You’re going to make mistakes when planning or during your Disney World trip. There, we said it. Making mistakes is part of life. It’s part of being human. So you’re bound to make a mistake when it comes to your Disney vacation. Maybe you won’t perfectly plan out that Hollywood Studios day and you’ll have to wait in a longer line than you wanted. Or you’ll order the wrong thing for lunch and be left hungry. You can’t avoid all mistakes. But, you can avoid some. And we’re here to help.
What a beaut!
A lot goes into planning a Disney World vacation and between the hotel reservations, Park Passes, dining reservations, and more, there’s a lot of room for error. One of the first things you’ll likely decide ahead of your trip is where to stay. Your hotel room can easily be one of the most expensive parts of your trip. That’s why we’re sharing our list of common mistakes (that even we have made!) when booking a Disney World hotel so that you know what NOT to do and so you can roll up to check-in with no regrets!
Not Looking at Non-Disney World Hotels
Staying at a Disney World hotel offers a lot of benefits like free transportation, Early Them Park Entry, extended dining reservation windows, and, of course, the benefit of not having to leave the “Disney bubble.” But, did you know that you can get many of the same benefits for cheaper if you stay at a non-Disney World hotel?
© DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando – Disney Springs Area
It’s true! Many off-site hotels offer some of the same perks as staying at a Disney World hotel (like free transportation to the theme parks, Early Theme Park Entry, and more). Plus, depending on how much you’re looking to pay, you can get access to more dining options and larger rooms for the same price you’d be paying to stay at a Disney hotel.
Swan and Dolphin Resort
For example, the cost of a family suite at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort (which is considered a Value Resort) is just a bit over $500 on average (per night) and the room is roughly 565 square feet (according to some numbers from TouringPlans).
This is pretty comparable to some of the deluxe rooms and even select suites at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando (which cost about $500 per night or just over that — though note that some rooms are more). Being at the Waldorf would give you more dining options too, and it’s even located on Disney property.
©Waldorf Astoria
Or consider the fact that you can use Marriott points to stay at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin, which is located in the EPCOT Resort Area and connected to Disney’s BoardWalk. The other Disney hotels in the area are generally considered 💰Deluxe Resorts💰, but you might not have to pay deluxe prices for deluxe amenities if you opt for the non-Disney-owned hotel in this spot!
Click HERE to See How Disney World Hotel Prices Compare to Off-Property Resorts
Not Knowing All Your Options
If you are choosing to stay on Disney property, there are a few hotels that offer extra-special room types. If you’ve got little ones or a big group, you might want to check these out! For example, if you’re traveling with a large group, consider booking a stay in Disney’s larger room options (like the Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, which have space to sleep 9!).
©Disney || Treehouse Villa
Or, you can opt for rooms that are next to each other in the hotel and have a connecting door — you’ll just need to request this before you arrive.
Connecting Door
Disney also has options for those families who like to be one with nature and really experience that rustic connection with the great outdoors! Fort Wilderness Campgrounds has everything a camping family could want from the hard-core tent camping types to the more luxurious “glamping” options of a cabin.
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
For the kiddos, Disney has some hotel rooms that have an extra amount of theming that you might want to consider booking. There are the Royal Guest Rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans — Riverside Resort, which are decked out in princess details and even have headboards with firework scenes!
©Disney
Over at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, the Pirate Rooms make you feel like you’ve been plopped right into the middle of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie with beds that are shaped like boats, furniture that is made to look like barrels, and more.
Pirate rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
Now, keep in mind that these highly themed rooms will generally cost you (at least a little) more than the standard rooms, but knowing your options ahead of time will leave you with no regrets once you arrive.
Check Out The 8 Most RIDICULOUSLY Awesome Disney World Hotel Rooms HERE!
Not Booking With Discounts
Another thing to look out for when you’re preparing to book your hotel is discounts — either from Disney or other companies! Disney offers a variety of hotel discounts throughout the year. If you don’t take advantage of these, you could end up shelling out a lot of extra money.
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
What kind of hotel discounts can you expect? Sometimes these will be discounts specific to the hotel rooms or you might find a discount on a whole package. Our advice? You may find that you can save more or things might simply be more convenient if you book your tickets with your hotel reservation so try to plan ahead and know how many park tickets you’ll want to purchase before you book your hotel, just in case.
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
If you’re willing to be flexible on your vacation dates, you might be able to find even better deals, especially during the non-peak times of the year, which provide additional savings on your room.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Lobby
If you happen to book your vacation and then find that a deal has popped up for the same time that you’re visiting, don’t panic! You might still be able to add it on after the fact. Just contact Disney and see if/how that can be done. They might be able to add it to your booking over the phone or you might have to cancel and rebook, but that extra cash could mean more spending money for other things like snacks or souvenirs. More SNACK money you say?! We’re in!
