Disney World hotels do a lot right.
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
The perks are a nice bonus, the amenities keep us coming back for more, and some of the theming just blows our minds. With all that said, there’s one Disney World hotel bed trend we just don’t seem to understand — and we KNOW we’re not alone.
What’s the deal with murphy beds? Disney has been including them in rooms more and more, and we’re not sure why.
Murphy bed
Practicality is the name of the game when it comes to Murphy beds, but we don’t find them to be all that practical.
Murphy beds can be pulled down from the wall and then put back up, and their foldability is supposed to create more space. “More room for activities,” as one might say. But are they really saving space?
This table becomes a bed
Maybe it’s just us, but in our experiences, we don’t usually fold the bed back up every day.
Murphy Bed in a family suite
When the goal is to typically get out of the hotel room to explore Disney World, you’re not usually thinking about making the bed or folding it up. On the flip side, do you really want to come back to your room after a long park day and then take a bed down from a wall instead of just plopping right on?
Pull-Down Bed
Then there’s the question of quality. A standard Disney World hotel room comes with two beds, and we’re usually fans of those beds’ comfort. Murphy beds just aren’t as comfy.
If you’re sacrificing a good night’s sleep so you can have extra space in a hotel room that you aren’t using for most of the day, is it really worth it?
Murphy Bed folded to provide table seating
Between the diminished comfort and the hassle of folding the bed up and down every day, we keep coming back to the question of “Why?”.
Murphy beds can be found at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa (the first Disney World resort to use them), Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows, The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and many more Disney World hotels, so Disney has clearly embraced the trend of using them more frequently, indicating that they’re popular in certain circles — just not ours.
Lowered Murphy Bed
Do you agree with our Murphy bed takes? Are we way off base? Let us know what you think and continue to follow us right here at DFB for more Disney World hot takes!
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We actually have a Murphy bed in our guest room and i think it is a great space saver. I think the comfort level depends a lot on the mattress being used, but it doesn’t really take that long to fold it up or down, so actually i think it has been a great space saving idea in the hotels – makes it easier to walk around in smaller rooms.
This is a hot take. I completely disagree with this opinion.
“Murphy beds can be pulled down from the wall and then put back up, and their foldability is supposed to create more space. “More room for activities,” as one might say. But are they really saving space?”
If you are a couple or parents with an infant who use a pack away crib, the extra room afforded by the Murphy bed is appreciated. If you do need the bed, then leaving it down is not any different then having dual beds. It just provides flexibility for those that would like it.
“Then there’s the question of quality. A standard Disney World hotel room comes with two beds, and we’re usually fans of those beds’ comfort. Murphy beds just aren’t as comfy.”
Comfort is subjective, but the Murphy bed mattresses are the same mattresses in the normal bed. The should provide a similar sleeping experience. I can tell you from my experience, the Murphy beds are 100x better than the old pull out couches in the DVC Villas. Personally I couldn’t tell the difference between the Murphy bed and the normal beds at the Polynesian DVC Villas.
As a solo traveler, I wouldn’t mind if I got a room like this. I’m always looking for a room with one king bed versus two queens.
However, I can see different situations where the Murphy bed isn’t ideal: two adults who don’t share a bed, or adults traveling with kids where dealing with the bed at the start and end of the day would be a hassle.
I feel like this will be a divisive issue for years to come!
LOVE the Murphy beds! Family of 5 and it is way more comfortable than the convertible couch beds they have in some of the resorts. Also love that we have the option to have more space if we so need.
I agree with not folding the Murphy bed back up that’s not practical but if I had to choose a Murphy bed over a pull out sofa I would take the Murphy bed.
My family loves the Murphy beds. It’s one of the highlights for my kiddo. Also we usually travel with a large group between four to ten people so the extra bed at night and the extra space during the day is a must for us
I’m guessing they’re doing it as a sort of optical illusion to convince people that they’re getting more square footage for their buck. Also keeps the rooms more flexible for single or double occupancy? Plus, I imagine the younger kids love the magic of a bed coming out of a wall. We’re hoping to stay at the Dolphin in 17 months, and I know my daughter will adore the ‘transformer’ sofa bed, possibly even wanting to sleep on it in sofa form some nights 😀
I respectfully disagree. We often stay using DVC rental’s, usually a 1 bedroom and find that the Murphy beds are quite comfortable and give the room more space. They are quick and easy to make up and store and bring down at night.
I’m a fan of the Murphy bed! I do make my bed every day and straighten up – i hate coming back from the parks to a mess. It takes no time to fix the bed up. Plus, if you come back to the room during the day, the room is neat.
We have been traveling to WDW since 1974 and I think the Murphy bed is the best improvement to extra sleeping spaces. Having slept on a pull out sofabed (with that metal in your back) give me the Murphy bed anytime. Time for them to make an appearance at Aulani!
I love the Murphy bed trend. While they may not be as comfortable as an regular bed, they are far better than the pull out sofa beds. I also really don’t find them that difficult to put up or down.
I would rather have a Murphy bed
than the awful sofa beds. They are hard to get open and very uncomfortable. They take up too much space especially in a studio.
