Great Disney Vacations

What are the various Walt Disney World resorts in Orlando?  How many of them are there?  What kinds of rates do they offer?  Where are they on the Disney World property?

Lots of questions there; let’s see if I can help answer them.  First I’ll cover costs, then where they are located.  By the time I’m done, you’ll see how many there are!

Walt Disney Resort Pricing

There are four main categories of Walt Disney World resorts in Orlando.  They are:

• Value:  Least expensive, can be under $100/night.
• Moderate:  A little more money, generally between $130-$200/night.
• Deluxe:  Luxury surroundings and prices, generally $250 and up a night.
• Vacation Club:  Priced in the Deluxe category, these are timeshares with sizes from studio to three bedroom villas.

So those are the pricing categories; now let’s see where they are located around Disney World!

Animal Kingdom:

These are the resorts located in the Animal Kingdom area, and their pricing category:

• All-Star Movies (Value)
• All-Star Music (Value)
• All-Star Sports (Value)
• Animal Kingdom Lodge (Deluxe)
• Coronado Springs (Moderate)
• Pop Century (Value)

Downtown Disney

These are the Walt Disney World resorts in Orlando that are near to Downtown Disney

• Old Key West (Vacation Club)
• Port Orleans, French Quarter (Moderate)
• Port Orleans, Riverside (Moderate)
• Saratoga Springs (Vacation Club)

EPCOT

Here are the EPCOT-area resorts; some are so close you can actually walk to EPCOT!

• Beach Club (Vacation Club)
• Boardwalk Inn (Vacation Club)
• Caribbean Beach (Moderate)
• Yacht Club (Deluxe)

Hollywood Studios

Alas, there aren’t really any resorts close to Hollywood Studios.

Magic Kingdom

Lots of resorts in this area!  They are both some of the oldest and the newest, and they are:

• Cabins at Fort Wilderness (Moderate)
• Contemporary (Deluxe)
• Grand Floridian (Deluxe)
• Polynesian (Deluxe)
• Wilderness Lodge (Deluxe)
• Wilderness Lodge Villas (Vacation Club)

One neat thing is that the Contemporary, Polynesian and Grand Floridian are right on the monorail loop to the Magic Kingdom and with a transfer, to EPCOT.  Can you say “convenient”

And Finally…

…there are three other resorts that are not traditional or in two cases, even Disney!

• Fort Wilderness Resort Campground (Magic Kingdom area, Value and below)
• The Swan (EPCOT area, roughly Moderate)
• The Dolphin (EPCOT area, roughly Moderate)

These final two, the Swan and Dolphin, are not actually owned by Disney World, although they are on Disney property.  But they do have the same resort benefits as do the “real” Disney resorts.

So there they are:  all the Walt Disney World resorts in Orlando!  To get more details on any or all of these resorts, check out the Walt DIsney World resort hotels page.

It’s tough to choose just one of these wonderful resorts for your Disney vacation.  Which one will you pick?

Getting Disney World resort discounts can sometimes be more of an art than a science.  But there is one thing for certain; to get the lowest room rates, you need to go during the Disney World “off season”.  And you’ll pay the most during the busiest Disney times.

Because the Disney resorts are immensely popular (and so very convenient), they rarely have much in the way of discounts, especially if you are booking last minute (within 2 weeks of your planned stay).  When it comes to last minute prices, the discounts tend to be on the more expensive suites that may have remained unbooked.

Disney World Resort Discounts and Time of Year

Here is a rough breakdown of the different rates you can expect at different times of the year at Walt Disney World in Orlando.  The seasons are listed from the least expensive to the most expensive:

• Value tends to be January 1 through the middle of February; the end of August through the beginning of October.  Also the first two weeks in December.
• Regular is generally the end of April through the end of August; from the beginning of October up through Thanksgiving.
• Peak is between the middle of February through the end of April.
• Holiday is between Christmas and New Year’s.

And the differences are fairly substantial; there can be a $60 difference for the same room, between the Value and Holiday rates.  Multiply that by the number of days you plan to stay, and it can eat up your cash faster.

You can sometimes find discounts online, from travel brokers.  Since the cost for a quote is free, it may make sense to check around.  But don’t expect there to be a large discount (although any discount is good).

There are also a few other “secret” discounts you can read about in the ebook The Ultimate Walt Disney World Savings Guide.  I bought the ebook, have used it, have saved money and recommend it.

Florida residents are eligible for an additional discount but you have to call Disney directly, and call at least 4 months in advance.  They only reserve a few discounted rooms for us Floridians.

There you have it — the Disney World resort discounts!

There’s actually more than one Disney All-Star resort — there are three (or four, depending on how you count them).  They are all Disney value resorts, which means they have the lowest room prices of all the resorts on the Walt Disney World property.

So what are these Disney All-Star resorts?  Let’s take a look.

All-Star Movie

The Disney All-Star Movie resort has a total of 1,920 guest rooms, so it’s large and spread out.  And as you might guess, Disney movies is the theme!  You’ll see more-than-life-size figures from Toy Story, 101 Dalmations and more.

The Disney All-Star Movie resort is located near the Animal Kingdom theme park.

You can check out this link for more information about the All-Star Movie resort.

All-Star Music

This resort is just as large, with 1,920 guest rooms plus 56 family suites.  The suites are great when you have more than four people traveling together (as Disney allows only 4 people per room).  But if you want one of the suites, plan to book way ahead of time, as they are very popular.

Music is the theme here, with calypso, jazz, country, rock and broadway are all represented here.  This resort is also located in the Animal Kingdom area.

Here’s more information on the All-Star Music resort.

All-Star Sports

This lively resort hotel at Disney offers sports (naturally) for its theme.  Consider surfing, football (American), baseball, basketball and tennis for the various rooms and buildings.  Yes, this resort also has 1,920 rooms and is also located in the Animal Kingdom area.

Here’s lots more information about the All-Star Sports resort at Disney World.

Pop Century Resort

OK, it’s not really a Disney All-Star resort, but it is a value resort, the same as the All-Stars.  And it does have similar amenities, rooms, etc.  The Pop Century celebrates some of the icons of our culture — Play Doh, Walkmans and Big Wheels to name three.  This is the largest of the value properties, with 2,800 guest rooms (whew!).  That means you can expect lines, and that the property is very spread out.

I’ve got more information for you on the Pop Century resort.

The Disney All-Star Resort

There they all, all the value resorts!  As you can probably guess, because they have the lowest prices, they are also the first to book up.  Plan on booking a few months ahead of time, especially if you plan to visit during the busy season.

Enjoy your stay at a Disney All-Star resort!