Off-Site vs. On-Site Hotels at Disney World
Whether to stay in an on-site or off-site hotel is a big, important decision when planning your Walt Disney World vacation. This weighs the pros & cons, with an unbiased look at third party accommodations, Universal v. Disney resorts, and other options near the parks around Orlando, Florida. (Updated December 29, 2023.)
We stress the “unbiased” aspect because it seems like there’s a stigma around off-site hotels for many Disney fans. The mental picture of non-Disney hotels is shady dives that are unclean and even unsafe. While there are certainly some sketchy places in Orlando where we’d never consider staying, there are also some exceptional, 5-star hotels. In fact, it’s arguable that the top 5 hotels in Central Florida do not have “Disney” in the name.
To that end, we’ll try to fairly address the benefits and downsides to each option. Walt Disney World resort hotels have a lot of great benefits and are a compelling choice for many guests, but the hundreds of local off-site hotels offer many equally compelling reasons as to why guests should stay off-site. If you already know whether you want to stay on-site or off-site, you should skip this article and go directly to our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews index page to determine which hotel is right for you.
For many people considering where to stay at Walt Disney World, price will be the determining factor, as it can be cheaper to do a Walt Disney World on a tighter budget while staying off-site. However, this isn’t always the case, and there are other factors to consider before booking. Those with small vacation budgets might be surprised to find that, in some circumstances, it’s better to stay on-site, and those with large vacation budgets might be better served by staying off-site.
We’ve stayed at numerous off-site and third party hotels near Walt Disney World, including every single Bonnet Creek, Disney Springs, and Universal Orlando Resorts–among many others. We’ve revised this post several times to reflect how those off-site stays have changed our perspective. In the process, we’ve also added some specific off-site hotel recommendations.
When it comes to this topic, a lot has changed in the last 3 years. The biggest blow to the on-site advantage at Walt Disney World was the retirement the ending Disney’s Magical Express, the airport shuttle service between MCO and Walt Disney World resorts that was an included perk for guests saying on-site. Guests now need to find their own ground transportation from the airport to their hotel–we cover the range of options in our Guide to Airport Transportation for Walt Disney World.
We have used Uber and Lyft on a number of occasions in the last year-plus for getting between Walt Disney World and MCO. These services are our recommendation for anyone who values their time and doesn’t want to break the bank with a private transfer. The other upside is that you can use them to get from MCO to any hotel in Central Florida. For an easy but less efficient option, Mears Connect is the shared shuttle services that is the spiritual successor to Disney’s Magical Express.
The good news is that aside from Disney’s Magical Express, most of the on-site perks are back or will return at some point in 2024 at Walt Disney World…
Benefits of Staying On-Site
Ride Reservation Booking Windows – There has been a lot of outrage about the paid Genie+ line-skipping service, which is Walt Disney World’s paid replacement to free FastPass+. (See our Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for everything you need to know.) This is particularly understandable among on-site guests, who no longer have a material advantage when making ride reservations.
Well, that’s about to change–again. In response to guest feedback, advance booking of Lightning Lanes is coming to Walt Disney World in 2024. While the date this will happen is presently unknown, our expectation is that the new system will launch in Spring 2024. Our guess is that the goal is to have this ready for Spring Break, which would mean it debuts no later than early March 2024. So if you’re visiting before then, this is not relevant to you.
Pretty much everything else is also unknown about advance booking of Lightning Lanes, including what advantage will be offered to on-site guests. Previously, it was a 60 day window for on-site and 30 day for off-site. Our expectation is that it’ll be a much shorter timeframe than the old FastPass+ system, but far enough in advance that people with weeklong trips can book Lightning Lanes for the duration of their trips ahead of traveling. If we had to guess, it’d be 14 days vs. 7, or perhaps 30 vs. 14. (It’ll almost certainly be a month or less.)
Regardless of the exact number, this will be a huge advantage for on-site guests. Suffice to say, if you want Slinky Dog Dash, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, and other popular Lightning Lanes…you’ll pretty much need to be staying on-site!
Disney Dining Plan – The Quick-Service Disney Dining Plan (QSDDP) and standard or regular Disney Dining Plan (DDP) are now bookable for 2024 Walt Disney World vacations. For now, the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan (DxDDP) and Disney Dining Plan Plus (DDP+) remain unavailable. See our Ultimate Guide to the 2024 Disney Dining Plan for everything you need to know about the DDP, including whether it’s likely to be worth the money for you.
Although it’s very much a love-it-or-hate-it thing, the Disney Dining Plan is neither inherently good nor bad. It can be a great tool or a terrible waste of money depending upon how it’s used. For some people, the Disney Dining Plan is great. For others, it’s awful. Like so many things at Walt Disney World and in life, it’s not one-size-fits-all.
Regardless, the 2024 Disney Dining Plan is only available if you stay on-site and a lot of guests absolutely love it. Although we’re hardly DDP diehards, we’re glad to see the Disney Dining Plan returning. Our major hope is that this leads to even more normalcy on the food front, as it’s one of the few areas at Walt Disney World that is still far from firing on all cylinders as compared to pre-closure.
