When you decide that it’s time to take your family to Walt Disney World for a vacation, one of the first decisions you will make is where you plan to stay.
My family has visited Walt Disney World over 30 times in the last 12 years. We’ve stayed both on and off property. It’s no secret Disney offers a variety of perks for staying on site…but are they worth it?
Our family would offer a resounding Yes! The convenience and fun of staying inside the Disney bubble is our first choice every time.
It’s no secret that Disney offers a variety of perks to guests staying in their onsite resorts. But are they worth it?
These Disney Resort perks can be confusing to a first-time guest so let’s break them down one by one…
Disney’s Magical Express Transfers to and From the Airport
Guests at all Disney owned resorts can use their free motorcoach and luggage transfer service from Orlando International Airport (MCO). The airport is around 30 minutes from Disney property.
One of the major conveniences of Magical Express service is the luggage delivery option. You will receive tags for your luggage that should be placed on your bags before you leave home.
When you arrive in Orlando, there is no need to collect your bags. Disney will collect any bags with Magical Express tags and deliver them to your resort. They will “automagically” appear inside your resort hotel room approximately 3 hours after your arrival. Having one less thing to worry about when your flight lands can be incredibly helpful!
One night before your departure you will receive an envelope delivered to your room with details and confirmation of your pickup time to return to the airport for your trip home.
How important is it?
Magical Express transfers are not only convenient, but they will save you the cost of paid transportation. Round trip transportation to and from the airport will cost approximately $80 using Uber or Lyft or $150 if you prefer to hire a private town car.
Between onsite transportation and rideshare options such as Uber and Lyft, there is no need to have your own car while staying on Disney property unless it is merely a matter of personal preference.
Complimentary Theme Park Parking and Onsite Transportation
Disney’s complimentary transportation fleet rivals that of major cities with buses, boats, and monorails to get you where you need to go. Once you have checked in to your resort, there is no need to hop behind the wheel for anything (unless you want to, of course). You can relax and leave the driving to Disney.
If you do want to drive yourself to one of the theme parks, you won’t pay an additional parking fee.
How important is it?
Truth be told, this one is a bit of a stretch! Technically all Walt Disney World guests, whether they are staying on site or not, can enjoy free transportation between the theme parks and resorts. And while you won’t be required to pay for parking at the theme parks, you will be paying a parking fee of between $13 and $24 per night at your resort.
Extra Magic Hours
Each day one of the theme parks opens one hour early or stays open 2 hours later only for Disney’s onsite resort guests. During peak travel seasons there will often be both a morning and an evening extra magic hour option.
How important is it?
Since this is a benefit available only to onsite guests the crowds in the parks thin out quite a bit allowing you to experience your favorite attractions with shorter lines.
We often recommend to our clients that unless they are certain they are going to make use of the extra magic hour time, plan to spend your day at a different park because the “park of the day” will often be the most crowded park during regular operating hours.
If you have purchased tickets with the park hopper option, you can get the best of both worlds by taking advantage of extra magic hours and hopping to a different park for the rest of the day!
Resort Room Charging
Once you check in to your Disney resort, if you’ve chosen to leave a credit card on file for incidental charges, you can toss your wallet in the safe and leave it there for the remainder of your vacation. You’ll be able to use your Magic Band to charge purchases back to your room account.
How important is it?
Charging purchases to your room can be a nice convenience, but it is important to note that when you check in to your resort, they will place a hold of $100 on your credit card for incidental expenses. Once you have charged $100 to your room, the resort will place another $100 hold on your card.
Resort Package Delivery
Have you ever seen something you’d like to buy while you are out and about on vacation, but you don’t want to have to carry it around all day?
Disney has solved that problem for you!
Onsite resort guests can have items they purchase from the theme parks (or other resorts) sent to the gift shop at their “home” resort where they can pick them up later. Unfortunately, they can’t deliver it right to your room, but it does save you having to tote that “must have” souvenir around with you!
How important is it?
It’s nice to have, however, it’s just as easy to use the home delivery service available to all guests where you can have your purchases shipped back home. Then you don’t even have to worry about packing them for the trip home!
Access to the Disney Dining Plans
Onsite resort guests have the option to add a dining plan on to their vacation packages. Disney offers four different dining packages, but all include pre-paid meals and snacks.
The main benefit of the dining plans is that they provide more of an “all inclusive” sort of feel to your vacation. For many families, it is a relief to know that their food costs are fixed and that meals have prepaid. It can make it easier to budget for your vacation.
How important is it?
Will you save money with one of the dining plans? Maybe… but more than likely you will break even. The benefit comes more from the convenience and a predictable budget.
Dining Reservations 180 Days Before Check-In
I know what you are thinking, you have enough trouble figuring out where your family wants to go out to eat tonight, much less six months from now!
But Disney’s most popular table service restaurants do fill up quickly, so you will want to take advantage of the opportunity to make your reservations in advance.
This is especially true if you have purchased one of the dining plans. No one wants to prepay for meals only to arrive and find that all of the restaurants are full!
All guests can make their dining reservations 180 days in advance, but onsite resort guests get an extra bonus. They may begin making reservations 180 days from their check-in date and can book for up to 10 days from check-in.
That means if you are staying for a week you can book all of your reservations for the week 180 days from your check-in date giving you an advantage for those days at the end of your stay.
At Embrace The Magic Travel we are happy to recommend dining options for your family.
How important is it?
If you plan on dining at Disney’s most popular restaurants, including Be Our Guest, the Chef’s Table at Victoria and Alberts, and many of the popular character dining options, this can be the difference between scoring a reservation or not.
FastPass+ Reservations 60 Days in Advance
Disney’s FastPass+ service allows you to set a “reservation” time to ride popular attractions. All guests are allowed to make their reservations 30 days in advance, but onsite resort guests can begin booking theirs a full 60 days in advance.
How important is it?
This is one of the more important benefits of staying on site. Helping you to use your FastPass+ reservations strategically to maximize your time in the parks and minimize the time you spend waiting in line is one of the most significant benefits we offer our clients as well.
If you are hoping to ride the newest and most popular attractions or to meet the most popular characters without waiting in line for what feels like forever, then you’ll be thankful for this benefit!
The newest attractions such as those in Pandora or Frozen Ever After (and soon to be in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge) will fill up quickly and may not even be available at all by 30 days before arrival.
Don’t worry if you are planning last minute… you’ll have expert advice from your Embrace The Magic travel advisor to help you know when the best times to visit without a reservation will be.
The “Disney Magic”
“Disney Magic” is hard to explain. I usually tell people that for those who “get it,” no explanation is necessary, but for those who don’t, no explanation is good enough!
Staying onsite not only puts you as close to the magic in the theme parks as possible, but it also brings you right into this magical world where outside worries cease to exist.
It’s not uncommon for guests to feel like the outside world melts away. You don’t see billboards, you don’t hear news broadcasts everywhere you go… it’s almost like you are secluded in a magical bubble!
There’s just something to be said for soaking in the magic 24/7 while on your vacation!
Ready to start planning your next visit to see Mickey and friends!
The expert travel advisors at Embrace The Magic Travel will work with you to create a perfectly planned Walt Disney World trip for your family, making sure nothing is left to chance and helping you create lasting memories, deeper connections & richer experiences. Please submit an online consultation request to begin.