The BEST Hotel Rooms in Disney World & How to Get Them

don't settle why stay in just any old hotel room you get assigned when you could be staying in the best hotel room during your next Disney World vacation you're spending a ton of money on this let's do it right we're coming at you today with the greatest places to stay when you're inside the Disney bubble here on dfv guide hey everybody it's AJ for Disney food blog we are back inside the Disney World Resorts today to make ourselves at home hope you got your suitcases packed Disney World might have a whole bunch of resorts propertywide but not every hotel is going to provide you with the best room experience that's going to meet your particular wants and needs so today we're going to talk about the best rooms that'll match your top priority Resort requirements while warning you about the downfalls of other Disney rooms that seem too good to be true because they are since we're going to be talking about a lot of Disney World Resorts today I figured you'd want an easy way to keep track of them all go ahead and scan the QR code you see on the the screen now or head to disneyfoodblog docomo for your free list of every disney-owned Resort on property including price ranges full color pictures and noteworthy attributes about all of them all right we're going to start with your cheapest hotel rooms but don't worry just cuz they're cheap doesn't mean they aren't awesome so many Disney World resorts are bound to give you that dreaded sticker shock and we're not just talking about like a static like shock like when you open your dryer we're talking about full-on lightning strikes worth of sticker shot going on here in terms of price price tag but if you're looking to spend the least amount of money while still staying on Disney property I've got your two best options right here the first is Disney's All-Star Resorts which cover three different themes music movies and sports now while these Resorts can still get pretty pricey during peak season time sometimes pushing that $200 plus per night around the holidays you can often find standard rooms for one of these resorts for Less during non- peak times like during the beginning of the year or throughout August and September and if you can find a hotel discount on Disney special offers deals and discounts page on their website that nightly price tag is going to drop down even further and by the way they have those discounts all the time you just have to go find them for example let's say I wanted to book a standard room over at All-Star Sports for two adults to kids between February 25th to March 2nd 2024 very specific here there's currently a deal going on right now where I can save 25% on this specific room type and time frame so what was once $185 per night now drops down to $145 per night instead just keep in mind that many of these discount opportunities will only be applicable if you purchase your hotel stay before a certain date they have a deadline to book and they also only have a limited number of rooms where that discount can be applied meaning these cheaper room rates can book up even before the cutof off date comes around so be sure to keep an eye on updated savings opportunities and their timelines or better yet you can join our free newsletter and we'll send those updates straight to your inbox I'll go ahead and Link our newslet letter sign up down in the description for you but do the All-Star hotels actually have good rooms to choose from honestly yeah they can depending on what you're looking for for starters most of the rooms in all three Resorts have had recent refurbishments meaning lots of sleek and shiny upgrades like under the bed storage glass door showers beds that fold up into the wall when you need more space during the day USB charging ports new laminate floors and coffee stations for the rooms that didn't already have them Allstar music tends to be our favorite Resort of the three however since not only has standard rooms but also those family suites these All-Star Music Suites tend to be the most affordable Suite option you're going to find on property with separate bedroom and living room areas a kitchenet with a fridge and two bathrooms so these family suites can sleep up to six guests now the All-Star Resorts can be a bit spread out so if there's a certain type of Hotel amenity that you want to be closer to like the food court the feature pool the bus stops you're going to want to select a preferred room for a few dollars extra each night like 10 to $20 plus each night to be closer to the lobby over at All-Star Movies the rooms inside the Fantasia building might be your best bet considering they'll be right across from Cinema Hall and even closer to the Fantasia pool but the problem with being closer to everything is that you're going to be closer to everyone too so these rooms might be noisier thanks to the pool crowds if you don't mind making the track over to the bus stop and food court each day then the rooms over in the Mighty Ducks building might be quieter not silent by any means cuz there's still a smaller pool over in this area area that families might gravitate to if the main pool is getting too packed but unless you've got a room in the Mighty Ducks building you're less likely to make the extra Trek in that direction when all the main amenities are going to be further away meanwhile at All-Star Music all the family suites are kept inside the Calypso and Jazz buildings which looky there these also happen to be the closest