Disney World’s On-Site Advantage: Perks & Benefits of Staying in WDW Resort Hotels
Walt Disney World owned resorts offer several guest benefits: free transportation, line-skipping priority booking, extra hours, airport luggage transfer & more. This covers how on-site perks have changed, whether they offer an actual advantage or are merely marketing, and if WDW hotels are worth higher prices in 2026.
I’ll preface this by saying that we have been advocates of staying in the Walt Disney World “bubble” and are definitely biased towards that. In our On-Site v. Off-Site at Walt Disney World article we attempt to be balanced, but concede that we’re drawn to being inside the Walt Disney World “bubble,” which offers advantages in terms of location, convenience, and the feeling of an all-encompassing vacation destination.
However, that started to change even pre-closure. We still love a lot of Walt Disney World hotels and do on-site stays, but no longer strongly recommend them for everyone. Accordingly, what we are going to do is ask and attempt to answer an important question: what if the selling points of staying on-site are not as valuable as Disney’s marketing or conventional planning wisdom suggests?
For our 2026 update to this guide, we’re happy to report that Walt Disney World’s on-site perks continue to improve. With that said, your perspective will very much depend upon your frame of reference.
If you’re a first-timer, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised by all of the guest benefits offered by Walt Disney World resorts, especially the cheaper ones. The real world counterparts of these budget accommodations don’t offer nearly as much. At the other end of the spectrum, seasoned travelers accustomed to luxury hotels may be disappointed by Deluxe Resorts.
For repeat visitors comparing the on-site experience at Walt Disney World of 2026 to 2021, things are absolutely better. However, if you’re comparing the on-site experience today to the one in 2019, it’s still worse. Watch the advertisement below you’re in the mood for mild depression. Seriously, don’t say I didn’t warn you:
In any case, there have been a few positive developments last year and this year, so it’s fairly undeniable that the trajectory for on-site perks at Walt Disney World is positive. On-site advantages are continuing to reappear rather than continuing to disappear, as we’ll discuss here.
Let’s start with a recently-restored perk that continues to evolve: Airport Luggage Transfer.
This previously existed as a companion to the now defunct Disney’s Magical Express, which we’re also hoping–and somewhat expecting–will make a comeback. Currently, Airport Luggage Transfer is a pilot program available at all Value Resort hotels for guests with Southwest Airlines flights through Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Guests staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels can drop checked baggage off with Luggage Assistance to be delivered directly to your flight. A third-party service, BagCheck, will take your luggage directly to the airport for your Southwest Airlines flight. This outbound service launched last spring.
Guests are also able to check their luggage at the Southwest bag drop area or ticket counter at their home airport for direct delivery to their resort as part of the new Inbound Airport Luggage Transfer works. This service is newer, having launched last holiday season.
This is a great option for a friction-less arrival and departure experience. Honestly, I’d consider Pop Century over a higher tier resort (Caribbean Beach, for example) just for this benefit if I were already planning on flying SWA. We expect this to expand to other tiers of resorts and airlines throughout 2026 and 2027.
Another new one is that Kids Eat FREE All Year in 2026 at Walt Disney World. Throughout all of 2026, guests staying at one of Walt Disney World’s on-site resort hotels will get a Free Disney Dining Plan for their kids (ages 3 to 9 at the time of travel) when purchasing a Disney Dining Plan as part of their package for the other members of their party (ages 10 and up at the time of travel).
The Free Disney Dining Plan included in this special offer depends on the Disney Dining Plan the adults in the party purchase. The standard Disney Dining Plan is included for kids ages 3-9 when purchasing a regular Disney Dining Plan for guests ages 10 and older in the party. The Quick-Service Disney Dining Plan is included for kids ages 3-9 when purchasing a Quick-Service Disney Dining Plan for Guests ages 10 and older in the party.
The Kids Free Dining Plan at Walt Disney World can be combined with other select special offers, meaning you may still be eligible to take advantage of other deals released throughout 2026. There are already several such discounts, from all 2026 room-only discounts to bouncebacks to the new ‘Buy 4, Get 2 Free’ deal. Even DVC point rental is eligible for the Kids Free Dining Plan!
This ability to stack the Kids Eat Free offer is why it’s better considered a perk as opposed to a discount. It definitely improves the value proposition on the Disney Dining Plan for any party with even one child ages 3 to 9. For families with multiple young children or that plan on doing character meals, it becomes a no-brainer!
Another recently added perk is the Free Water Park Day in 2026. Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests can enjoy admission to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach on their check-in day. Room-only reservations, vacation packages and Disney Vacation Club stays on points will all be eligible–but all guests must be on the reservation.
