Pros and Cons to staying in Walt Disney World

Pros of staying on property:

• Transportation- Do you need easy transportation to and from the airport? While Disney no longer has its Magical Express bus service, many other companies specialize in mass transportation from Orlando International Airport to the many individual resorts on Disney property, making it an easy and stress-free situation. Disney also provides several types of transportation to and from its resorts to the different theme parks, water parks and the Disney Springs shopping district. Disney World, unlike Disney Land is for the most part NOT walkable. You will absolutely need a way to get from most resorts to the theme parks.
• Theming- If you want to stay immersed in Disney 24/7 and avoid the real world during your stay, then you should choose an accommodation on property. Each resort has a different theme, some are based on specific movies, others are themed after specific areas of the United States or the rest of the world. Disney theming is one of a kind and no detail goes missed, down to the costumes of the cast members (cast members are what all Disney employees are called).
• Extra Perks- Depending on the time of year, guests staying on property are able to enter certain theme parks an hour earlier than day guests. In the past they have also been able to stay in the parks later on certain days. If you book a full package (hotel and park tickets) you are given ‘Magical Extras’ which may include rounds of miniature golf at the Disney miniature golf courses, a voucher for the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex and a multitude of discounts in the Disney Springs restaurant and shopping district. See the current list and details here.

Cons of staying on property

• COST- When you choose to stay in Disney World, the cost of your trip will increase significantly. We recently chose to stay in a 6 bedroom, 4 bath VRBO rental home with a private pool as well as a clubhouse and splash pad for less than the cost of a value Disney World resort. The home was themed to Disney and each of my kids had their own bedroom. It was so nice to come home after a 12 hour day in the parks to that much space. While we did have to drive ourselves to and from the parks and lose a little of the Disney magic, it was only about a 10 minute drive and we all had a guaranteed seat…which is not always the case on Disney transportation!
• Disney Transportation- While it certainly is fantastic that Disney offers a wide variety of transportation, waiting for it to arrive can be extremally stressful and time consuming. Some of the resorts only offer Disney buses (versus the Disney Skyliner, Monorail or boats). At the Value resorts there are often several bus loads of guests waiting to go into the parks in the morning. While buses are supposed to come to the resorts & parks every 20 minutes, during busier times of year you may be waiting in line until two or even three buses have come through due to the crowds. You can always order an Uber or Lyft, but when the vacation is already so pricey, paying for something that is technically included hurts the wallet that much more. The crowds for transportation at park close can also make for yet more waiting and may be standing room only. This can be particularly difficult when traveling with young kids.
• Food- As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, one of the main reasons my family loves Disney World so much is the food. That being said, if you are staying on property you are most likely limited to only eating Disney food during your stay. You can certainly have groceries delivered to your resort or rideshare to a store, but most of the rooms will only have a minifridge, which makes preparing anything more than a Pop-Tart a bit difficult. Most Disney food is delicious, however ALL Disney food is expensive. If you stay offsite you may have access to a full kitchen, or at least a few more reasonably priced restaurants. (To counter my own point, Disney does have full cabins available as well as villas with full kitchens…for the right price.)