Best Western Lake Buena Vista is a Disney Springs Resort Area hotel at Walt Disney World. It’s one of the lower-priced options at Disney World, and one of the most cost effective ways to get benefits like Extra Magic Hours and the 60-day FastPass+ window. Read on to learn all about our stay at Best Western Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort!
Booking and Some Early Hiccups
As soon as Rise of the Resistance—the marquee ride of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge—was announced to open on December 5, I knew I’d want to be around for about a week to experience it.
Unfortunately, this was also the start of Pop Warner Super Bowl and National Cheer & Dance Championships, which meant Disney hotel space was incredibly thin, and value hotel space was non-existent.
I booked a night at BoardWalk Inn so I could walk to the Rise of the Resistance opening on December 5, but there were no good Disney options for the other six nights, so I opened up Kayak and looked for other hotels.
Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels
The Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels are seven hotels just outside Disney Springs that are not operated by Disney, but that have some perks of a Disney hotel stay. In particular, these guests get Extra Magic Hour access and the 60-day advance FastPass+ booking window (these perks are confirmed through 2020).
I’ve always been very hesitant to book the non-Disney hotels that have the Extra Magic Hour and 60-day FastPass+ window perks. There are lots of Disney experiences that are actually provided by third parties—cruise excursions, Aulani excursions, and even many on-site Disney World restaurants.
Extra Magic Hour can be a great perk when used wisely.
Unfortunately, these third parties don’t always hold themselves to the Disney standard, and if you have a complaint or problem, you’re left with nowhere to turn. Complain to the company and they either blame Disney or don’t care. Complain to Disney and they just tell you it’s not their fault, it’s the third party.
But with no reasonable option other than to throw myself into this hotel, I was happy to experience the process for the first time…including the hiccups along the way.
Price
I booked six nights for $961.50, or $160.25 per night. For what it’s worth, a non-discounted room at All-Star Sports, had it been available, would have cost about $892 or $148.67 per night. I’ll talk more about price and how it compares to other options in the conclusion of the review. I had my go-to travel agent—Lauren Quirk of Travel With Character LLC—book my stay.
This price included a resort fee of $13.99 + tax per night. I’m officially very opposed to resort fees, but at least this wasn’t an exorbitant price, and the hotel was still the best option for this stay.
Problems Begin
Shortly after booking the stay, Lauren reported a problem to me—the reservation wasn’t properly linking to my My Disney Experience account.
I want to be clear—I understand enough about this issue to know it was in no way Lauren’s fault. It’s a problem between Disney and Best Western, and this was one of those times I was thrilled to have Lauren on the phone with people sorting it out instead of doing it myself.
This particular issue causes two problems. First, I wasn’t able to log in and make my FastPass+ reservations 60 days in advance. Disney resolved this by offering to make me the reservations I’d like.
Second, I wouldn’t be able to scan my Magic Band for Extra Magic Hour access. The hotel claimed I could get a voucher to replace scanning the band, and I’m sure that’s true, but I was very much not looking forward to having to do this, as stumbling upon a Cast Member who didn’t know about the vouchers could delay me precious minutes in the morning.
This sounds ridiculous, but—as expected—the first few days of the Rise of the Resistance opening did turn out to be chaotic, and a few minutes could make a huge difference. (In any case, minutes are always precious at rope drop.)
As it happened, Lauren escalated this far enough into the Disney IT department that it eventually got resolved. No one ever let us know, but a few days after the issue occurred I just saw the reservation in “My Plans” and the FastPass+ window opened. I was eventually able to access Extra Magic Hours without any voucher, too, only my Magic Band.
Arrival and Check-In
We arrived at about 10:30PM. We had been staying at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn the previous night, and we took a bus to Disney Springs from there and then walked through Springs to the hotel. Keep in mind that if you’re coming from the airport you will not have Disney’s Magical Express airport shuttle service (we recommend Uber).
Check-in was very smooth, no doubt helped by the late hour we were arriving. We were given a room on the 14th floor, not on the side facing construction.
We were told everything we needed about the hotel, included about the buses (discussed much more below). We were also given a small coupon book for Disney Springs (which also had more detailed bus information).
