Where to Stay
The first part of this series can be found here.
Where to stay when you go to Disney World can be an intimdating decision. There are a ton of options.
First, you have to decide if your going to stay onsite or offsite. I've only ever stayed onsite so that's all I can speak to. But I know a lot of people stay offisite at hotels or vacation homes and love it.
Before I go into the Disney hotel options, I want to explain why I like to stay onsite.
1) You can make FastPass+ reservations at 60 days (versus 30 for offiste)
2) Free transfers to the hotel from MCO with Magical Express
3) Extra time in the parks with morning and evening Extra Magic Hours
4) You don't have to leave the Disney bubble
5) You don't have to drive if you don't want to
If you decide to stay at a Disney hotel you then have to decide which one. There are 32 resorts (according to Disney) and they are divided into four categories. I haven't stayed at every hotel, but I have stayed at all the different levels.
The two main deciding factors are budget and style. Design and style are very personal. So, I highly suggest checking out the Disboards/WDWInfo, Touring Plans, AllEars, and YouTube videos for detailed descriptions, pictures, and reviews.
The first tier is Value. These are the least expensive resorts. You can find current pricing on the Disney World website. these hotels are the ones with the smallest rooms. The rooms are also the most plain-generally. The overall themes also tend to be really dramatic and over-the-top.
These are the value hotels:
Pop Century
All-Star Music
All-Star Movies
All-Star Sports
Art of Animation
Fort Wilderness Campsites
The second tier is moderate. My family often stayed in these resorts when I was younger. But we are a family of five so we eventually grew out of them. The moderate resorts have bigger beds than the values and slightly larger rooms. The resorts also tend to be more spread out than a lot of the others. While my favorite resort is a Deluxe, I owuld love to stay at Port Orleans Riverside every visit. You can find current pricing on the Disney website.
These are the moderate hotels:
Caribbean Beach
Port Orleans Riverside
Port Orleans French Quarter
Coronado Springs
Fort Wilderness Cabins
Next, are the Deluxe resorts. These are the most expensive and lavish resorts. They have the biggest room size for a stard room and will typically sleep a family of five instead of four. All the Disney hotels are well-themed, but there's something particularly refined about these ones. A lot of the Deluxe resorts also have transportation options that aren't busses like the monorail and boats. They also have some of the best pools and kids'splash areas. You can find current pricing on the Disney website.
These are the Deluxe hotels:
Animal Kingdom Lodge
Polynesian
Grand Floridian
Wilderness Lodge
Beach Club
Contemporary
Yacht Club
Boardwalk
The last set of hotels are the Villas/DVC/Home away from Home. So, being a Disney Vacation Club member is a completely different thing. These resorts come in studios, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom grand villas. The studios are similar to a traditional hotel room, but have a kitchenette. The other room options have a full kitchen and laundry. For the most part, these "hotels" are attached to the existing Deluxe resorts.
You can pay cash for these rooms direct from Disney. You can find prices on the Disney World website. But you can also rent DVC points form existing vacation club members. This will often save you money but you have to rely on the person you are renting from. We have never rented points since my parents are DVC members, but people seems to like it. I would just suggesting doing a ton of researching before committing.
These are the DVC resorts:
Saratoga Springs
Old Key West
Polynesian Villas and Bungalows
Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary
Grand Floridian Villas
Animal Kingdom Villas-Kidani and Jambo House
Boardwalk Villas
Beach Club Villas
Wilderness Lodge Villas-Copper Creek and Boulder Creek
So, those are your hotel options if you want to stay onsite. You really can't go wrong. Lately, I've been staying at the All-Stars because that's what I can afford and I'm happy with that.
If you have any hotel recommendations let me know.
Thanks for reading!
Holly
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