take advantage of the offer.

Below, the resorts are listed out by category preceded by a general description of what to expect from resorts in that category.

Value Resorts

As the name suggests, these are the cheapest onsite resorts. The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort are included in this group, but this description will be of the hotels.

The theming at these resorts are the most “in your face” Disney. They all feature big icons and statues, based on each theme, around the buildings and throughout the properties. Some people think that this actually makes them the best resorts for kids.

They all have multiple buildings with hotels rooms that open up to the outside. Some are close to the main building, and some can be a little bit of a walk from the front. The main building of each resort contains the lobby, a gift shop, and a food court. Big pools are near the main building of each resort, with smaller, “quiet” pools near the buildings that are further from the front.

The rooms at these resorts are smaller than the moderate and deluxe resorts. Most of these only have regular rooms that hold up to four people, but the majority of the Art of Animation buildings actually house family suites that fit up to six people. You can also find some six person suites at All Star Music.

This is the list of value resorts, which includes the campsites:

• Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort

• Disney’s All Star Music Resort

• Disney’s All Star Sports Resort

• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

• Disney’s Pop Century Resort

• The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

Moderate Resorts

This is the middle tier of resorts. They are a step above value resorts, but not as expensive as the deluxe resorts. The rooms at these resorts are a little bit bigger than the values, and the theming at these resorts is more natural and immersive. They all have a table service restaurant, on top of the quick service options, for food. The buildings at most of these resorts are even more spread out than the value resorts, with the exception of French Quarter. Port Orleans French Quarter is the smallest moderate resort, if not the smallest resort on property.

The pool setup is similar to the values, with a main pool near the front and smaller pools near further away buildings. The main pools at these resorts are a little more exciting, because they all have water slides.

The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort are in the moderate category, even though they are more expensive. This is because each one fits up to six people, and each one has a living room and a fully equipped kitchen. They are cheaper than the “home away from home” Deluxe Villas, which is why they are in the Moderate category.

Here is the list of Disney’s moderate resorts:

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

• Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter

• Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside

• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

Deluxe Resorts

Every deluxe resort is very unique, so this description isn’t going to do them justice, keep that in mind when reading this.

These are the most expensive resorts on property. There are actually two types of deluxe resorts, which are combined in the list below. There are regular hotel rooms, and there are villas. With the exception of the studios, which have kitchenettes, the villas all have living room areas and fully equipped kitchens. The villas are primarily used for the Disney vacation club, which is similar to a timeshare (but not exactly the same). However, they can also be reserved on Disney’s website, like regular hotel rooms, when there is availability.

Most of the Deluxe resorts are close to a theme park or Disney Springs (some even within walking distance). Most of them also have alternate transportation choices, other than buses, to at least one location (such as a boat, the sky liner, and the monorail).

The deluxe resorts all have quick service options for food and at least one table service restaurant. Some even have two or three. Some have meals with characters. The pools are big and have water slides. For the most part, the deluxe resorts have more amenities and more things to do at the resorts themselves.

Yet to open, is Star Wars: Galactic Cruiser. This isn’t going to be a typical hotel, and it may be in a category of it’s own. This is going to be a two night experience where you will be immersed in Star Wars. I will include it here now for simplicity’s sake.

Here is the list of Disney Deluxe Resorts and Villas:

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

• Disney’s Beach Club Resort

• Disney’s Boardwalk Inn

• Disney’s Contemporary Resort

• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

• Disney’s Old Key West Resort

• Disney’s Polynesian Resort

• Disney’s Riviera Resort

• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

• Coming Soon: Reflections: A Disney Lakeside Lodge

• Coming Soon: Star Wars: Galactic Cruiser

Walt Disney Collection

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin are separate hotels that are part of one resort area. These hotels are in a prime location on Disney property, but they aren’t owned or operated by Disney. They are operated by Marriott. There is history on why a non Disney hotel is in such a prime location on Disney property, but I won’t go into that here.

Located on the same strip as Boardwalk and the Yacht & Beach club, this resort is within walking distance to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. You may want to take the boat, though, as they are quite lengthy walks.

You do get some of the onsite perks by staying at these hotels, but not all. You get free Disney transportation, extra magic hours, and advance fast pass selections. There is also a restaurant that offers character breakfasts, but the characters only come on weekends.

Originally, there were going to be more of these Walt Disney Collection type hotels, but Disney decided that they wanted to own and operate all of their own resorts.

Click here for more information on these two hotels:

• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel

• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel

Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels

These resorts are, technically, on Disney property, but they are not owned or operated by Disney either. These seven resorts are located near Disney Springs. As of right now, you can take advantage of extra magic hours and early fast pass reservations, but these perks aren’t guaranteed to be there forever. You don’t get access to Disney transportation to the parks, but they offer their own shuttle to the Disney parks. A few of these hotels also offer character meals, and one of them has a Disney store that you can ship purchases back to for free.

Click here for more information on these seven hotels:

• B Resort & Spa

• Best Western Lake Buena Vista

• DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando

• Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace

• Hilton Orlando Lake Buean Vista

• Holiday Inn Orlando

• Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista

Hopefully, this will help give you ideas on where to stay. All of these resorts offer much more than this post gives them credit for, so make sure to do your research to pick the right one that fits your wants and needs!