Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando at Disney World Now Open!
Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando is a new on-site hotel at Walt Disney World. This resort within walking distance of Disney Springs is now partially open, with construction nearing completion. This post shares delay details, our commentary, official info, and whether you should book these accommodations. (Updated February 27, 2023.)
By way of background, the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando at Disney Springs is technically a partially-new hotel. It replaces the Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort, and is a full renovation to that existing property plus a totally new tower. In 2017, Drury Hotels bought the Best Western property for $20.5 million and continued to operate the hotel as normal while planning this expansion.
Permits were filed for this project back in 2018 and construction began the following year. Then the closure of Walt Disney World happened. The Best Western never reopened when other Disney Springs hotels started returning, and the project was paused for a while. I know this because it’s on the route we used to take to Trader Joe’s, and I always marveled that so much equipment was on-site yet nothing was happening…
February 27, 2023 Update: Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando in the Disney Springs Resort Area welcomed its first guests during last year’s holiday season, and just held its official grand opening celebration. As you might recall, the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando was originally scheduled to open last fall, but had its opening date quietly pushed back a few times.
“We are pleased to provide our guests the opportunity to visit the Walt Disney World Resort with the exceptional value and customer service that Drury Hotels has provided for 50 years,” said Chuck Drury, President and CEO of Drury Hotels. “Our guests are at the very center of everything we do, and we hope to exceed their expectations with this incredible new hotel in the heart of the Disney Springs Resort Area.”
When construction is completed, Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando will feature 604 rooms with a targeted finish date in Spring 2023. It’s our understanding that the first phase, which is open already, features 264 rooms, or fewer than half of the total room count. (We’re planning a review stay, with late April 2023 as a tentative date, but we’ll push that back if the entire hotel isn’t done by then.)
Guests can also reserve one of the 78 two-room suites, perfect accommodations for families of up to six guests. In-room amenities include a 55” smart flat screen television, mini refrigerator, microwave, alarm clock with Bluetooth and charging station, executive work spaces, and in-room safe. The Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando within the Disney Springs Area will also offer 17,000+ square feet of meeting and event space for up to 250 persons.
Previously, the company has confirmed that the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando at Disney Springs would offer the following amenities and perks:
- Drury will NOT charge a resort fee. The resort fee is normally $25 + tax per room night. According to Drury, the average length of stay is typically 5 nights, so this reflects a savings of $125. This decision aligns with Drury’s commitment to provide its guests with exceptional service and amenities at an honest value.
- Other complimentary hotel amenities include hot breakfast, dinnertime snacks and beverages at our 5:30 Kickback, WiFi, and shuttle service to all Walt Disney World theme parks and Disney Springs. (The hotel is also within walking distance of Disney Springs.)
- Starbucks Coffee will be onsite in the Market Place, along with Pizza Hut Express and two other onsite restaurants.
Here’s other info and past commentary about the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando at Disney Springs…
The Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando at Disney Springs will feature a host of amenities and is in close proximity to the Walt Disney World theme parks. Drury also will offer transportation to and from the theme parks and other surrounding attractions.
The new hotel will be within walking distance of Disney Springs, and can be booked as part of a Walt Disney World vacation package. There are also a number of restaurants and stores within walking distance off-site on Vineland.
“We look forward to welcoming guests and providing them with a magical experience,” said Chuck Drury, CEO of Drury Hotels. “Our designation as an Official Walt Disney World Hotel means we have been entrusted to adhere to exceptional service standards. Given our track record of providing award-winning guest service, I know our team’s efforts will delight and impress our guests and visitors.”
Tom Drury, a seven-year veteran in the hotel and hospitality industry, has been named the hotel’s general manager. Drury team member, John Branciforte, will serve as the hotel director of sales. Once open, the hotel will employ 150 full- and part-time team members.
The Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista will feature a resort-style pool, splash pad and poolside dining and refreshments at the Lakeside Bar & Grill. It will also offer an extensive marketplace for grab-and-go food items and sundries, and a cozier dining experience at The Kitchen + Bar.
