Disney: Best Places to Stay

The fun of Walt Disney World seems endless, but eventually bedtime lures even the most energetic travelers back to their hotel rooms. When sleep calls, Disney is quick to respond with a variety of accommodations to meet guests' budgets, family needs and group gatherings.

Group Vacation Planner
Disney's Magical Gatherings
Disney is making it easier for groups, extended families and friends to plan vacations at Disney theme parks. For families and friends that want to travel together, a free planner can be downloaded and used to send email invitations, chat online, poll your group, and create group itineraries. Disney, Magical Gatherings will ensure that participating families will have rooms on the same floor of the same hotel for the same dates as others in the group. It also will guide group members through a prearranged choice of, for example, whether to spend the first morning at EPCOTCenter or Animal Kingdom, and let everyone know where and when to meet for dinner.

Best Value Resort
Disney's All-Star Movies, Music and Sports Resorts
Disney's resorts accommodate a variety of budgets, and guests seeking the best value will be thrilled to discover the eclectic All-Star Movies, Music and Sports Resorts in the Animal Kingdom Resort. Movie lovers will be delighted by the 40-foot characters from 101 Dalmatians and Toy Story at the All-Star Movies Resort, while sports fanatics score big at the All-Star Sports Resort's baseball-themed pool. The All-Star Music Resort, which pays tribute to many kinds of music, including Broadway show tunes and jazz. Rooms at each resort feature either 2 queen-size beds or 1 king-size bed, a vanity area and bathroom. Guests are privy to themed pools and nearby golf courses and water parks.

Ultimate Luxury Resort
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Paying homage to the opulence of the Victorian era, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa's rising turrets, gabled roofs and lavish verandas transport guests to the splendors of this pristine age. The resort's 40 acres rest upon the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon, and guests can expect to be pampered by an extraordinarily attentive staff. The main building is home to a breathtaking 5-story ceiling and shimmering stained-glass dome, as well as an aviary and open-cage elevator. Visitors may choose to dine in elegance at the 5-diamond Victoria & Albert's restaurant or opt for the more casual Citricos -- featuring delicacies from the south of France.

Outstanding Adventure Resort
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Guests of the Animal Kingdom will feel like they've entered a bona fide African game lodge as they get up close and personal with the wildlife that grace the 3 savannahs of this 33-acre property. A 4-story observation window is the centerpiece of the lodge's lobby and affords unspoiled views of the 100 species of animals roaming the grounds, including giraffes, gazelles and ostriches. The 1,293 rooms have a traditional flair -- earth-tone walls, handcrafted wooden furniture, patterned tapestries and even mosquito netting create the ambience of an African retreat. When it's time to dine, guests can experience the tastes of Africa at Jiko or Boma, where wood-burning ovens and thatched roofs guarantee a unique dining experience.

Best Poolside Atmosphere
Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter Resort
The animated spirit of Mardi Gras is alive and well at the Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, where Bourbon Street charm and boisterous Mardi Gras characters give way to one of Disney's coolest water slides. Rising from the waters of the Doubloon Lagoon pool is Scales, an enormous purple-and-turquoise serpent whose twisting tongue is really a water slide. Guests stay in 3-story buildings complete with wrought-iron balconies and brass trimmings, reminiscent of New Orleans' colorful French Quarter.

Best Group Accommodations
Disney's BoardWalk Villas
Families of 4 to 12 people are comfortably accommodated in any of Disney's special Home Away From Home resorts, yet the seaside atmosphere and Old World charm of Disney's BoardWalk Villas make this spot stand out from the rest! These 520 villas hug a bustling waterfront boardwalk and are available in sizes ranging from studios to 3-bedroom cottages. Families will never grow bored as they explore the plethora of shops, restaurants and clubs strung along the boardwalk's perimeter.