Residence Inn by Marriott Flamingo Crossings

Residence Inn by Marriott sits in Flamingo Crossings Town Center, Winter Garden, less than two kilometres from the western entrance to Walt Disney World Resort. It opened in 2021 with 223 suites, every one of them with a full kitchen. This is the address in the area built for long stays.

The kitchen, and what it changes

Each suite has a full-size refrigerator with freezer, a built-in microwave, a dishwasher, a two-burner cooktop, a toaster oven, cookware, dishes, utensils and a coffee maker.

Over a ten-day stay with two children, that means breakfasts with no queue, last night's dinner reheated at noon and a packed lunch leaving with you for the park. That is the real saving with this kind of hotel, more than the room rate itself.

The suites

Three formats: studio, one-bedroom suite and two-bedroom suite. The studio runs about 41 m² around a king bed. The chain does not publish sizes and capacities for the larger suites, so have your advisor confirm them if you are travelling as more than four.

The pool and the courtyard

The heated pool occupies an interior courtyard and runs from eight in the morning to eleven at night, with shaded and sunny sections, two gas barbecues and a fire pit. It is shared with the neighbouring Fairfield Inn and Suites. The area's water slide is at the pool shared by Home2 Suites and Homewood Suites.

A hot breakfast is included each morning from six-thirty to ten: rotating meats, scrambled eggs, an oatmeal bar, fresh fruit, yogurt, breads, cereal and Mickey waffles. Three food outlets cover the rest of the day, among them FeatherStone's at the poolside and a market open around the clock.

The hotel has a coin-operated self-service laundry, with change at the front desk, and a fitness room open around the clock, one of the largest in the brand. Housekeeping is daily, which is no longer standard in this segment. Parking is charged. Pets are welcome, up to two dogs, for a non-refundable fee per stay.

What Gateway Hotel status gives you, and what it does not

The Walt Disney World Gateway Hotel designation allows the hotel to be booked directly through Disney in a package with park tickets, with a guest services desk on site.

It confers no park access benefit. Residence Inn appears neither on the official early theme park entry list nor on the extended evening hours list. Your dining reservations open at sixty days one day at a time rather than for the whole stay. Your Lightning Lane purchase window opens three days before arrival, against seven for a Disney Resort hotel guest. Theme park parking is charged to you.

Getting to the parks

A free shuttle serves select parks daily. Sign-up is required in advance, seats are limited, the shuttle is shared with other hotels in the area and it drops at the Transportation and Ticket Center rather than the park gates. The last return generally leaves before the fireworks.

By car, allow about ten minutes to Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park and Disney's Hollywood Studios, a little more to EPCOT, and around fifteen to Magic Kingdom Park, plus parking and the monorail or ferry crossing.

Who this hotel suits

It suits long stays, families who cook, travellers with a dog, and anyone who wants daily housekeeping. The courtyard, its barbecues and its fire pit give you somewhere to end the evening without getting back in the car.

It suits you less if you want a water slide, if you are travelling without a rental car, or if you are counting on early theme park entry. Your Voyages AquaTerra advisor can compare the real cost of a stay here, parking included, against a Disney Resort hotel, at 1-866-628-6241.