Additionally, there will be a wide range of complimentary amenities, including hot breakfast with pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, fresh fruit, oatmeal, biscuits and gravy, KELSO+BROS coffee, and more. The new Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando will also offer a daily 5:30 pm reception including hot food and cold beverages, as well as 24-hour business and fitness centers.
The Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando offers a number of special and discounted rates for auto club members, seniors, federal government, military, law enforcement and more. Most of these appear to be 10% off standard nightly rates.
Additionally, Florida residents will be able to save 10% on rates (proof of ID required at check-in) at the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista.
It appears that the best discount will be for Walt Disney World Annual Passholders, who can enjoy up to a 15% discount off the Best Flexible Rate when booked through the official Drury Hotels website.
As with all other Disney Springs Area resorts, Annual Passholders can make Disney Park Pass reservations for their length of stay if staying at the Drury Plaza Hotel. This means you will not be subject to passholder daily allotments to the theme parks.
In pricing out a range of different dates, the best pricing I could find was the above. That’s not too shabby for a new on-site hotel at Walt Disney World, but it’s nothing remarkable, either. As with most of the Disney Springs Area resorts, my expectation is that the biggest savings won’t come with any of the above affiliations, but via Priceline, Hotwire, and other discount booking sites.
That’s one thing we loved about its predecessor, the Best Western. That hotel almost always had great last minute rates, and we’d frequently use it as a gap-filler reservation on nights when rates were high elsewhere. I loved that Best Western–it offered great budget accommodations and spacious rooms.
I’m also excited for the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando at Disney Springs. I don’t expect it to be anything like the Best Western in terms of pricing, but it should also benefit from being newer and having a more robust slate of amenities. Plus, more on-site hotels and competition is always a good thing, especially at a time when resort prices have spiraled out of control.
We’re also eager to check out another Drury Hotel. Admittedly, our experience is rather limited with this Midwestern chain, but we have heard nothing but great things. It sounds like an excellently-run family operation that takes care of its staff and guests. Based on feedback from friends and other travelers, they punch above their weight and the free hot breakfast and dinner/happy hour services are excellent. That alone is worth a lot for those who can take advantage, as food isn’t getting any cheaper at Walt Disney World! (If you have any feedback about Drury, we’d love to hear it in the comments.)
With that said, there’s absolutely no way I’d book this for November or December. Although Drury claims that the first phase is nearing completion, I’m skeptical. That doesn’t appear true when driving past the property. Although significant progress has been made in the last several months, it looks like there’s still a lot to be done.
If using other recent Orlando hotel projects as benchmarks, it’s impossible to say with certainty that it’ll be done on time. Labor shortages and supply chain woes are ongoing–and there’s the potential the latter could worsen in the coming months.
Anyone who booked the Swan Reserve last February when its reservations opened for summer can tell you how that went. Several delays later, the hotel finally opened–four months late. In fairness, that hotel had some unique issues and delays necessitated by work needing to be redone, but it’s hardly an outlier in terms of construction projects not hitting their original target.
The bigger difference between the Swan Reserve and this is that the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando doesn’t have a gigantic fish pyramid next door to which it can relocate displaced guests. Personally, I would not gamble with a cancellation during what’s likely to be another busy holiday season.
Nevertheless, the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando is an attractive option, especially for those already planning ahead for 2023 Walt Disney World vacations. As a general matter, we think the Disney Springs Area Resorts are underrated and overlooked by a lot of fans.
That should start to change, especially as visitors find alternative airport transportation to Walt Disney World, which will also open the door to third party hotels for some. The options at Disney Springs are compelling in that they’re technically on-site, significantly cheaper, and offer on-site perks like early entry. For how these hotels stack up, see our Disney Springs Resort Rankings.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, 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 clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have you stayed at the new Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando at Disney Springs? If so, what did you think of the hotel? How was the breakfast? What about transportation to the parks? Any other highlights or lowlights? Did you ever stay at the Best Western in the same location? 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!
Does anybody have any updates on this please? We are due to arrive on December 10th but Drury are ignoring all emails and Facebook messages.
