There’s a lot to consider when planning a Walt Disney World vacation. Once you’ve determined when you want to go, it’s time to book your resort.
With so many options it can be a bit overwhelming. Weighing the pros and cons of staying off-site vs. staying on.
I just went through this with adding up parking fees and car rental for an off-site stay. Ultimately after hours and hours (and hours) of research I found that staying at a Disney World Resort was indeed WORTH IT!
EARLY ENTRY TIME
I talked about this a bit in my How to Plan the Best Disney Trip post.
What is early entry?
Being at the parks for rope drop gets you on so many more rides with little to no wait. Disney resort guests are allowed to enter 30 minutes earlier than the official park opening time at every park every day. In actuality you can enter the park and stroll down main street even before that.
Once you enter the park you will be directed to a roped off area where cast members will scan your magic band to confirm that you are a resort guest. Then you will be ready to head right to your attraction of choice when the ropes are dropped. I found being in the parks for the early entry time allowed us to wait minimal time at the entrance turnstiles and get on approximately 5 rides in the first hour last month.
For example on one Magic Kingdom day during our early entry time we were able to ride Peter Pan twice and It’s a Small World between 8:30-9AM. Then at 9AM we hopped right onto Haunted Mansion followed by Pirates of the Caribbean without any waiting.
Individual Attraction Selection
Individual Attraction Selection, sometimes called “fancy rides,” are the two rides per park that you can pay an extra fee to utilize the lightning lane for. These are separate from the attractions included in Genie +.
Any guests can purchase two “fancy rides” per day, regardless of park hopping. For example, if you are park hopping you can purchase two fancy rides in the first park, or two in the second park, or one in each. However you cannot purchase two in each park on the same day.
In my opinion, some of these rides you can typically ride if you are strategic without paying for the lightning lane. Others however are well worth the money because of their consistently lengthy lines. If you’d like to utilize my services for your Disney vacation planning I can guide you through which to select.
A big benefit of staying on property is that you can purchase your fancy rides at 7AM. Many of these rides sell out a few minutes after 7AM. If you are staying off-property, you cannot purchase these until the park opening time.
So, if you really want to ride Rise of the Resistance but are staying off property, your only option will be to wait standby.
Transportation
This ties with early entry for biggest perk. Being able to get to the parks quickly and conveniently is so essential in the enjoyment of your Disney vacation.
Simple transportation to our resort from the airport is a benefit to booking a Disney resort. The Mears shuttle to our hotel from the airport was super simple. If you’ve ever taken Magical Express its nearly the same thing.
If we were staying off property we would have to either wait at the rental car counter (for ages in my experience) and install our car seats or take a taxi or Uber (also requiring us to install car seats).
Getting to the parks each day when staying off property takes much longer. And at the end of the day, hauling to the parking lot trams, folding the stroller and loading the kids us just is not fun. Been there and done that. Overall we had much less park time when we stayed in an Airbnb off property, even though it was very close to Disney property.
On our most recent trip to Disney World, half of our park days were at Magic Kingdom. It was SO pleasant to take the boat from Wilderness Lodge to and from Magic Kingdom. It was so quick, never crowded, and we didn’t have to fold our stroller.
The other Magic Kingdom area resorts; The Polynesian, The Grand Floridian and Disney’s Contemporary Resort all are accessible to Magic Kingdom via the monorail or walking! They monorail also provides transportation to Epcot.
The gorgeous Riviera Resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Caribbean Beach Resort, and Disney’s Pop Century Resort are all connected to Hollywood Studios and Epcot by the Skyliner (the new gondola system). The Skyliner offers very fast service to these two parks.
Looking to enjoy dinner and drinks at Epcot several times during your vacation? You may want to consider The Beach Club Resort and Villas, The Yacht Club Resort, or the Boardwalk Resort and Villas. These deluxe resorts are all walking distance to Epcot.
The resort buses taking guests from to the parks and Disney Springs also run frequently and provide a quick ride to the parks. My kids were thrilled with the fun character wraps covering the buses, and were always excited to see which character would be featured on our bus.
Location
Disney resorts are of course located very close to the parks. This is a great benefit, and nearly a necessity if you have children (or adults) that need to return to the room for a nap or rest during the day.
Easily and quickly being able to return to the hotel for a break or a swim before going back to the parks makes for a much more enjoyable time.
Less exhaustion and more relaxation = happier family members
The Bubble
There is a je nais se quois about staying at a Disney resort. Something about how the rest of the world falls away. Time feels longer on vacation in the best way, with no errands to run and no driving in traffic you just get transported to full-on vacation mode.
The theming and subtle Disney touches (and hidden Mickeys) are really exciting for both children and adults. I never thought I’d see my husband so excited to have found a hidden Mickey but sharing that with our children was truly magical.
Dining reservations
I LOVE selecting Disney restaurants before the date reservations open for my trip. I have lists of “must-dos” and “want to try.”
If you’ve been through making advanced dining reservations, you know it’s not always simple. Especially if you want a hard to get restaurant such as Topolino’s Terrace.
Disney resort guests can begin making dining reservations for the duration of their trip 60-days before check in. Here is where staying in a Disney hotel has an advantage. If you are staying on property you will be able to make your reservations for your whole trip 60 days out.
If you are staying off property (in a non-Disney hotel) you will have to do this individually each morning for each park day 60 days in advance, rather than for the whole time you will be on vacation. Aside from the annoyance of doing that each morning, there will be much less to select from as Disney resort guests will have had access to reservations for those dates. You can read my review of Storybook Dining character meal here.
Benefits of Staying in a Deluxe Resort
While staying at any on property resort provides benefits, a deluxe resort room or villa offers even more. If it’s within your budget, it’s worth it to splurge a little on a deluxe resort.
Extended evening theme park hours allow only deluxe resort guests in to the parks for two hours after parks close. This is available several nights per week and typically is at either Magic Kingdom or EPCOT.
Many attractions that typically have long lines are included in this (meaning you could save the money by riding during the extended hours instead of purchasing and individual lightning lane). Some of the attractions I’d recommend taking advantage of this low crowd time to ride are Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Test Track, Frozen Ever After, Peter Pan’s Flight, Dwarfs Mine Train, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, and the Astro Orbiter (because this ride is so much better at night).
How and When to Book Your Resort
I can help you! Just send me a message. I am a travel agent specializing in Disney destinations, and my services are totally free!
I would love to chat with you about what’s important to your family so that we can help you select the perfect resort for your vacation.
Booking well in advance (I personally like to book 10-12 months out) will allow you a broader selection, but even on short notice I can plan your completely magical trip.
I’m here to guide you through all of the steps. From choosing if a Disney World Resort is worth it for you trip to navigating Genie +.