Disney Resort Benefits for On Site Guests Plus Best Hotels

While you can save money at offsite hotels, there are some priceless Disney World resort benefits that come with staying on-site.

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The price to stay at a Disney resort on-site is not what anyone would refer to as inexpensive. Even the value Disney resorts are much pricier than nearby offsite hotels with high customer ratings. It’s enough to tempt anyone to consider saving a good chunk of their vacation budget by staying at one of the reputable offsite hotels. However, there are some priceless Disney resort benefits that come with staying on-site that you should know about.

Extended Park Hours

Disney offers something called Extra Magic Hours that only Disney resort guests can participate in. each day, one of the parks has either extended morning or evening hours. Having a longer day and getting to arrive early or stay late is a major perk for guests staying at the resorts on-site and a good way to get the ball rolling on your vacation calendar by choosing which days to visit which parks.

Free Transportation

Walt Disney World has free transportation for on-site guests the minute you arrive at the airport. One of your Disney resort benefits is the Magical Express which takes you to your resort from the Orlando InternationalAirport. once you are onsite, you don’t have to drive or pay to get anywhere. Disney has an extensive system of buses, boats, monorails and the new Disney Skyliner to conveniently transport guests anywhere in Walt Disney World they need to go.

Early Fastpass+ Reservations

If you plan a Walt Disney World vacation, you get access to Fastpass+. This is a free reservation system that lets you pick three attractions you won’t have to wait in the standby queue for. You get three new selections for each ticket purchased. Off-site guests have a thirty-day window to claim their Fastpasses before they arrive. However, on-site guests get an additional thirty days, which means that they not only get to choose first, they have all the best options.

Free MagicBand

MagicBand is another way Disney World makes the guest experience even easier. You can use your MagicBand as a room key, Fastpass, park pass, and even make transactions almost anywhere at the resort. But that last feature is one of the Disney resort benefits off-site guests can’t use. Also, MagicBand is only free to Disney resort guests. If you stay off-site and you want a MagicBand, you have to pay for it.

Total Disney Immersion

The best benefit of staying on-site at a Disney resort is that you get total immersion throughout your entire vacation. You are completely surrounded by Disney at all times which is a really nice way to spend your trip. you never have to bother with the outside world unless you really want to, so it’s a true getaway unlike any other.

Where to Stay in Each Disney Pricing Tier

Deluxe Villas

The best deluxe villas are the Treehouses at Saratoga Springs, just based on the 9 guests it can sleep. However, the Beach Club Villas are more desirable for those looking to sleep 8 and under. The Beach Club Villas are a short walk from Epcot and Beach Club has the coveted Stormalong Bay sand bottom pool.

Deluxe Resort

The Best Deluxe Resort depends on your favorite theme park because one of the benefits of the deluxe resorts is the location. The Polynesian Village has monorail access to both Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Plus it is one of the best-themed resorts and has the highest square footage in its standard rooms. The Grand Floridian is elegant and grand. The Yacht and Beach Club in the Epcot Resort area is another favorite of mine. So, I guess you can say all the Deluxe resorts are pretty amazing. The extra money you spend to stay at any of them gives you a little luxury while immersed in the magic.

Moderate Resort

The Best Moderate resort currently based on luxury alone is Coronado Springs, because of its new Gran Destino Tower. However, in my opinion, the southern charm of Port Orleans Riverside and the quick and easy access to Disney Springs is pretty hard to beat.

Value Resort

The best value resort at Walt Disney World is the Art of Animation. It has family suites, superior theming, a terrific food court, and rooms with indoor entry.