Deciding where to stay is one of the most important decisions of your vacation to Walt Disney World. While you’ll be spending most of your time out and about at the theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs, you can keep the magic going by staying on property as well. Here are seven reasons why I choose to stay at a Disney Resorts Collection hotel.
Proximity to the theme parks
The Walt Disney World Resorts are located within a 15-minute bus ride to the parks (on the lengthy end) and some are as close as a 5-minute walk. When you have planned for months and budgeted a not-so-small chunk of change for your vacation, why waste time getting to and from the parks, or needing to rent a car?
The commute to Magic Kingdom will be vastly different if you are not staying on property and using Disney Transportation (more on that later). Guests using bus transportation from resorts like Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando or Hawthorne Suites by Wyndham Orlando are dropped off at the Transportation and Ticket Center and then need to take either the Monorail or the Magic Kingdom Ferry across the Seven Seas Lagoon to the theme park gates. This is the same process for guests who have rented vehicles and are driving to the parks, whether staying on-property or not — they’ll also have a short tram ride from their parking row to the Monorail/Ferry gates. All told, this can add up to an hour to your commute to the Magic Kingdom.
At the three other theme parks, these busses drop off at the same area that Ride Shares Lyft and Uber drop off. This is generally located past the Disney Bus stop area, and feels a bit like the middle of nowhere.
While it is not necessarily a long commute from off-property resorts, especially considering there are many Good Neighbor Hotels in proximity to Disney Springs (which is also where Saratoga Springs Resort is located), there are still many closer options. This, coupled with the fact that complimentary transportation from these resorts drops you a long ways away from the gates adds a lot of travel time to your day. Having easy, quick access to all the fun and entertainment Disney has to offer can elevate your trip and allow you to experience more while you’re visiting.
More time in the theme parks
All guests staying at the Walt Disney World Resorts and some participating Good Neighbor Hotels are allowed to enter the parks 30 minutes before official opening, known as Early Entry. Though it might seem like a short amount of time, you can accomplish a lot during this Early Entry window and alleviate some of the wait times later in the day by hopping on popular rides first thing in the morning. (Check out my Rope Drop series for strategies to make the most of this perk!) If you are staying on property at a resort within walking distance to a theme park, this Early Entry window is a true Golden Half Hour – imagine taking a short stroll to the International Gateway and directly to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure without a wait. Now that is “Disney Magic.”
Guests who splurge a bit and stay at a Deluxe level resort will also have an extra hour to enjoy after the parks close known as Extended Evening Hours, in select theme parks two nights per week. Typically, this is offered at Magic Kingdom on Mondays and EPCOT on Wednesdays, though over the past couple of years Walt Disney World has added this offering at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom during the “party seasons” of Halloween and Christmas. (This is due to hard-ticket nighttime events happening at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for the holidays.) Extended Evening Hours is a fantastic way to enjoy popular attractions with low wait times, with less guests moving about the park. In past trips, I have been able to ride every single attraction at Hollywood Studios during this hour, and hit every mountain in Magic Kingdom. As a cherry on top, the parks are gorgeous at night when they are lit up, and the heat of the day has hopefully died down.
Free & frequent transportation to and from the parks
I love Disney transportation and aim to use every form available on each trip to Walt Disney World. Complimentary Disney Bus Transportation runs every 20 minutes (sometimes less) from resorts to theme parks and Disney Springs, with other busses sometimes added to the route during peak hours – like right after fireworks during holiday weeks. The bus stop area for Disney resort guests is right outside of the gates at each park, but the bus area for off-property resorts is always a bit of a hike, typically found near the ride share pick up far off to a side. These extra steps at the end of a park day feel arduous, and since these busses do not run every 20 minutes (or less!) for these resorts, you can still find yourself waiting for quite a while. I once stayed at a Disney Springs area resort and planned my evening around walking from the back gate of EPCOT to Beach Club, hopping on a bus to Disney Springs, grabbing dinner there, and walking to my hotel from Disney Springs instead of dealing with the odd bus schedule.
