Updated: February 20, 2020
Originally Published: January 18, 2019
For the Beyond Imagination Vacations team, an integral element of the vacation experience is staying in a great hotel and being whisked away from the troubles of everyday life. No beds to make. No meals to cook or dishes to clean. No trash to take out.
When vacationing at Walt Disney World Resort, staying at an on-property hotel is a no-brainer. It keeps you enveloped in the “Disney bubble” after leaving the parks, and offers incredible benefits exclusive to Disney hotel guests. Considering there are nearly 30 hotels from which to choose, it can be difficult to narrow down your selection. We’re here to help, of course. Today on the blog, we’re sharing an updated list of our five favorite hotels at Walt Disney World Resort.
Before we dive into our list, we thought we’d share some reasons for staying on-property as opposed to a non-Disney hotel. Primarily, the exclusive benefits Disney offers its hotel guests far outweighs any savings from staying at an off-site hotel! Guests receive complimentary MagicBands, an all-in-one digital theme park admission ticket, charging mechanism, hotel key and much more, as well as access to Disney’s Magical Express, a motor coach service offering free roundtrip service to and from Orlando International Airport. The Disney hotels also provide free AND regularly-scheduled bus service to its theme parks, water parks and Disney Springs, the dining, entertainment and shopping district. Select hotels offer unique modes of transportation including water taxi, your own two feet (more on that below), Disney’s signature rail way in the sky, the Monorail, and the newest transportation method, the Disney Skyliner. Let’s not forget that Disney hotel guests can make their FastPass+ selections 60 days in advance, as opposed to 30 days for offsite visitors. Trust us, that month makes a difference when trying to secure FastPass+ for the newest and hottest attractions like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, Flight of Passage and Slinky Dog Dash. When staying club level at select resort hotels, you can make additional FastPass+ selections 90 days out from your trip at an extra cost.
Many visitors think that staying at a Disney hotel is out of financial reach, but there is a hotel to accommodate every budget. The Value hotels, like the All Stars and Pop Century, allow guests to remain immersed in the magic of Disney at a wallet-friendly price point. The Moderate hotels are a step above the Values - offering on-site table-service restaurants, more entertainment options and other amenities not found at the Values. The Deluxe hotels are for guests with larger budgets; these resorts offer interior room entry, rather than outside entry like the Values and Moderates, fine dining and character meal experiences, and special transportation options.
Enough about the reasons why to stay on property and how you can make it happen financially! Let’s get to the list of our five favorite hotels at Walt Disney World.
Caribbean Beach
Fuentes del Morro pool at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
New to the list is Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, replacing fellow Moderate hotel Port Orleans French Quarter. Although it has a larger footprint and uses an internal bus system (catch a bus near your section of the resort to get to the main bus stop), it offers something that other Moderate resorts don’t have - access to the Skyliner. Not only can you catch the Skyliner to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, Caribbean Beach serves as the hub for the gondola system.
With sandy beaches equipped with hammocks, lush, verdant surroundings and colorful sections of the resort named after Caribbean islands, you are immediately transported to a tropical getaway - all without a passport needed. And let’s talk about our favorite pool bar on Disney property - Banana Cabana. It’s colorful without being brash, is covered so that you can enjoy the outdoor breezes without being scorched by the sun, has adorable touches like a steel drum light fixture, and has a menu filled with fun, frosty libations.
No need to look anywhere else. You’ll find us at Banana Cabana when staying at Caribbean Beach Resort.
Fans of the buccanner lifestyle will adore the pirate-themed rooms only found at Caribbean Resort. Located in the Trinidad complex, your little mateys will get a kick out of sleeping in a bed shaped like a pirate ship and pulling back the curtain adorned with skull and swords to access the bathroom. Parents will love the special details like a “rum” barrell hiding the mini-fridge and “treasure crates” acting as a TV console. The pirate rooms only sleep four, and the beds are double beds rather than the queens featured in the other rooms - making these special rooms optimal for families with little ones.
Ahoy, matey. Pirate-themed room at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
Art of Animation
Bright. Bold. Bodacious. Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is a Value resort adored by families as huge, colorful sculptures dot the landscape. Fans of Ariel will live out their princess dreams in one of the hotel’s Little Mermaid guest rooms. Kids of all ages will have a blast at the Big Blue Pool, one of the best pools on Disney property, which features underwater speakers. (Keep in mind that the Big Blue Pool will undergo renovations starting in the fall of 2020.) Art of Animation is a great option for guests needing additional space than provided in a traditional room. Its suites accommodate up to six adults and have a separate master bedroom, two bathrooms, a dining table that converts into a double bed, a double sleeper sofa and kitchenette with microwave. Bonus - the family suites are themed after modern classic Disney films like The Lion King, Finding Nemo and Cars.
Sally and Lightning McQueen greet guests at Art of Animation.
