How to choose the perfect Disney Resort for your family
One of the hardest choices when it comes to vacation planning is figuring out where to stay (even for me and I know these places inside and out). As you may know, my family is ALWAYS at Disney and we have stayed almost everywhere on property. I wanted to take a minute and highlight some of the key differences between resorts and some things to consider when you are choosing what is best for your family. Keep in mind that your friend’s vacation is NOT your vacation! Just because they “loved” where they stayed doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for your family because everyone is different.
The first thing to consider is the type of resort you would like. Disney has 3 tiers of resorts-value, moderate, and deluxe. Obviously one of the biggest differences is cost (duh!) BUT what you get for the price also varies. Some other key differences include available amenities, room sizes/ # of occupants, and most exciting- number of pools/quality of pools. Value resorts have the basic amenities, smaller rooms, and usually one main areas including the pool and a grab and go dining location. While Deluxe resorts tend to have more spacious rooms with extra amenities (including multiple pools to visit).
If you have a larger family like mine, putting 5 of us into a value resort room is definitely not comfortable. With the 3 girls all sleeping in fold out beds or chairs you can barely move around in the room. This is one of the main reasons we stay at moderate or deluxe resorts when we visit.
The 2nd thing to consider is your dining options. Value resorts have no dining options on site other than a quick grab and go type of food court. As you move into moderate/deluxe resorts you have at least 1 if not more dining opportunities at the resort itself. Character experiences are usually at the deluxe resorts in addition to some of the top table service restaurants. As you get closer to the parks (especially Epcot and Magic Kingdom) you get more dining options close by within the parks as well. Since our girls are a bit younger and like doing character meals, we usually try to stay closer to Magic Kingdom or in the surrounding areas that offer a lot of the character experiences so we do not have to travel very far. If you are a fan of eating around the world, staying closer to the Epcot area would be great for your family.
With that being said, the 3rd thing to consider is proximity to the parks. Value resorts tend to be farther away from most of the main attractions while deluxe resorts are right next door! Some resorts like Yacht Club and Beach Club are within walking distance to Epcot, similar to Contemporary and Grand Floridian are within walking distance to Magic Kingdom. This definitely makes the morning commute to the park much easier especially if you have a stroller (more on that in a sec!). One of the best reasons I like to stay close to the parks is that sometimes if you are lucky you can see the fireworks from your hotel/balcony (hopefully once they get started up again!). It is so much nicer to watch the fireworks shows in peace in our room before bedtime than to wait with 500 people at the park and have cranky girls when we get home.
Lastly, consider transportation (here comes my stoller 2 cents). Every Disney resort has bus transportation available to the guests. However, when you have a double stroller and multiple children to load up, folding the stroller to get on the bus just irritates everyone involved, especially usually dad who is fighting with the stroller as mom corrals the kids LOL. Therefore my option in regards to transportation is that not all transportation is created equal! There are a few other transportation options offered at various resorts including the brand new Skyliner (to Hollywood Studio and Epcot) , boat transportation (to Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot), and you are within the Magic Kingdom area, the monorail (to Magic Kingdom and Epcot). RIght now the Skyliner and monorail are my favorite, mainly because you don't have to fold the stroller to get on LOL.
As I write this I am thinking of how much information is truly involved in choosing a resort. I am lucky enough to be familiar with the resorts enough to babble all of this out to you. However, I know that most of the population is not as in tune with the 20+ resort options that Disney has to offer. If I can be of any help in planning your trip- please reach out to me at the link below.