Drury called me yesterday that they pushed back the opening date now-giving us money back for 1 night and putting us at their other location, but the rest is booked as a package through Disney and not sure how they’ll handle it yet.
what are your dates???
we keep hearing the 1st of December we’re supposed to be there starting the 3rd so I hope it’s the 1st. it’s making me very nervous too
Good Luck, I hope all is good for you 🙂 It is worrying though, it is less than a month and Drury don’t seem to care 🙁
We stayed at our first Drury hotel in Pittsburgh years ago and the whole family loved it! We were amazed at all the extras, many of which you mentioned but also included a pop and popcorn machine available all day, free drinks at the hotel bar and parking for our car while we were in Florida. Every staff member was amazing and the front desk employee even invited us to enjoy the free dinner when we came back (a week later from our vacation on the free airport shuttle) just to retrieve our car. When we did a two week Universal vacation we stayed at the closest Drury and again enjoyed all the free food and perks. Highly recommend and will definitely stay at the newest location for a future Disney visit.
As a St. Louis resident with about 20 Drurys in exceptionally close proximity to me, I’ve got a lot of experience with the chain and really love staying at them when I get the chance. It feels kind of like the ‘Southwest Airlines’ of Hotels, who looked at an industry that was changing to guest-unfriendly practices and decided they weren’t going to do that to their customers. I love that it’s a business-quality hotel where you can still get a free hot breakfast, and the snacks and drinks for happy hour are nothing to sneeze at either. Plus, they might have just gotten a booking from me for the sheer fact that they aren’t charging resort fees. I hate that nonsense!
One other benefit of this hotel that I can see is that it’s right across the street from Saratoga Springs. So, if all else fails and the shuttle service sucks, it’s not THAT far of a walk to get to actual Disney buses.
I booked this location last Feb for the end of November. Corporate office called me 2 weeks ago saying they could not accommodate me for my dates. They offered either $50 a night off if I could move my arrival to Dec 1st, or a free stay at their Universal location. I opted for FREE as I love Drury Inns. Then I requested to book 3 more nights after (arriving Dec 6 at the knew location. Their response was that they could not guarantee they would be open by then.
I suggest MOVING your dates out or calling Corporate in St Louis to confirm.
We’ve stayed at the Universal area Drury and it’s fantastic! I booked the Springs location for early October and received a call that they wouldn’t be open in time. We were offered the chance to stay at the Universal location, at no charge, if we kept the same dates. If we wanted to change our dates, we were offered the Springs location for half off if we booked after December 1st, the new projected opening date. I’ve read a lot of comments from people who are booked for November. You may want to call and double check. While they didn’t open on time, Drury is a great place to stay!! I’m sure the shortage of workers and COVID did a number on their delays…
We are booked for Dec 3-10. making me concerned.
Okay. I was confused by all of our responses and thought maybe I misunderstood when I called and they said “accepting reservations starting December 1.” Seeing that Tony was confirmed for November 12 made me nervous that he could be cancelled and thought we could be too. I called again and the extremely nice lady told me that they had hoped to open in October but weren’t completely ready but had taken reservations for November. The hotel has two towers and one tower isn’t finished. They are able to fulfill the reservations they already had in the completed tower and were told to hold off on new reservations until December 1 when both towers would be complete.
She also told me that the pool and splash pad would be ready and it’s their biggest pool of any of their hotels. “We went all out.” The Pizza Hut Express and Starbucks would be open and the complimentary hotel transportation would be up and running. I said, so it sounds like I can stop looking for a back up hotel and she said, “Yes ma’am.” 🙂 I’m from NY, so I appreciated that.
Thanks, JoAnna. I was thinking about calling as well so you saved me! I was getting a little nervous in reading the other comments, too. I’m SO looking forward to staying at this Drury as (hopefully) a Day 1 guest! I stayed at a Drury last week, and will stay at a different Drury this coming week. We have always had great experiences staying at Drury hotels and we are celebrating some special events on this trip, so it’ll even be more fun than our “normal” WDW trips. I think we can cancel our “backup” reservation on WDW property now!