buildings to Melody Hall what are the odds the absolute furthest buildings you can stay in that are on the clear opposite side of the All-Star Music Lobby are the country fair buildings but fortunately these are at least still close close is to the smaller piano pool if you don't feel like walking all the way over to the Calypso pool to hang out with the three caberos and finally at AllStar Sports the Surfs Up buildings will be closest to Stadium Hall and the main pool surfboard Bay followed by the touchdown buildings as a second close Choice the Home Run Hotel on the other hand is way out in the boonies there but these buildings are still surrounded by parking lots which might be good news to you if you're planning on driving yourself around during your trip since you'll have easy access to your car all vacation long homeor Hotel also has its own smaller pool the Grand Slam pool which judging by the name sure sounds like it should be the bigger pool of the bunch but alas it ain't that grand okay second option that's even cheaper than the All-Star Resorts does admittedly feel kind of like we're cheating but it's technically still a Disney property you can stay at and that's Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort campsite yep you can grab your camper and camping tents and rough it ha out in the Disney Woods you're not really roughing it for potentially less than $100 per night how much you end up paying for your little slab of land during your trip really all depends on the season you're visiting and what kind of campsite you're looking to rent since there are premium ones that'll give you a lot more space to set up your RV but can still wind up getting as pricey as a preferred Value Resort Room it also depends on if you need to rent any other camping equipment while you're there while you're of course more than welcome to use your own camping gear you can also rent camping equipment like a tent for $45 per night a cot for $6 per night firewood for 50 and a Pet Loop for your Disney doggo for $5 per night but when you stay at Fort Wilderness you're getting more than a place to crash in a sleeping bag this is a full Outdoor Experience where you can create a whole day never stepping foot inside one of the Disney parks and just staying at Fort Wilderness itself taking on all its different recreational activities you got swimming in the pools you got meeting Chip and Dale for free during those nightly campfire singalongs taking an archery class riding around on a horsedrawn carriage fishing kayaking canoeing tons of other activities that'll help you become one with nature all trip long it really does feel like you are escaping The Parks though it feels completely different than being in those theme parks and it's a nice kind of Yin and Yang I guess when you're on vacation okay how about immersive character theming staying in a Disney hotel room is one thing but staying in a room where you get to be surrounded by your favorite characters each day is a whole other type of awesome especially for the kids in your group would you be surprised if I told you one of my favorite character rooms wasn't actually at a deluxe Resort but at a moderately priced Resort cuz it's true Disney's Port Orleans Riverside has the coolest Royal guest rooms that you can stay in that are decked out with portraits of Disney princesses hanging on the walls Aladdin's Magic Carpet sprawled out on the floor Belle's little foot stool PP next to the TV his name is saltan by the way sinks with magic lamps and to really hit it out of the ballpark headboards that actually light up with fireworks the best part these rooms are still set at a moderate price point which is about $335 to $400 per night depending on the room View and the time of year you book your trip I know it doesn't sound moderate but listen we got to shift our perspective to Disney prices here and the moderate Resorts just keep on shocking us with the cool stuff because just recently Disney's Caribbean Beach released their brand new Little Mermaid rooms featuring new Under the Sea artwork and brighter Decor pastel color schemes and a fifth sleeper bed you can take a full room tour of this one via our dfb website I'll link that post down in the description now some of the best character themed rooms can be found over at the Value Resort Disney's Art of Animation Resort while standard rooms here are also Little Mermaid themed the family suites are the real stars of the show with character rooms designed around popular Disney films like cars and The Lion King and Finding Nemo and while these family suites can get pretty pricey for a Value Resort typically ranging between $500 and $800 per night sans's discount now you get a discount is going to be cheaper these rooms can fit up to six guests at a time and have a separate master bedroom two bathrooms a kitchenet area and plenty of room for your family to spread out but of course there are several Deluxe Resorts that also kick the character theming to the nth degree to make your stay all the more Disney Centric some of the most popular Deluxe Resort rooms themed around Disney characters include the new Donald Duck rooms at beach club The Incredibles rooms at Disney's contemporary resort the Moana rooms at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and those Mary Poppins returns rooms at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa now let's talk about convenience no matter how much you love the aesthetic of your hotel room you can get real sick of it