| We just stayed at the Caribbean and the room was nice but the food was terrible. |
Pop Century in the off-season. It has its own bus service to the parks and is right in the middle of everything. Art of Animation is right next to it and also great. The big over-size theming really appeals to little kids. |
2 rooms adjoining is a better deal than a suite because you get two bathrooms. |
| Do you have to stay at a Disney hotel? I would recommend Wyndham Bonnett Creek. It is within Disney - actually its location makes it like an Epcot Hotel. Good accommodations (2 bedroom condo) for a good price. You just don't get the Disney perks but we didn't find that to be s big deal. |
The Wyndham Bonnet Creek is not walkable to any of the theme parks, like the "Epcot hotels"are---that is the main draw of the Epcot hotels, that you can walk.
I agree though, that if you don't need Disney transportation or extra magic hours, the off site hotels are a great way to save money (and probably have a much bigger/nicer room too!) |
\ The family suites have 2 bathrooms, but I agree that with the addition of grandma 2 rooms would be fine, probably better because you wouldn't be walking through Grandma's room or vice versa. I think AofA is all suites, so I'd look at the other value resorts. |
| What is your budget, OP? That's usually the biggest factor in where you stay. |
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Op, what does convenience mean to you? If it means easy access, a balcony (we found this great as a place to relax after the kids went to bed), shorter bus waits, I would stay delux, and specifically wilderness lodge. If you don't mind slightly longer bus rides and no balcony, port or leans riverside.
We liked wilderness lodge. With 30% discount it wasn't unreasonable (for us). There is a boat to magic kingdom which was relaxing. It is a great hotel for kids and nice for adults. What park will you be at more often? If Epcot or studios I would suggest beach club instead. |
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Offsite - We loved Lake Buena Vista condo's, which are walking distance to the outlets (Disney outlet for cheaper souvenirs). We rented a car, parking is $20/day/car.
Onsite - Off season I agree with Pop or AoA (Pop has their own bus-line and across the lake from AoA). Peak season you can splurge a bit to get something on the monorail or rent a car. Staying onsite you get free parking at the parks, just make sure you are there 30min before the park opens daily to get a decent spot. |
| We really like the Swan (its sister hotel the Dolphin is nice too). They're a short boat ride to Epcot and HS and an easy shuttle ride from the MK and AK. We even walked back from Epcot and HS and the walk wasn't that bad. |
| OP again. We are going in early February and will have twin six-year-old boys and an almost four-year-old boy. We're planning on four days and nights. We can't go longer because of school. Ideally, we'd like to spend under $300/day per room. Convenience means easy transportation to the parks. We prefer a Disney resort because of the extra magic hours. I don't know if the 60-day out Fast Passes would be a benefit or not since we're already within the 60 day window for our trip. Do they get snapped up quickly as soon as the window opens? This is our first time at Disney so I dont know all the ins and outs. |
| The monorail hotels are more expensive but the convenience of their location can't be beat, especially with really little kids who might need more down time at the hotel to rest. With older kids, I would be more likely to stay off the monorail to save money just because it is more likely that they'll want to be out at the parks all day. With little kids (under 5 or so) we always came back in the afternoons to rest by the pool for a while. |
| The Beach Club/Yacht Club hotels have an amazing joint pool. When we stayed there, we'd go out to the parks in the morning, have lunch somewhere, then come back and rest while they played in the pool and sand then we'd go back out again at dinner. Very enjoyable for all. |
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OP again. I checked out Wilderness Lodge, which was not too far out of what we are looking to spend, but it will be undergoing extensive construction at the time (which is probably why it was discounted from $450 to $350 a night!).
Can you swim in Orlando in February? I had not been factoring pools into the equation because I assumed it would be too cold. |
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Maybe the cabins at the campground? Not really an ideal time of year for that, but it's more laid-back than a hotel and the kids can run around
+1 Bonnett Creek, you're inside the gates of the World, and there's a (I think free) shuttle bus. For the same $ you get a full kitchen (get grocery delivery) and a living room, which lets you have some adult time at night without waking the kids or sitting on your bed all night. Plus you can make breakfast (all meals really) in the room, you get a freezer for frozen heat & eat and ice cream, etc, a full stove At that age kids, are you wanting Extra Magic Hours for the morning? That time of year I think just getting there at regular rope drop would probably be ok. |