Here are the top 10Â Reasons To Stay At A Walt Disney World Resort.
We are on-site snobs (that is not a term I invented). We’ve only stayed on-site and there is a great chance we will only ever stay on-site at Disney. To us part of the magic is never leaving Disney property. Now that isn’t for every family and I definitely am not snubbing staying off-site, but there are a lot of benefits to staying on property that you need to factor in before make the decision that is best for your family.
1. You do not have to pay a fee for parking at the parks. Parking is $25 a day for everyone expect Walt Disney World Resort guests or annual pass holders. But now Disney makes you pay $13 for value, $19 for moderate and $24 for deluxe resorts to park overnight.
2. You get complimentary Disney transportation. You can take busses, boats and the monorail to and from each of the parks. Once you arrive at your resort, you could technically never use your car for the duration of your trip!
3. If you are flying, Disney will pick you up at the airport (free of charge) and shuttle you to your Disney resort. Once at the resort, you can use their transportation to get around and you wouldn’t need to rent a car. (Referred to as the Magical Express.)
4. You get extended theme park hours. Every day a theme park opens either an hour early or stays open 2 hours later. Only resort guests are allowed on the rides. (Disney refers to this to as Extra Magic Hours.)
5. Staying at a Disney resort qualifies you for the Dining plan. If you aren’t on property, you aren’t eligible.
6. When staying at Disney World, you receive a Magic Band. This Magic Band gets you into your hotel room, gets you into the parks, gets your FASTPASSES (Fastpasses are available to everyone), gets you onto rides during Extended Magic Hours, allows you to charge items (just like a credit card) back to your room and is used to pay for meals when using the Disney Dining Plan.
7. If you buy anything at Disney in any of the parks, other resorts, Disney Springs, etc, you can have it delivered free of charge to your resort. Any guests are able to send packages to the front of the park for end of the day pickup.
8. Disney Cast Members are available at your service 24 hours a day to make your vacation as relaxing as possible.
9. You can save time on your trip because you are always close to the theme parks.
10. You are always engrossed in Disney magic. You never have to enter the ‘real world’ so to speak once you have arrived at Disney. Each resort is Disney themed and offers special entertainment and experiences for guests.
Why do you choose to say on-site or off-site?
Here are the top 10 reasons to stay at an off-site Disney Resort.
Learn more about the Walt Disney World Resorts and contact Destinations in Florida to help you book your perfect resort.
kendra says
I enjoy your posts very much, they have a lot of helpful tips, thank you.
Melissa says
We have done both ways, and honestly even I have found pros and cons to both. Enough where I can’t say I would never do one over the other.
When my kids were itty bitty, it was easier to stay on property so that we could go back to the hotel and take a nap or break in between. Even when they get older, that is something to think about. We are going in January and although my kids are perfectly capable of doing a “power day”, we will probably be at rope drop, relax mid day, and then go hard late afternoon and evening.
If we have a lot of early morning activities planned, especially breakfast reservations, I think it’s easier to stay off grounds. On-site transportation isn’t always dependable, and it is faster to be able to drive and park, even if you have to take the monorail to MK. Same thing goes for when it’s time to leave for day – lines can be so long to take the shuttles back to the hotel room if you stay on-site.
Finally, when friends ask me on-site versus off, my final gauge is what is the goal of the trip. Are you 100% Disney? If so, I agree you want to immerse yourself and stay on-site. If you are breaking it up with a day at the beach, Universal, etc. then it is easier to stay off-site. (Although we have stayed on a Disney property and gone off-site for a day.)
Kathryn says
We’re also “on site snobs”. The dining plan alone makes it worth the extra money! We stay at a moderate priced hotel & upgrade to the Deluxe dining plan, which I HIGHLY recommend to everyone!!!! There is nothing you are left “wanting” for because almost EVERYTHING is included :) It makes it so much more like an all-inclusive!
Lisa Paquette says
Great tips! I love staying on-site, so many benefits to doing so! :)
Janna says
We always stay on-site…it’s the only way to go!
Ali says
Love staying onsite! No worries about a yuckie hotel/motel room or bad service. We only stay onsite!
