One of the cornerstones of planning any trip to Walt Disney World is choosing your hotel. And one of the factors that impacts that decision is what your party looks like. A three-generation family of six is going to consider different options and factors than a young couple. In this post, we’ll discuss the best Disney World hotels for adult-only trips.
About Disney Hotels
This post covers mostly Disney hotels—those owned and operated by Disney. These hotels have access to all the benefits of staying at a Disney hotel and are the go-to option for most travelers visiting the resort.
One particular other group of hotels of interest to adults would be the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels. These hotels have some benefits given to Disney hotels, but they’re owned and operated by other major chains.
Most important for the Springs hotels is their location. They’re all within walking distance of Disney Springs, the dining and entertainment district at Walt Disney World. While it definitely makes sense for adults to stay here, you might think twice about how much that location matters.
If you’re waking up at 6AM or 7AM daily and walking around the parks for 12+ hours, you probably won’t have much energy for nightlife. And most of the hotels we’ll cover have a few bars and restaurants anyways, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Important Factors to Consider
Even though we were once frequent adult-only visitors, it took us over 350 posts before we got around to finally writing this post because there’s not single “adult” factor for Disney hotels.
There’s things about every hotel that adults will love and things about every hotel children will love. And to just point you to a hotel and say “pick that one” doesn’t do you much service because even adults are going to have a wide range of plans and expectations for their Disney World trips.
So, let’s start with a list of factors we consider particularly important for picking your Disney World hotel for an adults trip. Then when we get to discussing the actual hotels, we’ll be able to get to the point and you’ll have a better sense of whether our analysis fits your trip.
Location and Transportation
All hotels discussed on this post have complimentary transportation to all four Disney parks. But some of them have only buses that might take 20+ minutes (after a 20+ minute wait). Others are within walking distance of a park…or two!
Are your adults going to drink and snack your way around Epcot’s World Showcase? Hardcore Star Wars fans needing multiple visits to Hollywood Studios? Some hotels have walking paths to those parks, some hotels are on the Disney Skyliner to them, and others you’ll have to rely on buses.
Think Magic Kingdom is just for kids? Well, I think you’re wrong, but you probably don’t need to pay the premium to stay at the hotels on the monorail.
But maybe none of this matters because you Uber everywhere anyways. You can use Uber to get anywhere at Disney World, so if you have room in the budget for $15 to $30 of trips daily, location actually might not matter so much to you.
And if you’re willing to take Uber or drive, your options expand considerably. You might even consider booking an Airbnb near Disney World.
The Disney Skyliner
Food & Drink
This is sort of a sub-factor of location. You always can get to any restaurants or bars at Disney World if you want. But there’s convenience in having good restaurants and bars at your fingertips. And keep in mind whether you want the nicest restaurants, casual eateries, character dining experiences, or all of the above.
The value resorts all just have cafeterias and pool bars. The deluxe resorts have ample dining and drinking options. The moderate resorts are mostly in between.
It might be helpful to read our post on Disney World Bar Crawls to see if there’s a particular set of hotels you’d like to be at.
Type of Trip, Schedule, and Budget
If you’re looking for romance, probably avoid All-Star Movies. If you’re looking for budget, definitely book All-Star Movies.
If you’ll be at the parks all day every day, you might not want to splurge on the hotel because it’ll mostly just be a bed to rest your head on. If you’re planning to relax poolside for a day or two, you’ll probably want a deluxe resort (or maybe a split stay—dividing your visit between two hotels).
If you need a high alcohol or dining budget, or if you want to do some of Disney’s ticketed events, or if you’re planning on adding a visit to Universal Orlando Resort, it might make sense to cut your hotel budget in favor of those activities.
Banana Cabana, a bar at Caribbean Beach
Number of Kids
Presumably, you are traveling with zero kids—that’s why you’re reading this post. And presumably, all other factors being equal, you prefer a hotel less overrun with kids to one absolutely swamped in them.
Obviously you know you won’t escape kids entirely, this is Disney World after all. But more expensive hotels tend to have fewer kids (more people means more tickets / food which means less money for hotel).
Also, the hotels with more “grown up” theming are less appealing to kids than the hotels with gigantic plastic figurines from Finding Nemo.