For people who don’t like waiting for buses when there is valuable park time to be had, Art of Animation could be the hotel for you as it has its own dedicated bus line. As of the fall of 2019, Art of Animation is one of four hotels connected to Hollywood Studios and Epcot via the new Skyliner gondola system. Finally, Art of Animation’s food court, Landscape of Flavors, pleases a variety of palates with Mongolian-inspired dishes as well as standard theme park fare like pizza and burgers.
Fun activities are happening daily at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, including free art classes.
A very close second in the Value category is neighboring Pop Century. Like Art of Animation, the hotel’s bus line runs straight to the parks and offers the new Skyliner service. The newly-renovated rooms feature hard-wood flooring and two queens, one of which is a Murphy bed. Although the food court is not our favorite, Pop Century is a quick walk away to Art of Animation where you can dine on a more diverse and tasty menu of food options.
Animal Kingdom Lodge
Welcome to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is a gorgeous retreat amid the frenzy that can be Walt Disney World. We would stay here without stepping foot in the parks for a chance to relax in the hotel’s rustic, elegant décor. And where else in Orlando can you experience a private safari from your own balcony? We love kick starting our day with a cup of coffee, watching the animals graze, and capping off our night with a glass of wine, hearing the animals communicate with each other. If you’re not lucky enough to secure a savanna view room, no worries! The hotel features plenty of public spaces for animal gazing.
Savanna view room at Animal Kingdom Lodge
As a Deluxe resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge is home to a plethora of dining options. Jiko - The Cooking Place, a signature dining experience, features an extensive South African wine collection, and offers unique culinary events like wine tastings and dining with Disney animal specialists. Mara, the quick-service restaurant, has conventional fare for kids and those with less adventurous palates as well as more exotic dishes like African stew.
Beach Club
Location, location, location. Fans of Epcot’s slate of seasonal festivals will want to book a stay at Disney’s Beach Club Resort which is within easy walking distance of the park - and a bit of a longer walk to Hollywood Studios. And if you’re too tired for walking, the hotel offers water taxi service to the two parks. Near the International Gateway entrance of Epcot, Beach Club guests will find the Epcot Skyliner station where they can hop aboard to access Hollywood Studios. Across Crescent Lake, the many dining and entertainment options of the Boardwalk area, like AbracadaBAR, ESPN Club and Flying Fish, are a short walk away.
There are so many exciting things waiting for you outside of your room at the Beach Club, but with rooms this bright, airy and cozy, you may never want to leave!
A Deluxe resort, Beach Club transports guests to the New England seaside, a breezy elegant place but not stuffy - it is Walt Disney World, after all. When staying at Beach Club, you will want to build in at least one day to splish, splash and swim at Stormalong Bay, a three-acre water park. The area features an expansive sand-bottomed pool; a shipwreck replica with a 230-foot-long waterslide, one of the highest slides at any Walt Disney World hotel; a lazy river; three whirlpool spas; and an elevated tanning deck. When it’s time to come up for air, take a break at Beaches & Cream, an old-fashioned ice cream shop where you can cool down with thick milkshakes, flavored sodas and the cult-classic “Kitchen Sink.” If you’re looking for a character meal, you don’t have to leave the hotel premises to meet Disney pals. Cape May Cafe hosts Minnie’s Beach Bash Breakfast where Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Daisy and Donald Duck interact and take photos with guests.
Beach Club and its sister resort Yacht Club share the water park, dining venues and other amenities. So if Beach Club is booked up, don’t hesitate to grab a room at Yacht Club!
It’s easy to spend an entire day relaxing at Stormalong Bay.
The Contemporary
The granddaddy of them all. Disney’s Contemporary Resort offers something that no other hotel currently does - walkability to the “Most Magical Place on Earth,” the Magic Kingdom. A Deluxe resort, the Contemporary is known for its signature A-frame architecture and the iconic Monorail zipping through the hotel itself. With just one transfer on the Monorail line, guests will quickly find themselves at Epcot - giving them easy access to two of the four theme parks.
Disney’s Monorail traveling through the iconic Contemporary Resort
California Grill, one of the best restaurants on Disney property, finds its home at the Contemporary. If you time it just right and get a table by the window, you’ll have unrivaled views of the Magic Kingdom’s Happily Ever After fireworks. Don’t fret if your dining reservation was earlier in the evening. Save your receipt to access the California Grill Lounge or viewing deck to enjoy the fireworks without the crowds. If character dining is more your speed than fine dining, the Contemporary houses one of the most popular character meals, Chef Mickey’s, which features the Fab Five - Mickey Mouse, Minnie House, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy.
Because the prices in the main tower of the Contemporary can be steep, you can save some cash by booking a room in the Garden Wing. Although it’s in a separate building, guests staying in the Garden Wing have the same privileges as those staying in the Tower. Garden Wing rooms are a short walk to the Tower accessible by a covered walkway.
Our favorite spot to catch Happily Ever After - after a delicious meal and with no crowds
Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite Walt Disney World resort?