If you have ever planned a Disney trip, you know it is so expensive. We go to Disney pretty regularly (2 or more times per year, and have gone on every form of budget! A typical family of 4 spends on average almost $4,000 on a 5 day trip to Disney. There are so many factors that can impact that price (hotel, food, tickets, time of year, etc). If you are going to Disney, you can expect to spend thousands of dollars; however, making some minor adjustments can give you a GREAT vacation for less money! Today, we will focus on resorts!
This is where a large part of the Disney cost comes from. I am going to break it down based on the resort category. You can save the most money if you choose to stay off property. Let’s look at each category.
Disney Deluxe Resorts
These are the most expensive of the Disney resorts and includes Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Polynesian Village, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club and Beach Club, and the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. These resorts are the most expensive for a variety of reasons: close proximity to the parks, dining options, transportation options, elaborate themed lobbies, and other features.
A typical deluxe resort holds up to 5 people, so if you have a larger family, this may be a cheaper option than reserving two rooms. However, reserving adjoining rooms in a moderate or value resort may be a better option in terms of cost.
Transportation at these resorts are awesome! Most offer multiple forms. Transportation to the Disney parks includes the monorail, bus, boat or Skyliner. Transportation can be incredibly frustrating - waiting in long lines to board (especially after the parks close). There’s nothing worse than having tired, cranky kids that have to wait in one more line at the end of the day to get back to their resort. These resorts offer multiple options, which is helpful in giving you options (choose the option with the shortest line)!
Being on the monorail is a huge plus for access to many of the Disney parks. The Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Polynesian resorts all are located on the monorail. This can be a huge time saver with easy access to both Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Guests who board the monorail do so right in their resort. Additionally, security screens you prior to boarding the monorail. This means you bypass the long security lines at the park entrance!
A few of the resorts even are within walking distance to some of the parks. There is nothing worse than having to wait for a bus or other mode of transportation at the end of a long day at the parks. Guests staying at the Yacht Club and Beach Club and the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin are within walking distance to Epcot. You will enter directly into the World Showcase.
The Animal Kingdom Lodge is the only resort that only offers bus transportation.
Each of the resorts, excluding The Animal Kingdom Lodge, have boat access as well.
If the pools are an important feature for you, the Deluxe resorts offer the best themed pools. The pools are equipped with water slides and other special features and these resorts offer a “quiet” pool for those guests that want to relax. You can even see the fireworks from Magic Kingdom while night swimming. They even pipe the music in over the speakers!
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| You can view the fireworks at Magic Kingdom right from the Polynesian Resort pool! |
Resorts in this category offer concierge service level, which cast members refer to as “club level”. Guests staying on this level get the added perk of priority seating at restaurants and shows and booking help! Additionally, guests on this level get to enjoy a lounge that includes a continental breakfast, snacks at lunchtime, hors d'oeuvres, dessert and cordials every evening. Of course, these rooms come with an added cost.
One more thing to consider, guests of these resorts get exclusive extended Magic Hours. This is great because the lines will be less and you can maybe jump on that hard to get ride that always has a ridiculously long wait time (Rise of the Resistance, Ratatouille, or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train)!
My Pick: Disney’s Beach Club Resort. The rooms are spacious and have a very bright feel to them! The pool is absolutely fantastic! There is nothing better than having a beach themed pool with a sand bottom, space to build sand castles and numerous waterfalls. The slide is spectacular and not too scary for even your younger riders. Disney’s Beach club is located within walking distance to Epcot and has plenty of variety of transportation. You can also take the boat to Epcot if you don’t feel like walking and the boat also provides service to Hollywood Studios. You would need to take the bus to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.
Moderate Resorts
These resorts are my favorite because they are more affordable than the Deluxe resorts while still giving you some luxuries. They are a great mix of luxury and affordability! Resorts included in this category are Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Coronado Springs Resort, The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, and Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter. Each of these resorts has their own character and charm.