Art of Animation
Best Hotels for Adults at Disney World
We’ll go through each of the three Disney World hotel tiers—deluxe, moderate, and value—and identify the best options at each price point. We’ll also briefly discuss the other hotels and how the above-discussed factors might lead you to one of them instead.
Best Deluxe Option — Animal Kingdom Lodge
We’re longtime fans of Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we rate it consistently high for pretty much everyone. The price is lower than most other deluxe resort because it relies solely on bus transportation to the parks. This makes it best for adults comfortable using Uber in a pinch.
Animal Kingdom Lodge has three great restaurants on-site, a beautiful savanna full of animals, and a good club level option, the Kilimanjaro Club. Adults will always benefit most from Club Level at Disney World because they eat more than kids and can consume the complimentary alcohol.
Animal Kingdom Lodge
Other Deluxe Resorts to Consider
For the most part, the deluxe resorts have a higher proportion of adults than the value and moderate resorts because of their high cost.
Most adults will (and should) strongly consider the hotels of Crescent Lake—Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Yacht Club, and BoardWalk Inn. These hotels all allow you to walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, both of which are theme parks that tend to be beloved by adults.
This area is also packed with bars and restaurants. Of the Disney hotels at the Boardwalk, we recommend Yacht Club. The Marriott-operated Swan and Dolphin are also in this area and lower-priced than the Disney options.
Similar to Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge has a lower price among the deluxe resorts but also sub-par transportation. With great dining and drinking and a beautiful decor, this one is worth a look as well.
The monorail resorts (Contemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian) have easy access to Magic Kingdom. That location probably isn’t a high priority for most adults, particularly given the high prices of those hotels. And it’s not a Disney hotel, but guests looking for true luxury will want to visit the Four Seasons Orlando.
Yacht Club has our favorite rooms at Disney World
Best Moderate Option — Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs
The rooms at Gran Destino Tower are among the most modern at Disney World, and the selection of restaurants and bars both in the tower and a few minutes walking at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort are more than sufficient for a typical visit. Gran Destino Tower is also the only moderate resort with a club level—the Chronos Club.
Gran Destino Tower definitely has the most adult feel to it of the moderate resorts. The hotel was primarily added to accommodate convention crowds, so it’s unsurprising that its design from top to bottom has a sleek, elegant feel to it.
Gran Destino Tower
Other Moderate Options
The moderate resorts are the toughest to break down for this purpose. Truth be told, they all have advantages that would appeal to adults.
Caribbean Beach has the Skyliner—giving you easy access to Hollywood Studios and Epcot—and the nearby Riviera Resort, which improves your dining and drinking options.
Port Orleans French Quarter is small, charming, and has convenient boat access to Disney Springs, along with easy access to nearby Port Orleans Riverside. Port Orleans Riverside is beautiful and also has boat access to Disney Springs. The Cabins at Fort Wilderness are an entirely unique experience.
Port Orleans Riverside
Best Value Resort for Adults — Pop Century
I’m actually just going to discuss all the value resorts in one section here because they have a clear set of trade-offs relative to the other two categories of hotels.
As the lowest cost option at Disney World, the value resorts have the highest proportion of kids. They also host kids participating in sporting competitions throughout the year, so you’ll sometimes have a wildly disproportionate kids to adults ratio.
We’ve stayed at all of the value resorts multiple times as adults only. I’d be lying if I said we never felt a little awkward or annoyed navigating the sea of kids, but we also still return to these resorts if the price is right.
Besides that, the most important thing adults need to know about the value resorts is that they have limited dining and drinking options. All have only a cafeteria and pool bar.
This is a limitation, sure, but it’s also an opportunity. Do your dining and nightlife somewhere else and you’ll hardly ever be at your hotel, which makes any of the other downsides sort of fade away.
A room at Pop Century
Pop Century is one of our go-to resorts when we visit Disney World, and it’s our favorite value resort. Adults should find the nostalgic theming appealing, which is a nice departure from the fairly childish appeal of the other value resorts. (There are still plenty of families at Pop Century, to be clear.)
The rooms are among the newest at Walt Disney World and are very functional. You’ll also be sitting on a Skyliner station, which gives you easy access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
Art of Animation, right across the lake from Pop Century, with its family suites and older Little Mermaid rooms, continues to have a strong appeal for families and children, and I see no reason to stay in its old, overpriced rooms.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.