Is It Worth Paying Extra to Stay at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel?

You can expect to pay significantly more to stay at a Walt Disney World resort hotel than you would at a comparable off-property hotel. But you might be surprised at just how much of a difference we're talking about. Here's a closer look, as well as information about the perks of staying at a Disney hotel.

How much more do Disney hotels cost?

Disney splits its hotels into three different main categories -- value-priced resorts, moderately-priced resorts, and deluxe resorts. There are also studios and villas available at some of its resorts that are popular among larger families. According to OrlandoParksGuy.com, the typical value-priced Disney resort, which includes the popular "All Star" series of resorts, costs $220 to $265 per night for a standard room. Moderately priced resorts, which include Disney's Caribbean Beach and Port Orleans Resorts, range from $268 to $505, on average. And you can expect a room at a Disney deluxe resort to set you back $409 to $779 per night at properties like the Beach Club Resort and well-known Grand Floridian Resort.

Of course, these are just averages and the prices can vary dramatically based on the time of year you go and which resort you choose. And if you were curious, average rates for one- and two-bedroom villas at Disney resort hotels start at $643 and $928 per night, respectively.

For comparison, the median hotel price out of 750 Orlando-area hotels is $151 per night, according to travel website Budget Your Trip. And the analysis found that more than 200 of the 750 hotels have average daily rates of $101 or less. Plus, the average price of a luxury hotel (which are comparable to Disney deluxe resorts) is $358 for Orlando as a whole.

Benefits of staying at a Walt Disney World hotel

There are some obvious advantages to staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel, such as being closer to the theme parks. But there are some other key advantages that are important to know as well:

• Extra time in the parks: While staying at a Disney resort hotel, you can enter all four Walt Disney World theme parks 30 minutes before they open to the public, and guests of certain hotels can stay after the parks' normal closing time on select nights.
• Disney dining plans: On-property guests can add prepaid meal plans to a Disney resort hotel package.
• Disney transportation: Guests at Disney hotels can use Disney's buses, boats, and monorails to get to the parks, as well as the Disney Skyliner, which serves certain resort hotels.
• Free parking: Resort guests get free standard parking at all the Disney World theme parks and water parks. This typically costs $30 per day at the theme parks.

There is also special financing available for Disney vacations (including resort hotel stays) if you have one of the Disney credit cards.

Should you pay the extra money or use it elsewhere?

There is no perfect answer for everyone, and judging by the fact that most Walt Disney World hotels are sold out (or close to it) much of the year, there are plenty of vacationers that find value in staying on Disney property. The best move for you depends on your travel budget, personal financial situation, and how important the benefits listed above are to you. For example, the additional early morning hours can be great if you want to get on a popular ride before the park opens to the public, but if you prefer to sleep in on vacation, this perk isn't very valuable to you at all.

The bottom line is that there are pros and cons to staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel. My family has annual passes to Walt Disney World and we've done it both ways and found solid arguments in favor of each one.

In addition to the cost savings of staying off-property, you can also choose to stay in a location convenient to other Orlando-area attractions, and could get more space than you'd find in an on-property accommodation. I can tell you firsthand that a four-bedroom Airbnb in a nice resort close to the parks comes with a very reasonable price, while the same amount of space at a Disney resort would cost you more than a nice used car.

So, the best course of action to decide is to compare prices for the dates you're going and weigh the value of the benefits versus the additional cost.