Confused about the different resort options on Walt Disney World Property?
This article will help break down the difference between each tier, what each resort tier offers, which resorts belong to which tier and much more…
Let’s start with the THREE resort tier options on Disney property. The different resort tiers include value resorts, moderate resorts, and deluxe resorts so let’s dive in!
Value Resorts
There are 5 resorts at Disney that are considered value resorts: All Star Movies, All Star Music, All Star Sports, Pop Century and Art of Animation. These resorts are all large and the property can be quite spread out. There are several different buildings at each resort with thousands of rooms altogether.
Let’s go over the value resorts within different categories: price, rooms, amenities, and transportation
Price
Disney value resorts will obviously be the most budget friendly out of three resort tiers because, just as the category name implies, they are the best value at Disney. A week long room stay in a value resort will run you between $1500-$2500, depending on time of year and room choice you choose. A value resort is typically an average of around $200-$300 per night.
Rooms
Even though these resorts are considered value resorts, they do offer different room types. In all of the resorts, there are standard rooms and preferred rooms. A preferred room is a little more expensive, typically $20-$30 per night extra, but it does offer some conveniences. Preferred rooms are closer to the main lobby, swimming pools and transportation, and like I said above, value resorts are large and often times spread out. So having the convenience of being closer to all of those is nice, especially when you have walked all day at the parks. The standard rooms and the preferred are exactly the same on the inside. The value rooms are right around 260 square feet, so they are on the smaller side. They have a separate vanity and shower/toilet area as well.
A couple of the value resorts offer family suites. The resorts that offer the family suite option are All Star Music and Art of Animation. The rooms come with a living area, kitchenette, one bathroom, and a separate bedroom. The living area will have a pull out sofa and pull out twin bed from the chair. So these room types make a great option for families with over 4 people.
Amenities
Despite being a value resort, they do have great amenities on property.
One of the best amenities are the pools. They have multiple, fun pools scattered throughout the property. They even pipe music into some of the pools that you can hear underwater.
One fun amenity that is offered at all of the Disney resorts is “Movie Under the Stars” where they play a Disney movie out on the lawn of your resort.
The value resorts will have internet access, arcades, complimentary transportation, a gift shop, laundry, and housekeeping services.
As far as restaurants go at the value resorts, there will just be a “food court” type restaurant where you can find mostly the typical “theme park food”; hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza etc. So this is a definite downside to the value resorts in my opinion.
Transportation
Yes, the value resorts do offer complimentary transportation. All of them have access to the bus transportation that picks you up at the resort and takes you all 4 theme parks, the two water parks, and Disney Springs. But, if you are staying at Art of Animation or Pop Century then you get access to the skyliner. The skyliner is a gondola type mode of transportation that will take you to Epcot or Hollywood Studios. This is a huge plus for these resorts because the skyliner is a much quicker mode of transportation than the bus, and it is truly like a ride on its own.
Moderate Resorts
This category of Disney resorts is the “middle of the road” option. They are somewhat budget friendly but offer a little more than the value resorts do. There are 4 resorts within the moderate tier: Port Orleans French Quarter, Port Orleans Riverside, Caribbean Beach Resort, and Coronado Springs Resort. These resorts are also quite large and spread out as well, with Caribbean Beach being one of the largest resorts on Disney property at a whopping 85 acres.
Fort Wilderness also technically falls into the moderate category. It has cabins, RV spots and tent camping, but for the purpose of this article, I am not going to include in our breakdown of moderate resorts, just because it is a much different type of “resort” than a hotel.
We will break these down just like we did with the value resorts: price, rooms, amenities, and transportation.
Price
Like I said above, the moderate resorts are the “middle of the road” option and that is exactly how their pricing falls as well. You can get a week long stay at a moderate ranging anywhere from around $2500-$3500 a week, depending on the time a year and room type you choose. Moderate resorts have an average of $300-$400 per night on cost of room.
Rooms
Moderate resorts are a little more spacious than the value resorts. These resorts are on average about 320 sq feet. So that is quite a bit more space than the budget friendlier option above.
Moderate resorts also have several different room types, way more options than the value resorts. There are nature views, pool views, water views, and some resorts offer a 5th sleeper option, allowing a family of 5 to sleep comfortably in one room. Moderate resorts also still have the typical standard room and the preferred rooms, just like the value resorts do.
Port Orleans Riverside has Royal Themed Rooms that are decked out in a Princess and the Frog theme and Caribbean Beach has pirate themed rooms where the bed is actually a pirate ship.
Coronado Springs Resort also has their tower rooms, and these rooms are more along the lines of a deluxe resort. These rooms are located in the Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs. The tower has their own lobby and check in and all of these rooms are located in one building, more of a large, upscale hotel feel. These are nice options for people who don’t like a room that opens to the outside, and like everything being located in one spot. These rooms are also a tad more spacious than the others, coming in at 375 sq. feet.
Amenities
You definitely have more amenities at a moderate than you do at a value resort. There are so many more activities to do.
Moderate resorts have all of the same amenities as the value plus some amazing extras. They campfires, Surrey rentals, bike rentals, at Port Orleans and Caribbean Beach they offer catch and release fishing, beach activities at Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach, jogging trails, and Coronado Springs even offers a spa.
The pools at moderate resorts are awesome and so incredibly themed.