Unlike last year, this perk is only available for summer visits, valid for arrivals from May 26 to September 8, 2026. This free day ended up being hugely popular between last Spring Break and September, to the point that Walt Disney World was forced to (finally) reopen both water parks. It’s disappointing that the perk isn’t returning for (at least) March through October, but at least it’ll be available on the dates when water park hours are longest–making it easier to use on arrival day.
We love the Walt Disney World water parks and our favorite time to visit is the last 3 hours they’re open (for lower crowds). This will be a nice money-saving perk for some guests. But its value shouldn’t be overstated. After a long travel day, many people will want to just relax by the resort pool until their room is ready, and then head out to Disney Springs or do dinner after that.
The free water park day can be tricky to use, so for more advice on ‘hacking’ this on-site guest benefit (so you can use it more than once), see Beat Big Crowds & Make the Most of Walt Disney World’s Free Water Park Perk!
Next up is Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, which is the latest iteration of paid FastPass. We’re not going to get into the nuts and bolts of it here–see our Guide to Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Walt Disney World for that–but the bottom line is that the new line-skipping service is very similar to FastPass+ with the big difference being that it costs money.
Most notably, guests staying at an on-site Walt Disney World Resort hotel are able to plan Lightning Lane passes up to 7 days in advance, for their entire stay–up to 14 days. Off-site guests can plan up to 3 days in advance. This is huge.
Here’s a partial list of attractions that have limited availability starting 4 days in advance:
- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
- Haunted Mansion
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Jungle Cruise
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- Frozen Ever After
- Test Track
- Soarin’
- Tower of Terror
- Toy Story Mania
- Na’vi River Journey
Meaning that if you want to skip the lines at the most popular attractions, you’ll almost need to be staying on-site or get lucky with same-day ride reservation refills (hope you have a strong refresh game).
Availability is often completely or nearly gone once the 3-day mark rolls around. (For reasons discussed in our guide above, you’re at a distinct disadvantage if you don’t book morning time slots for at least some of your Lightning Lanes, so there simply being some availability isn’t enough–you want morning times to get the most value out of LLMP.)
Another add-on is the Disney Dining Plan. For many planners, being able to purchase the Disney Dining Plan is very important from a budgeting and convenience perspective. While we’ve been skeptical of this for years, but it’s nevertheless true that guests find themselves surprised by food costs more than anything else at Walt Disney World.
The Disney Dining Plan is a big plus for a lot of Walt Disney World guests who stay on-site. In our view, that probably overstates the degree to which this is an actual advantage. The reality is that the majority guests will come out ahead from a budgeting or convenience perspective by pre-purchasing discount Disney gift cards and using those to pay-as-they-go for food.
The big exception to this is families with kids ages 3-9 who qualify for the Kids Eat Free perk discussed above. They’ll absolutely come out ahead on the DDP. There are other exceptions to this, too, such as families of big carnivores or those willing to “hack” the Disney Dining Plan. But otherwise, the house usually wins.
Next, let’s turn to Walt Disney World’s extra hours: Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours. Early Theme Park Entry allows all on-site resort guests and those staying at select third party hotels to enjoy 30-minute access to any Walt Disney World theme park, every day before normal operating hours begin.
We’ve done Early Entry dozens of times (literally), and our experiences are largely positive at 3 of the 4 parks. Crucially, Extra Magic Hours occurred on select days of the week and only at one park on each occasion. This mean consolidating all on-site guests at a single park. Early Entry occurs daily at all 4 parks, and better spreads out the crowd as a result.
In practice, we’ve found Early Entry to be far less busy than EMH. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Animal Kingdom, it essentially offers a 2-3 ride headstart for on-site guests and is actually a pretty significant. (Most days, it is not as good at Magic Kingdom.)
Early Entry is a huge perk, and it’s doubly beneficial to be able to use it every single day at whichever park you want. Do not underestimate its value and skip Early Entry because it’s “only” 30 minutes. Learn strategy in our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World.
Next, there’s Extended Evening Theme Park Hours, which occur only two nights per week in total–for two hours each night. This benefit is exclusively for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas (Disney Vacation Club), or other select hotels (currently Swan & Dolphin and Shades of Green). Guests staying at Value or Moderate Resorts are not eligible for Extended Evening Hours.
This makes Extended Evening Hours a double-edged sword, with its quality hinging on resort status. For those who are eligible, Extended Evening Hours is huge. Crowds are virtually non-existent, as are lines for most attractions. It’s way better than Evening Extra Magic Hours, which had become overcrowded due to expanded eligibility during its last few years. (In fact, the crowds during Evening EMH are one of the reasons we first wrote this post, in the first place–Evening EMH had become almost useless due to overcrowding.)
Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of Value and Moderate Resort guests who, as noted above, cannot take advantage of Extended Evening Hours. So if you’re a Deluxe or DVC guest, this perk is fantastic. If you’re staying at a Moderate or below, it’s awful/nonexistent. See our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for more rules, eligibility, strategy, etc.
Two of the most recent changes concern transportation. As you’re likely aware, Disney’s Magical Express airport shuttle service ended. Now, visitors arriving to Orlando International Airport will need to rent a car, use Uber/Lyft, or arrange for an alternative shuttle service in order to get to their resort. This was a huge loss for many Walt Disney World visitors.
Disney’s Magical Express’ closest paid replacement is Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine. See our Guide to Airport Transportation for Walt Disney World for other options. There’s no one-size-fits-all perfect solution; it depends on your party size, budget, and other factors.
We’ve used Mears Connect many times, and have found it to be virtually identical to Disney’s Magical Express in speed, quality, and service. The biggest downside is that there’s a fee, and that since these are third parties, there’s not always seamless integration between the resorts and the shuttles in the event that an issue arises. (Some fans will cite the lack of luggage handling, but that disappeared from DME prior to this, so it’s hard to tie that to this particular change.)
On a positive transportation note, Walt Disney World brought back free overnight self-parking to guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotels. Complimentary parking was an on-site perk until a few years ago, and it was another prompt for this post in the first place.
We hated the charge for parking, and thought it was a bad decision that diminished the differentiation between Disney and its real-world counterparts. We were not alone. 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.
In addition to this, Walt Disney World resort hotel guests also continue to 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.)
Sticking with the topic of transportation, this is another on-site advantage offered by Walt Disney World…and one that has arguably improved by quite a bit. Let’s start with the neutral components: the monorails and boats are more or less the same.
Given that the monorails continue to age and one boat route has been cut, the argument could be made that these have gotten slightly worse. Anecdotally, I’m not sure I agree–monorail maintenance has decreased downtime and the one boat route is used by a small minority of guests.
Nevertheless, we view Walt Disney World transportation as better today than it was ~5 years ago. The big thing is the Skyliner, which we view as the best transportation option at Walt Disney World. When there is a line, it’s constantly moving and usually a short wait. Since the opening couple of months, the Skyliner gondola system has been incredibly reliable.
I won’t include Minnie Vans as a transportation “improvement” since there’s a pricey surcharge for those, and we don’t generally recommend them. Plus, if you’re willing to use Disney’s Minnie Vans, you might as well be willing to use Lyft or Uber, which have become ubiquitous in Central Florida. The ease of Lyft and Uber is definitely an improvement for guests, but it’s neither here nor there from an “advantage” perspective since it isn’t a change made by Disney.
Turning back to dining, there is an on-site advantage when it comes to booking Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs). Currently, everyone can book table service restaurants 60 days prior to the date on which they’d like to eat. In addition, Walt Disney World resort hotel guests can make Advance Dining Reservations for their length of stay (up to a 10-day stay) up to 60 days in advance of their check-in date.
As discussed in our Top 10 Tips for Booking Difficult Advance Dining Reservations, this “60+10” window can be incredibly advantageous 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 valuable.
The good news is that ADRs have gotten easier over the course of this year, to the point that the 60+10 window is not really necessary for most parties or travel dates. We book a lot of last minute ADRs as a party of 1-3, and they’re not nearly as difficult as a few years ago. However, if you’re a party of more than 4 people, the 60+10 window can be advantageous.
Then there’s the biggest consideration, which is cost. This has always been the primary selling point for staying off-site. It’s worth reiterating here because the cost difference between off-site and on-site accommodations has become much more pronounced in the last few years.
As discussed in How Much Does a Walt Disney World Vacation Cost?, the average total price of a trip this year versus a comparable vacation in 2019 is up by thousands of dollars. On a positive note, that has already improved since publication, as numerous discounts have been released for 2026. Walt Disney World continues to get more aggressive with deals, to the point that prices can be lower in 2026 than they were in 2022-2023.
In other words, this one comes down to your frame of reference. If you visited in 2019 or earlier, a 2026 Walt Disney World vacation is still going to cost a lot more and you’re going to get less. However, the same is true pretty of much everything and everywhere–inflation, shrinkflation, and skimpflation have hit American consumers hard.
If you can afford on-site hotels at Walt Disney World, it’s definitely still nice to stay in a resort with an immersive design, attention to details, and various Disney touches. It’s also nice to be able to walk to the parks, or be part of the Disney bubble.
