Disney hotels - worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I traveled alone with DC being in a Disney hotel was well worth it (even just the basic "Value" ones), because I didn't want to have to rent a car, deal with finding food, etc. When I traveled in a larger group and was staying longer, staying off-site made sense for the bigger space at lower price.
If you want a cool hotel but it doesn't have to be "Disney" cool, look at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Big condos with kitchens and laundry and lots of space, and lots of resort amenities (multiple themed pool areas, minigolf, etc), small price compared to Disney villas. But you'll need to drive and the food options on site are very limited.
The Disney hotels do allow you to book your FastPasses a month earlier. For a very small number of attractions that will make a difference, but May is not the busiest season.

Check out yourfirstvisit.net. They have a lot of guidance aimed at people trying to do a "one and done, see it all" type of trip, and I think ages 8 and 5 are right in their recommended range for when to go if you're only going once.

We've been to Disney 3 times and have stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. If I was only going once AND could swallow the price, I would stay at one of the resorts on the monorail. Aside of those, I don't really feel like we miss out on anything we care about by not staying at a Disney resort. The space at Wyndham is pretty great, and it's on Disney property so closer to some parks than some Disney resorts. The last time we went (about 18 months ago), we paid $850 for 6 nights in a 3 bedroom condo. We book through vacationstrategy.com or vacationupgrades.com, not directly through Wyndham. We don't use extra magic hours (we avoid whichever park has that) or the dining plan, so the only difference for us is the delay in booking fast passes. I can't say that it's really affected us though, and I doubt it would affect a May vacation.

Offsite guests have a hard time booking FP+ for Frozen Ever After at EPCOT, but other than that I agree she should be able to get all other Fastpasses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I traveled alone with DC being in a Disney hotel was well worth it (even just the basic "Value" ones), because I didn't want to have to rent a car, deal with finding food, etc. When I traveled in a larger group and was staying longer, staying off-site made sense for the bigger space at lower price.
If you want a cool hotel but it doesn't have to be "Disney" cool, look at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Big condos with kitchens and laundry and lots of space, and lots of resort amenities (multiple themed pool areas, minigolf, etc), small price compared to Disney villas. But you'll need to drive and the food options on site are very limited.
The Disney hotels do allow you to book your FastPasses a month earlier. For a very small number of attractions that will make a difference, but May is not the busiest season.

Check out yourfirstvisit.net. They have a lot of guidance aimed at people trying to do a "one and done, see it all" type of trip, and I think ages 8 and 5 are right in their recommended range for when to go if you're only going once.

We've been to Disney 3 times and have stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. If I was only going once AND could swallow the price, I would stay at one of the resorts on the monorail. Aside of those, I don't really feel like we miss out on anything we care about by not staying at a Disney resort. The space at Wyndham is pretty great, and it's on Disney property so closer to some parks than some Disney resorts. The last time we went (about 18 months ago), we paid $850 for 6 nights in a 3 bedroom condo. We book through vacationstrategy.com or vacationupgrades.com, not directly through Wyndham. We don't use extra magic hours (we avoid whichever park has that) or the dining plan, so the only difference for us is the delay in booking fast passes. I can't say that it's really affected us though, and I doubt it would affect a May vacation.

Offsite guests have a hard time booking FP+ for Frozen Ever After at EPCOT, but other than that I agree she should be able to get all other Fastpasses.

We stayed offsite and that was the only FP we couldn't get (Frozen).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you military or DOD ? Shades of green is on site and fantastic.

Its often more expensive than a moderate hotel depending on your rank/status. For us its always more expensive.

For those that are Military, the Armed Forces Salute tickets and hotel discounts are good deals.

The tickets are great and they are extending them this year to 5 day passes, which is better. Disney hotel discounts have always been better for us than Shades of Green. You can get the tickets at Shades of Green.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the comments about run-down Disney hotels seem very off-base to me. We have gone yearly for the last several years and stayed at all levels of properties. All have been well-maintained and regularly updated once things start looking worn or dated.

For a one-and-done trip, I highly recommend staying on property because that becomes part of the story: "We stayed at a hotel that looks like a mountain lodge," or "there was a giant big wheel outside our hotel room." It's part of the whimsy of Disney. If you're on a budget and still want some elbow room, get adjoining rooms at a value (Pop, etc.) or a family suite at Art of Animation. If you have a bigger budget, book a one-bedroom villa (either renting DVC points or through Disney; we booked through Disney and the price was the same as renting points) at a deluxe property. We did this most recently as our kids are older and it just isn't a whole lot of fun cramming all 4 of us in a traditional room anymore.

Another thought if you have the budget is to stay Club Level at a deluxe, because the lounge gives you another nice space for your down time. Yes, you can just hang around the public areas of resorts too, but the CL lounge feels like an extension of your room and the staff is always very nice.

