How to Choose Between Value, Moderate, and Deluxe Hotels at Disney World

Trying to figure out whether your Disney World trip is destined for a value, moderate, or deluxe hotel? You’re in the right place. In this post, we discuss what separates (and doesn’t separate) these hotel tiers. But the tiers aren’t everything—our goal here is to show you how hotel price and hotel quality are balance at Disney World, even where factors don’t quite play out as you might initially expect. Read on to learn how to pick the right value, moderate, or deluxe option for your next Disney World trip!

Related Posts

We have plenty of hotel content, but a good place to start based on your interest in this topic might be our Disney World Hotel Ranking. That post tries to stay balanced between the tiers, weighing many of the factors discussed in this post plus some (like ongoing construction) that are more fluid.

Things that Are the Same at All Disney Resorts

Some things are the same at all the Disney resorts, so you don’t have to worry about them when picking between Disney resorts. With one exception, discussed next, all the Disney hotels get the same set of perks. They all have Early Entry, they all have access to advance Lightning Lane booking, and they all have complimentary transportation to the parks.

The exception is Extended Evening Hours. Only deluxe resorts (and DVC resorts) have Extended Evening Hours. Personally, I’ve never found this perk to move the needle on my resort selection. Even on some trips when I planned to use Extended Evening Hours, I’ve just been too tired and too invested in the following morning to keep myself up late.

Moreover, while we discuss thematic differences a bit below, we should first state that all the hotels “feel Disney.” They’re all fun. They all have people wearing ears and families arguing about who’s fault it was they’re late for rope drop. They all have kids running around. With that said…

Theme, Energy, Ambiance, and So On

I want to start with this hodgepodge of topics that basically capture that the feel is different at different resorts. I think for some people this is the most important factor. I know there are people with a dozen stays at Yacht Club who probably don’t even know that All Star Movies exists, for example. And personally, little brings a smile to my face like eating a pizza next to the Pop Century pool after a long park day.

Altogether, this a factor that varies so much hotel-by-hotel, and it’s one I think we all get the basics of:

  • Value resorts are super colorful and kitschy and have a more wild energy

  • Deluxe resorts are more elegantly themed and have a more refined energy

  • Moderate resorts are in between / a mix of the two

That’s an oversimplification, but with enough truth that it’s a fine rule of thumb. Without dwelling on this much more (again, theme in particular is a hotel-by-hotel thing), I want to note two misconceptions people have about these distinctions.

First, there’s a misconception that the difference in ambiance between these resorts is a direct result how much their rooms cost. This is not correct. The median room at Art of Animation is more expensive than the median room at the Gran Destino Tower, which is a part of the moderate Coronado Springs Resort. But Gran Destino Tower has a significantly more elegant energy. I’d even say the energy at Animal Kingdom Lodge—a deluxe resort—is more “fun” than that of Gran Destino Tower. There’s “fun” and “elegance” to be had a a variety of price points.

Second, there’s a misconception that bothersome crowds are a problem exclusive to the value resorts. These resorts are often home to young athletic teams, for example, who run around and raise a ruckus. While such incidents do occur, it’s worth noting that convention crowds at several other hotels—Coronado Springs and the Boardwalk area hotels, in particular—raise plenty of ruckuses, too. I’ve personally had more hotel stays marred by these groups than by teen groups, but I admit that could be exceptional.

With all that in mind, the thrust of this post is that this is the probably last factor you should consider. It might be the decisive factor (in combination with price), but other things—namely room categories, transportation, and dining options—are going to narrow down your list first. Read on, consider how those factors limit your hotel selection, and then pick the hotel that fits you best.

Pricing and Room Categories

Like the above hodgepodge, price is a factor with a fine rule of thumb that needs some important clarification.

The rule of thumb—if you want to spend less money, stay at a value resort; if you want to spend more money, stay at a deluxe resort.

It’s not entirely so simple, though. And hotel price is a huge part of the cost of going to Disney World, and one where you actually find some flexibility (ticket prices are less flexible). It—literally—pays to be aware here.

Here are some example room rates across the different tiers, standard/resort view rooms except where noted:

So, while it’s generally true that deluxe resorts are more expensive than moderate resorts, which are more expensive than value resorts, there’s a lot of variance—particularly in value and moderate categories—once you start looking at different room types.

