For some Disney World guests, a Disney resort is an ESSENTIAL part of the overall vacation experience. But for others? Staying DIRECTLY with Disney isn’t all that important. Actually, they might even find themselves BETTER OFF without a reservation on Disney World property.

Whaaa? REALLY? YES, really! And today, we’re gonna tell ya WHY that is.

Before we get started, I feel like it’s important for YOU to know all your Disney resort options, whether you go the Disney World hotel route or not. SO if you wanna study up on EVERY SINGLE Disney World resort to find out if one really IS a perfect fit for you and your family, go ahead and grab our hotel guide at the link right here!

Now, let’s get to the reasons you might want to consider staying somewhere else!

Lost Amenities

Since the historic 2020 closures, many things around the Disney scene have gone back to normal. Character dining is a thing again, we’ve got our nighttime spectaculars back, there’s no more plexiglass on the ride vehicles… (I know — it’s WILD to think back on now.) But even with all those returning trip features, many things that disappeared post-COVID closures have YET to return to the Disney World scene — and some of the BIGGEST losses we’re still missing now were once part of the whole Disney World hotel package.

A big example of this? Package Delivery. Once upon a time, you could purchase items around the Disney World parks and get them sent back to your hotel room (so you didn’t have to worry about carrying around that giant Stitch plushie all day long).

But package delivery STILL hasn’t returned, meaning you’ve gotta REALLY think about those big purchases you make during the day. For us, we like to hold off on those GIANT purchases until the end of the day (so we can tote them back to the hotel RIGHT after we leave the park).

Or if we’re staying in a resort within walking distance to our hotel room (like how the monorail resorts are SUPER close to Magic Kingdom, and the Skyliner resorts can get you to EPCOT/Hollywood Studios lickity-split), then we’ll just travel back to our room and drop off bigger purchases before moving on with the rest of our park day.

There are also lockers you can rent at each park, in front of the park gates, that’ll cost ya $12-$14 for the entire day (if you’d rather just stow away your bigger items and purchases THERE), but keep in mind that lockers are non-transferable. So if you plan on park hopping, you will have to gather your belongings and pay for a whole other locker when you get to the next park (OR you’ll have to backtrack to the park you purchased the locker at to collect your belongings before the end of the day. And THAT can be a nuisance and a half).

Room service has also been MIA since the 2020 closures (except for over at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa — where room service is still going strong). But if you wanna enjoy a relaxing lunch or dinner INSIDE your hotel room, you’re gonna have to get a quick service meal to-go OR you’re gonna have to order yourself some grub from a food delivery service — like DoorDash — to get food to you from OUTSIDE the Disney bubble. (Just keep in mind that the fast food you get delivered will still need to be picked up at Bell Services at your resort, since it will NOT be dropped off directly at your hotel door.)

Before the closures, those staying at a Disney World resort ALSO had the added benefit of Extra Magic Hours. And although this perk didn’t exactly go away, it looks DIFFERENT than what it USED to be. Once upon a time, any guest staying at a Disney-owned resort — whether it be value, moderate, or deluxe — could either enter into select parks on select mornings one hour earlier, OR stay in select parks on select nights one hour after the parks closed.

But post-2020 closures, this perk SPLIT UP into TWO different Disney resort benefits. Now, you have Early Theme Park Entry AND Extended Evening Hours. What’s the difference?

First: Early Theme Park Entry continues to be available for ALL resort guests, BUT it’s now limited to only 30 minutes before the parks open instead of a full hour. HOWEVER, this benefit IS available for every park on EVERY DAY (which is a nice switch-up from before).

And Second: Extended Evening Hours continue to be available on select nights at select parks, BUT you’ll only get this benefit IF you’re staying at a DELUXE resort. So if you’re planning on staying at a value or moderate hotel, you’ll ONLY have early theme park entry at your disposal. For deluxe resort guests, this perk really DOES help you experience the parks with little to no crowds (while also letting you hang out TWO HOURS after the parks close down for the day — a nice added bonus there).

And THEN there’s the missing Disney’s Magical Express — which USED to take guests traveling in from the Orlando International Airport (MCO) straight-away to your Disney World resort… and then back again at the end of your trip. For FREE.

