Disney World Planning: The Pros and Cons of Staying in a Disney Resort
Are you considering a Walt Disney World vacation? Want to know if you should stay in a Disney Resort or elsewhere? You’ve landed in the right place. Here’s a list of the pros and cons of staying in a Disney resort:
Pros of Staying in a Disney Resort (also called “on property”)
(1) Disney’s Magical Express
Disney’s Magical Express refers to the complimentary transportation to and from Orlando’s International Airport (MCO) and Walt Disney World resorts. The service is offered via large buses. Each bus picks up and drops off passengers at three or more resorts per route. Total travel time usually takes one to two hours. The time is dependent on the volume of guests and the order in which the bus visits each resort.
If you’re flying into Orlando’s International Airport, Disney’s Magical Express is a significant benefit of staying on property. First, the cost of the transportation to and from the airport is included with your hotel room. Similar transportation service from Mears or Supershuttle will cost you roughly $35 a person roundtrip. Second, the service also includes luggage delivery. That means you can check your bags at your home airport, skip the baggage claim area in Orlando and let Disney deliver them to your room (assuming you arrive between 5am and 10pm). For the return home, you can check your bags and receive your boarding pass with the airline representative at the resort and proceed directly to security at the airport.
If you’re not flying to Disney World or you’re flying into another airport like Sanford or Tampa, then this benefit does not apply to you.
(2) Magic Bands
Disney’s Magic Bands are another benefit of staying on property. If you purchase your park tickets and hotel room with Disney, you will automatically receive Magic Bands for you and your entire party. These colorful, waterproof bracelets enable you to enter your hotel room, access Fast Pass+ reservations, make purchases throughout the World and add photographs from attractions or in-park Disney photographers to your account. You can also use them to access Disney’s Magical Express, referenced above.
If you stay off property, you can still use Magic Bands within the parks for Fast Pass+ and photography. You would just need to purchase them separately (starting at $13 a piece) and link them to your account.
(3) Extra Magic Hours
Guests of Disney resorts have access to more time within the theme parks than guests staying elsewhere. Disney refers to these as “Extra Magic Hours” and they are offered multiple times each week. Morning Extra Magic Hours are typically 8:00-9:00AM for a park that opens at 9:00AM. Disney determines who receives early admittance by checking for resort reservations on guests’ Magic Bands. Evening Extra Magic Hours are typically an extra hour or two after the park’s posted closing time. Guests without resort reservations are not permitted to ride rides or make purchases within the park once the Extra Magic Hours begin.
Please note that Disney often adjusts the availability of Extra Magic Hours one to two months in advance, based on projected park attendance, so it’s a good idea to double check your plans around that time frame.
(4) Early Access to Fast Pass+
A fourth perk of staying on property is early access to Fast Pass+ reservations. Every person visiting Disney World has the option of reserving three Fast Pass+ experiences per park per day (kind of like three wishes!). These reservations allow you to skip the traditional “stand-by” line for rides or other attractions and use the typically shorter “Fast Pass+” entrance. If you stay at a Disney resort, you can start scheduling these experiences 60 days before your trip. At 7AM, 60-days before check-in, you can schedule Fast Pass+ experiences for the duration of your vacation. If you stay off property, the window opens at 30 days.
For most experiences, the difference in attraction availability between 60 and 30 days is not significant. However, it can make a difference on whether you can secure a Fast Pass+ reservation for brand new attractions. Examples include last summer’s new Frozen Ever After ride at Epcot or this summer’s Pandora World of Avatar attractions. It can also make a difference in what time of day the attractions are available to reserve. Mid-morning times fill up quickly, because once you’ve used your three Fast Pass+ experiences for the day, you have the opportunity to choose another if anything is available.
You can learn more about the 60-Day FastPass benefit here.
(5) Disney extras
Disney resorts offer numerous entertainment options beyond the general amenities you will find at most Orlando-area hotels. For example, you can enjoy a breakfast with Disney characters in the morning, games in the pool area during the day and Disney movies outside during the evening. Depending on which resort you choose, there may also be boat rides, bicycle rentals, child care and campfires. The company claims you can also send items you purchase in the parks back to your hotel room free of charge, but I’ve been unsuccessful trying to use this service.
