We love staying on property at Disney World since you get free transportation to all the parks and Disney Springs, can get in 30 minutes sooner than everyone else (yay), and SOON: be able to book your Lightning Lane selections at 7AM, while everyone else has to wait until park opening.

Deciding you’re staying at a Disney World resort can be the easy part, the overwhelming step is answering “where will we stay”? To start, ask yourself this:

01. What park will you be visiting the most?

When our daughter was little she screamed on the Disney World buses. Nothing helped. I learned 2 things on that trip: always have lollipops and if you can avoid buses, avoid them.

Now when we’re choosing a resort, we think about LOCATION ABOVE ALL ELSE. Is it in a good spot? Can we take a boat, take the Skyliner (Disney’s new gondola lift) or walk instead of the bus? 

There are lots of different modes of transportation from your resort to each park. Besides driving and parking, you have these options:

Buses
Monorail
Skyliner
Walk
Boat

I created a cheat sheet that you can download here that shows the different transportation options for each resort.

If you want to go into Magic Kingdom most often, look into the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Contemporary, or Wilderness Lodge.

If you’ll be visiting EPCOT or Hollywood Studios the most, maybe Boardwalk, Beach/Yacht Club, Swan/Dolphin, Caribbean Beach, POP Century, Art of Animation or Riviera would be a good fit.

If Animal Kingdom is your jam, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Coronado Springs are the closest.

If you’re still torn, you can always do what they call a “split-stay” and stay at 2 resorts over the course of 1 trip!

02. What kind of feeling do you want from this vacation?

At the Polynesian Village, you’re greeted with an “aloha” instead of hello. You really feel like you’re somewhere else.

The Royal Rooms at Port Orleans – Riverside is a little princess’ dream.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is quiet and secluded.

Boardwalk and Beach & Yacht Club have that nostalgic, seaside feel where a lot of us spent summers growing up.

03. Do you have a set budget?

If you have a set number you can you spend, look into renting DVC points. This is where you rent Disney Vacation Club* points, for one-time use. You can save a significant amount of money (think Deluxe at a Moderate price), but you have to be flexible when it comes to your availability. 

For some more reading, I love this article about the best Disney hotels for every budget.

*DVC is Disney’s version of a timeshare.

Our Favorite Resort

We love staying at Disney’s Boardwalk in the EPCOT Resort area. Read my post about why we love the Boardwalk here.

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