Though the Magical Express’ retirement wasn’t COVID-related, it did lead to two NEW premium shuttle options — Mears Connect and The Sunshine Flyer — which did essentially the same thing that Disney’s Magical Express did… only at a price. HOWEVER, Mears Connect and the Sunshine Flyer merged their services into ONE combined service starting on August 1st. The new service has been renamed as Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine — and, yes, this modge-podge express will STILL cost money to use.

Previously, we’ve seen Mears Connect/Sunshine Flyer cost about $40 per standard adult round trip. And, though it wouldn’t SHOCK us to see prices for this shuttle service bump up by a few dollars — since it’ll be offering NEW features like 24/7 service and even private trip selections too — it seems like the sales that’d been going on for both Mears AND Sunshine Flyer will still be taking place (for the time being) AFTER the merger — meaning you could potentially get a round trip for around $30 instead IF you’re planning on traveling super soon.

OR if you don’t wanna take a shuttle at all, you can always download a rideshare app — like Uber or Lyft — to come pick you up from the airport instead. Just keep in mind that during peak driving times (like during lunch and rush hour), the prices for your ride could TRIPLE in cost. But having BOTH apps downloaded gives YOU the opportunity to do some price comparisons and figure out which ride will give you the cheapest one-way trip at that given time.

If you’d rather have a little more control over how you get to the parks, you could always pick up a car from one of the SEVERAL car rental services available at MCO. This’ll definitely be your PRICIEST option, but it WILL allow you to travel to and from the parks whenever you want to instead of having to rely on Disney’s free resort shuttle services ONLY (which tend to get SUPER packed out at the beginning of the day/end of the night).

Just make sure you reserve a rental car ahead of your trip instead of waiting until the day of. Rental cars tend to book up quickly — especially during prime travel seasons — and you might be forced to rent a vehicle that’s even MORE expensive (OR you might not have any options period) IF you wait to book your car too late.

And — just to REALLY hit you in the feels here — Disney Resorts ALSO got rid of their FREE MAGIC BANDS back in August of 2021. Once upon a time, if you booked a Disney World resort stay, you could pick out FREE standard magic bands for the whole family to have sent to your house before your trip. And, y’all, nothing was QUITE as magical as opening a magic band box and knowing your trip was RIGHT around the corner.

But since Disney World added the Magic Mobile option to the My Disney Experience App back in March 2021 — which is basically a digital park ticket on your phone that makes scanning into the park easy and contactless — Disney went ahead and dissolved the free Magic Bands (since Magic Mobile basically did the same thing). That being said, you can still pick up a Magic Band (or a Magic Band+ — which has EXTRA tech features on it that you can use around the parks) from SEVERAL Disney World gift shops. You’re just gonna have to pay the $30+ extra for it.

Prices Are TOO HIGH

Even Disney’s value resorts have been milking travel funds dry as of late. And a lot of that has to do with just how much Disney resort prices have increased over the past 5 years. Let’s take a look at a couple of different Disney hotel options and compare their prices between 2018 and now.

To keep things fair, we’ll compare them around the same time frame (a 5-day trip at the start of June) for a family of 2 adults, 2 kids (with NO discounts included). I’ll start with Disney’s CHEAPEST hotel option first — a standard room over at Disney’s All Star Sports. In 2018, a standard room here would cost ya around $160-$190 per night. Meanwhile, in 2023, a standard room cost around $195-$230 per night.

Keep in mind that this is, indeed, Disney’s CHEAPEST hotel option! And while you CAN stay at All-Star Sports for as little as $130 during non-peak season times, that much-cheaper rack rate window is VERY slim. So THESE $200+ prices are the kind of prices you’re gonna come across way more often when booking your trip.

Okay, now let’s look at what we’ve often called the CHEAPEST deluxe resort option close to the Magic Kingdom — a standard room over at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. In 2018, a stay here would cost ya around $400-$420 per night. However, in 2023, a stay here cost $540-$550 per night.

So what gives? Why are rooms in Disney World costing almost a hundred dollars MORE than they USED to? The easy answer to this can be summed up in one word: “Inflation.” As prices go up everywhere, prices have to go up in Disney, too. But Disney’s price increases have always been a little more complicated than that.

Since the early 1980s, Disney’s price increases have always outpaced inflation — and the gap has been widening even MORE since the post 2020 closures. Y’see, the things Disney has to buy to make the parks run are getting more expensive, too — and since Disney is a park that’s always growing and changing, adding new attractions, new hotels, and potentially even new lands into the parks is also gonna cost THEM more (just like how it’s gonna cost YOU more to experience them).

