d. Where to Stay at Walt Disney World

By Dave Shute

OVERVIEW: WHERE TO STAY AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Stay in Disney’s Polynesian Resort  if you can afford it, or in a standard room at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort if you are on a tight budget.

If neither of these works for you, see Next Best Resort Choices.

STAY AT A WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT

You should stay at an official Walt Disney World resort hotel, as doing so gives you special privileges that your itinerary takes advantage of.

• Being able to pre-book as early as seven days before check-in Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass rides, compared to three days for almost everyone else, helping you get low wait access to the most popular rides.
• Access to free extra time in every park every morning that most other guests can’t use via Disney World’s new Early Theme Park Entry program, which replaces its old Extra Magic Hours offering. (Those staying in the most expensive Disney hotels also get extra evening access.)
• Reliable park transportation with proper hours.
• Earlier access to the most popular dining reservations.
• Access to the Disney Dining Plan which can save some families a bit, and lets others control their budgets.
• Free parking at the theme parks and the hotels, and no resort fees.
• Fun theming and good convenience

CRITERIA FOR PICKING AMONG DISNEY RESORTS

This site selects from among the 25 or so  possible Walt Disney World resort hotels based on two criteria:

1. Appeal to kids (for obvious reasons) and
2. Transportation convenience, because of all the trips you will be making back and forth from your resort to the various parks, attractions and shows.

KID APPEAL

Kid appeal is principally visual, and it means whether the look of a resort has features that speak to kids of whimsy, playfulness, and adventure, signaling that that this resort was designed for them! (And not necessarily for their parents…)

The resorts with kid appeal are, in order

1. Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
2. (Near-tie with #1) Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
3. Disney’s Polynesian Resort
4. Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
5. (Near tied)  Disney’s Pop Century Resort, and Disney’s All-Star Movies, All-Star Sports,  and All Star Music  Resorts.

None of the other resorts has enduring, whimsical kid appeal. See this for more on kid appeal.

CONVENIENCE

These resorts noted above with kid appeal break into two categories.

• The first 3 are classified by Walt Disney World as “Deluxe” resorts, and
• The rest are classified by Disney as “Value” resorts

(See this for details on what you get in each resort category.)

Because the price difference between these categories is so high, separate hotels are recommended within each of the two categories. (Other categories exist, but are not recommended for first-time visitors–see Where Not to Stay for why.)

Within the kid-appealing Walt Disney World resorts, the tie breaker is transportation convenience, particularly to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot theme parks, as you will be making more trips to these parks than any others.

Of the three kid-appealing deluxe resorts, the Polynesian is far and away the most convenient.

• It is one of only three resorts served by the resort monorail that directly connects to the Magic Kingdom, and the only one of the kid appealing resorts to do so
• Is the only resort within easy walking distance of the Epcot monorail that directly serves Epcot, and
• Is the only resort for which you can take the express monorail back from the Magic Kingdom, walking from where the monorail stops at the Transportation and Ticketing Center back to the hotel–and saving often 10 to 30 minutes.

Among the Walt Disney World value resorts with kid appeal–the All-Star Music, Movies and Sports Resorts, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort—Art of Animation and Pop Century tie as convenience winners, but the choice is not so clear cut.

Collectively, transportation is less convenient at the All-Stars than at Pop Century and at Art of Animation.  What really sets Pop Century and Art of Animation apart is their access to Disney’s Skyliner gondola transportation to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

See this for more on convenience.

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