Hotel Plaza Boulevard
This area adjacent to Downtown Disney is home to seven hotels with names that you may recognize, such as Hilton, Best Western, and Courtyard. These hotels are on Disney property, but each enjoys different benefits and perks than the standard Disney-owned resort. We cover the benefits in more detail when we review them in Chapter 11.
Benefits of Staying on Property
So why should you stay at a Disney property? Well, Disney is interested in getting as many of your vacation dollars as possible while you’re here, and they’ll give you perks to convince you that your accommodations budget should go to them as well. Some of these perks are great ones; others are not so important to most guests. You need to weigh which ones offer some value to you and which do not. The following sections outline the major ones.
Disney Magical Express
When you arrive at the Orlando International Airport (MCO), you never have to touch your bags—you just jump on a bus that takes you to your resort. Here is how it works.
Disney mails luggage stickers to you before you leave on vacation. Place them on your luggage when checking in at your home airport. When you arrive at the Orlando airport, simply go to the Magical Express reception area and you are guided to your Magical Express bus. The bus whisks you to your resort. All the while, Disney grabs your bags at the airport, transports them to your resort, and drops them off in your room.
That is right, they gather your bags for you, and you never even have to pick them up! Bags typically arrive in your room within three hours. The return trip to the airport at vacation’s end includes baggage handling again, along with advance airline ticketing for select airlines. It’s a great savings, in both dollars and headaches.
Good for: Anyone, because taxi service can run $30 to $60 per person.
Avoided by: If you are part of a large group and want to make a stop by a grocery store to stock your kitchenette, you’re better off taking a limo that allows for such stops than taking a cab later.
Value: If you’re flying to Disney, assume that you’ll save a minimum of $30 for the round-trip per-person charge. If you’re driving, you obviously do not need this perk.
Extended Theme Park Hours
Extra Magic Hours allow guests to enter select parks on certain days an hour ahead of all other guests, and to stay at other parks after standard closing hours. These Extra Magic Hours mean you’re in the park with a slightly smaller crowd to contend with, and you get more time to enjoy all those rides and shows.
Good for: Again, just about anyone can take advantage of the hours. Even if you’re not an early riser, the evening hours are a nice way to enjoy smaller crowds, lower temperatures, and less pressure to get it all done in the standard hours.
Avoided by: Almost nobody!
Value: It’s hard to put a dollar amount on it, but if you can take advantage of three Extra Magic Hours sessions in a week’s visit, I would estimate the value at approximately half a day’s worth of whatever you’re spending on tickets.
Disney Resort Transportation
You can enjoy free usage of the buses, boats, and monorails that interconnect the Walt Disney World parks, resorts, and other facilities.
Come on, who are we kidding here? In reality, the transportation is open to everyone. You do, however, need to consider that staying on property means you’re not driving to the parks and incurring a daily parking charge of $14.
Good for: Everyone.
Avoided by: Nobody.
Value: $14 per day.
Charging Privileges
Basically, wherever you are, you can charge merchandise, food, drink, and other purchases to your room.
Good for: Most people enjoy this perk, especially those who don’t like carrying lots of cash or their credit cards. It’s also preferred by international guests, many of whom like to have all bills kept together.
Avoided by: This isn’t hurting anyone, though you will definitely want to monitor usage.
Value: I wouldn’t apply a dollar value to the perk, but it’s a nice convenient feature.
Package Shipping
No, they’re not shipping items home for you, but they’re helping you get through your day in the park. This perk helps you when you buy something at a Walt Disney World–area store. Instead of having to carry purchases around all day long, they will ship them back to your resort room. It takes over a day, so you can’t do it on your last few days of your vacation, but it’s a great help if you find a gift early in the morning and don’t particularly want to carry it around on roller coasters the rest of the day, or rent a locker to stow it in.
Good for: Guests who plan on buying lots of items, especially in the parks.
Avoided by: Visitors staying three days or less.
Value: Renting a locker is a minimum of $5, so that’s what you save per day when you buy something to be shipped to your room.
Disney Dining Plan
The Disney Dining Plan is another way for Disney to get more of your money. (There are several actual plans in the program.) They again do it in a way that probably makes good sense for you, so don’t look at it with a jaded eye. This program is an optional extra charge, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing, as most find this to be a great money saver in the long run. As you will find out in Chapter 12, the dining plans allow you to prepurchase meals at a good rate, and if the costs work out, it’s a great convenience and money saver.
Good for: Guests who plan to have a lot of table-service or counter-service meals and whose daily per-person food budget is more than $40.
Avoided by: Guests who keep their food budget under $30 a day or who plan on having a lot of meals away from Walt Disney World.
Value: The examples in Chapter 12 have a sample family of four saving over $20 per day in food costs on the basic plan.
