When is Disney not Disney?
As much as people love the many Disney-owned properties near the world’s most popular theme park quartet, none of them qualifies as a true five-star luxury hotel, at least in the conventional sense. That’s why it was such a huge deal when The Walt Disney Company signed off on the Golden Oaks community and its linchpin addition, a Four Seasons hotel. The Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World actually shares services with the people who live in million dollar residences at Golden Oaks.
Due to these communal needs, Golden Oak Realty, a Disney subsidiary, worked in unison with Four Seasons Hotels, Inc. Their mutual goals centered on the belief that luxury living across the lake from Magic Kingdom should redefine the theme park hotel experience just as Disneyland Hotel had roughly six decades prior.
The similarities are eerie. Both resorts launched with the blessing and encouragement of The Walt Disney Company yet neither one was owned by Uncle Walt’s business. Guests staying at the hotel or residing at Golden Oaks enjoy access to one of the best spas in Florida, and it offers Magical Moment makeovers for Disney fans. If you’re traveling without your children or brought the nanny, there’s also a couples bungalow where you and your significant other can melt away the afternoon in the euphoria of five-star pampering.
There’s even a character breakfast onsite featuring Goofy & His Pals. The only other non-Disney resort/theme park character meals available in Florida are at Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resorts. The Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World even provides a Disney Planning Center at the front desk that can handle anything from regular guest services to FastPass+ selections. Actual Disney cast members work at this counter.
Clearly, the property’s architects intended everything about the Four Seasons to mimic a Disney resort experience with one crucial difference. It’s still a five-star property that measures up to any of the vaunted hotel chain’s most exotic offerings. If money is no object to you, the suites at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World deliver some of the best and most stimulating views of Magic Kingdom and other famous surroundings. You can view many of them here. Their best two hotel rooms are:
13. Presidential Suite – Four Seasons Orlando Resort at Walt Disney World
Rate: $12,000 per night
The second best suite at the Four Seasons resides on the same floor as the best one. Just to cause your jaw to drop before the next entry, I’ll mention that this one costs $12,000 per night. Imagine what the most expensive suite is going to cost.
So, what do you get for a measly $12,000 a night? For starters, you’ll lack a sense of accomplishment, because you’ll know that there’s an even better suite right down the hall that you chose not to get. It’s like willingly picking the silver medal rather than the gold.
If you do cheap out and go Presidential rather than Royal, you’ll stay at a 2,750 square feet residence that is almost 15 percent larger than the average home. Styled as a Mediterranean villa, the highlights of the Presidential Suite are the great room, the master bedroom, and master bathroom.
The great room features an in-wall fireplace that will draw your eye at first and then provide warming background sounds as you enjoy the various seating options. The décor will make you feel insecure about your interior design abilities thanks to its subtle demonstration of opulence and elegance. The all-marble bathroom features the type of bathtub that you’d imagine Queen Elizabeth prefers. And the exterior deck provides a sweeping perspective of the pool and lake below as well as Disney landmarks just past the water.
The Presidential Suite is amazing on its own, but the intended usage is as a part of an even larger housing unit. It combines with the selection below to provide an almost incomprehensively expensive single night’s stay in five-star luxury. You can watch all the room highlights for yourself here. Note that it will not make you feel good about your current living quarters.
14. Royal Suite – Four Seasons Orlando Resort at Walt Disney World
Rate: $14,000 per night
Let’s be honest about the naming convention here. It’s a regally named suite at a five-star resort across the water from the most popular theme park in the world. The Royal Suite is something so expensive that even some members of the One Percent will blanch in sticker shock. In terms of bang for your buck, it’s an amazing offering, though.
The Royal Suite offers 3,300 square feet of living space, which is 900 square feet more than the size of the average American home. Situated on the 16th floor, it offers an inimitable perspective of Magic Kingdom across the way. Of course, for the staggering price tag of this suite, there’s much more than just the view.
The dazzling full marble bathroom is larger than your college dorm room, which is fitting since staying in this room for a week costs about the same as your tuition. There’s also a movie-viewing room where you can catch up on your favorite Disney classics, as long as you don’t think about how much more you’re paying than normal for something that costs $15 per person in the theater or $20 on Blu-Ray.
While the kitchen is better than you’d find in the home of a Michelin Star-winning chef, the show stopper isn’t inside. The exterior deck of the Royal Suite is the equivalent of the Top of the World lounge and California Grill’s viewing areas, only as a private outdoors living area that will make you feel bad about your backyard. You’ll understand what I mean at the one minute mark of this video that highlights all the amenities, cleverly ending with the 1,000 square foot terrace that would seem right at home on an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
In total, there are nine rooms in the villa, although you can splurge for another two rooms containing 1,000 square feet of space each if the base 3,300 square feet cramps your style too much.
In order to save you from the indignity of flipping a light switch, the suite features automated functionality, so you can control everything from your iPad, presuming you don’t have the help handle such menial tasks.
If you can afford this suite, you’ll feel as if Wishes is your own private fireworks display. And all it will cost you is $14,000 a night if you accept the basic version of a suite. Of course, you’d run the risk of running into other people if you did that. Instead, you should consider the nine-room option for $35,000 per night. In fact, just to be safe, you should go ahead and rent out the entire floor for the evening. All it will cost you is $60,000. You could likely create a fairly memorable fireworks show in your own backyard for that price.
So, if you want to blow somewhere between $100,000 and $420,000 for a week at Walt Disney World rather than buying a new Tesla, the Royal Suite stands tall as the most expensive Disney theme park suite in the world, even though it’s not technically Disney. The answer to whether it’s worth the money or not probably depends on whether you founded Google or grew up at the Kennedy Compound.
When Walt Disney and Jack Wrather planned for the future of a theme park that was yet to exist, they had no idea how great an impact they’d have on the nascent industry. Their ambition was simply to provide a large number of nightly accommodations as close to Disneyland as possible.
In the decades that have followed, the disciples of Walt Disney have embraced his plussing concept. They’ve built some of the most extraordinary suites the theme park industry has ever seen. Even the ones that technically aren’t owned by Disney redefine magnificence. Alas, they also cost as much per night as you’re likely to pay for your mortgage.
If you are one of the lucky few who get to spend one or more nights in one of these suites, it’ll provide a lifetime of memories. Truly, these are the most unforgettable, deluxe suites that you’ll find at a Disney theme park. That won’t be true forever, though. Even now, Imagineers are designing the next wave of luxury accommodations. Theme Park Tourist hears that Wilderness Lodge is next in line for a round of plussing. Stay tuned…
Comments
We stayed at the GFV 3 bedroom suite and I didn't think any room was more beautiful or spacious. It had a full kitchen, panoramic windows looking at the Magic Kingdom and the lake. Media room for movie watching. TV's in the bathroom mirrors. Bathrooms as big as my kitchen at home. Was absolutely beautiful!