Disney hotels - worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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).

Arrive at one of the EPCOT entrances about 20 minutes before opening. Once the gates open head directly to Frozen (or Soarin or Test Track) at a fast walking pace. You won't wait more than 10 minutes without a FP. Same strategy works for 7 Dwarves, Big Thunder Mountain or Space Mountain when ropes drop in front of MK Castle.

[Anonymous]

That is not really correct. We were just there, on what was supposedly a "low" crowd weekend. 7 dwarves and other popular fast passes (peter Pan) were sold out very quickly after the on-site fastpass booking opens. Within minutes after rope drop, the wait at 7 dwarves is up to 30 minutes. By 9:15, the wait was an hour. This was consistent with our last visit, a year ago, also on a low load day in the winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can get over having to share a room, I think staying onsite is definitely a great idea if you are only going once. The airport transportation, buses to the parks and amenities at the resort were definitely worth it for us. We did long days at the parks, and were so exhausted every night, everyone went to sleep easily and slept soundly.

I'd rather go twice as long at a cheaper hotel than try to fit everything in in a few days for the same price. Its much more fun to go 8-10 days and not feel rushed. We only went 4 days last time and it was way to short.

I can see that. And if we could find a time during the year we could go for 10 days without the kids having to miss too much school, that would be great. But 5 days was still great, and we were able to go when the parks weren't too crowded and the weather was nice.

In K, we just pulled our kid out. We went again this year for election and veteran's day as we had two days of school, so it was really five. Our kid is still younger (I would not do it jr. high or high school). Principal and teachers were fine with it. End of September/October seems like a good time to go. We went later and it was much more crowed. When we went a few years ago in September/October the Mine ride only had a 30 minute max wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can get over having to share a room, I think staying onsite is definitely a great idea if you are only going once. The airport transportation, buses to the parks and amenities at the resort were definitely worth it for us. We did long days at the parks, and were so exhausted every night, everyone went to sleep easily and slept soundly.

I'd rather go twice as long at a cheaper hotel than try to fit everything in in a few days for the same price. Its much more fun to go 8-10 days and not feel rushed. We only went 4 days last time and it was way to short.

I can see that. And if we could find a time during the year we could go for 10 days without the kids having to miss too much school, that would be great. But 5 days was still great, and we were able to go when the parks weren't too crowded and the weather was nice.

ETA, we got a moderate hotel for $100/night, so hotel cost was reasonable. I really enjoyed not having to worry about a rental car. But next time, I would consider off-site.

We always get a car as we want to get supplies outside Disney, go out to Dinner off property (far cheaper and better). I think next time we'll try to stay off site, if there is a next time. Kids surprisingly preferred the cruise if they had to pick one.

[Anonymous]

We've stayed at the Grand Floridian (on the Club Level) and at the Wilderness Lodge. Both were great, and the hotels themselves were nice to spend time at. We would do a few hours of parks, come back to swim, and then go back for the evening stuff. It's definitely nice to be able to take a break. Being able to monorail or boat to the parks is also a plus. We are a family of 4 and had just one room at each, although the GF room was huge and had a sitting area. The first time we went we stayed in a condo in Kissimmee and that was definitely not as fun.

[Anonymous]

Omg- stay at Wild Kingdom- loved it!

[Anonymous]

Totally worth it to be on the "campus" and have the transport, delivery, early park access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Omg- stay at Wild Kingdom- loved it!

????

Do you mean Animal Kingdom lodge?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Omg- stay at Wild Kingdom- loved it!

????

Do you mean Animal Kingdom lodge?

Or Wilderness Lodge?

[Anonymous]

We're going the last week of April (24-29) and staying offsite at the Residence Inn Marriott. Thinking of taking Lyfts back and forth instead of renting a car. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I just got back from an impromptu trip to Disney. I took my son to see my husband who was there on a work trip. We have been many times before (once with our son) and have always stayed at a Disney hotel. This time we were at a luxury non Disney hotel that was on Disney property and provided transportation. It cured me from ever wanting to stay anywhere but a Disney hotel. Yes the hotel itself was very nice but it wasn't worth the time, hassle and money for not staying on site. For example:

1. While the hotel had buses they only came once an hour and made stops and multiple parks. This made it hard to get there for a certain time (ie rope drop or a reservation) without going hours before. It made it even worse for going with a young child that needs to come back to take naps or get home to go to bed at night.
2. The buses to the magic kingdom drop you off at the transportation and ticket center not at the magic kingdom so you still have to get a monorail or a ferry there.
3. I took Ubers a few times to get back sooner or to get places the buses didn't go (ie Wide World of Sports or Disney Springs) and the Uber car seats are heavily marked up and are about $15 each way.
4. You can't use your magic band to pay for things
5. You can't have items sent back to your hotel

It all sounds like no big deal but if you are traveling with a child it makes a HUGE difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're going the last week of April (24-29) and staying offsite at the Residence Inn Marriott. Thinking of taking Lyfts back and forth instead of renting a car. Thoughts?

Id price it out. It may actually be cheaper to rent a car depending on if you are going with children that need a car seat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is not really correct. We were just there, on what was supposedly a "low" crowd weekend. 7 dwarves and other popular fast passes (peter Pan) were sold out very quickly after the on-site fastpass booking opens. Within minutes after rope drop, the wait at 7 dwarves is up to 30 minutes. By 9:15, the wait was an hour. This was consistent with our last visit, a year ago, also on a low load day in the winter.

True! I was just there for a low crowd time and fast passes were 100% necessary for those rides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're going the last week of April (24-29) and staying offsite at the Residence Inn Marriott. Thinking of taking Lyfts back and forth instead of renting a car. Thoughts?

Id price it out. It may actually be cheaper to rent a car depending on if you are going with children that need a car seat.

There's also a parking fee at the parks.

[Anonymous]

If you family size is such that you need to rent a minivan, it may be cheaper to stay on site and use magical express. It was when I priced it out. Minivan rentals are soooo expensive.