Vikki says
We are relatively new to DisneyWorld with our first visit in 2009. We have been there twice with another trip this coming September. We have stayed (and will in Sept) off-site each time. We are a party of six and the cost was the main factor. We have been able to get a 2 bedroom condo (with 2 full bathrooms, a laundry, and a full kitchen) for only $299 for the entire 7 nights.. We couldn’t get 2 nights, if we were lucky, for that price on DW property, even adding in the parking cost. For us, staying off-site works. I need the kitchen to cook some meals (I have celiac and need to eat gluten-free), we save tons of money on food to cover some meals, and it gives us a chance to ‘un-disney’ for some of the time. We do the 10 day water park pass so we get 14 FULL days of fun and sometimes a Disney break is needed. With the savings on accommodation we then feel like we can do a character breakfast and other Disney fun. By the way, this condo isn’t far away either – it takes us 6 mins to get to Animal Kingdom. I’m off-site all the way for bigger families.
Ann says
Vikki…This sounds great! Could you please let me know what the name of the condo is that you stayed at?
Kathy says
5. Staying at a Disney resort qualifies you for the Dining plan. If you aren’t on property, you aren’t eligible.
Not necessarily – We are staying the week of August 21st on the property and aren’t getting anything . . . No perks for us!
PHILLIP says
Hey, Kathy…
I am a travel advisor in TN. I am an authorize Disney Travel planner. I would love to take a look at your Disney reservation to see if you got the best deal possible. As all travel agents, my service is free as Disney World pays me to help you out! Please let me know if you are interested!
[email protected]
Sara S says
We love Disney, especially since we’re stationed less than an hour away. The funny thing is I had never been to Disney when I was a kid. My first time was 2 years ago when I was 26. Now that we live so close, we take spur of the moment trips all the time. We ALWAYS stay on site because of the convenience of leaving our car and riding the bus everywhere…EPH can suck because the parks tend to be more busy but you have to have a resort key to ride anything. In the past 8’months we’ve been to WDW 8 times. We’ve stayed at Shades of Green (twice), All Star Sports (which has been the smallest of all the rooms we’ve been at), Contemporary (twice..once in the towers, second in Garden rooms) and our first time 2 years ago we stayed at the Dolphin. We’ve also stopped by for the day but didn’t stay the night a few times. My SIL came and stayed off site earlier this year and their place had 2 separate bedrooms, living room, full kitchen, and laundry room all in their place. They didn’t mind paying for parking every day or driving their car around.. They bought groceries and ate in their room.
Sara S says
I meant EMH silly iPhone.. Plus I forgot to mention we do have 2 kiddoes ages 3.5 and 1.5.
Jackie says
I’m an on-site snob too. LOL I have to stay on-site. I love to take the Disney transportation, bus, boat, and monorail. It makes my stay so much more magical. Not to mention all of the perks that you get for staying on-site :)
Sarah says
Some of you have mentioned Good neighbor hotels by DL that are 5 mins walking. Could you please share what hotels? We are planning a trip in January. Thank you!!!
Wendy says
We spent the first night of our last WDW vaca off site, and the rest of the nights on-site to save a little $$…never again! The advertised “4 star hotel” was gross, smelled of mildew (3 different rooms…we gave up after that!). We wished we’d had the extra magic hours and missed the meal plan. Staff were definitely not cast members and really made us feel like we were inconveniencing them. Really? I thought I was paying for this?? We will be on-site snobs from now on!!
Cindy says
We loved to stay on site. We have come across some really good deals in the past. I think once we paid a little over $2000 for 7 of us to stay at the cabins in fort widerness for 9 days and that was with our passes. We just like the convienece of being close, the extra hours you get in the park, the transportation is OK, but we like our own car and do the free parking. We learned our lesson with this when we had some cranky little ones and had to wait about 25 minutes for a bus and then got crammed in the bus and had to stand up with a stroller, and have people staring at you cause the kids are cranky. I’d rather be able to go when we are ready.
I want to try the coronado springs next time we go to WDW, seems more central than many of the others, and looks so darn cool!
