We’re highlighting the sprawling, spread out Disney World Resorts with long hallways and lengthy walks because the distance from your room to the bus stop matters more than you might realize.
Walt Disney World days already involve a staggering amount of walking, and your hotel choice can exacerbate sore, tired feet. Many Disney World Resort hotels are massive, sprawling properties with many buildings, long corridors, and bus stops that are farther away than they first appear. If you don’t factor in resort size and layout when you book, you could add thousands of extra steps to your day before you ever reach a park entrance.
After staying at all of Disney World’s resorts, we’ve learned firsthand just how much size matters. So, we’re ranking all of Disney World’s own hotels so you know just how much walking each one actually requires whether you’re headed from your room to transportation or dining and common areas.
Because when your feet are already sore and another park day is ahead of you, the distance from your room to the bus stop makes a huge difference.
Disney World Resorts, Ranked
Disney World Resorts That’ll Make You Walk for Miles
Don’t want to tire your feet out after a long park day? Unfortunately, these Disney World Resort hotels will have you walking quite a long distance from the lobby to your room… or from the bus stop to your home base. You’ll want to plan accordingly (and pack very comfy shoes!).
Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Photo by Andy Sanchez
Ask anyone who’s stayed at Old Key West Resort for their thoughts, and odds are they’re going to mention the resort’s sprawling grounds and massive size at least once. As Disney’s very first Disney Vacation Club Resort, Old Key West was designed as a relaxing escape with more spacious, home-like accommodations… and as a result, it’s one seriously large resort.
While you can easily board a Disney World bus or even utilize the resort’s waterfront location and plethora of boats to get around, getting from the lobby to your room is a trickier trek. Spread out over more than 100 acres, this is one hotel that’ll keep you on your feet whether you’re grabbing a bite at Olivia’s Cafe or trekking to one of its five internal bus stops.
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Another one of Disney World’s largest resorts is Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, which stretches out over roughly 65 acres. And trust us: When you stay here, you’ll notice thanks to how much walking you’ll need to get around.
Since Saratoga Springs is such a large resort (second only to Old Key West above), you’re going to need to do quite a bit of walking to get where you’re hoping to go. That means you’ll have a lengthy trek from the bus to your room door. Oh, and transportation will take you some time, too; even if you board a bus, you’ll have to stop along the way before you hit the road for the theme parks.
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
Photo by Danny Shuster
While Caribbean Beach Resort is significantly smaller than the previous two Disney World hotels on our list, it’s still quite large. But this particular resort has a bit of a unique catch: It’s not so much the size as it is how the buildings are arranged across its grounds.
At about 200 acres in size, Caribbean Beach Resort will definitely demand some walking if you’re traveling across its grounds to grab a snack, hit the pool, or pick up a bus. But because the resort is so widely spread out, it can feel like a total hike to get anywhere. And if you happen to wind up in one of the resort’s far-flung buildings, well – you’re going to have some tired feet by the time you return to your room.
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Set along the shore of Lago Dorado, it’s evident as soon as you check into Coronado Springs Resort that this is a pretty big place. After all, getting around means you’ll walk along that shoreline… and even though it’s relatively tiny in comparison to others on this list (it’s 150 acres in size), trust us. There’s a lot of ground to cover here.
In our experience, getting stuck in one of the farthest reaches of the resort – like the Ranchos section – can result in a 10-plus minute walk to get anywhere else. Want to grab some quick-service food? It’ll be a trek. Plan to hit the pool? Choose wisely, because the main one may be quite a ways away.
Disney World Resorts That Require Some Walking, But It’s Bearable
Yes, you’ll have to do some level of walking here to get from the lobby to your room, and vice versa. But getting around these Disney World Resort hotels isn’t too bad, whether you’re headed to pick up a bus or grab a bite at one of the onsite restaurants. Their size and scope is manageable, even after you’ve clocked 10,000-plus steps.
