So you’re going to Disney World!

Time to start picking the right Walt Disney World Hotel! I’m so excited for you! This is great news! Now that the decision has been made, it’s time to get back to the important planning necessary for the best trip of your life. While I don’t control the price of tickets or the airline costs, one of the biggest line items in this vacation budget that I can control is where we stay.

Let’s get into the details of your many, many choices.

When Are You Going?

When you will be taking this vacation plays a huge role in all of your decisions. Whenever possible, I strongly recommend that you go in what’s considered the “off” or “shoulder” season, to avoid crowds and potentially minimizing hotel costs. Not only might you have better weather, but not having those stifling crowds will impact your overall vacation satisfaction.

Peak crowd times

I’m a teacher, so we usually travel during the peak times of summer and national holidays. While it may not be the best alternative, it’s certainly better than not going at all, so make your plans and go with it. While you absolutely will face increased crowds, by choosing suitable accommodations, you will ensure that this part of your trip will be relaxing and effortless.

Slower times

When picking the right Walt Disney World hotel, the first week of December is my favorite time to visit WDW, because there are lower crowds, the holiday decorations are up, and the weather is fairly mild. Most importantly, the place is relatively empty! There are definitely other parts of the year where you can minimize crowds, and I strongly support you traveling during these “off” seasons.

How Long Are You Staying?

This is one of the first questions you need to answer, regardless of when you are visiting Florida. Not only will that determine how many theme park days I will have, but it plays a HUGE part in my accommodation decision. 

If I’m taking a shorter trip, I want to be as close to the action as possible, to minimize how much time I spend commuting from hotel to theme park. Do not minimize how long it can take you just to get off of Disney property. This is not Disneyland, where Space Mountain can easily be seen from offsite hotels directly across one street.  On an empty day, it will take you a minimum of 30 minutes to get from the front of the Magic Kingdom to the edge of Disney property in Florida. Minimum. 

Are You Planning Any “Off” Or Non-Disney Days?

My next consideration is how I plan to spend my time. If I am doing a split Disney/Universal trip, that absolutely impacts how I choose my accommodations. The same is true if I’m only planning three or four days out of a week at the theme parks. 

The more time I’m planning to spend away from the Disney theme parks, the less important it is to me to stay on property. 

Now let’s look at the wide range of places you can choose to stay in the Orlando, Florida area for this epic vacation: 

Renting A Condo/House

For picking the right Walt Disney World hotel: Have you ever spent any time on VRBO.com or AirBNB? It is absolutely stunning how many people have a vacation home/condo in Florida that they are willing to rent out on a nightly or weekly basis. Many of these houses and condos are just barely off of Disney property, making them relatively convenient for commuting purposes. 

You can rent everything from a one bedroom condo to a six-bedroom house near Disney for a fraction of the price you would pay for a hotel onsite. For this decreased cost, you will have all of the benefits of a house, including a full kitchen, living room, individual bathrooms and, oftentimes, a nice private pool.

I’ve gone this route—in Orlando and other places—several times, and it’s a great alternative. While it requires renting a vehicle, it gives you some awesome benefits that you simply can’t get at a hotel or resort. Particularly if you are looking at a multi-family or larger group vacation, you should look into this option. 

Staying Off-Site

I live in Las Vegas, which has more hotel rooms than any other city in the country…followed closely by Orlando, Florida. You will find hotels and resorts of every star-level available to you in the greater Disney World area. No matter what brand you favor, there are at least two of them in Orlando.

Staying in an off-site hotel or resort near Disney World can save you significant money on your vacation budget, but you need to go into it with your eyes wide open. You will need to rent a vehicle for sure—even the hotels that offer shuttles aren’t free or convenient. Further, you need a really good, detailed map before you book a hotel. It is stunning to me how many hotels claim they are very close to Disney. While they might be near one of the BORDERS of Disney property, that doesn’t help you at all. Walt Disney World is the size of San Francisco, well over 41 miles wide, so claiming to be “right across the street” from Disney can still put your 25 miles away from any mouse sighting.

Sometimes a good idea, choosing an off-site hotel requires, in my opinion, the most research of all of your options. Choose carefully. 

Staying On-Site

That leaves us with the option of staying right on property at Disney. Full disclosure: This is, by far, my favorite choice. I’ve done everything I detailed above, and every trip was magical, make no mistake about it. 

But…staying “in the magic” is, well, magical. 

Whether or not it’s for you is a personal decision you need to make. All I can do is lay out the options for you to get your started in your search. It’s still your vacation, not mine. 

“Levels” of Disney hotels

In any effort to fit any family’s budget, Disney has built a huge variety of hotels on their property in Florida. Make no mistake about it—these accommodations are definitely prices higher than off-site alternatives, but you do have some options that just might fit your family.

• Value – From an actual, fully-functioning campground to a fantastic resort with family suites and a huge pool, value resorts at Disney are beautifully themed. They are a little “over the top”—think oversized props and toys—with the theming, but that is fantastic for younger travelers. Starting below $100, some of the value resorts are positioned on waterways, and have multiple transportation options to the theme parks. They all have food courts and multiple pools for you to relax in. I’m a huge fan of the value hotels.
• Moderate – This ‘step up” from the value hotels features larger rooms and some upper scale amenities, including water slides and hot tubs. The moderate resorts also have sit down restaurants in addition to a counter-style eatery, and offer different ways to get from the hotels to the theme parks.
• Deluxe – What I consider a huge jump from moderate, the deluxe hotels are positions, for the most part, on top of one or more theme parks. With very fancy pools and slides, these facilities often include a spa, multiple fancy and sit-down restaurants, and the largest of the hotel rooms on property. They are quite luxurious, and very relaxing environments. 
• Villas – These “homestyle” accommodations go from a studio to a three-bedroom setup, with a price tag to match! The villas include kitchens, dining areas and additional bathrooms. Stepping up the resort with community centers, slides, hot tubs, spas and multiple restaurants, the villas offer a fantastic alternative for you to stretch out with your family very close to the different theme parks. 

Pros of being on-site

Just a few things to identify:

• You don’t need a rental car—free transportation to all theme parks
• Closest to all of the action
• Immersion in the “Disney bubble” for your entire trip
• Comfort level of letting teens explore on their own
• Options at every price point

Cons of being on-site

It isn’t all wine and roses, I admit it:

• Significantly more expensive than offsite
• Dining choices are limited to higher priced offerings
• Smaller hotel rooms than you will find off site
• Some people don’t want to be immersed in the “Disney bubble”

So, Pat, What’s Your Choice?

I very much prefer to be on site at Disney. No doubt about it—given a choice I will go with a Disney Villa every time, which is why I bought into the Disney Vacation Club (timeshare) almost 20 years ago. I love the larger accommodations and ability to cook breakfast and lunch in my room while I do a load of laundry. That is my favorite.

Next month I’ll be staying a week in a Value Resort with Bestie Boo. I can’t wait! The only thing I will really miss is the hot tub after a long day in the parks, but I’ll be thrilled to dip my feet into the huge, themed pool. 

Last year we did a week in a condo offsite to use some other timeshare points. That was fantastic, too, although much less convenient getting to and from the theme parks. We couldn’t come and go as easily, since we only had one car, but the cost was too fantastic to pass up.

Do you see the theme yet?

Just go. Whatever your budget, your length of time, your comfort level. Just do it—nobody does vacations like Disney!

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR!!!

Thank you for reading all about picking the right Walt Disney World hotel!

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