For many people, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of this. There’s a certain x-factor that the Disney resorts offer that elevates the overall experience into something more special. This is true for us, and even with all of the complaints here, we still prefer staying on-site in Disney-owned properties.
To their credit, Walt Disney World’s resorts are still meticulously themed, with a ton of charm, detail, and transportive environments you mostly won’t find off-site. This has long been a big selling point, as your resort stay feels like an extension of the theme parks.
This applies mostly to the exterior grounds and interior common areas. With certain recent room refurbishments, the sense of theme inside Walt Disney World’s hotel rooms has been diminished. We’ve been critical of this because themed environments are what defines Disney, and are in the wheelhouse of Imagineers.
Many of the new rooms seem to be striving more towards crowd-pleasing styles, with generic modern designs, clean and crisp aesthetics, and generally elegant luxury (the last one only applies to Deluxe Resorts). In general, the rooms are less fun and have traded unique and colorful designs for more bland and basic ones.
On a positive note, Disney seems to be turning the corner on this. The new rooms at the Grand Floridian are an unequivocal upgrade over their predecessor in both theme and luxury, and just one recent example of a shift in this regard. It would seem that the worst of this occurred between 2016 and 2019, with the rooms in the last 2-3 years striking the balance much better. Hopefully this is the start of a positive trend and shifts into the ‘on-site advantage’ column over time.
The problem with the previous move towards modern and nondescript rooms is that Disney went from a realm with almost no real competition (ornately themed designs) to placing itself in direct competition with real-world hotel brands by mimicking their style.
This not only makes for an easier head-to-head comparison in terms of guest rooms, but it’s also a comparison that’s often not favorable to Disney. I love a lot of things about Walt Disney World, but do not view it as one of the world’s great operators of hotels.
Actual luxury hoteliers such as Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, Waldorf Astoria, and Four Seasons have high end properties near Walt Disney World, and they generally surpass even Walt Disney World’s flagship hotel on a luxury front. It’s arguable that even the Marriott, Hilton, and Wyndham hotels give Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World a run for their money–and those are often priced below Moderate levels!
When it comes to alternatives to staying on-site, we think that the real sweet spot is on-site third party hotels like the Swan & Dolphin, Four Seasons Orlando, and Bonnet Creek Resorts. (See our List of the Best Third Party Hotels Near Walt Disney World.)
Several of these have locations that are as good or better than Disney-owned and operated hotels, and are less expensive. Many also offer the same perks as Disney hotels. Swan & Dolphin, for example, offer Extended Evening Hours whereas Disney Value and Moderate Resorts won’t have access to those.
You also might consider renting a vacation home, both for the sake of privacy and isolation. (See our Best Vacation Home Rentals Near Walt Disney World.) These are especially great for larger parties, and you can literally rent an entire house for the cost of a mid-tier Walt Disney World hotel room. Some of these contain themed kids rooms, in-home theaters, game rooms, private pools, plus everything else you’d expect from a house.
Another great option right now is staying at Universal Orlando, which still does offer most of its on-site advantages and its own sense of immersion and being inside of a “Universal bubble” (albeit to a lesser extent).
If you want to go all-out with Universal’s nicest hotels that are in walking distance of the parks and include unlimited line-skipping at attractions via Express Pass, see our Hard Rock Hotel Review and Portofino Bay Hotel Review. Even though these are Universal Orlando’s more expensive hotels, they’re still priced about on par with Moderate Resorts at Walt Disney World.
Our Universal Orlando Hotel Rankings & Reviews covers the pros & cons of all those resorts, many of which we love for their locations, theme, on-site perks, and value for money. Additionally, refer to Universal Orlando v. Walt Disney World Resorts for a comparison between Disney’s and Universal’s hotels to see what each does better.
Ultimately, that describes our dilemma with accommodations at and around Walt Disney World. The rational side of my mind knows that staying off-site provides significantly better value for money and that the some of the perks we receive from Walt Disney World hotels aren’t as valuable as they once were.
We do now have a lower price ceiling for most Walt Disney World resorts (except Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, and All Star Movies, which are all a bit higher for us now), which can be a challenge given that room rates have been increasing. However, there are still ways to find good discounts, and failing that we can either use or rent DVC points or look at the on-site third party options like Swan & Dolphin, Disney Springs, and Bonnet Creek.
There’s also Universal Orlando, and we absolutely love several of those hotels. Universal can hold its own with many of Walt Disney World’s hotels from a thematic perspective, and many of the amenities at Universal are actually superior to Disney. Plus, the perks of staying on-site are far superior and nightly room rates are far lower.
