Anybody who has ever experienced the Disney Blues has thought to themselves “how about we slip down to Orlando for a quick weekend trip?” Every Disney lover has their favorite parks/attractions they would experience on a quick trip like that, but where should you stay?
As a disclaimer, this is not a budget-friendly list. It could easily be Pop Century, The All-Stars, and Off-Property, but where’s the fun in that? The biggest factors for this list are ease of transportation and proximity to parks.
3. Wilderness Lodge
Picture this: you fly into Orlando on Saturday. You spend the day at Epcot. You ride Guardians. Drink and snack your way around the world. Then you head to Wilderness Lodge to get some shut eye. After a fulfilling start to your short trip, you wake up on Sunday, grab some breakfast, and take a serene boat ride on a sunny morning towards Magic Kingdom. How does it get better than that?
2. Riviera Resort
Disney’s newest resort has a lot going for it. It’s close to Epcot and has easy (and the best) transportation in the Skyliner to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
It also has plenty of dining options, including one of the best coffee shops on property in Le Petit Cafe, and a sit down restaurant with a Character Breakfast and great views of fireworks at night in Topolino’s Terrace. For the extra cherry on top, it has a relatively small footprint, making it easy to get from your room to the dining options, to the Syliner, and to the busses.
1.Contemporary
For a Disney one-day, why not choose a Disney day one?
The Contemporary has a lot of the things that Riviera has. Multiple dining options, plus fireworks viewing, and it’s all pretty centralized. It also has one of my favorite layouts. It will not be cool sitting at Chef Mickey’s or even just grabbing something at the quick service and seeing the Monorail come through the hotel. On top of that, it also has a walking path to Magic Kingdom. The only thing better than quick, reliable transportation is not needing transportation at all.
Honorable Mentions
The Yacht and Beach, Club/Boardwalk area, is very close to the International Gateway entrance of Epcot, with multiple ways to get to Hollywood Studios efficiently. That said, those resorts have so much to offer that you just couldn’t get in one night. The whole boardwalk has a lot of entertainment to offer. Yacht and Beach both provide access to Disney’s best pool, Stormalong Bay. For that reason, I left them off the list.
Finally, I’d throw in Animal Kingdom Lodge. Staying in a safari view could only add to the Disney magic, but it’s pretty separate from all parks except Animal Kingdom, and the only transportation is by bus.