These resorts still offer plenty of amenities, transportation and have great pools! The one thing that is a huge downfall of these resorts is how spread out they are. They are constructed differently than the Deluxe resorts. Each of these resorts consists of several smaller buildings that are spread out around the property. As a result, depending which building you are located, you could have a further walk to the amenities (ie: pool, food, transportation pickup). This can be frustrating, especially for the little travelers in your party. While you can make a request at the time of booking for a specific building, they don’t always honor that request.
None of these resorts are located on the monorail; however, they do have other forms of transportation that are very much preferred. The Skyliner is an awesome form of transportation and is located at Disney’s Caribbean Beach. My kids absolutely love this (and even think of it as another ride)! Often you will only be seated with your family and can get beautiful aerial views of Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Because the Skyliner only has hubs at a few resorts, there are limited stops and will get you to your destination quickly with a view. The Skyliner goes to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios and will only have one resort stop on your way at Disney’s Riviera Resort (Disney Vacation Club property).
The remaining resorts only have bus transportation. Bus transportation can get frustrating as you can sometimes have multiple stops before arriving at your destination. You can expect to take longer than you would expect to arrive at the parks so be sure to allow plenty of additional time!
Each of these resorts have great pools equipped with adorable themes and water slides.
My Pick: Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. The Skyliner is a game changer! Our family loves this mode of transportation. It never has a long line. Even if it looks like it at the end of the night, it constantly moves! The pool is great and food options are also plentiful. This is the most convenient and has the best transportation of the moderate resorts.
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| Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort is in a great location as it has a Skyliner Hub on property. The Skyliner is the best way to travel around Disney and has direct access to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. |
Value Resorts
These are the least expensive of the Disney property resorts. They all have themes and are great for kids. Value resorts include Disney's All-Star Movies Resort, Disney's All-Star Music Resort, Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, Disney’s Pop Century and Disney’s Art of Animation. These are popular for families who want to save money, while getting the benefits of staying on Disney property. The value resorts lack a lot of the bells and whistles that the Moderate and Deluxe resorts offer. They do offer tons of colorful, thematic fun with tons of characters.
The buildings, pools and grounds are full of Disney character icons. They are definitely kid friendly, with each resort offering arcades, playgrounds and kid friendly pools.
Unfortunately, these resorts do not suit larger families well as their rooms are 260 sq ft smaller than rooms offered at the Deluxe and Moderate resorts. Additionally, their beds are smaller and the rooms contain quite a few less amenities.
Value resorts do not have any sit down dining options. They do have plenty of quick service options and a food court. Personally, I don’t think that is a bad thing as there are plenty of sit down options throughout Disney. You can eat at any of these. I will do a whole blog post on Disney Dining later this week. But for now, our family favorite is Ohana at the Polynesian Resort (reservations book up fast so book as soon as the 60 day window opens up).
Because these rooms are accessed from the outside, some people complain that they are much noisier. However, it could be perhaps because there are a lot of kids that stay at these resorts.
Transportation is very limited to mostly bus services, with the exception of the Art of Animation resort, which has the Skyliner option. An insider tip, for a much cheaper per night price, Disney’s Pop Century guests can walk to the Skyliner located at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.
If most of your day is going to be spent inside the parks and all you need is a place to see, these are a good choice to save money.
My Pick: Disney’s Pop Century Resort. This resort is much cheaper than Art of Animation and offers basically the same amenities. This resort still has access to the Skyliner with a little walk plus bus service.
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| Disney's Pop Century Resort is very colorful and sure to capture the children's attention. It's fun colors make for a fun place to stay for kids. Also, located within walking distance to the Skyliner Hub located at the Art of Animation resort. |
When planning a Disney vacation, each family has to decide what is best for them based on what they value in a vacation. We often choose to stay at Moderate because it gives our family everything we need in a resort, while not breaking the bank. These resorts are the perfect mix of luxury and affordability. If you don’t have a budget, the splurge for a Deluxe resort for the ease of transportation and extended Magic Hours is worth the extra money if you have it. For ways to do Disney on a Budget, I will be doing a separate blog post on this topic in the future.
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