The WORST Hotel Rooms in Disney World

the hotel room you pay thousands of dollars for could end up being the worst part of your disney world experience so which places should you actively avoid let's figure that out today here on dfb guide [Music] hey everybody it's aj for disney food blog finding your home away from home on disney world property is one of if not the most important decisions you're gonna make as you plan your dream vacation and there are so many hotel rooms out there to accommodate lots of different types of people meaning no hotel stay is a one size fits all situation so today we're going to be looking at major downfalls of different disney world hotel stays as well as alternatives that will make your life a million times easier fair warning there's a whole section of plot twists in here that might seem hypocritical but i promise there's a good reason for them so where to begin how about a disney hotel perk gone wrong we're gonna start with hotels that have some serious transportation issues so the more and more i see previous complimentary disney world offerings stripped away the more i appreciate what we still have like the all-inclusive transportation services that take us to and from the parks but that doesn't mean we can't have our complaints about the trickiest parts of this free benefit especially when it comes to certain hotels now the first set of rooms you're going to want to avoid are the above ground level rooms at disney's caribbean beach resort i'll explain why i'm picking on a specific set of rooms at cbr in just a second but first let's talk about the general transportation issues going on here you're gonna have to manage now granted caribbean beach is the only moderate resort with access to the disney skyliner which can make traveling to epcot and hollywood studios much easier than other moderate resort transportation options like coronado springs for instance however caribbean beach is so spread out so if you're not staying in one of the preferred hotel rooms which will put you just a few steps away from the main skyliner hub then you might end up walking a very long way to actually reach those gondolas in fact some of the caribbean beach buildings are closer to the riviera resort skyliner station than the actual designated caribbean beach one if that tells you anything this giant hotel also means there's some caribbean beach buildings like the trinidad section for instance are way too far away from the resort's main hub old port royale which holds the lobby the gift shop several dining areas not to mention getting to the really cool looking feature pool fuentes del morro it's gonna be forever and a day from you as well since caribbean beach is so big the resort has an internal bus loop meaning the buses will make multiple stops all the way around the hotel property to pick up guests and it's nice that you don't have to walk all the way over to one central bus stop and you can have a bus stop closer to where you're staying but there are eight total stations that each bus is going to have to stop at around the entire resort meaning your wait times just to get out of the bus loop could push well into the half hour range and i'll be honest there have been times that i've had buses come and they've been full up just because they've gone to other stops around the resorts i've had to wait for another bus okay now it's time to pick on those specific rooms here for a second disney's caribbean beach lacks elevators that's right no elevators so you're gonna have to walk up and down the stairs every single day if you're on any floor other than the ground level and that might not be an issue for you but if you're navigating disney with a stroller or ecv or any sort of mobility issues or i don't know luggage everything's going to be like 10 times more difficult any time you're leaving or returning to your room or definitely checking in and checking out so if you do end up staying at this hotel and you know the lack of elevators is going to be a serious issue make sure to put in a request for the bottom level for the ground level they won't guarantee it but fingers crossed right now i guess i can't call out caribbean beach caribbean beach without calling out disney's coronado springs 2. if you're not staying in the grandistino tower portion of coronado springs then you'll be staying in the casitas the ranchos or the cabanas which have very similar issues to what caribbean beach has to deal with they are spread out very spread out and they also include that internal bus loop say it ain't so if you're placed in the rancho section of the hotel you're going to be farthest away from everything from grandistino tower from el centro resort hub from the dig site pool from the assortment of restaurants from the gift shop everything even if the stamina of your group starts off strong and even if you think all that extra walking will be okay you're still dealing with a whole chunk of your vacation time just walking from location to location so your feet might be able to take it but the timeline of your itinerary could say otherwise now of course as expected we're gonna pick a little bit in this video on the all-star resorts there are lots of reasons why you might be leaning toward a stay at one of