After practically walking a half marathon at the Walt Disney World theme parks all day, the last thing you want to do when you get back to your resort at night is walk another mile from the bus stop back to your room. Well the good news is that you can guarantee that you won’t have to do that by booking a Preferred Room at the Disney World Resorts! Many of the Walt Disney World Resorts are huge, sprawling complexes with hundreds of rooms housed in multiple buildings on the Resort property. Which is especially true at the Value and Moderate Resorts. Preferred rooms are very close (usually 5min walk or less) to the main lobby, bus transportation, and other resort amenities. While other standard rooms can be a 10 minute, maybe even 20 minute, walk away from these things.
Preferred Rooms at Walt Disney World Resorts are rooms that are guaranteed to be located in the closest buildings to the main resort amenities like the lobby, dining, pool, and transportation.
In terms of the room itself, Preferred Rooms are still the same as a Standard Room at each resort. But the location at the resort is much better. While, yes, Preferred Rooms are a slight upgrade in cost each night over a Standard Room (an average of $15 – $30 extra per night). I think they are definitely worth it for a family with young children, those with mobility issues, or people who want to maximize their vacation time.
From my past experiences I can say that without a doubt the Preferred Rooms will always be my go-to choice on future trips. A lesson learned the hard way by staying in the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation Resort on one of my past trips (about 0.5miles from the bus stop). Keep reading for all of the information you need to know about staying in a Preferred Room at Disney World Resorts and what makes it so great!
The True Meaning of a “Preferred Room” at Walt Disney World Resorts
A Preferred Room at Walt Disney World Resorts is a room located in the most preferred area of that resort. So that means your room would be very close to the main amenities at the resort. Such as the bus stop or other Disney transportation, dining options, the main pool, and the lobby. The prime location of preferred rooms is the only thing separating them from a standard room of the same style. The room itself is exactly the same in terms of layout, furniture, in-room amenities, etc.
At all of the Value Resorts and Moderate Resorts the preferred rooms are all located in the closest buildings to the main lobby and the main pool, the gift shop, and food court. There is also one Deluxe Resort that offers preferred rooms, which is Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. At Saratoga Springs, there are a couple different locations for preferred rooms. They could either be close to Disney Springs or close to the carriage house (main lobby) and dining options. If you’re camping, there are also preferred campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campgrounds located near the marina.
Resorts That Offer Preferred Rooms at Walt Disney World
In this list below I compiled all of the preferred room types available at each Walt Disney World Resort. I listed the name of the room type, for example “Preferred Room” or “Preferred Pool View Room” exactly how these room type names appear on Disney’s website. This will make it easier to find them when you are searching to book your reservation online.
Value Resorts with Preferred Rooms:
- Disney’s All Star Sports Resort:
- Preferred Room
- Sleeps up to 4 with Two Double Beds
- Located close to Stadium Hall, Dining, Main Pool, Shopping and Transportation
- Preferred Room
- Disney’s All Star Movies Resort:
- Preferred Room
- Sleeps up to 4 with One King Bed or Two Queen Beds
- Located close to Cinema Hall, Dining, Main Pool, Shopping and Transportation
- All Preferred Rooms at this resort were recently refurbished and revitalized as shown in the room photo below.
- Preferred Room
- Disney’s All Star Music Resort:
- Preferred Room
- Sleeps up to 4 with Two Double Beds
- Located close to Melody Hall, Dining, Main Pool, Shopping, and Transportation
- This resort is in the process of refurbishing rooms to look like the one shown below, though not all of them are finished yet. So you may still get an older room here.
- Preferred Room
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort:
- Preferred Room
- Sleeps up to 4 with Two Queen Beds or One King Bed
- Preferred Pool View
- Sleeps up to 4 with Two Queen Beds or One King Bed
- Both options are located close to Classic Hall, Dining, Main Pool, Shopping and Transportation
- All Preferred Rooms at this resort were recently refurbished and revitalized. Similar to the look of the room in the picture below.