PHILLIP says
Hey, Kathy…
I am a travel advisor in TN. I am an authorize Disney Travel planner. Coronado Springs is great. Honeymooned there in 1999 when it was a newer property. Stayed there two years in a room a couple of years ago. Property is still beautiful and the Pepper Market is THE BEST counter service restaurant of the entire Disney World complex. I would love to help you with your Disney reservation at Coronado Springs. I can help with some tips that have saved me time and stress. FYI… Coronado Springs is geared toward corporate group conferences and you will find that the bus stops at the parks are closer to the exit than the others!
[email protected]
Karen says
We have stayed off site and on site. Our favorite is to stay on site. Once we stayed on site I was hooked. We usually stay at the Shades of Green ( due to the price and we can have 5 in a room) but we also stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and loved how Disney does things. We like staying on site more for the closeness to everything and for extra magic hours. We very rarely rely on Disney transportation, we still like to drive our car to the parks. We just didn’t like waiting on buses to come and get us. We felt like we couldn’t do what we wanted to and when we wanted to do something. But that is just us.
Alicia says
I own a timeshare with very amazing pools, so we stay there. But before I had the timeshare, we stayed on site as well. The only drawback is you have to leave your dogs in a kennel.
Angela says
We visit DW 4 times a year for 4 day weekend trips and we always stay onsite at Pop Century. I book way ahead of time (at one point this year, I had 3 pending reservations) and usually get the room for around $60-70/night. I do use my season passholder discount, but even when I did not have one, the most I ever paid was $82. We love the convenience. Once we park, we never get into our car again until we go home. We rides buses, boats, and monorails everywhere and we get extra hours at the parks. We love the magic of being at Disney and staying at the resorts seems to enhance that magic. I have also stayed at Beach Club, Fort Wilderness, and Port Orleans Riverside and all are great, but my family’s favorite continues to be the POP. I know that when I stay at a Disney resort that the customer service will be top notch and that we will enjoy our vacation to the fullest.
Corey says
When I was a kid, we always stayed off property. The hotels were much less expensive and with 4 kids, my mom was able to stick some of us on the floor, and get away with one room. She’d also save for years to get us there. In 1998, my grandparents paid for all of their children and grandchildren to go and stay at All Start Sports. We haven’t stayed off property since. The Disney experience, no parking costs, and extra magic hours have made it all worth it. Lately we’ve started staying at Shades of Green, which is operated by the Army for all military. All of the perks of a Disney hotel (except the Magic Express from the airport) and about half of the cost.
Lisa says
I will say that I have been approx. 10 times in the last 25 yrs and we’ve never stayed at an ‘official’ Disney property – but always at one of the Downtown Disney resort hotels – most of the time at the Doubletree Suites. We have never had issues w/ transportation and because it’s a ‘sister’ property we get all the same incentives except for the dining plan.
Last year we paid $99 a night so stay there and because it’s a Hilton property we earned points and now have 3 nights free to use on out minivacation this year.
Christy says
We’ve taken 3 WDW trips with our children (now ages 8 and 12) in the last 5 years, and we’ve always stayed off site. My parents have a timeshare and have either given us the week in Orlando or have gotten us one at a phenominal cost. We have never been able to justify the extra expense of staying at WDW because we generally go during Spring Break, which can be a rather pricey season. We’re also close enough to drive, which helps with the transportation cost. But my kids have never felt slighted because we’re not sleeping on Disney property. We always do some character meals, and actually, avoiding parks with the EMHours is a great touring tip. They’re always less crowded. The timeshare is much bigger for the $$ and always has a nice pool, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, in-room laundry facilities, and complimentary internet. I’ve never felt that our trips are anything less than magical, so don’t sweat it if you find yourself sleeping off site.
Stephanie says
I totally agree with what you said! We have only been to Disney World twice but each time we have stayed off site at Sheraton Vistana-our time share resort. It is super close to Disney. We love the fact that we can come back to our resort where we have 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, and a huge jacuzzi tub all for a lot less than it would cost us to stay on the property. Our kids love it and everyday is just as magical!
Kelly says
Brandi – car seats are actually not allowed on any Disney transportation (Magical Express or the shuttles that takes you to and from resort/parks.) You can have them put the car seat you’re using for your 5 yr old under the Magical Express, but you cannot use it on the bus.