Bottom Dollar All-In Price – Value proposition is discussed below as a strength of off-site hotels, and it’s fairly undeniable that if you’re looking at larger or luxury accommodations, you will get way more bang for your buck off-site. At the high-end, Walt Disney World resorts are incredibly expensive, costing far more than almost all of their real world counterparts. (Excepting some of the fancy suites at the Four Seasons.)
That’s not necessarily the case at the lower end, though. Although a lot of longtime fans complain about price increases at the Value Resorts, these are fairly commensurate with Central Florida budget hotels that are safe and modern (important caveat there–if you don’t care about quality, there’s no shortage of sketchy hotels in Orlando!). This is something we cover at length in Are Walt Disney World’s Cheapest Hotels Actually Good?
Our answer is yes. After discounts, you can routinely score rooms at the All Stars for under $125 per night. That’s still more expensive than off-site alternatives, but the big difference is that transportation, parking, Early Entry, etc. are all included. Once you start factoring in the cost or value of all those things, it more than bridges the gap. Obviously, individual circumstances will vary, but we’ve crunched the numbers repeatedly, and it’s rare for us to come out ahead staying off-site in budget accommodations. Totally different ballgame at the higher end of the spectrum, though.
Location & Convenience – The biggest benefit of staying at an on-site Walt Disney World resort hotel is convenience. To one degree or another, just about every “pro” radiates out from here. The hotels are generally closer to the parks, which in some cases can mean it’s as simple as walking or taking a monorail or boat from the hotel to the park.
This short and simple commute can enable parties to split up more easily or go back to the hotel for a midday nap without killing a large chunk of the day. This convenience can make the day more efficient and enable your party to accomplish more. This is primarily a benefit if Walt Disney World is the top or sole priority on vacation–as other non-Disney parks continue to add more compelling attractions, this is becoming less important to many guests.
Park Transportation – Once on property at Walt Disney World, guests can use a provided transportation between hotels, theme parks, and other locations on property. All of this transportation is complimentary (or built into the price of their room).
The efficiency of the transportation provided to Walt Disney World resort hotel guests is hotly disputed, but it is a nice perk. Our perspective is that the included transportation is “good enough” and in the rare cases when there’s a problem, we will simply use Uber or Lyft to supplement Disney transportation.
We seldom rent a car at Walt Disney World, as we find it much more convenient to just hop on a bus, monorail, boat, Skyliner gondola, or even walk from our hotel to the parks than have to hassle with navigating the roads, parking, and trams. We have the “pleasure” of dealing with all of that junk (minus the trams) in our daily lives–it’s nice not to deal with it on vacation.
Transportation is a huge advantage that can tip the scales in favor of staying on-site, as it can obviate the need for a rental car, which means not paying for that or parking at a hotel and at the theme parks. It’s worth doing the math before booking your hotel.
Free Resort Parking – One way Walt Disney World once again differentiates its hotels from real world alternatives in Orlando is by not charging for overnight self-parking. This actually returned recently–complimentary resort parking was an on-site perk until several years ago, until Disney followed the trend of other Orlando hotels and started charging for it.
At the time, the introduction of the parking fee was the most controversial change we had ever seen made by Walt Disney World. Not only did our post garner over 300 angry comments, but Walt Disney World got hit hard by negative reviews on crowdsourced travel sites like TripAdvisor and Google. I had never seen fans so mad–although backlash to the subsequent elimination of free FastPass and Disney’s Magical Express did exceed that response.
Free Parking at Theme Parks – In addition to overnight hotel self-parking, Walt Disney World resort hotel guests also receive complimentary standard parking at Walt Disney World theme parks, which is another plus.
In tandem, these two things take some of the sting out of the elimination of Disney’s Magical Express–at least for the guests who opt to rent a car while staying on-site. (That number will only grow, as Universal Orlando continues to expand and turn itself into an equally-compelling theme park destination.)
60+10 Rule – Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) for Walt Disney World table service restaurants are currently available up to 60 days in advance for everyone. However, on-site guests can make ADRs for the duration of their trip (up to 10 days) up to 60 days prior to their resort check-in date.
This makes it easier to book all of your ADRs all at once rather than day-by-day. More importantly, the head start can be hugely advantageous in booking the most difficult-to-score Advance Dining Reservations, such as Chef Mickey’s, Story Book Dining at Artist Point, Cinderella’s Royal Table, Space 220, Topolino’s Terrace (breakfast), California Grill, and Akershus. By the time the 60 day mark rolls around, many of those will already be gone!
See our Guide to Booking Difficult Advance Dining Reservations at Walt Disney World, for how to best leverage this “60+10” ADR window, which is often misunderstood. (Admittedly, it being the “60+10” rule rather than simply the 70-day booking window is confusing, but there’s a reason for the distinction!) This rule can be a huge head-start for popular table service restaurants or larger parties, especially during busier travel dates. If character dining or highly themed restaurants are important to you, this is essential.
