There isn’t one Disneyland Paris hotel that is right for every trip.
The best fit depends on how you actually plan to use it: whether you want to be back in your room soon after the nighttime show, whether the pool and hotel facilities will really get used, how many people need to fit in the room and how much of your budget you want to spend on where you sleep.
We’ve stayed at Disney Hotels across very different trips, and our choice changes depending on the season, the price and who we’re travelling with. So rather than starting with star ratings, we think it makes more sense to start with the things that will genuinely change your stay.
The things that actually change the choice
Before comparing hotels, decide what you actually need yours to do. These are the four things we think make the biggest difference once you’re there.
If you like going back to your room during the day, a shorter walk is worth far more than it is on a trip where you leave in the morning and stay in the parks until closing.
Pools, lounges, character meets and nicer surroundings only add value if you’re actually going to stop and use them.
For larger families, how many people can sleep in one room can change the real cost far more than the headline room price.
The answer can change completely if one hotel is significantly cheaper, or if you’re comparing a summer trip with a cold December stay.
How close do you really need to be?
Location is the easiest difference to spot between the Disney Hotels, but how much it matters depends entirely on how you travel.
If you leave after breakfast and stay in the parks until closing, a longer walk back to the hotel may not bother you at all. If you like an afternoon reset, have younger children or know everyone will be exhausted after the nighttime show, it starts to matter much more.
Disneyland Hotel is the obvious option if you want to be right at the park entrance. Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel is still extremely convenient, while Newport Bay Club and Sequoia Lodge sit around Lake Disney and are both close enough that going back during the day doesn’t feel like a major operation.
Cheyenne and Santa Fe take you a little further out, while Davy Crockett Ranch changes the equation completely because you’re driving rather than walking.
For us, the useful question isn’t simply “Which hotel is closest?”
It’s “How many times are we actually going to make that journey each day?”
Will the hotel be part of the holiday?
We’ve had Disneyland Paris trips where the hotel is basically somewhere to sleep, and others where going back for a swim, a coffee or an hour away from the crowds is part of the day.
Those are two very different buying decisions.
If you’re going to be in the parks from early morning until late at night, paying a big premium for a pool, lounge or grander surroundings can be difficult to justify. You may get far more value from one of the cheaper Disney Hotels and spend the difference elsewhere.
If you deliberately build breaks into the day, the calculation changes. Newport Bay and Sequoia Lodge become much more appealing because the hotel itself starts doing some of the work. A pool, a comfortable lounge, a character meet or simply somewhere you actually want to spend an hour becomes part of the holiday rather than an unused extra.
The more you use your hotel, the more its location and facilities matter.
Newport Bay v Sequoia Lodge?
If we’re staying around Lake Disney, this is usually the decision we end up making. We really like both, but for quite different reasons.
Our all-rounder
Newport is usually our starting point when the prices are reasonably close. We love the setting around Lake Disney, it feels a little brighter and more open, and it works particularly well for the sort of family trip where we want to come back during the day and actually use the hotel.
The pool is a genuine plus for us, particularly in warmer weather, and the room options can also make Newport much more practical for a larger family.
Its biggest weakness is simply its size. Newport Bay is enormous, and where your room is can make a surprisingly big difference when you’ve already spent the day walking around the parks.
- Great for warmer tripsThe pool and lakeside setting come into their own when the weather is better.
- Works well for larger familiesRoom configuration can make Newport a much more practical option.
- Good for proper hotel breaksThis is somewhere we’re happy to come back to for part of the afternoon.
- Room location mattersA distant room can add a lot more walking than you expect.
Our atmosphere pick
Sequoia is probably the Disney Hotel we have the most affection for. The woodland setting, darker interiors and huge fireplace give it a feeling that the other hotels don’t really replicate, particularly when it’s cold outside.
It’s also an easy walk around the lake to Disney Village and the parks, and Golden Forest Club has worked particularly well for us.
The rooms were the obvious weak point for a long time and had become very tired, although the refurbishment changes that equation. Room configuration can also be less straightforward for larger families.
- Brilliant in autumn and winterThis is when the woodland setting and fireplace make most sense.
- Can be excellent valueA meaningful saving compared with Newport can make the decision very easy for us.
- Golden Forest Club works wellThe added benefits and room location can make the stay noticeably easier.
- Check the room setupFor larger families, the accommodation options can change the maths quickly.
Travelling as a family of five? Check the rooms first
Cheyenne and Santa Fe
There are plenty of trips where we’d rather keep more of the budget for everything else. The important thing is knowing what you’re giving up and whether you actually care about it.