With all of that said, there’s the emotional side of staying on-site. We have nostalgic attachments to certain resorts at Walt Disney World, and enjoy their lush grounds, dining, and amenities. We love being able to stay late in the parks, even if they’re crowded and all we’re doing is wandering around. We enjoy the seamless experience of going from the parks to our resort, feeling a temporary reprieve from the real world.
It’s difficult to put a price on all of that. While we “value” it below the cost difference between comparable third party hotels, we often jump through hoops to find ways to justify staying at Walt Disney World hotels. I’m not suggesting this is the right (or wrong) approach. I know part of this is Disney’s emotional power, and we fall for it hook, line, and sinker a lot. I’m not making a judgment either way–it simply is what it is. However, we find it happening less and less with Walt Disney World continuing to raise prices and cut offerings–that makes staying off-site a much easier decision!
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
What do you think…are the perks of staying on-site as valuable to you as they once were, or are you getting less value for your money staying at Walt Disney World hotels? Will you continue to stay on-site despite this all? Have you already moved off-site? Other thoughts on this? 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!
I have always preferred staying on Disney Property for the same reasons you mentioned. I have stayed at deluxe, moderate and value resorts and now only stay at value resorts. In the last 10 years we have been to Disney World 9 times and only stayed off property once. I can stay off site for less money but have always been able to justify it because of the cost of parking; however, now that Disney is charging to park at the resort and costs of the resorts are rising and the sense that the perks are becoming less relevant to me, I’m going to start experimenting with staying off property. Perks seem to be less relevant because we are at the park by rope drop and we close the parks down. The extra magic hours, are somewhat of a bonus but we really avoid those days in the parks because of what seems to be greater crowds on those days. I plan my trips to Disney World pretty far in advance and for fast pass plus, I get on at the first available time and sometimes its still difficult to get the best fast passes, partially, I think, because people use the loop holes to book earlier than 60 days. I always find some but once I’ve booked I’m stuck with my plans, if I want to change my planned parks, I lose my fast passes. Part of the fun of Disney is the planning for us and now at the 60 day mark and the fast passes have been made there is no more altering our plans. We usually go during the Christmas season during the least crowded weeks for those periods, but this year we have decided to try one of the supposedly least crowded weeks of the year (early September), so that hopefully we do not feel as reliant on fast pass plus, and Christmas at Disney isn’t the same without the DHS lights anyway. We will, as usual, be there at rope drop and head to the most popular rides for the park and then ride the rest. We love WDW, and we aren’t there just for the rides, we love the overall experience, but that experience has been declining, so we will see how this trip goes before we determine if we will be returning for another year to WDW.
I just got back from staying at the Grand Floridian and visiting each park. Fast pass should only be for WDW resort guests. I could only get three fast pass reservations, but not for Frozen, Slinky Dog, Pandora rides, Rockin Rollercoaster, or Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride. It was disappointing not to have to wait in shorter lines like we did when we stayed on property at Universal Studios last year. I feel ripped off for paying top dollar to wait in long lines all day long for days!
It would definitely make staying onsite worth it if onsite guests were the only ones getting fast passes. Universals express pass is definitely appealing. Disney is riding high now but once the next recession hits things will have to change.
Keep in mind Universal only offers that option if you are staying at one of their top 3 hotels and they are not very affordable for most. Disney has 10x more hotels. While you they could only allow the current system of Fast Pass for on site guests, imagine what the prices would be then? It becomes more of the have and have nots. Which in reality, Disney has been doing for many, many years. The more money you have the better time you have. But now it is so apparent because they are attacking the middle class. Aka the people who are really their bread and butter.
If you’re driving to Orlando Off site is a no brainer at this point. If you’re flying and have to rent a vehicle or take a uber I might still consider staying onsite as I remember a long time ago we flew and Disney had the free bus to and from the hotel. I think it depends on how you’re getting to Orlando as we always drive and eat off site 1/2 the time as save a ton of money that way on top of saving on the room rate.
Growing up, we always drove over from the beach for the day, so staying on-site as I have these last few years has been a treat. I have stayed at POR and then several visits at POP. This year will have one drive over from the beach and one at POP. I love the Disney bubble and enjoy the immersion. But we have stayed at the Disney Springs Holiday Inn a few times and I have seen some great prices at the Waldord-Astoria, so honestly if it isn’t a Dumbo or Die type trip and we take a more relaxing trip- that might be the way to go.
My mom and I, also, stayed at Floridays and it was just like having our own apartment in Orlando. If I had a family with kids- having a full kitchen., washer.dryer, seperate rooms, a full dining area and living room for the same price as a moderate Disney hotel- the choice would be a lot harder to stay in the bubble. I have always thought if I can stay on property, I will. But losing the perks and watching prices go up for rooms that aren’t luxury makes it something that has to be evaluated every visit. We don’t eat enough to warrent a dining plan, so that is moot.
