Where you decide to stay while visiting WDW depends very much upon how you plan on getting to WDW, your budget, dining options, and ease of getting to and from the parks. If driving to WDW your options are endless, as there are plenty of offsite hotels that have very budget friendly rates, and there are always the well maintained and virtually worry free WDW owned and operated resorts. If flying to Disney World your choices may be dependent on your wish to rent a car or use Disney transportation. We would recommend the Disney transportation, as Disney’s Magical Express will take you to your Disney Parks resort and get you back to the airport with little effort on your part. Simply arrive at the designated place at your scheduled times and they do all the rest, even taking care of your checked baggage. (It will meet you at your resort later on your arrival day and be at baggage claim at your destination airport on the way home.) Of course, there is a catch! You have to stay at a Disney owned resort to take advantage of the Magical Express and bag check services. We have found it to be extremely stress free to let Disney do much of the worrying about how to get you and your bags to and from the airport. (The only way to get the Disney Dining Plan is to stay at a Disney owned resort.) Disney also provides bus, boat, and monorail transportation all around their property, so you can go anywhere within Disney for free.
If renting a car or driving down, the hotels and vacation homes all around Orlando and surrounding Disney World are a nice alternative. Most will be a bit cheaper that Disney resorts, but the service and rooms will vary greatly. Prices as low as approximately $30 per night can be found, with most around $80 – $100 per night. Fancier hotels with water park type pools and finer dining will cost upwards of $150+ per night. (All hotels calculate their distance to WDW based on the closest part of Disney property, so your actual distance and travel time to any real Disney attractions will be different from stated.) Keep in mind that unless you have an annual pass or some other free parking perk, Disney charges parking fees at every theme park and has security gates at all resorts. These parking fees, along with fuel and mileage charges, can sometimes add another $100+ dollars to your vacation.
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