So here’s where things get INTERESTING. For a while there, Disney could REALLY rack up those resort prices post-closures because demand was just SO HIGH. People were desperate to get back to the Disney scene, after all, and just experience SOME semblance of normality. (And THIS was Disney’s chance to make up some of that lost revenue from their four months of closures and VERY limited park capacity.)

But that demand has been starting to slow down recently (which we’ve seen first-hand in the parks this summer). I’m not saying Disney’s done any backtracking with their prices now that revenge traveling is finally starting to simmer down, BUT Disney has been offering more and more discounts recently for ALL future guests. We’ve seen room discounts pop up for summer savings, holiday promotions, and even 2024 trips too!

And that’s because MANY Disney World resort guests are starting to pick OTHER hotel stays over the Disney ones because they can stretch their $200 a LOT more somewhere else. (Which I’ll talk about in the NEXT point.)

If you REALLY do wanna stay in a Disney World resort for your next trip, always, always, ALWAYS check out the special offers, deals, and discounts page on the Disney World website to see what kind of discounts YOU can apply to your upcoming stay. You can also rely on your friendly neighbor Disney travel agent — like our friends over at Small World Vacations — to keep an eye on these kinds of pop up discounts instead (without you having to overly-obsess about keeping up to date on the savings opportunities while also trying to work a 9-5 and keep the kids all healthy and fed. It’s a lot to juggle — I get it).

AND what makes this partnership even SWEETER is that Small World Vacations does all this for you for FREE. Click that button below to get started with them!

Bonus Benefits ELSEWHERE

Alright — so ABOUT that dollar-stretching business I’d mentioned before… Where oh WHERE are Disney World guests staying on their Disney World vacations if they’re NOT staying in a Disney-owned hotel? You don’t have to play a game of Where’s Waldo to find ‘em — these guests are all booking rooms across the Good Neighbor Hotels instead!

Good Neighbor Hotels are not Disney-owned, but they do partner with Disney so that they still provide many of the same benefits as you’d find in a Disney World Resort. So why stay at one of these hotels when you could just stay at an authentic Disney World resort instead? Several reasons:

1. A handful of good neighbor hotels offer similar Disney World hotel benefits (like complimentary transportation and Early Theme Park Entry) for a much cheaper price.
2. Some good neighbor hotels have EXTRA benefits that the Disney-owned hotels won’t give ya (like free breakfast and drink vouchers).
3. Most importantly, many good neighbor hotels will give you WAY bigger rooms with more amenities for the cost of what you’d pay for a standard room at one of Disney’s resorts (or, potentially, even less than THAT).

Our personal favorite Good Neighbor Hotels are over at the Swan and Dolphin (which is weird to say that these are good neighbors and not straight-up Disney-owned because they’re literally STEPS away from the Epcot park).

Even though the LAND that Swan and Dolphin reside on is owned by Disney World, the hotels themselves are part of the Marriott company (Marriott & Westin hotels, to be specific). The reason we love these hotels oh-so-much is because of their ability to give us a DELUXE resort experience at a much more moderate price point.

The Swan and Dolphin not only still have the early theme park entry perk, BUT they also have the extended evening hours benefit at their disposal, too! To get over to the parks from these hotels, you can either take a bus to Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, or you can hop on a Friendship Boat to visit EPCOT or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (OR you can just WALK to EPCOT, if you don’t mind a 15-minute commute by foot.)

And may we NEVER forget that Swan and Dolphin has the most hotel DINING options between the two of them. This includes:

• Bluezoo (an award-winning seafood restaurant by celebrity chef Todd English)
• The Fountain (with affordable diner-like options — such as cheeseburgers and shakes)
• Fuel (a grab-and-go station that has a self-serve froyo station… with DOLE WHIP as one of the options, too)
• Rosa Mexicano (the BRAND NEW elevated fiesta dining experience)
• Il Mulino New York Trattoria (inspired by the original New York City location which has been voted #1 Italian restaurant for two decades by Zagat).

Okay. I’ll stop there. But literally, that’s only HALF of the options you’ve got to choose from.