The restaurants here are also a little better than the value resorts. They have “food court” type quick-service as well, but they do offer better options than hamburgers and hot dogs. Some have a “create your own pasta” station, at Port Orleans you can grab beignets, and so much more. Moderate resorts also have at least one table service restaurant. They aren’t the very best restaurants on Disney property, but they are good and sometimes you just want a nice meal back at your resort after a long day in the park.
Transportation
Here is where it gets a little complicated as far as transportation goes, just simply because each resort offers something different when it comes to transportation.
At Port Orleans, you can take a bus to all 4 theme parks, water parks and to Disney Springs, but they also offer a boat ride to Disney Springs as well.
Coronado Springs only offers a bus system to everything on Disney property, but the Gran Destino Tower does get its own dedicated bus system and doesn’t have to share with Coronado Springs.
At Caribbean Beach, you can take a bus to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, water parks and Disney Springs, but you can take the skyliner to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom.
Deluxe Resorts
Awww…my favorite tier of Disney resorts and why wouldn’t it be? As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for and these resorts hold true to that statement. The lobbies are grand, the grounds are immaculate and the service is superior.
This category holds the most resorts. So I am going to list them according to which park they are closest to.
Magic Kingdom Resorts: Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridan, and Wilderness Lodge.
Epcot/Hollywood Studios Resorts: Yacht Club, Beach Club, Boardwalk, and The Riviera.
Animal Kingdom Resorts: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney Springs Resorts: Old Key West and Saratoga Springs
Now let’s break down the deluxe resorts on price, rooms, amenities, and transportation.
Price
Now the deluxe resorts have the biggest price range of all 3 categories, and I believe that is because there are so many different resorts and room types within this category. For a week long stay at a deluxe resort the price will range from $4000 all the way up to $9,000-$10,000. This all depends on which resort you choose, time of year and room type that you choose.
Some of the budget friendlier deluxe resorts are sometimes Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, and if you can snag a standard view at Wilderness Lodge then it can be on the lower end of pricing as well. Animal Kingdom Lodge can also be a budget friendly if you decide to forgo the savanna view rooms.
Your most expensive deluxe resorts will be the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Riviera, and the main tower in the Contemporary. These resorts are always on the higher end as far as cost goes.
Rooms
Just like with the pricing, the room options at a deluxe resort are also endless. With Animal Kingdom Lodge having savanna view rooms to the Polynesian, Contemporary and Grand Floridian all having theme park view rooms. You can even stay in an over the water bungalow at the Polynesian Resort. There are so many choices when it comes to the room you want.
The deluxe rooms are also quite a bit larger than the value and moderate resorts. They range from 375 to 450 sq. feet in size. Higher end furnishings make these rooms more luxurious and the bathroom in all of the deluxe resorts can’t be beat.
All of the deluxe resorts are hotel like, in that all of the doors open up to corridors and not to the outside. I know this can be a major bonus for a lot of travelers. This is with the exception of Old Key West and Saratoga Springs which do have doors that open up to the outside.
Amenities
This is another category that really sets the deluxe resorts apart from moderate and value resorts. They have all of the amenities of both the moderate and values, plus so much more.
The deluxe resorts have boat rentals, spas, poolside cabanas, splash pads, fishing, specialty cruises, basketball courts, tennis courts, and so much more.
The pools at the deluxe resorts are unparalleled. They are all so perfectly matched to each resort’s theme, like the volcano waterslide at the Polynesian, and the pool at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club even has a sandy bottom. It is amazing.
Now one of the main differences between deluxe resorts and the other categories are the caliber of restaurants. The quick-service options at deluxe resorts offer such a unique variety. Each deluxe resort has multiple table-service restaurants as well and most of the resorts even have character meals right on site. This makes it super convenient if you want to book a character breakfast at your resort before hitting the parks that day.
Transportation
Last but not least, let’s talk about transportation. The deluxe resorts offer the most variety and unique forms of transportation.
For example there are 3 “monorail” resorts. These are the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary. These 3 resorts are on the monorail line. You can use this “train in the sky” to get to Magic Kingdom and to Epcot. These 3 resorts plus Wilderness Lodge guests can also take a boat to Magic Kingdom. If you are staying at the Contemporary, then you are just about a 10 min walk to the entrance of Magic Kingdom. Location is key at these deluxe resorts.
As for the Epcot resorts: Yacht and Beach Club and Boardwalk, you can take the skyliner or a boat to Hollywood Studios and you can literally walk to the back entrance at the World Showcase into Epcot, or take a boat to Epcot if walking isn’t something you want to do. The Riviera resort guests can take the skyliner to both Hollywood Studios and Epcot. These resorts are also in a great location.
If you can’t take the monorail, the skyliner, walk or take a boat, then you can take a bus to the other parks, Disney Springs and the water parks. So there are always great transportation options at all of the deluxe resorts
Every time someone is planning a Disney trip for the first time, this is the number one question I get. Where should we stay and what is the difference is all of the different categories? I have stayed at every resort on property so I hope with my experience that this can be helpful in at least helping you choose what tier you think would suit you and your family’s needs the best.
If you need help on what to wear to while visiting Walt Disney World, here is a my Disney Outfits Collection on LTK. So many cute Disney outfit ideas.
Now, don’t you think it is time for a Disney trip? Happy planning!
Leave a Reply