Deluxe Resorts and Villas

For guests staying at Disney Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts, you can expect a caliber of service and amenities that is what Disney is known worldwide for. Between the incredible theming, multiple room size options, four and five star dining locations, and the multitude of additional amenities, these resorts are destinations all by themselves.

These resorts have it all, larger rooms, signature dining options, top notch amenities, the closest proximity to the parks, and special extras on site. The theming of these resorts is outstanding, with grand entrance halls, elaborate landscaping, and expansive themed pools.

Each deluxe resort has a smaller food court option, along with one, and often more than one, table service restaurants, and most have additional signature restaurants. Many of the character dining options are found in Deluxe Resorts, including the ever popular Chef Mickey’s over at the Contemporary Resort, Story Book Dining where you can see Snow White, Grumpy, Dopey, and the Evil Queen over at the Wilderness Lodge Resort, and our favorite Topolions over at the Riviera Resort, plus a number of others.

Most of these resorts have special transportation options from the hotel to one or more of the parks. This includes the monorail, which goes to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, the skyliner, which goes to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, boats and walking trails (because some of the resorts are really that close to the parks). There is of course also bus transportation, which is often shared with nearby deluxe resorts due to the reduced guest capacity at these resorts compared to moderate or value resorts.

The deluxe villas are comparable, and often synonymous with the deluxe resorts. Plenty of them are even on the same ground and share amenities with deluxe resorts. The difference is that these resorts are all Disney Vacation Club resorts. The Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is the Disney timeshare program where members pay for points that they then use to book these DCV hotels. However, the general public can book at these hotels too through the Disney website.

The main benefit of these deluxe villa resorts is the ability to book larger room sizes for families who want the benefits of staying at a deluxe Disney resort but need different room size options. In particular, the deluxe villas offer one, two, and even three bedroom villas to accommodate larger families. While there are multi-room suites that can be found at some of the other resorts, these villas have full size kitchen and dining areas, washer and dryers in the room, and more square footage per room to spread out in. This space accompanied by the deluxe resort amenities and proximity to the parks does come at a premium pricing though, out of pocket these rooms start at about $400/night and go up to over $1000/night.

If you are looking to book one of these rooms, we recommend renting points if you can. Many DVC owners are not always able to use their yearly points in the time frame required, so instead of losing the points they “rent” them out. By renting these points you can get substantial cost savings on these larger rooms. If you would like to look into this option you will likely need to rent the points a year out, and we recommend going through a third party like David’s Vacation Club Rentals. There are some downsides to renting points instead of booking directly, such as you will need to pay at the time of booking instead of paying over time, the ability to cancel is limited, and you cannot change your resort reservation directly. However, the cost savings makes these inconveniences well worth it.

Best for

People who want to stay close to the parks
Families who want more amenities at the hotel, including additional recreational activities, dining options, more exciting pool areas, and more luxurious rooms.

Pricing

Higher cost per night than value or moderate resorts, starting cost is about $450/night
Animal Kingdom is at the lower end of the pricing, staring at about $450/night, while Grand Floridian is the most expensive with rooms starting at $720/night

Theming

Deluxe resorts have some incredible theming, taking guest from an idyllic beach side resort at the turn of the century at Disney’s Beach Club and Yacht Resorts, to a grand lodge in the northwestern woods at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, to a resort in the middle of an African safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Rooms

Step up in room size
Mostly only exterior hallways/entrances to rooms
Updated rooms
Some of the resorts have a standard room that sleeps 5
The Deluxe Villas have Studios, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom options available

Recreation

Themed main pool with slide(s) and splash pads & smaller quiet pools.
Activities throughout the day in or near the main pool area including Movie Under the Stars, resort bonfires, poolside games, and more.
Some resorts are on the water and offer water recreation and fishing for a fee.
Playgrounds available at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Boardwalk Inn
Arcade at each resort
Fitness centers available for onsite guest use.
Can rent a bike or surrey bike at most of the resorts
Recreation centers where guests can rent movies and games. There is typically a Disney movie already playing in these areas and a cast member on hand to help or even play a game with guests.
Most deluxe resorts also have outdoor sports courts available for tennis, basketball, volleyball, tetherball, and pingpong. Equipment can be rented from the recreation center.

Additional Amenities

Extended Evening Theme Park Hours - at Magic Kingdom and Epcot on select nights, guests of Deluxe and Deluxe Villa resorts get an extra two hours in the parks after closing time.

Dining

Have a quick service restaurant for grab and go food, these restaurants are smaller and have fewer offerings than the quick service found at value and moderate resorts.
Each also has at least one table service restaurant, with most having multiple, and many have signature restaurants for fine dining.
Character meals are available at Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Polynesian Village, Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, and Riviera Resort.
Each also has at least one lounge area available, sometimes connected with a restaurant and other times independent.

Transportation

Contemporary Resort, Polynesian Village, Grand Floridian all on the monorail loop providing easy access to the Magic Kingdom and transport to Epcot.
Can also walk to Magic Kingdom from Contemporary or Grand Floridian
Can walk to Epcot from Boardwalk Inn, Beach Club, or Yacht Club or take a boat.
A longer walking path available to Hollywood studios from Boardwalk Inn, Beach Club, or Yacht Club, or can take a boat.
Riviera Resort has access to the skyliner providing a quick trip to Epcot or Hollywood Studios.
Saratoga Springs is right next to Disney Springs and you can walk or take a boat.