• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Booking a trip to Disney World - Looking for some advice

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
let me clarify a couple of points real quick. First, no kids are going on this trip. Second, the big advantage (to me) about staying off-site isn't just the cost savings it is the room you can get while also saving a ton. For example, I've found townhomes for half the price of one of the moderate disney resorts (port orleans for example) meaning after a long day of walking we could just go chill in the room, make our own food in our fully furnished kitchen, and crack open a bottle of wine.
 
Staying in the park is definitely convenient. You can sort of get the best of both worlds by staying at the Dolphin or Swan. They're in the park but operated by Starwood (and you can get points for the stay, or use points for the stay). They're adjacent and walking distance to the Boardwalk, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. There's a water taxi that takes you to those 3, plus busses that go everywhere else.

We just had our honeymoon there and it was awesome. Got a room w/ a private balcony and a view of the Epcot fireworks, for the nights that we didn't go to see them in person.

The ONLY thing you don't get at these hotels are the Magic Express airport service. A cab from the airport is about $60. However, you also don't need to rent a car.

Also, you can book these places from the Starwood website and cash in on any promotions going on. For instance, I used my Gold status to get a room upgrade, and a Starwood 50% off sale to get the room fairly cheap.

Buy some tickets from the Disney website before you go, and you're set.

Word of advice: Disney transportation sucks. It's somewhat inconsistent, and some of the busses make a LOT of stops, especially to those going to Downtown Disney. Cabs are around $20 to just about anywhere inside the park, so use those if the kids are cranky or you need to get to a dinner reservation on time.

Last piece of caution: The restaurants are packed. If you want a nice, non-fast-food meal, make reservations in advance.

We just went, so PM me if you have any specific questions.
 
Fingolfin269 said:
let me clarify a couple of points real quick. First, no kids are going on this trip. Second, the big advantage (to me) about staying off-site isn't just the cost savings it is the room you can get while also saving a ton. For example, I've found townhomes for half the price of one of the moderate disney resorts (port orleans for example) meaning after a long day of walking we could just go chill in the room, make our own food in our fully furnished kitchen, and crack open a bottle of wine.
Click to expand...

Disney has REALLY stepped up its game with food. If its just you and the gf/wife and you like nice restaurants, its worth the money to just eat out. If you can swing the price, Victoria & Albert's at the Grand Floridian was a great dining experience. We also really liked the (sit down) restaurant at Morocco in Epcot and Bluezoo at the Dolphin.

As far as cost savings, factor in parking and the car rental. My room at the Dolphin was around $200 a night -- totally worth it to stay in the park.
 
I've always stayed off the park. But then, my parents were cheap. I just checked and a May/June stay in the Kissimme to Celebration area (much, much closer to the parks than Orlando) will give you hotels in the $30-$35 per night range. Your drive will be 5 minutes to the Disney complex and another 5-10 minutes until you actually get to park. But, you do have to pay for parking. If you wanted to stay in Orlando, add an additional 15 minutes minimum each way to drive.

I'd personally choose to stay on the resort itself for at least a night. The extra hours in the parks without many other visitors would be well worth the extra cost.
 
we are going to disneyland in March, i looked into the cost of going to DisneyWorld but it would have cost me 8K (flight, hotel, food, park, rental car). so im just going to do a road trip from denver to DL. i figure it should be about 3K (gas, hotel, subway 5 buck subs, park passes) 🙂
 
sjwaste said:
Disney has REALLY stepped up its game with food. If its just you and the gf/wife and you like nice restaurants, its worth the money to just eat out. If you can swing the price, Victoria & Albert's at the Grand Floridian was a great dining experience. We also really liked the (sit down) restaurant at Morocco in Epcot and Bluezoo at the Dolphin.

As far as cost savings, factor in parking and the car rental. My room at the Dolphin was around $200 a night -- totally worth it to stay in the park.
Click to expand...
Add the Yachtsman Steakhouse to taht list
 
I grew up in Orlando and moved there before Mickey did. One of the best times we had was staying at the Contemporary around '72.