Individual Lightning Lane Priority – While there is no priority booking window for Genie+ Lightning Lane selections, the same is not true for the most popular attraction in each park. Paid line skipping for each of those can be purchased on an a la carte basis via Individual Lightning Lanes. (Confused yet?! If so, consult our Guide to Individual Lightning Lanes, which covers everything you need to know, including how to avoid paying extra for these by beating long lines with alternative strategies.)
When it comes to Individual Lightning Lanes, guests staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel are able to purchase and schedule their ride reservations at 7 am, ahead of off-site guests, who can to do so when each park opens. Both Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance book up fast.
If you’re not staying on-site, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to book either of those. When peak travel weeks–like those around Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Presidents’ Day, Easter–other rides might also sell out fast.
Early Theme Park Entry – This replaces morning Extra Magic Hours, or rather, is a spiritual successor to that on-site guest benefit. Whereas morning Extra Magic Hours were offered on select days and at select parks, Early Entry is offered at all 4 theme parks every single day. That makes it unavoidable for off-site guests who like to rope drop the parks.
The other big difference is that Extra Magic Hours lasted for an hour. By contrast, this is 30-minute access to any Walt Disney World theme park. That may not seem like much of a head start, but it can be huge. (Also, it usually ends up being more than 30 minutes in 2 parks.) As discussed in our Best Time-Saving Strategies for Walt Disney World, this is usually the top option in each park–with the notable exception of Magic Kingdom.
For strategy & info about how beneficial this perk can be, check out our Guide to Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World.
Extended Evening Hours – This has a smaller pool of eligibility and occurs less frequently than Early Entry. It’s exclusively for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Vacation Club units), or other select hotels (only the Swan & Dolphin and Shades of Green). So Extended Evening Hours is not a “pure” on-site benefit.
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours occur two nights per week in total and are usually held at EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. Guests staying at Value or Moderate Resorts are not eligible for Extended Evening Hours. (Again, those guests are eligible for Early Theme Park Entry.) We’ve had some great no crowds experiences with Extended Evening Hours at Magic Kingdom and Epcot. See our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for strategy and other info.
Walt Disney World has confirmed that both Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours will continue throughout 2024.
Resort Fees – Hidden fees have proliferated in recent years at off-site Orlando hotels. We cannot stand these resort fees and recommend you fight back against the incredibly consumer-unfriendly practice. Thankfully, Walt Disney World has not reduced itself to tacking on a resort fee.
Some third-party hotels are known to charge non-optional resort fees for “wellness packages” (their term, not ours) including things like internet, newspaper, and bottled water. It’s important to factor in all fees when comparison shopping hotel pricing, as that “great deal” might not be nearly as good of an option once you tack on all of those non-optional fees.
Vacation Packages – Many guests also find the convenience of booking a vacation package that covers all aspects of their trip preferable, and those packages necessarily include hotel accommodations. (We suggest buying your park tickets from sources other than Disney to save money.) However, there is something to be said for simply calling up Walt Disney World and buying your park tickets, room, dining, and transportation all in one fell swoop.
The biggest and best component of package bookings is the Disney Dining Plan, which is temporarily unavailable (see above). While we often rally against the illusory convenience of the Disney Dining Plan here, many people do find it more convenient than paying a la carte. More importantly, when the Free Disney Dining Plan promotion is offered, the only hotels at which it can be booked are the Disney-owned ones.
Disney Themed Design – Another benefit of staying on-site is that your hotel is an extension of the Walt Disney World theme park experience. It has its own distinct design and may not always scream “Disney” with icons from animated films, but the on-site Walt Disney World resort hotels feel very similar to the parks in terms of thematic yarns.
For the most part, they don’t feel like ordinary hotels any more than the Disney theme parks feel like ordinary amusement parks. They have an additional layer of detail and storytelling to “transport” guests to a different time and place. In simple terms of luxury, Disney hotels don’t always surpass their real world counterparts, but they almost always have better theme.
Along those same lines, one of the biggest benefits for us of staying at an on-site Walt Disney World hotel is being immersed in the “Disney bubble.” This isn’t one you’ll find on an amenities list, and it’s where our otherwise attempt at an objective comparison fails.
For many people traveling to Walt Disney World, being insulated from the real world is appealing. From the moment you cross through those gateways that mark each entrance to Walt Disney World property until ending your trip, exhausted, and heading back to the airport, you’re encapsulated in the Walt Disney World experience.
Of course, there are some intrusions, but for the most part, it’s an escape from reality to a fantasyland of sorts. A lot of people won’t understand this or simply won’t care for it, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If you fall in that category, an off-site hotel is more likely to appeal to you. You simply cannot get this experience while staying at an off-site hotel.
Benefits of Staying Off-Site
Value Proposition – The biggest advantage to off-site hotels is bang for buck. This is usually expressed as off-site hotels being “cheaper,” but that’s not all it is. Even if you want luxury accommodations that aren’t going to be cheaper than all on-site hotels, you will find that they offer better value off-site. In other words, you’re not paying Disney’s premium for its name, reputation, and location. There’s more competition among off-site hotels, keeping prices low.
