Disney Trip Planning: When to Go and Where to Stay- Part 1 of My Ultimate Disney Guide

I am a self proclaimed Disney addict. In the last 3 years my family has gone to Walt Disney World 5 times. Friends often ask for help planning their own vacations. From where to stay, how long to go, and even how to plan each day. I’m going to break down my ultimate Disney planning strategy into a short 4 part series so you too can plan like a pro.

This first post is going to be dedicated to the where and when. If you have children in school their break schedule may dictate when you’re able to go based on their breaks and if they’re able to miss any classes. My personal favorite time of the year to go is the fall but more specifically, October. 

1. Holiday weekends are always busy at Disney. September is usually the quietest month, followed by beginning to mid December and the week before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving and Christmas through New Years are extremely busy and I don’t recommend going then unless that is the only time you can go. Mid January is also a great time to go although lots of rides go down for refurbishment during this time and it can be a little cold, especially in the morning. 

2. Once you pinpoint the time you want to go, the next choice is what resort and for how long. I like to go for at least a week. I would love to go for 10 days but my family needs 2 rooms and that can get quite expensive. I usually like to go to Magic Kingdom for 2 days, EPCOT for 2 days (especially during festivals), and 1 day each for Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. I like to have one extra day to revisit my favorite park/rides or to do some extra shopping. Budget plays a big part of the length of your trip and what resort you choose. 

3. Next is whether to stay on or off Disney property. I always prefer to stay on property. The perks for me are worth the difference in price. Staying on Disney property gives you round trip transportation to and from the airport (they even collect and deliver your bags as long as you’re not on a red eye), magic bands with the ability to charge and deliver things to your room, extra magic hours at the theme parks, and a 60 day window for fast pass reservation (only 30 days if you stay off property). 

The resorts are value (from $120), moderate (from $240), and deluxe (from $380). I usually stay moderate or above unless we’re doing a budget trip. Value resorts do not have table service restaurants, only food courts (though some of the food options are still great). Amenities are also more basic. Moderate resorts often have better locations, food options, and amenities when compared to value resorts. Deluxe resorts are the best of the best and considered Disney’s high end resorts with the best locations, food, and amenities. We’re going to focus on mostly deluxe resorts for this post.

View of Wilderness Lodge from the Copper Creek

I’m going to further break down the Disney hotels into 4 locations. Magic Kingdom area, EPCOT area, Disney Springs area, and Animal Kingdom area. I prefer to stay at EPCOT area resorts followed  second by Magic Kingdom area resorts. 

EPCOT Area Hotels

To me, EPCOT area is the most centrally located to all of the other parks. My favorite EPCOT area hotel is the Boardwalk Inn which is located right next to the Yacht and Beach Club. Both are within walking distance to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. The walk to EPCOT from both resorts is approximately 5 minutes or less while the walk to Hollywood Studios is about 15 minutes. Both hotels have boat service to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios while they use buses to the other parks.

Photo of Boardwalk Inn Hotel courtesy of Walt Disney World

The Boardwalk Inn doesn’t have a true restaurants within the hotel, but all the eateries on the boardwalk are right outside your door. They also have a clown themed pool which freaks some people out, but I didn’t mind it. Where else could you take a water slide that shoots you out of a clowns mouth?

The Beach and Yacht Club have a bunch of restaurants and quick service food options as well as an AMAZING pool. Beaches and Cream is a great place to eat and get ice cream, Cape May Cafe is a great seafood buffet, and there are many other great places to eat. That being said, I prefer the theming of the Boardwalk over Beach and Yacht Club since the latter felt a little cold to me the last time I visited. 

Magic Kingdom Area Hotels

The Magic Kingdom area hotels that I recommend are Polynesian, the Contemporary/Bay Lake Tower, Wilderness Lodge, and Grand Floridian. These are the most expensive hotels due to their proximity to Magic Kingdom park. Poly, Contemporary/BLT, and GF are all on the monorail loop with access to EPCOT (via a transfer at transportation and ticket center), and Magic Kingdom. Wilderness Lodge has a boat to Magic Kingdom and buses to the rest of the parks. 

The Polynesian has great theming (hello volcano pool!), restaurants (O’hana, Kona Cafe, and great quick service too), and snacks/bar options (Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, Pineapple Lanai, shaved ice). There are too many good things to list about this resort. 

Photo of Polynesian Hotel courtesy of Walt Disney World

The Contemporary/BLT is great because Magic Kingdom is about a 7 minute walk away and it’s also on the monorail loop. It has many great restaurant options (California Grill is amazing!), shopping, and views of Magic Kingdom fireworks. 

Photo of the Contemporary Hotel courtesy of Walt Disney World

The Grand Floridian is the crown jewel of the Disney hotels. Although I haven’t stayed here yet, we’ve spent a good chunk of the day eating, shopping, and browsing around this hotel. It’s gorgeous and has some of the best food options on Disney property, Victoria and Alberts is what fine dining dreams are made of. Every detail of this resort is thoughtful and well planned out, truly beautiful.

Photo of Grand Floridian Hotel courtesy of Walt Disney World

The Wilderness Lodge is a great place to stay, especially during the holidays. The resort is fairly large and if you have a far room can be a lot of walking. I request one close to the lobby so this is less of an issue after a long park day. The pool areas are beautiful and the food options are plentiful. You can eat a delicious meal with Snow White, Grumpy, and Dopey or grab a gourmet meal at Geyser Point near the pool.

Photo of Wilderness Lodge courtesy of Walt Disney World

Animal Kingdom Area Hotels

The Animal Kingdom Lodge is very close to Animal Kingdom park but you cannot walk there and it’s pretty far from most of the other parks. The perk here is good pricing, the safari animals, and some great restaurants (Boma and Jiko have cult followings). This resort is great if you have a day off from the parks and want to lay around the pool or even do a resort or animal tour. 

Photo of Animal Kingdom Lodge lobby courtesy of Walt Disney World

I don’t my really have much of an interest in Disney Springs area hotels because most are large with internal bus systems (takes forever to just get out of the resort) or good neighbor hotels (not the same perks as Disney hotels).

Another great hotel is Pop Century which, although it is a value resort, has great food and transportation options (on the skyliner system). The rooms have been newly renovated and feature a fold away table bed which folds away during the day for extra room. We stayed here on one of our recent trips and we were very happy with our stay.

You can book rooms directly through Disney or rent Vacation Club rooms through a third party company. I used DVC Rental Store for my last trip and it couldn't have been easier. With renting you get steep discounts on deluxe resort stays, but that is only if they can match your request to a member wishing to rent out their points. We did this on our last trip and stayed at the boardwalk for about $275 per night. Disney’s rack rate for the same room was over $550 so the savings really add up. When we put in a rental request we usually book a moderate resort as a back up in case our request can’t be filled.

If you rent points you can get deluxe rooms at moderate prices so I usually rent. I’m not going to dive much deeper into the moderate resorts but if you have any questions about the moderate resorts or any of the deluxe options  drop a comment and let me know!

Let me know what Disney World hotels are your favorite and where you love to stay in the comments!

Have a magical day!