- Preferred Room
Moderate Resorts with Preferred Rooms:
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort:
- Preferred King Room
- Sleeps up to 2 with One King Bed
- Preferred Room
- Sleeps up to 2 with Two Queen Beds
- Located close to El Centro, Dining, Main Pool, Shopping and Transportation
- Preferred King Room
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort:
- Preferred Room
- Sleeps up to 5 with Two Queen Beds or Two Queen Beds + One Child-Size Pull-Down Bed
- Located close to Fuentes del Morro Main Pool and Centertown
- Preferred Room
- Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort:
- Preferred Room
- Sleeps up to 5 with Two Queen Beds + One Child-Size Pull-Down Bed
- Located close to Sassagoula Steamboat Company, Dining, Main Pool, Shopping and Transportation
- Preferred Room
Other Walt Disney World Resorts with Preferred Rooms:
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort is the only Deluxe Resort at Walt Disney World offering Preferred Rooms. On the other hand, there are also Preferred Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campgrounds Resort as well.
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort:
- Deluxe Studio – Preferred
- Sleeps up to 4 with One Queen Bed and One Double Sleeper Sofa
- One Bedroom Villa – Preferred
- Sleeps up to 4 with One King Bed and One Queen Sleeper Sofa
- Two Bedroom Villa – Preferred
- Sleeps up to 8 with One King Bed, Two Queen Beds, and One Queen Sleeper Sofa
- Three Bedroom Grand Villa – Preferred
- Sleeps up to 12 with One King Bed and Four Queen Beds and One Queen Sleeper Sofa
- Located close to Disney Springs, or close to the Carriage House and Dining
- Deluxe Studio – Preferred
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campgrounds
- Preferred Campsite
- Sleeps up to 10 at these sites with 10’ x 40’ concrete pad and space to park an RV plus a small tent
- Located close to the Resort Marina (that has shuttle boats to Magic Kingdom, Wilderness Lodge, and the Contemporary)
- Preferred Campsite
Cost Difference for Preferred Rooms at Walt Disney World Resorts Compared to Standard Rooms
At the Value Resorts (and Ft Wilderness Campground), most of the dates I tested in 2020 offered Preferred Rooms for an average of $15.00 additional per night over the cost of the same Standard Room. Preferred Rooms at Moderate Resorts were an average of $25.00 additional per night over the Standard Rooms. The cost difference for Preferred Rooms at Saratoga Springs varied based on the unit type confirmed. Ranging from $60.00 – $90.00 per night additional over the same Standard units.
Do keep in mind that rates are subject to change and might be slightly different depending on the dates you search for. Though I did test dates in each month, and for stays of varying length and the results were more or less the same in terms of the price difference between Preferred Rooms and Standard Rooms so this is a good ballpark idea. You can search for availability of Preferred Rooms on the Walt Disney World website or by calling them at (407) 939-1936.
Are Preferred Rooms Worth It?
Now obviously this depends on your budget, and your travel party mostly. And as a blogger writing from my couch at home, I don’t know for sure your situation in that regard. But I can say without hesitation that my stays at Preferred Rooms are always more enjoyable than the same stays in Standard Rooms.
Here’s the thing that seals the deal for me. Preferred Rooms are really only a thing at the Value and Moderate Resorts which mainly rely on Disney transportation by bus. With the exception of the Disney Skyliner at Pop Century and Caribbean Beach, of course. But otherwise, when staying at these Value or Moderate Resorts you can guarantee that you’ll be using a Disney bus as transportation for, most likely, the majority of your trip.
So this brings me back to my point that when you’re arriving back at your resort at the end of the night, after a long day of walking, the last thing you want to do is walk some more just to get to your bed. That feeling you get knowing that once you get off the bus, your room is only a few minutes walk away, instead of a 10 – 15+ minute walk, makes the few extra dollars per day worth it ten times over.
This greatness also applies even more if you are someone who likes to take a midday resort break. In my opinion, the convenience factor of Preferred Rooms can not be overstated. While you might waiver on if you reallyyy need a Preferred Room in advance of your trip. I can pretty much guarantee that if you do give it a chance and book a Preferred Room, you will be thanking yourself even before the end of Day 1 of your trip.
