Seven Reasons to Stay at an Official Disney World Resort

In light of recent events, it’s time to return to a familiar subject.

Guests have more reasons than ever to choose official Disney hotels for their vacation stay.

Here are seven reasons why you should always book an official Disney resort.

Gorgeous Hotel Lobbies

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Frequent Disney travelers immediately conjure up images of their favorite hotels, places like Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and Disney’s BoardWalk Inn spring to mind.

Imagineers have designed these lobbies to set the tone for your entire hotel stay.

You’ll know the instant you enter Disney Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa that the hotel features a horse/horse racing theme.

At Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, one whiff of the fragrant aroma will instantly transport you to the South Seas.

Then, we have hotels like Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, where the artwork on the walls is more valuable than some you’ll find in museums.

Disney hotel lobbies subconsciously persuade you that you’ve traveled to a faraway place called the Disney Bubble.

It’s a vacation destination where none of your problems can find you.

Magical Tech

The technology is no longer as new as when Disney added it.

Still, they were the first major hospitality chain to offer keyless hotel room entry.

First, guests used the Key to the World card, which some guests still use to this day.

Later, Disney introduced MagicBand technology, allowing us to tap the door with our wearable and magically unlock it.

Nowadays, your phone and the My Disney Experience app will do the same thing.

Disney is always on the cutting edge of hotel technology, and that statement extends to your hotel TV as well.

At this point, most of them are interactive, which leads to one of my favorite things.

When you turn on the TV for the first time, it’ll welcome your family by name.

You can also cast from your phone or smart device to your TV, allowing you to watch whatever you want on the big screen.

This is the kind of smart technological advance that invisibly enhances your entire hotel stay.

Disney’s the absolute best at it.

Stylish Transportation

Let’s be honest that you’ll ride the buses while you’re at Walt Disney World, which is fine.

Disney wraps many of its buses in exotic styles that highlight some of your favorite characters and movies.

For example, nothing will get you hyped for a Magic Kingdom trip like seeing the Tiana bus.

Even better, all these bus rides are free of charge to everyone, and they run constantly to and from parks and resorts.

At Disney World, you can do a bit better, though.

For example, when you stay at five of the hotels, such as Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, you’ll enjoy direct access to the Disney Skyliner.

This new gondola system is less than five-years-old, and it has revolutionized Disney World transportation.

You can ride these sky gondolas directly to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.

The view is pristine as you gaze down at the parks and resorts like a bird would.

Also, since you’re traveling above the roads, it’s a more direct path since you rise above the traffic.

Then, we have Disney’s Friendship Boats, which are my favorite method of traveling to EPCOT when I have the choice.

Finally, we have the classic Disney transportation method, the one most closely associated with The Happiest Place on Earth.

Monorails are Disney’s one true form of transportation. At some resorts, you’ll find a station in the lobby that will carry you directly to the park’s entrance gates.

It’s the most magical way to visit.

Early Theme Park Entry

What’s better than visiting a Disney theme park?

Well, it’s entering the park before guests can.

You might not even have known that was an option, but it is… as long as you stay at an official Disney resort.

The Early Theme Park Entry amenity is likely Disney’s best for this reason.

Disney allows its hotel guests to enter the parks 30 minutes before they officially open.

So, you can target the most popular ride in the park and experience it before regular guests have even swiped their MagicBands at the entrance.

It’s hard to describe how empowering this feels.

You’ll strut around like you’ve won Disney for the day, even though it’s barely time for you to have your first morning coffee.

Disney Resort Restaurants

I sometimes rank the best restaurants on the Disney World campus.

When I do, I typically use metrics like Tripadvisor aggregate scores.

In the link I just provided from three years ago, Tripadvisor listed 11 of the top 13 options as Disney hotel restaurants.

You’ll notice that the other two are Disney Springs eateries, meaning that nothing from the parks qualified at the time.

I’m overdue to update this list, but it tells a story.

While on vacation, you’ll eat the best at Disney hotels.

That’s not me saying that. That’s the kind readers at Tripadvisor.

They outnumber me by the thousands.

They’re emphatic in the belief that places like Cape May Cafe, Sanaa, Geyser Point Bar & Grill, and Victoria & Albert’s are the best dining options in Orlando.

In fact, all these locations finish in the top 100 among more than 2,000 restaurants in the city.

This is the top five percent, and that’s before I mention that Victoria & Albert’s recently won a Michelin Star.

Play at the parks, but eat at the hotel.

Movies Under the Stars

I could actually list countless amenities at the various resorts.

For example, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge hosts an absolutely brilliant Lodge Art & Architecture Tour that I highly recommend to everyone.

At several resorts, you can make friendship bracelets, T-shirts, and several other vacation mementos.

Still, I have a favorite on-site amenity, and it’s Movies Under the Stars.

The concept is exactly what it sounds like.

Several times a week, hotel management wheels out an inflatable projection screen akin to one you’d find at a (small) drive-in movie theater.

Experienced hotel guests bring blankets and have late night picnics or wine and cheese baskets here.

Everyone smiles their way through a nighttime exhibition of Disney’s latest films and your favorites of old.

For example, I can watch Halloweentown at Disney’s Old Key West Resort every Thursday this month.

On Tuesdays in October, the hotel airs a Mystery Movie, which I bet is either Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas or Hocus Pocus.

Then again, it might be Inside Out 2, as Disney blockbusters sometimes play at Movies Under the Stars before they’re even available on Disney+.

This is a mesmerizing way to end the night.

Plus, at some resorts, you can watch the fireworks and Movies Under the Stars at the same time.

These are the unforgettable moments I treasure on a Disney vacation.

Safety

This topic seems particularly relevant in the wake of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

I’m happy to tell you that when you travel to Disney, you’re unlikely to experience hurricane weather.

On average, Disney gets a debilitating storm like that one every other year, and it rarely impacts more than 36 hours at the parks.

Still, there’s a hidden message here.

Floridians flock to Disney World hotels during extreme weather events.

They do so because the locals are acutely aware that Disney is the safest place to be in a storm.

However, that’s not just applicable to hurricane weather. It’s true any time of the year.

Disney has designed its hotels so they have private power supplies and internet wi-fi, as well as a bottomless food supply.

In short, Disney’s probably a safer place to be than your house 99 percent of the time.

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