Here's a list of Disney World hotels with some sort of ranking:

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/reviews/hotels/Walt_disney_world/

It seems that the top rated ones are:

Disney's Wilderness Lodge

Disney's Old Key West Resort

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Disney's Polynesian Resort

Disney's Yacht Club Resort

Disney's Boardwalk Villas Resort

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort

Disney's Beach Club Resort

Disney's Contemporary Resort

Frommers has their own list:

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/waltdisneyworld/0549020002.html
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I second the Wilderness Lodge, but it's crazy expensive. You're not really paying for all that much more in terms of hospitality. What it has over its competitors is that it is one of the nicest Disney World hotels, but it's also closest to the Magic Kingdom. This means you don't have to worry about parking and taking a boat with thousands of other people like all the other guests. There are direct buses and monorails to the park from the hotel and it does have a nice lodge feel to it.

If access to the theme park is not the highest priority, I would recommend staying OUTSIDE of Disney World. You have many more options, you get more for your money and it is still easy to get into Disney World from just outside. You can stay at your favorite resort chain, accrue points, it's definitely the smart way to do Disney.

Here's a nice little breakdown of all the hotels inside the resort: http://www.galttech.com/research/travel/disneyworld-hotels.php
Source(s):
http://www.galttech.com/research/travel/disneyworld-hotels.php

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The best Disney World hotel totally depends on the price you can afford and what you are looking for in a hotel.

If you're bringing the kids and want to stay at the most kid-themed hotel, try Pop Century or any of the 3 All Stars, Sports, Movies or Music. The rooms aren't roomy, but by no means cramped. We stayed at Pop with a family of 4 and no one was tripping over each other.

To go a step up, try Port Orleans or Coronado Springs. They will run about about 40-50 bucks more a night, but have more space and amenities.

Unless I hit the lottery, I don't venture above the moderates, just because I'd rather spend more days at the parks than sleep in a fancy hotel.

I'd highly recommend staying in park hotels over staying out side of the park. The stuff they have to do in the hotels is just awesome, not to mention the free buses to and from each park and hotel. Very nice not to have to walk a zillion miles to find the car then drive home. Longest we ever had to wait for a bus was 10 minutes.

I don't believe you can go wrong at any of the hotels, it's just finding what is in your budget.

Be sure to check out the Disney Dining Plan too!
Source(s):
Disney-holic

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I agree with others who say the best depends on your price range - Disney offers a wonderful tiered pricing with hotels and you can go family-style or total luxury. That being said, I'm putting in my two cents on the hotel we stayed at the last time we visited Disney (about 3 years ago) - the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was truly incredible...you wake up, go out on your balcony and have a full-on view of all the animals in the wildlife preserve! My spouse had a hard time getting me to actually leave the room. It is very expensive compared to other Disney hotels though.
Source(s):
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/animal-kingdom-lodge/

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