Should you stay on Disney Property for your Walt Disney World Vacation?
When planning a Walt Disney World Vacation once you’ve selected the dates the next big decision is where to stay. Obviously Disney wants you to stay on property at one of their resorts but should you? I’m going to share the pros and cons of staying on property as well as off property so you can decide for yourself!
Staying on Disney Property
Pros of staying on Disney Property:
My number one reason for staying on property is you are fully immersed in the Disney experience. You get to interact with the wonderful Disney cast members and have the Disney theme all around you.
It’s the best when you are participating in a RunDisney race. All the Disney resorts have transportation to and from the race. A big benefit when there are road closures and also when the races start and end in different parks.
Continuous bus transportation to/from the parks and Disney Springs.
Other fun transportation (depending on the resort) like boats, the monorail and the new Skyliner.
Some of the parks (again, depending on the resort) you can even walk to.
Some resorts allow for nighttime show viewing. For example, you can watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the beach at the Polynesian.
You can link your magic band to your room for charging purposes. This makes it easy to pay for purchases and you end up with only one bill - at the resort. Although sometimes it makes it a little too easy when at the Food & Wine Festival 😳
You get to utilize the Magical Express if you are flying into Orlando International and don’t want to rent a car. A free way to get to your resort during which Disney will take your luggage (you don’t even have to go to baggage claim) and deliver it to your room for you. You get immediately immersed in the Disney experience before you even leave the airport.
There is no resort fee.
Cons of staying on Disney Property:
Their reservation system drives me up the wall. Passholders, if they want to take advantage of the passholder rates, can only book in chunks. You couldn’t book a room in January at the Passholder rate until the beginning of October. When they do release the Passholder rates it’s only for a certain number of rooms at certain resorts. On several occasions we’ve tried to book a 2 night (Friday and Saturday) weekend stay and it says no rooms are available. However, sometimes if you search for a 1 night stay, Friday shows up as being open. Same for Saturday. So on more than one occasion we have booked two single night stays and then called Disney after the fact to combine them. This is very easy for them to do, especially if you’ve booked the same room type (i.e. standard view vs pool view, etc.). If you haven’t booked the same room type there is a SLIM chance that they may not be able to combine the reservation and you may have to change rooms. The availability also changes A LOT. One week it will say no rooms are available, the next week some are. And rates will change.
Issues with the reservation aside, the biggest con is that it can be expensive. Back in 2009 when we first became passholders we could get a value resort room in the off season (with the passholder discount) for $80. Now we are lucky to get a passholder rate in those same hotels for $150. And that obviously increases with the type of resort. You could spend a month’s salary staying at the Grand Floridian for even a few nights.
They charge for parking and it’s an escalated amount based off resort type (Value/Moderate/Deluxe).
Staying on property means you’ll get fun Disney themed rooms - like this Little Mermaid room at Art of Animation.
Staying off Disney Property
Obviously your options increase by staying off Disney property. If you select a Disney ‘Good Neighbor’ hotel OR one of the Disney Springs hotels you can still get a lot of on property benefits but there are plenty of other off property options as well.
Pros of Good Neighbor/Disney Springs Hotels:
Bus service to the parks.
You can still book Fast Passes (this is currently a time limited perk).
Some allow pets.
These are major chain hotels so if you stay in a specific hotel you can accumulate rewards points.
Some of the hotels have character meals.
Some of the hotels have suites with kitchens (this can help save money by cooking your own meals).
Disney Springs hotel guests can walk to Disney Springs. Not only for all the things that Disney Springs has to offer but you can utilize the Disney bus system there. While they don’t go to parks they do go to resorts so you can use the Contemporary/Polynesian/Grand Floridian to get to Magic Kingdom (via walking or monorail once there) or the Beach Club/Yacht Club/Swan/Dolphin to get to Epcot or Hollywood Studios (via walking, boat or Skyliner)- Swan/Dolphin will be closest to Hollywood Studios, Beach Club is closest to Epcot).
Disney Springs hotels get to utilize Extra Magic Hours (the Good Neighbor hotels do not). As of now this is only good through 12/31/2020.
Staff can answer Disney questions, most will have a Disney themed gift shop on property.
The majority of these hotels are around Disney Springs and I-4 allowing easy access to off property restaurants and shopping (a lot you can walk to).
These hotels are frequently cheaper than staying on property.
Some of the Disney Springs area hotels have their own character breakfasts like this one at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista.
Cons of Good Neighbor/Disney Springs Hotels:
The bus service is typically on a schedule (not continuous) and they make several stops.
Some hotels are up to 14 miles away.
You need to figure out how to get there if flying. Are you going to rent a car (and then have to pay for parking) or get a ride share?
You have to pay a resort fee and a parking fee if you have a car.
You don’t get everything listed in the pros of staying on property.
Pros of Off Property non-Good Neighbor/Disney Springs Accommodations:
Staying at a hotel not on the Good Neighbor or Disney Springs list will be far cheaper than anything on that list or on property. You can definitely find hotels for under $100/night especially if you look on websites like Kayak or Priceline (Disney hotels occasionally show up on these sites too).
You can book a vacation rental. A 2 bedroom vacation rental is often cheaper than 2 rooms on property. We stayed in this condo one weekend because of this exact reason - and were only 2 miles from the parks. If you are with a large group it can be even more beneficial because you can rent a house. 10 of us stayed in this 5 bedroom house less than 15 minutes from the parks for my bachelorette party. The per night cost of this house was about the same as one night in one moderate Disney resort room.
If you have a larger group, consider booking a vacation rental. We booked a 5 bedroom house with this awesome pool instead of 4 separate hotel rooms. We enjoyed all being together AND saving money.
Cons of Off Property non-Good Neighbor/Disney Springs Accommodations:
You will need a car or be up for using rideshare to get to and from the parks. Be warned that traffic on I-4 and around Disney Springs can be a nightmare.
You’ll have to pay for parking at the parks if you don’t have an annual pass.
You can sometimes be far from the parks.
You’ll have no fun Disney themes in the rooms and of course, you don’t get everything listed in the pros of staying on property!