Any update on this opening? I’m looking to book December 1 – December 3, which it will let me. However, their website will not let me book any earlier than that.
we check in on the 3rd of December so I hope it’s going to be ready.
I got clever and just called them! They said it’s opening on December 1, which is when we wanted to stay. I’m slightly nervous and may book a back up. However, this place sounds great and I think it would be awesome to be the first people staying!
We booked through Disney so if they’re not open for some reason we’ll get put in another hotel.
It was just too close to not have a backup
We also have a backup reservation on-property at WDW but will have to cancel it next week unless we want to lose our $200 deposit.
We just confirmed this week that my wife and I will be in the first group to check in to the Drury Plaza at Disney Springs! We have stayed at Drury hotels a lot in the past and we are REALLY looking forward to this trip. We visit WDW every year and almost always stay “on property” but we are exciting about this trip staying off property for the first time sine 2017. Early park entry. Free park transportation. Walks to Disney Springs. Bring it on!
Looking for transportation information from the Drury Plaza to the parks. The site says; free shuttle to parks yet when I called the Drury, I was told that the transportation was Disney. I called Disney and was told that the transportation was from Disney Springs. I go to Disney Springs and can not find any information on when or if they start shuttles to the parks.
I am SO confused.
what are your dates that you’re staying?
We are checking in on November 12th.
they’re saying they’re not going to open till December 1st
We are booked for Drury Disney in Feb. 2023 but I can’t seem to figure out if we will have the early access 7am Individual Lightning Lane purchasing benefit. Neither Disney nor Drury phone reps could give me an answer. (Riding Rise of the Resistance is a must for us & it sounds like a 7am reservation time is the only way to guarantee a spot.) Any idea about this?
@ Kate-it’s an official Disney World hotel so early morning entry should apply!
Now that February has passed, can you report if you were able to get your lightening lanes booked at 7am while staying at the Drury Hotel?
I definitely had early entry and was able to get my virtual line number for Guardians at 7 AM. Call the front desk and they will give you a reservation number to plug into your MDE app- that will set you up!
I just re-read this article (for the umpteenth time!) and I didn’t see anything about parking. I thought I’d read previously that Drury Plaza wasn’t going to charge for parking but I just checked their website for the first time in a couple months and it now prominently states a $25 per day parking fee. I don’t recall seeing that before…did I miss it or did they just add that? I also don’t recall seeing that when I booked it and just re-checked my reservation confirmation and found that it states an $18 parking fee “may apply”. I’m not extremely upset, since Disney and most other hotels don’t charge for parking. I just thought we were getting another extra perk of free parking by staying at the Drury Plaza and it now does not appear to be the case. Thoughts???
Tony – your parking information is not current. Disney hotels all charge for parking between $15-50 depending on the type of resort. They didn’t used to though and started in 2015-16 or so. Also many of the Disney Springs hotels either charge parking or a resort fee – I didn’t check all of them though. Drury is not charging a resort fee and the parking appears to be average at $25 per night. Of course these fees add up regardless and a good reminder to look at total cost when booking.
I forgot to add, for you older WDW property stayers (2009ish), you will have a nostalgic flashback because the Drury hotels use the original H2O+ scent that came in the WDW resort property rooms during this year.
We love love love Drury!! It is our go-to hotel wherever we stay (if there is one available). We live in St. Charles, Missouri, and the Drury family not only has the best hotels, but they are also very generous to the community. One thing that sets them apart as a hotel chain is the exceptional customer service and the added perks. They are far and above the best place we’ve stayed (definitely like the customer service of Disney resorts of old)! The breakfast is awesome and at the 5:30 kickback every guest 21 and older also gets 3 free alcoholic drinks to accompany their dinner! It is soooo nice! It is good simple midwestern food, but there are enough options for everyone. If you deduct the food offerings, plus the three cocktails/drinks, not to mention the cleanliness and customer service, it is the best deal available. We always leave with a smile. So excited to try out this hotel next time we go to Disney World!
We stay at Drury hotels whenever we can and I can say that Tom and Chuck Drury are the real deal. I live in Missouri and have met them on a few occasions. They are giving, down to earth, family oriented, employee friendly, and all about guest service. We will be booking a stay at the new Drury in Disney Springs and know it will be as good as or better than all the other Drury getaways.