I’ve been to WDW 30 times in my 42 years. Most of those stays were spread over 11 of Disney’s on-site resorts. I’ve stayed in value, moderates, deluxes and DVCs. Always been such a nostalgic sucker for WDW that I never gave much thought to off-site, and would readily tick off the long list of on-site advantages. In recent years, my family of 4 has been taking a long trip every 3 years, for 10-nights, and we bring grandma as our 5th. 2 BR DVCs have gotten completely unattainable for us, so we’ve done two trips at AoA’s family suites. In 2018, AoA was over $400 a night, so I finally broke down and booked a tastefully Disney-themed 3-BR, 3-bath townhouses at Windsor Hills- for $119. Almost every argument in favor for on-site crumbled away instantly. The spacious accommodations, along with washer-dryer and our own private splash pool, enabled us to unwind more quickly after a day at the parks. The community pool area was fantastic, and the kids loved the water slides, which offered more of a thrill than the average on-site slides. Transportation, which I expected to be a big hassle, was far and away a better experience for us at every single location except for MK. (Waiting for that pre-rope drop monorail was the only crowded/delayed transportation experience). It was fabulous to walk out our front door, step right into the car, and be on the parking trams 15-30 minutes later. I didn’t realize how much I disliked waiting in bus lines until we were able to skip them! We actually spent more time at various Disney resorts, because it was SO EASY to drive directly from point A to point B. (None of that taking a bus to a park to change to another bus for a resort). We used the package pick-up service at the front of the parks, which was actually better for us than the resort system. My kids are always frustrated by the 24-ish hour lapse between buying something in a park and being able to pick it up at the resort gift shop. The longest it took us was an extra 10-minutes while exiting the parks to stop and claim our purchases. I used touringplans resfinder to score every single dining reservation we wanted, so missing that 180+ window caused no problems. I upgraded my own ticket to an annual pass, so we were able to capitalize on “free” parking and memory maker, dining and shopping discounts. It definitely paid for itself over the course of 11-days. Holding that pass also let me feel that I was still connected to that “insider” magic that you lay claim to while staying on-site. The only noticeable draw-back was that we didn’t do as well with FP+ as we had in the past, BUT we hacked the line issue a bit by booking pre-park opening breakfasts that gave us first access to Jedi Training Academy and Toy Storyland, 7DMT and Soarin’. The only noticeable increase over our standard wait times was that we waited 90-minutes for FoP one day. (We scored FP+ for a second ride using the refresh trick). After renting a min-van, we still managed to save over $2,000 difference from the price of an AoA family suite, and $5,000 from a 2-BR dvc room at SS or OKW. This more than freed up the funds we put towards the extra PPO breakfasts we may not otherwise have booked, as well as some extra signature dining. We used instacart and one trip the Four Corners Walmart to load up on snacks, a few light meals and adult beverages. We still ate 2 meals a day in Disney World, but it was a nice break to sit at our private dining table and eat a few quiet meals. I suppose what I mean by sharing this long-winded recap is: I get the on-site allure, but, really, don’t knock off-site until you’ve tried it. You may be pleasantly surprised…and if you aren’t, you can always use the substantial savings on accommodations to get yourself back on-site sooner!
What is the “refresh” trick for FP?
As soon as you scan into the line for your last fastpass, open a mydisneyexperience search for a new FP. If you don’t see what you want, keep refreshing the page. As people drop their same-day reservations, you might snag something great. A better description of this is in this post, is you scroll down to the “strategy” section: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/fastpass-plus-disney-world-guide/
I think you may have sold me on giving an offsite location a chance. I will be using your tips for next year’s trip. We go annually, but have always stayed on site. Thanks for sharing
We purchased DVC via resale a few years ago and have been going every year since. We only have enough points to stay in a studio for a week to 12 days (depending on which resort). Any we usually we then pay cash pr rent points at another Disney resort to do a split stay. But for our upcoming trip in 3 weeks, this time for our split stay we’re staying at Marriott’s Sabal Palms. Because we got a 2 bedroom villa at Sabal Palms for the price per night equivalent to staying at a moderate resort in WDW. I’m just tired of paying the continually increasing prices of WDW.
A couple of years ago we were at BW for a week and decided to extend our stay by a couple of nights. BW has no vacancies but, because we love the great location and wanted to stay nearby, both Swan and Dolphin did. Have to say that even though we were only a few hundred yards from BW our stay at the Swan felt entirely different. Definitely less “Disney” more European convention hotel. Room was cleaner, staff was more polished and we could still walk to Epcot & HS but….