Perhaps the biggest “extra” available to Disney resort guests and not those staying off-property, is the Disney Dining Plan. The Disney Dining Plan is essentially a pre-paid meal ticket for your choice of sit-down or fast-food restaurants throughout Disney World. There are three different types of plans, but none of them are available to guests staying off site. You can read more details Disney’s Dining plans in my separate post.
(6) Convenience
Many of the benefits of Disney resorts listed above relate to convenience. There are a few more. First, all of your reservations (room, park tickets, dinner reservations, etc.) are accessed and managed in one place. This means you can contact one source to ask questions, request changes or make payments for your entire vacation. Second, most of the Disney resorts are located close to the theme parks. This is especially true for the resorts along the monorail route (Grand Floridian, Contemporary and Polynesian). Proximity to the parks usually means a shorter commute time. All of the resorts provide transportation to the parks and Disney Springs, allowing you to skip driving altogether if you choose.
It’s important to note that there are also non-Disney hotels located close to the parks that provide shuttle service, so the proximity convenience really depends on which specific hotels you are comparing.
Cons of Staying in a Disney Resort
(1) Expense
Most of the cons of staying on property at Walt Disney World relate to price.
Shocking, I know.
It is fairly easy to find a hotel room that costs less outside of the World than in it, particularly if you’re comparing prices with Disney’s Deluxe resorts. The biggest disadvantage of staying on property, in my opinion, is the size of the room you get with Disney compared to a comparable budget off-site. Disney accommodations tend to be smaller. If you’re traveling with a large group, it is often less expensive to book a house or condominium than multiple hotel rooms at Disney. If your house or condominium includes a full-size kitchen, you can save on food costs too.
Comparing the cost of a single hotel room within a Value or Moderate Disney resort with a room off-property is a little more tricky. In general it often costs less for a larger room off-site, but in comparing prices make sure you check the details. Some off-site hotels charge for shuttle service, Wi-Fi or general resort fees. Disney doesn’t.
(2) (Trapped?) Within the World the whole trip
Another disadvantage of staying on property is your accessibility to things outside of the World, particularly if you don’t have a car with you. Meals, snacks, souvenirs and headache medicine all tend to cost more on Disney property than elsewhere. I’ve had a few friends tell me they appreciate the “break” from Disney that off-site hotels provide. I’ve also had friends say they love staying in the Disney “bubble” for their entire trip. I guess it depends on what you want from your vacation.
(3) Hotel preference/points
If you’re a frequent traveler and have hotel points to burn, there’s a huge benefit of using these at an off-site hotel near Disney World. It’s hard to beat free hotel nights, regardless of the benefits listed above. If you’re a Starwood Preferred Guest or Marriott Rewards member, you could consider using your points at the Walt Disney World Swan or Dolphin hotels. Both are closer to Epcot and Hollywood Studios than the majority of other Disney resorts and offer the benefits of 60-day FastPass selections and free transportation around Disney World.
If you’re loyal to Best Western, Hilton, Holiday Inn or Windham, check out their hotel offerings near Disney Springs. Disney announced earlier this year that these Disney Springs Hotels will also now offer 60-day FastPass and free Disney transportation to the parks, at least through the end of 2019.
None of these hotels, however, offer Disney’s Magical Express from the airport, Magic Bands or access to the Disney Dining Plans. They also tend to charge daily resort fees, so make sure you factor in these details for a fair comparison.
Decision Time
So that’s it. I ended up with a lot more advantages of staying on property than off, but the reasons aren’t equal in weight. Cost is a big one. It really depends on your specific situation.
Hopefully this list will make your decision making process easier or at least more thorough! The choice really comes down to what activities you want to do on your vacation and how much priority you place on accommodations. You’ll have fun at Disney World regardless of where you stay.
Add some magic to your world!