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.
For me personally, one of my favorite hotels I’ve ever gotten to stay at was Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was a bucket list resort for me, and while I only spent one night there, it was unforgettable with its gorgeous decor and spacious room, not to mention how kind and attentive the Cast Members were when I was checking in near midnight. There are so many Disney World hotels to choose from, and while many guests love to stay on property, that doesn’t mean it is all sunshine and rainbows. There are some things that we wish were different at the hotels, and we’re 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!
The Cost
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.”
Recently, Disney just announced a large amount of price increases hitting the resort, and that includes things like ticket prices, dining options across the whole resort, and yes, hotel prices have continued to go up, up, and up over recent years. This is across all hotel tiers — Value, Moderate, and Deluxe, which makes staying on property harder no matter what your budget is.
While Disney has added on a water park perk that many guests are fans of, they also just took away discounted MagicBands for hotel guests, and have not announced anything replacing it. We completely agree with many of our guests saying that you’re paying more for fewer perks, because it’s factually true — why would you want to pay a higher cost for something that doesn’t have any additional perks for you?
Marcy also 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.” This is very true! Unless you’re staying Club Level at a resort (which costs and arm and a leg, to say the least), you don’t get any additional perks for staying at a Deluxe Resort inside your actual room or hotel. Yes, you do get access to Extended Evening Hours, but those aren’t every night, and considering that’s only ONE perk for paying hundreds more per night? Yeah, not worth it for many people.
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Theming
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.”
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Maybe We Can’t Go The Distance
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.”
This is very true, especially for larger hotels like Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Port Orleans Riverside, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, and Pop Century Resort.
Now, you can request to have a room closest to the amenities, but it’s never guaranteed. Unless you’re willing to pay for a premium room that you KNOW will be closer, but again, that’s going to cost a pretty penny.
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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.
Finally, we can’t help but agree with Paul who wrote that he can’t live there and Jacqeline who posted that her biggest gripe is that she is not in one. We completely agree, we wish we were relaxing on our balcony overlooking Disney World right now!
Stay tuned to AllEars for all your Disney World tips, tricks, and news!
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What is your biggest gripe about Disney World hotels? Let us know in the comments!
Many comments made are spot on. Bob Cheapskate Chapek took away all the perks. With the return of Iger, the perks did not return. We have had to figure out how to get to Disney property from the airport. Extended evening hours for deluxe resorts one day on your vacation (in the park that is not necessarily your favorite) isn’t worth $800/night. Early entry is often a half hour–security and checking in with cast members by the castle sucks all that up. Meal plans do not save you money unless you drink alcohol. The “specials” that Disney advertises never apply to my vacations.
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 agree. The quality of even the simple things like towels and toilet paper are so bad now. I want to go to a deluxe to have the things I might not be able to have every day like super plush towels or mattresses. Now the I wouldn’t even buy such cheap quality for my own home.
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.