Is it worth it?

[isupilot]

Is it worth it to stay in a resort hotel right now? Planning to go to two parks this upcoming weekend, but without extra magic hours I am not sure what value I get from staying at a resort? I'd still have to pay for parking at the resort, so it's a wash versus paying for parking at the park itself. I don't plan to be in the hotel much, as we'll be getting in late Friday night and being at the parks all day Saturday and Sunday.

[AnimalKingdomFan79]

The fact that you're going to have your own car means you probably won't need Magical Express & you can bypass needing to be close to transportation options.
If you plan to be at the parks all day or if it's a brief trip I would say skip it, or stay at a value resort if there's room.
Staying off property would mean waiting for shuttles or taking rideshare, but you may get a bigger room for less of the cost, and some other added perks like free breakfast.

[jm1670]

You'll need to plan out which week and see what the costs are. All things aside it's much better being in a Disney resort. However the prices per night are fluctuating wildly right now. Around 50th celebration you can find the Disney value resorts going for $250 to $300. You can get a nicer room at one of the good neighbor resorts for about $120. If you have your own car then transportation isn't much of an issue. The reason to stay at the Disney resorts are slowly being taken away. It's still better to stay on property but not $150 per night better.

If you have flexibility on the date then this does move things a little more towards staying on property. I usually look ahead in the season. At some point the value resorts like Pop will drop below $130 per night. That's pretty good deal. I even got Caribbean beach this year for $136 per night.