Of course, the Orlando area offers loads of various villas, apartments and hotels to stay. You should find that compared to the popular areas of Europe and other locations around the USA like New York or California that Florida is quite cheap for accommodation. So whether you’re looking for a hotel or renting a holiday home there is something for every budget. If you’ve got your flight times sorted now start looking to secure a place to stay.

Time Scale: You can book most hotels and villas up to, and in some case over a year from your check-in date. However, last minute bargains can often be found if you have the nerve to hold out. We have often booked our accommodation with less than 1 month to go. But, be aware that in the summer and Christmas/New Year, you will find almost every hotel room and villa/condo already booked!

We love to rent a private villa with a pool just south of the Disney area but you may want a hotel close to the parks or an on property hotel within the theme park resort areas or perhaps somewhere near to the downtown Orlando area. Have a look at the links below for more info to help you decide which type of accommodation is best for you and your family. Especially check out the pros and cons page for a summary of the best and worse bits about each.

A third alternative is booking a self catering apartment on a resort complex. These are different to a privately rented property (AirBnB etc) as many have typical hotel amenities such as large swimming pools usually with water features and slides, a gym, restaurants, a small shop, 24 hour check-in desk and concierge, and with much more space than you would find in a typical hotel room. The apartments here will usually have 2 or 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms plus a small kitchen with washing machine and dishwasher, a dining and lounge area. The Orlando area has many of these and are operated by well-known chain hotel groups like Marriott, Hilton and Holiday Inn. There are a few just minutes in the car from the Disney World Welcome Sign like The Grove Resort (we stayed here in 2024), and Orange Lake Resort and others which are right on International Drive not far from Sea World and Universal like the Sheraton Vista Villa Resort or Marriott Cypress Tabor Villas.

As always shop around using a combination of the hotel websites, travel websites like Expedia, Booking and Hotels.com, Virgin Holidays and British Airways Holidays as all types of accommodation including some private villas can be booked on these.

TMTO TIP: If you can’t decide then you could of course do both! Why not start you holiday in one of the resort hotels and make use of the early entry scheme and the other benefits for a few days and then move to your villa and enjoy your own space and private pool.

If you’re planning on visiting Walt Disney World then you can link your park tickets with the hotel reservation on the My Disney Experience app by tapping on the 3 bars on lower right corner of the screen to access your account.

Check our links below to help you decide which type accommodation is best for you.

Renting self catering private accommodation… Or… Booking a hotel room…