When it comes to Walt Disney World, many envision a world of enchantment and family fun. However, beyond the realm of Mickey Mouse and princesses, lies a collection of extraordinary hotels designed to cater to the desires of adult visitors seeking a magical escape. In this post, we unveil the best hotels for adults at Walt Disney World no matter your budget.
Walt Disney World hotels are split into 3 categories; Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. As you might imagine, price is a major difference among the tiers, but there are other differences as well. Value resorts have the smallest rooms, deluxe the largest. Value resorts have the most “basic” pools (every pool at WDW is pretty great), whereas Deluxe have the most extravegant pool areas. Deluxe resorts will also have better dining options, and more amenities in general. Given all these, Deluxe resorts are the easy answer for what resorts are best for Adults. That doesn’t tell the whole story though. Sure if you’re in a position to spend $500-900 a night on a room, just pick your favorite deluxe and have a great trip. But if that’s out of your price range, as it generally is mine, there are decent to great options in the Value and Moderate tier.
Value Resorts
I won’t pull any punches, no one thinks of the Value resorts as a great option for an adults only Walt Disney World stay. These resorts are obvious choices for families as well as those travelling in large groups. Anyone who has happened to share a resort with a high school cheerleading team practicing their routines at 10pm knows that this isn’t exactly a good recipe for some quality R&R. However, that doesn’t mean you should immediatley rule out value resorts.
Value resorts can be a great option for trips where time in the parks will be the priority. If you’re going to use your resort primarily for a place to sleep and maybe a quick afternoon nap, value resorts will do you just fine. If that doesn’t sound like the trip you’re planning, then probably best to skip head to moderate or deluxe sections, a value resort is not going to represent the best value (see what I did there?) for your trip.
Ok, if you’ve decided that a value resort aligns with how you plan to vacation, then there is a clear best choice for an adults only trip: Disney’s Pop Century Resort. This is because Pop Century and it’s sister resort Art of Animation, are the only 2 value resorts with access to the Skyliner. This means that you have always on transportation to the adult playground that is EPCOT and the park with the highest concentration of thrill rides, Hollywood Studios. The skyliner truly is a game changer and makes Pop Century a better choice for a parks oriented trip than even some Deluxe resorts.
Moderate
This is where things start to get interesting. In my opinion, moderate tier resorts are in kind of the sweet spot of amentities, convenience, and price when compared to value or deluxe. Make no mistake, the deluxes are going to better in almost every where, but you can get a deluxe adjacent experience for less than half the price. That’s not to see all moderate resorts are created equal for an adults only trip; they’re not. But each has pros that could make it the perfect choice for your adults only trip. There are only 4 moderate resorts, so we can take a quick look at each.
We’ll start with the very first Moderate resort built, Caribbean Beach Resort. A lot has changed at this resort over the past 5 years or so. First, the Disney Skyliner was built and Caribbean beach is a main hub on that transportation system. This means Caribbean Beach has the best transportation of any moderate resort. Disney also built the new DVC property The Riviera Resort, on property at Caribbean Beach. So guests have walking access to more upscale dining options. This resort has a lot going for it after these changes. On the downside, this is a huge sprawling resort and you can end up quite far from the main buildings. Bus transportation can be slow and frustrating as well because of this.
Next up is the Port Orleans Resort, which is made up of two sister resorts French Quarter and Riverside. Riverside is built in the sprawling collection of out buildings model of most other moderate resorts and that comes with the same downsides as at Caribbean Beach. French Quarter on the other hand is the smallest moderate resort and you can walk from one side to other in about 5 minutes. Both of these resorts offer boat transportation to Disney Springs which can be a game changer for foodies or shoppers. For an adults only trip the smaller size and more romantic ambience of French Quarter make it the preferred option of the two Port Orleans resorts.
The final moderate resort is Coronado Springs. There are two sections to this resort, the outbuildings and the newer Gran Destino Tower. The tower feels more like a Vegas style than Disney style resort and is an obvious contender for best option for adults in the moderate category. Much like Caribbean Beach and Riviera, Coronado proper benefits from having Gran Destino attached to it. Guests gain access to premium dining and lounge options. On the minus side, Coronado only has bus transportation to the parks. The addition of Gran Destino tower has really put a strain on the bus system there and you can get some really bad bus experiences because of it. Long waits, crowded or full busses, long trips to some parks. For some this is a deal breaker. For those that can tolerate this, Coronado is a great choice for an adults only trip otherwise.
