Resort Stay Benefits.

I was recently asked if staying in one of the resort hotels would be worth the extra money. I have to say it is absolutely worth the minimal extra you will pay. I have listed the benefits for both Disneyland and WDW below.

Disneyland -

Price increase is $200 - $800 for a 4 night stay. There are 3 hotels to chose from, each with it's own benefits and themes. (See my post called Understanding Hotels.)

Benefit on the park side is that you get both the early morning admission and the Morning Madness admission. Early Morning lets you get in the park about an hour or 2 before the rest of the general public, even though you only get Fantasyland access. The biggest benefit is being able to actually get on Matterhorn and Nemo without waiting in line the whole day.

Private entrance option let's you go right in through a hidden entrance that only resort guests can use.


WDW -

Price increase is $0 - $500 for a 4 night stay. There are 10 hotels to choose from. Again, please refer to the Understanding Hotels post.

With WDW you also get extended hours. The extra magic hours here change constantly from before opening to after close, and the parks change too. Having the shorter lines and extra time makes the prices reasonable too.

So, in short - Yes, it is very worth it.