Disney Bus Transportation has some drawbacks — they do pack you in like sardines but considering almost everything is a 10-15 minute ride away, you don’t have to suffer for long. (Plus, if you are the last of those sardines to make it on the bus, you’ll be thankful your fellow guests made room.) You may also discover a previously unknown skill after a long day at the parks – sleeping while standing! Jokes aside, the Disney Busses are highly reliable and aside from the first-world problem of missing a ride and needing to wait a bit on tired feet or not having a seat, I have never had an issue traveling this way.
Beyond the Disney Busses, there are also fun, unique options like the Disney Monorail, Disney Skyliner, and Friendship Boats or Launch Boats. Depending on where you are staying on property, you’ll have the option to travel to certain parks in style.
Guests staying at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Polynesian Resort and Village, or Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower have their own Monorail line to board which typically has shorter waits. Running more frequently than the Disney Busses (aside from adverse weather delays) the Walt Disney World Monorail is a classic and quick option to whisk you away to Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. If you’ve ridden the Monorail, perhaps you are already reciting the classic safety announcement in your head: Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas.
The Disney Skyliner services four resorts on the route itself – Disney’s POP Century Resort, Art of Animation Resort, Riviera Resort, and Caribbean Beach Resort – and each of these resorts will utilize the Skyliner to travel to both EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Travel time will vary depending on when you’re headed to the parks and whether or not you need to transfer at the Caribbean Beach Resort Hub, but you can plan on 10-20 minutes travel time from resort to park.
The EPCOT resorts of Disney’s Yacht Club, Beach Club, Boardwalk Inn & Villas, and Swan & Dolphin Resort can also utilize the Skyliner to travel to Hollywood Studios. But my favorite means of transportation in this area is hopping on a Friendship Boat. If you’re lucky, you can grab a spot on the outdoor bench and catch a breeze as you zip across Crescent Lake, making a few resort stops along the way. I love to grab an iced coffee and enjoy a luxurious ride to my next adventure.
Disney theming at each resort, to varying degrees
If you’re staying on site in Walt Disney World, you expect to see Disney theming tied in throughout the resorts as well. While that is certainly the case, some on property resorts are more heavily themed than others and choosing the right location can greatly improve your overall experience. For those guests who are looking for a quieter spot to relax after the chaos of the parks, Saratoga Springs Resort, Old Key West Resort, Port Orleans French Quarter, and Port Orleans Riverside are all great choices. These locations are a bit lighter on the Disney-specific theming – like portraits of horses featured in animated films decorating the lobby and rooms at Saratoga Springs, or hints of Princess and the Frog at Port Orleans French Quarter – and can be a great fit if you’re looking for something a little less in-your-face-Disney.
Families with young kids might look at heavily themed places like POP Century or Art of Animation Resort, where you can see huge character statues spread around in their respective themed areas. There are also resorts like the Polynesian Resort and Village which has always had an island Polynesian theme to it and now ties in aspects of Moana and Lilo & Stitch in its adornments. With each resorts’ unique theme, you’ll be able to try dining experiences and activities to match, including the String of Memories activity at Animal Kingdom Lodge where guests learn from a cultural representative and collect a bead to create a bracelet throughout the day.
Occasional character visits to resort lobbies and grounds
When checking in to your Disney Resort, you might just find some of your favorite characters milling about the lobby or playing on the grass outside. Often found in the early afternoon when guests are checking in, characters like Donald Duck, Goofy, and Chip & Dale have spotted greeting guests at resorts all over property. Recently, Disney Operations has started posting signage for the character arrival times around the resort – these are subject to change but can help guests take advantage of these seemingly random visits to the resort lobbies. This is a Disney touch you won’t find at off-property resorts and can create an impromptu magical moment to kick off your vacation.
