Four Seasons at Walt Disney - Orlando

the happiest kind of high end luxury

Article summary>>

In this article, you will get our unbiased, independent review and thoughts on the Four Seasons at Walt Disney Orlando

• Rooms & suites

• Food & Drink

• Amenities

• Service

• Vibe

• Location

• Thoughts

• Booking

For many, Walt Disney World conjures images of fireworks, princesses, and families racing from ride to ride. But tucked away within the sprawling resort lies an altogether different kind of kingdom: the Four Seasons Resort Orlando, a sanctuary where luxury and whimsy strike a delicate balance. This is Disney, reimagined through the lens of a five-star retreat, playful enough to enchant children, sophisticated enough to seduce adults, and polished in that signature Four Seasons way.

Set within the exclusive Golden Oak enclave, the resort unfolds across manicured gardens and palm-lined pools, with views stretching from lakes and fairways to Cinderella’s Castle in the distance. The Mediterranean-inspired architecture, all terracotta roofs and creamy stucco, sets a tone of understated elegance. Step inside the lobby, and the atmosphere is one of calm grandeur, vaulted ceilings, chandeliers sparkling like spun sugar, and service that anticipates needs before you’ve even thought of them.

I’ve done Orlando both ways: park commando (rope-drop till the fireworks) and languid weekender (“meet you by the pool, bring a book”). Four Seasons Orlando is the rare address that indulges both, encouraging the early-start magic and then rewarding it with lazy-river afternoons, an adults-only quiet pool, and a dinner worth dressing for. If your idea of the perfect Disney trip includes real sleep, honest-to-goodness espresso, a spa treatment that isn’t simply a line on a brochure, and the surprise thrill of a MICHELIN-starred steakhouse at sunset, welcome home. Official resort overview

Setting & first impressions:

The resort sits inside the private Golden Oak community on 10100 Dream Tree Boulevard, ten minutes to the Magic Kingdom turnstiles and a whisper from EPCOT and Disney Springs. Complimentary shuttles loop to the parks on a neat schedule; you can be on a bus to Space Mountain with a cappuccino in one hand and sunscreen in the other. From the porte-cochère, the lobby unfurls in creams and honeyed wood, with picture windows framing palms and the five-acre water garden. Even before you reach your room, it telegraphs its intent: clear your head; you’ll do “park” better from here.

Rooms & suites: Four Seasons at Walt Disney - Orlando

There are 375 rooms and 68 suites, and the Four Seasons DNA is clear in the details: quiet A/C, blackout that actually blackouts, a bath you want to linger in. Entry rooms start generously, with terraces (a real terrace, not a Juliet) oriented toward pools and woodlands. Park View Rooms add the nightly Disney fireworks, a small miracle with a robe and a glass in hand, while suites deliver the family sanity of doors and zones. The linens are proper, the closets swallow a week’s worth of costumes and sneakers, and the minibar looks like a weekend plan.

Families and celebrators can go bigger. The Royal Suite, a 3,300-square-foot aerie, expands up to nine bedrooms by annexing neighbours; combine that with the Presidential Suite and additional rooms, and you can buy out the entire 16th floor for a private, top-of-house playground, immoderate, yes, and rather perfect for milestone celebrations. (It’s also the largest suite configuration on Disney property.) For more information, offers, and bookings, click here.

Editor’s notes:

• Park View is the sweet spot if fireworks matter to your crew.

• Connecting options are excellent; planners can mix king + queen/queen with ease.

• Suites are worth it purely for the morning quiet zone.

• If you’re plotting a multi-family blowout: ask about the 16th-floor buyout.

Water, water everywhere: Explorer Island & the Oasis

The resort’s gravitational centre is Explorer Island, a bona fide private water park wrapped around palms and lawns. There’s a zero-entry family pool, a lazy river with just the right current for a mid-afternoon drift, two water slides, an oversized Splash Zone, a climbing wall, sport courts, and The Hideout, a youth clubhouse/gaming space you may have trouble extracting teens from. It’s joyful chaos in the best way, engineered for hours of frictionless fun, and anchored by the resort’s Kids For All Seasons program. Parents can, with a clean conscience, wander off.

