Disney runs more than twenty resort hotels. What separates them for a real trip is not theming but transport, occupancy and how far the resort is from the park you will use most.
For a Magic Kingdom week, take a monorail or boat resort: Grand Floridian, Polynesian Village or Contemporary. For EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, take a walking or Skyliner resort: Beach Club, BoardWalk Inn, Riviera, Pop Century or Art of Animation. For a family of six on Disney property, Art of Animation or the Cabins at Fort Wilderness.
Disney's published tiers describe the room. What decides your morning is how you get to the gate. A Value resort on the Skyliner reaches EPCOT and Hollywood Studios without touching a bus. A Deluxe resort on the wrong side of the property still puts you on one.
| Transport | Resorts | Reaches | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monorail | Contemporary, Polynesian Village, Grand Floridian | Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT with a change | Removes the bus queue at the busiest park |
| Walking path | Contemporary to Magic Kingdom; Beach Club, Yacht Club, BoardWalk, Swan and Dolphin to EPCOT | Magic Kingdom or EPCOT | The only transport that never has a queue |
| Boat | Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness, Port Orleans, EPCOT area resorts | Magic Kingdom, Disney Springs or Hollywood Studios | Pleasant, and slower than it looks |
| Skyliner | Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, Riviera | EPCOT International Gateway and Hollywood Studios | Turns two Value resorts into strong locations |
| Bus only | All-Star resorts, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Coronado Springs, Saratoga Springs, Old Key West | All four parks | Fine, but the least predictable at park opening and closing |
Scroll sideways on a small screen to see every column.
Disney's flagship, on the monorail loop, with a boat and a walking path to Magic Kingdom. Standard rooms are published for five, which is rare and useful.
Best for: Magic Kingdom-first families of up to five
Watch out: The most expensive Disney resort, and the theming will not suit everyone.
Standard rooms sleep five, the monorail stops on the property and the boat crosses to Magic Kingdom. For a party of five it removes the suite problem entirely.
Best for: Families of five who want the monorail
Watch out: Deluxe pricing for a resort where the rooms are the least remarkable part.
The only Disney resort with a walking path to Magic Kingdom short enough to use with children at the end of a long day. The monorail runs through the building.
Best for: Travelers who want to walk into Magic Kingdom
Watch out: The architecture is divisive and the resort has a convention wing, so it is rarely quiet.
Stormalong Bay is a sand-bottom pool complex with a lazy river section and a slide, and it is the strongest rest-day facility Disney operates. A short walk reaches the EPCOT International Gateway.
Best for: Families who want the best pool on Disney property
Watch out: Stormalong Bay is limited to Beach Club and Yacht Club guests, and it is busy. Standard rooms sleep five.
The BoardWalk itself gives you somewhere to eat and drink in the evening without transport, and EPCOT is a walk with Hollywood Studios a boat ride away.
Best for: Adults and couples who want to walk to two parks
Watch out: The pool is themed rather than large. Families wanting water time should look at Beach Club next door.
Savanna views from the rooms and public areas make this the one Disney Deluxe where a morning spent at the resort is genuinely worth having. Savanna view rooms are published for five.
Best for: Families who want the hotel itself to be an attraction
Watch out: Bus-only transport, and it sits at the far western edge of the property, so every other park is a long ride.
A boat to Magic Kingdom and a strong themed pool at the lower end of Deluxe pricing. It is the value entry to the Magic Kingdom resort area.
Best for: Families who want a Deluxe with a boat and a lower rate than the monorail resorts
Watch out: The boat is the good option and it is not always running. The alternative is a bus.
The Skyliner hub sits here, which means EPCOT and Hollywood Studios without a bus, at Moderate prices. That is the strongest transport-per-dollar position on Disney property.
Best for: Families who want the Skyliner without Deluxe pricing
Watch out: It is a very spread-out resort. Room location relative to the Skyliner station matters a lot.
Gran Destino Tower gives Coronado Springs a block of rooms and restaurants aimed at adults, which no other Moderate has. The main pool has a slide, and there is a full spa.
Best for: Adults, couples and business travelers who still want to be on property
Watch out: It is Disney's convention resort. Expect lanyards, and bus-only transport.
Royal Guest rooms here are published for five, which is unusual outside the Deluxe tier, and a boat runs to Disney Springs. For a family of five it is the cheapest Disney room that fits without a suite.
Best for: Families of five who want a Moderate rather than a Deluxe
Watch out: Bus transport to the parks, and the resort is large enough that internal walking distances are real.
The most compact Moderate resort, which means short internal walks and a quicker route from room to bus. It shares the Disney Springs boat with Riverside.
Best for: Couples and small families who want the smallest Moderate
Watch out: Standard rooms sleep four, and there is only one pool.
A freestanding cabin with a full kitchen and a published capacity of six, plus a boat to Magic Kingdom. It is the only Disney accommodation that combines all three.
Best for: Families of six who want a kitchen on Disney property
Watch out: Fort Wilderness is enormous and internal transport adds a step to every journey.
Family suites for six, a kitchenette and a Skyliner station. It is the only Value resort that solves the large-family problem and the transport problem at the same time.
Best for: Families of six on Disney property
Watch out: Loud and aimed squarely at young children.
The same Skyliner station as Art of Animation without the family suites and without the noise level. For four people it is the best transport-per-dollar room on Disney property.
Best for: Parties of four who want the Skyliner at the lowest Disney price
Watch out: Standard rooms only, capped at four.
All-Star Music has family suites for six at Disney's lowest price point. If Art of Animation is sold out or priced too high, this is the fallback.
Best for: Families of six on the tightest Disney budget
Watch out: Bus-only, on shared routes with the other All-Star resorts, which slows park opening and closing.
The Swan sits in the EPCOT resort area with the same walking paths and boats as the Disney Deluxe resorts beside it, while being a Marriott booking with Marriott rates and points.
Best for: Marriott points, and walking to EPCOT
Watch out: It is not a Disney Resort hotel, so its benefits are set separately. Confirm the current list with Disney before booking for early entry.
Every Disney resort sells the same four parks. What you are choosing between is thirty minutes a day of transfer time and whether the room fits your family. Theming is the last consideration, not the first.
Hotel details and the guest scores on this page were checked in August 2026.
We earn a commission when you book through the links on this page. It never changes which hotels we select or how we rank them. Read the full disclosure.
For Magic Kingdom, the monorail resorts and the Contemporary's walking path. For EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, the walking and boat resorts of the EPCOT area, then the Skyliner resorts. Bus-only resorts are perfectly workable but they are the least predictable at park opening and at closing time.
For a Disney-only trip without a car, yes. You get the same Early Theme Park Entry, the same free transport to all four parks and no theme park parking charge as guests paying several times as much. The room is small and plain, which is the trade.
Standard rooms published for five include the Polynesian Village, Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge savanna view rooms and Port Orleans Riverside Royal Guest rooms, among others. Occupancy limits change with room refurbishments, so check the specific room type when you book rather than assuming.
Disney Resort hotel guests have not been charged for theme park parking, which is a meaningful saving across a week. Overnight self-parking policies at the resorts have changed over time, so confirm the current terms with Disney when you book.