these they're colorful they're affordable they get the job done but there's only one free transportation offering that the all-stars can provide and that's a disney bus disney buses at the all-star resorts don't have to worry about an internal loop like disney caribbean beach does so that doesn't mean your bus won't hit up one of the other all-star stations to pick up more passengers along the way but unless you brought along your own vehicle or you plan on paying extra for a ride share service you're kind of at the mercy of the all-star disney buses and that can be a pain at the very beginning and very end of your park days because those resorts hold a ton of guests who more than likely are staying in one of these value resorts to save more money toward their overall park experiences you're gonna see drastically long lines for the bus stops when the parks are about to open and when the parks are closing up for the day even with extra buses on duty to pick up more guests at once during those peak transportation times waiting to get on a bus can be brutal and how can a hotel that's so beautiful be so inconvenient disney's animal kingdom lodge in general doesn't have the greatest transportation options since it's one of the only deluxe resorts with bus transportation and bus transportation only however you can kind of let that slide if a big appeal of this resort for you is all the fun extras like the top tier restaurants the gorgeous rooms full-on savannah with lots of african animals that you can say hello to out your window each morning but that savannah takes up a whole lot of space because of course it does the animals are gonna need way more room at this resort than you will and the way the buildings of the hotel are spread out makes it so everyone can see the savannah at all times throughout the day in the kidani village section the shape of the buildings comes together to make this stretched out w shape wrapping around the zebra area on the left and the giraffe area on the right which is lovely but many of the rooms are tacked on at the end of a very long hallway arm for these buildings in the pumbaa section of kidani village which is where i have steed you might get to see some nice views of giraffe but you're gonna have quite the track to get anywhere because you're literally gonna have to walk the wrap around length of a full-on savannah before you finally reach the hotel lobby when i stayed there i figured out i could order a minivan to pick me up in the pumbaa section of the parking garage instead of in the hotel lobby because it was so far away no don't get me wrong i know it sounds like i'm anti-walking i am not i love walking i go walking every single day however when you're on a disney vacation being able to pace yourself and save your steps where and when you can is going to be key to helping you prevent hitting that wall early on in your trip so when i call out these resorts for their extremely long walks to get anywhere then you know it's bad so where should you stay instead to be fair disney buses can be a pain no matter which hotel you stay at whether you're paying 600 or a thousand dollars a night or 200 a night sometimes it'll take forever and a day for a bus to show up or you might end up getting stuck behind a large school group that causes you to have to wait for the next bus or you might have to stand throughout the entire ride back to your hotel after a long day in the park if all the seats have already been taken to be fair that is a rite of passage everybody has to do it but there are some hotels that'll do their very best to make things easier for you if you're still wanting to stay at a value resort pop century has a bus system and skyliner access so you don't always have to rely on a bus to take you place to place as far as moderate resorts go port orleans french quarter might only have one bus station to get to the parks but the resort itself is lots more compact and less crowded than disney's caribbean beach plus port orleans also has the bonus option of taking a boat ride over to the disney springs area and the boat ride might not be super speedy but it is relaxing and gives you nice views across the lake greenery those saratoga springs tree houses and the shopping district but if easy transportation to like magic kingdom is your number one priority then you're gonna have to invest in one of those deluxe monorail resorts monorail resorts including disney's polynesian village resort contemporary resort grand floridian those are going to cost you a couple hundred more dollars to stay at per night but the monorail options will make it easier for you to get to both magic kingdom and epcot though if you're traveling to epcot you will have to transfer monorails at the transportation and ticket center those hotels are also within walking distance of magic kingdom if you don't mind the extra walking and i know i picked on coronado springs just a little bit earlier in this video but the resort really is one of my favorite places to stay just at grandistino tower grandestino tower feels like you're being teleported to a fancier bougier hotel with easier access to everything you got classy indoor bars a rooftop tapas restaurant it feels like a signature restaurant minus those outrageous