While there are lots of places to stay in Orlando, staying at a Disney resort gives you some great benefits. Here are several features that are only available to Disney World resort guests:
Main Disney World Resort Benefits:
Complimentary Airport Shuttle & Baggage Delivery - When you stay at a resort, Disney drivers will pick you up at the airport and drop you off.
Plus your luggage is tagged and Disney will pick it up and deliver it to your room for you. So you don't have to wait at the baggage claim for your bags. You just go to the Disney shuttle and head off to your resort. Your bags will be delivered to your room within a few hours.
If you're flying domestically you can use the Resort Airline Check-in service to get your return boarding pass and check your luggage directly from the resort. All these things give you a much more convenient and stress-free vacation.
Extra Theme Park Hours - Each day, one of the Disney parks opens an hour early or stays open 3 hours later for resort guests only. This is especially useful if you go during the hot parts of the year as you can enjoy the park when it's cooler.
Also, one of the Disney water parks also opens early for resort guests.
No driving or parking charges - When you stay at a Disney resort you get free transportation to the Disney parks or resorts. Whether it's by bus, boat or monorail, it's easy to find your way around the parks and resorts.
No parking hassles or charges, no losing your car and wandering around aimlessly trying to find it - it's easy and hassle free if you're staying at one of the resorts.
Disney Dining Plan - If you're staying at one of the resorts, you can take advantage of their Dining plans to save over 30% on meals. This alone is an incredible value. You get over 100 Disney restaurants to choose from.
Charge Purchases To Your Room - If you're a hard core shopper, you don't have to worry about pulling out your credit card or cash at the parks. You just have them charge it to your room. This is handy if you want all your purchases to be on one bill.
Package Delivery - If you go shopping while at one of the parks, you don't have to carry your packages back to the room. Just tell the cashier which resort you're staying at and which room - and your purchases are delivered for you.
This may seem like a little thing, but take it from someone who bought 2 large pictures - it's a really handy thing that saves you time and frustration.
Quick Tip - it may take 24-48 hours for your purchase to be delivered to your room, so it's probably not best to go shopping the last day of your trip and use this service.
More Disney World Resort Benefits:
1) The Disney Magic extends to your hotel - All Disney resorts are built around a fun theme and kids - both big and small, tend to love them.
Many have their own sprawling pools, sandy beaches, fitness rooms, spas and themed restaurants - so even if you're not at the park, you can still enjoy a 'Disney vacation'.
2) Convenience - Just being close to the parks is a major convenience. When leaving for example, it can take you 20-45 minutes to find your car, get out of the lot and drive back to your hotel.
Compare this to jumping on a monorail or a bus and letting someone else drive you to your hotel within 10-15 minutes - much faster and easier.
Conclusion:
So those are some of the main Disney World Resort benefits.
While off-resort hotels can be cheaper, Disney resorts have some definite advantages. Plus Disney does have their Value resorts that are also very affordable - and may even be cheaper than off-resort hotels.