When you do, follow the path to The Oasis, an adults-only pool where the tonal shift is immediate: hushed, palm-framed water; sun-loungers with actual elbow room; and cabanas where conversations meander. On some Sundays, the team leans into a low-key party vibe with “Oasis Sundays,” turning serenity gently social. By night, the pool complex sometimes hosts movies under the stars, and if you happen to be afloat at the right moment, fireworks will bloom above the treeline. It’s a quietly spectacular reminder of where you are.

Golf, spa & movement:

For those who define rest as motion, the on-property Tranquilo Golf Course delivers a Tom Fazio-designed, par-71, 6,901-yard walk (or roll) through protected wetlands, an Audubon Sanctuary with birdsong and a pleasingly un-Florida sense of elevation. It’s exclusive to resort guests and club members, with a 16-acre practice facility that flatters rustier swings into form. Bring your camera; bring patience for putts that move more than they look.

The spa and fitness centre are classic Four Seasons: serene, results-oriented massage and facials; a light, well-equipped gym; and, crucially, well-timed appointments (because “rope-drop in the morning, deep tissue at 3 pm, Capa at 8” is a perfectly sensible way to do a day here).

Eating & drinking:

Capa: MICHELIN-starred

Seventeenth-floor Capa is the trump card: a Spanish-accented steakhouse and bar with a MICHELIN star and a terrace that frames Magic Kingdom Park fireworks like a living postcard. The room is low-lit, sleek, and under the spell of fire, grills and embers sending up ribeye perfumed with ancho-tamarind; tapas that snap with citrus and smoke; a wine list that flirts with Spain and beyond. If you’re visiting when the parks are in celebratory mode (which is often), time an outdoor table to the show. It’s one of Orlando’s great dinner tricks and a rare marriage of spectacle and substance.

Ravello: Italian by night, Goofy by morning

Downstairs, Ravello is your Italian-leaning evening fallback, housemade pastas, seasonal contorni, forgiving for kids and happily satisfying for adults. In the mornings, the room morphs into the resort’s most photographed ritual: the Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy & His Pals. Runs Thursdays and Saturdays (and select Tuesdays); it’s a proper buffet with a photographer on hand, the characters working the room with an easy pace. For families, book it; for couples, go for the espresso and the quiet patio on non-character days.

PB&G, Plancha, Lickety-Split & The Lobby Bar

Poolside PB&G feeds the hours you’d rather not interrupt, smoked meats, big salads, the kind of fish tacos that reorder your afternoon. Plancha, overlooking the course at the golf clubhouse, is a sleeper hit for lunch (Cuban-ish sandwiches, pressed and perfect). Lickety-Split provides coffee worth leaving bed for and gelato that becomes a daily habit. Evenings begin or end well at The Lobby Bar, where bartenders nudge you toward a highball you didn’t see coming. (Pro move: sunset spritz at the Oasis, then a nap, then Capa.)

Disney, distilled:

Part of the resort’s cleverness lies in its structural design. Within Disney gates, but outside the thrum, it’s the rare hotel where you can “do Disney” as deeply or lightly as you like. Complimentary transportation shuttles to the four parks, and the resort’s concierges are, unsurprisingly, wizards at aligning ADRs and Lightning Lanes with human stamina. When you return, the theatre of Disney recedes: paddles in the lazy river, a book by the Oasis, or a twilight rally on the sports courts while pink turns to indigo. It’s a rhythm that makes you feel like you’ve won at vacation.

Service & scene:

The Four Seasons service is famous for its consistency; here, it’s warm with a park-savvy edge. Housekeeping understands sand and sunscreen; pool attendants anticipate the slow creep of shade; servers translate children’s appetites into plates everyone actually enjoys. The guest mix is cosmopolitan: multi-gen families in matching tees at breakfast, golf couples in the afternoon, quietly celebratory tables at Capa by night. It hums without crowding.

When to go & what you’ll pay:

This is Orlando: rates dance with calendars, school holidays, conventions, and the ever-expanding festival season. Recent checks on Expedia show around £855/night for standard rooms with common seasonal spikes to four figures; broad averages from roughly £1,000 to £2,000/night for standard rooms at peak. If you have flexibility, shoulder months (late April/early May; September after Labour Day) match better weather to saner rates. Suite rates, expect to pay between £5200 and £10,000/night.

What to do beyond the pool (and beyond the parks)

• Tranquilo Golf Course for a morning loop with herons and surprisingly photogenic wetlands. Book an afternoon lesson at the practice facility if you’re shaking off rust.

