It doesn’t take long when you’re planning a trip to Orlando to come across information that mentions the benefits or the “perks” you receive when staying on-site at Disney World.
While some benefits may provide varying levels of convenience, others can be the difference between being able to snag a coveted Advanced Dining Reservation or not.
Since every trip is different, it is important to understand exactly what the benefits are so that you can determine if the on-site benefits outweigh the cost of staying on Disney property vs. staying off-site at a less expensive option.
Let’s take a look…
In this article (click for table of contents)
UPDATE: Some benefits unavailable
Disney has announced that some of these benefits will not be available during the initial reopening of Walt Disney World.
This includes:
- FastPass+ – FastPass+ is not being offered at all at this time. No word yet on whether or not it will return.
- 180 +10 day dining reservations – All guests (on-site and off-site) now have access to dining reservations 60 days in advance instead of the previous 180 days.
- Luggage Service with Magical Express – Magical Express is being discontinued; however, it will be available until January 1, 2022. Currently, guests using ME will need to pick up their luggage at the airport and carry it on the bus themselves, and guests will need to carry their own luggage back to the airport. There are no luggage services currently offered.
- Disney Dining Plan – The Disney Dining Plan is not being offered at all at this time. We do, however, think this perk will eventually return.
- Extra Magic Hours – Extra Magic Hours have been discontinued and replaced with “Early Theme Park Entry” at some date in the future.
Dining reservations at 60+10 days out
All guests visiting the Walt Disney Resort can make dining reservations at 60 days out.
But…
…guests staying on-site have the advantage of being able to make reservations at 60 days for up to 10 additional days.
For most visitors, that additional 10 days will cover their entire trip.
Value of this benefit:
This perk can be very beneficial if you’re hoping to snag some of the most coveted reservations.
Since on-site guests are making reservations 60+10 days into the future, some of the most popular reservations, like dinner at Be Our Guest or the Chef’s Table at Victoria and Albert’s, will not be available at 60 days since on-site guests have a 10-day head start.
Plus, this also means that as long as your trip isn’t longer than 11 days, you’ll only have to wake up early once to make dining reservations, and can you really put a value on added sleep?!
Off-site alternative:
Guests staying off-site make their dining reservations 1 day at a time, exactly 60 days out from the day they’d like their reservations, for each day of their trip.
Learn more:
Tips for eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant
How to snag hard to get dining reservations
Free transportation between the airport and your resort
Note: Disney has announced that this perk will be phased out beginning January 1, 2022.
Also, at this time, luggage service is not available.
Disney offers a complimentary airport transfer service called Magical Express to all of its resort guests.
Before the shutdown, this perk would have Disney not only pick you up at the airport and drop you off at your resort…
…but they also used to retrieve your bags and deliver those to your room for you, as well.
Then, when it was time to go home, instead of hauling your luggage yourself, you used to actually be able to check your bags at the resort and use the free Magical Express for your return to the airport.
However, since the reopening, all luggage service (including Resort Airline Check-in) has been suspended. You must pick up and take your luggage with you both to and from your resort.
Value of this benefit:
If you are traveling with small children, Magical Express can still be a lifesaver, even without the luggage service.
It is also handy if you prefer not to drive or want to save money and not rent a car or car service.
The downside to Magical Express is that in some instances, it can take some time for your bus to depart the airport, and it will take several hours for your bags to arrive in your room.
Off-site alternative:
Staying offsite?
You can check to see if your resort offers an airport shuttle, or you can rent a car, use a car service, or a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft.
Learn more:
How Magical Express works
Comparing pickup options from Orlando Airport
Free theme-park parking and complimentary transportation between resorts and parks
If you stay on-site at Disney World and decide to drive to the parks, parking is free.
If you prefer to let Disney do the driving, depending on where you are coming from and where you are headed, you will have the option of using buses, watercraft, the Disney Skyliner (gondolas), or the monorail to get around.
Value of this benefit:
Obviously, saving $25/day for parking at the parks is a nice perk.
In addition to the savings on parking, though, staying on-site and having access to Disney transportation to transport you from your resort to the parks has additional non-monetary value, such as making it easier for groups to split up without worrying about dropping members of their party off and picking them up.