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
If all of these discounts, hotel levels, and travel date options have you feeling overwhelmed, consider using a Disney-certified travel agent. We highly recommend our friends over at Small World Vacations! The folks over at Small World Vacations stay on top of all of the discounts available and when they’re released to help guests save money and have a great vacation (at no extra cost to you!).
Click here for our page FULL of Disney World discount details!
Not Considering the Location of the Hotel
Disney hotels are located all over the property in Orlando (and that property is BIIIIIIG) so you won’t necessarily be right next door to a park depending on where you choose to stay. Transportation to and from your hotel and the parks can suck a lot of time from your vacation, so planning ahead and knowing which parks you want to visit most could help you make a decision on where to stay.
Fort Wilderness Resort Bus Stop
For example, many Disney-goers don’t realize just how far Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is from all the parks (besides Disney’s Animal Kingdom, of course) and might find themselves disappointed by the amount of time they have to spend on the bus to get between the parks and that (beautiful) hotel.
Animal Kingdom Loge Bus Stop
But, if you’re staying at a hotel like Disney’s Yacht Club Resort or Disney’s Beach Club Resort, you’ll find that you’re within walking distance to TWO parks (EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios) or you can take a Disney boat or the Disney Skyliner if you want to skip some of the walking.
Yacht and Beach Club Resort Area
So, think ahead about which parks you plan to visit most and try to find a resort that is located within that area — it can end up saving you a lot of time!
Learn about 5 Disney World hotels that you can WALK to the parks from HERE!
Not Considering the Transportation Options
Speaking of getting between the parks and resorts, another thing to consider before booking your hotel stay is what transportation options you’ll have! Disney bus transportation is standard at every Disney World hotel, but some hotels offer other forms of transportation that you might find more convenient.
Skyliner Station for Art of Animation
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, and Disney’s Rivera Resort all have stations for the Disney Skyliner, which takes guests to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This mode of transportation is usually faster (and definitely more interesting!) than waiting for a bus ride to the parks.
Skyliner on a pretty day
Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and Disney’s Polynesian Resort are all on the monorail line, which takes guests to Magic Kingdom and also has convenient monorail access to EPCOT through the Transportation and Ticket Center.
Monorail
Many other resorts also offer boat transportation to certain parks that are in the area. For example, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground have boat transportation to Magic Kingdom, and both of Disney’s Port Orleans Resorts (Riverside and French Quarter) have boat transportation to Disney Springs.
Select resorts have boat transportation!
So, whether you’d like to avoid Disney busses as much as possible or you just want to have another option when it comes to transportation, knowing what each resort offers before you book your stay can be an important factor that could make or break your vacation.
Click HERE for 22 secrets to getting around Disney World.
Not Reading the “Know Before You Go” Page
While all of Disney World’s resorts have reopened and things have started to return to normal, Disney is still operating under some modified health and safety measures. All of the information on what is closed in each hotel, what to expect when it comes to amenities and cleaning, and other health and safety updates can be found on their Disney Hotels Know Before You Go Page.
Disney’s Riviera Resort
You’ll want to look here to learn about the current check-in process, any adjustments to housekeeping, what restaurants in the hotels are still closed, and more so that you’re aware of what will be offered during your stay. Health guidelines change over time, so keep checking that page as things may change from when you booked your trip to your actual check-in date. And check back with us as we share the latest updates from Disney World.
Check out the latest updates on health & safety measures at Disney World here.
Not Requesting a Room
Another common mistake that Disney-goers make when booking their hotel stay at Disney World is not making specific requests for their room. Select Disney World resorts will allow you to note a room preference when you check in online. And, if that isn’t a feature online for the hotel you’ll be staying at, you can actually call Disney and the Cast Member that you speak with can note your preference on your reservation.
Hippy Dippy Pool view at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Things you can request include what kind of view you’d like to have, what building you’d like to be in, what floor you’d like to stay on, and more. Just keep in mind that some of the rooms with these specific features may be an extra cost on top of what you already booked.
Click HERE for 13 Disney World hotel rooms that are actually WORTH the upgrade $$$!
And those are some of the top things that you should consider before booking your Disney World hotel stay! But, what about other mistakes people make after they’ve checked in? We’ve got you covered — just check out our video below for the things that most people who stay in Disney World don’t know!
Check out 9 absolute LIES about Disney World hotels HERE!
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We just got back from another Disney Trip. We love watching your You tube channel for tips and tricks. We stayed at All Star Movies. That resort is showing it’s age. We will be heading back to Disney again in February 2024. But this time I think we want to try an Off Site hotel just for something different. We are traveling with a friend that has a lot of Holiday Inn Points to use up… Which Holiday Inn will give us the early entry perks like the Resorts on property?