Walt Disney World Resort Hotels: So Many More Perks Than Meets the Eye

If you’re considering a Walt Disney World vacation, you may be wondering if staying at a Disney hotel is really all that different from staying off Disney property. The secret of experienced vacation planners, like ours here at Middle of the Magic Travel, is that where you stay can have a huge impact on the quality of your vacation!

Here are just a few of the perks you’ll enjoy when you stay at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel for your vacation:

*Early Park Admission- all guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel are allowed into all 4 Disney theme parks 30 minutes before the general public, every day of your hotel stay. You can be first in line for some of the most popular rides, and enjoy some of the lowest wait times of the day, while other folks are still waiting to get through security and get into the park. It’s one of the easiest ways to see and do everything on your Disney wish list- and it’s free!

*Extended Evening Theme Park Hours- Wish you had more time in the theme parks? Your wish is granted, when you stay at a Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Disney hotel! On select nights, guests of these hotels get to stay and play in the theme parks for two extra hours in the evening, while everyone else is being ushered out the gates! It’s another great time to enjoy the most popular rides with shorter lines! You can view the current schedule of Extended Evening Theme Park Hours here. These hours are also free, with your hotel stay!

*Purchasing Individual Lightning Lanes Earlier- Disney’s old FastPass system was retired with Covid, and their new Genie system allows guests to plan their days and skip the lines at their favorite attractions! And if you want to skip the line at the most popular rides like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Avatar- Flight of Passage, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you’ll want to stay at a Disney hotel. Why? Because you’ll get the option to purchase your Individual Lightning Lane return times for these rides beginning at 7am- and other guests will have to wait until the park opens! And at the time of this blog post, rides like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance have been selling out of Individual Lightning Lane within the first minute. That means if you decide to stay elsewhere, you can pretty much count on having to wait stand by for these most popular attractions. That’s going to be a lot of your vacation time spent waiting in line.

All our travel planners are well-versed in all things Genie, and can help you learn to use the new system to your advantage, as well as provide the best strategies for how to make the most of your days in the parks. It’s just one of the many fee-free planning services that are included, when you book your vacation with Middle of the Magic Travel.

*Better Chances at Hard-to-Get Dining Reservations: Walt Disney World offers some of the most iconic and unique dining and activity opportunities. Think of dining inside Cinderella Castle, or with Mickey and friends, or maybe eating in a classic car pulled up at a drive-in theater. Maybe you’d like a great viewing spot for the Magic Kingdom fireworks, without having to stand around on the sidewalk for an hour or more ahead of the show. Perhaps skipping ALL the lines at your favorite rides is on your Disney bucket list! All of these and more require advanced reservations. Booking opens 60 days in advance- but if you stay at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, you can book these beginning 60 days in advance for the entire length of your stay! This gives you a significant advantage over folks who have to book day by day- you’ll get first crack at reservations!

And when you book your vacation with Middle of the Magic Travel, our travel planners will take care of booking all these hard-to-get reservations for you, using our best practices honed over hundreds of vacations planned! Increase your odds by putting our experience to work for you!

*Charging to the Room- If you love the convenience of an all-inclusive vacation, this perk will be a big one for you. All guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel have the option to charge purchases made across the resort to their hotel room folio. That means you don’t have to pull out your wallet everything you want a snack or a souvenir. And you’ll get one convenient bill at the end of your stay for everything. This is especially useful for larger families and groups traveling together, who may be splitting up for part of their vacation day. This perk is also free with your hotel stay, and valid from the time you check in until midnight of your check out day, so you can continue to charge for the remainder of your day, even after you’ve checked out of your hotel room, before you head home!

*Pre-arrival Discounts on Magic Bands– Streamline your whole vacation experience with the ease and convenience of Magic Bands! When you book a stay at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, you will have access to exclusive pre-arrival discounts on Magic Bands, so you can quickly check into the theme parks, dining reservations, and Lightning Lane return times. Conveniently scan your Magic Band to collect your vacation photos taken by any Disney PhotoPass photographers. You can even skip the hotel front desk when you arrive, and go straight to your hotel room, because your Magic Band will open your hotel room door for you! Staying at a Disney hotel will unlock a special resort guest discount, so you can order Magic Bands for less!

*Free Parking at the Theme Parks- If you prefer to drive or rent a car, you can park for free at all of the Disney theme parks. That’s a savings of $25 for each day of your trip!

*Free Disney Transportation- All Walt Disney World Resort Hotels offer free transportation to the theme parks, the water parks and Disney Springs. You can take a boat, bus, monorail or Skyliner beginning an hour before Early Park Admission, all the way until an hour past park closing- or past Extended Evening Theme Park Hours! All run continuously throughout the day, making it so easy to return to your hotel room at any time, or park hop. And if your travel party wants to split up for the afternoon, some can stay and play, and the rest can return to your hotel easily for a nap or a swim. This is especially important if you’ve got little ones who might need an afternoon nap. And a BIG time saver: Disney buses will drop you off right at the front gate to the Magic Kingdom. All others will drop you over at the Ticket & Transportation Center, where you’ll still have to take a monorail or ferry boat over, then wait to get through security and into the theme park.

Before you book that off-site hotel, be sure to confirm any transportation to theme parks. Chances are, theirs only runs a couple of times a day, dropping you off well after the park is open, and picking you up before the park closes. No options to return in the afternoon, and many also charge for their shuttle.

Don’t miss a minute of the magic when you stay at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel!

*No Hidden Resort Fees: When you book a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, the price you see is the price you pay. No additional charges once you arrive for transportation or hotel amenities. Overnight parking fees are applicable if you drive or rent a car.

*$200 Deposit + Pay Over Time- When you book a vacation package at a Disney hotel, you pay just a $200 deposit to confirm your reservation. Your final payment is due 30 days before arrival, and when you book with Middle of the Magic Travel, you can make payments over time towards your vacation, or pay it off all at once- it’s your choice! Pay for your vacation the way that works best for you!

*Flexible Change and Cancellation Policies- Book with confidence knowing Disney has flexible change and cancellation options, if your travel plans change. If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that we don’t know what the future holds. Staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, with a vacation package, gives you options, if you need to postpone or cancel your trip. You even have the option to add travel insurance, for even more peace of mind. But if you stay elsewhere, and purchase your tickets separately, those tickets are non-refundable. In this day and age, do you want to be stuck holding non-refundable tickets?

*Disney’s Superior Service- Disney’s excellent customer service and attention to detail can only be found at a Disney hotel.

*Exclusive Experiences- You can stay in a regular hotel anywhere in the world, but this is the only place you can stay in a Disney hotel! Each of Disney’s unique hotels tells its own special story. From stepping into some of your favorite animated movies, to goin’ down the Bayou, to the South Seas and even to a galaxy far, far away, Disney hotels are full of magical details that enhance your vacation experience, that you simply can’t find anywhere else.

So if you’re ready for a more inclusive, more convenient, more magical vacation experience, let your Middle of the Magic Travel Planner help you find the perfect Disney hotel for your next vacation! We can also help you choose the best times to visit, how to maximize your vacation time, and give you all our best tips and tricks to make your vacation more memorable. And it’s all included, when you book your vacation with Middle of the Magic Travel. So let’s begin! Fill out the form below, and one of our travel planners will be in touch shortly!