This is important because not every resort has every room category. If Disney World’s Club Level is something you’re interested in, you’ll be choosing between the deluxe resorts and Coronado Springs. If you want a reasonably-priced suite, it’s Art of Animation or All Star Music (links to reviews above). If you want a theme park view, you’re looking at the monorail resorts. This list could go on.

Once you settle on a room type you want, you might be surprised to see your “value” room more expensive than expected. In particular, the family suites at the value resorts bring your cost up to the moderate-deluxe range, and Club Level at Coronado Springs gets you close to deluxe pricing.

It’s easy to think that someone with a budget of $600 per night should just start with deluxe, but that price list shows otherwise. A family at that price point could consider deluxe resorts, but the Family Suites at Art of Animation and Club Level at Gran Destino Tower are also in play.

Location and Transportation

The factor that I consider most is location and transportation. The picture is actually pretty straightforward:

  • All Disney hotels rely on buses to get to/from Animal Kingdom

  • To get to Magic Kingdom:

    • Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian have walking path and monorail access to Magic Kingdom

    • Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, and Fort Wilderness have boat access to Magic Kingdom (not better than bus, IMO)

    • All other hotels rely on buses to get to/from Magic Kingdom

  • To get to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios:

    • BoardWalk Inn, Yacht Club, and Beach Club have walking and boat access to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios

    • Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, Art of Animation, and Riviera Resort have Skyliner access to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios

    • Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian have monorail access to EPCOT (not Hollywood Studios) (not better than bus, IMO)

    • All other resorts rely on buses to get to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios

Notice immediately that transportation quality does not correlate perfect with resort tier. Pop Century has better transportation than Animal Kingdom Lodge, for example.

If you want to research his further, you’ll find even more nuance. Moderate resort buses often make multiple stops, adding to travel time, for example. And even in the deluxe tier, you’ll find resorts sharing buses, which adds to travel time.

While I prefer not to have to rely entirely on Disney buses, my experiences in recent years haven’t been awful. I noted one disappointingly long line (and 20-minute wait) in a recent update to my Port Orleans French Quarter review, though. Still, even as someone who theoretically doesn’t need every second of his trips to go perfectly (we visit often enough that hiccups are fine), I rarely book us an all-bus trip.

Besides the simple question of how easy you want your mornings and evenings to go, there are a few niche factors that might come into play when deciding on location:

  • Are you visiting a holiday party or After Hours event, so that you’ll want to quickly get back to your hotel at 1AM?

  • Do you have a child who naps or a party who otherwise wants to go back to the hotel midday?

  • Will you be hopping between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios and wanting the option of stopping at your hotel in between?

  • Will you have dining reservations at parks that you need to get to easily and early in the morning?

As I’ve written elsewhere, my ideal hotel booking is a split stay between a Skyliner resort and a monorail resort. This guarantees me convenient access to the three parks where such an option exists.

Dining Options

I mentioned dining reservations at the parks above, but there are two more direct ways your potential dining reservations might impact your choice of hotel:

  • Is there a hotel you want to stay at because you want to dine at its restaurants?

  • Is there a hotel you want to stay at because it is easy to get to other hotels you want to dine at?

In the first case, if having on-site character dining is important to you, you’ll have a more limited set of hotels to choose from, mostly in the deluxe tier. If having a straightforward food court is important to you (raises hand) the value resorts are your best option.

And, as to the second case, if you’re willing to walk or take the Skyliner to a character meal at another hotel, your options will expand a bit (Beach Club has Cape May Cafe, for example, and that’s a 10-minute walk from BoardWalk Inn). If I stay at Pop Century, I have a trusty food court available on-site, and I’m just a Skyliner ride (with a transfer) away from two character meals at Riviera Resort and Beach Club.

Conclusions

Choosing between the value, moderate, and deluxe tiers is more complicated than you might think. The key here is that while price may correlate with something like “overall quality”, the specific qualities that matter for your trip might not correlate perfect with price.

The best approach to choosing between value, moderate, and deluxe resorts at Disney World is to first figure out what factors are most important to you—things like transportation, dining, and room category. Then look at the value–moderate–deluxe categorization and choose which price / theme / ambiance works best for you.

All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered

Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.

Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.

When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!

Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.

Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.

Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.