by the time your trip comes to an end if it winds up being way out in the boonies far away from the parks transportation and many of the resorts amenities even the resorts you can choose for transportation convenience can end up ironically enough being anything but so let's talk about the hotels that are most known for their top tier transportation service first and then dissect that even further so you can really get the most out of the travel conveniences the two fastest complimentary Transportation methods on Disney property are the monreal and the Skyliner if you're staying along the Montreal line which will give you quick access to both Magic Kingdom and Epcot then you're for sure going to be staying at a deluxe Resort because the three Resorts that the Montreal loops around and even through are the Polynesian Village Resort the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa and the Contemporary these resorts are also close enough to the Magic Kingdom that you can walk from your room up to the front gate now depending on where your room is located at the resort you're staying in while walking to Magic Kingdom can take you around 15 to 30 minutes meanwhile if you're staying along the Skyliner route which will quickly take you over to Epcot and Hollywood Studios you got a few different Resort styles to choose from you've got the value Resorts that's Art of Animation and Pop Century that are on the Skyliner line you've got your moderate resort Caribbean Beach and you've got your Deluxe Resort Disney's Riviera Resort and while Disney's Boardwalk in and Yacht and Beach Club and Swan and Dolphin aren't technically on the Skyliner route they are within walking distance of Epcot International Gateway the back side of the park meaning you can easily walk on over to Epcot Skyliner station from those Resorts too if you'd like to I always do these resorts are also within walking distance of Hollywood studios though it'll take you a bit more time to reach that Park than it will Epcot since this Triad of resorts is literally in epcot's backyard and while the Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels aren't owned by Disney they do partner with Disney and keep guests close to the parks for a potentially cheaper price point which we're going to talk about more later on Swan and do are also only a short walk away from both Hollywood Studios Epcot and the Skyliner okay now that I've covered the basics let's get into those specifics just because you're booking a room at a resort that has a Montreal or Skyliner access does not mean every single room at said Resort is going to provide you with this easy peasy Transportation access right outside your door take the Contemporary for example while the main tower is going to put you in the exact place where the monreal station is located a room in the garden Wing is going to be a little bit more of a walk for your group group or on a more drastic measure Caribbean's Beach expansive resort property could put you in a building that's so far away from the Skyliner station you'd just be better off taking one of the buses to the parks instead of wasting all that time walking this is why room requests are so very important to make when you book your Disney World hotel and even after you arrive you can make specific room requests such as asking for a room with a certain view or location like being placed closer to the Skyliner station or Lobby for example you can log into your My Disney Experience account to make those requests ahead of time but if there's a request you want to make that's a little more specific than what you're seeing on that online room request form it's always best to call up the resort directly and make your request known with an actual real live person instead while room requests aren't always fulfilled especially if you're planning a trip around one of Disney's notoriously busy seasons and you just got to take what you can get sometimes cast members will absolutely do their best to make sure your specific request is met which is why it's always best to let your wants and needs be known instead of never mentioning them whatsoever but I will say this be as broad with your request as you can so for example it's best not to give specific room numbers that you want to be in like I want to be in room 1501 in beach club because it's the closest room to the to Epcot tell them you want to be close to Epcot instead say I want to be on the side of the hotel that says close to Epcot as possible or if you're staying at Port Orleans Riverside and you'd like to be in the Mansions instead of alligator by you instead of giving them specific room numbers or specific buildings you want to be in you can say I'd just rather be in the Mansions instead of alligator byou that's kind of the broadest way you can get your request met and then they have the most rooms possible that can fulfill your request now you can request specific buildings you can request specific room numbers but those are less likely to happen than those broader requests so think about what you actually want and be as broad as you can with that request okay I've been on this convenience point for a while now but I want to mention two more quick things that have nothing to do with the Montreal or Skyliner but still everything to do with hotel room convenience before I move on first I want to mention Resort elevators requesting to be by an elevator can be great for efficiency but not so great for noise the dinging can be loud and the crowds