prices you got a full fitness center a bus stop right at the tower valet services if you so desire i mean come on this is basically a deluxe hotel in the middle of a moderate hotel in everything but name and price tag so if you're going to stay at coronado you don't want to do it right so when you arrive at your disney hotel and open the door of your room for the first time how do you expect to feel in awe or completely let down maybe that's a silly question but if you're staying at one of the next resorts on this list you might get that sinking feeling of buyer's regret as soon as you see your hotel room set up so here we're going to be talking about theming for judging our hotel state solely on what our rooms our overall resort looks like does that make us shallow nah after all these are disney hotels we're talking about here if there's one thing we expect disney to get right it's that overall enjoyment value and design work for what they create so if you step into your hotel room and your first response is what then that disappointment you're feeling is totally valid after all you're spending hundreds each night to be here so you might as well love the design and decor of your hotel you want to choose correctly for your likes and dislikes now even though the hotels i'm about to call out still managed to get a whole lot of love on the daily there are many other guests who stand on the opposite side of the equation and consider these resorts to be let downs now we're going to start with saratoga springs now before you point it out i know that many of the studios at saratoga springs were recently renovated and they're renovating lots more rooms too those room remodels are going to extend into 2023 and the details about how extensive the remodels are gonna be if all the rooms are gonna be impacted is still up in the air and i also know that disney saratoga springs has those super cool treehouse villas that if you're lucky enough to actually get a reservation for those provide a unique and spacious experience but with all that being said saratoga springs in general can be a pretty forgettable experience if you're competing against other dvc resorts like the outdoorsy copper creek cabins at disney's wilderness lodge or the savannah views from the villas at disney's animal kingdom lodge or even the brand new grand floridian resort and spa dvc rooms over at the big pine key building the stay at saratoga springs just feels kind of blah in comparison and hey that may be okay with you at least blah isn't tacky and the rooms still give you plenty of space to spread out but this hotel really doesn't have much to make it stand out like so many of the other disney resorts do the restaurants are fine the transportation methods are standard the horses are kind of cool but this space basically just looks like an orlando apartment building for all intents and purposes that said one of the main pros of this hotel is that it's within walking distance to disney springs it was even better back in the day when pleasure island was still around and there were evening fireworks shows remember those new year's eve fireworks shows every single night that was so cool alas that was forever and a day ago so no nightly fireworks anymore and saratoga springs also suffers from the same type of problems as caribbean beach it's huge so depending on where you're staying you could be walking quite a while to get anywhere you actually want to be and the walks aren't even all that pretty if you're trying to get over to a pool you're just literally walking through a parking lot that's hot and dangerous honestly you could get the same size suite at any nearby good neighbor resort or maybe old key west which is kind of similar in that it's kind of forgettable in decor but the rooms are massive so you could consider paying less at a good neighbor resort and that might solve the problem on this one because you're basically paying a lot less money all right now this next one we're going to bring up in terms of theming is going to be very very divisive so i want you to prepare yourself for that i want you to prepare to either be very very angry or be like oh no i get it okay we're gonna talk about the incredibles rooms at disney's contemporary resort all right let's be very honest here we're all family let's talk about this last year all nine floors of the guest rooms at disney's contemporary resort tower were re-themed to pixar's incredibles and hot take alert some people think this maybe was a mistake now i like the incredibles it's an adorable movie franchise the cute little family of superheroes and i wouldn't have minded if a few of the rooms were updated with this ip makeover but all of them really the contemporary already struggles enough as it is with a sort of ongoing identity crisis you've got bold mary blair designs but you've got modern and simplistic designs somewhere else you've got a classy restaurant on the top floor but you also got a restaurant where mickey and friends are busy twirling napkins and making conga lines just a few floors below not saying variety isn't great but there's no connecting theme at the contemporary it's just a hodgepodge of different experiences grouped into one deluxe resort and i will be honest it was my