Walt Disney World is well known for being a popular vacation destination for families, but sometimes you just want to ditch the kids and have some alone time at the House of the Mouse. So you might be wondering what are the best Disney resorts for couples?
First off, if you are headed down to one of the Disney World hotels for a more romantic vacation, you’re most likely NOT going to pick one of the Value hotels. If your budget allows for something nicer like one of the Moderate or Deluxe hotel categories for your getaway trip to Disney, then we suggest you go that route. But if you do end up staying at one of the Value hotels at Disney, we’d suggest Pop Century or Art of Animation over the All Star ones. Most of your large kids sports groups usually stay at the All Star hotels, but sometimes they also show up at Pop or Art of Animation as well.
If you do stay at a Value hotel, Disney’s Pop Century is the way to go. If it’s just the two of you, you won’t need to put the Murphy bed down and you can use the table and chairs to have a nice romantic meal in the room and you’re left with a spacious room. Just be sure to not get a room near the pool areas – they tend to be very noisy.
So we’re going to focus on Disney World’s Moderate and Deluxe resorts only, and in no particular order, this is how we would rank the best Disney resorts for couples….
Best Disney Resorts For Couples – Moderate Resorts
Below you will find our choices in the moderate hotel category at Disney World for those wanting to have a couple’s weekend, week or anywhere in between.
DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE
While both Port Orleans properties, French Quarter and Riverside, are great, French Quarter feels more like a family resort rather than one of the best Disney resorts for couples for the most part. It’s bright and colorful and feels like a fun place to stay. But Riverside has a much more romantic atmosphere about it, especially if you are staying in the Magnolia Bend section, which is the mansions.
The Alligator Bayou section is very nice as well – it is one of the most peaceful spots on Disney property. Plus they also offer the Royal Rooms, which are Princess themed, and are absolutely gorgeous. The whole property is beautiful and you can sit on a bench or lay in a hammock and just relax. Plus, you can walk over to French Quarter and grab a coffee and some Mickey-shaped beignets (with or without alcohol), and people watch.
With any Moderate or Deluxe resort at Disney, you also get onsite table service dining. Boatwrights at Port Orleans Riverside gets a lot of slack for its food, but we know people who have eaten there and really enjoyed themselves on a date night there. At least it’s an option for dinner if you don’t feel like venturing far from your room, to go to one of the parks or Disney Springs. You can also walk down to the River Roost Lounge and have some appetizers while listening to Yehaa Bob and his piano sing-a-long comedy routine.
DISNEY’S CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT
Once the construction on Caribbean Beach is complete, this is going to be one of the top places for couples at Disney. The property is absolutely gorgeous, and there are little beach areas that you can hang out around. There are several quiet pools that are away from the more family-oriented pools that have the water slide.
Other than the fact that the water surrounding the resort isn’t crystal clear (it’s a Florida man-made retention pond), it feels like you are at the beach. You’ve also got Sebastian’s Bistro, which is a fantastic table service restaurant, and there’s a great bar area called Banana Cabana. There’s also a small area with pathways that contain double swings where you can relax and pretend you are really in the Caribbean.
DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT
The room refurbs at Coronado Springs Resort were completed last year and now the Gran Destino Tower is open, this has become of the best Disney resorts for couples. They’ve got the new restaurant, 3 Bridges Bar and Grille that just opened recently, there’s going to be a rooftop restaurant on the top floor of the tower, not to mention Maya Grill has great food, Cafe Rix – the sports bar lounge, and even Pepper Market – so many options to eat on property!
The property itself is beautiful, and yes, it is a convention center, so you will have more business people around rather than families, but it’s still pretty quiet during the day if you choose to stay on property and hang by the pool rather than go to the park.
The refurbed rooms are really nice – they feel like a low end Deluxe whereas the look and feel is very Deluxe, but the rooms are smaller in the Moderate range. When it’s all said and done, Coronado Springs will be more of a Moderate-Deluxe resort and a really great option for couples vacationing to Disney. Plus, both Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach are fairly close to each other and also to Disney Springs and Epcot – two locations that also happen to be great places at Disney World for date nights.
Best Disney Resorts For Couples – DELUXE RESORTS
Here is where the good stuff is and the category of best Disney resorts for couples we recommend if you’re planning a couple’s getaway at Disney World.
