Disney hotel help please??

mermx
mermx Posts: 976
in Chit-Chat
We have just booked flights to go visit Disney, Florida next year.

I last went about 15 years ago but we stayed with a friend. (me and kids) (now is just me n hubby kids are all grown up)

this time we want to stay at a hotel.

so, the question is, where is not going to be too far away?

1 we are not hiring a car
2 we don`t want anything too expensive
3 we would like to be within waliking distance to bars/shops/food
4 in an ideal world there will be some sort of bus thing going on to get to the parks
5 where is a good website to by park tickets from (when we stayed with friend last time, she got cheap tickets as a resident of Orlando.
6 any tips or advice much appreciated :)

Replies

  • taylor5877
    taylor5877 Posts: 1,792 Member
    my family (but not immediate) are all Vacation Club members...therefore I'd have to say that staying on property is great.

    We're staying at Old Key West next march...which is also awesome because there's about 10 acres that's legal to bankfish :drinker:
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
    Thanks, on property does that mean a disney hotel???
  • keenercam
    keenercam Posts: 321 Member
    If you stay at a Disney hotel, you can use Disney transportation (Magical Express) to get from the Orlando Int'l Airport (MCO) to the Disney hotel. Once there, you can use Disney transportation (buses) to get to the parks and Downtown Disney (shopping district). If you are looking for an inexpensive hotel, try the Disney "value resorts" - Pop Century, All Star, and Art of Animation. They are most likely the cheapest accommodations on-site. Also, if you are staying at a Disney resort, you will have early entry into select parks on certain days.

    Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions - I am a huge Disney fan and have been to Disneyworld many, many times.
  • taylor5877
    taylor5877 Posts: 1,792 Member
    Thanks, on property does that mean a disney hotel???

    yes, and you can get buses to all the parks and downtown disney.
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
    Thanks so much to the 2 of you!!!

    Will prob PM you both if you don`t mind to get some more info :-)
  • flslp87
    flslp87 Posts: 175 Member
    Check out the disney theme park site and have them put together a vacation package for you. sometimes you can get good deals that way.....

    Once you do arrive in Orlando there are tons of places that claim to be 'discount' places for tickets..

    Hotels - if you stay w/in the Disney parks the budget hotels are not too expensive and they are festive.....

    If you want to stay off the beaten path there is a hotel called the '..Worth Quest Hotel - Orlando, which are essentially large apartments, 1-2 bedrooms, full kitchen, washer/dryer ,etc for not too much money and they have shuttles that you can take back/forth to the parks.....

    a lot of it will depend on what month you are going. Winter months are pretty inexpensive, summer months are beastly hot and crowded and you must plan for our afternoon storms and july to nov you have to worry about hurricanes.

    But it's a great place....

    Oh, and be sure and get park hopper passes.....there are 4 parks and those tx allow you to go from park to park.....
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
    thanks, we are visiting june 10th to 20th.

    Am definitely going to check out all the advice from you all!
  • flslp87
    flslp87 Posts: 175 Member
    Where are you coming from? June isn't too bad weather wise and the schools in the NE are still in session and schools here in Florida are just getting out so the parks shouldn't be too crowded.....
  • kimharper13
    kimharper13 Posts: 33
    There are TONS of different hotels at WDW in Florida. Go to the Disney website and you can enter how much you want to spend per night and they will give you the list of hotels on site that fit what you want to spend. We go all the time to WDW since we only live about 6 hours away. Staying on site is the best way to go, they have buses that will take you to all the parks, including the water parks, downtown Disney, the Boardwalk, etc. Everyone thinks staying on site is very expensive but that's just not true. They are many different hotels with different rates to choose from. Plus if you stay on site they have a bus that will pick you up at the airport and take you to your hotel.
  • geonbaeLeilee
    geonbaeLeilee Posts: 606 Member
    When I go in May-June, I'm staying at Wilderness Lodge (favorite hotel!). Did you consider staying on-property? The All-Star resorts are inexpensive, albeit a bit noisy. Parks are accessible via bus. You can check-out allears.net for hotel profiles.


    When I went with my family, each time we went around the same time you're going. The parks aren't bad then. :) It gets hot, though, but crowds are still low.
  • determined_01
    determined_01 Posts: 147
    I went about 4 years ago and stayed at lake buena vista hotel. It's on the a strip of road where they have all of the hotels close to Disney but not on Disney property. It was within walking distance (about 1/2 a mile) to downtown Disney. It was super clean and relativity cheap to stay. And they had free charter shuttle buses to all of the theme parks from the lobby of the hotel. It is definitely worth looking into! www.lakebuenavistaresorthotel.com
  • Scherri
    Scherri Posts: 7
    I stayed at the All Star Music value resort in May with my Granddaughter. The rooms are not huge, and they all come with two double beds. If you want a king size bed you will need to book with a more moderate resort. I loved the fact that I didn't have to drive with taking the bus from airport to the resort. It was nice taking the Disney bus to all the theme parks. If you wait...they should come out with discounts on all the resorts and also their dinning plan. I loved the idea of paying for most of our meals in advance. If you also book when they are running specials you can order your park tickets, and each day you stay gives you a better discount for the tickets. Also, when staying on Disney grounds you get the extra Magic Hours. I know they do not have all the specials out for next year yet (I have been watching for May), so you still have time to get the best price. If you go on Waltdisneyworld.com and look for the Mom's Panel they offer great advise to all questions. I wish you luck with your planning...enjoy. Let me know if you have any questions.
  • hullchris
    hullchris Posts: 16 Member
    If you planning on staying on ground using the Magical Express is a must. It's amazing when you board the bus from MCO to Disney they take your luggage and you don't see it again until later in afternoon when it magically appears in your room. I would really suggest staying on grounds because its just easier to get around to the parks and in the evening getting back to your hotel is easier... Also don't forget as a guest in any of the WDW hotels you have access to extra time in the parks that people staying off grounds don't.

    Last time My husband and I went, we stayed at Coronado. It was fantastic. It is one of the moderate disney hotels, the rooms were very nice and cozy, and a fair price. We paid a little extra to be in a perferred room, ending up getting one of the cabannas and it was awesome. Very quite and good for couples. I would highly recomend it!!! As far as tickets go always watch for deals some times disney gives tickets on hotel and ticket packages, or just hotel packages, or anything else crazy they decide to do. So just pay attenion and keep a calculator near by.
  • LaurenBrooke1204
    LaurenBrooke1204 Posts: 5
    I love Disney and we take the kids frequently. If you are on a budget I would like to suggest VacationUpgrades.com. They rent out their timeshire at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We stayed there last year and it was amazing. We got a 2bedroom with full kitchen, living room, dining room and a soaking tub for $120 a night. They have about 5 different really nice pools and even have transportation to the parks. If you want more info on it or all things disney related you can go to www.disboards.com. They have tons of info on everything.

    Now if money was no object I would stay at the Grand Floridian or the Polynesian. That is my dream one day:love:

    As for tickets we buy from Undercovertourist.com. If you need anymore help let know.

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