What Expectations Do You Have for Your Disney Hotel?

OK...you answered the questions from two weeks ago about Disney World Resort hotels. What do you do with your answers? How do they help you choose a hotel? Never fear! We're here to help!

Expectations of Your Hotel

• Think about what you want to do and where you plan to spend your days; how does your hotel fit into your plans?  
• For example, if you plan to spend three days at Magic Kingdom, perhaps finding a hotel close to Magic Kingdom is important to minimize your commute and maximize your day at Magic Kingdom! If you're visiting during Food & Wine Festival and you plan to end each day at Epcot, let's look at an Epcot area hotel like Beach Club, Yacht Club, or Boardwalk or an option like Pop Century or Caribbean Beach with easy access to the Skyliner. If your trip is split evenly between the parks, a specific area may not be as important.

  
  

• Do you plan to be at your hotel just to sleep or will you spend some days outside of the parks and at your hotel?  
• If you're planning one of more down days to spend quietly at the hotel, we should look at a hotel with a good pool or fun things to do during the day--animal viewing at Animal Kingdom Lodge, s'mores at Wilderness Lodge, or the Campfire Sing-Along at Fort Wilderness. If your goal is to spend all day in the parks only returning to sleep at night, amenities may be less important, so some good options might be a Value resort like Pop Century or All Star Movies.
  

  
  

• Is the pool a major part of your vacation?
  
• If the answer is yes, we should consider options with really good pools and/or slides. Yacht Club and Beach Club share the best hotel pool on property, but other hotels to consider might include Boardwalk Inn, Polynesian Village Resort, Port Orleans Riverside, or Caribbean Beach. 
• If pools aren't important or you might only use them if you have time, we could consider some other options--Contemporary, Animal Kingdom Lodge, or most of the Value resorts. 
  

• Is having a character meal at your hotel important?
• Character meals are available in all four Disney World parks as well as seven Disney Deluxe
  
  resorts. Sometimes the resort hotel restaurants are more difficult to get to. If having a character meal at your hotel is important because you want to do it before you hit the parks or on your last morning before you leave, we would focus on one of the following:
• Contemporary
• Grand Floridian
• Polynesian Village 
• Beach Club
• Boardwalk
• Wilderness Lodge
• Riviera Resort
  

• Is a separate bedroom or living space important and/or necessary? 
•  Most hotel rooms at Disney are traditional rooms with two beds although some have a 5^th sleeper as well. There are a variety of reasons why separate sleeping areas might be important. Perhaps a little one who needs to nap or young children who don't sleep well or a snoring Grandpa is also going, you might desire a separate bedroom.  
• Some good options to look at are Art of Animation and All Star Music family suites or Fort Wilderness cabins. These are generally the most affordable options. Other options include a 1-, 2-, or 3-bedroom villa option at one of the DVC properties, a bungalow at Polynesian, or a cabin at Copper Creek. Villas do carry a higher price tag, so sometimes it's more cost effective to book two separate hotel rooms at a Moderate or Value Resort and request adjoining or connecting rooms.
  

   

   

   
  Art of Animation Lion King Family Suite
   
   
  We'll continue answering more questions next week!