Where to stay at Disney World

Lovely reader Rose is counting down to a Disney Extravaganza trip with the Disney World/Disney Cruise double booked for next September. Yay! I knew we couldn’t be the only mad family prepared to travel halfway around the world for Mickey Mouse! This experienced traveller is planning ahead and is keen for some information about where to stay for the Disney World part of the trip.

If you’re just at the thinking about it stage, then check out How to plan your first trip to Disney World and What is the best age to go to Disneyland?

The biggest decision is whether to stay on-site or off. Disney Resort Hotels (on-site) are more expensive, but as well as completely immersing yourselves in all things Disney, they have the following benefits –

• Close proximity to the Disney theme parks (more info about all the Disney World parks here). And it’s not just about your travel time at the start and end of the day. Staying close by means taking a break back at your hotel in the afternoon – the hottest and busiest time of the day in the parks. A very practical option for families with young children.
• Able to book FastPass+ at 60 days before your trip, rather than 30 days (the most popular FastPass+ just won’t be available at 30 days out)
• Extra Magic Hours – access to earlier opening and later closing hours at the parks
• Complimentary resort transportation between parks and hotels (parking is US $17 per park per day)
• Complimentary airport transfers (I believe a taxi from the airport costs about US $70)

You can find the complete list of benefits of staying on-site here.

Staying on-site

Disney has about 26 hotels on-site. They are split into Value, Moderate and Deluxe categories. There are also Deluxe Villas, but they cost a bomb (unless you want to try and get your head around renting Disney Vacation Club points). Whether a hotel is on- or off-site can be confusing, because there are off-site hotels located right next door to on-site hotels, so find the full list of on-site hotels here.

The difference in price between the categories reflects both the quality of the accommodation and facilities, as well as their location. In general the Deluxe hotels are located very close to Magic Kingdom (approximately 10 mins), while the Moderate and Value hotels are further away (approximately 30-40 mins).

 

 

 

Rose will be at Disney World in September, which is one of the cheaper times of year. Here is a comparison between three example Disney resorts. You can find a very detailed breakdown of all resorts and rates here. Note that these are indicative prices in US dollars per room per night.

Disney World hotel price comparison		Standard room	Family room
Value	Art of Animation	$        148	$        327
Moderate	Caribbean Beach Resort	$        206
Deluxe	Wilderness Lodge	$        325	$        438

Art of Animation (3 star)

Standard room – The Little Mermaid room sleeps up to 4, with either 2 Double Beds or 1 King.

Family room – The Lion King Suite sleeps up to 6, with 1 Queen Bed (in separate bedroom), 1 Double-Size Table Bed (yes the table converts to the bed seen below – in living area) and 1 Double-Size Sleeper Sofa (in living area).

Caribbean Beach Resort (3 star)

Standard room – This resort is one of the few that have standard rooms that sleep up to 5, with either 2 Queen Beds or 2 Queen Beds and 1 Bunk-Size Pull Down Bed.

Wilderness Lodge (4 star)

Standard room – It sleeps up to 4, with either 2 Queen Beds or 1 King Bed.

Family room – A Woods View – Bunk Bed room sleeps up to 4, with 1 Queen Bed and 1 Bunk Bed.

*Note* – a cot or rollaway bed can often be added to your room if required.

So if you’re happy for the kids to share a bed, then it’s just a matter of choosing the level of comfort and location that you prefer. But if you want them to have their own beds, then the choices are more limited. See point 9 on this list of 50 Disney World tips for your resort options.

Also helpful is this list of hotels which accommodate families of 5 or more. It includes some “in between” resorts, which are not Disney and have no theming, but do receive some of the advantages of on-site hotels.

 

Staying off-site

We have made the choice to spend 4 nights at the Wilderness Lodge in a Woods View – Bunk Bed room while we are visiting the Disney World parks. I was keen for a completely immersive Disney experience, and the practical benefit of being a 10 minute boat trip across the lake from Magic Kingdom is a huge attraction. But we are then moving to an apartment off-site, so that we can have some more space, separate bedrooms and make our own meals, while visiting Universal Studios (including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter) and the Kennedy Space Center.

We are staying at Staybridge Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista (3 star). For September next year the cost is currently US $228 per night for a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment which sleeps up to 8 people, with a king bed in the master bedroom, 2 doubles in the second bedroom and a sofa bed in the living room. In general, anything with “Suites” in the name means apartments.

Walt Disney World is a whole travel universe unto itself. Consider making an enquiry with a specialist travel agent. The general vibe online is that a great Disney agent is worth their weight in gold. WDW Prep School has an affiliation with one. Or this lady is super active online and very helpful with answering questions, so I would give her a go. They will help with everything including dining reservations and Fastpass+. They’re U.S.-based, but that shouldn’t cause any problems. (I have no affiliation with either and only came across them subsequent to booking our trip.)

Read about our trip here –

Travel Diary  |  16 hour flight from Sydney to Dallas

Travel Diary  |  2 days in the mountains of North Carolina

Travel Diary  |  Animal Kingdom at Disney World

Travel Diary  |  Magic Kingdom at Disney World

Review  |  LEGOLAND Hotel Florida

Travel Diary  |  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Travel Diary  |  Disney Caribbean Cruise