The thing is, Disney won't guarantee adjoining rooms. You can request them, but it's not guaranteed. If you read at the Disboards you will see that many times families with two adults and several young kids have requested connecting rooms, but received rooms far apart instead.

We've gone twice with friends. We had no issue getting adjoining rooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is really the only trip you will make to Disney, then yes stay onsite but I would still rent a car. Try to book one of the villas or at least one of the suites. You will get early hours at some of the parks and just a overall Disney experience. If this was your 3rd or 4th trip, I'd say, don't. The only caveat to this is if you are going to do Universal also, then for that part of the trip I would move off-site and closer to Universal. I think it is a waste to pay Disney prices and go to Universal.

Except the Universal hotels are even more expensive

Don't rent a car if you're staying onsite. Getting to Magic Kingdom by car is ridiculous because the parking adds a few extra steps (park, then tram to monorail or ferry, then MK). Not worth the hassle. The other parks' parking is better but if this is your one-and-done trip, you're going to be at MK.

Rent a car. Its nice to have the option to go off site to eat and for things you need. We found driving/parking far better, especially when we had strollers and a lot of kid gear. Even without all that, it was far easier to drive and be on your schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is really the only trip you will make to Disney, then yes stay onsite but I would still rent a car. Try to book one of the villas or at least one of the suites. You will get early hours at some of the parks and just a overall Disney experience. If this was your 3rd or 4th trip, I'd say, don't. The only caveat to this is if you are going to do Universal also, then for that part of the trip I would move off-site and closer to Universal. I think it is a waste to pay Disney prices and go to Universal.

Except the Universal hotels are even more expensive

Don't rent a car if you're staying onsite. Getting to Magic Kingdom by car is ridiculous because the parking adds a few extra steps (park, then tram to monorail or ferry, then MK). Not worth the hassle. The other parks' parking is better but if this is your one-and-done trip, you're going to be at MK.

Rent a car. Its nice to have the option to go off site to eat and for things you need. We found driving/parking far better, especially when we had strollers and a lot of kid gear. Even without all that, it was far easier to drive and be on your schedule.

Totally agree. Love Disney. Would never go without a car.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a Disney expert, I have made the pilgrimage there with my kids twice and we stayed on site both times. Yes, it was more money, but worth it IMHO. I don't think the upper tier hotels are worth the money- I think it's $600 for a standard room at the Polynesian, but if you can get one of the mid-range hotels under $300 it's well worth it. I kind of went to Disney kicking and screaming, wife and kids dragged me, and actually had fun. I thought it was nice just taking the shuttle from the airport and staying at Disney the whole time and not having to worry about renting a car, parking, paying for parking, driving in and out of park. It actually felt like a vacation. Also, to save money and keep our waistlines in check, we brought a suitcase full of food for some of our breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. The Disney meals costs a fortune, and even if they weren't so expensive eating in restaurants gets old after a while. We were good with one nice meal out every day and the rest of the time eating sandwiches, bagels...etc.

[Anonymous]

We stayed in a monorail hotel for $200/night. Definitely worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We stayed in a monorail hotel for $200/night. Definitely worth it.

While you may have been able to get that rate during a special promotion, $200/ night is definitely not typical for a monorail resort.

[Anonymous]

For Frozen FPs - we were given any time ones after DD's band wouldn't scan at Epcot. So we used it for Frozen. We were underwhelmed. It's pretty but borrrrring and slow loading which is why it backs up so much. IN hindsight, we should have gone for a second ride on Test Track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We stayed in a monorail hotel for $200/night. Definitely worth it.

I'm guessing you went at the very end of August/very beginning of Sept.

[Anonymous]

Stay at Bonnett Creek and Uber . ( actually, uber even if you are Ina resort hotel) If going to the magic kingdom, have uber drop you off and pick up at the contemporary

[Anonymous]

am I the only one who thinks its sad a family of four can't even manage to stay in the same hotel room on a vacation?

[Anonymous]

I love the Beach Club villas. The pool is excellent and a short easy walk to Epcot. Especially during food and wine festival!

[Anonymous]

We have stayed onsite in Grand Floridian club level, Polynesian regular, pop century sort of onsite in Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista for 100/nt which included the extra hours you get if you stay in a Disney hotel and Offsite in houses in Windsor Hills and another community I cannot remember the name of. I tend to enjoy having more space at the rental homes...but I really enjoyed the experience of staying club level at the grand Floridian. It made the day really easy with the breakfast in the building and then afternoon snacks and evening snacks. Our kids were smaller then and it just took some of the planning stress off knowing there was fruit or food or drinks right downstairs.
We also have food issues and have never had a bad experience with food. They will always have a chef come talk to you . Some chefs definitely put more artistry in the food they prepare especially for you but we have always been able to eat !
Disney is actually one of my favorite places to vacation. Have fun!