I think any of the moderates are a great option for an adults only trip and you can find one that aligns with any vacation style. For me, the best option in this category for an adults only trip is Port Orleans French Quarter. The more laid back atmosphere means you can find a quiet area to relax with your friends or loved ones and the pool area doesn’t often get overcrowded. While on site dining options are limited, you can walk to an underrated table service restaurant at Port Orleans; Boatwright’s, or even better hop on a boat to Disney Springs and have dozens of top tier restaurants to choose from.
Deluxe
Things started to get interesting with moderates and now they really get interesting with the Deluxe category. Every single Deluxe resort is a great option for an adults only stay. You’ll generally find better dining options, better pools – including some really underrated quiet/secondary pools, better transportation options, and in some cases even direct walking access to a park or two! This is also the hotel category with the most options, so I won’t go through them all instead I’ll focus on what I think are the best options for a few different types of adults only vacations.
Food and Drinks
If your adults only trip is going to be centered around eating great food and enjoying a few adult beverages, then a Deluxe resort is probably your best option. Some of the best restaurants and lounges on property are located at the Deluxe resorts, just a short walk or elevator ride away from your room.
My top pick for a food and drink centric trip to Walt Disney World is Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. The Grand Floridian has 2 excellent signature restaurants on site, Narcoosee’s and Citrico’s, as well as one of the best restaurants in all of Florida, Victoria and Albert’s. The latter is on a level of it’s own both in price and culinary excellence. The resort also has one of the nicest lounges on property, The Enchanted Rose. There are solid quick services options as well if you just need a quick bite. Being on the monorail loop and a short walk from Magic Kingdom, means there are a plethora of options at your fingertips including the ever popular California Grill at the top of the Contemporary, and Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at the Polynesian. This all adds up to the perfect choice for an adults only foodie type trip.
Quick honorable mentions would be Disney’s Animal Kingdom lodge for some unique flavor’s at Jiko and Sanaa, and Crescent Lake area resorts for their direct access to the World Showcase at EPCOT.
Parks First
I often hear the suggestion that the cheapest resort is the best choice for a parks first trip. After all, it’s just a place to sleep. That’s true if it really is just a place to sleep, as in you are a park open to park close type. We don’t tour like that and have found that to mean that deluxe resorts were actually best for us. That’s because there are several options right next to one or more parks. Being in control of exactly when you arrive to a park is a huge benefit. Similarly, walking out of a park and getting to your hotel room 10 minutes later is often worth the extra cost by itself.
I don’t think my top choice for an adult’s only deluxe resort is going to be too much of a surprise based on that previous paragraph. Disney’s Boardwalk Resort has a few things going for it that make it the best choice for a parks first trip. First of all, you can walk to both EPCOT and Hollywood Studio’s! I cannot overstate how much of a game changer this is, especially for these two parks on an adults only trip. Hollywood studios has quickly become the leader in the density of great rides and surprisngly EPCOT is moving up the ladder with the addition of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. If you’re like me and EPCOT is your favorite park, this location cannot be beat.
Honorary mention for this category is a bit misleading. If Magic Kingdom is your favorite park or the park you’re going to spend the most time in, then the Contemporary Resort is the top choice. It boasts the quickest walk to MK and the best views you can the park.
Relaxing at the Resort
If the intent of your trip is some good ol’ fashioned R&R then a deluxe resort is going to be your best bet, and there is one that stands out above all the rest; Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. What many say is the biggest negative of this resort is a big positive in this case, the location. Tucked away by the Animal Kingdom park, this resort is well off the beaten trail. Unlike the monorail or crescent lake resorts, you won’t get a lot of foot traffic here. The resort also boasts excellent dining and very nice pool areas. It also has something no other resort on property (or in the country!) has; a freakin’ Savannah. The entire resort is nearly surrounded by savannah areas that act as the natural habitat for the animals. With everything this resort has to offer it’s a perfect choice for a resort only type stay.
Honorary mention here is the Beach club for one reason, the pool. Stormalong Bay is easily the best pool on property. It even has it’s own lazy river! If your idea of relaxing is a day of fun in the sun at the pool, then this is the choice for you.
As you can see, there are tons of great on-site resorts to choose from for an adults only trip. Which one is best is always subjective and really depends on what kind of tourist you are or what kind of trip you want to experience. For us, the abosolute best intersection of what matters most is the Boardwalk. Proximity to parks, dinings, and overall resort feel ticks all the boxes. What’s your choice for best resort for an adult’s only trip to Walt Disney World? Let me know in the comments!
