Disney World Villa Resorts, The Complete Guide

Are you looking for a Disney World Resort that provides plenty of space to spread out on your vacation? Disney World’s Villa Resorts offer a variety of different room types that are not typical hotel rooms.

This article will look at the Disney World Villa Resorts in detail. We’ll preview a list of the villa resorts and the different room types offered at each one.

In addition, I’ve ranked the options in order of the best Disney World Villa to our least favorite. But, honestly, it’s hard to go wrong with anyone you choose. They are all excellent options.

The Disney World Villa Resorts, are all part of the Disney Vacation Club. These resorts are considered part of the deluxe resort category. However, they are separately classified as deluxe villa resorts due to their unique accommodations.

Most of these Disney Vacation Club Resorts are located within a larger Disney deluxe resort hotel. For instance, Beach Club Villas are part of Disney’s Beach Club Resort.

However, a few of the villas are independent Disney Vacation Club Resorts. For example, Disney’s Riviera Resort is a dedicated DVC Resort.

To clarify, the Disney Vacation Club is a private timeshare membership where members use points to reserve rooms. Members will get first-come, first-serve when reservations open up.

However, Disney rents villas to regular guests based on availability. An authorized Disney travel agent can make this type of reservation for you. Points are converted to cash rates for regular guests.

This article was updated on March 6, 2022.

Disney World Villa Resorts List

Before we get into our overview, I’ve put together a list of every Disney World Villa Resort available by location.

Magic Kingdom Resorts Area

Disney’s Grand Floridian Villas
Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows
Bay Lake Tower
Disney’s Copper Creek Villas and Cabins
Disney’s Boulder Ridge Villas

Epcot Resorts Area

Disney’s Beach Club Villas
Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
Disney’s Riviera Resort

Animal Kingdom Resorts Area

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas-Jambo House
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas-Kidani Village

Disney Springs Resort Area

Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

For a list of the other category resorts, you can refer to these articles:

Next, we’ll preview the different types of rooms you’ll run into at each villa resort.

Accommodations at the Disney World Villa Resorts

Each Disney World Villa Resort offers a variety of room types that differ from standard hotel accommodations. The most popular of these room types are the deluxe studio villas.

Deluxe studios are popular because they sleep up to five guests. However, some only sleep four guests.

Each deluxe studio villa comes with a kitchenette, mini-fridge, a sink, and a few small appliances.

Like most things, there’s always an exception. In March of 2022, Disney began construction on new resort studios at the Grand Floridian.

Per Disney’s announcement, the new resort studios at Grand Floridian will have a beverage center with a beverage cooler and coffee maker. It is unclear whether or not existing studios will receive these same downgrades.

Don’t get me wrong, the studios appear beautiful in Disney’s initial renderings here. But having a kitchenette is the reason most guests reserve these rooms in the first place.

Disney’s standard rooms offer a beverage cooler and a coffee maker. So we’ll have to preview the differences when the refurbishment is complete.

Deluxe studio villas usually consist of a queen-size bed, a queen-size sofa sleeper, and often a small pull-down trundle bed. Most of the newer studios have a Murphy bed that pulls down from the wall.

If you’re looking for villa accommodations for a larger group or more space, then you might consider one of these other options.

One-Bedroom Villa
Two-Bedroom Villa
Three-Bedroom Grand Villa

These will vary in points and prices depending on which resort you choose and if you upgrade your room view.

All one-bedroom and larger villas offer a full kitchen with an island. Additionally, there’s a washer and dryer in those same units.

Guests staying in a deluxe studio will have access to the villa laundry room at the resort. There is no charge for villa resort guests to use the laundry room. You’ll just want to make sure to use the dedicated villa laundry room.

Generally, a one-bedroom sleeps four to five guests, a two-bedroom sleeps up to eight guests, and a three-bedroom grand villa often accommodates twelve guests.

As always, there are a few nuances here and there, depending on which resort you’re considering.

