We recently booked a vacation in Orlando. The on-resort Disney hotels weren't in our budget, but there are several nearby hotels with Official Walt Disney World hotel status. That means they get most of the same perks as a Disney resort hotel (FastPass access, transportation, extended hours) at a much lower cost. We found a good deal on a hotel with big suites just a 5-min walk from Disney Springs. Worth looking into.
There are an insane number of online resources for planning a trip to Disney. Youtube channels, websites, blogs, etc. I found these especially useful:
https://touringplans.com
http://www.disneytouristblog.com