Here's What It's REALLY Like to Stay in a Disney World Hotel!

so there are a lot of new hotels in multis new world and there are a lot that are coming and being built and coming soon so we wanted to share with you what it's really like to stay in a Walt Disney World Hotel hey everybody it's AJ from Disney food while there are so many new hotels coming to Disney World we just had grande de cenote our open we've got reflections coming we've got Riviera coming and now we have the galactic star cruiser on its way the Star Wars Hotel which now has an official name so we wanted to share with you guys exactly what it's like to stay in a Disneyworld hotel we stay in Disneyworld hotels all the time when we're doing our coverage for all of these events that we go to and I know you guys have a lot of questions we want to make sure you know stem to stern what it's like to stay in a Walt Disney World Resort so first up how big are the rooms great question so value resorts have the smallest room so this is gonna be pop century art of animation and an art of animation it's specifically the Little Mermaid rooms because remember the rest of them are family suites and the all-star resorts so the smallest of the rooms is around 240 to 260 square feet although both all-star music and art of animation have suites that are 540 and 565 square feet pop century and soon the all-star resorts are getting a new layout with one queen bed and a Murphy bed that doubles as your table when it's folded up so this makes the room feel much more spacious during the day plus all these resorts used to have double beds so it's really nice to have those queen beds now moderate resorts are 314 to 375 square feet so they're slightly larger than value rooms so a great option if you're traveling with bigger kids or a larger group no rooms here are gonna have two queen beds or a king along with a small table and chairs also in the moderate category is the Fort Wilderness cabins these are going to be a much larger situation you get a separate room with a queen bed and a bunk bed and then you have a pullout sofa in the living room and a kitchen as well so those moderates are gonna be much larger than the typical 314 to 375 square feet deluxe resorts are gonna run 359 to 476 square feet depending on where you are those small rooms are gonna be found at Animal Kingdom Lodge and wilderness lodge so these rooms give you lots of extra space and usually private balconies and most rooms will have two beds some have a single King otherwise you're gonna have to clean beds and depending on the resort they'll either have a small table and chairs or a sofa and sometimes a desk as well dizzy rolled villas will vary in size from smaller studios which are similar to deluxe rooms that most have a single queen bed and a sleeper sofa two one two and three-bedroom villas with full kitchens so a boardwalk studio for example is three hundred and seventy nine square feet where a one-bedroom at boardwalk is seven hundred and twelve square feet the wilderness lodge studio is gonna be three hundred and fifty-six square feet on a one-bedroom is 727 square feet Animal Kingdom Lodge standard studio 365 square feet a one-bedroom is 629 square feet what you'll find is actually old Key West those are gonna be much larger rooms than any other Villa situation they built that one first it was the first EVC hotel and the square footage of all of the options are much larger than everywhere else so which ones can sleep five people comfortably which hotels can sleep five people comfortably both Caribbean beach resort and Port Orleans resort have a small Murphy bed about the size of a twin bunk right below the TV giving you an extra bed in the room although keep in mind that these rooms are only 314 square feet and only have one bathroom so while it might fit five guests it might not be too comfortable now deluxe resort sometimes have a sleeper sofa to comfortably accommodate a fifth guest the yatin Beach Club Boardwalk Polynesian contemporary and Grand Floridian all do have that sleeper sofa in most rooms plus they have a little more square footage than moderate resorts now let me note here really quickly some of those resorts do have unconventional rooms I have been put into very weird rooms when I fitted some of these deluxe resorts because I travel solo and so usually I get put into a weird King bedroom that wasn't always a king bedroom that they needed to add more rooms and so they turned like a big storage closet into a king bedroom or something I've been put into some weird rooms so every once in a while you will get a room out of sleeper sofas if you definitely want or need that sleeper sofa and of course if you're traveling with five people they'll for sure put you in one that has one but you may request it make sure that they know that you need a room with that sleeper sofa in it now does this square footage matter all that much it really depends on your needs and your family if you're five full-grown adults you might appreciate having more space to spread out but note that Disney will charge extra sometimes if you have more than two adults in a room so just FYI on that but if you're a family with young kids you might be okay with a little less space you'll probably have to get a little creative if you get a large stroller to park in your room but you may be more comfortable with less space in that context so if you're looking for something bigger and more budget-friendly check out the Suites at art of animation they have a separate bedroom with a single queen a Murphy bed and a sleeper sofa in the family suite so they can accommodate up to six guests somewhat comfortably as long as some of them are small children and all-star music also has suites that sleep six although there are less fun themed than art of animation or you can check out those cabins at Fort Wilderness while they're in the moderate category they actually have a full kitchen and a bedroom with a double bed and a bunk set like we said before they are a little remote you can drive your car out to your cabin otherwise you're gonna have to use the internal bus service at Fort Wilderness to get yourself to an actual bus to a park so again you're gonna do kind of