6 Ways To Stay at Disney Hotels for Cheap (or Free)

Disney makes you feel like you’ve entered a fantasy world. Why leave that when the park closes? Staying at a Disney-owned hotel is one way to keep the magic going throughout your entire trip, and it may come with some cool perks like transportation to the parks and Extended Evening Theme Park Hours.

But all that sleeping and eating at a Disney hotel comes at a cost. Disney hotels tend to be far more expensive than nearby, off-property hotels. Still, there's hope for finding a cheaper night stay at a Disney-owned hotel. And when it comes to Disneyland and Walt Disney World Good Neighbor Hotels — which are essentially hotels near Disney that have received the Disney stamp of approval for meeting certain standards — you might even be able to stay for free.

If you’re set on staying at Disney property, then go straight to the source. Disney lists its current deals here:

• Disneyland deals on hotels.

• Disney World deals on hotels.

You can expect to see some recurring deals, like special offers for military members and annual passholders.

To take advantage of the more seasonal deals for the general public, it pays to be flexible. Some deals only apply to certain days of the week, like Sundays through Thursdays, and it’s not uncommon to see blackout dates for school holidays. If you can work around the restrictions, you’ve found yourself a deal.

Some of the current offers include:

• Up to 25% off certain stays between Jan. 7 and March 20, 2025 at Disneyland's hotels in Anaheim, California.

• Up to 25% off certain stays between Feb. 23 and April 30, 2025 at Walt Disney World's hotels in Florida.

• Up to 20% off certain weeknight stays between Jan. 1 and Feb. 20, 2025 at Walt Disney World's hotels in Florida.

Since you’ll likely need to buy theme park tickets (and deals on those are hard to come by as well), you might find some savings if you bundle the two expenses. Do the math before you buy to make sure you’re actually getting some savings.

Costco Travel offers some Disney vacation packages for members. For example, we found a Costco Travel vacation package for a three-night stay at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort with three day, one park tickets for two people comes in at less than $2,000. Meanwhile, we found the same package from Disney going for $300 more.

People who live in Florida or Southern California might actually save money on their hotel/park tickets by getting an annual pass if available. For Disneyland, annual passes are called Magic Key passes.

Passholders often get discounts of 25% to 30% on hotels. Depending on how many days you will realistically visit the park, the annual pass might be worth it.

» Learn more: How to purchase theme park tickets with points

Most Disney properties are not bookable with hotel points, but if you earn travel rewards through your credit card, you might still be able to stay on-site.

For example, if you earn Capital One miles through a card like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you can redeem your points for travel at a rate of one cent per point through the Capital One Travel portal.

The portal lists a variety of hotels at Disney. It includes a variety of Disney’s hotels, from the budget-friendly All-Star resorts (the cheapest Disney resorts) to the more premium Animal Kingdom Lodge.

If you can’t find Disney properties through your credit card’s travel redemption portal, you could also pay for the hotel booking and offset it with a travel credit or statement credit. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card - Miles Boost allow you to use your miles to get reimbursed for a travel purchase.

Both the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card and the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card offer a similar redemption option to redeem points as a statement credit against travel and other types of purchases.

One of the best ways to save on Disney accommodations is by redeeming hotel points at Disney Good Neighbor Hotels, which are located near the parks and offer many of the same perks as staying on-site, like free transportation to the parks.

Several major hotel chains, such as Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt, operate Good Neighbor Hotels. Though Disney's own hotels don't have loyalty programs, these ones do. And with them, you to use rewards points you've earned through credit cards or frequent stays to cover some or all of your stay.

This can significantly reduce—or even eliminate—your lodging costs while still providing a convenient, comfortable Disney experience. Plus, many of these hotels often have lower nightly rates than Disney-owned properties, so your points can stretch further, making it a great budget-friendly option.

Marriott Bonvoys are particularly valuable at Walt Disney World

Marriott stands out as the best loyalty program for Disney fans, as its Swan and Dolphin hotels have the distinction of being the only chain hotels on Disney property. They even come with access to extended park hours, which some of the lower-tier Disney properties don’t offer anyway.

Marriott no longer has an award chart, but expect to spend between 40,000 and 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night at the Swan or Dolphin hotels.

One of the easiest ways to earn hotel reward points is by holding one of the hotel’s credit cards. Marriott has a handful, including a business card option. You can also transfer points over from American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards® to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio.

Perhaps even better than spending hotel points on a free Disney-area hotel stay? Cashing in free night certificates.

Many different credit cards come with an annual free night certificate each year that you hold the card. Although these certificates are generally limited in redemption options and how many you’ll receive each year, it is possible to stack multiple together in order to create an almost-free stay.

Check out some of the credit cards with annual free night certificates, and find out whether you can earn additional certificates after meeting a spend threshold. Combine these with points for a longer vacation in a single hotel, or try hotel-hopping at different properties.

It might seem difficult to find cheap Disney hotels. You might get lucky and find a deal that works for you. Otherwise, you should look at options at off-property hotels where it may be easier to find lower rates and redeem your points. Maybe after an entire day or several days at the parks, you won’t need Disney-manufactured magic to sleep, too.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney World.