DISNEY’S WILDERNESS LODGE
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge has it all – the grounds are beautiful, the pool is relaxing, and it’s got great food options in Storybook Dining at Artist’s Point and Geyser Point. The lobby is incredible – you can walk down there in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and sit down in one of the rocking chairs in front of the fireplace and just watch everyone else rushing by headed to the parks.
Plus, it is a short boat ride away from Fort Wilderness where you can go horseback riding and other activities, which would be a fun addition to your trip! Or you can take a boat to the monorail loop and you have access to three more Deluxe hotels and Magic Kingdom.
DISNEY’S GRAND FLORIDIAN
The Grand Floridian at Disney World is one of the more expensive hotels on property, very beautiful and feels like the kind of place to have a couples retreat. It has Senses, the onsite spa, where you can get a couples massage. This is one of the places that has a very romantic feeling about it. There’s even a wedding pavilion where if you were thinking about getting married, you could do it there (for a price).
It feels very elegant and fancy – almost like if you walked in wearing shorts and flip flops everyone would look at you like you’re crazy or you don’t belong there, but that’s simply not true. It’s very kid and family friendly, but obviously, it’s going to depend on your budget if you can stay there.
The Grand Floridian has several high end restaurants like Citrico’s, Narcoossee’s, and the really fancy Victoria and Albert’s (which does have a dress code). But it also has 1900 Park Fare, which is a character meal and family friendly. The pool is also very cool, and again, it’s on the monorail loop, so you have access to the other Disney resorts on the loop and to Magic Kingdom. Around Christmas, the lobby is all decked out and Grand Floridian hosts the giant gingerbread house. Around Easter they have a huge decorated egg display.
DISNEY’S BOARDWALK INN
The Boardwalk feels like the same era as the Grand Floridian, but it’s much more relaxed with a “beachy” feel to this Disney resort, almost like you’re in the Hamptons- making it one of the best Disney resorts for couples! There’s the actual wooden boardwalk with the shops and nighttime entertainment like the AbracadaBar and Jelly Rolls, and Flying Fish restaurant. You have a built-in date night right outside your resort door (well, technically, you have to leave the actual resort to get onto the boardwalk, but it’s a short walk).
There’s no denying the Monorail Loop is absolutely amazing, but the Boardwalk Loop with the Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club and the Swan and Dolphin – plus the close proximity of Epcot and the World Showcase – it could probably win as the best Disney resort for couples. Until you see the pool…
That creepy clown pool where you’re basically sliding out of Pennywise’s mouth. Hands down the most God awful scariest pool in the history of Disney resort pools. Just stay away from the main pool unless you want it to haunt your dreams.
DISNEY’S POLYNESIAN RESORT
The Polynesian resort at Disney is just the best! Yes, you’ll see a lot more families here, but there are still places you can go within the resort that are perfect for a romantic getaway that make it one of the best Disney resorts for couples. And during the day you don’t really see many kids at the pools because they are at the parks. While the main pool is super cool, it’s going to be loud. So you can do to the secondary pool and it’s more of a relaxing pool and vibe, like most of the resort.
Then there’s the food, which is some of the best on Disney property. You’ve got ‘Ohana, Kona Cafe, Trader Sam’s, Captain Cook’s – all great choices. There’s the Spirit of Aloha Luau dinner show you can go see. You can get a Dole Whip with rum and sit by the pool, or take out one of those paddle boats that will make your legs feel like jelly by the end. You can even rent an actual boat and go fishing. You can watch the fireworks down by the beach instead of with the crowds on Main Street (they even pipe in the music).
Again, it’s one of the resorts on the Monorail Loop, so you can have access to many other Disney resorts. Since this is one of the older Disney hotels, the rooms are larger so they don’t feel as cramped as some of the other resorts. They also have the Bungalow rooms over the water (if you can afford it) which is a super romantic setting for couples. Just picture it: you’re sitting in your own private hot tub with your significant other, watching the fireworks, eating bread pudding from ‘Ohana. Perfect romantic evening.
Basically you can’t go wrong staying at any of the Disney Deluxe resorts because they all have so much to do and a variety of places to eat that they feel almost all-inclusive and you don’t even have to step foot inside a park. Not that you can’t have the best time and enjoy your couple-time together at a Moderate or Value Disney resort, either. What really matters is who you’re with!
If you enjoyed this article on Best Disney Resorts for Couples, then be sure to check out some other Disney resort articles we have, like our Best Disney Value Resorts!