two bus trips already just to get to a park if you stay at the cabins at Fort Wilderness so what amenities do Walt Disney World resorts provide well you're gonna be guaranteed shampoo conditioner and body wash and these are usually going to be in the refillable bottles now in the shower itself we have seen some individual amenities in some deluxe resorts still but since Disney decided to take away all of the single-serve plastics on property they are moving more towards the refillable amenities in the shower versus giving everybody their own individual amenity and these are a little controversial for guests some people love that it's a greener approach and some people would prefer the individual amenities so you just have to figure out what's best for you if you want your individual amenities you're gonna have to stay at a high high high end resort because I think those are the only ones that are still offering the individual amenities and if you do say in one of those higher-end resort hotels you may also get individual amenities like mouthwash aloe for your sunburns and other things like that so you may get a few bonus extras if you stay at those high-end resorts and usually those amenities are going to be h2o brand amenities in all the resorts now as a general rule we feel the resort bathrooms are stocked with plenty of towels but they're pretty small and not all that soft so if your particular about towels keep that in mind and remember that it called Emmaus keeping can get you any additional towels you might want or need during your stay you'll also find hand towels and washcloths in your resort bathrooms and honestly these we sometimes run out of especially if we have a kiddo who spills something or we're doing bath time or something like that so do call for more hand towels and washcloths if you need them now this is really important can you adjust the temperature in your room Disney World Resort rooms have thermostats in every room and you are able to adjust these to work for your family they're usually left in the low 70s you'll notice that chill as soon as you enter if the outside temperature is warm or the weather is humid so when can you swim in the pool so Walt Disney World Resort pool hours vary all the resorts have pools but the hours do vary so you'll want to check the timing when you're staying there typically pools open somewhere between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and we do see pools staying open until 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. usually it depends on the season so pool towels are provided at moderate and deluxe Disney World resorts and they are sometimes provided at the value resorts as well too but the value resort sometimes have guests bring towels from their rooms and set so that's unfortunately a little hit or miss as a general rule we bring our own towels because they're bigger and softer and more practical in those ways but if you don't have room in your luggage don't worry about it you can definitely get more towels so in the past well Disney World Resort pools were not gated and guests with pool hop even locals would come to the resorts to use the pools but in recent years Disney has been gating the pools and requiring a Magic Band scan to get into them so pool hopping is much less prevalent and is no longer actually officially allowed unless you're a Disney Vacation Club member so do all the resorts have room service all resorts offer pizza delivery directly from Disney it's a little expensive for what you get to Disney Dining Plan table service credits per Pete and the pizzas not all that great note that art of animation and several other values now have meals that can be delivered to the room including salad sandwiches chicken wings and even dessert like pop century's tie-dye cheesecake and most deluxe resorts along with Coronado Springs offer more extensive in room dining menus so expect meals to be very pricey burgers can cost over 20 bucks in your room service menu and I will be completely honest with you guys I have not found room service to be excellent in any resort I've stayed in unless you order breakfast breakfast can sometimes be decent but dinner is usually never worth the money and it always arrives cold so if you're expecting to go and have a super luxurious room service experience I may not happen for you I'm just giving you that heads-up now one in room dining experience to highlight is the Twilight feast at Polynesian Village Resort so this is a sampling of everything you can get at Ohana which is that restaurant everybody wants to go to and it also includes POG deuce which is that passion fruit orange and guava juice and it's $60 per person and from what we've seen one serving is more than enough for two diners so this could be a magical way to enjoy Ohana food in your pajamas and on your balcony okay so what's Bell's services like Bell services at the Disney World resorts is the place to store luggage and carry-ons on arrival and departure day you can have your groceries delivered here if you're using a service you can hail a taxi if needed and retrieve your valet parked car when applicable and you can also ask Bell services cast members for directions to locations within the resort like how to get to your room if you've just arrived all of the Bell services services are free but it's fine to tip the cast members who provide you with the service so tipping is usually one to two dollars per piece of luggage or a little more if they've driven your car around for you the tipping is at your discretion now I had a great experience with Bell services recently I went to a nearby grocery store to get a bunch of groceries for my family in the room and when I got back I was running late for an appointment as always and the Bell services actually took the groceries out of my bag stored them for me in Bell services making sure to put anything that to be in a refrigerator or a freezer into the refrigerator or freezer for me and then when I got up to my room after my appointment I just called down and they brought all the groceries up for me so those are incredible services that they can offer to you if you've got a full car a bunch of stuff just have them take all of