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!
Love staying on site regardless of the missing perks. We usually have a car but don’t like driving once we get there. Will always stay on site just because I love being at Disney!
All good points! In my analysis, I do consider my Disney Visa and 0% interest on my vacation package at Disney hotels. I can divide my total and pay for 6 months for free-if you will. I will also receive Disney Reward bucks that I can use on my vacation. Also, the magical express to and from the airport is a factor. I see that the Airline check-in service from the resorts is no longer going on but I hope that it does come back. With 3 kids, that service is VERY valuable to me. I am going to CB in December (re-scheduled from August) and I hope that some perks do return. I usually only go during Free Disney Dining promotions and that is such a loss right now!
yes I think this is right. I wonder if some will get restored post-Covid. We still do on-site because we have DVC (which is also largely because we are a party of 6 so it’s harder to find two-bedrooms), but I was recently thinking about adding on and decided against it because I’m not sure whether we should just stay elsewhere if we have a trip where we are short on points.
Another 2021 stay perk for off site is that Amex and Hilton Honors have deals going on. You can transfer points from an Amex card to Hilton Honors for 10% more than you could at the same time last year. Our hotel is free minus parking. If you pay entirely with points you also don’t get stuck with a pesky resort fee.
Hmm free or thousands of dollars…
First WDW started charging to park at their resorts (which didn’t impact me as we always fly, but I know it affects countless other guests). Then the Skyliner unilaterally replaced buses at many resorts. Then, actions like the recent elimination of the luggage magic from the Magical Express, and then the removal of the super-convenient resort luggage check-in at departure, have truly diminished the plus sides of staying on-property. It appears that someone is attempting to destroy as many different positive aspects of the appeal of staying at WDW resorts as they can. Please stop.
We still cannot figure out why they stopped the Luggage Service at Check out….That was a Huge Perk for Us
How did the luggage service at check out work? I have had the luggage “magically delivered” to my room upon arrival before, but am unfamiliar with the checkout aspects. Will Disney hotels hold your luggage in a waiting area in the lobby while you go to the parks on check out day?
I love staying on site! But hate a lot of perks are gone park hopping is deal breaker. Most of my trips are solo, so spending the night alone in a resort gets old. Truthfully I feel like like there is no choice for me. I need a scooter to get around and staying off site’s transportation probably couldn’t handle that. Neither would renting a car. I am booked for September 2021 at pop century for 185 a night if there is not a sale on a value resort or another one reopens, I will be canceling again, and again!
Agree 100% Tom!
We stayed on property last October and just returned from a trip staying on property last week.
The major advantages we had last year are all gone for certain.
Those being early access to fastpasses (not nearly as important this trip with crowd restrictions and most wait times 30 or less), early access to dining reservations (far more important this time with limited restaurants available and much lower capacity), early morning magic hours, much more reliable transportation that started much earlier than 45 minutes before park opening, and additional transportation options which were very big issues this last week.
This last week we stayed at the Polynesian where transportation options are normally abundant and takes little thought thanks to having it’s own monorail stop and buses plus easy access to the TTC.
This trip the TTC wasn’t even open most days until long after we already needed / wanted to be somewhere and of course with the Epcot monorail line down that was a huge loss. Limited capacity buses for each park didn’t start showing up until about 45 minutes before a parks scheduled opening time and it seemed like a single bus was making the round trip before it showed back up at the resort. For everything but Hollywood Studios this wasn’t a huge problem if your planned time accordingly but still didn’t accommodate everyone waiting at the bus stop with a single bus for any park but Animal Kingdom.
For Hollywood studios we had to take an Uber both days despite being at the bus stop an hour early, that many other people were out there ahead of us. At one point I counted over 40 people waiting in line for that particular bus and it was another 20 minutes before the first one arrived. So to say free transportation was an advantage vs. staying off property and getting an Uber wasn’t there for us this time either.
There was also a ton of misinformation about which transportation options were available and at which times depending on which cast members you asked. We thought that guest services and members working in the transportation system would have up to date and reliable information but this simply wasn’t the case several times during our week visit that led to plan b and even c in one instance with lots of extra walking and waiting and arriving later than desired.
Thankfully we had been keeping up with great sources of information like this one and knew to plan about an hour to 90 minutes between each leg of travel with multiple options in mind and still arrived at decent times to all but one of our destinations.
Huge thanks Tom for keeping us all well informed, being armed with the knowledge you and a couple others have provided made our trip workable and still enjoyable where it could have become a disaster using planning and expectations simply from prior trips!
