There are a lot of reasons that guests visiting Disney World choose to stay at a Disney World Resort hotel.
These hotels are located on Disney property, which means that you’ll be closer to the parks — and, of course, you’ll be immersed in the Disney magic throughout your entire stay. The resorts are highly themed and a lot of guests praise the service that Cast Members provide during their stay. But, these are the only benefits — there are a lot more that can make planning your Disney trip a bit easier!
So, what perks do you actually get when you’re staying at a Disney World hotel?
Extended Advanced Dining Reservations Window
Currently, guests who are looking to dine at a Disney World restaurant can make reservations up to 60 days in advance. And, that is mostly the same for those staying at a Disney World Resort hotel — they just get some extra time!
Disney World hotel guests can begin making dining reservations 60 days in advance of their stay PLUS the length of their hotel stay up to 10 extra days. So, that means that if you’re planning a trip to Disney World for 8 days, you’ll actually be able to book some reservations 68 days in advance. And, this can be particularly beneficial when you’re trying to grab a hard-to-get reservation!
Theme Park Transportation
Another huge perk to staying at a Disney World hotel is that you don’t have to worry about how you’ll get to the parks — Disney has it covered!
All hotels have transportation available to all four theme parks, Disney Springs, and the Disney water parks that guests can take advantage of free of charge. And, depending on where you’re staying, you can find some pretty unique modes of transportation!
Select resorts have boat transportation to Magic Kingdom or EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios including:
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground (to Magic Kingdom)
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (to Magic Kingdom)
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows (to Magic Kingdom)
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (to Magic Kingdom)
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas (to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas (to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort (to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Walt Disney World Swan Hotel (to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel (to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Some have boat transportation to Disney Springs, including:
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter
Others have monorail transportation to Magic Kingdom and EPCOT including:
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
And, other resorts offer transportation to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios via Disney’s Skyliner including:
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
Plus, all of the Disney World resorts offer complimentary bus transportation if there’s not an alternate way to get there. So, you’ll never have to think about traffic, directions, or any of the other woes that go with navigating during your vacation.
It is important to note that many off-site hotels also offer the benefit of a shuttle to the theme parks, so make sure to check what benefits your hotel offers when booking!
Complimentary Theme Park Parking
For those who prefer to drive to the theme parks, Disney offers free theme park and water park parking for hotel guests. Note that parking at Disney Springs is also free for all guests. When you check-in at your hotel, you’ll receive a parking pass that will get you complimentary parking around the Disney World resort, so you can save some cash for more snacks and souvenirs!
Keep in mind though that Disney does now charge hotel guests for overnight parking, so there will be a small fee if you’re choosing to bring your car.
Discounted MagicBands
MagicBands can be one of the most convenient accessories to have when you’re visiting Disney World — they provide access to your hotel room, serve as your park ticket, can link PhotoPass images to your account, and can even be used to make purchases in the parks (if you’re staying at a Disney World resort).
And, while Disney discontinued the complimentary MagicBand program for hotel guests, they do still offer discounted MagicBands for hotel guests. So, depending on what design you’re wanting to get, you can score the accessory for as little as $5.
Extra Time in the Theme Parks (Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours)
If you’ve stayed at a Disney World hotel in the past, you might be familiar with Extra Magic Hours. This was a perk that allowed hotel guests extra time in select parks throughout the week. Though Extra Magic Hours has now ended, Disney World hotel guests can still get additional time in the parks through 2 slightly different perks.
We’ll start with Early Theme Park Entry. With this program, guests staying at any Disney World hotel (and select other hotels) can enter ANY Disney World theme park of their choosing 30 minutes early on ANY day. That’s 30 minutes of extra morning time in the parks before the rest of the crowds arrive! During that time, select attractions, merchandise, and food & beverage spots are open. But, note that not all rides are available during that time.
Next, we have Extended Evening Hours. This perk is only available for guests staying at Disney World Deluxe Resorts and Deluxe Villas. With Extended Evening Hours, guests staying at those qualifying Deluxe Disney World hotels can get extra time in select parks at night on certain days.
So far, we’ve seen this offered at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT on select days. Again, not all rides are available during this time, but select attractions, merchandise, and food & beverage spots are open during those extra nighttime hours.
They’re not exactly the same as Extra Magic Hours, but with these 2 perks, select Disney hotel guests can get precious extra time in the parks.
Click here to see what popular EPCOT attraction recently got added to the Extended Evening Hours list!
Early Access to Individual Attraction Selection Purchases
FastPass+ has been discontinued in Disney World and essentially replaced by 2 new paid systems — Disney Genie+ and Individual Attraction Selection (pay-per-ride). With Genie+, guests pay $15 per ticket per day to get the chance to skip the lines at select rides by selecting 1 return time at a time for eligible attractions.
But select popular rides are NOT available through Genie+. Instead, if you want to skip the lines at those select popular rides, you’ll need to pay to use their Lightning Lanes (a.k.a. the old FastPass+ lanes) individually. For example, if you want to skip the standby line at Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, you’ll need to pay for an Individual Attraction Selection (pay-per-ride) option for that ride individually (we’ve seen this typically priced at $15 per ticket to use the Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance once).
When making pay-per-ride selections, guests who stay at a Disney World hotel (and other select hotels — specifically those at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels and Shades of Green) get a special benefit. Guests staying at a Disney World hotel or the other qualifying hotels can make their first Individual Attraction Selection purchase starting at 7AM on the day of their visit.
Everyone else has to wait until the park opens to make their first selections. While this might not seem like a big deal, Individual Attraction Selections for select rides (mainly Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance) can fill up quickly! So having that benefit of being able to make your purchase early can help you score the pay-per-ride selections you want.
Click here to see why this time advantage can make a big difference.
So, there are definitely quite a few perks to staying at a Disney World Resort hotel during your vacation! And, if you need some help deciding which one might be best for you and your family to stay at, you can check out our video below for some tips!
Check out the Six Walt Disney World Resorts The Experts Choose (And WHY!)
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What do you think is the biggest perk for Disney World hotel guests? Let us know in the comments!
Not right now it isn’t and I don’t forsee that changing any time in the near future.
It is also worth pointing out that EVERYONE parks for free at Disney Springs. That’s not a perk, and sense Disney started charging for parking at the hotels free park parking isn’t a perk, they just aren’t double charging you… Yet
Disney: pay more for less.
30 minutes to replace EMH is a big zero. DMH going away is lame.
There used to be a big advantage for staying on Disney property but little by little its not, examples are, high costs of Disney hotels, parking fees at all hotels, discontinued free magic bands, the elimination of magical express luggage service and the end of magical express all together 2022, not to mention you can get a lot more bang for your buck and a nicer room at the many off site hotels and condos
Hi, I remember having a fantastic time staying at the All Stars Movie Hotel, but, we were advised to leave 10 dollars per day, for the room cleaners
Also for Disney World Resort guest is the Advance Dining Plan. Although not currently available, when it is, for me, it helps me make my dining reservations at some more expensive places that I could not normally afford. It has different options available for snacks, Quick Service and Table service dining options that are paid for in advance so I don’t have to worry about a food budget while on vacation. It’s already paid for. I really look forward to the day Disney will hopefully bring it back.