Walt Disney World Resorts

When planning a Walt Disney World Vacation, you’ll have many decisions. One of the most important decisions you’ll make is choosing a resort. We specialize in covering the resort hotels at Walt Disney World. We’ve stayed at every resort hotel and visit them regularly to keep our coverage as updated as possible.

Our mission is to provide the most accurate portrayal of the resorts. We offer in-depth guides for all aspects of hotel planning. However, we have so much coverage that sometimes it can be challenging to find specifics. So, we’ve created this guide to help you quickly locate the information you need. You can browse through our resort coverage below to find specifics.

Resort List

Here is a list of the resorts at Walt Disney World. Some of the resorts have villa resorts (Disney Vacation Clubs) that comprise part of that resort. They are listed underneath their home resort.

Which one of these resorts is the best? Now that’s a tough question. We’ve ranked each and every one of them based on their amenities and value. You might be surprised but our rankings. But we provide pros and cons for each resort and our reasoning for how we rank them.

Learn More >> Ranking the Disney World Resorts From Best to Worst

Disney World Resort Reviews

Our Disney World Hotel Reviews share detailed accounts of our stays at the Walt Disney World Resorts. These reviews are offered in a trip resort fashion. They discussed our arrival process and whether we had to wait in a room when we first checked in. We also touch on things like whether or not we dined at the resort, what we enjoyed, whether we used someone to help us with our luggage, and those sorts of things.

Preview all of our resort reviews >> Disney World Hotel Reviews

Vacation Planning

Our Disney World vacation planning process boils down to 10 simple steps. We’ve put together a guide that begins with creating a budget—it’s the most important part of the process. Then, we go to step two, where you take a quiz that helps you narrow down your resort options. After you take the quiz, you’ll receive a series of emails with our best resort resources. The next couple of steps shift to the decision-making process, where you’ll decide on whether or not to use a travel agent, purchase a dining plan, and select travel dates that work with your schedule. Then, it’s on to dining. We provide you with an overview of dining at Disney World and important dates for making reservations. Lastly, we get into things like tickets and time, itinerary planning, and finalizing plans. It’s a lot to take in, but we’ve covered every step of the process. It’s a guide that you can reference time and time again.

Are You Ready? >> Start Here To Plan Your Walt Disney World Vacation

Disney World Resorts by Categories

The Walt Disney World Resorts are categorized by pricing and amenities. Below, we’ve listed each resort category with a description.

Value Resorts: These resorts are the most budget-friendly options at Walt Disney World. Disney’s All-Star Resorts, Pop Century, and Art of Animation fall under this category. Both Pop Century and Art of Animation are considered a little more of an upgrade because they offer access to the Disney Skyliner, while the All-Star Resorts only offer bus transportation.

Moderate Resorts: These resorts are in the middle category. They aren’t the cheapest or the most expensive. However, most of them are spread out over significant grounds so you will likely have to up your step count. Naturally, there are always a few exceptions like Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs and Port Orleans French Quarter, which is more of a boutique resort. Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach, and Port Orleans Riverside are large but truly beautiful resorts.

Disney Villas: These resorts are all part of the Disney Vacation Club. They are expensive but have larger accommodations with amenities similar to those at home. Many refer to these resorts or resort areas as homes away from home.

Disney Deluxe Resorts: Deluxe resorts are the finest hotels Walt Disney World has to offer. From Grand Floridian, Disney’s iconic red-roof hotel, to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where you can wake up to animals grazing on a savanna below, these hotels have all the extras! They also come with an expensive price tag!

Often, the deluxe resorts are the most appealing on paper. But depending on budget and other factors, they aren’t always the right choice. We put together a separate guide to help you discern whether or not it’s worth it to upgrade: Is a Deluxe Resort Worth the Upgrade?

Our Resort Guides

After you’ve selected a resort (or narrowed down the options), our individual resort guides are your best planning resource. It’s where we shine. We’ve stayed at each of the resorts listed below and spent countless hours photographing each of them to provide a complete overview of what to expect. So when you’re ready, browse the guide for the resort of your choice.

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s All-Star Music Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Art of Animation

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Beach Club Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Boardwalk Inn

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Contemporary Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Old Key West Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Pop Century Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Riviera Resort

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Saratoga Springs

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Swan And Dolphin and Swan Reserve

The Resort’s Gal Guide to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Yacht Club

Disney World Resort Refurbishments

It’s important to check the resort refurbishment schedule when you’re planning a vacation. You probably wouldn’t want to stay at Disney’s Grand Floridian if it were undergoing a major overhaul or plan a trip to the Beach Club when their incredible pool area was closed for refurbishment. These things happen and are necessary. We keep a list of what’s going on at the hotels. However, sometimes things are scheduled after you book your dates. If so, you will get a notification from Disney ahead of time. Then, you can decide whether or not to stay based on the stipulations or move to another resort. In some instances, Disney has to move guests. If so, they will reach out and offer other options.