favorite deluxe resort i loved this place it felt like 1971 in the best possible way and the incredibles room design is not doing the resort any favors this is one of the most expensive hotels in disney world and staying there i want to feel like i'm in the middle of luxury and instead i open the closet and there's incredibles clothes hanging there i don't know it just doesn't work for me now did the tower rooms need a remodel probably will kids who are huge fans of the incredibles movies absolutely go bonkers when they see the theming in these rooms yes but in general disney i think missed the opportunity to hone in on a certain style and make this resort stay less clashing and more cohesive and i can't wait to hear what you have to say in the comments i really am interested because i know a lot of you disagree with me um so definitely let us know in the comments if this is a room that you want to drop 500 bucks to stay in because of the theming or if the new theming has changed your mind about this hotel all right so where to stay instead if you don't like the new theming or if you don't like the theme of say saratoga springs or old key west let me tell you about what hotels added disney ip seamlessly and excellently see disney's polynesian village resort also had room remodels the new polynesian rooms feature moana and friends and that makes sense disney's polynesian village is all about the tropical vibes you see that theming laced throughout the restaurants the gift shops the pools even little arts and crafts setups they have on select afternoons in the lobby so the incorporation of moana's floral accents and influence of maui's maori tattoo designs and the details of these rooms complements the already established personality of the hotel without making guests go disney what on earth have you done so if you don't want to feel resort whiplash during your upcoming stay you might want to go with all those island vibes at polynesian it's a great look at how you can incorporate disney characters that'll make the kids happy while keeping the resort classy and true to its original theming the same goes for those nice shiny new dvc rooms over at big pine key and disney's grand floridian resort and spa these rooms were recently remodeled to take on a subtle mary poppins theme and i said subtle though a popular disney movie has been incorporated into the design it doesn't take away from the classiness of these rooms there's jewel tones and floral accents and those little details like the glass bird chandelier where just one of the little birds is a penguin and the umbrella designs on the lampshades to remind you who the room is based after without being all in your face about it but man we've been talking about a lot of pricey places here what if you're looking for a place with great theming for hundreds of dollars less for a more affordable-ish option you can book a stay at disney's art of animation resort now this is a value resort that explores disney animation so you can stay in a room inspired by characters from the lion king or the little mermaid or cars or even finding nemo and again even though the theming is rather loud and in your face it's supposed to be that way much like disney's grand floridian is supposed to keep things victorian chic and how disney's animal kingdom lodge is supposed to celebrate the wildlife roaming around its expanse of savannah art of animation is supposed to make you feel like you've just stepped into one of your favorite disney animated films while saratoga springs lacks a really strong personality and where contemporary can't just pick one centralized theme disney's art of animation knows exactly who its target audience is and embraces its decor both inside and out just keep in mind that some of the family suites at art of animation can get rather pricey during those peak seasons but you can also check on those fluctuating prices ahead of time on the disney world website okay so i'm going to admit something this next hotel topic is what i always always always study up on before anything else let's talk about these hotels being too small i'm not expecting a hotel stay to be as spacious as my house or anything not even a disney resorts day but when i'm going to the parks with my husband and son in tow yeah i definitely like to feel like we're all breathing kind of separate air but these disney world resort rooms do not do me any favors we're going to talk first about the tower studio rooms at disney's riviera resort for the longest time i compared the tower studio rooms to what i might experience in one of the disney cruise line state rooms because much like a ship's stateroom there are a lot of different nooks and crannies around the riviera studios where you can store your stuff but there's not necessarily any room for you the tower studios at riviera are the smallest dvc rooms in disney world for starters they fit only up to two guests so you're definitely going to be looking at this style room for a more intimate getaway with your partner or solo trip because treat yourself but even if you are planning on only traveling with one other person the studio doesn't have a split bathroom it's all combined so if you need to brush your teeth you're gonna have to wait till your partner