it out store it and then when you get back to your room they'll bring it up for you definitely tip accordingly though these guys do a great job all right so what's housekeeping like so Mouse keeping is Disney's version of housekeeping and they generally clean rooms throughout the day so it can be hard to know by what time they'll be starting your room those hotels are really big we've even come back and mid to late afternoon and found them still making the rounds now Mouse keeping we'll tidy the room they'll make the bed arrange the plush pick up discarded towels take out the trash and refill things like towels and when applicable at those toiletries so tipping Mouse keeping is a nice though not required a thing to do one dollar per day per person in the room is thought to be average but you can give what you want some guests opt to leave a tip each day so that if there are different cast members each day they each receive a tip when they are there now you can opt out of Mouse keeping and receive a gift card with ten dollars per day of opted-out service in this scenario talk to the front desk upon arrival or call down and ask to opt out you can still call Mouse keeping four extra towels or anything else you need but they won't clean your room for you and if you need to remove your trash you can tie it up and place it outside your door this is usually offered it value in moderate resorts but check when you arrive at your resort so what are the check-in and checkout procedures like guests can check-in online before their arrival and doing so allows you to make a note of any requests you might have like room location or if you'll need a crib so you're not guaranteed to get those requests but if you let them know ahead of time you can save time upon check-in now if you've checked in online you can also usually skip the front desk by providing a phone number at which to receive text updates so they'll text you when your room is ready and you can go straight to your room you don't have to go to the check-in desk if you have your Magic Band ahead of time so be sure to choose your magic bands before you go and get them sent to your house so that you can do online check-in skip the front desk and literally walk straight from the magical Express bus to your room and get right in note that you can also use your mind Disney experience app to open your door if you don't happen to have your Magic Band so checking out is super easy at disney world hotels your bill is emailed to you at the end of your stay and charges are made to the card you head on file so you can track charges throughout your stay by checking your my Disney experience account and Disney uses an Express Checkout system so you don't need to stop by the front desk to checkout and since there's no keys to drop you simply pack up and head out by checkout time note that if you want to have a late to check out this is something that Disney does offer but it's very rare so what you want to do is call the night before and ask them if there's a late check-out available for the following day they'll ask you what time you'd like to check out you give them a 12 o'clock one o'clock checkout time and they will check to see if that's available for you so what other amenities are provided all resorts have a gift shop dining options pool bars and pools so moderate resorts usually have a full table service restaurant and additional activities like the horse-drawn carriages at Port Orleans Riverside or mermaid swimming at caribbean beach resort both are extra money deluxe resorts have signature dining restaurants and typically more than one table service restaurant in addition to the quick service locations they also have spas fitness centers and salons Coronado Springs is the only non deluxe resort to offer a salon spa and fitness center and note that poor d'orléans resort French Quarter does not have a full table service meal any longer they share with poor darlings Riverside the boat rights restaurants but all hotels do have a quick service or counter service restaurant option as well can you walk to the restaurant absolutely most restaurants are located in the main lobby building but are centrally located for guests and even though Porter leans French Quarter is the only moderate without a table service restaurant you can easily walk to Port Orleans Riverside for boat rights it's about a 10-minute walk or you can take the boat over there so staying in a Disney Resort Hotel also gets you a few extra perks you've got those extra magic hours included for Walt Disney World Resort guests and they allow entry to a park usually for one hour before park opening or a few hours after park closing from September 1st to November 2nd resort guests will get extra extra magic hours meaning earlier Park openings for Hollywood studios and more days offered on the extra magic our schedule so some of the other parks have morning extra magic hour every day during that time and some parks actually have two extra magic hours per day morning and night so magic bands are complimentary for resort guests as well and you can pick out colors and have them shipped to your house ahead of your trip you can even purchase patterned and character magic bands at a discounted price through my disney experience also when you stay in a resort hotel package delivery is available and you don't need to worry about carrying any of your purchases around the parks just tell the cast members you'd like to have it sent directly to your resort and you'll be able to pick it up at the pickup location which is usually in the gift shop somewhere and it may take a day or two to arrive free transportation is provided from the moment you arrive at the airport the magical Express will take you right to your resort and then there's bus monorail boat and skyline or transportation to get you two in from the park skyliner opens by the way September 29th and don't forget about extended reservation windows on-site guests get a jump on Fast Pass you can book them 60 days out rather than 30 days like everyone else and you can book dining reservations for your entire trip 180 days out from your arrival day everyone else has to call back each individual day 180 days in advance so