If you are staying on Disney property, deciding which resort to stay at can have a huge impact on your stay. Each resort has its own unique qualities that you need to take into account and factors which must be looked into to ensure you have the best time possible. Some of those factors are
- cost
- location
- dining options
- transportation options
- party size/room size
- amenities
Disney offers 3 types of resorts that while they have their own uniqueness, they are similar in a lot of ways.
Deluxe Resorts
The Disney World Deluxe Resort Hotels are the highest tier of on-site Disney hotels, and understandably so.
Aside from the luxury of the resorts themselves, distance to parks and ease in transportation is a huge benefit of the Disney deluxe resorts. A majority of them are significantly closer to one or more of the Disney parks. Also, there’s a wider variety of transportation options, from boats to monorails.
Disney’s Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian Hotels are all just a monorail ride away to Magic Kingdom. The Polynesian and Grand Floridian also offer boat access to Magic Kingdom (Disney’s Wilderness Lodge too).
Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and Disney’s Boardwalk Inn are within walking distance (or a boat ride) to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is the closest deluxe hotel to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Another great perk of the Disney deluxe resorts is that they offer both quick-service and table-service dining options. Many of the Disney World deluxe resorts even have character dining. For example, The Contemporary has Chef Mickey’s and the Grand Floridian has 1900 Park Fare where characters are constant.
The Disney deluxe resort hotels offer the most recreation options.
At the Magic Kingdom and Boardwalk hotels, boat rentals are a fun option for a relaxing day around the resort. Depending on which you choose, you’ll have a basketball, volleyball or tennis courts to play on — or a combination of the three!
Each of the Deluxe hotels has multiple, gorgeous pools and a hot tub for you to enjoy.
There are 8 Deluxe resorts;
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
There are also 12 Deluxe Villa resorts;
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Moderate Resorts
Moderate Resorts tends to have more variety in terms of amenities, layout, dining, and transportation options in comparison to Value resorts, but certainly, don’t have all the bells and whistles of Deluxe resorts.
As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” Moderates resorts are a great middle-ground.
All Moderate resorts offer bus transportation to and from the theme parks. Unlike Value resorts, Moderates have multiple bus stops throughout each resort (with the exception of Port Orleans – French Quarter). This means that you won’t have to walk too far to catch a bus.
Boat transportation is available at the following resorts: Fort Wilderness has a ferry to Magic Kingdom, while French Quarter and Riverside share ferry service to Disney Springs.
Moderates are some of the largest resorts at Disney World. Port Orleans – French Quarter is the one exception, as it is a relatively small resort by Disney World standards.
Each resort feels like its own world, spread out and away from the bustle of the park. It feels as though you are staying in an all-inclusive resort island; buildings/areas are separated from one other with walking trails and water features are found throughout the properties. Unlike most Disney World properties, you get more of a sense of tranquil isolation.
One downside to the larger, spread-out Moderate resorts is that choosing a room location becomes an important factor. Rooms closer to the lobby, main pool, and dining areas are often more expensive and in higher demand. However, securing a better location means that you won’t have to walk as far to dine after a long day at the park.
All Moderates have both a quick-service restaurant and a table-service restaurant. The one exception is Port Orleans French Quarter (no table service option). However, this isn’t really a problem because guests can easily walk to Boatwright’s Dining Hall (Port Orleans – Riverside).
Moderate resorts have a great selection of pools. Moderates have additional features like water slides and hot tubs.
There are 5 Moderate resorts;
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
Value Resorts
Disney Value resorts are the most affordable, budget-friendly lodging on Disney World property.
Value Resorts are some of the furthest Walt Disney resorts from the parks.
The good news is the guests at Value resorts can easily access all of the Disney World theme parks via free Disney transportation. The downside is that the only transportation option available to Value resort guests is bus service (ie, no direct monorail or boat access).
However, buses operate through the day and transport guests directly to and from every Disney World theme park. Bus stops are conveniently located in the front of each resort.
As far as Disney World resorts go, Value Resorts are the most “Disney-ish,” kid-friendly resorts in the park. Each resort has its own overall theme, with each building/wing of a resort themed around a Disney movie, musical style, sport, decade, or some other specific element.
For example, All-Star Sports has a “surfing” wing, All-Star Movies has a “Toy Story” wing, and Art of Animation has a section of family suites themed after “Finding Nemo.” These themed areas and elements are lots of fun – for kids and adults alike!
While the exterior of each building exudes a lot of character with fun themes and icons of Disney personalities, the interiors have minimal decor. For the most part, the rooms are basic and no-frills.
Standard room size at Pop Century and the 3 All-Star resorts are 260 square feet, while Art of Animation is 277 square feet. This compares with roughly 314 square feet at moderate resorts. Maximum occupancy is 4 people (plus one baby under age 3 in a crib).
While none of the Disney Value resorts have water slides, each has their own themed-pools.
Pools at Value resorts tend to be a little smaller than the pools at Moderate and Deluxe resorts. However, there is one notable exception: Art of Animation’s Big Blue Pool is the largest pool at Disney World.
Each of the 5 Disney Value resorts has their own food court. These meals count as Quick Service meals.
None of the Disney Value resorts offer Table Service meals.
There are currently 6 Value resorts;
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort