Then count beds. The two-queen rooms at Disney's Pop Century Resort and Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge sleep four plus a child under three, and the Four Seasons' rooms two adults and two children. Cabana Bay's Family Suites sleep six, and Helios Grand's Deluxe rooms five without a rollaway. Of these six, the Four Seasons and The Ritz-Carlton run kids' clubs; at the others, evenings are pool films, campfires and games.
Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort is built for a family of five or six on a Universal week. A Family Suite sleeps six in 430 sq ft (40 m²): a sliding partition closes off the two queen beds, the living-room sofa opens into a full-size bed, and the kitchenette has a sink, a microwave and a mini fridge for breakfast in the room. The bathroom is split into compartments, so three can get ready at once, and Loews Loves Kids has childproofing kits.
Outside are a zero-entry pool with a sand beach and a dive-tower slide, the lazy river, poolside games and films, the Game-O-Rama arcade and Galaxy Bowl's ten lanes, which must be booked. Free buses leave about every 15 minutes for CityWalk and Epic Universe, and Early Park Admission opens select rides up to an hour early at the parks Universal names, lately Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe.
The room to book
Family Suite Exterior Entry
430 sq ft (40 m²)$278 a night
The least expensive of the 430 sq ft (40 m²) suites: a partition between the beds and the living room, a sofa bed and a kitchenette, for up to six.
Disney's Pop Century Resort puts a family of four into Walt Disney World at the lowest Disney rate of our ten. A room pairs a queen bed with a second queen that folds down from the wall and doubles as a table, for four plus a child under three; a family of five aged three and over books two rooms. The Skyliner station is five minutes' walk from Classic Hall, with gondolas to Epcot and Hollywood Studios via a change at Caribbean Beach, and Disney's buses run to the other parks. Every day of the stay brings 30 minutes' early entry. From 24 to 30 January 2027 the Skyliner closes, with buses instead.
The children's side is the Hippy Dippy Pool with its flower-shaped water jets, a kiddie pool behind Classic Hall, a playground, an arcade, campfires and Disney films by the pool on select nights. Dinner is the Everything POP food court, open from 7am to 11pm.
The room to book
Preferred Room
$227 a night
The same room as the Standard, placed close to Classic Hall, its bus stops and the food court, so the walks stay short with tired children.
Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort is the family resort where the parents get a holiday too. Kids For All Seasons costs nothing, takes ages 4 to 12 and runs daily from 9am to 5pm, and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights Pasta and Play, covered by the resort fee, looks after the children during dinner at Ravello. Explorer Island, a five-acre play area for resort guests, has a lazy river, two slides 242 feet long, a splash zone and a beach-entry family pool, and Goofy hosts breakfast at Ravello on Thursdays and Saturdays.
All the guest rooms measure 500 sq ft (46 m²), each with a balcony or terrace, and take two adults and two children. There are no rollaways, so a family of five takes connecting rooms or a suite. Disney's 30-minute early entry comes with every day of the stay, and free coaches run about once an hour to each Disney park.
The room to book
Park View Room
500 sq ft (46 m²)$2,415 a night
Sold with two queens and room for a crib, on the 6th to 16th floors, with a furnished terrace that faces the nightly Disney fireworks.
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is for children who would rather spot a giraffe than queue for a ride. Its wings curve in a horseshoe round the Arusha Savanna, the Sunset and Uzima savannas lie further out, and more than 200 hoofed animals and birds live on 43 acres. Savanna View rooms look onto one of the savannas, where giraffes and antelope graze, and each savanna has its own mix of animals. Every room has a Wildlife Field Guide, and Disney's Animal Specialists lead programmes for guests.
The Hakuna Matata playground looks over the flamingos, the Uzima Springs Pool, with a slide and a zero-depth entry, looks out on the Uzima Savanna, and evenings bring campfires and Disney films under the stars. The Starlight Safari drives guests of 8 and over across the savannas after dark. Disney's buses run to every theme park, with early entry every day and Extended Evening Hours on select nights.
The room to book
Savanna View
$740 a night
Two queen beds and a patio or balcony facing one of the savannas, where giraffes and antelope graze, for four plus a child under three.
Universal Helios Grand Hotel, a Loews Hotel, solves the hardest part of a park day with young children: the midday break. No other hotel has its own entrance into Epic Universe: guests with a park ticket use a gate off the lobby, so a family can go in at opening, come back to the room after lunch and return for the evening. Early Park Admission opens select rides up to an hour before the regular opening.
Park View rooms face Celestial Park and the Cosmos Fountain, with its water shows by day and, at closing time, the fountains and lights of Celestial Goodnight. In the How To Train Your Dragon Kids' Suites, themed on the Viking village of Berk, the children have twin beds in a room of their own, and Pack 'n Plays are free on request. The zero-entry pool, with films on the deck, is for resting between park sessions.
The room to book
How To Train Your Dragon Kids' Suite
about 545 sq ft (51 m²)$1,106 a night
A king bedroom for the parents and a children's room with two twin beds in How To Train Your Dragon décor, off a living space with a sleeper sofa.
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes suits a family that wants the parks as day trips and a resort for the rest of the week. Ritz Kids takes ages 4 to 12 for full and half days, with a Kids Night Out on Friday and Saturday. The JW Marriott's Grande Lakes Waterpark, a walk of about five minutes and shared by both hotels, has a quarter-mile lazy river, three heated slides with height minimums of 40, 42 and 48 inches, and the zero-entry Splash Cove; the Ritz-Carlton's own heated pool has a children's pool.
Every room has a private balcony, and the resort fee covers a shuttle to Walt Disney World and Universal, booked 24 hours ahead. No park's early entry comes with the room, so plan the gate-opening days by car.
The room to book
The Ritz-Carlton Club
About 480 sq ft (45 m²)$1,047 a night
The Club Lounge's five food and drink presentations a day and a free Ritz Kids half day daily for two children make it pay for a family that uses both.
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa suits young children on a Magic Kingdom trip: the Resort Monorail is one stop to the park, and the water taxi back calls at the hotel first. Each standard room sleeps five and a child under three.
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel's Despicable Me Kids' Suites give children their own room with missile-shaped twin beds, opening only into the parents' room, and every registered guest gets Universal Express Unlimited at most rides in Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
From about $795 a night
Questions people ask
Good questions about Orlando
Which Orlando hotels have a kids' club?
Of these six, two. Kids For All Seasons, at Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, is free for ages 4 to 12, from 9am to 5pm every day, and Pasta and Play looks after children during dinner at Ravello on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Ritz Kids, at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, takes ages 4 to 12 for full and half days, with a Kids Night Out on Friday and Saturday; Club rooms include a half day for two children daily. At the Disney and Universal hotels here, evenings are pool films, campfires and games.
Which Orlando hotel rooms sleep a family of five or six?
How old do children have to be for the Starlight Safari?
Eight. Disney takes no one younger on its after-dark drive across the savanna at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, and anyone under 18 rides with a participating adult. It lasts about an hour, in an open-sided vehicle with a night-vision device for each guest, leaves at 8.30pm and 10pm from Kidani Village, and costs $89 to $99 a person before tax. With younger children, the free side of the savanna does the job: the Wildlife Field Guide in the room, the Animal Specialists' programmes and the Hakuna Matata playground over the flamingos.
How did you choose these hotels?
Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.
The family one
