With over twenty Disney resort hotels the choice of where to stay at Walt Disney World can be overwhelming. Add to that the different view categories offered at each resort and it gets even more mind-boggling!
In most cases rooms at a specific resort are exactly the same – the price difference comes with your view. A few exceptions to this are club level rooms at the deluxe resorts and the business class rooms at Coronado Springs resort which offer additional amenities as well as the specially themed Royal Guest Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside and Pirate Rooms at Caribbean Beach. Finding the right resort for your family and budget is key, but just as important is deciding on the value of the view out your window. That’s where a great travel agent (like me!) can help.
Value Resorts
Disney’s value resorts offer two basic views and a preferred location category – standard, preferred and pool (Pop Century Resort only). Standard views are views of parking areas, maintenance areas or landscaping. Pool views, as you would expect, include views of the pool areas. Remember that value resorts do not have private balconies or patios and doors open to common breezeways so your view here is what you see out your window and what your door opens to. Since these resorts are also large and spread out yet another room category here is preferred. This category is not so much about your view but your location. Preferred location rooms guarantee you will be in a building closest to the main areas of the resort including check in, food, shops and transportation. At Pop Century Resort within the preferred room category you can book a pool or standard view room. All Star Resorts do not designate a view in the preferred category – it can be a standard or pool view room assigned at check in.
Moderate Resorts (excluding Fort Wilderness Cabins)
As with value resorts, moderate resorts do not have private balconies or patios and share common breezeways. Many also offer the preferred room category placing you close to the main areas of the resort. View choices (varies by resort) include the following: standard – views of parking areas and landscaping, garden – views of gardens and courtyards, pool – views of pool areas which can include quiet pools and not the main pool, river – views of river.
Deluxe Resorts
Here is where your view can really be worth the extra price. Most rooms at the deluxe level resorts offer a private balcony or patio so you can truly enjoy the view out of your room. Please note that not all deluxe resorts offer all categories below. The least expensive room at all deluxe resorts are standard/garden/woods view rooms. These rooms can be of parking areas, maintenance areas or landscaping and really vary by resort. There is a bargain to be found in these rooms – if view is not important these are a great entry level price for the amenities and conveniences of staying at a deluxe resort. Moving up from standard/garden/woods view is a pool view room. These rooms offer a view of either the main feature pool or a quiet pool at the resort. From there we move up to water or lagoon view, depending on resort. The Magic Kingdom area resorts have a view of Seven Seas Lagoon or Bay Lake while the Epcot area resorts have a view of Crescent Lake. Animal Kingdom Lodge has it’s very unique Savannah View rooms that are the premium view at that resort. These rooms allow you to wake up and fall asleep to zebras, giraffes and other animals outside on the resort’s very own savannah. The premium view at the monorail resorts (Grand Floridian, Contemporary and Polynesian Village Resorts) is a theme park view. These very special rooms offer the opportunity to watch fireworks over the castle on your own private balcony. In my opinion the best view on property is the theme park view room at the Contemporary where you literally look out into the Magic Kingdom – you simply can’t get closer to the magic.
Whew! As you can see there are a lot of choices when it comes to where to stay. And of course the choices are all priced differently. I’m here to help you decide which room at which resort fits your family and budget perfectly. With all of these choices there really is something for every budget available at a Disney resort hotel.
My name is Susan Heidenrich and I am a travel professional with Travel with the Magic. I’ve visited Walt Disney World over 25 times and I would love to help you plan your next Disney vacation. Email me at SusanH@travelwiththemagic.com and follow me on facebook for tips, tricks and information on all things Disney!
Leave A Comment