One downside to having your car on property, however, is that as of March 2018, on-site resort guests have to pay to park at the resorts:
- Disney Value Resorts: $15 per night
- Disney Moderate Resorts: $20 per night
- Disney Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts: $25 per night
Off-site alternative:
Off-site guests pay $25/day to park at all 4 of the major parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios).
Parking at Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and self-parking at Disney Springs is free.
If you have a meal scheduled at one of the resorts, you can park there for free as well.
Off-site guests also have access to all of Disney’s transportation (buses, watercraft, Skyliner, and monorail) for free once on property, so if you want to Park Hop, you’ll be able to do that without having to move your car from one park to another.
Learn more:
How to navigate with Disney World transportation
Parking at Disney World
Early Theme Park Entry (coming soon)
Disney has announced that while Extra Magic Hours are no more, they will be replacing them with a similar experience called “Early Theme Park Entry.”
Early Theme Park Entry will work similarly to Extra Magic Hours, only instead of only being offered at 1 park per day in either the morning or night, it will be available at every park and will allow onsite guests to enter the park 30 minutes early.
Value of this benefit:
We very rarely recommended Extra Magic Hours because of how they drove crowds to a park. But, we feel the opposite way about the new Early Theme Park Entry.
We don’t know much about it right now, but the simple fact that it will be available at all 4 parks means that we aren’t going to see the same crowd issues we used to with the old system.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a start date yet. Stay tuned!
Off-site alternative:
At this time, there are no free alternatives for guests staying offsite. Disney used to have paid ticketed events that allowed for early entry. However, those have not returned since the reopening.
Learn more
Guide to Early Theme Park Entry
Resort room charging privileges
Disney offers handy room charging privileges for guests of its resorts.
This means that you can charge your purchase back to your room while shopping and dining at most places on property.
To make it even easier, the same MagicBand or Key to the World card (which is basically your hotel room key) that gets you into the parks is what you use.
It is important to note that when you check-in to your resort room, a hold for the amount due at check-in plus $100 for incidental expenses will be placed on the credit card you have associated with your room.
As you charge items back to your room, if your balance exceeds the initial $100 being held, additional $100 holds will be placed on the credit card incrementally.
The credit card hold should not exceed what you currently owe plus an additional $100, although sometimes the holds can take a while to “fall off.”
Value of this benefit:
The main benefit of this perk is simply added convenience.
It can be pretty darn easy (maybe TOO easy) to just scan your MagicBand instead of having to dig for your wallet.
Off-site alternative:
Unfortunately, if you are staying offsite, there isn’t any alternative.
Since charges are going towards an account associated with your resort room and not immediately to your credit card, even if you purchase a MagicBand or bring one from a previous trip, etc., it will not work.
Only on-site guests have this perk.
Being inside the “Disney bubble”
Many Disney World fans refer to the idea of staying on property as being inside the “Disney bubble.”
It means immersing yourself in all things Disney, from staying on-site to dining on-site to playing on-site.
Value of this benefit:
It depends on what your expectations are for your trip.
Do you want to immerse yourself in all things Disney and Disney World, or do you just want to go to the parks and relax at a resort off-site?
Do you want to step off your plane onto Magical Express and never get behind the wheel of a car during your vacation, or do you prefer to drive yourself around?
The value of being in the Disney bubble is different for everybody and may even change from trip to trip.
Off-site alternative:
You are either in the Disney bubble or off-property. However, there are many lovely off-site resorts, hotels, and private villa rentals that can provide a fabulous “less Disney” experience, especially if the idea of being on Disney property 24/7 sounds overwhelming for you.
Location & staying on-site at Disney World
Like in real estate, many people feel like one of the best perks of staying on-site at Disney World is location, location, location.
Depending on which resort you choose, you may find yourself able to walk to a Disney park – something you can’t do if you stay offsite.
Value of this benefit:
Many families with little ones find the convenience of walking or hopping a boat (or bus gondola or monorail) to their favorite park worth the extra cost associated with staying at a Disney resort.
If you know you’re going to spend most of your trip in the Magic Kingdom, for example, staying at one of the resorts located on the monorail makes a lot of sense.
Off-site alternative:
There are several hotels, including some in Disney Springs, that, even though not as close as staying on-site, are still very convenient (and often less expensive).
