Ultimate Guide to Disney’s Community Halls
If you have been a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member for awhile, I’m sure you’re familiar with the various Community Halls of Walt Disney World Resort. When DVC was first created, Disney played with the notion of dedicating one Resort to exclusively house DVC members while they visited Walt Disney World Resort.
In 1992, the Resort now known as Disney’s Old Key West became the first ever DVC hotel, and with it came the first ever Community Hall! Today, you don’t have to be a DVC member to use the Community Halls, but if you’re hoping to make use of one of the Halls on your next visit, there are a few things you should know before choosing a hotel!
The Fab 5
Guests planning an extended-stay Walt Disney World Resort vacation, listen up! You can- and should- spend as much time as your heart desires inside Park gates while you’re visiting (chances are good this is why you’re here anyway!), but when stays extend into their sixth, seventh, and eighth day, a day spent at your Resort is just what your exhausted legs and sunburned cheeks will be begging for.
And if the weather takes a rainy turn, they are a great place to hang out and avoid those rainy day blues. There are fantastic amenities at each of the Resort hotels, though if you’re hoping to get in on the Community Hall action, you’ll have to choose a Resort that supports your goals.
Just this once, the Fab 5 doesn’t refer to the Mickey Mouse-led cast of original Disney characters, but something very different. No, this particular ‘Fab 5’ refers to the 5 Resort hotels at Walt Disney World that feature Community Halls as one of their amenities.
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk
- Bay Lake Tower
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
What’s Inside
The Community Halls are a fantastic place to gather your crew for a fun morning, afternoon, or evening at your Resort! Most of the Community Halls are located within steps of a pool, so when your wife wants to cool off in the water and your son is begging to head inside, the Community Hall is the perfect refuge!
With multi-generational families in mind, the activities and games offered in the Halls can be enjoyed by guests of all ages from infant to 100+! In addition to the activities (more on that soon), the Halls are often the place to go for rentals of equipment to be used on the complimentary sporting courts located at your Resort! If you want to rent a bike($), shoot some hoops, or play a set on the tennis courts, chances are good the Community Hall is where you should head!
At select Walt Disney World Resort hotels, Community Halls are the place to go for activities of all kinds! I have stayed at two different Resort hotels with Community Halls, and I can tell you first hand that each experience was vastly different! You can read an overview about the Community Halls on Disney’s website, but it won’t be until you actually step inside that you’ll know what crafts, games, or whimsical activities are offered.
You might walk into your Resort’s Hall one day and find a laid-back scene; people coloring and watching a movie on a big flat screen. The next day, you just might happen upon a big game of group trivia happening in the middle of the room!
What Will You Discover?
To give you a better sense of the diversity I’m talking about, we’ll compare the Community Halls at Disney’s BoardWalk and Disney’s Old Key West Resorts. I’ve stayed at both Resorts and have spent time in both Halls- and was shocked at how different each of my experiences were!
At the Boardwalk, I played games of foosball and ping pong while my mom relaxed by the pool one afternoon. The very next night, pounding rain decided we would not be seeing Illuminations, so we instead headed back to the Community Hall only this time to find fellow guests lounging around watching A Goofy Movie!
Fast forward to a recent stay at Disney’s Old Key West Resort, and I again found myself sitting in the Community Hall on a rainy afternoon. This time though, I was making a burlap banner on the Hall’s backlit tracers! While I traced away the rain blues, my parents were over on the other side of the Community Hall fully engaged in a very tense looking game of checkers.
Nearby, a pair of young siblings were coloring printed sheets from their favorite Disney movies, and an older woman was making a pillowcase that would ultimately show her family’s name! Some activities- like the pillowcase- are for purchase. Each of the activities myself and my family participated in, though, were completely free of charge!
The Community Halls at Walt Disney World Resort welcome all guests-DVC members and otherwise- staying at their designated Resorts. The Community Halls are open daily, and if your vacation allows for it, should be visited more than once for a true taste of everything they have to offer- you never know what you’ll find going on inside! Is a Community Hall on your list of must-haves when it comes to Resort shopping? If so, leave me a message below and I’ll help find the Resort that is right for you and your family!
Are you planning on booking a Disney vacation for you and your family? I’d love to help! You can find me over on Facebook, or contact me directly at msalerno@mickeytravels.com, or 800-308-6257