Outside of DisneyWorld Resorts which hotels are "Disney Magical Hours" hotels?

[GoBlue34]

We are coming with a family of 5 (3 smaller children) and doing the cruise before or after, not sure which.

To save some money and not go crazy in a small, small room like at the All-Star (and not get a suite) I've been looking at Hotels like the Hilton or Royal Plaza.

One thing I'm not 100% clear on, when the place says Walt Disney World Resort like the Royal Plaza, does that mean you get the extra magic hours when staying there or not?

Is there a list anywhere that shows all hotels and/or resorts that are included (or better yet) where we are included in the extra hours?

 

[Robo]

We are coming with a family of 5 (3 smaller children) and doing the cruise before or after, not sure which.

To save some money and not go crazy in a small, small room like at the All-Star (and not get a suite) I've been looking at Hotels like the Hilton or Royal Plaza.

One thing I'm not 100% clear on, when the place says Walt Disney World Resort like the Royal Plaza, does that mean you get the extra magic hours when staying there or not?

Is there a list anywhere that shows all hotels and/or resorts that are included (or better yet) where we are included in the extra hours?

Unless things have recently changed:
Hilton, Downtown Disney is the only one in that area.

Swan
Dolphin
Shades of Green
are also included in EMH.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Technically the Hilton and Royal Plaza are not outside of Walt Disney World property. While they may not be official Walt Disney World Resort Hotels, they are still located right by Downtown Disney and last time I checked Downtown Disney was located onsite in Walt Disney World.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We are coming with a family of 5 (3 smaller children) and doing the cruise before or after, not sure which.

To save some money and not go crazy in a small, small room like at the All-Star (and not get a suite) I've been looking at Hotels like the Hilton or Royal Plaza.

One thing I'm not 100% clear on, when the place says Walt Disney World Resort like the Royal Plaza, does that mean you get the extra magic hours when staying there or not?

Is there a list anywhere that shows all hotels and/or resorts that are included (or better yet) where we are included in the extra hours?

They may call themselves Disney World Hotels, but I just think that means they are really close or considered on Disney property, but they ARE NOT Disney resorts and do not qualify for any of the on-site perks like EMH, the Dining Plan, free Disney bus transporation, etc. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me. Those are all the reasons we always stay on site.

FYI, Port Orleans is a Moderate resort that you can have 5 people in. Tons of people on the DIS have raved about it. We have 4 small children and we just get two rooms a All-star movies. Plenty of room there!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

They may call themselves Disney World Hotels, but I just think that means they are really close or considered on Disney property, but they ARE NOT Disney resorts and do not qualify for any of the on-site perks like EMH, the Dining Plan, free Disney bus transporation, etc. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me. Those are all the reasons we always stay on site.

As Robo said even though some of the hotels may not be official Disney World Resorts like the Hilton in DTD, Swan, Dolphin and Shades of Green those guests staying there can use EMH. Plus the Swan and Dolphin also share bus service with the Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach Club Resorts. However after that they do not get any of the other perks you would see at the official WDW Resort Hotels.

 

[GoBlue34]

As Robo said even though some of the hotels may not be official Disney World Resorts like the Hilton in DTD, Swan, Dolphin and Shades of Green those guests staying there can use EMH. Plus the Swan and Dolphin also share bus service with the Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach Club Resorts. However after that they do not get any of the other perks you would see at the official WDW Resort Hotels.

Thanks! The main thing I'm looking for is the EMH, besides using the Hotel's buses and not being able to do the dining plan (is that for sure?) what else am I missing out on?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thanks! The main thing I'm looking for is the EMH, besides using the Hotel's buses and not being able to do the dining plan (is that for sure?) what else am I missing out on?

If you were to stay at the Hilton or Royal Plaza they use different buses then the official Walt Disney World Resort Hotels. For example when going to the Magic Kingdom you would be let off at the TTC and the other parks their bus area is away from where the official Disney buses would go. Back in July 1997 my family and I stayed at the Regal Sun Resort (at the time it was known as the Grosvenor) and I thought their bus service was horrible. Now I think things have changed since then and I have not stayed at any of the Resorts to find out for sure, so don't go expecting to have bus service like you would at a normal WDW Resort.

 

[carlamouse]

As Robo said even though some of the hotels may not be official Disney World Resorts like the Hilton in DTD, Swan, Dolphin and Shades of Green those guests staying there can use EMH. Plus the Swan and Dolphin also share bus service with the Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach Club Resorts. However after that they do not get any of the other perks you would see at the official WDW Resort Hotels.

Also noteworthy, The Swan and Dolphin both offer good discounts at various times for AAA, Entertainment Book, Government Employees, Teachers, Nurses, and Military. They also offer a frequent stay program called Starwood Preferred Guest. There's a lot of info on the Swan and Dolphin over on the Resorts Board http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1567343

 

[CanadianGuy]

You can't get the Disney Dining Plan by staying at a Good Neighbor / Downtown Disney Hotel. You can't get the dining plan by staying at the Swan or Dolphin either.

Knox

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

I thought that any non-disney resort hotel did not qualify for EMH. I checked into this for our April trip (we thought about staying off site), but to get the EMH, which were very important to us, we decided to go with on-site.

For my March conference, I'm going to Gaylord Palm Springs- someone said it's close to Disney and pretty nice too.

 

[Robo]

I thought that any non-disney resort hotel did not qualify for EMH.

They don't.

EXCEPT for:

Hilton, Downtown Disney
Swan
Dolphin
Shades of Green

Which DO quailfy for EMH.

 

[miler1600]

They don't.

EXCEPT for:

Hilton, Downtown Disney
Swan
Dolphin
Shades of Green

Which DO quailfy for EMH.

So the royal plaza does not?

 

[SnackyStacky]

I'm just going to bop this over to the Orlando Area Hotels and Attractions board.

 

[Brian Noble]

So the royal plaza does not?

No, Robo's list is complete.

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

They don't.

EXCEPT for:

Hilton, Downtown Disney
Swan
Dolphin
Shades of Green

Which DO quailfy for EMH.

this is news to me.....I searched every hotel I could that was offsite and qualified for EMH. I didn't come up with anything (even asked some TA's and they told me no as well). Guess I'll have to keep this in mind for next time.

 

[HopperFan]

this is news to me.....I searched every hotel I could that was offsite and qualified for EMH. I didn't come up with anything (even asked some TA's and they told me no as well). Guess I'll have to keep this in mind for next time.

Technically these resorts are on Disney's property, so if you asked what resorts off property you were given the correct info. Shades of Green is a military resort so it may not be an option for you either.

To OP: some of the things you would miss are charging back to your room from parks, package delivery to your room from parks etc, DDP, guaranteed admission because you come via Disney transportation, and Magical Express from airport.

 

[spiceycat]

I thought that any non-disney resort hotel did not qualify for EMH. I checked into this for our April trip (we thought about staying off site), but to get the EMH, which were very important to us, we decided to go with on-site.

Hopperfan is correct.

these resorts are on WDW property. They are NOT offsite. Disney just doesn't own them. So they are not WDW properties.

that say these places are expensive.

the Pop which I happen to love is a WDW resort and generally rents for less than any of these. (okay SOG - but you must be military to stay here)

that say would also go with Dolphin or Swan if you can get their discounts. (some times they have them just for annual passholder too)

 

[GEB@okw]

Seems like a DVC rental is certainly an option for you.