Disney theme parks are specialists in taking your money. Every dessert, every souvenir, every extra service like Lightning Lane comes with a high price tag, whether they’re worth it or not. Does something akin to a Disney All-Inclusive experience exist, just like a beach resort? The answer may surprise you.
While a hotel usually focuses only on accommodation, a resort offers more amenities like pools, restaurants, and exclusive activities. An all-inclusive in a beach destination includes meals, drinks, and other amenities as part of the reservation price.
Disney resorts in Florida, California, France, and the Asian continent are defined as resorts, but not all-inclusive. Not even Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Hawai’i is an all-inclusive property.
We’ll show you how to approximate your Disney experience to that of an all-inclusive resort. At the end we will reveal the one true Disney All-Inclusive option available.
Visit the Parks
Video (TL;DR)
5 Disney Resort Hotel Stays
To approximate a Disney All-Inclusive vacation you start by staying at a Disney Resort hotel. All Disney parks around the world have official hotels, some even located within walking distance. All of them connect to the parks by free Disney transportation options, from shuttle buses and ferry boats to skyliners and monorails.
Disney Resort hotels feature themed décor, activities, and restaurants inspired by famous Disney characters. Staying there grants you other benefits such as early them park entry, complimentary parking, and starting in 2025, free access to a Disney water park on your check-in date.
There are all kinds of official Disney Resort hotels, ranging from value to deluxe. Outside of these, you can also choose between Disney Good Neighbor hotels. They’re operated by chains like Hilton, Marriot, and Holiday Inn, but offer many of the same perks as an official Disney Resort hotel.
4 Dining Plans
The term “all-inclusive” has become synonymous with “endless food and drinks.”
At Disney, you can find desserts, snacks, drinks, mouth-watering dishes, and even alcoholic beverages (if you know where to find them). Unfortunately, none of this is included with your visit, unless you choose a dining plan.
Disney Dining Plans are designed to ease your meals at their resorts. For each night of your stay, your plan includes two restaurant meals and a snack or non-alcoholic beverage. You also receive a collectible drink mug you can refill as many times as you like at your hotel.
The Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan includes two meals at quick-service restaurants within the Disney complex. (Even at Disney Springs, Downtown Disney, or other hotels.) On the other hand, the standard Disney Dining Plan includes one meal at a quick-service restaurant and another at a table-service restaurant that requires reservations.
Just like an all-inclusive plan, you just arrive at your restaurant, indicate your Disney dining plan, and eat whatever you want since you’ve already prepaid for it. For best results, choose one of the many Disney restaurants with buffets.
Disney Dining Plans are only available as part of a Disney Resort hotel reservation. Disney Good Neighbor hotels are not part of this promotion.
3 Park-to-Park Tickets
“All-inclusive” implies access to all areas, amenities, and attractions within a resort. So a Disney All-Inclusive experience should let you get on any ride you want, no matter which park it’s in.
With Park Hopper tickets, you enter one park in the morning and then visit different ones throughout the day. Ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind inside EPCOT, then head to Magic Kingdom to enjoy Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, and finish your day with Fantasmic! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, for example.
You can even opt for Park Hopper Plus tickets, which also give you access to water parks and sports complexes within the Disney resort you’re at, subject to availability.
We don’t suggest Park Hopper passes for first-time Disney visitors, even if they only plan to visit one or two theme parks. Each resort contains enough activities for a full day. The only exception would be Disneyland Paris Resort, since both parks there can be explored on the same day.
Options like Park Hopper and Annual Passes are ideal for fans who visit the parks frequently and have a clear idea of what they came to enjoy.
2 MagicBand+ Bracelets
All-inclusive resorts often provide guests with room keys and bracelets to access hotel amenities. Disney replaces both with their MagicBand+.
You purchase your MagicBand+ at any Disney resort store or online. After you link it to your Disney account and tickets, the MagicBand+ can open your room door, get you inside the parks, access your Lightning Lane passes, request your ride photos, and even pay for your purchases if you set up a payment method.
You can do all of the above as well with your Disney mobile app, virtual wallet, and compatible smartwatch like Apple Watch. However, MagicBand+ also has interactive features within the parks, such as virtual games at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and synchronized lighting during nighttime shows.
Your Disney MagicBand+ only works at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort parks, both in the United States.
1 Disney All-Inclusive Cruise
A combinations of some or all of these options will let you simulate an all-inclusive stay within a Disney resort, but not totally. Fortunately, a true Disney All-Inclusive experience does exist: Disney Cruise Line.
Set sail on a high-seas adventure with Disney’s magical touch, aboard one of their five official ships: Disney Magic, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, Disney Wish, and Disney Treasure. Choose destinations such as the Caribbean, Alaska, France, the Bahamas, Canada, Hawai’i, Italy, Panama, Australia, and more. A new cruise ship, Disney Adventure, will even sail to Asian destinations beginning in 2025.
Your cruise reservation on any of these includes a stateroom plus unlimited food and drinks, as well as access to most activities available. Some additional services like wireless internet, alcohol packages, and adults-only dinners have an additional cost.
During your journey, you can enjoy pools, waterslides, live shows, nightclubs for all ages, as well as land excursions. The most popular stops along the way are undoubtedly Castaway Cay and Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, both exclusive Disney beach ports in the Bahamas.
Beyond the theming, Disney Cruise Line cruises make you feel like you’re in the parks with character experiences, Broadway-caliber presentations, nightly fireworks shows, and more. Disney Wish and Disney Treasure ships even have an original park-worthy water attraction called AquaMouse.
Let’s Design Your All-Inclusive Disney Experience
We learned how to enjoy Disney All-Inclusive at the parks, but even more so on their cruises. The trick is to plan your experience in advance and prepay as much as you can to avoid further expenses and time wasted during your visit. For that, you can count on us to lend a hand.
For instance, did you know you can book a Disney vacation or cruise for just 200 dollars? We learned this and many more tips from being authorized travel agents certified in Walt Disney World Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Universal Orlando Resort, Adventures by Disney, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and National Geographic Expeditions.
Free consultations are available to help you organize your itinerary for theme parks, Disney cruises, and other destinations both inside and outside the United States. Our renowned travel supplier list includes Viator, Expedia, Exottica, and more for your accommodation and activity needs. Looking for special deals? We can help you with those too.
Contact us via WhatsApp, email, or our Facebook sales page. We’ll reply as soon as possible to help you live your Disney All-Inclusive experience.
