L O C A T I N G A S U I T A B L E H O T E L O R C O N D O is critical to planning any Walt Disney World vacation. The basic question: whether to stay at a hotel located inside Disney World (“on-site”) or not (“off-site”).
Around 86% of Unofficial Guide readers stay on-site during their trips. Beyond the convenience and amenities, readers say they enjoy
“being in the Disney bubble”—that is, the special magic and peace of mind associated with staying inside Walt Disney World. “I feel more a part of everything and less like a visitor,” one guest writes. We agree.
The primary reasons to stay off-site are cost and space. Walt Disney World room rates vary from about $112 on a slow weeknight at what Disney calls its Value resorts to almost $2,200 per night during the holidays at its Deluxe properties. Outside the World, bare-bones, clean motel rooms can be had for as little as $80 a night. Lodging prices can change, but it’s possible to get a hotel room comparable to one at a midtier Disney resort for half the cost during holidays, or a room twice the size for the same money, all within a 15-minute drive of the parks.
There are advantages to staying outside Disney World and driv-ing or takdriv-ing a hotel shuttle to the theme parks. Meals can be less expensive, and rooming outside the World makes you more receptive KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS CHAPTER
• What are the pros and cons of staying at a Disney resort? (pages 88–91)
• What kinds of hotels are represented at Walt Disney World? (page 91–92)
• Where can I find hotel discounts? How do they work? (page 95–102)
• Which Disney hotel should I stay at? (page 102–113)
• What amenities are offered at Disney resorts? (pages 108–109)
• What do the rooms at Disney resorts look like? (pages 114–119)
• What is the Disney Dining Plan? Is it worth the money? (page 210–216)
• What are some simple tips for booking my hotel online? (pages 224–225)
to other Orlando-area attractions and eating spots. Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, SeaWorld, and Gatorland are well worth your attention.
Because Walt Disney World is so large, some off-property hotels are actually closer in both time and distance to many of the theme parks than are some Disney resorts. Check our Hotel Information Chart on pages 254–264, which lists commuting times from both Dis-ney and non-DisDis-ney hotels.
If you have young children, read Part Seven, “Walt Disney World with Kids,” before choosing lodging. Seniors, couples on a honeymoon or romantic holiday, and disabled guests should read the applicable sec-tions of Part Eight, “Special Tips for Special People,” before booking.
Finally, if you’re looking for the cheapest room possible on the prem-ise that “it’s just a place to sleep,” please read our discussion on page 107 first. Our research indicates that most people are happier not book-ing the cheapest room, even when they take the extra cost into account.
THE LATEST IN LODGING
B E F O R E T H E P A N D E M I C H I T, a major hotel-refurbishment project was underway ahead of Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary in 2021.
Some properties, such as Pop Century Resort and All-Star Movies, have already dramatically improved their rooms; others, such as Wilderness Lodge, have expanded their restaurants and amenities. The COVID reces-sion has led Disney to pause most of its scheduled refurbishments and temporarily close many resorts. Additionally, Universal Orlando’s building spree has been put on hold, and it has also temporarily closed some resorts.
However, the existing updates, especially at Disney’s Value resorts, are significant enough for us to recommend that most readers’ first choice for lodging be an on-site hotel at Disney World (or Universal Orlando). The incremental extra cost is generally more than offset by the room quality, amenities, transportation, and theme park benefits.
The pandemic has reduced the number of people Disney allows into its theme parks. As we went to press, the parks were operating at no more than 35% of their maximum capacity. Because of physical distancing measures, it’s unlikely that the parks have the space to run at much more than that until a vaccine is widely administered. And because Disney can’t fit that many people in its theme parks, it doesn’t need to sell as many hotel rooms to fill the parks. That means Disney should be more reluctant to offer hotel discounts.
That said, many owners in the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points-based time-share program are understandably reluctant to travel until a COVID-19 vaccine is widely administered. Many DVC owners who can’t use their points are renting them out at significant discounts, especially for last-minute travel. Also, rates at the Disney Springs Resort Area (DSRA) hotels are much lower than they’ve been. See page 95 for details on lodging discounts.