consistently rushing in and out of them can be even louder so before you think yeah having an elevator right outside my room sure does sound great keep the noise level in mind especially if you or the people in your group tend to be light sleep ERS and second let's talk emergency exits take a look at the maps of the resorts that are within walking distance to Epcot and Magic Kingdom and notice where the emergency exits are I'm talking about the stairwells try to find those some rooms might place you far away from the lobby but very close to one of those stairwells meaning instead of having to walk through your Resorts Lobby to make it out the doors to head on over to the park you can skip having to walk through the lobby all together and just take the stairs which will spitch out at the front Gates without all the extra steps like I said before my favorite stairwell exit to take is inside Disney's Beach Club if you're close to that one you can avoid having to walk all the way to the lobby and then backtracking all the way to Epcot you can save yourself like a solid 15 to 20 minutes which may not sound like much but hey that's going to get you in line for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure before everybody else now while I hope you don't have to deal with any hurricanes or tropical storms during your big Disney World trip it is important to keep in mind that between the months of June and November Florida experienced is a lengthy hurricane season with Peak hurricane activity usually happening around the end of August mid September again this doesn't mean you're for sure going to run into hurricane commotion while you're there but it's always nice to know that the hotel room you're staying in is going to have all the amenities you need super close by if you end up bunkering in for the next couple of days while waiting for a storm to pass in general Disney World's hotels are all considered safe when it comes to hurricanes though places like Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground or The Treehouse Villas over at Disney Saratoga Springs may be Evac uated in case of emergency other than that though Disney has built their resorts to withstand major hurricane conditions as well as provide backup generator power if needed but some rooms can provide an even better experience to wait out those stormy conditions let's dig into that if your room has a kitchen area with a full-size fridge stove and cooking utensils and you can use any groceries you've purchased ahead of your trip to make meals without leaving your room all of Disney World's Deluxe Villas one bedroom plus will have a kitchen for you now Family Suite like you'll find at Disney's Art of Animation and All-Star Music are going to have kitchenet areas those will have a microwave a coffee maker a fridge or a mini fridge and a sink stuff like that Disney Resorts with rooms that have direct indoor connection to their lobbies and gift shops and restaurants will also keep you close to those necessary amenities without you having to Brave the elements to reach them now there are some hotels that don't have that even Deluxe Resorts that have outside buildings which means you can't get to the lobby and the restaurants and the gift shops without going outside so the ones that we like to recommend for hurricane season are places like Wilderness Lodge Riviera Resort Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House the main tower of the Contemporary Disney's Grand dintino Tower at Coronado Springs not the regular Coronado Springs rooms since those are still going to make you walk quite a distance to get to the main resort areas now this isn't a full list of hotels that have rooms directly connected to their lobbies but you can always check on the map of the resort you're interested in to find out which buildings rooms will have covered walkway Privileges and it's not just what's on the inside that counts it's on the outside too okay I promise I'm not trying to be shallow here I'm just showing you that for some Disney hotel rooms the best feature of the room is what you can see outside your window any hotel room that's labeled as one with a theme park view means that you should be able to see Magic Kingdom from your room's window and that means you'll be able to see the happily ever after fireworks and have your very own private viewing area of the performance each and every night now Resorts where you can find the these theme park views include all the resorts along the monreal plus Disney's Wilderness Lodge but hot take alert the best hotel views aren't always the theme park ones if you set your expectations too high you might find yourself Mighty disappointed if your Theme Park View ends up overlooking say a construction zone which Polynesian Village is swarmed with at the moment or you might have a slightly obstructed Theme Park View which could happen at Wilderness Lodge or Grand Floridian if your room is placed smack dab behind a tree not too long ago I actually paid for a fireworks view room at Wilderness Lodge and sure I had a view of the castle and fireworks but if I tilted my head down just 20° my view was front and center to one of the garbage dumpsters from the restaurant downstairs so that was quite a contrast but heads up you might be able to see the fireworks you might be able to see the theme park but you never know what you're going to see in addition to those things so that's not going to matter to everyone and like I said I was still able to see the fireworks