Our Room at Best Western Lake Buena Vista
There was really nothing striking about our room, either good or bad. The room is obviously dated, maybe even lagging behind the rooms of Disney’s All-Star Music and All-Star Sports resorts.
If you’ve read our other reviews, you know I place a high premium on functionality (my favorite rooms at Disney hotels can be found in Yacht Club, Pop Century, and Coronado Springs).
Older hotel rooms tend to be non-functional, and this one fit that mold. For example, the top drawer of the TV stand didn’t open fully without significant force. (Click through the below gallery for more room photos.)
The alarm clock was all all the way on the TV stand. Fine, because most people use their phones for alarms anyways, right?
Well, the alarm clock was also the only access to bonus outlets and USB ports. There was one set of outlets at the foot of one bed, but essentially we were just charging our phones with Fuel Rods at night (which left the phones only about 30% charged every morning).
The bathroom was mostly uninteresting. There was a significant amount of residue left from a bathmat that had been removed from inside the tub. The residue itself is a little gross, but the sanitation situation surrounding a bathmat was surely grosser. The shower was otherwise quite good.
The television had a good range of channels, including the Disney World Must Do. It didn’t have the resort information channel, though, which I know many guests are fans of (we are too). Wifi also worked well.
Besides the aforementioned minor issues, we had no issues with the room. We slept well (though it was a busy trip, so we were exhausted most nights), it was clean, and the nearby construction didn’t impact us at all.
Location and Transportation
Best Western Lake Buena Vista is located in the Disney Springs Resort Area. This area is essentially a 3/4-mile long strip of road outside Disney Springs that houses the seven Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels.
Best Western Lake Buena Vista is the second farthest hotel from Disney Springs, and the farthest along the west side of the road, about 0.5 miles from the edge of Disney Springs.
This strip is incredibly walkable, with sidewalks on both sides. There is a bridge connecting it to Disney Springs and a bridge across the road. Depending on how fast you walk, you’re about ten minutes from the Marketplace section of Disney Springs.
Getting Between Best Western Lake Buena Vista and the Parks
The Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels are not a part of the standard Disney World transportation system. This is in contrast to the Swan & Dolphin, which are non-Disney hotels serviced by Disney buses and boats. Additionally, these hotels are not serviced by Disney’s Magical Express airport shuttle service.
To start with, it’s important to remember that you can always use Uber to get around Disney World. I racked up a lot of Uber rides this trip (for reasons that will become clear), spending between $10 and $20 for most trips to/from my hotel. Minnie Vans can also service the hotel. But that’s not your only option.
The Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels have shuttle service to and from the parks. There are two bus lines—A and B—that service the seven hotels (during late evening hours they often just combined the routes). The Best Western Lake Buena Vista was serviced by the “B” line.
The buses may also service multiple parks. For example, I saw Epcot and Animal Kingdom on the same bus multiple mornings.
These shuttles begin pickup one hour before park open, including Extra Magic Hours, and operate every 30 minutes. If you have a different morning event—like Magic Kingdom Early Morning Magic—you will need to find your own way to the park.
This one-hour morning window is early enough for visits to Magic Kingdom and Epcot most days, but it was largely useless for riding Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios or rope dropping Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom. For those parks, you’d need to take an Uber.
Note that you will be dropped off at Transportation and Ticket Center if going to Magic Kingdom. We had a perfect morning rope dropping Big Thunder Mountain Railroad according to the following schedule: 7AM bus pickup, 7:26AM at Transportation and Ticket Center, 7:45AM at park gate.
Return shuttles operate every 30 minutes until 90 minutes after park close. The return shuttles include service for Extra Magic Hours and the holiday parties—Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party—but not for other events, like Magic Kingdom After Hours.
The easiest way to know where to get picked up is to ask when you get dropped off, but you might park hop and not have that opportunity.
At Magic Kingdom, you’ll be picked up at Transportation and Ticket Center. At Epcot and Hollywood Studios, shuttle buses pick up near the other buses.
At Animal Kingdom, the situation was way annoying. There’s a shuttle bus “waiting area” in the parking lot, but the buses themselves lineup in the middle of the parking lot.
The one time we made this journey, the bus was sitting far from the other shuttle buses (not in its pickup spot) for 20 minutes before it started to drive away. We flagged it down and hopped on.