The Bottom Line for On-Property Perks
What’s the bottom line? Well, as explained here, it all depends on your particular needs. You will likely find that a combination of these perks offers a savings or benefit worth a certain amount.
A number of intangibles should be considered as well. Your morning trips to the parks will be shorter, you won’t have to worry about your car, you won’t have to pay for parking, etc. With smaller children you can get back to your resort for naps and pool time more quickly. I also feel that the Disney resorts really get you in the Disney mood with their decor, service, and general ambiance. You are immersed in the Disney experience your whole trip, instead of just for the eight or so hours a day that you visited the park from a non-Disney hotel. These intangibles always bring me back to the Disney resort experience, even when it may cost me a few extra bucks per day.
As you consider your accommodation selection, you can revisit your budget planning, outlined in Chapter 2, and adjust the value of different packages based on what these perks will do for you.
Understanding Disney Resorts
Disney runs its resorts its own special way, with unique customs and practices that may seem odd to the active traveler. Understanding them can help you get through the cloud of confusion they can create.
Disney Rate Seasons
Disney charges different nightly rates depending on the anticipated demand for rooms. They used to have four basic rate seasons, but that has been replaced by as many as 20. Yep, 20. But don’t let that sound confusing to you. The basic rules still apply. Weekends are more expensive than weekdays. Holidays and summer break are more expensive than when kids are in school.
Here is how the seasons seem to hit, throughout the year:
• January through mid-February: Value
• Mid-February through end of February: Peak
• March through mid-March: Regular
• Mid-March through April: Peak
• May through mid-July: Regular
• Mid-July through September: Value
• October: Regular
• November through December: Fall
Note that th
e following Holidays throughout the year raise prices: Disney Marathon (January), Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Easter, Independence Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.
The following is the order, from most to least expensive, of the rate seasons from Disney:
• Holiday (Christmas through New Year’s Day)
• Easter
• President’s Weekend
• Peak Season
• Thanksgiving
• Independence Day
• Columbus Day
• Regular Season
• Martin Luther King Day
• Disney Marathon
• Fall Season
• Value Season
As a frame of reference, the lowest cost room rate was 62 percent of the highest. In the Grand Floridian resort in 2011 that meant that going on a Value Season weekday ($440/day) as opposed to a Holiday Season day ($705/day) would save you $265 per day. As another example, a Value hotel room can range from as low as $82 a night to as high as $164 a night. That means the price can be literally double its lowest rate when you travel during certain holidays.
To be sure of what season your travel dates are in, simply visit the resort’s webpage at www.waltdisneyworld.com, then select Room Types & Pricing. From there you can see when the different season rates apply for that particular resort.
Walt Disney World hotel locations.
Hotel Locations
Most Disney resorts are labeled by the area of Walt Disney World where they are located. Areas include the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, and Wide World of Sports areas.
These labels help you identify what attractions you will be closer to, but do not impact what kind of amenities are available to you. What does this matter to you? Probably not a lot, but if you know that you will spend a great deal of time in one area recreationally, getting a resort in that area would be a good idea.
Hotel Comparison
What are the differences among the Disney properties? Following is a brief chart of some of the key differences for the Disney properties, not including those on Hotel Plaza Boulevard.
Disney Rooms
The rooms at Walt Disney World have a variety of amenities and comforts that are pretty standard in hotels around the world. But certain practices are only catching up to the Kingdom. You should be prepared for your stay here so that you appreciate what you’re paying for.
Just because you may be paying top dollar for a room at Walt Disney World, don’t expect excessive luxury. Two identical rooms in New York City and Des Moines, for example, would charge different rates because of their locations. Similarly, your room at the resort may be like a standard hotel room in your hometown, but remember that the extra charge here is based on getting other kinds of benefits for your money. First, you are at the premier vacation spot in the world. Second, you are closer to the parks than the less expensive off-property resorts.
Disney hotel comparison chart.
Other Accommodation Options in Orlando
If you’re looking for some non-Disney properties, where should you look? Well, with more than 350 hotels in the area, not to mention townhomes for lease, timeshares, and more, there are too many choices to consider them all. In Chapter 11, I show you three nearby areas to consider and list a few of my favorite hotels.
The Disney Vacation Club
Disney has been promoting its time-share program for some time now, and its growth is hard to miss, especially when you visit Walt Disney World. The resort growth here has been largely tied to the program, and it also offers some non–Orlando-based options. Resorts in the Disney Vacation Club are listed in Chapter 10.
Disney is also completing a resort complex in Hawaii, and has locations in Florida, Hilton Head, and the Disneyland resort in California. For more information about this program, visit www.disneyvacationclub.com.
