Your Guide to Choosing A Disney Hotel To Stay In

[*HappilyEverAfter*]

This guide is mainly for the people who are going to Disney for the first time, and don't know what type of hotel to stay in. But this guide can be used by anybody!!

Ok, so first things first. There are 4 different Disney hotel Categories. Those categories and the hotels included in those categoriesare as follows:

*Value--All Star Sports, All Star Music, All Star Movies, Pop Century
**Moderate--Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter
***Deluxe--Animal Kingdom Lodge, BoardWalk Inn, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club and Beach Club, and the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin
****Home Away From Home--Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. **Please also note that this category includes the Disney Vacation Club Category which includes Old Key West, BoardWalk Villas, Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, Beach Club Villas, and Animal Kingdom Villas. To find out more about the Disney Vacation Club please visit: DVC Link

INTRODUCTION #1​

You're probably asking, "What seperates a value resort from a moderate resort or from a deluxe resort?" and the answer to that is as follows.

Disney Resorts are divided into price categories with amenities that match. Below is a simple list of the amenities that are included at each resort level.

*Value* Rooms are approximatly 260 square feet and have either two double beds or a king size bed. These resorts have themed pools, playgrounds, arcades, laundry facilities, food courts & a mercantile shop. These resorts are themed with LARGER THAN LIFE objects to suit each resort Ex: All Star Music is themed with musical instruments, jukeboxes etc. All of the value resorts have bus services to and from DISNEY WORLD parks.
(THERE IS 1 FOOD COURT, ARCADE AND 1 SHOP PER RESORT).

**Moderate** Rooms are approximatly 314 square feet and include either two double beds or a king size bed. Included with the room is a small refridgerator. The pools are themed and have slides, there is also playgrounds, food courts, arcades, mercanitle shops and a sit down restaurant. There is also bus services to and from DISNEY WORLD parks, and a laundry facility. The themeing at these resorts are way different than the themeing at the value resorts. The moderate resorts have lakes, and lush gardens.
(THERE IS 1 FOOD COURT AND ARCADE PER RESORT)

***Deluxe*** The room sizes at the deluxe resorts are much more spacious and the room sizes vary at each resort. The deluxe resorts have valet parking, room service, laundry facilities, shops, full service restaurants, water sports/ bicycle riding etc. These resorts are VERY well themed, but be aware the prices are .

So, you have all of this information AND NOW WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO?!

Well, the answer is simple (I need to think of harder questions). Pick a resort to stay at!! Here is my opinion on each Disney resort category.

You should stay at a Value resort if you plan on being out of the hotel room for most of the day. The reason for this is because there isn't much to do at these hotels, and the rooms are a tad bit small for 4 people to be relaxing in. The value resorts in my mind, are just a place to sleep, and that's it.

You should stay at a Moderate resort, if you plan on being out of the hotel room for a little more than half of the day. These resorts do offer things to do and sights to see, however, like the value resorts, it's just a place to sleep and relax for a bit.

You should stay at a Deluxe resort if you plan on coming back from the parks during the day to relax, sleep or just swim. These resorts provide PLENTY of things to do, and wonderful sights to see. They are also very relaxing and spacious (the rooms that is).

So I can't quite pick a resort for you because I'm not sure what kind of budget you are on, but I can sure help you decide which resort is a good one to stay at!!

I hope this guide helped you (and well, it's very wordy). So happy planning!!

It's now time for YOU to answer a question: which hotel do YOU want to stay in on your next Disney vacation?

LINKS:
If you have any questions about a particular resort, please visit: WDW Resort FAQ and Information Threads to find the thread that specializes in that particular resort you have a question about.

For some discounts and deals please visit: WDW Info Link to Discounts

HAVE A MAGICAL DAY

 

[kat3668]

Great job!!!!!!!

 

[Aliceacc]

Also, if you're a family of more than 4 (with all over 3 years old)

Your options are somewhat limited. But they include:
- 2 rooms at any resort.
- Family suites at All Star Music-- they converted 2 former rooms.
-Cabin at Fort Wilderness
- Trundle room at POR. I believe the trundle is 54" long, so it would have to be a fairly smallish child.
- Many, though not all, of the Deluxes accomodate 5-- they have a daybed for the 5th person.

 

[Kaz65]

That is a superb posting - thanks very much. The only question I have is where and how do you find 'deals' - I noticed the last persopn said they had gotten a fab deal? Ive been directed to some siites which offer codes and these are useful but any extra help appreciated. We would prefer to have a seperate sleeping and living area but only a small group - DH, DS (7yrs) and myself - (DH snores for England) but very limited options on a budget unless we can find some discount rates. Continuing to save hard though in the meantime

 

[*HappilyEverAfter*]

That is a superb posting - thanks very much. The only question I have is where and how do you find 'deals' - I noticed the last persopn said they had gotten a fab deal? Ive been directed to some siites which offer codes and these are useful but any extra help appreciated. We would prefer to have a seperate sleeping and living area but only a small group - DH, DS (7yrs) and myself - (DH snores for England) but very limited options on a budget unless we can find some discount rates. Continuing to save hard though in the meantime

The only thing that I could suggest is a All Star Family Suite. It is quite expensive, but there is a master bedroom and a family room with a queen size bed, a pull out couch bed which sleeps 2, convertible ottoman and chair sleeper which sleeps two (one each i'm pretty sure). This suite runs from $184.00 to $295.00 per weekday and between $184.00 to $315.00 per weekend day. These rates do depend on the time of year you will be travelling to WDW. Considering the fact that it is a 512 square foot room, the price is fairly cheap.

When Disney comes out with discounts, im not so sure if you can use it towards an All-Star Family Suite, so that would be something that maybe someone else can answer.

Have a magical day!!

 

[Kaz65]

thanks for the feedback. We are looking at Sunday to Friday 5-10th April so will keep looking for now.

 

[*HappilyEverAfter*]

thanks for the feedback. We are looking at Sunday to Friday 5-10th April so will keep looking for now.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you. In my opinion it is really hard to try and save money at Disney. I mean, you think your saving money with one thing but really in the end you are spending it on something else.

 

[RichieTruxillo]

Great post! Learned alot about where to stay now.

 

[Slakk]

That is a superb posting - thanks very much. The only question I have is where and how do you find 'deals' - I noticed the last persopn said they had gotten a fab deal? Ive been directed to some siites which offer codes and these are useful but any extra help appreciated. We would prefer to have a seperate sleeping and living area but only a small group - DH, DS (7yrs) and myself - (DH snores for England) but very limited options on a budget unless we can find some discount rates. Continuing to save hard though in the meantime

Why not a 1BR DVC resort? You get a gorgeous king sized bed in the bedroom and a pullout bed in the living room. You can either rent through an owner or through CRO. Not sure what your dates are but for on site you cannot beat them.

 

[mirmartinez]

doesn't por has a sit down restaurant and food court

 

[*HappilyEverAfter*]

doesn't por has a sit down restaurant and food court

Yes, Port Orleans Riverside does have a sit-down restaurant called Boatwrights Dining Hall. They only serve breakfast and lunch there. However, as far as I know, there is no restaurant at Port Orleans French Quarter. But I think that this is because they are both apart of the Port Orleans Resort.