Disney’s All-Star Resorts (Music, Movies, and Sports)
Photo by Danny Shuster
While all three of Disney’s All-Star Resorts – which includes All-Star Music, All-Star Movies, and All-Star Sports – may seem relatively compact thanks to their closely-connected sections, they can be surprisingly large once you’re walking back to your room after visiting the lobby or leaving the bus stop.
All three of these Value Resorts are within close proximity, and technically, so are all of their buildings. But if you’ve ever had the luck (or perhaps misfortune, we’d say) of winding up in one of the farthest sections of these resorts, you know just how rough the walk “home” at the end of the night can be. While it’s totally doable, we do definitely feel like it seems extra long if you’re not staying in a preferred room.
Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Pop Century Resort is on par size-wise with Disney World’s three All-Star Resorts and Art of Animation Resort. It clocks in at about 175 acres in size, and its grounds include a total of 10 different buildings that house guest rooms. So, it falls about right smack in the middle of Disney World’s resorts: You’ll have some lengthy walks if you stay here, but overall it won’t be too much walking.
Like the other Value Resorts on this list, your odds of having significant walking to and from destinations across Pop Century (like the bus stop and onsite restaurants) will be longer if you don’t wind up in a preferred room. Luckily, since the Skyliner station here is pretty centrally located, you won’t have a super lengthy walk if you opt for this mode of getting around.
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
Photo by Danny Shuster
When it comes to a more compact, easily walkable Value Resort, Art of Animation Resort wins handily. At under 100 acres in size (Art of Animation clocks in at around 77 acres), it’s pretty easy to get from one end of the resort to the other.
Of course, like most of the Disney World hotels in this category – they’re spread out, but don’t require a ton of walking – Art of Animation can feel larger depending on where you wind up staying. If you aren’t in a preferred room and you end up in a distant spot like the Little Mermaid section (standard rooms), it can wind up being noticeably more of a walk.
Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Sitting right on the shores of Seven Seas Lagoon, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort is a popular pick (even on our team!) thanks to its walkable, right-near-Magic Kingdom location and its impressive theming. But if you’re staying here, it can be a little bit of a mixed bag in terms of how long your walk will be to reach various destinations like the buses, boats, and restaurants.
Much of the Polynesian’s offerings are centrally located around the Great Ceremonial House, which makes it easy to find what you need. However, the various guest rooms are more spread out – which means you can find yourself taking a bit of a brief-to-moderate hike after long theme park days.
There is one super conveniently-located spot at the Polynesian, though: the resort’s Island Tower. This Disney Vacation Club destination is less than a five-minute walk from the main hub, which means staying here requires hardly any kind of trek at all.
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
Photo by Mike Billick
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort feels incredibly large because it’s technically two resorts rolled into one (despite their unique, individual theming). And of the two Port Orleans Resorts, Riverside is the one that’s more sprawling.
Port Orleans Resort – Riverside stretches along waterways, making it feel more spread out than its sibling – and other resorts at Disney World. It’s not nearly as massive as Old Key West or Saratoga Springs by any means, but it will be a slight trek to get around the resort, particularly if you wind up far from the lobby. You’re usually no more than a couple of minutes from the internal bus stops, but getting around in general can take some extra time spent on your feet.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Technically, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge isn’t too spread out. If you’re staying in a room or villa within the resort’s main hub – Jambo House – then the longest walk you’ll take will likely be down hallways as you get from your room to various amenities.
However, if you wind up staying in the Disney Vacation Club rooms and villas at Animal Kingdom Lodge, your walk is likely to be longer. While both Jambo House and Kidani Village have bus stops, getting between the two sections of the resort is a definite trek. And while you’ll find a couple of amenities at Kidani Village (including its own pool), you’ll need to take quite a walk if you wind up getting off at the resort’s first bus stop or you’re interested in anything over at Jambo House… like the resort’s stellar restaurants.