and they were lovely however I think it's safe to say that the best resort views are entirely subjective and while some folks are going to jump at the idea of paying potentially $200 extra per night on top of what they're already paying for their room just to see those nightly fireworks others may be more than happy to take the slight price cut and enjoy a calm relaxing sparkling water side view instead some of the best waterfront views from the Disney Resorts can be found at grandino Tower the Riviera Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort basically if you're in a room that's in some sort of tower where you can have a sweeping view across the entire Resort you're in for a treat that being said if you're still dreaming about seeing those nightly fireworks but those steep hotel prices are enough to make you shudder check on which Good Neighbor hotels could potentially offer you a similar view Good Neighbor hotels like the holiday in Orlando and the Disney Springs area and the signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek both have a limited number of rooms with fireworks viewing for a much much much cheaper price point than what you're going to find at the Magic Kingdom area hotels as in hundreds of dollars less per night sure the fireworks won't be as close as the theme park views you'll find along the Montreal but you're still going to be able to to see them while all nice and snug in your room and save money in the process too or you can check out a completely different type of view over at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge when you book a savannah view room at akl you can wake up each and every day to a savannah filled with giraffe and zebras maybe some kudu and several more species of African Wildlife now I'm not talking about animatronic animals like you're going to find a jungle cruise we're talking living breathing animals Wildlife greeting you before you've even got the chance to brew a cup of coffee in the morning much like the theme park view rooms the Savannah views are going to cost you quite a bit extra per night however you can potentially cut down that price by booking a standard room and requesting and crossing your fingers Big Time a partial Savannah view instead meaning you'd still be able to see the animals but your view would be obstructed or you'd be at the end of a row where the animals don't go that often now if you do decide to try this route you will not be guaranteed a partial Savannah View and sometimes if your request is fulfilled The View might wind up being more obstructed than not but but it's worth asking about just in case what I like to do here is book a standard view room expect a standard view room and you might get lucky now there's a glaring problem with the resorts like Grand Floridian or Pop Century or contemporary or pretty much any Resort that's super close to the Disney parks and that's the wave of people these Resorts see every single day while you may not always want to book one of the resorts that's further away from the hustle and bustle of the parks there is something to be said about the Serene nature of those further off hotels just take a look at the Disney Springs area resorts Porter Riverside and French Quarter Saratoga Springs Old Key West they tend to keep to themselves pretty well folks can travel over to these Resorts with ease thanks to the Disney Springs water taxi service but they still keep their distance from the main Park traffic meaning they don't see a huge influx of folks each day this also means they can be a great place to escape if the crowds get to be a little too intense during your visit same can be said about the resorts like Coronado Springs and animal Kingdom Lodge since the only way you can get to these Resorts while strictly using Disney's complimentary transportation service is by bus they too don't have a ton of outside guests making a separate trackout to see them making them a lot more peaceful to come home to after a long day in the Parks however just so you're aware relying on just the buses to get you to the Disney parks can be difficult at these expansive Resorts especially since you'll be caught in the internal bus Loops which means your bus will be making multiple stops around multiple Resort buildings to pick up and drop off guests each and every time you hop aboard and that means your total transportation time getting to and from the parks could double now here we're talking about porer orleans's Riverside and Coronado Springs those big spread out moderate Resorts Saratoga Springs can sometimes get caught in this Old Key West when you've got a giant resort with covering a lot of ground you might run into an internal Bus Loop issue now while that's not necessarily a deal breaker you'll want to keep this extra travel time in mind so you can can Factor it into your day you may also want to consider investing in a ride share if you're trying to make it to an advanced dining reservation on time or get to rope drop before everybody else gets in there before you and the bus lines at your Resort are looking a little too long for your liking okay now how about really big groups you're usually going to catch me talking about avoiding the biggest Disney World hotel rooms just because they're so expensive but not today today I'm standing my ground and staying put but I have a good reason for it several good reasons actually many of Disney's Delux Resorts have one to three bedrooms you can find these options over at Copper Creek