Even if you aren’t necessarily looking for a bargain basement price on a hotel, you’ll typically get more value out of non-Disney hotels. In addition to this, although Disney does many things well, their best hotels simply do not compete with the best real world hotels in terms of luxury.
If you want luxury accommodations, your best bet is to look elsewhere, such as the Four Seasons (which is actually on Walt Disney World property), the Waldorf Astoria, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt Regency, etc. Even the Swan & Dolphin offer superior bedding and other amenities than any Walt Disney World resort hotels, and usually these can be booked for about the price of a Walt Disney World Moderate-tier hotel.
We have a list of the Top 10 Off-Site Hotels Near Walt Disney World, which primarily focuses on the luxurious options. The list also includes a couple of villa/vacation home style resorts that are large enough to accommodate families of 5 or more, and are competitively-priced.
Disney is somewhat insulated from off-site competition. For visitors who want the on-site location, a seamless ‘bubble’ experience from their resort to the theme parks, or rooms with specific Disney themes, off-site is less appealing. Walt Disney World knows they have those advantages, and price their hotels accordingly.
A luxury hotel that might cost over $500+ per night on-site at Walt Disney World may have an analogue off-site for around $250/night. Whether this premium pricing for being in the Disney bubble (“location, location, location!”) is worth it to you is a personal question.
Loyalty Rewards – Due to work or other travel, you might have loyalty to a specific chain of hotels. If you have status or points at one of those chains and want to take advantage of it, you have an obvious advantage in staying at those hotels.
We are Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum members, entitling us to a variety of perks there, so whenever we travel to non-Disney locations, we try to stay at a Hyatt. For a lot of people, the familiarity and known quality of a major chain like this is very appealing, even if they have no points to use.
Other Perks & Amenities – This one is a very broad, but potentially very important catch-all. Many off-site hotels offer free continental breakfast. Some are pet friendly with minimal fees for that. Others have impressive pools that surpass anything at Walt Disney World. The off-site hotel might have an airport shuttle and shuttle service to the parks–and not just the Disney parks.
The specifics obviously vary by hotel, and with thousands of properties in Central Florida, it’s impossible to list them all here. If there’s something you want from a hotel, you can probably find it somewhere within a ~20 minute drive of Walt Disney World.
Tailored Accommodations – Generally speaking, staying off-site affords greater latitude in booking accommodations perfectly-suited to your family size and needs. Outside of Walt Disney World property, vacation homes, suites, and all sorts of varying sized accommodations all can be found at a multitude of price points.
For instance, it’s much easier to rent a vacation home with individual rooms for everyone, a kitchen, activities room, or whatever you might want for your vacation if you stay off-site. These rooms do exist on-property, but most of the time their pricing puts them firmly in the Deluxe tier, making them cost prohibitive for many groups.
Straightforward Design – Although we mention Disney theming as an advantage of staying on-site in that section above, it may be a disadvantage to you.
After a long day in the parks, you might be having sensory overload at the end of the day and just wanting to get away from all things Disney. If you’re not a huge Disney fan, staying off-site might be a nice reprieve during your trip.
Location – Much like on-site hotels, it’s important to remember that not all off-site hotels are created equal. In this article, we are sort of using the terms “off-site” and “non-Disney” interchangeably, but there are many non-Disney hotels that are located on Walt Disney World property.
This is important to know because it undermines some of the location advantages touted by Disney-owned resorts. For example, the Swan & Dolphin are walking distance to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Likewise, the third party hotels at Disney Springs and Bonnet Creek are closer to the parks than some Disney-owned resorts.
Universal Hotel Benefits – We save the best for last, as the biggest off-site perks are those offered by Universal Orlando’s resorts. All Universal hotels offer Early Park Admission one hour before the theme parks open to the general public.
Guests staying at Universal’s Premier Hotels get free Unlimited Express Pass to skip the regular lines at most popular attractions in Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. This is Universal’s equivalent of FastPass/Lightning Lanes, but better–and it normally costs a lot more money.
While it’s beyond the scope of this article, Universal Orlando resorts offer many of the same advantages of Walt Disney World hotels. Universal’s hotels also feature great themed design, transportation to the parks, and a great location–most are within walking distance of Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
If you’re debating between resorts at the two main theme park complexes, see our comprehensive breakdown: Universal Orlando v. Walt Disney World Hotels. That should help you determine which is the better option for your vacation–or if a split stay might be best!
Arguably the biggest beneficiary of Walt Disney World eliminating so many on-site guest perks is Universal Orlando. If I were planning on visiting both theme park complexes and had a decent budget for accommodations, I’d have less hesitation that I were “missing out” on something by not staying on-site at Walt Disney World.
