When you’re planning a Disney vacation, one thing will immediately jump out at you: the price.
From flights to park tickets to food and everything else, the bill can add up quickly. So, enterprising families always look for ways to save a buck or two. One obvious way to do that is, of course, to stay off-site instead of at an official Walt Disney World hotel. In fact, staying off-site can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars depending on where you opt to stay — and, in a vacuum, it would seem to be an obvious decision.
But we don’t live in a vacuum. Disney does everything in its power to sell you on the fact that staying on Disney property simply makes your vacation more special. And, if you’ve done it once, you’ve likely understood exactly what that difference is — even if you aren’t able to articulate it. So, despite the fact that it can save you so much money, you often choose to bite down and spend the extra dough for an entire stay firmly inside the Disney bubble.
Why? What is it about Disney’s resort hotels that create that feeling? Why is it so hard to resist their allure? Here are five ways Disney’s amazing resorts keep you in the Disney bubble.
Creating immersive themes
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Theming is everything at Disney, and that is just as true of the resorts as it is of the attractions. Some of Disney’s oldest and most famous resorts have become attractions unto themselves, largely because of the exquisite theming and sense of place imbued into their designs.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, for example, transports guests to a faithful recreation of a South Seas getaway, complete with a luxurious beach and an eclectic tiki bar. The theme is kitschy, but never gaudy — and every square foot evokes a sense of fun and adventure, while still feeling like a comfortable resort to sleep in.
Other hotels, like the Hampton Inn or the Holiday Inn, make you feel at home by seeming familiar. If you’ve visited one, you’ve visited them all. But each of Disney’s resorts, from the luxurious Disney’s Contemporary Resort to the modest Disney’s All-Star Sports, uses its theme to make you feel like you are visiting some place that is special and unique. That sense of uniqueness adds to the Disney bubble feeling.
Background music
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Disney’s Imagineers are also masters at subconsciously communicating with us — even when we don’t consciously realize it. One of the most effective ways of doing this is, naturally, with background music.
All of the Disney Resorts have unique and curated soundtracks that play throughout the different public areas on property. Those soundtracks evoke the themes, either through instrumental styles or lyrical touches. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge uses beautiful sounds cultivated from the many cultures of the African continent. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort has classic big band tunes as well as a live orchestra in the evenings.
Other hotels play music in their lobbies, but Disney’s commitment to maintaining the themes with sound signal to the guest that each of their senses should be working in unison. The buildings sound just like they look, and when your senses all tell you the same story, the Disney bubble grows stronger than ever.
Horticulture and landscaping
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While other companies might stop at architecture and music, Disney takes its thematic game to another level with intricately attended-to horticulture. That’s right: Even the plants are tirelessly monitored and designed.
At resorts like Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, the flowers and plants are either native to the South Seas islands, or they’re close-enough relatives that simply evoke similar feelings. At Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, the trees look more like those you’d find in the great western national parks than what you might expect in a Floridian swamp.
In addition to the plants being chosen to reflect the themes of each resort, they’re also manicured and managed to absolute perfection. They aren’t planted and then left to nature to take care of — Disney makes sure that trees, flowers, and other nature looks just as cared for today as it did 20 years ago. For that reason, the resorts feel almost removed from time — always in bloom and always looking perfect.
Well-trained and costumed cast members
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Disney’s cast members have long been famous for their obsessive attention to detail and their commitment to ensuring the guest experience is as close to perfect as human beings can manage. Over time, that reputation has slipped somewhat, but a return to form in recent years is absolutely noticeable for repeat guests.
Nowhere is this more evident than at the resorts, where cast members interact with guests in all sorts of extreme situations: after lengthy travel delays, or when a health concern awakes them in the middle of the night. Through it all, they remain friendly and courteous, and eager to resolve any issue.
While other resorts might make sure that employees are dressed in smart black business attire, Disney goes an extra step to ensure that its resort cast members all have costumes that fit both their role on-site and the hotel’s theme. Everyone, from housekeeping to general management, looks the part — and so if you do need help from a cast member, they look not only like they work at the resort, but also like they belong in the world that it inhabits. That’s key to keeping up the Disney Bubble.
Keeping you on-site as much as possible
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Sure, Disney keeps you in the Disney Bubble by using a lot of clever artistic tricks and methods. But they also do it in a slightly more sinister way — by literally keeping you on-site as much as they possibly can.
One of Disney’s most famous perks for their on-property guests is Disney’s Magical Express — a free round-trip shuttle service from Orlando International Airport to your Disney resort. On the one hand, this is fantastic value. On the other hand, it discourages guests from renting a car … and therefore, for venturing off Disney Property for really any reason.
Do you want food? Your resort has it! If you don’t want to eat at your resort, perhaps you can talk alongside Crescent Lake to a different resort, or take the Monorail, Skyliner, or Sassagoula River Ferry somewhere else. Do you want to shop or see a movie? Take the free shuttle bus to Disney Springs, which offers hundreds of stores, restaurants, and things to do. Does Universal’s Volcano Bay intrigue you? Well, Disney has a couple of water parks of its own, and they have free buses too!
Essentially, the Disney Bubble isn’t just the ineffable feeling of Disney magic where ever you look while on vacation. It’s also the literal bubble Disney wants to trap you in, so every dollar of your week-long vacation goes to them in some way or another.
And, while that might sound sinister, a lot of people really love it. It’s convenient. It’s safe. It’s comfortable. You know the Disney Bubble is there, and that knowledge allows you to enjoy your vacation even more. Yes, there might be a CVS half a mile away that sells the same toothpaste from the lobby gift shop for half the price. But that doesn’t matter. You aren’t staying on property for the toothpaste — you’re doing it so that you can forget, for a short while, that you’ll have to answer to your dentist when you get home.
