It’s hard to resist the allure of hotels that are located right on Walt Disney World property. When you stay at a Disney-owned hotel, no matter whether you are going with value, moderate or deluxe, you receive an array of perks, including the ability to enter the parks earlier and stay in them later, free MagicBands and even the opportunity to plan your trip sooner with advanced access to FastPass+. However, staying on property isn’t always an option. Perhaps your budget might call for a cheaper resort option, your favorite Disney hotel is booked solid, or you’re just looking for something a little different.
No matter what the reason, there are plenty of off-property resorts to choose from. Here are some of the best hotel options that are not Disney-owned.
1. Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center
If you still want to be close to the Walt Disney World action, this is a hotel for you. This Kissimmee resort is less than two miles from the Disney’s front gate and it even boasts its own attraction — the Cypress Springs Family Fun Water Park, which has four slides, a treehouse playground, zero-entry pool and an active lagoon. The resort is centered around a huge 4.6-acre atrium that has four sections with different themes, such as St. Augustine (shown above, which has its own alligator exhibit), Key West (which features a 65-foot-long sailboat), The Everglades (which has the award-winning Relache Spa) and Emerald Bay (which has the resort’s most luxurious rooms).
The rooms are modern, with contemporary furnishings, and they’ve just started offering Netflix in them as well. One thing to keep in mind is that this hotel is a big one for meetings and conventions — it has the second most meeting space of any hotel in the entire state of Florida, but there’s so much other space and so many other things to do that constantly bumping into conventioneers won’t be a problem. In addition, the hotel really comes to life during the holidays, when the seasonal ICE! attraction is presented. This walk-through exhibit features 2 million pounds of ice sculptures, four ice slides and a live carving zone called The Frostbite Factory. And last year, the hotel added Alpine Rush Snow Tubing to the mix, with an eight-lane tubing hill covered in real snow!
2. Waldorf Astoria Orlando
This hotel is near Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, and it’s super convenient to Walt Disney World. In fact, it was almost a Disney hotel itself, but the one of the owners of the land refused to sell it to the company. The land was eventually became known as Bonnet Creek and was developed with several hotels, including this upscale one. This resort features 12 restaurants and lounges, free transportation to Walt Disney World and its own Disney souvenir shop. And if you’re a fan of golfing, you’re in luck: this resort has a gorgeous championship 18-hole, par 72 course designed by Rees Jones. If a spa day is more your thing, you can be luxuriously pampered at this resort as well.
3. Caribe Royale Orlando
This resort may look huge, but there’s actually very little walking that you’ll have to do to get from the rooms to the waterfall pool and reception building. The hotel offers suites and villas and is comparable in quality to Disney Vacation Club resorts — though Caribe Royale is much more affordable. Guests have said they paid half the rate here that they’re used to paying at Disney’s deluxe resorts. The rooms are spacious (one-bedroom suites accommodate six people instead of Disney’s one-bedrooms, which only sleep four) and it takes less than 15 minutes to get from the resort to Epcot (and free transportation is offered).
4. Four Seasons Resort Orlando
This resort, the newest on the scene, is technically on Disney property but it’s not operated or owned by Disney. The hotel is in Golden Oaks, an upscale residential community that’s close to Fort Wilderness and Port Orleans Resort, and you can even sit on your balcony and watch the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks. There’s Explorer Island, which has a “beach entry” pool, a lazy river and a waterslide; an adults-only pool; and rooms with luxurious furnishings. You’ll also be whisked to the parks on a luxury motor coach which leaves every half hour for the Magic Kingdom and every hour for the other parks.
5. B Resort & Spa
This hotel about a mile from Disney Springs bills itself as another new one on the scene, but the property has been around for decades. It originally opened in 1972 as The Royal Inn, then became The Hotel Royal Plaza a few years later, and then B Hotels & Resorts bought the property in 2012. After a major renovation and rebranding, the modern, stylish B Resort & Spa opened in June 2014. The rooms have designer furnishings (and some of them even have bunk beds!), you can borrow an iPad for free (so there’s no need to lug yours with you to Florida), you can take advantage of the Monscierge (digital touchscreen concierge) and, of course, you can be chauffeured to the theme parks at no charge. And as far as spa services, B Indulged, the AVEDA lifestyle spa, offers massages, manicures and more as a perfect way to treat yourself after a long day in the parks. With its modern look and conveniences, this is a good place to visit to see what the future of even Disney-owned hotels might hold.
While these resorts may not have the exact same “magic” as staying in a Disney owned and operated hotel has, they still offer a world of amenities all their own. Have you stayed at any of the resorts on the list? Or do you have your own non-Disney owned go-to spot you’d like to share? Let us hear about your experiences in a comment below!
