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.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They must have gotten a really good deal. Even at the military prices the monorail hotels are not $200 a night.

I saw $200 for the Poly while their main pool was shut down and most of the property was affected by the construction of the villas. It was also August. I agree you're not going to see $200/night on the monorail again outside of another renovation situation OR have access to an unusually good discount. I've seen 40% off for military at the Deluxe resorts a few times.

It was after the main pool construction was complete but it was in August through a travel agent. For 7 nights, 4 people, we paid $3000 for the room plus tickets (did not get dining plan).

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They must have gotten a really good deal. Even at the military prices the monorail hotels are not $200 a night.

I saw $200 for the Poly while their main pool was shut down and most of the property was affected by the construction of the villas. It was also August. I agree you're not going to see $200/night on the monorail again outside of another renovation situation OR have access to an unusually good discount. I've seen 40% off for military at the Deluxe resorts a few times.

I've been to Disney a few times and never was able to get a Deluxe for under $350 with the military Discount (and for the dates we wanted). Usually the value or moderate are between $110-150/170. Shades of Green is almost always more than the value hotels and you don't get the parking at the parks, which we wanted. You can do the Space A apartments for $350 a week, but usually you have to book way in advanced (we never do) and at off dates.

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.

We stayed off property for the space and price - for $200 a night you can get a big 3 bedroom with a full kitchen and laundry. Driving to the parks was easy as was leaving at the end of the day but we went at a time the parks were not crowded. It was really nice to have a place for low key inexpensive dinners and breakfasts and nice too to have a quiet place to come back to at the end of a very exciting and stimulating day. Before we came I was in the one and done camp but I can see coming back now - it is a very fun place for kids. if we came back we would do offsite again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They must have gotten a really good deal. Even at the military prices the monorail hotels are not $200 a night.

I saw $200 for the Poly while their main pool was shut down and most of the property was affected by the construction of the villas. It was also August. I agree you're not going to see $200/night on the monorail again outside of another renovation situation OR have access to an unusually good discount. I've seen 40% off for military at the Deluxe resorts a few times.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They must have gotten a really good deal. Even at the military prices the monorail hotels are not $200 a night.

Late summer deals are very good. We have stayed at Beach Club for less than $200 a night and it is over $500 a night during holidays.

Anonymous wrote: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?

I'm going to assume those who have trouble are living in pretty large houses and have help/day care with the kids and are not used to spending a 24/7 with them. We have a small house so some hotel rooms to us, especially if they are a suite seem huge to us and unnecessary. Our kids don't sleep with us normally but when we travel they do as they are in a strange place. I cannot imagine having kids in a strange room alone without an adult. I cannot imagine spend $600-800 a night at a Disney Hotel. You only sleep there and spend little time (in less you are wealthy). The only time I want a "better" room is when we go on a cruise but my only demand is having a porthole. We had a balcony on our last cruise and if it is not a huge upgrade (like before) I'd do that again.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They must have gotten a really good deal. Even at the military prices the monorail hotels are not $200 a night.

Took our DD6 and DS7 a couple of years ago for the first time and stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Intended on it being our only Disneyworld trip so splurged and got a club level suite overlooking one of the savannas. Totally worth it IMO.

Anonymous wrote: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?

Tragic!!

Anonymous wrote:I am planning a trip to DW (first time) with my kids 8 and 5. This will likely be our only trip to Disney. We're going the third week of May (kids go to a school with a bit of an unusual calendar). My first thought was to get a condo (how we usually travel) just outside the park, mainly because we're just the kind of family that needs our individual space after a long day together (no flames please) but the Disney hotels do look really cool and if this is going to be our only trip, I'd like to kind of do it with a bang, if that makes sense. But I also don't want to spend the extra money if it really doesn't add to the whole experience.

TIA.

Boardwalk and Beach are by epcot-very easy walk and fun in the evening for dinner. Beautiful lazy river pools [much better than Grand Floridian], nice laundry rooms. The bridge and walk space are nice and give you a breather. Condo or anything outside the park is a hassle. Fun to ride boats to dolphin.

Anonymous wrote: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?

NP here. Why is this sad? We don't do it at home, so why would we have experience with it. My DD's get so excited if their sister is in the room with them that it takes them over an hour to fall asleep, then they wake up earlier than usual because again they are so excited. This is fine for one night, but for a week long trip it's muh better if everyone gets the amount of sleep they are used to. It would be different if we had an only child.