While I’d still lean in favor of a split stay, another compelling option would be booking a Premier Hotel at Universal as my home base to take advantage of the unlimited Express Pass that’s included with my stay there. On my Walt Disney World days, I’d commute to those parks using Uber or Lyft. Obviously, that’s not going to make sense or be ideal for everyone, but it’s just one way Universal has gained significant ground on Disney in the last year-plus.
Universal’s hotels offer better value for money and they’ve maintained their benefits, two things that cannot be said for Walt Disney World resorts. Notably, Universal has excellent budget hotels that cost around—or sometimes under—$100 per night. Even Universal’s Premier Hotels with included Unlimited Express Pass are almost always significantly cheaper than Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World.
Consequently, our opinion is that Universal is beating Disney when it comes to the pros & cons of their respective hotels. If you’ll be spending equal (or close to it) time at Universal and Walt Disney World during your Orlando, Florida vacation in 2024, give serious thought to staying at Universal instead of Disney. For insight into the various options at Universal, their pros & cons, and how they compare and contrast with one another, see our Universal Orlando Hotel Rankings & Reviews.
If you’re exclusively visiting Walt Disney World, obviously this advice is irrelevant.
Overall, there’s a lot to consider when determining whether you want to stay off-site or on-site at Walt Disney World, and there’s no one size fits all answer as to which is “better.” As you can see, different families might make very different decisions based upon what matters most to them. There’s really no right or wrong answer, it’s more what you want out of your vacation and how you weigh the pros and cons.
The subjective factors are almost always going to be the overriding ones, and savings that seem to make staying off-site a no-brainer slam dunk for some guests may be insufficient to lure others off-site. Whether the on-site premium is “worth it” to you is largely a matter of personal preference, but hopefully this post presented some objective considerations for you to weigh and make the decision for yourself.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? If you’re interested in learning more about hotels, our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page is a good place to start. For where to eat, try out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews page. If you want to save money on tickets or determine which type you should get, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at unconventional things you should take on your trip. Once you arrive at the parks, our Walt Disney World “Ride Guides” are great for determining what to do and when to do it. For overviews of all of these topics and so much more, the best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
Your Thoughts
Do you generally stay on-site or off-site? Why? What are your key considerations when determining where you stay? Thoughts on Universal Orlando v. Walt Disney World hotels? Are you a fan of renting a vacation home or using Airbnb when booking a Central Florida vacation? Any specific off-site or third party hotel you recommend? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
40 trips and always onsite, never even thought of staying offsite. Then In 2019 my wife and daughter decided at the last minute to go down to WDW because our other daughter was going to be at ESPN for dance competition. Well Disney resorts were to expensive so I made a reservation offsite, which my wife and daughter were not happy about. Well, they had a great time and totally enjoyed their stay. The hotel had a lazy river, a Starbucks and a bunch of places to eat and other great amenities. My wife said it only took 15-20 minutes to drive to the parks and they also went to WDW resorts to eat. So a great time and saved $500. The big perk for staying onsite was the evening EMH and now that they’re gone I think we will be staying offsite more often.
i’ve never stayed off-property, always citing the “perks”, but the pandemic and the most recent changes are making me rethink everything moving forward. for my family, it will be several years before we visit wdw again, and unless some things change, my first thought is staying offsite for less money since there are no real on-site benefits anymore. no more early entry (that 30 minutes is nothing, it can take that long to get through security), no more magical express (not worrying about luggage set wdw travel apart), and if the dining plan doesn’t resume, forget it. we always used free dining since we came out ahead given the places we like eating at, but i doubt we see that return for a long time, if ever, and the dining plan as a whole might take a long time to return. i can’t see spending the amount it costs to stay on site when i can rent a car and stay somewhere else for significantly less. if disney gets out travel funds, post pandemic, it will be california, disneyland paris, or disney cruise line, but it’s going to be a good long while.
Once my kids hit their teens, we switched to Universal, stayed in a premier hotel, and got free express passes – worth their weight in gold in mid-February. However, I do still like Disneyworld. So, on our last few trips to Orlando, in order to see some of Disney, we purchased After Hours event tickets, which were awesome as I love not waiting in lines, and not having to plan our days down to the second. I’m hoping that after hours parties eventually come back.
I agree with you 100%! The free unlimited express passes at Universal are incredible during busy times, and make staying in a premier hotel a bargain. And we absolutely loved the after hours parties at Disney World, especially during hot weather months. It was pretty wonderful to relax at a pool during the heat of the day, then go to a theme park during cooler hours at night.
Very timely article for me to read. I am starting to think about an early 2022 trip ( as long as covid cases are next to nil and international borders re-open) and while we have stayed on-site in the past, I have been giving a lot of thought to staying at a good neighbour Disney Springs hotel. Especially since I think we’re going to skip the dining plan, if it comes back in 2022. Apparently these hotels give you the same perks as staying on property but for less money. My only concern is the shuttle from these hotels to the parks and I’m having a hard time finding info online about shuttle times. Does anyone know if these shuttles run frequently, specifically for the Hilton Bonnet Creek?