For us, the on-site advantage has INCREASED since the pandemic. While everything that youve said is true, the big advantage now is the flexibility to CANCEL the trip and the tickets up to the point of the trip by using a Disney package.
We still have leftover park hopper tickets that we had bought from a third party seller in January that we cannot refund, and watched with pity as folks lost expensive Airbnb and DVC rental reservations/deposits over the past few months. Life is too variable right now to not have a full, ironclad cancellation guarantee. If our family does end up traveling to Disney over the next year or two, I can’t imagine using our normal offsite or third party hacks.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the “temporary abnormal” winds down. There is a very very good chance that Disney will take advantage of the opportunity to launch some new or revised systems.
There is a good chance they won’t just return to the old fastpass, park hopping, dining plan, systems.
So by next summer or fall…. Things may be very different. There may indeed be expanded advantages to staying onsite, or onsite advantages may never return.
It feels like every new “perk” is best when first launched. Something to launch with excitement, Disney wants positive feedback. Like the early dining plan was actually a significant cost saver. As noted, EMH used to have more hours for fewer guests. Over time, as cost savings, they water down the perks — such as opening up EMH to offsite hotels and reducing the hours. Dramatically raising the dining plan prices, etc.
So this is all wild speculation…. But if Disney does re-think the FP system (and other things), on-site guests might find a whole never level of advantages.
I agree with that.
As much as they might like to, I don’t think WDW will be in a position to launch monetized versions of everything. Through at least 2023, they are going to have trouble filling hotel rooms and maybe even the (full-capacity) parks themselves. With everything new opening + fresh discounts + new perks, it should be a great window of time to visit. Once all of this is over, of course.
It certainly will change my mind about staying on site in future usually go for 3 weeks with 21 day ticket and free dining may consider staying off site going for less time and spending it on the coast
We have stayed at Disney many times. Some of the hotels off site were so terrible, that I couldn’t believe they were still in business. And those hotels were known to normally be of higher level quality. So, at the point when I realized, I couldn’t count on rooms being cleaned, or kept up, or in good order, I resolved to only stay at Disney. I haven’t regretted that decision. And of course, there were those lovely perks we all list. Because of the pandemic, many of the perks have been eliminated but my hope is that while Disney offers a consistency of quality I like, they will understand that to many of the guests they court, the perks aren’t just wishes, they are necessary. If they keep seeing low occupancy, it seems to me that the perks will come back. Optimism is keeping me going!
We have a week planned to go in September and was sooo looking forward to all the perks of staying on site. Early fast passes, extra hours, transportation, and free dinning plan promotion. And now it’s gone all of it except transportation. (Which what I have heard will be scaled back or limited) So now I really wondering is all the extra $$ really worth it? Being a FL we are lucky to be able to go often, but usually stay off property to save money, so staying on property was a big deal that included a lot of extra saving up. I feel like there is no real reason to stay on property now. Other than to say we did- which I don’t think is worth the extra cost.
Many perks went away and were replaced by insults like charging for parking when staying at Disney resorts. We’ll spend $600++ per night for a nice room at the Poly, only to get popped another $25 (self park) or $33 (valet) per-night parking fee. So what are the advantages? For us, there are 3 reasons, but they only apply to resorts immediately adjacent to the MK or EPCOT. We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter once out of curiosity, but missed the 3 reasons below too much and never tried any other resort.
First is quick room access. The day is much more pleasant when you can leave the MK, hop the monorail or boat, and be back at your room in 10-15 minutes to freshen up, grab a cold drink from the fridge, and take a break from the crowds/noise. Return trip is equally fast. Minimal time lost and 30 minutes of serenity will recharge you. (For EPCOT we use the Beach Club, which is a 5 minute walk, no waiting.)
Next is MagicBand payments. Tap your magic band for all purchases, and it gets charged to your Disney room (no extra fee). Very convenient, no need to carry cash or cards, or anything else that can be pick-pocketed.
The 3rd reason depends on WHICH resort you stay at. Most of our stays are at the Poly, and occasionally the GF because they have great balcony views of the park. We often watch the fireworks from the beach at the Poly, or GF balcony. When it’s over, we’re already “home” for the night so no fighting crowds for transportation during the mass exodus that always happens after fireworks. You can also watch from the Contemporary with a park-view room. Wilderness Lodge, not so much, although we stay there on rare occasions too, just to add variety.
