Is a stay at a Disney resort still a good deal?

That’s the question you’ll need to answer as you contemplate your next vacation. You can see from the data above that it has always cost a lot of money to stay onsite. That’s by design. Disney expects customers to pay a premium to enjoy the best amenities at Walt Disney World. One of those amenities is underrated, but I maintain that it’s the most important one. It’s logistics.

Traveling around the Walt Disney World campus is rarely easy. That was true in 1971, when 10.7 million people visited during the first calendar year. It’s that much truer now that 52 million people attend Walt Disney World each year. Suffice to say that the traffic sucks. Disney’s recent announcement about the Skyliner shows that they’re taking the problem seriously, but it reinforces a larger point.

Staying offsite during a Walt Disney World visit is wildly inconvenient. You have a harder time leaving the various theme parks during the day. Instead, you’re stuck there, which doesn’t sound bad until you remember that it’s often 85 degrees or higher. Also, humans sweat. So, you’re a sticky, sweaty theme park tourist who cannot go back to the hotel easily.

The cost of comfort

What’s the cost of comfort? Well, that’s a moving target at the Most Magical Place on Earth. The cheapest room onsite is $106 per night. The most expensive one is more than $2,000 per night. Disney’s goal with this wide range of housing options is to provide guests with the room they need at a price they can afford. The goal of other hotels in the area is to capitalize on the popularity of Disney’s theme parks. They compete by having cheaper rates while emphasizing that their location is just as good.

In some cases, that’s true. Disney doesn’t own the Swan and Dolphin properties, but they’re right beside Disney’s BoardWalk Resort and Disney’s Beach Club Resort. They’re even part of Disney’s boat transportation system. These hotels seem like they’re great options in that they receive virtually every Disney resort amenity save for access to Disney’s Magical Express.

What’s the catch? The rooms here cost an average of $240 per night, and the hotel charges $28.13 per night for what it calls a “service package.” In reality, that’s a resort fee for staying at the hotel. Effectively, these rooms start at $270 per night…and they’re nowhere near as nice as BoardWalk or Beach Club. Then again, the cheapest room at either of those hotels starts at $421. Over the course of a seven day/six night trip, you’d pay $906 more to stay in the same general location for a Disney property.