Lastly, the infamous grand villa offers three bedrooms, three full baths, a dining area, and a full kitchen with an island. The sky is pretty much the limit when you get to the grand villa category.

Villa Resort Benefits

Guests staying at any Disney resort will have access to early theme park benefits in 2022. Early theme park benefits allow guests to enter the theme parks 30 minutes before park opening time.

This benefit is available daily at every theme park. Therefore if you’re staying at a villa resort, you’ll have early access to the parks.

While this might not sound like a huge benefit, you’ll likely have time to ride a headliner attraction in the park first thing if you plan well. And you could have time to get in line for a second attraction before off-property guests can enter the park.

Additionally, guests staying at deluxe and deluxe villa resorts have access to extended park hours on select nights. You can preview the schedule and attractions available here on Disney’s site.

Best Disney World Villa Resorts

Below I’ve ranked each villa from our least favorite to our top choice for best Disney World Villa Resort.

When taking these options into consideration, I ranked them based on several factors. Those factors include dining, transportation, recreation, and amenities.

So let’s take a look at each Disney World Villa resort to see which one might work best for your family.

#12 Disney’s Boulder Ridge Villas

Boulder Ridge Villas is the original Disney Vacation Club at the Wilderness Lodge Resort. This villa resort is located in its own wing that sits between the bus stop and the main lobby.

Boulder Ride offers the following different room types:

Deluxe Studio
One-Bedroom Villa
Two-Bedroom Villa
Two-Bedroom Villa with lock-off

For those of you wondering, a lock-off villa combines a one-bedroom villa and a deluxe studio. When the units are being used separately, the door between them is locked.

I chose Boulder Ridge Villas last when ranking the villas because the rooms are a bit dated. However, the Wilderness Lodge is an excellent resort. So don’t let this ranking discourage you from planning a stay.

Since the Wilderness Lodge offers two Disney Vacation Clubs, expect to see it again further down this list.

#11 Disney’s Old Key West Resort

Disney’s Old Key West is one of a few dedicated Disney Vacation Club Resorts. Additionally, it is the original DVC Resort, making it the oldest.

With that being said, this resort gets rave reviews, especially from the owners. Here are the room types offered:

Deluxe Studio
One-Bedroom Villa
Two-Bedroom Villa
Two-Bedroom Villa with Lockoff
Three-Bedroom Grand Villa

Like its name, Old Key West is designed to represent the best of the Florida Keys. The resort also has a wonderful dining location, Olivia’s Cafe, that I consider a bit of a hidden gem.

Unfortunately, this is the only villa resort I’ve yet to stay at on vacation. Hopefully, we’ll get over that way for a stay soon!

#10 Disney’s Boardwalk Villas

Over the years, I’ve spent plenty of time at Disney’s Boardwalk. In fact, it was the first villa resort that I stayed at many years ago.

The Boardwalk Villas are charming and there’s plenty to do at the resort. However, the major advantage here is that the resort is located within walking distance to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Here are the different villas offered at the resort:

Deluxe Studio
One-Bedroom Villa
Two-Bedroom Villa
Three-Bedroom Grand Villa

It was tough ranking this resort toward the bottom of the list. But ultimately, the lack of updates and quick service dining at the resort were the deciding factors.

#9 Disney’s Beach Club Villas

If you’ve been around Resorts Gal before, you know that Beach Club is my favorite place to stay at Walt Disney World. So it may surprise you that the Beach Club Villas are ranked lower than the resort.

As much as I love to stay here, the deluxe studio has an uncomfortable sofa sleeper. It was so uncomfortable that I’d choose a standard resort room over the studio in the future.

However, you can’t beat the walkability to two parks and the surrounding Epcot Resorts Area. Unfortunately, like Boardwalk, counter service options are lacking in the immediate area.

For those of you who will spend a good deal of time at the pool, you’ll still want to consider a stay here. Disney’s Beach Club is home to Stormalong Bay, which ranks at the top of our best pools at Disney World list.

