Things to Consider When Deciding Where to Stay

After you decide on when to go to "The Happiest Place on Earth," you will next ponder where to stay.  Here are some items to consider when making this important first decision.

1. Your budget.  Any Disney World vacation is expensive,  so you have to be realistic on how much you can spend. Usually,  staying off site will save you money,  but Disney Value Resorts or one of the seven Disney Springs Resort Area hotels (see an earlier post) are on site cost saving options. However,  if money is not an issue the Disney Moderate or Deluxe Resorts are worthy of consideration.  For one trip, we decided to stay the first three days offsite to save money, and the last 6 days in a Disney Resort.                                                                                                        
2. Location.   On site is definitely more convenient,  and the Disney transportation system is very good. There are official Disney Neighbor Hotels, but many of them have limited shuttle service, and you might have to use your car to get to the parks.  As stated earlier, there are non - Disney on site hotels including the DSRA hoels, the Swan and Dolphin resorts, Shades of Green,  and the luxurious Four Seasons.                                                                   
3. Space.  If you have a large family,  you might consider renting an off site house or condo, or staying in a suite, either on or off the WDW Resort property.  The Value Resort rooms are both simple and small, and obviously the more you pay, the greater the amount of space usually provided.  Arts of Animation have family suites.                                                                
4. There are extra perks for staying in a Disney Resort.  You get access to Extra Magic Hours for exclusive extended hours at a designated park, the opportunity to make all dining reservations 180 days in advance and Fastpass selection 60 days ahead, use of the free Magical Express airport shuttle, and access to Disney golf course reservations.   Some of these perks are also available at other onsite hotels.                                  
5. Themed accomodations.   If this is part of what makes your WDW special,  then selecting a themed Disney Resort should be a strong consideration. There are resorts themed on places such as New Orleans,  the Caribbean islands,  and Hawaii.   The Value Resorts have themes such as sports, movies, and pop culture in different decades.                                                      
6. TripAdvisor reviews.   In another post, I wrote about using TripAdvisor.com reviews to help you make a good choice.  Almost all Orlando hotels, including all those in Disney World are ranked and have user reviews.   Reading both positive and negative reviews will offer you a better perspective of what others have experienced. 

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