20+ Reasons Staying At A Walt Disney World Resort Hotel Is The Best Thing Ever

The Orlando area offers hundreds of nice resorts, and many of the common commercial properties outside of Walt Disney World offer a deluxe experience as well as reasonable prices. But when people ask me where they should stay on their Walt Disney World vacation, I always repeat one golden rule - stay on property. The Walt Disney World Resort offers more than a dozen unique Resort Hotels at a variety of price points but whether you're staying at a Disney Value or Disney Deluxe Resort there are perks to staying on property that just can't get anywhere else.


20+ Reasons To Stay On Property


Before you even leave for vacation, booking a room at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel gives you an advantage over the people staying off property. Guests of Disney Resorts have the opportunity to create their own packages by adding a pre-paid Disney Dining Plan and Theme Park Tickets to their stay. This one stop shopping makes booking your Disney trip a breeze. Sometimes it makes it a bargain too, because during certain times of the year Disney Resorts have been known offer a Free Dining Package!

Advance Dining Reservations open up at 180 days prior for all Disney patrons, however Disney Resort Guests get to make their reservations at 180+10. That means that at the 180 day mark, Disney Resort Guests can make reservations throughout an up to 10 day trip. This advantage means that sometimes they have access to reservations up to 10 days sooner that folks staying off-property. That can make a huge difference when trying to get a seat at the most popular restaurants and dining experiences such as Be Our Guest or Cinderella's Royal Table.

Not only can Disney Resort Guests make their dining reservations early, but their FastPass+ reservation window opens at 60 days prior to their vacation, instead of at 30 days. That's a whole month sooner than day guests and guests staying off-property!





At 60 days before arrival Disney Resort Guests have the opportunity to Check-in Online. This means that when you arrive at your Walt Disney World Resort Hotel you'll breeze through registration and be able to get right to having fun! If you're room isn't quite ready, no worries go have fun, Disney will text you when your room is ready.

At 30 Days Disney ships Resort Guest MagicBands right to your home! The key to accessing all the fun you've planned on your Walt Disney World vacation, the MagicBands are your all access pass to Disney Fun. The MagicBand acts as Room Key, Dining Plan Pass, Photo Pass, FastPass+, and it will even allow you to make shopping and dining charges right to your room. When you get them early, you can even get crafty and customize them to fit your personality before you leave.

You never have to worry about how to get there when you stay at a Disney Resort because Disney Guests get Free Ground Transportation. Disney's Magical Express will take care of you from the moment you arrive at Orlando International Airport. And - with special baggage handling tags sent to you before your trip, you don't even have to pick up your luggage. As long as your flight arrives before 10:00PM, if you have the Magical Express Luggage Tags on your bags Disney will pick them up and deliver them right to your hotel room. Certain airlines even have pre-flight check-in right at Disney Resort hotels to take care of it on the way home too. Seriously, baggage handling is the best thing ever.


Complimentary Transportation Is One Of My Favorite Disney Resort Perks


Free Ground Transportation doesn't stop once you arrive on property either. Disney Resort Guests have fleets of buses, boats, and monorails at their disposal to use to get around the Walt Disney World property. Not having to drive is one of my favorite things about staying at a Disney Resort, because no matter how late I stay out or how many cocktails I drink I never have to worry about how I'm going to make it back to the room. Disney's got it covered.

Mornings really are magical at Walt Disney World Resorts because your morning wake up call can come from some of your favorite Disney Characters. Several of the Disney Deluxe Resorts even offer Theme Park Views adding a bit more fun to get you going. There's just something about waking up in the morning and looking out your hotel room window at the castle, or watching the monorail go by, that makes a heart skip with glee.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but when you're worried about getting to the Parks it can be easy to forget to fuel up. Every Disney Resort Hotel offers at least one quick service restaurant where you can get something hot and fresh to eat, as well as a grab and go section to swing by on the way back to your room. Plus, at many of the Disney Deluxe Resorts table service dining offers some fun and fantastic Character breakfasts that offer personal interaction with Disney Characters without waiting in long lines.





Did you know that there are Disney Resorts that are in walking distance to the Parks? The Epcot area resorts even have a private back entrance directly into World Showcase, and direct boat service to Disney's Hollywood Studios. You can't get closer to Theme Park fun than when you stay in the "Disney Bubble."

At the Parks Disney Resort Guests get the perk of rotating Extra Magic (extended) Hours, so that they can play even longer. Did you know that sometimes the Disney Parks reach capacity and have to turn day guests staying off-site away? Yep, it's true! Especially during the busy Summer and Holiday seasons. However guests staying at Walt Disney World Resorts are allowed Park entrance though the Phase 3 closures, and are always guaranteed access to at least one of the Disney Parks.

Every hotel has housekeeping, but Disney has Mousekeeping! These hard working cast members are truly a wonder of Walt Disney World. From keeping your room stocked with premium H20+ products, creating fun towel animals, following your housekeeping preference (you'd be surprised by things they pick up on), and they still follow green lodging practices! There's nothing quiet as nice as a staying at a Walt Disney World Resort.


Disney Housekeeping Is Magical


Finally - Disney Resort Guests can have their shopping finds sent right back to the hotel for them. With Free Package Delivery you can shop in the Parks and have it delivered to your Resort Gift Shop the next day. Just another perk designed to let you have more fun while Disney takes care of the details.

So there you have it! 20+ Reasons Staying At A Walt Disney World Resort Is The Best Thing Ever. The magic is in the details and Disney Resorts offer more access, care and convenience than any other choice. It's more than worth cost in coin for the escape of niggling travel details that Disney will take care of.

Are you still staying off-property? For goodness sakes - why!? A Disney Resort stay lets you pack in more fun while worrying about so much less, and isn't that peace of mind what vacation is all about? If you're looking for even more reasons staying on property is the best, head on over to our member forums, where they've come up with even more reasons!