Best for stronger Disney theming on a lower budget
Cheyenne makes sense when you still want the hotel to feel like part of Disneyland Paris.
The Western town setting gives the whole place a lot of personality, and for children who love the theme that can matter far more than having a grand lobby or a swimming pool.
The trade-off is the extra distance from the parks. We’d be more inclined to choose Cheyenne on a trip where we weren’t planning to keep returning to the room throughout the day.
- Strong Western theming
- Better if the hotel still matters to you
- Further from the parks
Best whenYou want to spend less without losing that feeling of staying somewhere unmistakably Disney.
Best for a park-first trip
Santa Fe is the more straightforward option.
If your plan is breakfast, parks, dinner, parks, bed, you may simply not need to pay for hotel facilities that you’re barely going to see.
We’d look at Santa Fe when the saving was meaningful and the parks were clearly the priority, rather than expecting the hotel itself to be a big part of the holiday.
- Usually the more functional choice
- Makes sense if the room is mainly for sleeping
- Spend the difference elsewhere
Best whenYou mainly need somewhere Disney to sleep and would rather spend the difference elsewhere.
When walking to the parks isn’t the priority
Davy Crockett Ranch and Villages Nature Paris change the shape of the trip rather than simply giving you another hotel at a different price.
The attraction is having more space, some self-catering flexibility and more of a resort experience away from the parks. The trade-off is that popping back to your accommodation is no longer a simple walk through Disney Village.
That can work brilliantly if you want slower days, more room and proper time away from the parks. It makes less sense if the whole reason you want to stay with Disney is to move easily between your room and the park gates.
We’d look at this style of stay because we actively wanted the space and independence, rather than simply because the headline nightly price appeared cheaper.
The same hotel can make more sense on a different trip
We wouldn’t necessarily choose the same hotel in July that we would in December. The length and time of year of the trip can change which things are actually worth paying for.
Newport Bay becomes more appealing when the pool, lighter feel and Lake Disney setting can genuinely become part of the trip.
This is when Sequoia Lodge really comes into its own. The woodland setting, darker interiors and huge fireplace feel like part of the experience rather than decoration.
On a two or three-night trip, every journey back to the hotel takes up a bigger proportion of your time. Paying more for convenience can make much more sense.
With more days, we tend to care more about the hotel itself because there’s actually time to use it. Pools, lounges and proper afternoon breaks become easier to justify.
How we narrow the choice down
- Maximum convenienceStart with Disneyland Hotel if being right at the park entrance is the thing you value most.
- Very close and more contemporaryLook at Disney Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel.
- Our usual all-round family choiceStart with Disney Newport Bay Club.
- Atmosphere, winter trips or a meaningful savingLook very seriously at Disney Sequoia Lodge.
- Strong Disney theming for lessStart with Disney Hotel Cheyenne.
- Parks first, hotel secondCompare the price of Disney Hotel Santa Fe.
- More space and self-cateringLook at Disney Davy Crockett Ranch.
And if what you really want is more of a standalone resort holiday with Disneyland Paris visits built into it, that’s when we’d start looking at Villages Nature Paris instead.
Still deciding whether to stay Disney at all?
Staying on-site is convenient, but it isn’t automatically the right choice for every trip. We’ve broken down what you actually gain by staying Disney and where staying elsewhere can make more sense.
Disney Hotels vs Off-Site
The real differences in convenience, cost, Extra Magic Time, room space and how your hotel changes your park days.
Take a closer look at your shortlist
Once you’ve narrowed down the type of stay that suits you, the individual hotel pages go into the detail: rooms, pools, restaurants, character meets, getting to the parks, who each hotel works best for and the things we’d want to know before booking.
Disneyland HotelDisney Hotel · Premium / 5-star · Royal Disney / Victorian
Disney Hotel New York – The Art of MarvelDisney Hotel · Premium / 4-star · Contemporary New York / MarvelDisney Newport Bay ClubDisney Hotel · Moderate / 4-star · New England nauticalDisney Sequoia LodgeDisney Hotel · Moderate / 3-star · American national park lodge / woodland
Disney Hotel CheyenneDisney Hotel · Value / 3-star · Wild West / Toy StoryDisney Hotel Santa FeDisney Hotel · Value / 2-star · American Southwest / CarsDisney Davy Crockett RanchDisney Hotel · Self-catering / 3-star · Woodland cabins / frontier