# 8 Bay Lake Tower

Of the villa resorts I’ve stayed at to date, Bay Lake Tower was the one I found somewhat disappointing. While I love the tower, the deluxe studio has an odd layout that makes the room feel smaller than most comparable rooms.

Now, if you’re planning to spend a good deal of time at Magic Kingdom and need a larger space, the other villas here are outstanding.

Options at Bay Lake Tower include:

Deluxe Studio
One-Bedroom Villa
Two-Bedroom Villa (and lock-off)
Three-Bedroom Villa

You can learn more about this resort in our full review. Make sure to check out the two-bedroom villa article below if you are looking for something larger, that’s close to Magic Kingdom.

#7 Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa is one of the largest resorts at Disney World. Additionally, it’s another one of the dedicated Disney Vacation Club Resorts.

This resort comes in as our seventh choice for location and proximity to Disney Springs.

You can walk or boat over to Disney Springs from Saratoga, making this resort an excellent option for foodies. Disney Springs has a ton of excellent dining options.

Saratoga Springs recently underwent an entire resort refurbishment, and the rooms look fabulous!

Since the refurbishment, we stayed at Saratoga Springs in one of the new deluxe studios and loved the updates. Murphy beds replace the old sofa sleepers, making a more comfortable sleeping situation for all!

#6 Disney’s Copper Creek Villas and Cabins

Copper Creek Villas is one of the newer vacation club properties at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Similar to the bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian, this villa resort has cabins available for rent. The cabins at Copper Creek are waterfront with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a porch with its own private hot tub.

Talk about a bucket-list trip. Unfortunately, they do come with a high price tag.

With that being said, we’ve stayed in the deluxe studio at Copper Creek several times since the resort opened. Other than the sofa sleeper, we love the resort and the layout of the rooms.

Related: Copper Creek Villas Review

#5 Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas-Jambo House

Our next choice for best Disney World Villa Resort is the Jambo House portion of the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas. Jambo House is located in the main part of Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Unlike most resorts, you won’t realize you’re staying in a separate DVC wing here. Instead, you’ll feel like you are staying in a regular deluxe resort, only the room will be different.

Here are the villas available:

Value Studio
Deluxe Studio
One-Bedroom Villa
Two-Bedroom Villa (and lock-off)
Three-Bedroom Villa

Additionally, the deluxe studio or larger units have a separate category booking that includes access to the Kilimanjaro Club Level at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Club level is a private floor that offers concierge services and a lounge that’s open throughout most of the day. Services at the lounge include continental beverages, light snacks, hors-d’oeuvres, and desserts with cordials.

I ranked this resort within the top five, mainly because I struggled with where to put it on the list. You see, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge ranks as our top choice for the best deluxe resort at Disney World.

So I wouldn’t necessarily think that the following resorts are any better. The only hesitation here is that the deluxe studios offer a sleeper sofa, which is a deal-breaker for me.

#4 Disney’s Grand Floridian Villas

When it came down to these top four villa resorts, how to rank them became even more difficult. The villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian are a fantastic choice!

If you’ve always dreamed of staying at the Grand Floridian, I recommend trying out the villas. On our last stay, our deluxe studio faced out to the monorail.

Needless to say, I spent a good deal of time relaxing on the balcony during this trip. The villas at Grand Floridian are located in a large building.

There’s a covered walkway from the villas to the main lobby, which is not offered at any of the other buildings at the resort. So, if it’s raining, you can walk over to the lobby and won’t have to worry about getting drenched.

Additionally, the building sits on the side of the resort nearest the Polynesian. Therefore, you can walk over to the Polynesian Resort in less than 10 minutes!

And lastly, we love the layout of the guest bath in the deluxe studio villas here. The studio has a split bath that offers a shower on one side and a tub with a shower combination on the opposite side.

The only downside is that the older villas have a sofa bed. We’ll see what updates these units receive in the coming year.