I agree with the resorts being way easier with small ones. And with teenagers we felt comfortable letting them explore the parks without knowing that they could easily find transportation back to our resort (whichever one it was at the time).
I agree with you though. Staying on property really makes no economic sense. It’s just a an experience of scent & visual memories and emotional longing that makes our past Disney come to life. Can’t put a dollar figure on that. Yet….
Sorry! Delete the “without” in the sentence about teenagers. The power of proofreading
We are getting ready for our first trip to DW and we are super excited but becoming frustrated already that Disney is cheapening the experience. We were Annual Passholders a few years ago in California and got to enjoy Disneyland every week before they started decreasing staff and capacity during off times. Now adding more hotels and more hard ticket events on top of lower staffing and capacity is making me rethink this as a regular family vacation destination. NC is a pretty quick flight to Europe and we can go there for the cost of DW. We are sticking with this trip but are next headed to Europe for a few years and then will revisit whether it’s worth going back to DW.
For my husband’s 50th birthday, we had planned a trip to Puerto Rico for Thanksgiving week. Because of the hurricane 2 years ago, we had to make a last minute change. We ended up at Disney but planning 45 days out, our choices were limited. We had done Disney for part of our Honeymoon in 2000 and again for our 5th anniversary, both times staying at the Polynesian. We were unable to get any (reasonably priced) on property hotels (and am still in shock by the price increase at the Poly). We ended up booking a great deal at the Hyatt Grand Cyprus. I think we got a special of about $100 per night with a $30 a day resort fee (something most resort hotels do). They do have nice grounds and pools, they actually back to Disney property although walking in is not an option. They do run a shuttle to the transportation and ticket center however we did find Uber to be easier (cost was about $6). Unfortunately this is not a partner hotel but I would total look into staying at one. Swan and Dolphin however, the cost is now on par with the Disney Deluxe hotels and are typically booked in advance which I thought was a strange new phenomenon.
We are going back this November for Food and Wine and will be staying on property this time (Port Orleans). I have noticed more recently that the ‘partner hotels’ have been added to the Disney online hotel booking options. It will be interesting to see how this stay will compare to the one two years ago.
For our party of seven, staying at two values with free dining still justifies (financially) the choice to stay on property, as opposed to staying offsite and paying OOP for dining. The free dining saves our group more than staying off site does. But only if we stay at values. We’re fine with that. If we had to go without free dining at some point – which is never a guarantee, and I worry with the new lands coming out whether they’ll stop offering that seasonal perk as well – we would put much more thought into staying offsite. I hope it never comes to that, because for us, being in the bubble is part of what makes a Disney vacation so great!
“hooker, line and sinker…”
am I the only one who’s now wondering about onsite, non-vehicular escorts?
Hahahah, oh dang. Thanks for pointing that typo out.
I completely agree with you on the diminishing perks of staying on site. When they started charging for parking, I was like WHAT? I will definitely continue to stay on-site though, because of the convenience and staying in the magic but I certainly agree with these points!
To me, it seems as though Disney is pushing towards DVC membership. I already paid for my hotels upfront and with continued dues each year. I know we will continue to stay on property due to membership.
this post really hit on a lot of my recent gripes, gripes shared by a lot of disney “traditionalists”. remember when vacation packages included so many perks and extras? our house is full of clocks and wall art and other things they used to give you as a thank you for booking (think the bags you get as castaway club members on dcl). and magic hours… i remember the parks, particularly magic kingdom, being scheduled to be open until 10m, with EMH until midnight or 1am several times a week. now looking at the schedules, it’s lucky to see that once a week or 10 days. and every morning one of the parks had 2 hours and those are slipping away too.
disney could offer one of these hard ticket events to your party for booking a package with them, or even offer it to on-site guests at a discounted rate, but no. sadly, they’ve gotten greedy and figured out they can charge people a full day’s price for a fraction of the hours (and truly what’s even more sad is people lining up to do this, did no one take economics 101?). i can handle the holiday parties- timeframe and extras make it worth it, especially if you go during one of the lower priced dates. but beyond that, i can’t justify it. i’ve gone back and forth on toy story morning, simple because the opening of star wars completely derailed our trip (“late fall” anyone?).
i’m a fan of fastpasses, but NOT of all of these offsite hotels getting the same perks. more people in the pool means higher demand, less ability to get what you want, and more chance of the system crashing. those people should not be at the 60 day mark. how about 45? that puts them behind onsite guests, but before the general public. like the tiers of castaway club on the cruise line (disney parks could pull a few pages from their dcl brethren).
themeing has gone down the toilet. i’m a fan of the clean look and removing carpets, but i am not a fan of looking at a room and having it look no better than a best western and having no clue what resort you’re in. that’s not why we stay with disney. i want immersion.
