Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida has some amazing hotels right on property, with great amenities and transportation. It also has a wide range of price ranges, but it comes with the terminology only Disney can offer. Let's just dive right in...
Value refers to budget-friendly resorts (a.k.a the least expensive ones). They will offer everything you need for a hotel stay to attend Disney World.
Moderate includes exactly how it sounds, right in the middle, includes everything you need, but adds some inclusions you don't (but are nice to have).
Deluxe resorts are nice, department store-type hotels with luxury amenities and fancy restaurants.
Deluxe Villas, well, I think you get the idea. These rooms are the nicest of the nice and usually include kitchens and several rooms within the "room".
Staying in a Disney property hotel is at the top of my list of recommendations for my Walt Disney World clients. The proximity, theming, and available transportation are hard to beat when considering other properties. But it really can be hard to decide where to spend your money, and that's where I come in. I have stayed at every level personally, so my perspective is not only as a TA, it's also as a guest of Disney World. You will always, of course, have the final decision, but having been to and seen so many of these resorts myself, I can help take away the guesswork of figuring out what is what. Also, I've had training to help distinguish the differences! So, add my professional training to my personal experiences and you and I could have a really good planning team for your next Walt Disney World vacation!
Price is a driving force when booking a vacation, all travel advisors are well aware of this. When I am helping a client pick a Disney resort, I try to focus on the value available when comparing the resorts to the price tag. The simple dollar amount is not always the answer to what is going to make or break a family's Walt Disney World trip.
Let's start with some of the typical questions I ask:
How important is it to you that you have a pool with more than just the pool itself? Do your kids want water slides and a splash pad?
Do you want nice restaurants with servers available right at your hotel? Or are the restaurants in the theme parks all you need?
How much room do you like to have in your room? Or are you hardly planning to be in it, so that really makes no difference? Do you need a room where there is some kind of separation between the beds/bedrooms for added privacy?
All Walt Disney World resort hotels have complimentary transportation, but some of it is faster than others. They offer bus, water taxi, Skyliner, and monorail; and then some hotels are close enough to just walk. But not all resorts offer all of those options, so how important is that to you?
How about the theming? Is this probably the only time you are visiting so you want to make sure you "feel" like you're in Disney World? Or do you need a room that doesn't scream a Disney character at you when you wake up?
All of these questions (and oh, so many more) are exactly what my travel advisor group can help answer when you're booking your Disney World trip.
It could take me a while to answer all of those questions and cover all of that information. But there are definitely some generalizations that I provide to initially begin the search for the perfect hotel.
* Deluxe Villas are the top of the top; they have the most room, the best restaurants, and the most convenient available transportation. Deluxe rooms are in the exact same hotels as the Deluxe Villas, only they don't provide as much room, in general (there are a few exceptions). These resorts have pools with waterslides and even sand in them to mimic the beach; the lobbies infuse "scents" to create a specific identifying smell (ask my kids, they know exactly how the Polynesian smells); the restaurants have sought out menus, characters and service; the rooms themselves offer extra amenities like mouthwash and vanity kits; and...the price reflects all of this.
* As you move into Moderate resorts, a handful of these things are not available. The first thing you'll notice is the restaurants and pools are less in quantity per resort. There are still some good ones available with great service and the pools are still themed pretty cool. Rooms are smaller and transportation varies depending on the moderate resort you choose.
* When you are considering the Value resorts, the rooms are the smallest of all categories. Some of the value resorts only offer rooms that fit 4. There are no restaurants with table service, but still great options for cafeteria-style meals. The pools are still really themed neat, but no waterslides or extra features are available. With transportation to these resorts, it varies here also as 2 of them are on the Skyliner, which is awesome. For value resorts, you really can't beat the price tag, so they are wonderful options.
Phew, right? It sounds like a lot to consider, but really, don't you do this anytime you pick a hotel? You probably make all of these decisions quickly and subconsciously because there isn't as much riding on how the stay goes. There is a feeling that you want everything to go perfectly in Disney World, totally understandable! After we have your resort hotel and room type picked out, now there is how many theme park days you want; which theme parks you plan to visit; if you want any dining reservations at either the parks or the resorts; and whether or not you would like to learn Genie+. This is where our team of experts at Part of That World Vacations are just the crew to call. We've got you.
Part of That World Vacations