My BIG word of warning about Good Neighbor Hotels is that you need to DO YOUR RESEARCH before you book one. The Good Neighbor Hotel website has over 40 different options for you to choose from, and not EVERY option is gonna give you what you’re looking for. Some may not have Early Theme Park Entry, some may have park transportation services that you have to pay for, some may be a little farther out from the parks than you’d like them to be.

Whatever the case may be, check the Good Neighbor hotel website and read up on what these different hotel options can offer you BEFORE you dive all-in and pick one JUST because of that cheaper price tag alone.

You’re CHEATING On Disney World

I’m gonna let you in on something that Disney would rather me NOT tell ya about… There are OTHER theme parks in Orlando BESIDES Disney World. (GASP.) One of Disney’s BIGGEST theme park competitors in the Orlando area is Universal Studios — which is home to two theme parks, one EPIC water park, and a City Walk area (which is basically the smaller version of Disney Springs). There’s a third theme park – Epic Universe – on the way in 2025.

Universal also has a variety of resorts with a variety of different price points. So let’s take a look at ALL the different benefits that come from staying at a Universal Hotel rather than a Disney one:

1. First and foremost, if you’re planning on spending MORE days in Universal rather than at Disney, then staying at one of their resorts will provide you with Early Park Admission and free resort transportation to and from their parks.
2. On TOP of that, the Universal Hotels ALSO have pool hopping privileges. When you book a stay at one of the Disney World resorts, you’re ONLY allowed to use the pools at YOUR resort (unless you’re jumping between Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside — which is a-okay). But when you book a room at a Universal Hotel — and I mean ANY Universal Hotel — then you can literally pool-hop around the resorts and try out whatever pools you want to instead of being limited to just your resort-specific pool. So, if you wanna set aside a full day to swim during your vacation, then Universal might win ya over.
3. Disney’s Deluxe resort guests might have an extended evening hours benefit, but for guests staying at one of Universal’s PREMIER (aka: deluxe) hotels, you’ll receive COMPLIMENTARY Universal Express Unlimited Passes — which you can use to skip the lines for most of Universal’s popular attractions all day long
4. (And get this — Universal’s premier/deluxe hotels are around the same price as one of Disney World’s moderate hotels. So, y’know, just… keep that in your back pocket, why dontcha.)
5. And — just to sweeten the deal — Universal Studios Hotels STILL have FREE PACKAGE DELIVERY. So you can purchase a souvenir from the park and have it sent back to your hotel without you needing to backtrack aaaalllll the way over to do it yourself.

LOTS of pros to consider, my friends! Our friends over at AllEars recently stayed at the Portofino Bay Hotel — Universal’s most luxurious resort — and you can watch a video tour right here.

Of course, if you ARE planning on spending more time at Disney World and less at Universal, then some of these Universal hotel benefits won’t help ya out a whole lot. After all, staying with Disney will still give ya LOTS of Disney World benefits too, such as Early park admission, free hotel/theme park parking, free resort transportation, and a RETURNING dining plan option starting back up for those booking a vacation package in 2024,

So talk things over with your group and decide WHICH type of resort will give you the MOST benefits for your specific trip — and then go from there!

You’re Staying With A BIG Group

Traveling to Disney for a family reunion? Or a packed-out bachelorette party? Or maybe you’ve just got a BIG family and you need MORE room so you’re not all on top of each other during the entire vacation? Unfortunately, if you have more than 5 or 6 people in your family, it might be difficult to find budget-friendly accommodations while also staying as a Disney resort guest. With a bigger group, you’ll have to get multiple hotel rooms or pay for a significantly more expensive villa at one of the DVC resorts — and those options will cost ya a pretty penny.

SO where do you turn to IF you DON’T wanna drain your vacation funds on a hotel room alone? How about a vacation home? Third party rental services — like Airbnb and Vrbo — often have FULL HOUSES that you can rent for WAY less than you’d spend on a Disney World villa.

CHECK OUT VACATION RENTALS HERE

These houses also potentially come with Full kitchens, private pools, and multiple bedrooms — and MAYBE even some fun Disney-inspired theming (depending on where you stay).

While VRBOs can be EXTREMELY useful for large travel groups, keep in mind that booking a vacation house OFF Disney property means you’ll be sacrificing those Disney resort benefits. (And THAT means no complimentary transportation, early theme park entry, Disney dining within walking distance, etc.)