Summary
Admittedly, we covered a lot of different topics in very short order here. The topics that matter, however—namely, the specifics about all the on-property and select off-property hotels—are covered adequately in the other chapters in this part of the book, so for now you have a good understanding of the advantages of staying on property, what the Disney Vacation Club is, and what different options are available to you.
Chapter 7
Deluxe Resorts
In This Chapter
• Learn about Disney’s Deluxe resorts
• Select the theme and location that are right for you
• Find out what room and resort amenities are available
When you start to take a closer look at the resort options at Walt Disney World, it’s always smart to start at the top and work your way down. Starting at the top means beginning by looking at the Deluxe-class resorts. These are the cream of the crop, and if they are within your budget, they can really make your already great vacation even better. They are well-themed complexes that transport you to a different place or time, including the national parks of the American West, a coastal Florida resort from the 1800s, a great safari lodge on the African plain, an Atlantic seaside resort, a futuristic high-rise, and more. They are definitely the first-class section of the Disney hotel world.
These top Disney resorts offer you the best-in-class rooms, amenities, locations, and decor for your accommodation choice. Within the class, there are also some distinct differences, so you can pick the one that is most suited to your specific needs. Some offer expansive pools, others are just a walk away from nightlife venues, and still others are prized for being just a quick monorail ride from the Magic Kingdom.
Now of course, the cost is there, too. These resorts can get pretty pricey. But if they’re within your budget, the advantages to staying at one of these resorts will become evident.
What Is a Deluxe Resort?
Deluxe resorts offer the best of everything—and charge for it as well. The advantages largely fall into four groups: room size and features, resort features, hotel location, and dining options. Let’s take a look at just what these benefits are and what they might mean to you.
Room Size and Features
Deluxe resort rooms are larger than the rooms at the Moderate and Value resorts. How much larger, and who cares? Well, a good deal larger, and, believe me, you will.
First, room size. The rooms offer a larger overall space, which is great if you have four or more people to a room. This gives you more space for your luggage, clothes, and purchases.
HIDDEN MAGIC!
Want to add that special touch to your stay? Contact the Disney World Florist and have a bouquet of flowers or candy waiting, or, better yet, have them decorate the room! Visit www.disneyflorist.com to see what they have to offer.
Second, room features. The bathrooms are nicer, featuring, in most cases, multiple sinks. The entryways have larger closets with closing doors, as opposed to an exposed rod. The TVs are larger, with most of the recent room renovations placing flatscreens in the rooms. Refrigerators are standard in the room, and a Pack ‘N Play crib can be put in your room at no charge just by asking in advance. You often get a veranda or patio, offering you somewhere to relax when the kids are asleep. It sure beats sitting on your own bed in the dark.
Resort Features
These resorts have more to offer when you leave the room as well. It starts from the moment you check in, where grand lobbies make you feel immediately welcome. Some of the resorts offer more shopping than just the standard souvenir shop found in most hotels. There are also concierge desks and concierge floors for that extra support that can make all the difference.
Recreation is next. Sure, all the resorts have pools, but the Deluxe pools are larger and carry the theme of their host resort, complete with volcanoes, sandy horizon pool entrances, lazy rivers, water slides, and poolside bars. Some resorts have beach areas and marinas; others have tennis courts, spas, volleyball courts, and health clubs. All of them have something extra.
HIDDEN MAGI
C!
So what are my favorite Deluxe resorts? Well, they’re all pretty good, but here’s a breakdown of some different reasons why one might be your best choice.
• Best resort for little kids: Disney’s Polynesian Resort Being on the monorail gets you to the Magic Kingdom quickly, which is where you likely will spend the majority of your days. The atmosphere is fun for boys and girls.
• Best resort for tweens: Disney’s Wilderness Lodge While it’s nice to be at one of the monorail resorts, the Lodge is a lot of fun and is still just a quick boat ride from the Magic Kingdom and the outdoor fun of Fort Wilderness.
• Best resort for teens: Disney’s Beach Club Resort Access to the best Deluxe resort pool, as well as a quick walk to Epcot and the BoardWalk make this Deluxe resort great fun. And the atmosphere is more relaxed and low-key than its sister Yacht Club.
• Best resort for just adults: Disney’s Yacht Club Resort Nightlife is just a short walk away, and the proximity of the Epcot World Showcase and its restaurants makes it ideal. A more upscale, sedate setting gets you away from kids more than at other locales.
• Best value: Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Most exotic: Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Most luxurious: Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Hotel Location
At Walt Disney World, location is king. It starts with being able to get to a theme park by boat, foot, or monorail. These are all far preferable to buses because they can get you there in a faster, less crowded, and more scenic fashion. One of the resorts (Animal Kingdom Lodge) does not enjoy this benefit, but it has many other unique features.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World, 2012 Edition Page 7