Which Disney Resort Category is Best for You?
There are so many benefits to staying at a Disney Resort, but also so many choices. The best place to start is by choosing the Disney Resort Category that is best for you.
It’s also a good idea to know what amenities are important to you, and to have a budget in mind.
The Categories
Disney Resorts are divided into four categories: Value, Moderate, Deluxe, and Deluxe Villa. Each has a different price point and different amenities.
Besides knowing your price point, it’s good to know what you want from your resort. Dining, recreation, and transportation options are all variables between resorts.
Photo: Disney
Value Resorts
If you’re looking for the least expensive option while still being on Disney property, check out the Value Resort Category. Value Resorts are Pop Century, Art of Animation (Little Mermaid Rooms), and All-Star Sports, Music, and Movies.
These resorts give you all the benefits of staying on Disney property, like complimentary transportation, on-site dining, and pools. So what makes them Value Resorts?
Credit: Disney
These resort rooms will be the least square footage on Disney property. Rooms have either two queen beds or one king bed.
Value Resorts have on-site dining. Each one has a food court style quick-service dining location that is available for all three meals (and a late-night snack). A pool bar is also available at each resort.
Image Credit: Disney
These resorts also have multiple pools available for guests.
All of the Value Resorts have complimentary Disney Bus Transportation to the theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs. Art of Animation and Pop Century also have access to Hollywood Studios and Epcot via the Disney Skyliner.
Image Credit: Jennifer Turner, MickeyTravels
Art of Animation has standard resort rooms that are Little Mermaid themed. They also have Family Suites in various themes: The Lion King, Cars, and Finding Nemo. Family Suites are priced similarly to moderate resort rooms.
Moderate Resorts
In the Moderate Resort Category, you will find Port Orleans – Riverside, Port Orleans – French Quarter, Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach, and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness.
Image Credit: Disney
Moderate Resort rooms have a little more space than the Value Resort rooms. The resorts themselves also have more amenities.
Moderate Resorts have more than one dining options, and have at least one table service dining location on-site. They have pool bars as well.
Complimentary transportation is available at these resorts as well. Coronado. Springs offers bus transportation. Fort Wilderness and both Port Orleans resorts have bus and boat transportation. Caribbean Beach has bus and Skyliner transportation.
These resorts also have multiple pools, but at the pools offer more entertainment. For example, splash zones for young kids and a small water slide are in or near the main pool areas.
Photo: Disney
Some of these resorts also have specially themed room upgrades available, like the Royal Guest Rooms at Port Orleans – Riverside.
Deluxe Resorts
If you prefer a more upscale and elegant hotel experience, the Deluxe Resort Category is for you.
Credit: Disney
Resorts in this category are the Contemporary, the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian, the Yacht Club, the Beach Club, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, and the Boardwalk Inn.
These resorts boast more spacious rooms and upgraded amenities. Numerous dining options can be found on-site, including character dining, like Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary Resort and fan-favorite ‘Ohana at the Polynesian.
Pool and recreational activities are worth writing home about, like the popular Stormalong Bay at the Beach Club. Among the available activities are fishing, campfires, tennis courts, poolside cabanas, and more.
If you want to stay at a resort with Monorail transportation, you want to stay at the Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian Resorts. Other transportation options are boat and bus.
(Kent Phillips, photographer)
Deluxe Villa Resorts
For a true home-away-from-home experience, Deluxe Villa Resorts offer spacious accommodations with full kitchens and living areas in some rooms.
Photo: D23
Resorts in this category are Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort, Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Villas, Beach Club Villas, Boardwalk Villas, Old Key West, Polynesian Villas and Bungalows, Riviera, Saratoga Springs, and Villas at the Grand Floridian.
These resorts have the pool and recreation amenities, and the transportation options, that the other Deluxe Resorts have. The rooms are what set them apart.
Even if you choose a Deluxe Studio Villa, you will have more features in your room than a standard resort room. Studio rooms come with a kitchenette that has a mini fridge, a toaster, and a microwave, as well as a sink area for washing dishes.
One-, two-, and three-bedroom villas offer an at-home feel with living rooms and full kitchens. Also adding to the convenience, split bathrooms offer guests more space to get ready in the mornings, with separate showers and tubs and multiple sinks.
Credit: Disney
To help find the resort category that best fits your family’s vacation needs, MickeyTravels can help!
