Hotels inside Disney in Orlando: the advantages

 Hotels inside Disney in Orlando: the advantages

Should you stop outside or inside or from Disney? Pros and cons of each option. The hotels in Walt Disney World Resort and why contracting a package is a good idea.

Traveling to Disney World is embarking on an adventure in which fun and magic come together for you to enjoy from the first moment. A different place that requires prior preparation and the first question is: hotels inside Disney or outside Disney? To answer this question, the first thing we must define is what is "inside" and what is "outside".

Hotels inside Disney

Walt Disney World Resort doesn't sell out on its 4 main theme parks. In an area the size of the city of San Francisco. Within its limits, the resort has hundreds of restaurants, highways, thousands of hectares of nature reserve, a shopping center, a sports center, different facilities, and dozens of hotels of different categories.

Hotels: what is inside Disney (and what is outside)

Staying inside is staying in a room in one of the hotels belonging to the Disney company located inside the resort.

But this destination also has excellent hotel options in Orlando and other adjacent cities, which are not owned by Disney. There are chain hotels from the level of Hilton, Marriot or Waldorf Astoria, along with hundreds of hotels of all categories, all within minutes of the theme parks.

Universal hotels also belong to the "outside Disney" category, which also has its own hotels, with advantages in its theme parks for those who decide to choose to stay in one of them.

Staying outside of Disney means choosing one of these hotels that are not within the limits of this geographical extension that is the Disney World Resort.

Advantages of Disney hotels

It is important to know that guests of hotels belonging to the Resort have important advantages to enjoy the magic of their stay. There are no all-inclusive hotels in Disney, but you can solve many things and even meals by staying at Walt Disney World Resort.

The main advantage of staying inside Disney is to feel the magic 24 hours a day

But, in addition to magic, there are other benefits that Mickey Mouse gives his guests:

Magic Bands

You will receive a free personalized Magic Band for your entire stay. Those who stay outside can buy it for US$13 plus tax.

The advantages are in the functions of these bracelets: access key to the room, means of purchase, access to the parking lot, access to the park, access to the attractions through the Fast Pass area, among others.

Extra Magic Hours (EMH)

Each day one of the four theme parks enables those staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel to enter one hour before opening or stay up to two hours after closing.

The Magic Bands are the key to access the attractions after the park closes or enter earlier.

magical express

Disney provides free transportation from the Orlando airport to the Resort hotel where its guests will be located.

Free parking

Upon check-in at the WDW resort, you will receive a printout to place on the front windshield window. This record will allow you to park for free at your hotel, at other hotels when you go to their restaurants, and in all park parking lots.

Keep in mind that the daily fee to park in a Disney theme park is US$20, which totals US$140 in one week.

Transportation within the Resort

The hotel will be connected to all the Disney theme parks, the water parks and Down Town Disney through free transportation of excellent quality and frequency that will allow you to move freely.

Purchases direct to the hotel

You can visit the parks and all their shops and send your purchases directly to the hotel to continue enjoying the day without carrying bags.

What hotels and categories are in Disney

Disney has more than 25 hotels so you can fully enjoy your stay and there are for all budgets. Hotels are classified into 4 categories:

• "Value" or Economic
• "Moderate" or Moderate
• "Deluxe Villas" or Luxury Villas
• "Deluxe” or Luxurious

Hotels "Value"

They have smaller rooms, simpler pools, and prices start at $85 a night in low season. They are very themed hotels and very attractive for children. There are five hotels:

• Art of Animation Resort
• Pop Century Resort
• All Star Movies
• All Star Music
• All Star Sports

Disney's Art of Animation opened in 2012 and has suites for 6 people.

Each of these hotels are identified with huge Disney icons and their standard rooms have capacity for 4 people in 2 double beds, to which a baby under 3 years old can be added in an additional cot. The preferred rooms are equivalent to the standard rooms but closer to the main building and food court.

The rooms are equipped with a safe, 42-inch LED TV, a table with two chairs and a mini-refrigerator and free Wi-Fi internet in rooms and common areas.

The common areas have themed pools although without water slides, a food court, and a Gift Shop. Transportation is by bus to all theme parks, water parks and Downtown Disney.

Hotels "Moderate"

They are intermediate in size, service and cost: from US$162 per night in a standard room in low season. Its theming is less attractive to boys compared to Value, although it is of higher quality. It is about four hotels:

• Caribbean Beach
• Coronado Springs
• port orleans riverside
• Port Orleans French Quarter

The Standard rooms are 25% more spacious than the Value rooms, have two queen beds and accommodate up to 4 people plus a baby up to 3 years old in a crib. The Port Orleans Riverside offers a limited option for up to 5 people with an additional bed, for a child no taller than 1.65 mts.

The in-room amenities are not vastly superior to those of the Value, although they are more spacious and with two sinks instead of one.

Where the Moderates do gain advantages over the Values ​​is in the common areas: the general architecture is very nice and the pool area is designed with water slides and a bar, they have an à la carte restaurant, a games area, and recreational activities .

Deluxe Hotels

They are the most spacious, with the most services, with fantastic pools, details in rooms and common areas, and sumptuousness. Its design is impressive. There are 8:

• Animal Kingdom Lodge
• beach club
• Boardwalk Inn
• Contemporary
• Grand Floridian
• Polynesian
• Disney's Yacht Club Resort

Standard rooms in luxury hotels vary in size from 31.5m2 to 40m2. Prices have a high range of variability from hotel to hotel and within the same resort according to the different room categories.

The most accessible Deluxe are Animal Kingdom Lodge and Fort Wilderness Lodge with prices per night in a standard room from US$ 265.

The pool area is incredible and in all cases they offer sliding tubes and water slides. Recreational activities and educational activities related to animal life are carried out at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

"Deluxe Villas"

They are actually timeshare units, although they can be rented directly from the Disney reservation system like any other hotel room. The main feature of this category is its design as apartments with a kitchen area, living room and bedroom.

• Animal Kingdom Villas
• Bay Lake Tower
• Beach Club Villas
• Boardwalk Inn Villas
• Grand Floridian Village Resort & Spa
• Old Key West
• Saratoga Springs
• Villas at Wilderness Lodge

Villas have studio units, similar to Deluxe hotel rooms that include microwaves, my fridge and wet bars. Sleeps four in two queen beds and a baby in a crib.

One and two bedroom villas include full kitchens and in-closet washer/dryers. They sleep 4 or 8 depending on the number of rooms.

Low Season at Disney

Depending on the time of year, the prices and quality of the vacation can vary considerably. During periods when more tourists are received, travel costs increase.

In Orlando there are high, low and medium seasons, but low season does not refer to Orlando becoming more boring, but just a little less busy.

Theme parks also get very crowded, leading to long lines at the attractions.

High season: March to April, mid-June to mid-August, mid-December to early January

Low season: May, September, November to early December, January

Shoulder season: February, end of May to mid-June, mid-August to August, October

An average of 17 million tourists visit Disney World every year, which is why it is better to travel in times of less crowds.

Should you stay at Disney hotels? To those who wish to live in a magical world for 24 hours, I answer yes.

If you have already decided between staying inside or outside, there is only one detail left: do you have the tickets? Do not think that it is a minor detail and the possibility of financing it in installments is key. We bring you the values ​​of the tickets to the Disney parks, so that you have that issue resolved when you arrive and all that remains is to accommodate your bags at the hotel and the fun begins immediately.