Our kids are still in car seats. Just the fact that I don’t have to haul any car seats whatsoever is plenty incentive for me to stay on site. The rest is just icing on the cake lol.
Amber says
If we were to go to the World, we would probably want to sty on-site. But at Disneyland, it isn’t worth the high prices. In fact, the hotel we stay at is an off-site property, half the price, includes breakfast and is closer to the main gate than two of the Disney hotels!
Kelly says
I don’t quite get how Disneyland does things, but from what I can tell, their accommodations and packages are vastly different than WDW. We’re closer to CA than FL, flights there are much cheaper, yet when pricing vacations to Disneyland vs WDW, it actually costs us LESS to go to WDW than Disneyland for the same amount of time! I was totally shocked the first time I planned our family vacay to the house of the mouse.
Amber says
I think it has something to do with the fact that DL has limited rooms because of space, so the rooms cost more than WDW. Anahiem grew around DL in a way that Disney could never get enough property to do what he/they really wanted….and so WDW was born!
One wonderful thing about DL is, if you stay across the street, it’s a 5 minute walk to the gate!! We love that part. :)
Nichole Waggoner says
We always stay on site. The benefits are great. We JUST flew back this morning. On our trip my stepson lost his tooth, I called the front desk and they had a stuffed Mickey Mouse delivered to the room while we were out. He’ll never forget losing a tooth!
I calculated the dining plan again. We always come out on top. You can’t beat the transportation system. We were at the park during Extra Magic Hours at MK until 2 AM. Where else are you going to feel safe walking to a BUS at that hour?!?
Kelly says
LOL safety never even crossed my mind when walking to the bus stop with my 2 lil ones @ 3am lol. There are Cast Members and people every where. Cast Members & security were stationed all throughout to help guide exhausted guests to the correct buses, launches, & monorail. It was awesome.
Becky says
I went in October 2010 and stayed off site. I’m staying on-site when I go in September. I’m soooo excited. We also get free dining. (yay!)
I’m also going back at Nov 26-dec 5 and staying off site again. I want to stay onsite, but can’t bc we’ll have our dog. November will be my son’s 1st trip so I’m bummed he won’t be able to stay on site. We’ve both wanted to stay at All Star Movies resort since he was a little kid since it’s decor is all the movies he grew up with.
Lynn says
They have a new dog boarding place at Disney. We have used to one at the campground a few times so we could stay out all day and they did a good job.
Krystal Bagley says
Granted, my experience is based on Disneyland, and not Disneyworld, but I have been to Disneyland probably upwards of 25 times in my life (I grew up in Southern California), and I have never stayed “on-site”. Not even once. The Good Neighbor hotels are super close (plus a lot of them offer free parking at their hotels, and all are close enough to either walk or take the shuttle, either for a small cost, or for free) and have most of the same benefits as the on-site hotels (with the exception of the Dining Plans, and Magic-Hours- and you can get an early morning entry with certain multi-day passes). Personally, while I’d like to stay on-site once, just to experience it, so far I have not been able to justify the extra cost, as the on-site hotels are SO much more expensive than the good neighbor hotels. And, our trips have still been super magical. You can’t get within walking distance of a Disney park without feeling the magic.
So. I guess my point is, if you can’t afford the on-site hotels, you will still have an amazing trip :)
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Krystal – From my understanding off site at Disneyland and off site at Disney World are 2 entirely different ballparks. I seriously need to take a trip to Disneyland just for research for my blog, lol! Maybe someone who goes to both will chime in.
Jennifer says
Hi, I have been to both. Disneyland almost every year of my life~my parents were fanatics, and now we love it too with our kids! I have only been to Disneyworld 3 times but we live in Idaho so it is harder to swing, love it though! I have stayed on site at Dineyworld for 2 of the 3 trips we took and will never stay off site again. It is worth any extra money for the reasons you listed and more. When we stayed off site back in 1992, I think my parents did not really know that much. When we went back with my parents in 1996 we stayed on site and the experience was different but then ohhh so different when just the hubby and I went in 2005, the dining plan was free so we used it, the shuttle service was free, it was all just SOOOO nice. As for Disneyland, I have stayed at the Disney parks a time or 2 but off site mostly and there it really, for me, doesn’t make that much of a difference and it is so much more expensive. The cost difference is greater at Disneyland to stay “on-site” if you want to call it that versus Disneyworld. I think some of the “off~site” hotels are actually closer to Disneyland INMO. Anyway, LOVE LOVE LOVE Disneyland and Disneyworld. They are very different from each other and yes, you should do a trip for comparison purposes, lol. They are 2 different vacations INMO. :)
Lauren says
You can’t compare hotel situation at DL and WDW. Totally different.
