Best Stays on Walt Disney World PropertyAs regular visitors to Orlando's Walt Disney World Resort, we've stayed in many different hotels "on property." We like to be in the Disney bubble! One quick note: These are mainly Disney Vacation Club resorts; you must be a member or be "renting points" from a member to reserve many of these rooms.Authorskerrieturcic
DestinationsBay LakeItinerary

Magic Kingdom Area 🏰

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
We stayed here once just at the tail end of the pandemic, which means there were not a lot of people around, and Magic Kingdom wasn't even doing its nightly fireworks yet (which, to me, is the main reason to stay at this resort). We did enjoy watching the nightly water pageant on the Seven Seas Lagoon right from our room. You can also take the monorail or the boat from the hotel dock to Magic Kingdom. A lot of people love to stay at this resort, but I found the rooms sligthly outdated and underwhelming (we stayed in a studio; maybe the 1-bedrooms are better). My husband still complains about how we didn't have a microwave in the room. Still, this is a favorite hotel, but mainly just to visit its gorgeous lobby and restaurants.
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Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
If you want to be close to the action, this is the place to be! Okay, so we have not stayed in this hotel (yet), however, we do visit it quite a bit to watch the "Happily Ever After" fireworks over Magic Kingdom from the Top of the World Lounge. Imagine being able to do that from your room! This one is a little pricier (costs more DVC points).
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Disney's Contemporary Resort
Another resort we have yet to actually stay in, but visit quite a bit. In fact, the monorail runs directly INTO this resort, making it super easy for people staying here to hop on and get to Magic Kingdom (after a couple of quick stops at The Polynesian and the Grand Floridian first, of course). This resort is also so close to Magic Kingdom that you could walk. It's less than a half mile. (Also, depending on where your room is, you may get to see "Happily Ever After" fireworks from your room!)
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Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
I have been dying to stay here! This is one of my favorite resorts to visit. I love where it sits—just across the Seven Seas Lagoon from Magic Kingdom so you can take the boat from the hotel dock—and it has awesome restaurants and lounges. Taking the monorail is another quick way to get to Magic Kingdom. One of my favorite dishes is at Captain Kidd's (a walk-up restaurant in the hotel): the Korean Fried Chicken. It's so spicy and good. Also, the famous Trader Sam's Lounge is in this hotel. It's a fun experience that you need to line up for (usually about an hour or 90 minutes ahead) just to get on the wait list—it's worth doing at least once! But you can get the same drinks at the outdoor lounge, which is almost as good, especially in the evenings when they feature live Polynesian-inspired music. One more thing: This is the only hotel where you can get a Dole Whip.
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Disney's Wilderness Lodge
This is one of our "home" resorts as DVC members (we have four). I love the vibe here! We lived in the Pacific Northwest for 20+ years and it captures it here, although technically I believe it's combining that area with Colorado, Utah, and Montana. The lobby is gorgeous here and the rooms are nice (they are newer). The main pool is great for kids and there is a geyser that goes off every 15 minutes. You can see "Happily Ever After" fireworks here nightly (sort of...over the trees), and watch the Water Pageant. I love the outdoor lakeside bar here for these reasons. Just a nice vibe. Great restaurants inside, too, and another great Lounge. I also love being able to take the boat to Magic Kingdom from the hotel dock.
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Magic Kingdom Park
Adding this for reference on the map, so you can see where it is in relation to the hotels. (It's closer than it looks.)
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EPCOT / Hollywood Area 🌟

Disney's BoardWalk Villas
This is one of our "home" resorts and a favorite because of its proximity to two parks. It sits on the back side of EPCOT (meaning lines to get in are way shorter in the morning) and is less than a mile walk to Hollywood Studios. I love being able to walk out of my room and see fireworks over EPCOT and Fanstasmic (at Hollywood Studios) at the same time. You also have access to all the nightlife and restaurants along the BoardWalk. There are two buildings: DVC and non-DVC. This resort feels quiet even though it is right on the BoardWalk, and it has a big pool with a great slide (this used to be the scary clown slide, but it was refurbished a few years ago).
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Disney's Yacht Club Resort
We stayed here once, and, to be completely blunt, I don't remember much about the room at all. It has an amazing pool for kids, though, with a beach and a long slide that crosses above the public walkway (it was, sadly, closed during our stay). The main benefit and reason why I put this on this list and would stay here again is it is that it has Cape May Cafe (a seafood buffet), and it's close to two parks: EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. You can walk to both, and you get to enter EPCOT on the back side, where there are far shorter lines. You also have quick access to the BoardWalk and the Skyliner.
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Animal Kingdom Area 🦒

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL) is probably my No. 1 favorite hotel on Disney property. There are two sides (as there usually are with most WDW resort hotels): a DVC side (Kidani Village) and a side with both DVC and non-DVC guests (Jambo House). We've stayed in both, but I prefer Kidani because it is quieter—it has a smaller gym, pool, and restaurants. Another reason I like this hotel is that the one-bedrooms have two full bathrooms, and when you have a teenager, this is key. But Jambo House has my favorite buffet on Disney property: Boma. (Do not miss Boma.) The lobby at Jambo is bigger, too, and beautiful. Jambo also has a bigger savannah. Both hotels are designed circularly around savannahs where giraffes, zebras, and other animals roam. The disadvantage of this hotel is that you have to either drive to the parks or take a bus, and aside from being super close to Animal Kingdom, you're far from the other parks.
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Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park
If you love this park, consider staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL)!
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Disney Springs Area ⛴️

Disney Springs
Go here for restaurants, shopping, and lots of nightlife! You can walk here from the path that goes to Saratoga Springs Resort.
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Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Saratoga Springs Resort is one of our favorite places to stay because it's so close to Disney Springs (right across the lake), which has a few of our favorite restaurants (hello, Homecomin'). It's an older resort and it is huge, with a lot of buildings—some DVC and some non-DVC. The gym here is huge and, in my opinion, the best one on property. The rooms in most buildings were recently updated, so they're really nice. The main downside of this hotel is that it is quite busy because it costs less money (and less points to stay here). Good luck finding a lounge chair at the pool! It's also best to have a car at this resort. While the bus is always an option, it takes quite a long time for it to circle through all the resort stops. Expect to take at least 30 minutes to get to the parks from this resort on a bus.
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"Off Property" 🎉

The Inn at Celebration, Autograph Collection
This is the only "off-property" hotel I would consider staying at. It is very close by and in the town of Celebration, which was planned by Disney. The little town features Art Deco buildings, and the houses surrounding it have "Main Street" vibes a la Magic Kingdom. This is a pretty quiet area, too, although you will hear the faint "booms" of nightly fireworks.
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