Checking Into Walt Disney World Hotels Quiz

Along with Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, Disney's Contemporary Resort was one of the first two specially-constructed resort facilities built on Walt Disney World grounds, both being created to host guests of the Magic Kingdom park, then the only park open. Designed as a unique A-frame structure, the monorail passes through the middle of the building.

In 1971, its futurist design leaned into what the park could be; it's no surprise that a decade later, Epcot would be opened with an eye towards progress.

Opening only a couple of months after the rest of the Walt Disney World in 1971, the Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground is a little different from other facilities like the Contemporary or the Polynesian because it caters to families looking to spend time outdoors with their choice of forested campsite or log cabin. Five years after this spot opened, Disney's River Country waterpark was opened nearby, creating the perfect thematic space for visitors looking to beat the heat. River Country would close in 2001 but the campground and cabins would remain.

With three major resort areas built at Walt Disney World for its early days, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa became the first in a grander plan, being introduced and open for business in 1988, nearly seventeen years after the first three. To that point in time it was the largest of the Disney hotels and its flagship, inspired as it was but classic Floridian resort architecture.

Although the site it was built on, sitting on the Seven Seas Lagoon near Magic Kingdom, was earmarked for an Asian-inspired resort, that plan was scrapped to make way for this structure.

Constructed as part of what would become the massive Disney Springs Resort Area, home to Downtown Disney on the edge of Lake Buena Vista, the Disney's Port Orleans Resort opened in two parts in 1991 and 1992, the first being the French Quarter-inspired option and the second, Riverside, being inspired by the Old South and being called 'Dixie Landings' for many years.

The latter changed names around the turn of the century due to societal shift, and with that, Port Orleans consolidated under one larger complex. Combined, they would hold over three thousand rooms and become the park's largest hotel area to date.

Constructed in the mid-1990s, Disney's All-Star Sports Resort and Disney's All-Star Music Resort would become budget options for travellers seeking a stay at the park and both were themed around the obvious. Eventually, in the 2000s, the hotels would be some of the closest options to the Animal Kingdom area and they would be joined by the Disney's All-Star Movies Resort, a hotel themed around several popular Disney films of the day.

Opening a year before Animal Kingdom but placed in its resort area, Disney's Coronado Springs Resort was constructed with the intent to better accommodate guests to what would be Disney's newest park. With guests first being able to check in in 1997, it opened up to a southwest U.S. aesthetic, evoking Texan, Mexican, and Arizonan inspired art, style, and architecture. Additionally, the resort became home to the largest convention centre to date in Walt Disney World and one of the largest gathering spaces in this corner of the U.S.

Though Animal Kingdom itself would open its doors in 1998, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge would open to guests in 2001 and it would be worth the wait to anyone looking for a more authentic experience with that particular park. Accommodating more than thirteen hundred rooms, many of its lodgings would back onto massive plots of land curated to look, feel, and act like expanses of African savannah land and house the animals that would be found there.

This meant that guests could look out the windows to see giraffes, zebras, and wildebeests (amongst others) during their stay.

A hotel and spa inspired by late-19th-century New York, Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa can be found in Disney Springs on the site of the old Walt Disney World Conference Center which opened in 1980 and was torn down and superseded by other resorts. Built as an upscale destination it became the home base for the Disney Vacation Club Preview Center, facilitating the building and presentation of later resorts and villas on Walt Disney World grounds.

It is also home to the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course, which has hosted the PGA Tour.

Opening with nearly two thousand rooms near Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Art of Animation Resort was inspired by great Disney films like "The Lion King", "The Little Mermaid", "Cars", and "Finding Nemo" and, like the All-Star properties nearby, was made for budget travellers.

Originally intended to be part of the Pop Century Resort, its construction was put aside and revisited a decade later, becoming part of the complex in 2012 and being a key part of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Resort Area.

Created as an immersive guest experience in the Epcot Resort Area, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel was a pricey option while it was open to guests, but with immense value for any "Star Wars" fan looking to place themselves in a galaxy far, far away. With only one hundred rooms, guests would be able to join in a larger, more experiential vacation that included missions that could be custom-tailored for any stay, and with a quick shuttle, they could arrive at the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge park in Disney's Hollywood Studios. Due to its high price point, the hotel announced its closure in 2023.