This might be a good option. Last time we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge: Kidani Village room was so run down and in need of a facelift. All of the kitchen cabinets had peeling, and chipping paint as did the chairs for the dining table. Walls had numerous scuff marks that needed a fresh coat of paint. Even the washer dryer was really loud when running as was the dishwasher. We also found dirty dishes in our room and other than housekeeping coming to get them when we called about it they did nothing. We had to ask for additional towels because there were only enough for 4 people, even though our reservation was for 6 adults. It was just disappointing, for me the last trip all of the Disney Magic is disappearing, there are no benefits of staying on property except not paying for parking in the parks. It makes it hard since we invested all the money in DVC. Gone are the days where the parks are clean, the staff members are friendly, and the staff members don’t even care if they endanger guests on rides because they won’t listen to guests. Gone are free fast passes, and more and more parades are being done after hours at an extra cost. Everything seems to be about the money, you have to pay for the Genie app and all the other stuff, park tickets are increasing, food is increasing, merchandise is increasing when you can find it and the only way you can order food is on an app. You are only allowed to look at a menu on your phone, and when you ask for a paper menu, they truly seem put out. Getting dinner reservations is impossible, and when you do the overpriced food is mostly just adequate and out of the parks in Downtown Disney. Waiters are clumsy and spill wine on members of your party, and don’t even apologize. As you can see, I had issues with my last visit, now I am trying to figure out when we want to go again.
Hi Tom
Would this new Hotel be allowed the 60 day + 10 day ADR booking? I see it is a Disney owned hotel so would that 10 day into your stay ADR booking window apply to this hotel?
My family of 5 is a huge fan of Drury Hotels! We live in the Midwest and have stayed in Drury hotels in Kentucky, Tenn., Georgia and Florida. All were very clean and comfortable. This hotel will be great for couples or families who want to focus on enjoying the Disney park attractions (with perks) but save money on food and lodging. First off, the breakfast is by far one of the best hotel chain free meals. There is enough variety that you could have something different each day of vacation. You could easily fill up on breakfast before hitting the parks and need only a light lunch. The kickback food is pretty good… there is always hotdogs, chips and salsa, soup and fresh spring salad, baked potato and a daily dinner style entree (they have a sample menu online). I would compare Kickback meals to a quick service meal at one of the All star resorts. My teenage son loves the food at Drury Inn and Suites and he is ALWAYS hungry! Unlimited fountain soda as well. The Drury Inn in Orlando near Universal offers a complimentary cocktail. They made my daughter a complimentary Shirley Temple too. I’m curious if they will have Disney art in the rooms… because in Louisville Kentucky the rooms had Kentucky Derby photography artwork. Sorry this is so long. Hope this info will be helpful to someone!
Thank you, good to read! I’ve already booked for November but also booked another Disney Springs hotel as a backup.
My group of 14 peeps is booked in 3 separate 2 room 2 Queen bed suites this year. Arriving October 31st and checking out November 10th. Prayers all goes to plan or we will be sleeping outside. Hahaahah I’m sure all will be great and our trip is amazing
We usually stay five times a year at Disney hotels on property. We are being priced out of these and this looks like a great replacement. Our problem is my wife and I both have ecv’s. Do you know if the bus service to the parks can accommodate us? We could ecv to Disney Springs then bus to a hotel then bus to a park but that could take away from Park Time.
That is my exact question. Hopefully someone has the answer.
If I can stay at a Drury Hotel, they are my first choice. Awesome service. Always super clean. The breakfast and early evening food assortment is amazing. Hot food. Unlimited. Always saves money feeding kids on vacation. Very excited for this property.
There’s a reason no other hotel chain has received the J.D. Power award “Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Upper Midscale Hotel Chains” for 16 years in a row. If you’ve never stayed at a Drury Hotel, you are in for a treat.
Great location, I use to stay at the Best Western year ago, stayed several times. The location was great and always deals. That being said the hotel needed to be redone for sure. The new hotel looks amazing, and really geared to vacationers