kdd

Hi Fodorites,

I recently booked plane tickets to Orlando Mar 22-27. Turns out that this is considered 'peak' season in Disney World. We are a party of 4 adults (2 seniors) and one 4 yr old. I started looking into the Disney resorts. While they offer some advantages such as a drop in front of the park enterance etc. it appears that most 'Value' and 'Moderate' category resorts are just high priced motels. The Deluxe ones are expensive. Is it still worth going ahead with the Disney resorts or are we better off staying offsite?

Thanks

tchoiniere

It is Spring Break time so Disney will be very busy. I would definitely stay on property as it gets you in the parks earlier and you can get back and forth easier.

krisf

On-site is definitely worth it. There are the "extra magic hours" at different parks on different days; the Disney transportation; and the ability to make "priority seating" arrangements before arriving at WDW. If you do book a Disney resort I would suggest making at least some of your dining seatings ASAP, as the popular restaurants get booked up fast and you are travelling at a busy time of year (Easter is March 23 and many schools are on break for one of the weeks surrounding). Dining times can be set up to 120 days in advance; you can call 407-WDW-DINE. Restaurants are listed on the WDW website. If this is your first trip to WDW I would suggest purchasing, or borrowing from library, a guidebook to have a feel for the various attractions and layout of the parks. It will save you much valued vacation time later. There are time guides for shows, parades, etc available at each of the parks and at the resorts and that helps too.

lisettemac

Depends on what you want. We stayed at the Polynesian hotel during our 9/07 trip to Disney. I wanted to stay on property and on the monorail because my kids are little. Being on property meant we didn't have to rent a car. You also get extra hours in the park that other guests don't get. I liked being on the monorail because it meant that we could get in and out of the park easily and go back to our room in the afternoon for a nap/swim for the little ones.

rfolmar

I concur with the other posters - get a room on-site. We've stayed on the monorail twice now (Grand Flo and the Poly) and loved it. We have two small kiddos and it is completely worth it for the ease of travel and the extra magic hours. Way too much hassle to go on and off property during the day. Plus, it's a good idea to take a break during the day for a nap/or just rest and it's much easier. I hear the Pop Century is great for the price as well as the Yacht Club and Wildnerness Lodge.

Lord_Mesron

I have stayed on site at WDW 4 times and enjoyed it every time. In fact, those were the last 4 times I was there, and will continue to stay onsite. We tend to go every 4-5 years. I have stayed at the All Star Music, and while it was ok, I can afford to do better these days and would not bother with the All Stars again.

The others were The Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. We definitley enjoyed our stay at all 3 of these. The Polynesian and Wilderness Lodge are very convenient to the Magic Kingdom and the TTC. The Animal Kingdom Lodge, obviously, is very convenient to the Animal Kingdom.

Keep in mind that the monorail only goes between the TTC, Magic Kingdom and 3 resorts (Polynesian, Contemporary and Grand Floridian). There is also a monorail line between the TTC and Epcot. Everything else requires you to take a bus. A few of the Magic Kingdom resorts have ferries to them from the Magic Kingdom. Some of the Epcot ones also have ferries between them and Epcot.

If I had to pick one of these over the others, I would go with the Wilderness Lodge. While it is not right on the monorail, it is a very easy walk to the TTC, and also has a ferry launch attached to it.

GoTravel

The Disney Value Resorts are much more than 'high priced motels'.

No, don't stay offsight. On site is fabulous.

Out of the probably 50 times I've been to Disney (my dad and husband are Disnuts) I've stayed off site twice and never again.

I'd rather stay less days than stay off site.

highflyer

Everyone here so far says stay on site but I think you can stay nearby or 'on-site' but not at Disney and be happy. If cost is an issue and it sounds like it might be do bear in mind that you can stay in much cheaper hotels off site.

Do you intend to spend all your time in the Disney Parks? Are you interested in Sea World? Time off at the pool? Would you use those 'extra' hours (maybe an hour before normal opening and an extra hour or so after normal closing... maybe it's too late or too early for you?). Do a little more research and decide what would be best for you. Read a guide book or two (the Unofficial Guide is good).

Good luck!

BTW, I've stayed on site at Disney and off site (close by and further out... lots of hotels provide their own shuttles to the parks and while not as frequent as Disney these can be less crowded too).

We've decided to stay at Buena Vista Palace this February (opposite Downtown Disney) and although it's not a Disney hotel we'll be about 15mins from Magic Kingdom by shuttle. There are a few other hotels in this area.

nytraveler

That is high season - so every place in Orlando will be charging their highest prices. If you want truly budget you won;t find anything really pleasant, you'll have to rent a car - and you'll lose the advantages of being a Disney guest.

If Disney is really the only thing you're going for it doesn't make a lot of sense staying off property.

dgarland

I agree with everyone, we stayed on-site last year and it was worth every penny. If you don't plan to go anywhere else, you can even get by without a rental car. We went to the beach for a couple of nights and turned our car in on-site upon our arrival. A shuttle immediately took us to our hotel (the Yacht Club) and even though we weren't on the Monorail, the bus service to and from the park was excellent. With one exception, we didn't have to wait over 10-15 minutes for any shuttle or bus. When you make your reservations, you can set up a shuttle ride from the airport to the park and back to the airport.

wanderluster

Totally agree: stay on site.
They are FAR FROM
high priced motels.
Try them once and you will see.

