Walt Disney World Travel Tips : Where to Stay During Your Disney World Vacation

Benefits of staying on site include:

Atmosphere, Atmosphere, Atmosphere!
There’s just nothing that can compare to being right in the middle of the magic 24 hours a day. Each Disney World resort is a vacation within itself. Stay on site once, and you’ll never want to stay off site again.

Convenient transportation.
Staying on site allows you use of the Walt Disney World transportation system. Once your car is parked, you need never get inside it again until you’re ready to go home. If you’re flying in, no need to rent a car. Disney offers free transportation from the airport to your resort!

Exclusive special events for Walt Disney World resort guests only!
Among them is a program called Extra Magic Hours that is available only to resort guests. On selected days, parks open early or stay open past the normal closing hours. Wrist bands are issued and only on site guests are allowed to enter or stay in the parks during these hours.

Package Delivery.
Purchases you make while anywhere on Disney property can be sent to your resort. No lugging packages around, no renting lockers to store them!

Tip: Stay on site if at all possible. You won’t regret it!

There are four resort categories at Walt Disney World:

• Value
• Moderates
• Deluxe
• Home Away From Home

Each category of resorts offers their own special amenities.

• Value: The least expensive of all the Disney resorts, these are whimsical and fun, and a great choice for those who are on a budget or those with young children. The food options at these resorts are geared towards children and are easy on the budget as well.
• Moderate: The moderate resorts are also a great value. The rooms are slightly larger than the value resorts. There is a greater food selection at the moderate resorts with buffets and on-site sit down restaurants.
• Deluxe: These resorts are Disney’s premier resorts and include the resorts that are on the monorail transportation system. They offer a full array of amenities you would expect from a 4 star hotel including valet service and an impressive number of dining options.These resorts also offer the most convenience in regards to being conveniently located to parks.
• Home Away From Home Resorts: One of the best choices available, these unique resorts offer all the comforts of home while on vacation. Rooms range from efficiencies with wet bars to 2 or 3 bedrooms with fully stocked kitchens. While they can be expensive, they are often no more expensive than the Deluxe resorts. When you factor in the savings of being able to prepare meals in your room, these resorts are a great value! Many of the Home Away From Home resorts are located within a Deluxe resort complex conveniently located close to parks.

Tip: Due to the sheer size of Disney World, resort location can be extremely important. If close proximity to a park is important to you, choose your resort according to the park it is grouped with. In general, Deluxe and Home Away From Home resorts offer the best locations as far as proximity to parks is concerned.

Tip: One of the best values at Disney World is the Home Away from Home resort , Fort Wilderness Campground. This resort offers cabins that can sleep up to 6 people, have full kitchens and yet are priced lower than any of the other Home Away From Home resorts. The resort also has camp sites available at extremely affordable rates. Fort Wilderness offers a myriad of activities that range from campfires to horse-back riding and some of the least expensive dining options of any of the resorts. It is also conveniently located to the Magic Kingdom, you’re just a short boat ride away!

When making your reservation, WDW will not generally offer you any discounts. While there is rarely a need to pay regular rates for a WDW resort, you have to know what the current offers are and you must ask for them! So, how do you find these discounts?

In general, there are 3 types of discounts:

• AAA : These discounts are generally available year round and range from 10%-20%.
• Codes and Package Specials: These discounts are generally more significant than AAA rates and can save you hundreds of dollars on your resort stay.
• Annual Pass Rates: Some of the best deals available, but you must purchase an annual park pass to qualify for these rates. While more expensive than other ticket options, the savings on your resort rate is often worth it, especially if you’re staying longer than 10 days or plan to return within 1 year.

Tip: The premier site for tracking discounts is mousesavers.com. This site is generally the first place to go for the latest releases of discount codes and special package offerings. This is a very reliable site and gives you all you need to know about codes and discounts that are currently available. It is packed full of great information on how to save on your
WDW vacation as well.

Tip: Book early and watch for discount codes to be released.

Most codes and package deals must be booked during specific time frame. Disney rarely gives advance notice of any specials becoming available so the best tip is to book the resort you know you’ll stay at regardless of discounts that may become available. Then watch for discounts being released, calling the moment they become available. You can
apply discounts to existing reservations and should you decide to change your resort choice once rates are released, you can do that as well.

Tip: Whether you’re a first time guest or a return visitor, you’ll find a wealth of information at www.disboards.com . Easy to navigate, this site is frequented by the most die-hard of WDW fans who can answer any question you can think of to ask!

With just a few Disney World tips and tricks in your arsenal, a little research and careful planning you can save hundreds of dollars on your Walt Disney World resort stay