If you do stay offsite, though, you should definitely plan on having a car (so factor that into your cost) since the shuttles advertised often run on inconvenient schedules that may impact your touring plans.
Learn more:
Perks that are suspended or no longer offered
After the parks reopened, some of the previously offered perks have not returned, and Disney has also announced that there are a few things that are gone for good.
Resort Package Pick-Up
(temporarily unavailable)
If you plan on doing a lot of shopping, the thought of hauling your purchases around the parks may not sound like fun.
For resort guests, Disney has an option to have purchases delivered back to your resort gift shop, where you can retrieve them the following day.
Value of this benefit:
If you like to shop, plan to purchase something bulky or hard to carry, or just don’t want to schlep stuff through the park and back to your resort, this can be a nice way to avoid all of that.
Off-site alternative:
While not as convenient as having your packages delivered to your resort, both on-site and off-site guests can take advantage of Package Pick up in the parks, which is where your packages are delivered to a designated pick up area at the front of the parks (Epcot has a second location at the International Gateway) so that you can retrieve them after your visit that day.
Another option for both on-site and off-site guests is Home Delivery, which is exactly what it sounds like – having your purchases shipped home (for a fee).
Note: If you wish to utilize any of these 3 services, you should let the cashier know before they ring you up.
Disney Dining Plan
(temporarily unavailable)
Guests staying at one of the Disney resorts are eligible to purchase the Disney Dining Plan.
The Disney Dining Plan is a prepaid meal option that allows guests to purchase credits that they can then redeem for meals and snacks.
The cost of the plan and the number of credits depend upon the Dining Plan purchased.
Value of this benefit:
For people that are looking for a vacation with that all-inclusive feel, staying on-site, and using the Disney Dining Plan is the only way to accomplish that.
The Dining Plan may save you some money (if you maximize your credits), but many guests will tell you the real value comes from knowing most of the major expenses for their trip are paid for ahead of time.
Off-site alternative:
Staying offsite? Unfortunately, there aren’t any Dining Plan options for offsite guests.
Learn more:
About the Disney Dining Plan (and how to get it for free)
Best Disney Dining Plan values
Free MagicBands
(no longer offered)
Note: Complimentary magic bands are longer being offered. Instead, the My Disney Experience app will be updated to include the functionality that the MagicBand currently provides. Guests that would like to continue to use MagicBands will still have the opportunity to purchase discounted bands with their on-site resort reservations, and MagicBands will continue to be sold at retail locations and on the shopDisney.com website.
MagicBands are colorful plastic bracelets (about the size of some fitness bands) that can be used as your ticket media to enter the parks, for your FastPass+ reservations, and for PhotoPass.
If you stay on-site at Disney World, your MagicBand will also be used as your room key, to charge items back to your room, and to redeem Disney Dining Plan credits (if you are using the Disney Dining Plan).
Every person in your room can customize their bands by choosing the color and what name or word they’d like printed on the inside.
Although they used to be free if you want one they now cost $5 per band (which is discounted from the full price you’d pay if staying offsite).
You can also upgrade your MagicBand at a reduced rate.
Value of this benefit:
Since MagicBands aren’t mandatory to have fun at Disney World, the value of this perk is more one of convenience; no digging through bags to find your room key or your PhotoPass card – it’s all right there on your wrist.
If you plan to purchase Memory Maker, having a MagicBand means you’ll not only get the ride photos, but you’ll also get the ride videos too.
Off-site alternative:
If you stay off-site, you can still get MagicBands if you prefer to use them versus a regular ticket, but you’ll pay for each band, and you won’t be able to have a name or word printed on the inside (although there are locations on-property where you can have your name printed on the outside).
You can buy them in the online Disney Store (if you want to purchase one before you arrive), or you can purchase them at most stores on property.
Learn More:
How MagicBands work
How Memory Maker works
FastPass+ reservations at 60 days
(currently unavailable, no word on if it will return)
One of the biggest perks (if not THE biggest perk) to staying on-site is the ability to make FastPass+ reservations for your entire trip at 60 days out.
Value of this benefit:
Some FastPass+ reservations, like Flights of Passage, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Slinky Dog Dash, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and Frozen Ever After, go very, very quickly and have very limited availability (or are simply not available at all!) at the 30-day mark.