More importantly, READ THE REVIEWS FIRST. Because these airbnbs and vrbos are being rented out by independent parties and not through Disney, you need to know what to expect not only when it comes to quality, but also when it comes to extra renter regulations like cancellation policies, cleaning fees, and additional housekeeping rules.

You Can STILL Experience The Resorts Regardless

Psst — guess what? You can still EXPERIENCE the best of the Disney World resorts without spending HUNDREDS to stay at them. NO JOKE! Quick example for ya. Let’s say you’re staying at one of the value resorts to save a couple hundred bucks, but you still REALLY wanna see what those monorail resorts have to offer, too.

By all means, you can have your cake and eat it too! I’ve had some REALLY GREAT DAYS taking the monorail around to Disney’s Grand Floridian, Disney’s Contemporary, and Disney’s Polynesian Village to explore their shops, take part in some of their crafts and activities, make reservations for their restaurants, get a drink from their lounges, and even grab a spot on the Polynesian beach side to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks… at NO extra cost.

(Oh, and DON’T forget to treat yourself to an order of the Ohana Noodles from the Polynesian’s Ohana restaurant OR as a secret menu option from Tambu Lounge.) And if you REALLY wanna show your devotion to all-things Ohana Noodles, you can even grab one of our “Ohana means Noodles” shirts from the DFBstore website. (And when people come up to you and say, “Hey, nice shirt,” then you’ll know who the TRUE Disney World devotees out there are. Bam. Instant friendships unlocked.)

ORDER YOUR NOODLES SHIRT HERE

Whoops. Got sidetracked with noodles. (Ain’t that just the way?) Aside from the gyms, pools, and getting ahold of those theme park perks, you’re more than welcome to explore the resorts ‘til your heart’s content. HOWEVER keep in mind that you CANNOT PARK at a resort you’re not paying for a room at. You MUST take Disney World transportation to hop around to the different hotels (which — unless you’re on the Skyliner Route or Monorail loop — usually means taking one of the theme park or Disney Springs shuttles to get to a new location.)

Construction

LOTS of changes have been going on at some of Disney World’s most popular resorts recently. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa is currently updating their rooms to take on a classy Mary Poppins theming.

Disney’s Fort Wilderness will be having a lot of work done on it as the Disney Vacation Club starts to take over the area. More than 350 refreshed cabins will replace the existing cabins at the resort and, according to Disney, they’ll now be“inspired by the resort’s idyllic setting, while also paying homage to its unique culture and heritage through the magic of Disney storytelling.”

Meanwhile, Disney’s BoardWalk Inn is getting ready to open their refreshed guest rooms to the public, while they also continue to work on their NEW table service restaurant — The Cake Bake Shop — set to open in 2024. And Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort is in the process of building a WHOLE NEW DVC building — which means more villas, more dining options, and more recreational activities will be offered at this deluxe hotel once the waterfront tower opens later in 2024.

While it’s understandable that Disney would wanna update their resorts just like they do their parks, these rather massive updates lead to a WHOLE lotta construction. And THAT can really pull you out of the Disney immersion. Not only does construction work mean cranes, mounds of dirt, and big bulky walls that SO don’t mesh with that resort theming you’re paying for, it ALSO means that you’re probably gonna hear a lot of construction work going on in the background too. I’m talking drilling. Hammering. Beeping vehicles as they back it up, back it up, and other various noises that AREN’T supposed to be part of the usual Disney soundtrack we hear playing in the lobby.

While Disney doesn’t schedule construction to happen overnight or early in the morning (because they DON’T wanna interrupt your much-needed beauty sleep), construction work like this normally takes place in the middle of the day. So if you’ve got a child with a set nap schedule — OR you’re gonna want to head back to the resort midday to take a nap yourself — just keep in mind that staying at one of THESE four resorts right now MAY not provide you with the best cat nap ever.

You can always check a resort’s construction updates on each hotel’s main page via the Disney World website. All construction notices will be listed toward the top of the page in bright, orange letters to let you know what you need to be aware of BEFORE you book a room.

While staying at a Disney World Resort may be a KEY element to MANY guests’ overall Disney experience, it doesn’t HAVE to be for EVERYONE. There are other options available out there that could very well help you pull off that dream Orlando vacation you’re after — so make sure to do your research, compare those prices, check out those hotel perks, and keep coming back to the DFB channel for EVEN MORE Disney resort tips and tricks!