Benefits of Staying at a Disney World Hotel
For All Resort Hotels
There are a large number of perks that apply to ALL Disney World hotels, so let’s break them down!
Early Theme Park Entry
Guests of all the Disney World hotels on property can get into the theme parks 30 minutes before they officially open to other guests with Early Theme Park Entry. So, if Magic Kingdom’s hours are from 9AM to 10PM one day, you are allowed into the park at 8:30AM as a hotel guest.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Do note that each park has a limited opening during this time, meaning not all rides are available. But, it’s a great opportunity to knock out a few of the popular rides that are open before the wait times get too long!
Purchase & Book Lightning Lanes in Advance
If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel, you also have the opportunity to purchase your Lightning Lane passes up to 7 days in advance of your trip and start booking your Lightning Lanes. Regular guests have to wait until 3 days before their trip, so you will have and advantage when it comes to booking those popular rides!
Frozen Ever After
Book Dining in Advance
Guests of Disney World hotels are able to book their dining reservations 60 days in advance of their trip PLUS the length of their trip, up to a 10-night stay. Regular guests are only able to book 60 days in advance.
Ohana
So, you can make all your dining reservations a little bit earlier and all at once instead of checking if there is availability for each day of your trip.
Free Water Park Entry
Disney is offering a special perk to Disney World hotel guests for 2025 — you can get into the water parks for FREE on the day you check-in to your hotel. This only applies on check-in day, so to take advantage of it, get to your hotel early, drop your bags, and head out to the water parks to enjoy your complimentary visit.
Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park
Do note that usually only one of Disney’s water parks is open at a time — either Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach.
Early Purchasing of Special Event Tickets
There are various special events that happen throughout the year at Disney World, like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. These are separately ticketed events and guests of Disney World hotels usually get access to buy these tickets before regular guests!
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Save on Dining
According to Disney, you can save up to 20% on dining for kids ages 3-9 when you purchase a dining plan for your family as part of a Disney resort hotel package!
Free Transportation
Disney World hotels all have access to different forms of free transportation for guests. Whether you’re staying at a Deluxe or a Value resort, there will be free transportation to at least all four Disney theme parks and usually Disney Springs.
EPCOT Monorail
These forms of free transportation include buses, boats, the Disney Skyliner, and the Monorail. Some resorts are also close enough to certain theme parks that you can use nearby walking paths to access the parks from your hotel.
EPCOT Skyliner station
For example, from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort you can take either a boat or the Monorail to get to Magic Kingdom. At Disney’s BoardWalk Inn you can take a boat or walk to EPCOT or Hollywood Studios. And, at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, you can take the Skyliner to either EPCOT or Hollywood Studios.
Luggage Transfers
If you are staying at more than one Disney World hotel during the same trip, you can easily have your first hotel transfer your bags to the next one for free. Simply tell the baggage desk that you need your bags transferred to whichever hotel you’re staying at next and they will be moved there that same day!
Walt Disney World Resort Luggage from World of Disney
And, like most hotel, Disney World hotels will hold your luggage for you for free on check-in or check-out days while you go explore.
Purchase Discounted MagicBand+ in Advance
Guests of Disney World hotels can purchase their MagicBand+ bands before their trip at a special pre-arrival price! These bands can be used as your park ticket and room key, it will let you scan into your Lightning Lanes and get your photos from Disney’s PhotoPass photographers, and if you connect a credit card, you can use it to make purchases!
MagicBand
Shared Amenities
Another benefit to staying at a Disney World hotel is that you have easy access to all of the other hotels on property. And in some cases, certain hotels even share amenities!
For example, Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts are connected to each other, so if you stay at one you have easy access to all of the dining and other amenities of both. They also share their pools, including the giant Stormalong Bay!
Stormalong Bay at Disney’s Beach Club Resort
If you’re staying at one of the resorts on the Disney Skyliner, it’s very easy to visit the others on the line. These hotels include Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, and Disney’s Riviera Resort.
So, if you’re staying at Pop Century but want to go grab lunch at the Riviera, all you have to do is hop on the Skyliner and head on over!
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Skyliner Station
Also note that if you’re staying at a combo Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resort, you get to share the amenities of both hotels. For example, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge guests also have easy access to everything at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge — Kidani Village, which is the Disney Vacation Club section of the resort right next door.
You can easily enjoy the pools, restaurants, and more of both resorts!
Room & Ticket Package Discounts
Disney regularly has deals that you can get on room and ticket combo packages. For example, we recently saw a deal where you can save up to $200 per night on a 3-night, 2-day room-and-ticket package at select Disney World hotels.
You can also sometimes get things like a free dining plan when you book select room and ticket packages! It all depends on what deals are available at the time through Disney.
Deluxe & Deluxe Villa Resort Hotels
Extended Evening Hours
There is one perk that is only available to guests of Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resort guests — Extended Evening Hours! These take place on select nights at select theme parks and allow you to stay in the park for 2 hours after they officially close to regular guests.
Magic Kingdom Nighttime Cinderella Castle
Not everything is open in the parks during this time, but a ton of rides are, so it’s a great time to ride your favorite rides without waiting in any long lines!
Stay tuned for more Disney World news and updates!