Finally, we spent considerable time researching the one area in which Disney is not yet price-competitive: family suites and villas. We tried a bunch of non-Disney contenders, and the very best have been added to this chapter. Almost all of them offer a whole lot more space than Disney does, and for a whole lot less money. All come highly KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS CHAPTER
• What are the pros and cons of staying at a Disney resort? (pages 88–91)
• What kinds of hotels are represented at Walt Disney World? (page 91–92)
• Where can I find hotel discounts? How do they work? (page 95–102)
• Which Disney hotel should I stay at? (page 102–113)
• What amenities are offered at Disney resorts? (pages 108–109)
• What do the rooms at Disney resorts look like? (pages 114–119)
• What is the Disney Dining Plan? Is it worth the money? (page 210–216)
• What are some simple tips for booking my hotel online? (pages 224–225)
rated by Unofficial Guide readers, and most are within a 15-minute drive of the parks. See “The Best Hotels for Families Outside Walt Disney World,” page 231, to find out more.
THE BENEFITS
OF STAYING IN THE WORLD
G U E S T S W H O S T AY on Disney property enjoy privileges and amenities unavailable to those staying off-site. Though some of these perks are advertising gimmicks, others are real and potentially valuable.
Here are the benefits and what they mean:
1. CONVENIENCE Commuting to the parks using the Disney transportation system is easy, especially if you stay in a hotel con-nected by monorail, boat, or Skyliner.
2. EARLY ACCESS TO RESTAURANT RESER-VATIONS Guests at Disney-owned resorts can make dining reservations 60 days before arrival and then an additional 10 days into their trip.
3. EARLY ACCESS TO RIDE RESERVATIONS (temporarily suspended) Disney resort guests, along with guests of the Swan, Dolphin, Swan Reserve, the military-only Shades of
COV I D
tip
Before the pandemic, Disney resort guest benefits included the ability to make FastPass+
ride reservations 60 days before their trip (and 30 days before the general public and annual pass holders). FastPass+ has been suspended indefinitely, and we expect it to return.
unofficial
T I PIf you’re flying to Orlando and staying on-property, Disney’s free transporta-tion network—coupled with ride-hailing services like Lyft and Uber—means you won’t need to rent a car.
WDW RESORT PRIVILEGES AT A GLANCE
HOTEL FASTPASS+
RESERVATIONS RESTAURANT
RESERVATIONS EARLY THEME
PARK ENTRY MAGICAL EXPRESS**
Disney resort hotels and Disney Vacation Club properties
60 days out Up to
70 days Yes Yes
Disney Springs
Resort Area hotels* 60 days out 60 days Yes No
Four Seasons Orlando 60 days out 60 days Yes No
Hilton Bonnet Creek 60 days out 60 days Yes No
Shades of Green 60 days out 60 days Yes No
Swan, Dolphin, and
Swan Reserve 60 days out 60 days Yes No
Waldorf Astoria 60 days out 60 days Yes No
Non-WDW hotels 30 days out 60 days No No
*Disney Springs Resort Area (DSRA) hotels are B Resort & Spa, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton;
Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, Holiday Inn Orlando–
Disney Springs, and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista.
Dining note: All table-service restaurants at Disney Springs and the Swan and Dolphin are independently owned and run, as are a handful of other restaurants scattered around the parks (such as Patina Restaurant Group’s Tutto Italia and Via Napoli at EPCOT). These non-Disney-owned restaurants take Advance Reservations (see page 271), but many also accept reservations directly or through OpenTable.com, meaning (1) they may have tables available even when Disney says they don’t and (2) depending on the restaurant, you may not have to prebook with a credit card or pay a no-show fee when you make reservations outside of the Disney system.
**Magical Express will end December 31, 2021.
Green, the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, the Four Seasons, and the hotels of the DSRA, can make FastPass+ ride reservations 60 days before they arrive, or 30 days earlier than the general public. This perk offers real advantages over staying elsewhere.
4. EARLY THEME PARK ENTRY Disney resort guests—plus guests of the Swan, Dolphin, Swan Reserve, Shades of Green, the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, the Four Seasons, and the DSRA hotels—enjoy extra time in the theme parks not available to the general public. In many cases, this means shorter waits in line for Disney’s most popular rides. See page 43 for more details.
