When you’re vacationing at Walt Disney World, you’re likely inclined to maximize your time in the parks (and maybe barhopping and dessert-hopping around Disney Springs), but don’t forget to spend some quality time at your Resort hotel room, too!
After all, that’s exactly what Disney wants you to do — and some of the reasons may surprise you!
Nostalgia
Disney want to establish nostalgia and attachment to the Disney brand in a way that’s comforting and makes guests want to come back again and again. No place on property does this like your very own Disney resort room.
From the comfy beds to the convenient amenities, your room and its design are meant to give you sentimental feelings that create a sense of belonging. Is it any wonder we get weepy when a Cast Member says “Welcome home”?
Money, Money, Money
And if you’re coming back year after year to capture that nostalgia, you’re going to do something Disney really wants you to do: spend money. Besides the cost of a Resort room and tickets, Disney knows that if you’re relaxed, resting in a quiet, sentimental environment, you’re more likely to loosen the pursestrings.
And fortunately for Disney/unfortunately for your savings account, there are lots of things to spend money on in your hotel! This includes in-room dining, on-site dining, gift shops, merchandise, and overpriced groceries. Disney knows you’re more likely to spend money on Disney stuff when it’s conveniently accessible to you.
Coupled with the fact that Disney resort guests get many additional perks, like Early Theme Park Entry, complimentary transportation to the parks, and more, they make visitors feel special and like they’re saving money in different ways. Thus, they might be more inclined to spend more elsewhere!
Disney for Life
The money motivation is an understandable and unsurprising one, but another huge reason why Disney wants you clocking time in the comfy confines of your room is so they can make a lifelong Disney fan out of you!
Immersing guests in the Disney magic is the best way for guests to establish nostalgia, ensuring repeat visits, glowing word of mouth, and excited social media posts.
Sure, most guests feel all these things by simply being in the parks and without even staying at a Disney resort, but the parks have a lot more variables that are out of Disney’s control, such as weather that might ruin your experience, overcrowded queues that might upset your party, or restaurant reservations that are annoyingly impossible to snag (looking at you, Cinderella’s Royal Table).
The resorts, and your room in particular, are environments that Disney can curate and control, guaranteeing the utmost comfort, relaxation, and happy vibes that’ll leave you with positive memories you won’t soon forget.
These spaces are the ultimate showcase for the dreamiest Disney vacation, and Disney wants to make sure you’re making the most of it — for your benefit and for theirs.
The Most Expensive Room at Each Disney World Hotel!
Which Disney resort is your favorite places to spend time in? Let us know in the comments!
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I don’t think there are any perks to staying onsite anymore. We’ve been visiting Disney World since 1999 and the magic has slowly worn off as the years of gone by.
We have always stayed at Port Orleans Riverside – or Dixie Landings as it was when we first visited. It is still a beautiful resort but the ‘Disney’ aspects have all but gone (apart from the price). When we first stayed in Alligator Bayou, the beds had wooden stands, all the way round (which you barked your shins on) and had a lovely patterned bedspread on with hidden Mickeys, the carpet that was patterned like wooden planks, even the furniture was rustic and it all added to the back woods charm. The mouse keepers left towel animals everyday, so you knew they’d been.
When we went last time in 2018, the rooms had just been redecorated and all the magic touches had been removed – laminated flooring, normal beds, plain white bed linens, normal furniture – we could have been in any American hotel room. It was such a shame and all to save Disney a few bucks
I agree with all these comments. Disney too obviously is cheating out on a lot of things to the benefit of this quarter, but to the denigration of the guest experience. I’m a DVC member, so we’ve spent a ton of money there. EPCOT was great because it gave you a taste of the cultures and you could decide if you wanted to actually visit those places.
My mother brought me to WDW the first year it was open at 3 years old and we went almost every year. There was a break as a teen, early 20s, but from ’97 on, my wife and I went a lot, bought DVC, went on cruises, etc.
Disney used to be the gold standard of theme parks and experience, but now they look too hard at what others do for the sake of adding a fee and then raising prices. Before anyone says, “Disney is a business”, it’s always been a business, but the guest experience and show used to be the primary considerations. They use crowds as an excuse to keep raising ticket prices/have more tickted events etc. I think eventually they’ll just do micro transactions for everything you do in the parks.
We still cruise with DCL, but if they start jacking the prices without delivering the experience as the parks have done, there are a lot of other cruise lines.
I would like to see “staying at a Disney Resort Perks” come back. They picked up your luggage at the airport, and they would take your luggage back to the airport for you at the conclusion of your vacation. Transportation to and from the airport was complimentary (good business model-keep the money on Disney property). Free Magic Bands (shouldn’t say free/complimentary, it was in the overpriced hotel accommodations bill.) Extra magic hours and fast pass for everyone made the vacation magical. We are going for the 50th, because my husband and I were born in 1971. After that spring vacation, I hope to go to other places like Hawaii. I am not paying for Genie+, and I am curious as to how popular it is going to be.
Totally agree!!!
Disney is destroying the magic and value of a WDW vacation.
The last 50 years have flown by. You & your husband were born in ’71. I remember visiting the Magic Kingdom in ’71 as a teenager. I agree with your sentiment. The perks were why we stayed on property. Disney made it too easy not to. Now, we are also exploring other vacation options.