There are some great advantages to staying at a Disney World hotel — you can get free parking at the theme parks, take advantage of Early Entry, utilize complimentary Disney transportation, and more.
There are so many Disney World hotels to choose from and many people choose to stay at a Disney hotel during their vacation. However, that doesn’t mean it is all sunshine and rainbows. There are some things that we wish were different at the hotels, and we are turning to the Disney experts to find out the biggest gripes!
We asked the best group of Disney experts we know, our readers, what their biggest gripe about Disney World hotels is. We asked and you all answered, so let’s see what the biggest complaints are!
One of the biggest gripes we saw over and over again was the cost. So many of our readers stated that their biggest gripe was that Disney World hotels are too expensive. Stephanie, Teresa, Charlotte, Katie, Monica, Laura, Jeanne, Hooter, Emily, and even more wrote “the cost!”
As well, a few of our readers mentioned that the value of the hotels is not there anymore. Daniel wrote that, “staying at a Disney resort isn’t the perk it used to be. The Magical Express is gone. Parking is no longer free at the resorts. The extra magic hours aren’t as magical anymore. The prices for the good neighbor hotels are more economical than Disney resorts.” And Jeff agreed stating they don’t have “value anymore” and there is a “loss of perks.”
Marcy wrote that her biggest gripe is that “they aren’t ‘deluxe’ like anywhere else. I LOVE Disney & love staying at a Deluxe, but there is really nothing that special in the rooms & they give you nothing.”
Additionally, many of our readers expressed frustration that many of the Disney World hotels no longer have much theming. Lisa wrote that her biggest gripe is the “removal of theming. No difference between a Disney resort and a Marriott anymore.” Sean also agreed that the “rooms look all too similar to other Disney resort rooms. Same here same there.”
Matthew is also similarly frustrated by the lack of theming. He wrote that “the updates to each of the rooms are looking more and more like Disney is buying furniture in bulk and using cost savings to drive their decorating. Every update takes a little bit more of that original “entertainment architecture” flavor out of the rooms. My biggest gripe is that Disney is working towards homogenizing the hotel rooms everywhere and will lose the backstories that helped sell the experience of the resorts.”
We also read that a lot of our readers disliked the distance between the rooms and the amenities. As well, the walk to your room can sometimes feel like an eternity after a park day! Bridgett wrote that getting back to your room can feel like “having to walk 10 miles to your room after a long park day.”
Some of our readers had some more specific gripes. Karen wishes the water pressure was better, Jessica thinks the toilet paper is terrible at the Disney World resorts, and Sarah dislikes the bus lines from the parks to the hotels.
Stay tuned to AllEars for all your Disney World tips, tricks, and news!
Find out the things that Disney adults wouldn’t do even if they were being paid!
Join the AllEars.net Newsletter to stay on top of ALL the breaking Disney News! You'll also get access to AllEars tips, reviews, trivia, and MORE! Click here to Subscribe!
What is your biggest gripe about Disney World hotels? Let us know in the comments!
Remember how thrilling it was to stay “on property”? Then the values made it even more accessable. The magic is gone. No ones fault. Maybe this is long covid. Or maybe we are spoiled.
The walks to your room hasn’t gotten longer, we’ve just gotten older? The missing themeing. The don’t even have the “themed” comforters on the beds anymore. Cut back on toiletries, only 3 full sized towel. Not even a tissue box. And I understand company cutting back.if looking money but their finan also are public information. They made more than predicted. How rich does the board have to be. Everybody can’t be a billionaire. It’s a for profit business, I get that, but greed bothers me. And that’s where the magic went. Greed.
I agree. Hotels are barely themed now. And quality has been degraded, as well. Very disappointing for someone who has been a loyal guest for nearly 30 years.
I wish they would bring the Deluxe dining back. And I wish they had bigger handicap, accessible roomsand all the resorts and their roomsare definitely smaller for the handicap. They’re not much bigger and their prices are horrible and they don’t have the free dining like they used to for regular people.
I agree, theeming is sadly lacking now. The flavor of each resort used to be reflected in the style of the rooms and that has gone away.
The resorts haven’t brought back room service since it was stopped because of COVID. It was really nice to stay in, order food and watch a Disney movie. They need to bring room service back.
How they can call it a resort with no room service is a disgrace. RESORT used mean pool and golf course.
We miss the hotel room delivery that was available pre pandemic. No need for lockers or carrying things around the parks. It was one of the best perks of staying on-site and they did it for all disney resorts , even the lower end ones! Also, cutting the magic hours for the lower end resorts wasn’t nice either. Some of us just can’t afford to bring a whole family and stay at a deluxe resort. Especially now that fast passes don’t automatically come with your stay either. Coming up with the extra money to not wait in line, for a whole family, is getting more difficult every year. 2019 was truly the last year it was worth it to stay on-site. Because now anyone can pay to get in line, and there are no perks to staying in discount rooms other than the transportation to and from the parks.
We stayed at Drury Plaza, Lake Buena Vista last time. The room was enormous, spotlessly clean, freshly renovated, great amenities and a ten minute walk to Disney Springs. The room rate was half the cost of a Disney budget hotel, including free breakfast and will be first on our list to book next time. Having stayed in numerous Disney hotels, including Disneyland Paris, I’ve found Disney hotels to be very poor value for money. Plus, the ‘free bus service’ is a joke. You sometimes have to wait for the second or third bus before heading to the parks because the queues are ridiculous to grab the extra magic hour.
Book a hotel near Disney Springs that includes free parking, drive yourself to the parks early, begrudgingly pay the extortionate $28 parking charge and still save yourself a lot of money.
Definitely theming and the deluxe portion is missing. Beds used to be plush and sooo comfortable, even at the moderate level. The towels and blankets are paper thin, as well as the TP. The theming used to border on a little over the top but that’s what made staying there so wonderful. You were out of the real world and into something magical. I know we can’t go back to the past but boy do I miss that time only a few years ago.
Theming has gone down, and price has gone up. The part that really bothers me is the petks have all gone. No ME from MCO. No hour in the parks before the non-property people are let in as it has gone to a half hour which means 1 ride instead of 2 to 3. Week after Thanksgiving am going to stay for a week at French Quarter and if things are worse than the last time two years ago, it will be the last trip I will ever do. This will be my 15th trip.
Everything has to be reserved. Extra charges just to ride the rides.
Theming gone.
Spontaneous trip a thing of the past.
Their new “woke” attitude.
They overbuilt the hotels and never added more entertainment for the crowds.
It’s sadly now a thing of the past for us.