Cindy says
I agree Disneyland totally different thing. You can walk to Disneyland when staying at the hotels nearby. My mom was shocked at how close the “off Site” hotels were there. You can’t even see the parks in many of the on site hotels at WDW. We loved being able to come back to the hotel and watch the fireworks from the hotel balcony. Just being able to sit out there and see the parks was cool too. The walk back after a long day was a bit tiring for the boys but thank goodness for strollers (we rarely rent ones) We really want to visit again sometime soon!
Mary Ellen says
I have been to Disney World ! I won’t say I will never not stay onsite but if I have anything to do with it , I will always stay on site. There are so many more benefits and the hotels ( I have only stayed at the kids ones a while ago) even though they were the cheapest cause we went with 188 kids, they were so nice compared to what I stay in just on the road and all. I love Disney, I want to go back but am waiting till my grandson is old enough to go or I go with the little girl I nanny. We will see.
Shari says
Brandi, when we went with my 4-year-old two years ago, she did not use a car seat on the plane or the Disney buses. I held her on my lap or she sat next to me in a regular seat.
Patty says
We love staying on site – It makes things much more convenient and the shuttle to/from the airport was a lifesaver!
Brandi G says
We plan on flying in and having Disney transportation pick us up but being that we’ve never flown with kids we’re unsure of how it will all work out. Right now I’m reading/understanding that my daughter can sit on my lap during our flight (She’s 10 months old and will be 17 months on our trip) and my son will need to be in a carseat in his own seat (he’ll be 5 at the time). When it comes to the Disney shuttles/buses to they need to be carseats or will they be able to sit in their own seat?
Kathie M says
My DD had taken 7 plane trips before her 2nd birthday and 2 in the 6 months since she’s turned 2 so I pretty much have it down now! As a lap baby there is no charge for your DD on the plane. If you’re going to use Disney transportation you shouldn’t need a car seat for her (we never needed them on buses). If your DS is 5 and in a booster seat there is a good chance he won’t be using it on the plane. They are very specific about the seats that are used on the plane and I’ve seen more then 1 child removed from their car seat by the flight attendents to just be placed in the plane belt. My DD is not quite 2.5 and since we’ve had to buy her a ticket she’s never used her car seat on the plane (once we checked it and once there was no need for it on the other end). If you have any other questions about traveling with the little one feel free to ask (navywifetill2002 at yahoo dot come). Hope you have a wonderful trip!
karen says
I’m an advocate for safety seat use on the plane. Both of my kids have always been in a safety seat when flying. This past winter was the first time my son did not use a safety seat on the plane but sat in the regular seat. It was a few days before he turned 5. He had reached the weight limit that the FAA allows for safety seats to be used on the plane (40lbs).
My daughter is 14 months and both times she has flown she has been in a safety seat. We just got back from Disney and we put her in a safety seat on the plane. She sleeps in her seat, she is strapped in and can’t fight me, she can eat her snacks without problems, she is not kicking anyone sitting next to me, we don’t feel cramped with fighting a young toddler who wants down.
If there is turbulence that is bad your child will be secure in a safety seat and you don’t have to worry about holding onto your child. They know when they are strapped in that that is where they are staying.
Liam says
We went in December and used the Magical Express. We also have a 20 month old and a 5 year old. On the flights the 20 month old can sit on your lap, but frankly for us, it was easier to just get him a seat since he would never sit still on one of our laps. You don’t have to have a car seat on the aircraft for the 17 month old as long as they are able to sit up on their own.
You do not need car seats for the bus either, so the beauty of this latest trip was that we left our car seats in the car at the airport, and never needed them after that.
Cheyenne says
I agree, I’ve never been before, but it does seem to be the best value when you consider the many, many benefits.