• Dinner at Capa, timed to fireworks. If you’re not a steak person, build a meal from seafood and tapas; it’s a complete experience either way.

• Character Breakfast at Ravello for the best of both worlds: real food, genuine smiles, and a quick family photo that you will actually print. (Thu/Sat, select Tue.) 

• Park sprints: rope-drop a park in the morning, retreat by noon to Explorer Island, return for evening shows. The hotel makes this ping-pong painless.

A 3-day itinerary:

Day 1: Land, stash bags, and head straight to Explorer Island for a lazy-river reset. Late lunch at PB&G (tuna poke or brisket, your call), nap, then slide into a Capa bar stool for sunset and a glass of something Spanish. Move inside for dinner when the fireworks frame the terrace.

Day 2: Rope-drop Magic Kingdom with hotel coffee and sensible shoes. Back by midday for Oasis pool quiet; a 50-minute massage if you planned; then cocktails in the lobby and Ravello for a civilised, kid-friendly Italian dinner. If the schedule aligns, finish with an outdoor movie and a float.

Day 3: Breakfast with Goofy & Pals, then a late checkout and Plancha before the airport. If your flight’s late, chauffeur your last hour on a lounger and say yes to one last gelato.

The verdict:

Four Seasons Orlando solves a problem you might not have known you had: how to pair pure Disney joy with high-end calm, not alternatingly, but simultaneously. It treats time as the most precious luxury in a destination famous for lines and logistics. It folds a MICHELIN-starred dinner into a park-day glow, adds a lazy river to your strategy for smiles, and lays a quiet, grown-up pool at the end of it all. It understands families and respects couples. And it’s the one place in town where your day can end with fireworks without ever leaving your terrace. Bottom line: If your Walt Disney World plan reads “maximum magic, minimal stress,” Four Seasons Orlando is the high-luxury answer, equal parts theme-park launchpad and lake-breezy refuge, with enough water, food, and service to make the in-between moments your family’s favourite memories.

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Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• Within Walt Disney World gates, yet insulated; complimentary park transportation.

• Explorer Island is a destination: lazy river, slides, splash zone, family pool, sports, and Kids For All Seasons.

• Adults-only Oasis Pool for real downtime; occasional Oasis Sundays.

• Capa holds a MICHELIN star with terrace views of fireworks; dining program is strong across the board.

• Tranquilo Golf Course on site (Tom Fazio; Audubon Sanctuary).

Cons:

• Rates spike on peak calendars; even “ordinary” weeks can be pricey

• You’re still in a resort bubble; without a car, non-Disney Orlando outings take planning.

• The pool scene can feel lively in school holidays; book cabanas if you crave guaranteed shade.

Key facts at a glance:

• Location: 10100 Dream Tree Blvd., Lake Buena Vista, FL, inside Golden Oak at Walt Disney World; complimentary shuttles to parks. Four Seasons at Walt Disney - Orlando

• Hotel rating: Luxury five-star resort

• Hotel vibe: Lakeside Spanish Revival with polished, family-friendly energy; urbane but never stiff.

• Food & drink:

  • Capa - rooftop Spanish steakhouse, one MICHELIN star; fireworks views from the terrace.

  • Ravello - Italian dinners; Good Morning Breakfast with Goofy & His Pals Thu/Sat & select Tue.

  • PB&G (poolside), Plancha (golf clubhouse), Lickety-Split (coffee/gelato), The Lobby Bar.

• Hotel amenities: Explorer Island water park (family pool, lazy river, slides, splash zone, sport courts, The Hideout), Oasis adults-only pool, outdoor movies, Tranquilo Golf Course (Tom Fazio), spa & fitness, Kids For All Seasons.

• How many rooms: 443 total (375 rooms + 68 suites).

• Pricing: Highly variable; from around £855/night, with peak weeks well into four figures, suites from £5200/night

• Location recommendations & attractions: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom (all via shuttle); Disney Springs; on-site Capa for fireworks dining; golf at Tranquilo; character breakfast at Ravello. For more Orlando activities, see below or click here.

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All hotels & resorts on The Five Star Edit are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive a small commission from advertisers when using our affiliate links.

Four Seasons at Walt Disney Orlando (Florida) Review 2025