Disney Resorts and Hotels
One of the biggest decisions you have to make when planning a Disney World vacation is whether or not to stay On Property (OP) at a Disney Resort, or to rent somewhere else. There are pros and cons of staying on property. Let’s explore them!
The Pros of staying on property:
Magic Bands— When you stay at a Disney World Resort, you will be given magic bands for everyone in your party. They will act as your room key. If you purchase park tickets as part of a package, or even separately through Disney World, they will go onto your magic band. (You even get to pick a color and customize what you want them to say underneath!) However, if you don’t stay on property and buy park tickets, you will have to go to guest services at whichever park you go to first. Either prior to or on your first day, to get your tickets.
It can be rather inconvenient since you should show up early as the lines at Guest Services grow long very quickly! This can affect your fast pass plans or reservations. Most people don’t like lines all that much, so if there’s one you can easily avoid easily, why not do it!
Transportation— The one thing we can all agree on that we love about Disney World is they will take care of everything for you if you let them. This includes transportation. When you stay OP at Disney World, you have the option of using Magical Express when flying in. With Magical Express, they will pick up your bags for you (between certain hours). And then drive you to your Disney Resort.
For those who are doing strictly Disney events and attending Disney parks, this is a big plus! No need to rent a car. Disney also has shuttles to each park and every resort—this includes Disney Springs, and the water parks. The Minnie Vans are also an option to get around, or to get to the Boardwalk, as there is no direct shuttle to there.
Proximity— Another great thing about staying OP, is being close to the parks. While it’s true some resorts are closer to the parks than others. (Grand Floridian, Polynesian, the Contemporary, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Beach Club Resort—to name a few!) It is still closer than staying at off-property hotels. At the Contemporary you can even walk to Magic Kingdom! Or if you stay at any Disney’s Boardwalk hotels, you can take a ride on one of the Friendship boats, or walk, to either Epcot or Hollywood Studios.
Dining Plan— Remember when I said Disney will take care of everything for you if you let them? Another great offer for those staying at Disney World Resorts is the Dining Plan! While it does depend on your budget, whether or not to add it to your package. It can also make it more convenient to have your food paid for upfront. Then you know your resort, your park tickets, and your meals for the most part are taken care of. And you can worry about other things while on your trip! Like what Mickey ears to buy, or what shirt to bring home.
If you’re on the dining plan, try to use one of your credits at your resort before heading to the parks. Your plan, whether it’s a quick service meal, or a table service, will come with a drink. You also get a Refillable Mug with your dining plan. Therefore, you can use your refillable mug to have a drink with your meal, but also get a bottled drink with your credit, that you can then bring into the parks for an extra refreshment!
Many people who get the Dining Plan like to get the one with table service credits. And then eat at the most expensive restaurants to get their money’s worth! Either way, being on the Dining Plan can add to your Disney Experience. Everyone should try it at least once!
ADRs and FPs– Advanced Dining Reservations, and Fast Passes are another perk for staying OP. For those staying at a Disney World Resort, you can make ADRs 190 days out. That’s ten days more than those not staying on property! This can give you the upper hand on some of the harder to get reservations. They also give you a longer window for Fast Passes when staying on property. Instead of just 30 days out, you get 60! Those thirty extra days should really help you get the rides you are hoping for!
Extra Magic Hours— Another small bonus of staying OP at Disney World, is the chance to use Extra Magic Hours (EMH). Disney picks certain parks on certain days, where they’re either open earlier, or close later for those staying OP. If you plan a week long trip, you’ll probably have at least a couple days that will have EMH. Though the times can vary, they’re typically 8:00am to 9:00am, and 8:00pm to 10:00pm, or 9:00pm to 11:00pm.
Bounceback Rates – This is a lesser known secret perk of staying OP. Read more about it here.
The Magic of Disney— Our last pro for staying at a Disney World Resort, is a very simple one. It’s why we all make the long (or maybe short depending on where you’re from) trek to Orlando, FL. It’s why it’s considered the Happiest Place on Earth. It’s the magic of Disney! When you stay on property at a Disney Resort, that magic surrounds you. With themed rooms, hidden mickeys, great service, and great food. Many of the fabulous meals can be found in the parks. But there’s so many goodies to be found at the resort restaurants too! Everything about the grounds at a Disney Resort, the pools, gift shops, outdoor play areas, and more, will make you feel totally immersed in Disney magic.
Okay, now that we got all the good stuff out of the way, let’s talk about the few cons to staying OP at Disney World.
The Cons of staying on property:
Cost— The major one. Cost. Staying at a Disney Resort typically runs higher than other hotels elsewhere. However, Disney does offer a few budget-friendly resorts, such as: Disney’s All-stars Resorts (Sports, Movies, Magic), Pop Century, and Art of Animation.
Transportation— While staying on OP and taking the shuttles to the parks is a big plus, it can depend on where your room is on property. For instance, if you stay in the pirate rooms at Caribbean Beach, your rooms are all the way in the back, at the end of the resort property, and are the last stop for pickup. That means the shuttle bus goes all through the resort picking up other park-goers before it reaches you, and at high crowd times, it can get full.
The buses also don’t always run on time, or you could reach the bus stop right as the Magic Kingdom bus leaves, therefore making you have to wait for the next bus to arrive which could take 15-30 minutes. Same goes for at the end of the day, when the park closes. The bus lines can be lengthy, and after a long day of walking and being on your feet, it can be an extended hike to your bus, depending on where you are staying.
Another issue could be if you are claustrophobic at all, the buses might not be for you. My sister has a hard time on them for this reason, and prefers to drive to the parks instead. It is definitely all about preference!
EMH— Even though, Extra Magic Hours are on our Pros side, there can be a downside to going to a park with EMH. It can make that park on that day more crowded. It also can be hard to make it to the early morning EMH, especially if you have been doing full days at the parks. Or to stay for the late EMH if you’ve already been in the park all day. A good plan might be to do half days on EMH days to get the full benefit!
Whether you do stay on property or not, hopefully our Pros and Cons can help you make an informed decision, so you can have a great Walt Disney World vacation!
Other Disney Content
Along with this helpful article about the pros and cons of staying on property at Disney, we’ve got other great Disney content. We offer other advice for traveling to Disney. If you’d like to see our food related Disney advice, check it here: Treats and Eats.
And you can’t forget our Tips and Tricks for visiting the parks. We’ve got a lot of great help that can make you next Disney vacation the best one ever! There’s a ton of advice about Disney you won’t want to miss.
Also, interested in making Disney food at home? We’ve got a lot of Copycat Recipes on our site that you can check out. Once you’ve tried Disney food, you’re gonna want to make Disney Treats and Eats at home too. A lot of people don’t realize how much great food Disney has to offer. But we are here to right that wrong. We obviously love Disney, the rides, the atmosphere, the magic, but the food, oh my Disney, the food! So if you’re in love with the food as much as we are, you aren’t gonna want to miss all our copycat recipe videos. Wait, you didn’t know about the epicness of Disney’s food? Then you need our videos even more so you can check out what all they have to offer.
We’ve got a lot of other great Disney content too besides tips and food. We also have DIY cute Disney Crafts that you can make at home too. So if you enjoy craft time as much as we do, you’ll love making our fun Disney crafts.
There’s also our YouTube channel that is positively bursting with Disney happiness. So be sure to check it out and join our YouTube family!