finishes up doing the business but the most bizarre thing about this studio is that when you first walk into it there isn't actually a bed and that's because the bed is folded into the wall so that you have a couch to sit on and in order to retrieve the bed from the wall you're gonna have to pull it down over the couch which means you and your partner both have to agree on whether you want to sit on a couch or lay in a bed because you can only choose one at a time and this type of room is going to run you around 450 per night you know what else you can get around that same price an entire cabin with a kitchen living room porch bedroom and bathroom over at disney's fort wilderness resort just saying that being said disney's riviera resort isn't solely made up of studio rooms you can still get deluxe studios or one to three bedroom villas instead but these rooms are still going to be the most expensive places to stay along the disney skyliner route okay next we're going to talk about the little mermaid rooms at disney's art of animation you may think i'm about to pick on the standard rooms at aoa instead of the standard rooms at one of the disney all-star resorts just because i already picked on the all-stars earlier in this video but that's not entirely true i'm well aware that the standard rooms at the all-star resorts are slightly smaller than the little mermaid rooms at art of animation there's a big reason ariel and flounder's rooms feel smaller in comparison over the past few years disney's all-star music and movies have had their standard rooms renovated now when you stay in a room with two queen sized beds one of those beds will be able to fold up into the wall as a murphy bed transforming the area into a little dining table where you can have a meal in your room or play a card game during the day and though disney's all-star sports hasn't remodeled their standard rooms yet disney says it's in the cards so down the road all-star sports should have a similar layout to its sibling resorts even disney's pop century has had their standard rooms remodeled the same way meaning that second bed can also fold up out of sight out of mind but as far as we know per the release of this video the little mermaid rooms aren't going to undergo the same remodel yet meaning both beds are going to take up a whole lot of space at all times throughout the day which can be a pretty tight squeeze and not to kick the little mermaid while she's down but those rooms are fine they're old kids are still gonna love them especially those who love the little mermaid but they're still the cheapest option available at art of animation and they're also oftentimes the priciest standard rooms across the value hotels and they don't really offer a whole lot else other than the aerial on your shower curtain and shell-shaped headboards i can't even be like well it costs more because it's on the skyliner route because pop century also has skyliner access and cheaper standard rooms with beds that fold up into the walls and have been remodeled so unless you have a kiddo who's had over heels for ariel you might find better deals with potentially more space in those recently renovated rooms at the other value resorts so where to stay instead wanna make sure you're not gonna be up in everybody's business when you're staying on disney world property well we've got a couple of suggestions for you if you're planning an extended stay with a lot of folks head over to old key west that has one to three bedroom villas that offer a ton of space more than any other dvc resort for less than you'll find at any other dvc resorts and you don't even have to be a dvc member to book a room here let's say we decided to stay in a one-bedroom villa at old key west not only would we still have extra room because a one bedroom can sleep up to five people but we also get a master bedroom a queen sleeper sofa a full kitchen full bathroom washer and dryer and a private balcony or porch all for around 600 to 700 per night to put that in perspective for you a finding nemo family suite at art of animation runs between 450 to 770 which is wild considering the old key west one bedroom villa is 942 square feet while the finding nemo rooms are 520 square feet big difference they're big huge but let's go even less expensive than that though it's easy to group the all-star value resorts together disney's all-star music tends to stand out with its family suite offerings providing the most affordable suites on property family suites at all-star music can sleep up to six guests and have a master bedroom family room kitchenette and the real game changer two full bathrooms now these rooms typically range in price between 290 and 510 per night and that's just a huge huge deal y'all the cabins over at fort wilderness and these family suites at all-star music game changers oh yeah now i promise you controversial stuff so here comes the major plot twists one of these rooms was featured on the best hotel rooms video we posted not too long ago and the other disney passes it off as a room you need to pay a whole lot extra for but the payoff is not so great so let's see if you know which is which all right we're gonna start with the bora bora bungalows at disney's polynesian village resort so