Also, go to www.disboards.com
for everything you ever wanted
to know about Disney, and even
more.
Click on *Forums* where you will
find every tiny detail
about Disney discussed 24/7 by
very helpful (and nice)
people.

Have fun planning!

polly229

Somebody else might have an answer to this because I'm a local, haven't stayed on property for years. And with 4 parks now, it might not be a factor, anyway.

But some years ago, when the local papers didn't have any exciting news, they often reported park closures. These were always at Christmas and the spring break/Easter weeks. The Magic Kingdom was usually the park that closed, rarely EPCOT or MGM (excuse me, Disney Studio, now, I guess). Don't recall reading about park closures recently - since Animal Kingdom - so I don't know if the extra park takes up the extra people or if park closures are such old news that no one cares locally. However, if park closures do still occur, you can only get in if you're staying on property. Plus, as mentioned, you can get in earlier to various parks on different days.

We did stay on property several times when the kids were little and I'd have to concur with the opinion that staying there is preferable. There's some extra "magic" that way. With that short a trip, going to Sea World or Universal is probably not worth the trouble since you can't begin to do all there is to do at Disney in the time you have. (And they planned it that way. )

wanderluster

Polly229:

Yes, if a park closes, only onsite
resort guests are admitted.
Parks usually (and often) close over the Christmas holidays, but I've heard they've occasionally closed on Easter weekend.

Another good reason to stay on site.

persimmondeb

You might not want to do this with a four-year-old, but we split our time in Orlando, and stayed off-site for Discovery Cove/Seaworld and on-site for the Magic Kingdom. We found that it worked out quite well for us, and the general convenience was well worth the hassle of moving mid-trip. Now, Disney was actually a bit of an afterthought, as we had originally planned to stay near relatives in Clearwater for a few days. That fell through, as the relatives in question were stuck in Norfolk, Va., and we really started to think it was silly to go all the way to Orlando and not visit Disney, even if DS was COMPLETELY obsessed with Seaworld.
Having decided to do it, we went for a day of full-frontal Disney, and plumped not only for the tickets and the accomodation, but the meal plan (which has changed, but we were delighted with). We stayed at a moderate resort, and yes, it really is an attractive and expensive motel, but we did still feel it was worth the money. If you are comfortable moving mid-trip, and have non-Disney items on the agenda, this might be a good strategy for saving a little money and still getting the full experience.

kdd

Hi,

Thanks for the information. We have only one non Disney item on the agenda - Sea World. Everything else is Disney.
If we don't rent a car, are there convenient transportation options to Sea world and back?

Given that it is peak time and I am doing the planning a bit late in the day, I find that my choices for resorts are limited, at least it appears so with online booking options. I plan to call and talk to the Disney agents and see if I can get something at a decent price with a AAA discount.

GoTravel

kdd, go to www.Mousesavers.com and see if there are any good discounts going on right now.

highflyer

Just bear in mind a one day pass to Sea World allows you to revisit anytime within the next 7 days for free.
I'm a big Sea World fan and prefer it to Disney...

panhandle

I am not sure why the extra magic hours are such a big deal here. Every guidebook and website I visit regarding Disneyworld (except the official guide) say to NOT visit the park with extra magic hours as they are the most crowded park that day. In fact most of them say...the park you should visit is the park the day AFTER a magic hour day.
WWW.touringplans.com has some great info. Dont leave without checking out this website and/or book!
As far as staying on site....I wont do it again...period.
Last trip we did VRBO and got a private pool and hot tub in our own backyard. It was a 4 bedroom house and it was by far the most relaxing trip to Disney we have had. http://www.coconutsky.com/HoneyPot/

Regarding drive times...yes you have to pay for a rental car...yes you have to pay for parking but drive times were 5 minutes a day each way. I have spent MUCH longer than that waiting for a bus on site. You will also save alot of money on food off site.

chepar

Considering that Easter is early this year and coincides with Spring Break for many people, it will be EXTREMELY crowded while you are there.

That is exact reason why I decided to take my daughter to WDW in June instead, although I think the weather in late March would have been nicer.

As mentioned by others, advantages to staying on site include still being able to enter a park when they are closed for capacity reasons and the extra magic hours.

There are differing trains of thought on the extra magic hours - some say to avoid them, some say they are worth it. I think that taking advantage of the early entry and then leaving once the park gets really crowded for a nap or down time, returning later (or to another park) is a good idea.

highflyer

I agree with panhandle about the 'extra hours' not being so wonderful. If you're early birds the extra hour in the morning does get you into the park before the major crowds and that it is the best time to visit the most popular rides but on the busiest days Disney is known to let ALL guests in early (before regular opening times) just to get the lines down outside the park.

Check the Disney website for park opening times during your stay and plan accordingly.

You can catch a regular bus to Sea World (lynx) check their website for routes and times or take a taxi. Several hotels outside of Disney have free shuttles to Sea World.