Why I Will Only Stay at a Non-Disney World Hotel from Now On

It’s no secret that there are a lot of hotel options near Walt Disney World. From Disney’s own 20+ hotels, to third-party hotels on Disney Property (the Swan and Dolphin Resorts, the Four Seasons), Good Neighbor Hotels in the Disney Springs area, and our focus today: Flamingo Crossings.

©Home2Suites by Hilton | Disney

Originally opened back in 2021 after years of delays, Flamingo Crossings is a Disney-developed “third-party” area located on land owned by Disney but technically outside of Disney’s gates. The land is home to businesses, housing used by Disney College Program members, and several hotels that provide access to the resort and its theme parks.

The hotels that currently call Flamingo Crossings Town Center home include:

A connected TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites by Marriott, which share access to a Starbucks location and the Flamingo’s Bar & Grille restaurant.
A connected Homewoods Suites and Home2 Suites by Hilton, which share the Dia Feliz Cantina Restaurant.
A Fairfield by Marriott, which is home to The Fieldhouse Restaurant.
A Residence Inn by Marriott, which is home to Featherstones Bar & Grille.

One of the biggest advantages of these Flamingo Crossings hotels (and staying off property, in general) are the prices. Let’s look at some dates during the busy summer season:

For a 5-night stay from August 3rd to the 8th, 2026, a hypothetical family of two adults and a 10-year old child will spend $686.25 for a Suite: 1 King, 1 Sofa Bed room at the Flamingo Crossings Springhill Suites.

©Mariott

Meanwhile, a standard room at the Value Tier Pop Century Resort on Disney World property WITHOUT theme park tickets, would cost $1,274.63 for the same hypothetical family over the same days.

©Disney

That’s nearly a FULL 50% cheaper to stay in an off-property suite compared to Disney’s “lowest” room tier.

Now, the hotels located in Flamingo Crossings don’t have access to the same perks as Disney-owned hotels or other “Good Neighbor Hotels” — including Early Entry access. However, given the amount of money a guest staying at Flamingo Crossings can save, they could perhaps budget some towards an After Hours Event, getting extra time in the parks that way.

Magic Kingdom After Hours

As far as transportation, the Flamingo Crossings hotels do offer paid shuttle service to Walt Disney World’s hotels. Now, once again, that is. perk that you’ll be paying for, which is “free” at Disney World’s hotels. However, as with the Early Entry/After Hours tradeoff mentioned above, the budget savings from staying at a Flamingo Crossing hotel more than make up for the price of the shuttle or using a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft.

Rideshare Pick Up Zone

Guests staying at these hotels have access to the the dining and retail locations at Flamingo Crossings, including Ellie Lou’s Brews & BBQ, Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, Hash House a go go, Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, Pieology Pizza, Token Ramen & Tea, Simply Capri Italian Restaurant, White Rabbit Desert Experience, Domino’s, Dunkin’, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Firehouse Subs, Five Guys, Panda Express, Pita Mediterranean Street Food, PDQ ChickeN, Skyline Chili, Starbucks, Wendy’s, Fit2Run Shoe Store, Five Below, Luxor Nail & Spa, Target, The UPS Store, Walgreens, and the 7-Eleven Gas Station. In addition, the complex is also home to an AdventHealth ER, AdventHealth Primary Care+ clinic, and Lake Britt Dental Care for medical needs.

Flamingo Crossings Target

If you are strictly looking to save money, there’s no real reason to stay on property at Disney World. There are SO many options nearby with transportation to the parks and amazing space and amenities that can seriously save you over 50%. Of course, Disney hotels have so many benefits as well. But when it comes to saving big money, staying off property is a serious win.

Next time you’re planning a trip to the Walt Disney World area, be sure to add the Flamingo Crossings hotels to your list of considerations. Stay tuned to DFB for more on Central Florida’s hotels.

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