MellowFellow07

I'm looking at planning a trip for myself and a few friends to go to Disney World from Arkansas (about a 15-hr drive) in early August.

Our biggest concern would be $$$. Has anyone had experience staying at one of Disney's onsite "Value" hotels? We would be a group of 6-8 and would book 2 rooms for 4 nights hopefully for less than $100/night at a Value Hotel (Disney's booking system is down right know, idk the exact prices). Staying offsite is OK. Would you recommend doing a day at Universal too? What about Park Hopper option (cheaper) vs. buying regular tickets?

About half of us will be returning Disney world goers (inc myself), and half haven't been before.

Any tips on saving money (where to eat, where/which tickets to buy, where to stay, etc) are greatly appreciated!

Trekker5211

I would definitely recommend staying onsite (at Disney) for that large of a group, because then you don't have to worry about shuttle prices or parking prices.

If you want to stay at one of the value resorts, I wouldn't recommend putting 4 people in a room. 3 maybe, but definitely not 4. Online, it says the rooms fit 4, but it would be VERY cramped.

On the subject of tickets, I would definitely recommend Park Hopper passes if you want to spend the day in one park and go to dinner or the fireworks in another in the same day. It would cost an extra $11 a day for 4 days.

swisshiker

Hello MellowFellow07

A college roadtrip. Ahh, those were the days.

The "value" resorts are great! We'e stayed in the All Star Music and were very pleased. Our room was, yes, simple, not large, but certainly ample: 2 double beds, an open closet with 15 or so hangars, and the sink was outside the room with the toilet and shower/tub (works great for washing up, doing hair, etc. while another is in the bathroom).

Yes, it would be cramped with 4 in a room, but heck, you're in college. I say go for it!

There was a wonderful food court (I think all the All Star Resorts have a food court), with pizza, burgers, turkey plates, breakfasts, even an ice cream sundae counter (great hot fudge sundaes for around $4.00).

Get one of their "refillable" cups. For around $11.00, it can be used over and over at their fountain. That was a big savings for us in the morning for coffee or hot chocolate or after returning from the parks during the day or at night. Their fountain area has all the different sodas, etc. you could possibly need (no alcohol included, tho).

Definitely get the Park Hopper.

Happy travels!

swisshiker

Whoa nellie! Re-reading my post, it sounds as if the sink is "outside" the room.

You probably get my gist, but what I meant was that the sink area is IN the room proper (next to the closet), but not IN the bathroom itself. The toilet and tub/shower are the only things IN the bathroom.

wanderluster

Hello MelloFellow

I would strongly advise you
to check out

www.disboards.com

You will find everything
you need to know, down to the
tiniest degree. If you've wondered
its been discussed.
And then some
There's even a *college board*

Generally speaking too, its
a younger demographic with very
friendly members.

MellowFellow07

Hey guys thanks a lot for your suggestions! I'm headed over to those boards right now. I will also call Disney to ask about the All-Star resorts (their online booking site is still down...that's weird for Disney).

spirobulldog

Make sure you check age requirements before actually booking. Hopefully someone in your group is 21. Do check out Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach for the better part of a day. Fantastic water parks. Where are you from in Arkanas? We live near Ft. Smith and have made that drive a couple of times.

I would probably just stick with the Disney Parks. Univeral has some good thrill rides, but should really be done in a seperate trip, in my opinion.

GoTravel

Also check out www.Mousesavers.com for Disney hotel discounts.

I've gotten the All Star Music for as little as $49 peak season from their site.

wwfd

You can also check out condodirect.com sometimes you can pick up a good deal. The resorts may not be directly onsite but it may be worth it to check prices.

traveler2005

My first trip to Disney was during college spring break. We tent camped off-site. In those days, we had a tight budget and that was the cheapest option. I'm not so sure that some of the campgrounds are much cheaper any more though.

If you biggest concern is $$$, I would stay off-site. We've since been to Disney about a dozen times. Each time, we think about staying on-site, check the prices and then decide to stay off-site. In the back of my mind, I always figure that the money that I save on the room can be spent on something else.

However I've never been lucky enough to see a value resort for $49. If I had, I think I'd stay there.

We once stayed off-site at a townhouse type place. It had a full kitchen, couple of bedrooms, washer/dryer, etc;. I timed it and it only took about 20 minutes to go from parking lot to parking lot.

If you have a group, you wouldn't be able to easily go back and forth to the room during the day, but we never tend to do that anyway. We tend to be in the parks from open to close.

There's a book called Disney on a Dime that has some money-saving ideas.

traveler2005

Unless you have plenty of time, I'd skip Universal for a first trip. It is fun, but Disney should be able to keep you busy for 5 days. I would definitely choose a hopper pass so that you can go back and forth between the parks. Some years, we've concentrated on a different park every day and then used the last day to hit favorites.

AAA has a slight discount on tickets. There is also a place called Maple Leaf that has slightly discounted tickets.

Almost anything you'd want to know is on this site:

http://www.allearsnet.com/contents.htm

They also have a free email newsletter that is fun to read to get yourself in the mood.

Have fun.

GoTravel

You couldn't pay me to tent camp in Florida in August.

Staying offsite you probably will not save any more than $15 or so dollars a night.

Not worth the hassle of driving.

wanderluster

So MellowFellow, what did you decide?

beanweb24

Do compare the Disney value hotels with the Hilton Orlando Resort Lake Buena Vista. I stayed at the Hilton in May (was cheaper than one of the value resorts), and it was great. We were walking distance to Downtown Disney, and there were free shuttles to all the parks. You also get extra magic hours because it is an "official" Disney hotel (but without the theme). The hotel is a little older, nothing fancy...but clean and well located. I also liked that there was a 24 hour mini market in the hotel where I got breakfast daily (fruit, cereal, etc.). A lot cheaper than dining at the park, although I didn't find park dining all that expensive.

For parks, I really enjoyed Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. Skip the Magic Kingdom...not very much fun and full of little kids (with good reason). At Epcot, make sure you do the Test Track, Soarin', and Mission Space. At Animal Kingdom, the safari and Expedition Everest rocks. And my favorites at Hollywood Studios were Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Aerosmith roller coaster (Rock'n' Roller Coaster) - FUN.

I did 2 parks in one day easily, but I don't think it was peak season yet. Park Hoppers are a good value if you really think you'll do +1 park in a day.

AND...my biggest tip is to get in the single rider line wherever you can (Test Track, Rock'n' Roller Coaster, Everest). I went on Everest about 4 times in a row with a 5 minute wait in the single rider line while others waited an hour for a single ride. You'll be split up from your party for sure...but who cares? It's not like you can really talk to your buddy on the roller coaster.

Have fun!!

beanweb24

And a note about Universal...I went there, too - was at a conference and they roped off part of the park for us. I looked at the ticket prices at Universal and was shocked to see them so high. But I will say that the rides I went on (The Hulk and Spiderman) were awesome -- right up there with the bigger thrill rides at Disney. However, I did not notice any single rider lines there, and I didn't get a chance to experience the rest of the park.

wanderluster

Still wondering what you decided!
(college aged niece is also planning
a trip)
Or is Disney shelved now that you
are you taking the Texas
roadtrip?
(as in your other
recent thread?)