The Most Expensive Hotel in Disney World You Should Skip (and the One You’ve Gotta Try)

When planning your Disney Vacation, there are a lot of Disney hotels to choose from.

They can range from value to deluxe resorts, which include varying price points, amenities, and theming. We want to talk about one very popular hotel at Disney World and why you shouldn’t stay there! We’re also going to give you a better option in our opinion. So, let’s get into it!

Of course, you are welcome to like and stay at any Disney World hotel. Everyone is different and has different priorities when staying on property. We’re just here to give our opinion and give you some options to think about before booking your next trip.

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort is a deluxe resort and is one of the most expensive hotels you can stay at on Disney property. It’s located on Seven Seas Lagoon, and you can walk to Magic Kingdom from the resort. 

The hotel is a 900-room resort that has one monorail stop from the Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center. It occupies 40 acres and is styled in a turn-of-the-century Victorian theme. The red and white structure features gabled roofs and a five-story Grand Lobby, topped with a stained glass ceiling and chandeliers.

In addition to the monorail, you can take a boat to the Magic Kingdom for quick transportation. The resort also offers various dining options including some popular ones like Victoria & Albert’s, Narcoossee’s, and one of our favorite bars, The Enchanted Rose. So you might be thinking, this sounds great! Why would you not want to stay here?

First, the rooms are pricey! For a resort view room, it is around $900 a night. That is one of the cheapest rooms, without a discount, that you’ll find here.

They have a lot of rooms to choose from, but one of the more expensive rooms, a one-bedroom suite at club level, can cost you around $2,000 a night! These rooms were recently updated, but they are not unusually nice for a deluxe room.

Next, this resort is crowded, and not just with the people who are staying there. Because of its easy access to the monorail, guests who are not staying here often visit, and the lobby can get crowded, especially around the holidays. The Christmas tree and the gingerbread house draw a big crowd.

The resort is also spread out, which isn’t necessarily unusual for deluxe resorts, but it is something to take into consideration.

In summary, our team agreed that while this resort is beautiful inside, we don’t feel that the price tag is warranted. For those prices, we would opt for something more immersive and unique at Disney World.

A great alternative to the Grand Floridian is Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort. It is a deluxe resort offering DVC and club level rooms, two pools, a great view of the lake, and immersive theming. It is still close to Magic Kingdom and while you can’t walk there from this resort, you can take a boat.

This resort will transport you and make you forget you’re in Florida. It’s almost like a mini vacation within your Disney vacation. The lobby is huge with a fireplace and even a water feature inside. 

You’ll find two pools to choose from, both are large in our opinion. You’ll be surrounded by trees and nature sounds all throughout the resort. 

You can find rooms ranging from around $500 a night for a standard room to $1700 a night for a 2 bedroom suite. 

There are a lot of great dining options here including Artist Point, Whispering Canyon, and Roaring Fork. These are popular choices, but we don’t feel like they draw as big a crowd from those staying outside this hotel, so there’s less traffic in the lobby.

One of our favorite things about this resort is that it sits on Bay Lake and has a partial view of the fireworks at night. If you head over to Geyser Point, you can grab a drink and watch the fireworks. They even pump in the music from Happily Ever After here. 

We hope this helps you for your next Disney World vacation. Be sure to follow us at AllEars.net for more tips and advice.

Which Disney World Resort is a skip for you? Tell us in the comments below.