Best Rooms

Walt Disney World | Best Rooms

Room types and views. There are two primary factors that determine the rate of a Walt Disney World hotel room: location and view. Disney World does not use a consistant vocabulary to describe room categories as each individual hotel offers something slightly different. For example, the Magic Kingdom Resorts offer rooms categories like theme park view, woods view, garden view, courtyard view, and lagoon view - just to name a few. However, Disney Value Resorts offer Standard and Preferred Rooms making no mention of the view. Most resorts offer the economical Standard rooms or Standard View rooms and might overlook a parking area, garden, or service area. Preferred rooms, the higher end rooms at Disney Value Resorts, usually mean they are near a pool, main lobby, or busstop. If you want to be near the pool, restaurant, or transportation area, you'll need to pay extra. Upgrades start at about $25 more per night.

How Disney World classifies hotel rooms. The Value Resorts offer accommodations for up to four guests plus one crib. Most rooms offer two double beds and a limited number offer one king. Rooms at Disney's All Star Resort, all 5,460 of them, are 216 sq. ft. There are Family Suites available at Disney's All Star Music Resort that can accomodate up to six guests. Rooms at Disney's Pop Century Resort are 260 sq. ft and sleep four. Disney's Art of Animation Resort offers four person rooms that are 277 sq ft. and Family Suites that can accomodate up to six guests at 565 sq. ft. Moderate Resort rooms range from 300 to 314 sq. ft. and can accomodate up to four guests plus one crib. Disney's Port Orleans Riverside can accomodate five guests when utilizing the pullout sofa bed. Port Orleans has the option of two queen size beds or one king. All others offer two doubles or one king. Disney's Coronado Springs Resort has a variety of suites available too. The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground are 504 sq. ft. and sleep six adults plus one crib and include a kitchen, living room and separate bedroom. Disney World Deluxe Resorts offer a variety of room options including suites and Club Level rooms. Most regular rooms can sleep up to five adults plus one crib with the exception of Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - they sleep up to four guests plus one crib. Most Deluxe Rooms have pullout sofas and a balcony. We found a number of rooms Disney's Polynesian Resort and Disney's Contemporary Resort do not have full balconies so be sure to make a request for one if preferred.

Making room requests is possible at Walt Disney World and we have found that Cast Members try hard to honor them for you. The most popular requests are for specific locations such as near the pool, restaurant or busstop. This is yet another area where a Disney Travel Specialist can help. Specialists such as those at Magical Vacations can help you decide on the requests you should make, based on your interests and needs. It should be noted however that requests are not guaranteed by Disney World. Depending on your request, you might need to pay the upgrade charge to get the view or location you want. For example, you won't be able to pay for a Garden View room at Disney's Polynesian Resort and make a request to be able to see Cinderella Castle from your room. In this case, you'd have to pay for a Magic Kingdom View room. In general, Disney will not honor a request for free if it requires upgrading you to a higher category room. From time to time guests are successful just by asking the front desk Cast Member if they were offering any free upgrades. Never hurts to ask but just don't expect it.