disney's polynesian village resort has one of the coolest room types on property these bungalows sit over the seven seas lagoon and have picture-perfect views of cinderella castle they're tropical they're spacious they're truly a bucket list stay and yet they can also be one of the worst investments because these bungalows do sit across the water from magic kingdom and you're going to be bombarded with those magic kingdom fairy boat horns traveling back and forth and back again to pick up and drop off guests you can hear him from contemporary you can hear him from grand floridian but when you're out there on sevensea's lagoon that is loud some might find the sound of the boats soothing but if you've got a tiny tike in your room who's gonna need an afternoon nap to keep the crankies away the horn of the fairies can potentially rouse lighter sleepers and you're gonna keep hearing these fairies late into the night since they've got to get loads of guests back to the transportation and ticket center after the park closes plus they start running real early in the morning so the closer you are to the ferry's pathway the louder they'll be now those views off that private deck are gorgeous but that bonus plunge pool it really doesn't do a whole lot it's not big enough to swim in it's not cool enough to feel refreshing and it's not hot enough to be a hot tub so it's just kind of like sitting in a bathtub outdoors where everyone can see you but you know it's a lukewarm bathtub but it has a nice view the real kicker however is the price here depending on the time of year you're looking at an average price of 2 645 to four thousand seven hundred ninety dollars per night for a stay like this so you've really gotta weigh your options is that hefty price tag in that lukewarm bathtub worth those views or would you be better off staying somewhere with just as much room and much quieter for a lot less okay the next one in this plot twist section is disney's wilderness lodge nature fireworks view rooms i always get excited when i see disney resorts that offer theme park views because theme park views equal nightly private fireworks showing from your hotel balcony in your bathrobe but then there are the nature fireworks rooms from disney's wilderness lodge and those can be a major rip-off let me explain paying for a room with a view of the fireworks is always gonna be an upcharge at least an extra hundred to two hundred dollars per night the same goes for the wilderness lodge's fireworks fuse but the reason they call them nature fireworks views is because the fireworks are literally being blocked by trees surrounding the hotel so you're paying extra for a theme park view or a fireworks view for basically the tops of some of the fireworks now it definitely depends how high up at wilderness lodge you are obviously the higher you go the more you're gonna see so if you do book one of these rooms make sure you request the highest floor possible but if that's not for you and you still want to stay at wilderness lodge then save the extra money and go for a regular room you can always walk down to the wilderness lodge's beach side or boat dock and watch the fireworks from there but you're still gonna have the same issues lots of forest obstruction that being said you will get a full-on view of the electrical water pageant which performs nightly all around the seven seas lagoon and will also keep your children awake so the question i asked from the get-go was kind of tricky since i did technically talk about both resorts in the best hotel rooms video and they're both technically upped to sky high prices by disney however i did mention that the bora bora bungalows our dream resort stays for many of us and while wilderness lodge has some fantastic rooms the ones with nature fireworks views are being upcharged just as much as other resort stays with full-on fireworks views so my ultimate advice of course do your research we've got some homework before you completely count out a hotel or dive head first into any purchases take some virtual tours our friends over at allers have some great and super detailed disney resort room tours to give you an idea of what you're really getting yourself into not to mention quincy rocks it with the bed pillow tests which is the most important science of them all and we've also got a whole playlist series going on right now for the dfb youtube channel taking in-depth looks into each and every hotel including all the pros and cons because no resort is perfect but no resort is also without those worthwhile benefits either okay so there are some categories for some worst hotel rooms in disney world now remember these aren't gonna be the worst for everybody we just wanted to make sure you knew about these while you're deciding which hotel to stay in next thanks for listening everyone and thanks for watching drop your worst hotel experience in disney world in the comments um but please keep it family-friendly if you can as always this is aj for disney food blog and we'll see you real soon

Channel: DFBGuide

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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: qz2VYN_knrI

Length: 26min 8sec (1568 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 03 2022