Villas and cabins at Wilderness Lodge Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs in addition to their regular 1 to three bedroom Villa options Animal Kingdom Villas at Jambo House and kadani Village Bay Lake Tower Villas at contemporary resort Disney's Boardwalk Villas Disney's Beach Club Villas Riviera Resort Villas and Old Key West Villas and the Bungalows at Disney's Polynesian Village as well as other one to two bedroom suite options and the Villas at the Grand fidan Resort and Spa now I'm not going to lie to you and say these Villas are a steal of a deal because they're not they're really expensive as in $2 to $5,000 per night expensive but if you really are planning on traveling with a bigger group and multiple people in your group are willing to help pitch in on that nightly price then having a spacious room for your group while staying close to the parks having complimentary transportation and getting access to Extended evening hours benefits could make that price tag a little easier to swallow not a lot easier just a little there's also the possibility you could pay hundreds of dollars less for one of these rooms by booking through a reliable service rather than booking directly through Disney you can always purchase DVC rental points through a reliable third-party site we always recommend David's DVC rentals they've been in business for a really really long time the owner is absolutely amazing I love her so I think this is a good option for you if you want DVC benefits without a membership these rental sites act as a middleman kind of like an escrow between DVC members who want to rent out points that that they don't think they'll be able to use before they expire and the non- DVC members who want to stay in DVC resorts at a better rate than they'll get if they book through Disney so there are pros and cons when going about these DVC rentals but you can learn more about them on our YouTube video that talks in depth about how you can potentially save hundreds on your next Resorts day word of warning though keep in mind that some of those bigger rooms that claim to sleep up to 12 guests may use a sleeper chair or some weird sort of cot to accommodate the 12th person or the 11th and 12 person they assume those are kids so that may not be a huge deal for some but it's not super fair if someone's paying an equal amount for the room but has to sleep in a way smaller space or in even a public space you know public to the Villa anyway than someone else who's going to get a full bed for the same price now need a cheaper alternative to hosting a whole lot of guests without leaving the Disney bubble consider getting connected rooms pretty much all the Disney World Resort Hotels have a limited number of connecting rooms meaning you can book two standard rooms right next to to each other with a connecting door that'll let you walk freely between both you can request one of these connecting rooms but once again they're not always guaranteed however according to the Disney website priority consideration is given to larger families traveling with young children who may need a connecting room so that they can all stay together now here's a big game changer that could make booking a good neighbor Hotel all the more appealing for you depending on the hotel you might be able to guarantee a connecting room instead of just crossing your fingers and hoping for the best take Signa by Hilton or Lando Bonnet Creek for instance when you're browsing their website there's a specific filter that you can toggle toward the top of the page that'll show you all the connecting rooms available for you to book during your vacations time frame just make sure you input that you're specifically looking for two rooms and that you book said rooms at least 3 days before your visit if not way way sooner of course I got to give one more shout out to those All-Star Music family suites here because like we mentioned earlier they tend to have the cheapest sweets option available typically ranging in price around 350 to 450 per per night it's a great deal and don't forget about the Swan and Dolphin hotels these have a handful of sweet options that'll provide you with a deluxe stay at a much more moderate price point not to mention if you're a member of the Marriott bonvoy membership program you'll not only get Disney's deluxe hotel accommodations but you'll also receive the perks that come along with the Marriott bonvoy membership too and that means you'll be able to earn rewards for your stay plus you can spend rewards to book stays at this hotel which could save you even more cashh okay so where you decide to stay while you're in Disney World can really change the whole trajectory of your trip but if you're looking for more Resort advice before clicking that purchase button be sure to check out our other Disney World Resort videos on the dfb channel we've reviewed pretty much all of them and don't forget to head over to Disney food blog.com hotels for your free guide to every disney-owned Resort on property thanks for listening everyone and thanks for watching as always this is AJ for Disney food blog and we'll see you real soon

Channel: DFBGuide

Views: 90,367

Keywords: disneyfood, disney, disney world, disneyland, disneyvideo, disneyvacation, food, disney parks, disney travel, disney tips, disney guides, disney planning, disney trip, disney how to, disney vlog, disney vlogger

Id: UsCR41_op4Q

Length: 28min 0sec (1680 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 14 2023