STAYING AT THE WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT
There are a lot of options for you to choose from when you stay at Walt Disney World, and today we are going to break down just a few of them. We will only be talking about hotels that are on property, because we think you will get your best experience this way.
Before we begin, lets break down the types of resort options you have:
- Value Resorts
- Moderate Resorts
- Deluxe Resorts
We will be briefly highlighting each type of resort and which ones we like best from these categories. Let’s being!Note: we will be using A LOT of photos! We know we like seeing pictures of hotels when making booking decisions.
Value Resorts
The resorts listed in this category are the three All Star Resorts (All Star Music, All Star Sports, and All Star Movies), POP! Century Resort, and the Art of Animation resort. These resorts are the in the cheapest category of property-owned hotels.Note that the Art of Animation Resort is made up of mostly family suite rooms, so therefore the pricing is generally at the top of the value resorts (sometimes costing as much as the moderate resorts).
The All Star Resorts are the three cheapest options there are. As of this time, these hotel rooms have not been renovated, and are very basic in decor. The grounds of each features over-sized statues and figures that fit the theme of each resort. At Movies, there are characters from popular Disney movies, and Sports there are large sporting figures, and at Music, there are giant symbols from various music genres.
These three hotels are usually the choice hotels for sporting or other school events, so be advised that there might be large groups at the hotels. When we recently stayed at All Star Music, there were groups of cheer teams for a competition at the ESPN Sports Complex. However, for just needing somewhere to put your head, these suffice. We would choose Music again because we felt the theme and food court quality held up.
Pop! Century and Art of Animation sit right across Hourglass Lake from each other. They are similar in size, with Pop! Century focusing on decades from the 1950s-1990s, and Art of Animation highlighting some of Disney’s most popular animated films.
These two resorts are very popular, and if it suits your budget and you have a large family in your travel party, we suggest staying at Art of Animation. However, if your group is small, we suggest Pop! Century. The rooms were just remodeled in Pop! Century and are nicer than some of the moderate hotels.
Moderate Resorts
There are quite a few moderate resorts to choose from. We wont go over all of them, but we will mention some key facts. There are a few undergoing renovations right now, and those renovations will continue on into 2019.
These hotels include the Caribbean Beach Resort and the Coronado Springs resorts. Be advised that there will be construction going on at these resorts.
Out of the moderate resorts, we think that the Port Orleans Resorts are our favorites. This resort is split into two sections: Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter.
The entire resort is themed off of (you guessed it) New Orleans, with Riverside being the plantation houses that line the river, and French Quarter like the town. The property theming of this resort is why it is one of our favorites.
That, and you can get beignets right at the hotel!
Deluxe Resorts
The deluxe resorts are by far the most expensive. The top three we are going to talk about are the ones that are closest to the Magic Kingdom Park. (We didn’t forget about you Animal Kingdom Lodge, we’re just going to focus on these ones right now).The Contemporary Resort is the quintessential hotel for your Disney World Trip. It has the best location of all the resorts, with a walking pathway straight to Magic Kingdom. It is also the only resort with a monorail stop inside.
If you want nostalgic Disney, or the max of a Disney experience, this is your resort! The room are nice, the restaurants are good, and the fact that the monorail goes right through it (literally) make it an excellent choice. Fun fact, there is a viewing area for the fireworks on the outside patio near Chef Mickey.
The neighboring resorts are the Polynesian Resort and the Grand Floridian. The Grand Floridian is likely the most expensive resort on property (if you have seen the episode of Full House where they go to Disney World, this is the hotel they stayed at).
The Polynesian resort is another one of our favorites. Both these resorts have beaches, but the Polynesian one-ups it by having bungalows right on the water. The theming of this resort is very nice, and we found ourselves staying at the property on the beach for hours.
There are other wonderfully themed resorts, such as the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge hotel. These two are absolutely beautiful resorts, adorned with wooden theming.
Wilderness Lodge has the Fort Wilderness side, which even includes camping! And at Animal Kingdom Lodge, you can get a room with a view of their savanna, which includes animals such as zebra’s and giraffes. If you want a unique resort, and have no problem paying at least $500 a night, we would pick one of these two.
These are just some of the wonderful hotels to choose from. We also love the Yacht and Beach Club resorts! Most of the resorts are wonderful, but some might not be worth your money. We recommend doing your research before picking one, and remember, you will likely only be there to sleep and maybe swim. Check out this trusty source Disney Food Blog and their video about the worst resorts to stay at.
If you are spending most of your times in the parks, you should likely go for a value or moderate resort. If you want the whole experience, see what your budget allows and choose from there.Either way, we hope you have fun! Check out a full list of hotels on the Disney World website. Hope to see ya’ real soon!