is it worth the money to stay in a Walt Disney World Hotel on-site Disney resorts have an extra Disney touch from theming to cast member interactions you're in the Disney bubble the whole time and on top of that on-site guests do get quantifiable perks like extended Fast Pass windows extended advance dining reservation booking windows free transportation and those extra magic hours so while it will cost more to stay in at Disney World Resort Hotel there are some offsetting benefits but you still might want to stay off-site if you're planning on visiting other things in the Orlando area other attractions like Universal Studios SeaWorld cetera you're traveling with a larger group or you just don't think you'll use the extra guests perks then staying on-site at Disney World may not make sense for your budget you can rent large or vacation properties off-site if you're looking for more space and often times you can find better deals for high-end accommodations at other hotels in the old land or area or just find better deals overall there's plenty of hotels just outside of Disney broad area offering competitive rates and services so if you stay off site how long does it realistically take to get onto property and how do you do it while many off-site hotels offer shuttle service they don't run as frequently as Disney transportation but it's still included so look for hotels that offer that if you don't plan on bringing your car and if you did bring your own car or you're renting a car be sure to check parking fees at hotels and keep in mind that Disneyworld does charge for parking at its theme parks and yes Disney does charge guests now resort parking fees they didn't used to but they do now but they don't have an extra pay again at the park at the theme parks the way that you would if you were staying in at offsite isni hotel so how long it takes to get there it depends on where you're seeing and what park you're going to so keep in mind if you're headed to Magic Kingdom you'll need to park at the transportation and ticket center and take the monorail or ferry to the park overall you want to give yourself plenty of time to account for traffic lines at the parking booths and time to get from your car to the park entrance now I know this video is getting long but I just want to give you a few extra things to note first resort hallways can be very very long especially if you're seeing at the deluxe resort and the resort's can be really really spread out if you're staying at those values and moderates so give yourself extra time to get from your room to the lobby in those daily circumstances but note that you can always request certain rooms so if you want a room that's closer to the lobby or that's closer to a pool or that's closer to an elevator you can request that ahead of time just call Disney and have that request noted on your reservation if you don't want to be walking for literally 15 minutes I think when we say to Kidani Village we had to walk literally 15 minutes from the lobby back to our room we were the farthest farthest room over in Pumbaa and it was unbelievable you can request hey I don't want to boo my room please put me closer to the lobby also there are preferred rooms that you can request in the moderate resource and the value resorts and these rooms will get you closer to the lobby or they will get you special themed rooms like the pirate rooms at caribbean beach resort or the royal rooms at Port Orleans Riverside also note counter service dining options can close at 11 or 12 at most resorts so if you're coming back from the parks late and you're really hungry or you want to refill your refillable mug note that after eleven it's unlikely you're gonna be able to do that there are 24-hour dining locations available at Gasparilla Grill in Grand Floridian Resort Captain Cook's at the Polynesian Resort and the peekaboo at the dolphin resort if you are looking for late-night eats there's also potentially room service some actually run all night long Disney Springs is also open if you need late-night food they stay open usually to about 2:00 a.m. there's a couple of places on the boardwalk that stay open as well and another thing to note about staying at a Disney Resort Hotel special events and special activities do happen at Disney resorts including holiday events fun runs painting classes wine tastings and more so check out the list of activities when you check into your hotel and see if there's anything specific that you want to do while you're staying there overall Disney hotels are very comfortable they are convenient to the parks and you can walk to several parks from some Disney resorts and they are expensive so those are the three things I would say characterize those Disney resorts are comfortable convenient and expensive so check out the deals that are available Disney is always running discounts on hotels so go check that special offers tab down there on the Disney World website they will have all of the special offers available to you remember that annual pass holders can usually get room only discounts all year round and most other guests general public guests can also get discounts all year round so don't play rack rate for your hotel just don't do it you don't have to so check those discounts all right I hope that was helpful I know this is a long video but I know a lot of you are excited about going to Disney World maybe for the first time so we wanted to give you a little bit more insight into what it's like to stay in a Disney World Resort Hotel thanks for listening you guys and thanks for watching please subscribe to the channel we'd love to have you as part of our family here at the Effie guide this is AJ for Disney food blog and we'll see real soon

Channel: DFBGuide

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Keywords: disneyfood, disney, disney world, disneyland, disneyvideo, disneyvacation, food, disney hotels, disney resort, disney hotel tips, where to stay disney, disney room size, disney hotel hacks, disney hotel planning, disney planning, disney secrets, disney vlog, disney vlogger, disney online check in

Id: 2tdnrGNLHIY

Length: 21min 8sec (1268 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 04 2019