Besides the included hotel shuttle, you have two other free transportation options—transiting through Disney Springs or transiting through Saratoga Springs.
Buses begin operating from the Disney parks to Disney Springs at 4PM. There are no buses from Disney Springs to the parks, but you could transit to nearby hotels and walk (except for Animal Kingdom) pretty much all day.
The walk from the Best Western to the Disney Springs bus depot is about 20 minutes. I don’t recommend this option unless you’re planning to stop somewhere in Springs along the way and you aren’t in a rush.
Saratoga Springs has the same bus service as any Disney hotel. Again, you’re looking at about 15-20 minutes to their bus stop from Best Western. I never had any reason to try this option. I considered trying it after Magic Kingdom After Hours, but I was unsure if I’d be able to walk through Springs to the hotel at about 2AM (and I was tired).
Other Amenities at Best Western Lake Buena Vista
With its location, its actually unlikely you’ll have much time to avail yourself of much at the hotel. Unlike, say, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which is a ten-minute walk from Magic Kingdom, the commute to/from the Best Western means you’ll probably leave to start your day and return at the very end of the day.
There are a couple options if you’re looking for food. First of all, we recommend just walking over to Disney Springs for lunch or dinner. For breakfast, Traders Island Grill serves a sort of “continental plus” breakfast buffet for about $12 that includes eggs and Mickey Waffles. Here’s a gallery of photos:
The restaurant is also open for dinner, but we didn’t try that. There is a small marketplace that sells snacks, and there’s a Pizza Hut Express inside the hotel that we also didn’t try.
Additionally, there’s a cocktail lounge, though—again—the bar options at Disney Springs are generally going to be more appealing. The hotel also has a pool and fitness center.
Conclusions
Let’s start with a deeper look at price. Here are some prices for a week in April 2020:
$1463.02 at Disney All-Star Sports without any discount
$1243.57 at the All-Star Sports with the Gift of Magic offer
$1182.01 at the Best Western Lake Buena Vista
$688.29 Ramada by Wyndham Kissimmee Gateway
Since for my stay the Best Western was more expensive than All-Star Sports, it’s reasonable to say these are comparable in price. And that makes sense.
Both Best Western and All-Star Sports have 60-day FastPass+ booking and Extra Magic Hours. All-Star has significantly better transportation, but the Best Western location is otherwise better (if you visit Springs), and the Best Western rooms at least don’t have outside-facing doors.
I chose to compare prices at an Airbnb (no provided transportation) and that Ramada (worse shuttle than Best Western) to show what you’re paying for the decent shuttle, 60-day FastPass+ window, and Extra Magic Hour.
Personally, I don’t visit Disney Springs a ton, so walking there doesn’t matter to me. I would take All-Star Sports over Best Western Lake Buena Vista at the same price to have Magical Express and be on the Disney bus system, particularly for those early morning visits to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.
If you’re really on a budget, then you can obviously do a lot cheaper than the Best Western Lake Buena Vista. You could probably do the Ramada and rent a car and still come in cheaper (read more about renting a car, driving, and parking at Disney World). You definitely could use Uber daily.
As for the 60-day FastPass+ window and Extra Magic Hours, I can’t tell you how much to value those. I take trips where I go to EMH daily and trips where I avoid it daily. It’s a good perk for early risers, but I don’t think it’s a significant departure from standard hours.
The 60-day FastPass+ window is essential if you want to book Flight of Passage, Slinky Dog Dash, Test Track, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train without constantly searching for them until your trip. But you can put together perfect days at the parks without those FastPasses, too.
Would I stay at the Best Western Lake Buena Vista again?
Definitely…in this exact situation. I had no reasonable Disney hotel options and I wanted Extra Magic Hours for this trip. I’m also rarely on such a budget constraint that I’d drop all the way to that Ramada (nothing against it, and the more I write this, the more I want to try such a trip).
I especially think if I enjoyed Disney Springs more, I’d see more value in the location. Adults-only travelers (which yes, we are) in particular might prefer to avoid the chaotic playpen that is All-Star Sports in favor of the more mild-mannered, Springs-adjacent Best Western Lake Buena Vista.
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