Disney World Resorts That Require Minimal Walking
If your feet are far too tired to keep going after exploring the theme parks, these are the Disney World Resort hotels that won’t make it hard to get back to your room. Thanks to their layout and more condensed size, getting around without significant walking is totally possible.
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Photo by Danny Shuster
The grounds of the Grand Floridian are pretty sprawling, with six buildings and an entire convention center. But this Magic Kingdom-area resort is nowhere near as large and expansive as some of Disney World’s other resorts; in fact, it’s relatively compact, with everything you need pretty conveniently located within a short walk.
Even getting to Magic Kingdom Park itself is a relatively breezy walk, thanks to the walkway between the Grand Floridian and the theme park. It’ll take you about 15 minutes to get between the two – as long as it can take to get back to your room from the lobby at other onsite resorts.
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Another nicely condensed resort right near Magic Kingdom is Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Here, pretty much everything you need is within a very short walk of your hotel room. If you’re staying in that iconic A-frame building, trust me: Your feet will absolutely thank you at the end of each day.
Now, the Contemporary has expanded since it first opened, and it is possible to stay a bit farther away from all of the resort’s dining and entertainment. Rooms in the Garden Wing and the Bay Lake Tower (a Disney Vacation Club Resort) do require walking back and forth if you want to access the hotel’s main amenities. However, you won’t spend more than a few minutes getting around – yes, even if you decide to walk from your room straight into Magic Kingdom.
Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club Resorts
Photo by CJ Ayd
Centrally located right in between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Beach Club and Yacht Club Resorts share plenty of amenities, and they both are quite walkable – both in terms of getting to the theme parks and exploring the resorts’ grounds. While these two resorts feel large (and they are, as Storamalong Bay covers 3 acres alone!), they aren’t nearly as stretched out as others.
As a result, you’re really never too far away from any of the resorts’ amenities, including bus stops. Getting to EPCOT itself only takes about 10 minutes in total from Yacht Club, so you can rest assured you won’t need to put too many extra steps on already-tired feet when you stay at either resort.
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
You’ll feel like you’ve entered one of the National Parks lodges when you check in at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. And, much like those lodges, this Disney World hotel is pretty compact and well-contained. You won’t find yourself wandering around walking extra miles after a long theme park day, because this resort isn’t nearly as sprawling as others.
You’ll find that it only takes a couple of minutes to get from your room to different hotel hotspots, like one of the pools or the quick-service and table-service restaurants onsite. Even if you’re staying in one of the resort’s villa options (Copper Creek or Boulder Ridge), you won’t be too far off the beaten path or adding a lot of extra steps into your day.
Disney’s Riviera Resort
Photo by Danny Shuster
If you don’t want to add walking to your day, trust us: You’ll want to book a room at the Riviera Resort. This recent addition to Disney World is one of the most compact on property, and it’s a total breeze to get from the bus stop (or Skyliner station) right back to your room in no time at all.
Because this resort features more of a tower-style design than sprawling, low-slung buildings like many other Disney World options, you won’t need to go far to get around. Even if you’re staying in one of the farthest corners on one of the highest floors here, you’ll just be a couple minutes’ journey away… and your feet won’t wind up even more exhausted after a few trips to stops like Primo Piatto.
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
Like the Riviera, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter is quite small, which sets it apart from all of Disney World’s other hotel options. It’s compact, easy to find your way around, and won’t frustrate your feet with long treks to and from various onsite offerings.
All of the rooms at Port Orleans – French Quarter are so conveniently located that none are really more than about a five-minute walk from the lobby. Getting to and from the bus stop is pretty effortless, too, and bus transportation is similarly close by. The resort’s one pool and onsite dining are also mercifully close by, too (though you can take a long-ish walk over to Riverside to use their pool, if you’d like).
If you want to do some walking, it’s easy to follow the Sassagoula River and the resort’s pathways over to the other half of Port Orleans and check out the Riverside area. But frankly, if your feet are already tired, you’ll find everything you might need or want within a few minutes’ easy walk right at French Quarter.
