All of the Benefits of Staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel

Staying onsite is no longer magical. Disney has made it a priority to squeeze more money out of it's guests while eliminating the perks. Save hundreds by staying offsite and most hotels have free shuttle service.

Staying on property was magical a few years ago. Now many services cost extra. Currently the dining plan isn't available and that is a deal breaker for me. My family's planned trip is in February. Will the dining plan be reinstated by then?

You may want to update your information. All of the above are reasons my friends and I would stay on property but a lot of that is changing. Magic bands are no longer included with your hotel stay. You can still get them though, and I think you can buy them at a discount if you’re staying on property. Also, Disney recently announced that the Magical Express busses between the airport & hotel will be discontinued January 1, 2021.

Before going, you might want to check that your favorite rides are open as I believe not all have reopened. Do not count on shows, many have been paused due to COVID and some have been permanently cancelled.

Disney Magic is not what it was pre-COVID. You should do your homework before going so that you are not surprised or upset at any changes. That said, my friends and I look forward to going again. We can’t wait to ride the Rise of the Resistance ride! We will stay on property if we get to go later this year. Next year, we will probably stay off property for the first time since most other hotels offer airport transportation and transportation to parks too.

Post Coronavirus, the most important consideration for me - and I am an AP holding DVC owner - is which hotel offers e the most protection from contracting the disease. That means cleaning the hotel and maintaining social distancing and PP gear like gloves ad masks.

If you stay at a DisneyWorld Resort, is your onsite meals included in your daily price?

Amanda

Hi, how can kids stay at a resort for free?

Hello we are looking to travel next year with 2 adults and 3 kids (7,10,11) some places say kids stay free at resorts is this true?

Thanks

Hey if I book a Disney resort room is it possible to buy tickets later or does it have to be at the same time or can I buy them later and still get all the benefits of staying at the resort like fast passes? Or is it just better to buy them all at the same time?

If I stay in a resort at Disney will I not have to pay for the park tickets

If we stay at the art of animation resort are we allowed to park at the contemporary hotel when we visit magic kingdom?

If i book a Disney hotel for one night of my stay (already have villa booking) will I get these benefits and will it guarantee entry? I ask as my first full day is July 4th and have heard the park may reach capacity as early as 10 am :/ any advice appreciated.

Was refreshing my memory benefits to staying on Disney property. You need to amend this article because resort parking no longer free. And I had to fight with lady a booth for animal kingdom. She did not believe parking was free at parks.

Hi,

We are staying at a universal hotel for 2 weeks in November for our honeymoon, we have tickets for both universal and disney and have just booked the Mickeys christmas party for the 12th and are thinking of booking one night in a disney hotel for that (we love the look of port orleans) would we be able to park at the hotel early that morning before we check in and use the transport to the parks? and would it be worth booking a disney hotel for one night?

Hello,

We decided last minute that we would like to schedule a trip to Disney World April 26th to April 29th. We would like to stay at a Disney resort for the easy access to the parks. We are traveling with 3 adults and 1 child. In our group we have one disabled adult and a special needs child with a special diet so a kitchen will be needed as well as easy access from park to hotel if needed. Which Disney hotel do you recommend?

First time in Disney with our kids! So excited! We will be staying at the Grand Floridian from 3/16-3/19 and bought park hopper passes when we booked the hotel as a package. We will actually be arriving on 3/14 and staying with family. We wanted to use our park passes on 3/15 - a day before checking. Will this be a problem? Totally stressing!!

Booked an 11 day disney cruise leaving june 30. Flying in June 29. Are there any 1 day packages to stay at a Disney hotel and visit 1 park for the day be for our cruise? If so is there transportation from hotel to port and cost involved. Tis is for 4 adults 4 children, so would need 2 rooms. Thanks

Overwhelmed, is there a planning guide you recommend? I have a 10 yo and a 8yo. Any tips for autistic children? Thank you in advance..

We are planning a 2 day trip in Aug 2018. It includes 9 adults and 5 children. Our best experience when our kids were little 15 years ago was staying at the Beach Club. I gasped at the price for one room. What would you recommend. We stayed at port orleans, sports and I believe Animal Kingdom. None of these gave us the experience of Beach location. With so many of us what do you recommend?

We are starting super early for a large family vacation (winter 2019)... 11 adults and so far 6 kids. Any recommendations on which location would have the best amenities and deals for a group this large? We would like to stay in one big house but know that the amenities to staying in a WDW location are ideal.. tia!!

Hi! We have Port Orleans-Riverside booked from Sept 30 to October 6. We have two rooms of 4 adults and three 11 year old and one 8 year old boys. We were thinking a 4 day Disney pass but had Harry Potter World for one day in our head too. We are not a fan of other parts of Universal Studios. I see you have a deal of 4 days and an extra day. Is this still cheaper than a regular 4 day through the resorts at Disney?