I love Murphy beds. Great use of space saving. I would have them in all my spare rooms
I’m sure that there are plenty of people that appreciate a murphy bed, especially when it becomes a table in the room! After a day in the park, my cousin and I wanted to play some cards before bed, just to wind down and relax – we were in the Under the Sea rooms (Trinidad section of Caribbean Beach), we had two adjoining rooms, but not a table in either one! The murphy beds here converted into couches, so we had to play cards on the little storage table while trying to sit on the bench, it wasn’t very comfortable. Also there’s the convenience of having a table in the room to eat at – great for families with littler kids. So, the option of tables in the rooms is a great addition, at least I think so. When we go back this May, we got a suite at Art of Animation, and my cousin and I are looking forward to having the table in the room – we’ll have my 5 yr old grandson with us, so we’ll be using the table quite a bit.
Murphy beds are one thousand times more comfortable than fold out sofas. Not at the value resorts, but at several other resorts, they have replaced the fold out sofas. They’re not all that difficult to put back in the morning. In fact, they’re much easier to put back up than to refold the sofa bed. And that’s why they’re popular. Sorry that you don’t feel the same.
Being a DVC owner at VGF and someone who has never folded the bed down, I think the benefit is that they look better when not used in comparison to the alternative.
At least a Murphy bed allows for a real mattress – I’d rather have a Murphy bed than a fold-up pull-out couch!
As a single Disney Adult, I only need one bed. So the extra space/larger table in a Murphy bed room is better than having a second bed that I’m not going to use anyway.
Some of the Value hotels with 2 queen bed rooms have tables that are barely large enough for a laptop computer and VERY restricted mouse movement. I like the larger table beneath the Murphy bed.
For a family, sure, folding and unfolding the bed each day could be a hassle.
But if your group needs both beds, why fold it each morning? Fold it up if you NEED the table, but otherwise, why bother? Leave it down. Leave a note for mousekeeping to leave it down when they clean.
I actually love them and always sleep great on them! They only take seconds to put up and down. I like having a table to use for snacking or organizing stuff during the day and then down it goes for bed!
While I’m not really sure why Disney is replacing the second bed in a standard hotel room with a Murphy bed, I absolutely applaud them for getting rid of the sofa bed/torture devices in the DVC studios and villas. Most DVC studios never had 2 beds; it was 1 bed with either a sofa/Murphy bed combo, or a sofa/pull-out bed combo. (Except at Old Key West) You might think a Murphy bed is less comfortable than the regular bed, but I promise you they are a vast improvement over the pull-out sofa beds.
I love them as a solo traveler since I love having that table! And it’s nice as an option if you’re mad at your husband, you can make him sleep in the other bed! (If you bring him along, lol)
We love the murphy beds… much more comfortable than the old fold out couches. We do close most mornings before we leave the room.
Weren’t Murphy beds an innovation for poor families of the Great Depression?! That should tell you something about what Disney execs think of the times we are in!
I really can’t tell a difference in the beds. The mattresses are the same on both beds. The effort of opening and closing the beds is fairly minimal so no problem there. The only place I agree with you is that it really doesn’t give you much more room, at least in the value resorts. The tables take up as much room as the bed. If you used a Murphy sofa, as they do in the deluxe and vc resorts, that might actually give you more useable room.
I disagree with this article 100%. I love the Murphy Beds. I am a DVC member and I own points at both Saratoga Springs and the Riviera and I think the Murphy Beds are great. When my wife and I stay in a studio it is great having the extra room because we have no need for the second bed. On the rare occasion we do have need for a second bed, the Murphy Bed is much easier to deploy and put away than the old pull out couches were and the Murphy Beds are more comfortable.
One thing to keep in mind, the Murphy Beds are a thing at the DVC resorts, not the regular hotels. I realize you can pay cash to stay at DVC resorts but at the end of the day DVC resorts are designed for DVC members and DVC members are separate subset of Disney World and Disneyland visitors and we want some different features in our rooms.
Dan, great comment but just so you know, POP, AOA and the all stars have Murphy beds that convert into tables. See pics in the article. Take care…
Dan, great comment but just so you know, POP, AOA and the all stars have Murphy beds that convert into tables. See pics in the article. Take care…
The only problem we found with Murphy Beds was that we had to clear the table each night before using it. Usually the table is where we leave stuff that we don’t want to forget the next day like magic bands, buttons, lanyards, baseball caps and so on. With both Murphy Beds and sofa beds we always pack them away in the morning so yes, we do have more space.
Looove the murphy beds! Love having the table in the room, I usually like having things organized and tidy so this helps alot! With two school age kids, activities, laptop use and space. Aside from the convenience of having a table converted into a bed, these beds are MUCH MORE comfortable then the sofa beds by 1000%! Yes to the murphy beds!
We stayed in the Fort Wilderness cabins pre-reno and the Murphy bed was nice since we were a party of 5.
I did find it unnecessary that mousekeeping kept folding it up, so I left them a little note saying that it wasn’t required. They left a note back in return that said “It’s no worry.” I am sure they were just doing a great job, so I accepted.
When it comes to the All Star resorts I would not prefer this option over a regular bed, especially if they aren’t as comfortable!
I guess it’s better than a sofa bed..
With all of the walking and standing long, hot hours of a Disney day, I can’t imagine sacrificing any comforts in rest and sleep.