Love Hilton Bonnet Creek, have stayed there at least five times. And pre-Covid buses ran frequently and on schedule from the sister properties of Hilton and Waldorf. A call to the hotel will inform you about the current bus schedule. Stayed once at the Waldorf and once at the Wyndham Resort. At that time the Wyndham Vacation Villas did not have a bus and had to take our car to the parks.
Melissa – I highly recommend the Double Tree at Disney Springs. It is an all suite hotel (meaning the most basic room is a two room suite) and it is very nice and you are still in the Disney Bubble and you get free chocolate chip cookies. It is my go to resort when I am out of DVC points.
Make your reservation through this site – https://disneyspringshotels.com/. You can get a special promotional rate that waves the parking fee and the resort tax (a $37 per day value). The shuttle buses are not as efficient as Disney transportation (they depart about once every 30 minutes and each bus stops at two parks). However, I mitigate this by going to Disney Springs and using the Disney buses there and renting a car and driving to parks (I am an AP holder so I can park at the parks for free) or I will drive over to Saratoga Springs and park and take the bus.
Here is a breakdown of how it worked for me once – we stayed at the Double Tree for six nights at $140 per night out the door. A smaller and frankly nowhere near as nice a room at Port Orleans would have cost us $220 per night out the door during that same trip. Even if you factor in that I would not have needed a rental car as much at Port Orleans due to better transportation and the Magical Express (you will not have that in 2022), my rental car still did not cost my $80 per day so I was still saving money, staying in a better hotel, and I was still in the Bubble. As a bonus, I was within walking distance of Disney Springs.
Thank you for the information and tips!
Do you know if any off-site hotels offer free bus transportation from the airport?
Very helpful article! I am wondering how Disney knows you are staying in one of the Disney Springs hotels and therefore eligible for extra magic hours if you purchase your tickets through one of the authorized ticket dealers? Could you clarify?
You load your reservation number into My Disney Experience where you link your resort stay. The system will recognize your reservation number as being from a “Disney Hotel.”
Great article! Very well written and very effective at helping us make an informed decision.
I’ve only been to Disney World once (hoping to change that soon) and I stayed at the cabins at Fort Wilderness and loved it. I liked being close to the parks and thought the cabin was really fun. I didn’t have to think about price because I was a kid traveling with my family.
I’d still stay on-site because I think that if I stayed off-site, the hidden costs could add up (especially for transportation). When it comes to budgeting, I tend to run into the most trouble with hidden costs and therefore try to avoid them. But there are also some unique Disney properties that really appeal to me. If I were traveling by myself or with one other person, I’d stay in the Little Mermaid room at Art of Animation. But I’d choose something else if traveling with a group.
We stayed at a Disney resort called Allstar Music. It was mediocre but clean and you never have to worry about transportation to the park and back. It is costly though. You still have to walk a lot but if you are in good shape it’s no problem but you better have good comfortable shoes. We had the 3 meal plan and it’s way too much food for the average person. If you do a meal plan I would suggest breakfast and dinner. Be prepared to pay tips because they are not included. For 6 of us ( 4 adults, 2 children) it was a 10k hit. But it was fun.
So glad you mentioned the “Disney Bubble!” My family of 4 are planning our first World trip and this is something we are looking most forward to and why we chose to stay on location. I’m currently expecting and will be 5 months along during our trip so the extra convenince of transportation, not having to search or pay for parking plus the extra foot steps, airport transportation and luggage assistance will be so appreciated. We aren’t even really considereing the “basic ness” of the room that much of a loss bc we are hardcore park fans so we will be spending every waking minute on the property and living in the magic!
Such an interesting read. I’ve been to both WDW and Disneyland many times and consider myself a diehard. I was 3 months old the first time I crossed into the magic and love, love, love it. I say that to say this comment is coming from a place of love. I can not find a reasonable justification to pay onsite prices. I’m digging online just for that purpose and can’t seem to justify. I’ve actually stayed at Animal Kingdom lodge as part of a press junket i.e. on Disney and paid for a conference that was at the Swan (didn’t realize it wasn’t technically a Disney resort until reading this write up) Even with the animals off the balcony it’s not worth literally 10x the cost for a less plush space. Our last trip spring 2018 was 8 days at The Grove for $1500 that included a three bedroom apartment with daily housekeeping, $20 a day resort fee and $20 a day parking each for two vehicles. The property had an amazing waterpark included as well and was maybe 5 mins off official Disney property. It ended up being just my husband, 2 year old and my parents, but we booked with the thought that my brother’s family of 3 would be joining us and would have still been plenty of room. It was a fabulous space and just one of the numerous accommodations over the years that offer so much more for the money. I guess I was hoping to find that there are some kind of travel agent package deals that I’m just not seeing because I can’t believe so many people are willing to overspend so much when the trip is so much about getting away from the room and when you do plan rest days you want the space to spread out. Seems like I’m wrong and there are. I do know people that hate Disney and think it’s crazy that we’re willing to pay the admission so I suppose it’s the same.