#3 Disney’s Animal Kindom Villas-Kidani Village

I hope you didn’t think that the Animal Kingdom Lodge didn’t make it into the top three of our list of the best Disney World Villa Resorts. Since there are two villa resorts at the Lodge, I felt one had the edge over the other.

Kidani Village, a separate resort on the Animal Kingdom Lodge property, is a dedicated DVC Resort. Guests get the best of both worlds when staying here.

You’ll have access to all the amenities at Kidani Village. And you can walk up to the Lodge and enjoy the amenities there.

Kidani is a beautiful resort that is more boutique in size when it comes to the lobby area. However, don’t let the size fool you. The resort is massive.

So you could have a walk down a long hallway to your room. But at least it will be air-conditioned.

Additionally, Kidani is home to one of our top choices for best table service restaurants at Disney World, Sanaa. So whether you’re staying there or not, I highly recommend planning a meal at Sanaa to enjoy their bread service.

Related: Sanaa Review

The other reason Kidani Village came in so high is because of their pool area. The Samawati Springs Pool has one of the top water play areas for children. And the entire area provides an amazing place for parents to relax!

And let’s not forget the obvious, Kidani Village provides the opportunity to see animals on the savanna as you come and go each day. What other hotel has that?

#2 Disney’s Polynesian Villas Resort

If you haven’t heard, the Polynesian recently came out of a lengthy resort refurbishment, and the new rooms are fabulous. We recently toured the new deluxe studio, and it quickly became a favorite due to the new layout.

These rooms are similar to the deluxe studio at the Grand Floridian Villas. However, they have a pull-down Murphy bed instead of a sofa bed.

DVC Deluxe Studio at Disney's Polynesian

Disney’s Polynesian is a resort that promotes peace and relaxation. So if you’re looking for a tropical get-a-way, you’ve found it.

Since the resort is so close to Magic Kingdom, you can easily escape back to the comforts of the Polynesian when crowds get too heavy.

It’s hard to go wrong here between the Dole Whips, serene beaches, and the stunning landscape.

#1 Disney’s Riviera Resort

Finally, we’ve made it to our choice for the best Disney World Villa Resort. It’s none other than Disney’s Riviera Resort.

Riviera is Disney’s newest dedicated DVC Resort. The resort is considered part of the Epcot Resorts Area and is only a Skyliner ride away from Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

At Disney’s Riviera, you can expect a blend of French and Italian influences with a Mediterranean flair. This resort is stunning and provides a luxurious feel that you won’t find just anywhere.

Did I mention the food options here were phenomenal? Since the Riviera opened, we find ourselves continually going back for dining.

Between the character breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace and the quick service at Primo Piatto, all of the food options are excellent.

For more information, try the following related articles:

Final Thoughts on the Disney World Villa Resorts

Hopefully, this article provided you with a complete overview of the villa resorts at Disney World. I have found that when I stay in a standard room, I miss the amenities offered in a deluxe studio.

However, the villa resorts often cost more, so you’ll want to weigh the value of those amenities in comparison to the price of a regular room.

For example, if you prepare breakfast in your room each morning, it might make up for the price difference. But you’ll need to account for the cost of groceries.

Personally, I love being able to order pizza or reheat leftovers.

But if this is your one big trip to Disney or your only vacation for the year, you might not want to bother with preparing food in your room. If that’s the case, a deluxe studio might not be necessary.

However, it is nice to have one of the units with a split bathroom so that multiple guests can get ready simultaneously. You won’t find that in a standard room.

Overall, if you’re looking to accommodate a larger than average party or just need a few extras in the room, it’s hard to go wrong with the Disney World Villa Resorts.

For more information you can browse our list of the Disney World Resorts. Or you might enjoy the following vacation planning articles:

In the comments: Which of these Disney World Villa Resorts sound like the best option to you? Is there a particular studio or villa that sounds like the perfect fit?