This Bizarre Rule ONLY Applies at One Disney World Hotel

I don’t know about you all, but the list of Disney World hotels that I’m dreaming of staying at someday is about as long as my arm. (Spoiler alert: It’s all of them, I want to stay at all of them.)

Not all Disney World hotels are built the same — value resorts are known for their low pricing and fantastic, over-the-top theming, moderates are known for being right in the middle (price wise and theming wise) between value and deluxe hotels, and deluxe hotels are known for being the fanciest of the bunch with more subtle theming. Even categorized like that, they’re all unique, which also means some of them have unique rules that ONLY apply to that hotel.

NO Plastic Straws Allowed!

Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is a beautiful deluxe hotel, you’ll find a massive hotel that looks out onto a gorgeous savanna. Day and night, you can see animals roaming around — imagine waking up to a giraffe in the savanna outside your window! I haven’t stayed here, but I have worked from the hotel lobby for a few hours and that experience alone has this hotel at the top of my list.

At this hotel and this hotel ONLY plastic straws aren’t just discouraged, they’re flat out not allowed. Many areas in Disney World now don’t give out plastic straws in an effort to be more green, but getting a plastic straw at DAKL is just flat out impossible, just like it is in Animal Kingdom.

This is all to protect the animals. Since you’re so close to the savanna, Disney doesn’t want a plastic straw dropped on the ground to blow into the savanna and get eaten by an animal. Now, is Disney going to check your bag before you check in to make sure you don’t have any plastic straws? No, not necessarily, but they’re strongly discouraged and you won’t be able to find them anywhere on property.

Military Personnel or Veterans ONLY

Shades of Green is what’s called a Good Neighbor Hotel. These are hotels that aren’t directly owned by Disney but do have some of the same Disney World hotel perks, including free transportation to and from the hotel and the theme parks/Disney Springs and Early Entry into the theme parks.

This isn’t just any Good Neighbor Hotel though — this hotel is a Armed Forces Recreation Center which focuses on providing first class low cost accommodations for Department of Defense Personnel, and retired personnel. It was originally owned by Disney, but was bought by the Department of Defense in 2004.

To be specific, the hotel is available for active and retired members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard, but Reserves, National Guard, currently employed DOD civilians, and U.S. Public Health Officers are also eligible.

Golf Cart Rules

There’s one hotel on property that’s so large walking isn’t the main way of transportation — bikes and golf carts are! Fort Wilderness is a gorgeous resort that lots of people love if they’re big fans of camping! You can camp on a campsite or stay in one of their new cabins that recently debuted.

Again though, this resort is incredible, as I said, it’s huge, which is why they offer golf cart and bike rentals to help you get around! These are so popular in fact, that there’s an entire flyer with all the rules that need to be followed to keep everyone safe.

This is the only Disney World hotel with golf cart rentals, so it’s also the only hotel where these rules apply (except for the laws of the road, those apply everywhere with all vehicles). Reservations are highly recommended and golf carts cost around $65.73–$84.51 per day.

Staying at each Disney World hotel will give you a different experience, which is a big reason why I’d love to stay at them all! Be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest Disney World news!

Never stayed in a Disney World hotel before? Here’s some information you need to know!

What Disney World hotel are you really hoping to stay at one day? Tell us in the comments!