The “Disney Bubble” vibes are strong
The main point of my vacation is to disconnect from the real world and enjoy a bit of fun and mental relaxation. Disney World takes this to another level with the “Disney Bubble,” the semi-formal term used to describe the extremely pleasant feeling of being cut off from reality and immersed in a land of magic and possibility. Beyond the decorative theming and immersion of the theme parks themselves, Disney World has its own infrastructure that lends to the feeling of being elsewhere.
When you enter those magical Walt Disney World gates from the highway, you are entering Reedy Creek Improvement District which covers over 25,000 acres of land in central Florida. The RCID manages everything from waste and recycling to the roadways and waterways. When you’re traveling through Disney property, you’ll notice they have their own road signage (with ongoing updates to the classic purple and yellow signs to new blue screens that can be changed as roads and exits are improved), and less traffic than the public Florida highways. Since Walt Disney World is private property, GPS apps will not route drivers through these roads unless it’s the intended destination, so you really are sharing the lanes with only Disney guests and Cast Members.
Disney also has its own shopping and dining district called Disney Springs (previously known as Downtown Disney), and there are dozens of amazing restaurants, easily accessible from the Disney Resorts. With locations operated by world-renowned chefs, including Jose Andres, Wolfgang Puck, and Art Smith, there is no reason to leave Disney property for a top-tier meal. Forget to bring your makeup bag, or looking for a fresh pair of Ears? You’ll find these essentials here as well – in addition to merchandise locations like World of Disney, the Springs is also home to places like Sephora and Fabletics, for those essentials you may have forgotten while packing.
When you are staying at a themed resort close the parks that you’re playing in, can choose from several fun, free transportation options that shuttle you from place to place, and have all the creature comforts you need on site, it’s easy to forget you’re in the middle of Florida – aside from the heat of course.
You don’t have to break the bank to stay on property!
I hear frequently that guests choose not to stay at a Disney resort because they plan to be at the parks all day long, and don’t want to “pay more” for a resort that they won’t be spending time at. The Value Resort category in the Disney Resorts Collection is about the same (and sometimes less) than the Good Neighbor Hotels near Disney Springs. For example, looking at August 3 – 9, 2025, without any discount applied the All-Star Music Resort is listed at $164/night + taxes and fees to sleep a family of four. These same dates at Drury Plaza Hotel near Disney Springs is listed at $153.99/night + taxes and fees for a non-refundable rate, and $179.99/night + taxes and fees for a flexible rate, for a 4-person occupancy – and it is worth noting that you can always cancel or change reservations through the Walt Disney Company without penalty, if you cancel more than 30 days prior to your trip. The cost, cancellation policy, and ease of transportation around property is going to give the All-Star properties the edge for me.
Within the Value Resort category, there are also a couple of not-so-hidden gems to pick from in POP Century and Art of Animation Resort. Both of these value resorts are located on the Skyliner route, giving these “basic” Value resorts the same perk as Deluxe resorts – a unique transportation option to the theme parks. Before any type of discount, a standard room at POP Century Resort is listed at $213/night + taxes and fees for the dates listed above, and larger parties can look into the Family Suites at Art of Animation Resort which sleep up to 6 adults.
I am a huge proponent of staying on property in Walt Disney World, and out of the reasons listed above, the most important one for me is the “Disney Bubble” feeling. I appreciate the immersive theming at the different resorts, and while the Disney Bus Transportation is easy and reliable, the fun and unique travel options of the Skyliner, Monorail, and Friendship Boats help to continue the fun and excitement of the day, down to the mundane task of getting home. All of this ties in to the make the “Disney Bubble” feel like a warm cozy blanket of nostalgia – and that Bubble does burst on the way to the airport.
Trying to decide between the dozens of Walt Disney World Collection Resorts? Want to find the perfect place to stay so that your friend who isn’t obsessed with Disney can have a great vacation too? Let’s plan your on-property stay for your next Magical Quest today!
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