Picking your perfect Disney World hotel can be challenging, but we’re here to help!
When it comes to choosing a Disney World hotel before your next trip, you know the basics like price, discounts, and special perks — but there are some small differences that can make a world of difference!
Disney World hotels come in four tiers — Value Resort Hotels, Moderate Resort Hotels, Deluxe Resort Hotels, and Deluxe Villas. We’re going to go over FOUR big differences between the hotels and why you should consider them before your next trip!
Dining Access
If you plan on spending almost all of your time at the parks or in Disney Springs, or perhaps don’t really care about the difference between table service versus quick service dining options, then this point is probably a non-topic for you when deciding where to stay at Disney World.
With that said, if you are looking at dining quality and how it relates to convenience, dining access within the hotel should be a major point of emphasis.
When comparing restaurants, here’s what you can expect to see between the tiers:
- Value Resort Hotels – – Food courts and poolside bars
- Moderate Resort Hotels — Food courts, poolside bars, and at least one table service restaurant
- Deluxe Resort Hotels — Food courts, poolside bars, multiple table service restaurants, at least one indoor or outdoor lounge, and some character dining options
- Villa Resorts— These can vary in options but generally include everything Deluxe Resort Hotels have and sometimes offer full-sized kitchens
For more information regarding Disney World dining, check out our tips page!
Toilet Paper
This may sound weird, but not all toilet paper at Disney World is equal!Â
If you don’t care about your toilet paper being thin and single-ply (or plan on bringing your own), then the Value Resort Hotels should serve you just fine. However, if you do care, be advised that this issue can even plague some Deluxe Resort Hotels. You may have to spend extra just to get quilted and thicker toilet paper, and even then you aren’t guaranteed anything.
Bed Sizes
The bedding situation at Disney World Hotels couldn’t be more different. Not only do you need to take into account your party size when booking a hotel, but you also need to do some reflection on what kind of quality of bedding you’re looking for.
Offerings like sofa beds, daybeds, and pulldown table beds in addition to combinations of double, queen, and king-sized beds are offered in all kinds of varieties among the hotel tiers. We can’t recommend enough to look at the details of each room you are comparing to find the right beds for you and your family.
If you’re looking for help, check out some of our favorite (and least favorite) beds at Disney World!
Transportation
Finally, you absolutely should take into account each hotel’s available forms of transportation.
Disney World is MASSIVE so traversing it can be a pain. Travel becomes a lot easier when you have nearby transportation. Every hotel has a shuttle/bus service, but some resorts feature much more convenient methods of travel.
We’ve listed below special Disney World transportation and which resorts they serve.
- Disney Skyliner — The Skyliner connects Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, and Disney’s Riviera Resort to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.
- Water Transportation — Guests staying at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, Disney Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter, Disney’s Old Key West Resort, and Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa receive complimentary water transportation throughout Disney World.
- Disney World Monorail — The Disney World Monorail connects Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows to EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, and the Transportation and Ticket Center.
And there you have it! If you’re always on the lookout for Disney World tips and tricks, stay tuned here at AllEars for all the latest!
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In response to “Water Transportation — Guests staying at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, Disney Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter, Disney’s Old Key West Resort, and Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa receive complimentary water transportation throughout Disney World.” in this article, this water transportation is only between these resorts and Disney Springs, not through out Disney World. Additionally, the Epcot area resorts also offer water transportation to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
Fairy God-Nana
Couldn’t agree more about the toilet paper!