Learn More >> Disney Resort Refurbishment Schedule

Disney Resort Benefits

If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World Resort, you could be privy to several benefits. Eligible guests will want to be aware of these extras and likely take advantage of them.

Early Theme Park Entry: This benefit allows eligible guests to enter the theme parks 30 minutes early and applies to each of the four parks daily. It is extended to all guests of Walt Disney World Resort Hotels and select Good Neighbor Hotels.

Extended Evening Benefits: This benefit is exclusive to guests of deluxe and deluxe villa resorts. Select parks stay open up to two hours after closing on select nights of the week. These nights are usually at Epcot on Monday evenings and at Magic Kingdom on Wednesday evenings. However, the parks tend to shift to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios during the holiday season.

Learn about all the resort benefits >> Benefits of Staying at a Disney Resort Hotel (Through 2025)

Disney Resorts with Club Levels

The following deluxe resorts at Walt Disney World have a club-level offering. This is a private floor for club-level guests with a lounge offering varying daily services.

Learn More>> Everything You Need to Know About Staying Club Level at Disney World

Disney Resort Pools

When the theme parks become too much, it’s often time to return to the hotel for a break. If you think you’ll take advantage of the pool regularly, you might want to choose a hotel based on the kind of pool it offers. We think that every resort has nice pool areas and amenities. But we do prefer a few over others. We have a guide that ranks the best pools at Disney World.

One of our favorite pools at Walt Disney World is Stormalong Bay. We stay at the Beach or Yacht Club every chance we get because we love it so much. When we stay at either resort, we spend most of our days at the pool. Then, in the evening, we visit the theme parks. Those trips are never park-heavy and are some of our best memories.

Resort Gift Shops

Every Disney World Resort has at least one gift shop. Why do you need to know about the gift shops? Well, if you’re staying at a hotel and run into a need for something, the hotel gift shop might have it in stock. We visit the resort gift shops about once every two years to take photos of the kinds of things you can expect. Sure, the merchandise changes occasionally, but the staples like medicine, groceries, and personal items are almost always the same. So, if you preview the gift shop article for the hotel you’re staying at, you’ll get a good idea of what will be available during your stay. It might save you a trip to the store during your vacation.

Preview Each Gift Shop>> List of Disney World Resort Hotel Gift Shops

Laundry

Each Disney Resort Hotel has laundry facilities. However, some hotels are so large that you’ll want to locate the laundromat nearest your room. We’ll help you figure out everything you need to know ahead of time about doing laundry during your vacation.

Learn More >> List of Laundry Facilities at the Disney Resorts

Rapid Fill Mugs

When you stay at a Disney Resort Hotel, you can purchase a Rapid Fill mug. These refillable mugs can be used at any self-service resort beverage station. If you purchase a dining plan, you will receive one as part of the plan’s cost. Our guide shares everything you need to know about refillable mugs at Walt Disney World. It also links to individual beverage locations for each resort.

Learn More>> Everything You Need to Know about Disney Resort Refillable Mugs

Off-Site Hotels

Whether you’re looking for a budget-friendly hotel that offers extras like complimentary breakfast or a high-end hotel that provides a level of service you won’t find just anywhere, sometimes off-site hotel stays are warranted. We’ve reviewed various off-site hotels near Disney World to provide our readers with various alternatives. We are exceptionally picky about where we stay, so all of our off-site hotel reviews are places that we would return to and feel are convenient to Disney World.

Learn More >> The Best Off-Site Hotels Close to Walt Disney World

More Planning

Are you planning a Walt Disney World vacation? You might benefit from some of our other popular planning resources. If so, sign up for our 5-lesson quick start course below.

Our Disney World Dining Handbook offers a complete overview of everything you need to know about dining upfront. It also links to guides that discuss the Disney Dining Plan, best dining spots, and subjects like character dining in more detail.

Our most popular guides fall under Disney World Transportation. We have a transportation guide for every resort hotel at Walt Disney World and extensive guides that discuss using the monorail, boats, buses, and the Disney Skyliner.

Lastly, if you’re hoping to meet characters at Disney World, we have you covered. We have photos of all the characters who meet regularly in the parks and a few rare ones! Or you might like to browse our Disney World Park Guide to learn more about what’s available in each of the four parks.