Do you get extra magic hours staying at the Grove? This will be where we will be staying when we go.
Disney is charging a $20 for parking at the park and at their cheaper hotels. At their more expensive hotels parking is $33 a day. They are justifying this by saying they are keeping up with other resort hotels! The CEO of Disney only makes $160 million a year! Walt Disney wanted the park to be affordable for the average man. This is pure greed and prices will only increase if people will continue to pay the piper!
At hotel we are going to stay in the ramada.i like no parking charge.thats what I don’t like at the resorts.we pay alot and still for parking to stay at resort’s .ridiculous .and the hotel has free shuttle to parks..
The biggest factors for me (aside from the convenience of onsite), are the ability to book fast passes 60 days out instead of 30 and the ease of paying with the magicband (I think parking at the park is also included, but have an AP now so that wouldn’t be different for me on or off site).
Thank you for this article! My fiance and I were gifted a week at a timeshare about 5 minutes from Disney Springs for the 1st week of May 2019. That erased our need to pay for accommodations, but I was becoming a little “DIS”enchanted with the idea of staying off-site.
You made some great points as to why on-site might not be our best option (not big eaters, want to spend some time out of the parks, and doing a day at Universal and Kennedy Space Ctr, to name a few).
Any tips for the off-site visitor at that time of year?
Thank you for this unbiased report…
For Disneyland, you say the extra hours aren’t really a benefit, because the corresponding park without extra hours will be less crowded. Does this trick not apply in Orlando?
If you have affiliation with the Army or other branches of the DoD, consider Shades of Green. Not very Disney themed, but its across the street (and down a driveway) from the Polynesian at a fraction of the price. They also allow you access to the extra magic hours and they have their own park transportation. They do not have a shuttle from MCO like you can get staying at a Disney property. Rooms are large with 2 queen beds and a pull out sofa bed. Also there is a refrigerator and microwave. They offer a reasonably priced breakfast buffet. The property is nice with 2 pools (one with a slide), a hot tub, and a small, but nicely designed splash park for the kids.The last couple trips we rented a car which allowed us to take trips outside the bubble.
One of my favorite benefits to staying “on-site” is the package delivery to your hotel for things purchased on property. Not having to carry things around is a huge bonus. I’ve looked up Swan & Dolphin multiple times to check it out to make sure they can also get package delivery (so far I’m pretty sure they can)…. But then..
No Magical Express, no charging to room from places on property (really the only benefit I desire in the Magic Band… So also no “free” Magic Band), resort fee (yuck).
So then I rent DVC points and see what I can get compared to other moderates.
I am planning a vacation to WDW in Dec 2018 for my 3 kids & their families. It will be 8 adults & 6 children ages 1-12 & have been reading the pros & cons of staying onsite vs offsite. This is our first trip & I am leaning towards staying onsite to get the most of the Disney experience. We will be staying for 4 days as we are spending Christmas with family at Seista Keys. My grandchildren are not big on rides so was trying to compensate with staying at one of the moderate/budget resorts. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as there are so many things to consider. Thank you
I am working in a similar type trip for same time frame. Have you made any decisions? I assumed with kids from 2 to 16 on site was a shoe in. Now I’m not so sure…
We have decided for our party of 9 to use AirB&B and get a huge luxury house. It comes with pools, restaurant, the works. We will be savings tons of money even factoring in 2 rental cars. The 5-10 minute drive doesn’t bother us, plus we can eat breakfast at home then a decent restaurant for dinner if we so choose.
We went in December with a group of about 10 adults and 5 kids. We rented a home with home away that had 8 bedrooms, a private heated pool, hot tub, pool table. The home came with 2 strollers crib and high chair.
It was so nice to have a room for each person and space to separate at the end of the day. The home was about 2k for 7 days and I would do that again next year to save money as staying onsite would have been about 6x the cost. We did spend a few days going to universal and other non disney locations.
Staying on-site is so much easier to get to and from without the hassle of driving. Transportation is much more reliable for their own hotels and they make less stops, appreciated at the end of the day when park closes and you are exhausted.
Avoid Lake Buena Vista hotels with Disney transportation, not so convenient.
Have a wonderful stay.
KUDOS! This article is well written, well-made articulate points by the author. Hey, Thanks for staying your hard earned monies at Disney.. I am a Disney shareholder and would Never stay Disney Hotel! Disney Mastered Marketing and Demand getting guest to “Drink the Potion! There are thousands of Non-Disney deluxe hotel rooms INSIDE Disney gates (Bonnet Creek) as well as 1/2 mile outside gates that are less than half the price of cramped Disney rooms. As for Disney dining package… this too is simply a CONVENIENCE you will NEVER get the monies back you spent on rack rate room with “FREE DINING” package. To make Disney Dining worthwhile, you would have to rearrange your entire trip around food eating. You would only going to mostly signature restaurants and only ordering the most expensive item on the menu(if you like it or not). Sorry kids you only get to eat escargot at stuffy Monsieur Paul Restaurant… NO! ABSOLUTELY NO MAC AND CHEESE FOR YOU! Good luck with that! Disney is a Business! If Disney cannot make money off the Dining package they would NOT offer it. Simply JUST SAY NO!! Pay for what you want! You will be happier not to manage everyone’s “dining credits” and will be cheaper for your stay. Fun Fact: only 11-15% of any patrons in Disney Park at any one time are staying in Disney Hotels… So, 85% of park attendees are smart enough to not drink too much of the “Disney Magic Marketing Potion” that relieves you from MORE of your hard-earned monies.