Helping ease your cognative dissonance, staying at the park with kids is a fun time. You can save off the reservation, but inside the property you are really disconnected from all the other things that aren't 'vacation'.

That said, the whole area is not that bad. If you do plan to go through Orlando, do use the toll roads as it saves more time than you can imagine.

JZero's list at the beginning was spot on.

Just do it. Stay at the park if you think you can easily swing it. Best story I heard was staying at the hotel at Animal Kingdom and waking up with giraffes just outside your window. Sounds cool, but I also liked the Polynesian.
 
About 10 days ago my wife and I booked a 5 day vacation in April. We picked a magic your way package at a moderate hotel (Port Orleans Riverside hotel). With the park hopper option it cost about $1500 for both of us. There was/is? also a promotion where we get a $500 gift card for use anywhere in the park. We get the card as soon as we check in and can use it for food, gifts, etc in the park. Including airfare from PA the whole package cost $2000 total. I don't know if this promotion is still good or is good for when you are traveling, but you might want to check into it.
 
Fin, you might want to check out off site condos, especially if you have a group of people.

My whole family got together this past March for 10 days (my sister wanted to do Disneyworld for her 50th birthday.....fun!). We stayed at a condo in Kissimmee the whole time, and I think it cost ~$1200. That included having someone come in after we left and clean up/wash linen & towels/etc.

The advantage to that is that you can do breakfast & dinner at the condo, and save a ton of money doing so. We were maybe a 10 minute drive to any of the parks, and parking was easy (us kids took turns paying for parking, so it wasn't bad). The condo was clean and comfortable, and had 3 bedrooms/2 bathrooms, full kitchen & dining room, and living room.

So far as the parks go, I would definitely recommend that you get a park hopper option for your pass. It's an extra $50, and worth every penny, since it lets you go to any of the parks on any individual day, as often as you want, for the whole period of your pass. Otherwise, you go to one of the theme parks, you're stuck at that one all day. With park hopper, you can go to Epcot in the morning, go over to Magic Kingdom for the parade, then catch Animal Kingdom park in the afternoon, if you want. Definitely a good feature! :awe:
 
DT4K said:
And Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's my favorite restaurant on property.
Click to expand...
Isn't that the buffet?

I had the luxury of being tour-guided by a friend of mine who worked there for some time.

EDIT: Meal plans are awesome. Meals at expensive restaurants can often be paid for with the same voucher that they give you for regular restaurants.
 
You can get a ICH suite near Disney for a good discount through this friends/family link. Click on "Book Your Reservation Now".

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/6c...vac4%3D&cm_mmc=DCE-_-FF-_-20091228-_-AM166555

look for one that includes breakfast

ff.ContentPar.0005.Image.gif
 
Howard said:
Isn't that the buffet?

I had the luxury of being tour-guided by a friend of mine who worked there for some time.

EDIT: Meal plans are awesome. Meals at expensive restaurants can often be paid for with the same voucher that they give you for regular restaurants.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's a buffet.

We've been to Boma 3 times. The food is excellent, with a lot of variety and lots of African influenced dishes that you won't find anywhere else. The bobotie is delicious.

Just walking around Animal Kingdom Lodge is pretty cool. The architecture is very unique and it's nice to hang out in the back and watch the giraffes and zebras while you're waiting for your table.

I'm not sure if I'd pay for the dining plan. If you like to eat a sit-down meal at a nice restaurant every single day, it's probably worth it. But it means you really have to plan ahead and make reservations for every day of your trip at least a month or two ahead of time. Longer if you are set on certain restaurants.

We went in September a couple years ago when Disney had a free dining promotion and I loved having the dining plan then. Saved our family of 6 a ton of money and we ate a lot of good food. I'm just not sure if I'd pay for it because it limits your flexibility.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top