If you want to avoid the standby line for the most popular attractions, you’ll definitely want to snag a FastPass+ for it.
And, the best way to increase your chances of snagging something (without paying anything extra) is by booking at 60 days out.
Want to increase your likelihood of getting hard-to-get FastPasses even more?
Only onsite guests that stay in Club Level access rooms can opt to purchase additional FastPasses.
And the best thing about these FastPasses?
You can actually book them 90 days from your checkout date.
Doing that pretty much guarantees you’ll be able to get everything you want.
Off-site alternative:
Offsite guests have a real disadvantage when it comes to the most popular FastPass+ options.
Guests staying off-site make their FastPass+ reservations at 30 days out, 1 day at a time, for each day of their trip.
That means if your trip is 7 days long, you’ll have to wake up early, exactly 30 days out, for each of the days you want to book FastPasses.
Learn more:
How to get difficult FastPass+ reservations
Disney World touring plans
What is Disney Club Level?
Extra Magic Hours
(no longer offered; replaced with Early Theme Park Entry)
Extra Magic Hours were bonus hours where a park opened either 1 hour early or stays open 2 hours later.
Only on-site guests were eligible to attend Extra Magic Hours.
Value of this benefit:
Although on the surface Extra Magic Hours may have seemed like a great deal, the park hosting the Extra Magic Hours were generally the most crowded for the day and were, in most cases, not recommended by WDW Prep School.
An exception to this would have been if you attended the Morning Extra Magic Hours in one park and then hopped to a different park when the crowds picked up.
Off-site alternative:
There were no free alternatives for guests staying offsite, but Magic Kingdom used to have a specially ticketed event called Early Morning Magic, where guests could enjoy nearly all of the attractions in Fantasyland before the park opens to all guests. This event has not returned since the reopening, either.
Note: Hollywood Studios used to offer a similar event but dates for that one haven’t been scheduled since Star Wars’ opening: Galaxy’s Edge.
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Have other thoughts or questions about staying on-site at Disney World? Feel free to chime in with your comment.
6 Comments
I like how the article explains that staying at an onsite hotel can be easier to be able to travel between the park and your hotel, especially if you are spending most of your trip at Disney world. My husband and I are going to Disney world this year and we are so excited and we are trying to decide if we want to stay in a Disney hotel or off-site. Knowing that it is so close to stay in a Disney hotel, we will make sure to stay on-site at Disney world.
Can I use the Magical Express going only one way, or does it have to be a round trip?
Sure! You can use it one way.
We always stay on the resort property and have never considered staying anywhere else. A major factor is the transportation. Since we fly, it’s nice to have them pick our luggage up for us and deliver it to our resort. Not to mention not having to rent a car. It’s nice to leave the driving to them.
But the resorts offer amenities that you won’t find at off-site hotels. The pools always have activities for the kids (and adults if they choose). Whether it’s out of the pool, like hula hoop contests or in the pool (they gave the kids inflatable balls to toss around), there’s always something. Once, they had a tie dye shirt activity. You paid for the T-shirt and the kids could tie dye it. They started with doing the first tie to show the kids how it’s done. Then the kids were on their own, choosing which colors for which tied area. Then they tightly wrapped it in plastic wrap so it wouldn’t leak. After 24 hours, you unwrapped and rinsed it. We were SO surprised to see that the initial wrap done by the Disney cast member turned into a Mickey head! Made the best souvenir!
Every resort, from Deluxe to Value offer the Movies Under the Stars every night, too. It’s a free thing to entertain the kids as they sit under the stars watching a Disney movie. They do nightly campfires, too, where the kids (and adults) roast marshmallows at the fire. There’s just so many activities for the kids that you don’t have to spend your entire time at the parks in order to be doing something.
And one last thing, the pools! Disney has the greatest pools for kids. Starting at the moderate resort level, most all pools have slides. But even at the value level, the pools are really cool with things Mickey spouting water. Most have a kiddie water play area, too.
Which coupons/deals are included in the booklet you receive when staying at a Disney Resort?
do you know when be our guest restaurant will start accepting reservations for breakfast. we are going to be there on dec 7 2015 and staying on the ptoperty.