5. DISNEY’S MAGICAL EXPRESS (through December 31, 2021) If you arrive in Orlando by air, this free bus service will shuttle you between Orlando International Airport and your Walt Disney World resort, saving you the cost of transportation each way. You’ll need to col-lect your checked baggage at the airport and bring it to the Magi-cal Express bus stop. For an in-depth discussion of Disney’s MagiMagi-cal Express, see page 422.
6. SEPARATE POOL OF PARK RESERVATIONS Disney’s new park-reservation system holds a certain number of park-reservation slots to be used only by Disney resort guests. Thus, even if no park reservations remain for (off-site) annual pass holders or (off-site) guests with dated tickets, Disney resort guests might still be able to get reservations. This is a big advantage, especially when trying to get into Disney’s Holly-wood Studios during busier times of the year.
7. FREE PARKING AT THE THEME PARKS Disney resort guests with cars pay nothing to park in theme park lots—this saves you $25 per day.
Be aware, though, that Disney charges for overnight parking at its hotels (see page 121 for details and exceptions).
8. GOLFING PRIVILEGES Disney guests get priority tee times at the on-property golf courses.
9. NO RESORT FEES Unlike most hotels outside of Walt Disney World, the on-site hotels don’t charge a nebulous nightly resort fee (versus a parking fee) on top of their advertised rates.
THE PROS AND CONS OF STAYING ON-SITE
1. COST Realistically, you should expect to pay $100–$175 per night (including taxes and fees), depending on the time of year, for a clean, safe, everything-in-working-order hotel room near Walt Disney World.
Disney’s cheapest hotel rooms compare favorably with non-Disney rooms within this price range. Rooms at the Pop Century Resort, for example, cost $166–$304 (before discounts) throughout the year, plus they have convenient transportation and perks such as separate park reservations. In addition, Pop Century has completed a major stylish refurbishment. For an incremental cost of around $66–$129 per night (again, before discounts), we think Pop Century is a better choice for most readers.
Off-site hotels and homes are often better deals for families looking for more space, or high-end lodging and service for the same money.
For instance, Disney’s cheapest family suite, at the Art of Animation Resort, sleeps six and costs $428–$764 per night. A comparable room
Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Blizzard Beach water park than many hotels inside Disney World.
Traffic on I-4 is the largest potential problem with staying at an off-site hotel, especially if you’re coming or going during rush hours.
Thus, the closer your off-site hotel is to Disney property, the less risk there is in being stuck in I-4 traffic. Secondary roads, such as Turkey Lake Road, Palm Parkway, International Drive, and Universal Boule-vard, can help get you around that traffic; look for shortcuts in Part Nine, “Arriving and Getting Around.”
A Kentucky dad overruled his family about staying at a Disney resort and is glad he did:
My wife read in another guidebook that it can take 2 hours to com-mute to the parks if you stay outside Walt Disney World. I guess it could take 2 hours if you stayed in Tampa, but from our hotel on US 192, we could commute to any of the parks except the Magic Kingdom and have at least one ride under our belt in about an hour.
For commuting times from specific non-Disney hotels, see our Hotel Information Chart on pages 254–264.
3. FOOD COSTS Many off-site hotels’ prices include some sort of free breakfast (now prepackaged), ranging from fruit and pastries to microwavable waffles, pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Disney hotels don’t. Depending on how hungry your family is in the morning, eating breakfast at your off-site hotel can save you a minimum of $5–$15 per person per day versus breakfast in the parks.
Beyond breakfast, if you have a large family that chows down like cattle on a finishing lot, you may likewise do better staying outside the World, where food is a lot less expensive.
4. YOUNG CHILDREN Although the hassle of commuting to most non-World hotels is only slightly (if at all) greater than that of commuting to Disney hotels, a definite peace of mind results from staying in the World. Regardless of where you stay, make sure you get your young children back to the hotel for a nap each day.
5. SPLITTING UP If you’re in a party that will probably split up to tour (as frequently happens in families with teens or children of widely varying ages), staying in the World offers more transportation options and, thus, more independence. Mom and Dad can take the car and return to the hotel for a relaxed dinner and early bedtime while the teens remain in the park for extra rides.
6. VISITING OTHER ORLANDO-AREA ATTRACTIONS If you also plan to visit Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Kennedy Space Center, or other area attractions, it may be more convenient to stay outside of Walt Disney World.