Your Disney World hotel room may be your home away from home, but you shouldn’t always treat it that way.
Art of Animation
Yes, you do get to let Mousekeeping keep your space clean while you’re on vacation, so you don’t have to do chores. Food that you don’t have to prepare yourself is usually only a few steps away. And you’re surrounded by all things Disney the entire time you’re there. Plus, you have access to a pool and a lot of fun activities. BUT it’s still not your home, and there are some things you really shouldn’t do at your hotel.
So here are the things we can’t believe people are still doing at Disney World hotels.
Lying clothes out on balconies and patios
Sure, we get why you would want to leave wet clothes like swimsuits on your patio or balcony to dry, but we’d recommend hanging them in the shower or somewhere else in your room instead. First, this is a great way to get your things stolen.
Don’t hang things on your balcony
But it’s also unsightly for folks walking by to see that, and it takes away from the pristine magic Disney works so hard to maintain.
Walking around barefoot
We see it all the time. Folks are walking around outside their hotel room without shoes. Yes, we get it, maybe you’re headed to the pool, but you could step on something and hurt yourself before you ever make it to the pool. It could be something as simple as a bug or a branch, but you could end up hurting your feet.
Please wear shoes when walking around your resort
Also, walking around barefoot in public spaces is pretty unsanitary. This includes the food court and lobby. Bring some flip flops if you’re headed to the pool or just want to peruse the grounds in something other than your park shoes.
Expecting your room to be ready when you arrive
We get it. You’ve had a long flight to get to Disney World, and you just want to put your things in your room and either relax, or if you’re like us, GO. However, if you get in relatively early (before lunch), your room will probably not be ready when you arrive.
Your room may not be ready when you arrive
Rooms are generally ready around 2 or 3 PM (although sometimes they can be ready earlier). The best way to know when your room is ready is to check in to your room via the My Disney Experience app. You’ll then get a notification when your room is ready, and you can just bypass the lobby and head straight to your room and unlock your door with the app or your MagicBand. If you want to do something before your room is ready, drop your bags off with Bell Services.
Not using the Southwest luggage perk
If you’re flying with Southwest Airlines and are staying at a value resort, you can drop your luggage off at Luggage Assistance at your hotel on your check-out day, and your luggage will be taken to the airport and checked into your flight for you.
The luggage assistance desk!
Note that this service is only available on Southwest Airlines if you’re flying out of Orlando International Airport. Disney suggests that at the beginning of your stay, you should check in at your value hotel and call or visit Luggage Assistance to take advantage of this service. It is also recommended that you leave your inbound Southwest Airlines tags on your bags.
There’s a QR code with more information!
Disney suggests that you leave your bags with Luggage Assistance the evening before you leave, but the following are the guidelines:
- If you are flying before 1 PM: Drop your bags off by 1 AM the night before your flight
- If you are flying after 1 PM: Drop your bags off at least four hours before departure or no later than 1 PM (whichever comes first)
Pool hopping to a hotel you’re not staying at
If you’re staying at a value resort and think you can just travel to a deluxe resort and use the pool there, think again. Unless you are explicitly told otherwise (in the case of construction or something like that), you should only use the pools available at your hotel.
You can’t swim at Stormalong Bay if you’re not staying at Disney’s Yacht or Beach Club Resorts.
This is why you need a keycard or MagicBand to access the pool at hotels. If you want to swim at a certain pool in Disney World during your stay, your best bet is to book the hotel that has access to that pool.
Not taking advantage of the water park perk
In case you didn’t know, you can get free water park tickets for your party if you’re staying at a Disney World hotel for your check-in day at your Disney World hotel. This is a great way to figure out what to do on that first day in Disney World, especially if you don’t have plans to hit the parks until later.
Typhoon Lagoon
So be sure to have a swimsuit and water park essentials handy in your bags so you can head to the water parks and have some water park fun for free.
So keep this in mind if you’re staying at a Disney World hotel soon, and stay tuned to DFB for more.
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When me and my husband and sister and brother n law have stayed at resorts at Walt Disney world we have always been very respectful of how hard house keeping works to take care of our rooms we always put wash cloths and towels that we used n the bathtub kept the bathroom counter and sink with no tooth paste on it and picked up clothes the housekeepers work so hard to take lovely care of the guest rooms and we always treated like we would want someone to respect our homes every one that stays should remember that that the housekeepers also have their own homes to take care also and b respect ful
Warning – Disney does NOT always let you know when your room is ready. It’s a surprisingly terrible system for such a huge corporation.
I agree with Patti! We do the same and also put all trash in bins to keep area free and clear. Shoes lined up near luggage, etc AND, most importantly….daily tip. We do not tip all at once at the end of our trip. We tip every day to ensure if there is a staffing change mid-stay, the appropriate Housekeeper is recognized!
If you’re flying and arriving early in the day the water park perk is truly a perk. But for the majority of the drivers and even some of the flyers you arrive late afternoon or early evening and the water park perk is no perk at all.
Me and the fam are going in 2026 and the water park perk is no longer, unless you going in the summer which stinks as we planned on the first day to drop off our bag at the bell hop and go to the water park for the day. I just wish Disney thought about the people that plan their trip at least a year from the current date and when making changes to think about them but w/e. this will be last time going for a long bit do to all the negative changes anymore
Laurel we do the same we leave a nice tip every day for housekeeping it’s so refreshing to hear that u do the same same thing also I hope everyone does the same thing pixie dust is coming your way and we also see people at the park that r n scooters and canes and different walking devises to help them to enjoy the parks and we always r very mindful they also want to enjoy the parks too that’s how we grew up to b considerate of others TINKER BELL is on the way with your PIXIE DUST
We leave a “Special” tip for Mousekeeping everyday. They are so appreciated!!! Sometimes Mousekeeping leaves a sweet thank.you note or handcrafted towel animal on our bed. Now that is MAGIC!
Whenever we arrive before the room is ready, we hop the bus for Disney springs and have lunch and then to explore what is going on for the day. A day not wasted.