OK,

my wife, 7 year old sone and myself are heading to Disney Sept 2018. Nothing booked yet. We are sourcing as much as we can from the internet and friends. Our thouhgts are every second day at one of the Disney parks, the other days we head to our choice of activities with a rental car. We are only doing this once so we want to make it memorable. With this being said we think we want to stay at one of the Disney hotels, however we are unsure. The meals, simplicity of it all is why we are thinking resort hotel is better, however we just are not sure.

Thoughts?

Greg

Hello, We have been to Disney World twice and stayed onsite both times and really enjoyed it. We are wanting to visit one last time this upcoming spring. I have received a resort vacation certificate as a Christmas gift for a 7 day stay at no cost. I can book in the Orlando area no problem. I am concerned staying off site. We are wanting top dinning choices (Cinderella's Royal Table, Belle's Castle) and I am afraid it will be much harder to get reservations when off site. Plus I am worried about the fast passes and not getting our choices for those. Those are the two most important on-site perks. We want to save money but at the same time, it's not really worth going if you can't do what you want. Can you please advise? Thanks!

are they still sending anything that you buy at the park to your room?

Do you get the early hours perks at any disney hotel even the budget ones? We were looking at Art of Animation

We are thinking of staying at the shades of green vs onsite Disney hotel. Is it worth buying the magic bands? If I have already made dining reservations how do I connect them?

Hi

I've never been to Orlando and I'm considering a trip with the family. We are thinking at the end of February and we will have an almost two year old, six year old and nine year old. I'm trying to figure out best options if we wanted to do Disney and Universal. My older two would love Harry Potter at Universal but I don't know what else at Universal it would offer them and I'm thinking not much for the almost 2 year old. But if we do Disney and Universal it seems like a lot to take on for one trip?! Advice for newbies that want to do both?! Should we stay onsite or off? Do we really need to book stuff 6 months in advance? I'm guessing there isn't transportation from a Disney resort to Universal unless I rent a car? And are the three days consecutive or can I split up my days?

how do the magic bands work if you are staying at the disney swan hotel? Help

Hello,

I'm debating on staying on site vs. off site. We'll be getting to Orlando on a Sunday and staying until Saturday in September. We will only visit Disney for two days and plan on going to Universal Studios, the beach and shopping. Please, give me your advice about which route we should take. Thank you in advance.

Hello Mommy Frog,

Thanks for the tips. My husband and I always travel with our five kids during their December to January school break. We just had an awesome second trip to Disneyland Paris and we saw that a lot of amenities were closed. Does it also happen to Disney World in Orlando during that time of the year? Winter is the only time our kids have a common break as they are in different levels--from primary school to College so we really make sure we maximize our time together.

Thanks for your time and tips.

Annabelle and family

Baguio City, Philippines

Hi, My Husband,our 10 year old son and I were looking to go to WDW in January 2017 from 20th to 29th. We have never been there before,. We are travelling from Canada and would like to know the best and Cheapest place to stay that would have flights, Hotel and, meals included.

Thank you

Not knowing anyone whose been to Orlando/theme parks is hard since you don't have anyone guiding you or providing pointers, but to have someone who takes the time and effort to put this together is amazing! Thanks so much, this webpage has provided valuable information and great guidance! THANK YOU !

First, thanks for a great site. I love your blog and you saved us a bunch of $$ on Disney tickets and auto rental in the past. :) Now, for my question: We are a family of 6 and have never stayed on property but are considering for this year.... The challenge is that we need three bedrooms, and the kids' rooms have to have 2 beds each, to accommodate my 4 picky kids. They just don't sleep well in a shared bed, or on a pullout couch in the living room. The disney options that are big enough for us are so costly! Are there any tricks? Like a property where we could get adjoining rooms for less $$? We'd love to stay on property but the villas are so costly. (We don't want to stay in Tree House villas - seems a little small, and want to be closer to the parks.) Thanks!

Hi! We are coming the week of July 4th with a family of 5, 3 kids:-) and my parents and sister. We are of course looking for the best deal, and will get tickets through you!;) trying to find rooms for all of us, so two rooms, at a good price on grounds. Those dates are not on sale yet, they usually do go on sale though correct? I see the value of staying on grounds! Thanks!!

We are going on family trip to WDW on July, if we are going to stay just 1 night on WDW hotel and the rest of the stay outside Disney hotels, how does the FP+ work? considering i am buying a 3day ticket? so will I be able to to make FP+ 60 days before for 2 days and then for the last day just 30 days?

Also if i wanted to go before doing the checkin at WDW hotel to park and then do the checkin later is this posible? I dont want to lose time and I can leave my bags in the other hotel...or we need to make check in prior to enter the park like for using EMH ...

This was perfect timing! I'm planning our trip for June, and just sat down to the computer to try and decide between Disney or non-Disney hotels. I'm sold!