Standard vs preferred rooms in Value and Moderate hotels at Disney World: is it worth it for UK visitors?

Working out what the difference between standard and a preferred from the pictures can feel like an impossible game of spot the difference when you’re weighing up whether to spend an extra £300 o a 14-night stay. Having stayed in both preferred and standard rooms, I can tell you the difference isn’t in the room style or amenities; it’s all about the location. 

So if you want to know what a preferred room really is, whether it’s worth paying hundreds of pounds extra, and which hotels have preferred rooms read on.

What is the difference between a standard room and a preferred room at Disney?

Here’s the difference between a standard and preferred rooms at a glance:

What is a Standard room?

A standard room has the exact same layout and design but is located further away from the amenities and hub of the hotel. Because of this standard rooms are often quieter. The ones I have stayed in, certainly have been.

Standard rooms are the cheaper option, in the buildings on the edge of resort areas, with less passing foot traffic.

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What is a Preferred room?

A preferred room has the same amenities, layout, and decor as a standard category room, it’s just located closer to the main lobby, dining, and transport areas. It’s not larger, it’s not fancier, it’s not got better beds or fluffier pillows; it’s simply about the convenience of location.

How much more does a preferred room cost?

Preferred rooms cost an average of around £20 - £40 more per night depending on whether you are in a Value or Moderate resort. Preferred rooms are not a feature of deluxe resorts but they do offer preferred views, which mean you get a better view from your hotel room.

A preferred room in a Value will resort will typically set you back about £300 more than a standard room for a two-week stay from the UK. If you’re looking at staying in a Moderate resort the price difference between a standard and a preferred room is around £300 for a two-week stay. You can pay more than this at different times of the year.

Disney Experiences

Are there preferred and standard rooms in all resorts?

No, not every Disney Resort uses the terms standard and preferred as descriptors for rooms. Deluxe Resorts rarely use the term preferred; instead rooms differ by view, for example pool view or savannah view. If you are looking at Deluxe Villas or DVC the term won’t be used in the same context either.

Most Value Resorts use the distinction standard and preferred, apart from Art of Animation, which does not have any preferred rooms, but rather Little Mermaid Standard Rooms and a range of themed suites.

Preferred is a term that is mainly used across Moderate and Value resorts that is used in relation to room location.

Value Resorts: standard vs preferred rooms

When you book a value resort you will see rooms referred to as value rooms and preferred rooms. As you now know, this distinction is all about the location of the rooms. In a value resort a preferred room will be closer to the main amenities on offer in the hotel.

Here’s all the preferred room locations in the Value Resorts:

Disney’s Art of animation does not have preferred rooms like the other Value Resorts.

When you book a preferred room in a Value Resort you can usually request a specific building in the My Disney Experiences app before you check in.

Disney Experiences

What difference does a preferred room make at a value resort?

At a value resort the difference in the location can mean walking hundreds of steps more over the course of a 14-night stay. Preferred rooms mean you are closer to the food court, so you get your refills for refillable mugs without walking as far. In a morning, it saves you 5 to 10 minutes walking time to get to the free Disney transport, and at night when you’re tired you’ll get back to a preferred room faster.

If you’re thinking steps don’t bother you, they might when you’ve done 20,000 steps around Magic Kingdom in a day. But is a preferred room worth adding an extra £300 to the cost of your 14-night holiday in a Value Resort hotel from the UK? In my opinion, no.

Moderate Resorts: standard vs preferred rooms

In Moderate resorts rooms are referred to as standard location or preferred location rooms when standard and preferred are used. The rooms with a preferred location are closer to the hotel amenities, which includes dining options, transport options, and the main lobby area. This means that although Disney use slightly different wording, the term means the same.

When you pay for a preferred room you are guaranteed a room in a preferred building. Here are the buildings that are home to the preferred rooms in each Moderate Resort:

What difference does a preferred location make at a moderate resort?

At Disney’s moderate resorts, a preferred location room makes a surprising difference. It’s not because the rooms are any fancier or better, but because the resorts are huge in comparison to UK hotels. This is particularly the case in Caribbean Beach and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort Riverside as both are spread out across several villages. Walking from a room in Trinidad South building to the main pool or food court can take 15 minutes.

A preferred room puts you closer to the hub of the hotel meaning less steps, quicker morning starts, and easier mid-day breaks. For families with young kids, people planning to do Disney without a car, or anyone who plans to rope drop most mornings of their trip, it makes a difference.

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Is it worth paying for preferred rooms: pros and cons?

Making the decision to upgrade to a preferred room depends on your own holiday needs, but for some UK visitors a preferred location makes trips easier. Here is when you might want to consider paying the extra for a preferred room:

• If you have mobility issues

• If you have young kids, consider preferred. Anyone who has done the walk from Disney transport after the night time fireworks, understands why people stretch for a preferred room. It’s exhausting.

Which room should you choose?

If convenience, and reducing the number of steps you take is important, choose preferred. If you prefer peace, quiet, and saving money then go for standard. Either way the magic of the resorts is the same and inside your room will be identical.

Our experience: why a preferred room is not worth the extra £300

We stayed in a preferred room overlooking Rex in Toy Story at All Star Movies and the experience put me off paying extra for proximity to amenities. The view was amazing, but the novelty of Rex wore off fast because there were people outside the window early in the morning, late at night, and every time you opened the door.

This did make the room a little noisy at times, but it was opening the curtains to find someone sitting on the windowsill that made me jump one morning. Nothing was a problem, it was all just small niggles. Waking up to see Rex was fun and it was very immersive walking out of the door. We enjoyed it overall, but paying an extra £300 for a noisier room with constant footfall outside isn’t something I would ever do again.

Can you upgrade to preferred rooms when you get there?

Virgin, TUI, and Disney holidays all use the same terms to describe room types, but if you want a preferred or a standard room, you need to book it at the time. Trying to upgrade to a preferred room on arrival is difficult, will cost more, and will depend on availability.

Frequently asked questions