We stayed off site our last trip and liked it so much we were sorry we bought so many park days. The parks were extremely crowded, all the fast passes were gone and everything seemed much more expensive. Instead we stayed near Disney Springs and enjoyed our hotel much more than Disney Accommodations. We are from Canada and took a big hit on the exchange rate. We have been to Disney 25 times now but I really think its coming to an end. Sorry Walt but it seems that greed is ruining your dream so we’re off to Europe for our next vacation.
You alluded to it in this post, and it’s not really the central point to your post, but I believe the impact of so many hard ticketed events is having an outsized (negative) impact on the overall quality of the Disney experience.
Reducing the capacity of the parks while demand has swollen to sell the park 2x in a day is good for the bottom line, but I think its really hurting other guests.
We have loved staying onsite, but with the increase in cost we are considering our options. The last trip was in November and when we checked into moving our trip up from August 29th, (never dreamed that Star Wars would open early) to a June trip, the cost for Pop Century was $60 a day more. Of course that was without any specials either time, but still too much of a jump. With the opening of Star Wars, there may be less and less discounts offered. So that said, when we go on August 29th that trip may be our last, at least for a while until we see if Disney offers special rates. Sad, but between the crowds, the heat and the cost, our favorite vacation spot may be coming to an end.
Well written post. I’ll add what I’ve said before about the on-site resorts, and that is the overall experience insofar as crowds getting worse at the deluxe resorts– primarily the Polynesian. We’ve tried many, but still come back to the Poly almost every trip except Christmas when we prefer the Wilderness Lodge. Problem is, you don’t have to be a paying resort guest to spend your day at a resort soaking up all the ambiance for free. We’ve found ourselves in increasingly heavier crowds at the Poly from people who are clearly not staying there. It’s NO pleasure fighting our way through those crowds to get from our room to the monorail, restaurant or gift shops. We spend all that extra money for a deluxe resort, only to face heavy crowds like we’re still in the park. The only places day-trippers can’t go are the pools and rooms. Everything else is fair game, and it destroys the “deluxe” experience for which we’re paying extra. On the most recent visit to the Poly, we had to fight our way through a huge caravan from the campground– which I know because I heard some people discussing their camp sites. NOT a pleasant experience at all.
Jay, I totally agree! My friend and I had dreamed since childhood of staying at the Polynesian. We finally did in 2017, but felt the experience was overrun by all the visitors. The lobby was always jammed, and the ‘Ohana throngs waiting to be seated trickled out all over the place. Our room was close to the marina, and the noise from people, whom I assume, were leaving Trader Sam’s was so disruptive. We were glad we finally stayed there, but agreed that we could never stomach the $550 a night price tag again.
Jay, I totally Agree! It’s one of the reasons why i refuse to spend money at another deluxe resort.
For years we travelled to Disney World from NC at least 3 times a year. We would stay on-site about 25% of the time because we hated the hotel options for their value. The bus system is the worst experience, so we would prefer renting a car and parking ourselves. Far easier. This year the cost of parking for no reason was jacked up to $20. Very disappointing. We have seen the costs of Disney rise exponentially while the services we came to enjoy diminish. The hotels are not nearly as nice as the Good Neighbor options, which also offer all the same amenities as extra magic hours and transportation. Of Disney hotels are cleaner, more quiet, a lot bigger and located in areas that get us to the parks faster. I’m not sure after Christmas 2018 that we will keep Disney World as a destination anymore. They have done little to improve the customer experience, but substantially increased the costs of being there.
Off site non-Disney Hotels, I meant to say are cleaner, quieter…
As an example, we stayed at the Hilton across the Disney Spring for $99 per night. I was given 6 coffee or water bottle vouchers for each of the 6 days we stayed. I could walk across to Disney Springs whenever we weren’t in the park if we wanted. We chose to park ourselves but a free bus is available if you want to use it. The food is far superior for less money. The rooms are larger than any of the Deluxe resorts. It was Christmas so having a pool was meaningless. There’s also a Disney store in the Hotel. You can purchase your tickets there if you want. I don’t ever see the Disney hotels, with exception of the Boardwalk/EPCOT hotels of ever offering a better experience when all you really use the hotel for is to sleep and store your clothes.
I know You aren’t a big fan of the Disney dining plan, but we love using those snack points for high priced food and wine items! And with the dining plan only offered on property, this is a big factor that keeps us on property. But we have been talking about a shorter trip and not doing dining.