Worst Disney World Hotels, From No Thanks to Not So Bad
Far & Wide
1 day ago
© Matt Stroshan/Walt Disney World
Welcome to The Happiest Place on Earth.
Walt Disney World Resort spans 40 square miles — about the same size as the city of Boston. Not only is it home to seven theme parks, 90 full-service restaurants and 2,000 animals, but it also offers 34 different hotels in which to stay.
Sure, there are several other hotels to select from in the Greater Orlando, Florida, area, but staying at Disney comes with privileges. You're promised Disney Magic at every turn, while also receiving extra hours in the theme parks, special transportation and FastPass+ bonuses.
But how do you choose when there are nearly three dozen great properties? We'll let the people decide.
Resort Categories
© Walt Disney World
Disney Resorts have something for everyone.
Disney properties are divided into categories that illustrate different amenities and services that affect the price.
- Value: These are your most basic accommodations that can sleep between four and six guests. Recreation includes swimming pools and playgrounds, and dining options are food courts.
- Moderate: Your middle-ground properties have rooms with similar features as the value properties but include an onsite restaurant.
- Deluxe: More restaurants will be available in a deluxe property that will offer character dining. Entertainment and recreation are enhanced with bike and boat rentals, and evening fun.
- Villas: All found on deluxe properties, villas provide up to three bedrooms and home-away-from-home accommodations with kitchens and multiple bathrooms.
How We Determined the Reviews
© Fraochsidhe/Flickr
You can't beat the Magic Kingdom.
We're not going to judge a property based on its price because some of the value properties can be quite lovely. This is Disney, after all!
Instead, we turned to Tripadvisor's hotel reviews. Because it's Disney, most of them are rave reviews and keep the hotel scores at four or higher, with the lowest being a three. We then ordered by hotel class and the number of reviews to create this list.
With all of this in mind, these are the worst Disney World hotels, ranked from terrible to not so bad. But even a bad Disney hotel is a pretty happy place.
34. Disney's All-Star Sports Resort
© Walt Disney World
Disney's All-Star Sports Resort is a great place for kids.
Location: Disney's Animal Kingdom
Category: Value
Hotel class: 3 star
Rating: 4
Bottom line: The name of the game at this Value resort is competitive sports. Not only does it welcome school teams attending Orlando competitions, but it also promotes sports play across the property.
This is one property crawling with kids, so if you're taking an adult-only getaway, this may be a bit loud for your tastes.
What people say about it: "The hotel was very clean and the staff was very friendly. The food is fast-food only, but there are many different options in the parks. A bus service runs every day to different parks. The hotel is a bit far out, but it's a great low-cost option." — @Ucc95
33. Disney's All-Star Music Resort
© pianistmagazine/Twitter
Let's rock and roll.
Location: Disney's Animal Kingdom
Category: Value
Hotel class: 3 star
Rating: 4
Bottom line: Just like All-Star Sports is sports-themed, the All-Star Music property is all about the tunes.
While the rooms look just like the sports property, when you arrive, you'll walk through a giant jukebox and past guitars aplenty.
Of course, music is playing at every turn as well.
What people say about it: "This was our first time at Disney and I was a little apprehensive about this resort due to some of the reviews we had seen; all that worry went out of the window as soon as we arrived.
Brilliant cast members from the moment we walked into the moment we checked out. The rooms were dated (now being refurbished) but spotlessly clean. All the cast members that we came into contact with around the resort were fantastic. The food court was brilliant; we were just expecting burgers and hot dogs, but there was so much more.
The transportation system from the resort to the various parks was amazing; we didn't have to wait long for a bus at any time. The only time the wait times increased was at peak times, but even then, the longest we waited was 20 minutes." — @HappyPlace73
Far & Wide