Orlando is the cheapest place in USA to rent a car and you are then free to see more than just DISNEY!! Do not get me wrong. We LOVE LOVE LOVE to spend time enjoying theming restaurants and amenities at monorail resorts. But I do not have to pay $450++ a night to do that. Same 2 bed cramped hotel room down the road is $89. You will have enough Disney Magic (hordes of people) at the parks. Why would you want to deal with that same chaos on Disney busses and at the Disney hotel? When was the last time you took a cramped smelly sticky bus ride in real life? How did Disney convince you it was a good idea on vacation? REALLY? Were you drinking the “Disney Magic Marketing Potion” again???
NET: Staying Onsite at DISNEY Hotel is outrageously overpriced even with FREE Disney Dining Plan! ONLY IF: You are RICH, have extra money to burn, you do not drive, are handicapped or traveling alone with children, extremely lazy or unmotivated person would a Disney resort be a good choice. We personally enjoy ourselves so much more when we know we saw explored, eat and done more for 1/2 the price of anyone that stays at any Disney resort. It is just like getting to come back again to Disney parks for Free. There is so much more to Orlando area than just Disney. Look around before you book. Stay away from Disney World exclusive travel agents Shop around stay inside Disney Gates for 1/2 the price…
I love your honest feedback! Thanks so much for sharing. We definitely will be taking your advices while planning our first Disney Vacation. Could you please tell us more of what you meant by “staying inside Disney Gates”? Should I purchase tickets directly online with Disney before arrival or should I wait until I get to Disney Gates?
Which off site hotels would you suggest? Thanks!
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I agree Mike J., especially regarding the Disney dining plan. I think 99.99% of people will lose money on this. Now hear me out: I know it is totally possible to plan out your meals so your “retail” value exceeds what you paid for the dining plan. That does not mean you actually saved money. (Plus, now you need to plan out your meals 6 months in advance).
Consider this example: you’ve just finished your dinner, which came to $40. The table service credit is roughly $45 in your meal plan. The dining plan includes a dessert, so you order one, because hey, it’s already been paid for, even though you don’t normally eat dessert after meals. The dessert comes to $10 (I’m just using round numbers here), so you ate a dinner/dessert that cost $50, and you paid $45. That does not mean you “saved” $5. If you had been paying cash, you would have just stopped at your $40 meal. You actually spent an extra $5, because you essentially got a $10 dessert for half price when you wouldn’t have ordered the dessert in the first place otherwise.
Also, like you said, too bad if you’re really craving a grilled chicken sandwich or a pizza- you need to either order steak/seafood or go to a character dinner, where the food is generally a buffet and generally of a Golden Corral quality.
Also agree on the hotel rooms. We stayed at Boardwalk Inn and while the grounds were pretty, once you get inside the hotel room it’s not vastly different from a DoubleTree or even a nicer Holiday Inn.
We stayed at Floridays recently, which was probably comparative price wise to Pop Century, and got a 2 bedroom condo with a full kitchen and washer/dryer. Yes, we had to drive ourselves to and from the parks, but we didn’t have to pay $60 (after tax and tip, for a family of four) every morning to eat some overly buttered scrambled eggs and frozen waffles either.
I get that some people want the immersive experience, but for us, 4 people crammed in a hotel room and paying a 50% (at least) markup for food for three meals a day is just not what we want. However, I have a friend who always stays at Pop Century and gets the quick service dining plan (obviously not now) and she is extremely budget conscious and this is the only way she’ll go to Disney, so I guess there are people for whom the extreme markup and limited choices are worth it.
One more thing: If price is your bottom line, be very careful with off-site hotels and be sure that you’re looking at the actual bottom line. Sometimes off-site hotels surprise you with resort fees, parking fees, park shuttle fees, and more. These fees can add $20-50 to your hotel cost.
We’ve stayed both on-site and off-site, and they’re both great … but they’re NOT the same vacation.
When you stay on-site, it’s all about the parks. It’s so easy to go-go-go, especially because of the easy transportation and extra park hours. I agree with your phrase “Disney bubble” — you’re immersed in the magic, eager to spend as much time as reasonable in the parks.
However, when you stay off-site, you’re on vacation … it’s a more laid-back, relaxing vacation. You typically have more space to spread out, and you spend more quality time with family — lingering over breakfast, playing a board game together. An off-site Disney trip is more like a vacation that happens to include theme parks.
Decide which vacation you want before you book your trip!