There are also some great restaurants at the resorts. Aside from that, I can’t think of any other “perks” or reasons to stay on-site.
You ask
Is Walt Disney World’s On-Site Advantage Disappearing?
A resounding NO is the correct answer.
Along with everything you highlighted, no you have no advantage is making dining reservations. That policy change was announced today. Now all dining reservations cannot be made prior to 60 days to checkin.
Reservations for them parks? Essentially nulifies the park hopper.
Is keepping my DVC membership worthwhile? I have to look at that very seriously
I hope all can recognozed a bit of sarcasam when you see it.
If not YES is the answer to
Is Walt Disney World’s On-Site Advantage Disappearing?
I’m really disappointed.
Hello! I enjoy your blog, and learn so much from reading it! I have been to DW 3 times now in the last 8 years, and have not been able to afford staying on site yet. We always do budget trips, but I’m dreaming of the day that I can stay at a Disney Resort and enjoy some of the perks. I’m sad to hear of the diminishing of the advantages, but appreciate your honest evaluation. I may still have to try it at least once…someday!
We just came back after spending 2 weeks at Pop Century. Loved it. Great resort and the Skyliner was the icing on the cake. We tried for the Rise of the residence once. Got to skyliner queue at 7.15. Got moving about 7.20. Was in the park by 7.50. Got boarding group 7! Absolute miracle. Just to confirm, the skyliner can get you to Hollywood studios in time. It is not guaranteed. Neither is anything in life. If you want to be at the front of the queue to get into the park, on your head be it.
We are spending several thousands of dollars for our trip in April and it’s becoming clear that staying on-site isn’t really worth it anymore!
I love OKW for my family – always have. Main reason (after the size of the 2 br units!) is that it is NOT Disneyfied – I want down time from all the stimulation. The grandkids can shut Disney off and relax. At first we couldn’t find points to rent for this coming May vacation and had booked 2 rooms at a Disney Spring hotel (don’t want to loose that 60 day fast pass option) we were just getting used to the idea of having to buy more meals and figured the savings would cover all eating – when we were notified they found points. Going to be doing fast passes next week for our 9 day vacation.
I didn’t see mention of the meal plans- you can’t get them unless you stay on Disney property. We love the meal plans because I like to know our vacation is pretty much paid for and we don’t have to worry about too many extras. If they ever offer the dining plan at off site hotels that might be a deal breaker for us…
So would it now potentially make more sense to stay off site and use the money saved to pay for an after hours ticket and uber/lyft?
Tom, as always, a great post. I’ve never commented on them before, but felt led to do so today. I know what you mean regarding the perks and their value, but like you, the heartstrings pull towards staying on property. Regarding the Rise of the Resistance point you made, and coupling that with the post the other day about how a glitch in the system let guests from outside of Disney get boarding group passes, one thought I have is that Disney should implement some sort of IP based check to determine who can get a pass. For example, let’s say they went with this scenario. To get a pass, you have to be on Disney Wifi, and by doing that, it would possibly allow guests staying on property to be able to get a pass if they configured it as such. That would automatically in my mind, anyway, add a big perk for on property guests over those that stay at Good Neighbor hotels because on property could go for a pass before the others. I don’t know if it would work, but it would be great to try. What do you think?
Tom, you make some great points. I just booked a quick weekend trip for Memorial Day weekend. I ended up choosing the Dolphin because it was cheaper per night than even Pop Century – the only cheaper on property option would have been an All-Star. I can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Literally the only thing I won’t have is Magical Express. And to be honest, I’m not counting it has a huge disadvantage because I don’t have to be at the airport 3 hours early and miss out on park time. I just don’t need that when I’ll only have a carry-on and I have TSA pre-check. The cost of an uber is still less than if I’d gone with Pop Century, even at an AP discount. It’s honestly the emotional aspect you mentioned which is difficult for me. The Dolphin seems like a good compromise since it’s literally right there, but this is the reason why I haven’t tried one of the Disney Springs area hotels yet…
Hey Becky! It’s Mike from the Blogorail. Just wanted to say hi. 🙂
Just wondering if you can get the dining plan staying at the dolphin? I can’t seem to find out. Thanks
You can’t.
You can’t.
The Swan and Dolphin both have high per night Additional fees. Are you including these fees in your price comparison? I’m comparing prices now for a trip the end of March. The advertised price on Priceline is similar to All-Stars but the additional nightly fees push it well over.