AnnaG

Okay, so we have just started to plan this trip (April, 1 week Orlando, 1 week Naples or similar), but already my head is spinning with all the Disney options.

We think it would be cool to stay onsite at one of the Disney Resorts. It's just the two of us, no kids (but a bun in the oven). We've checked out some of the deluxe hotels like Gran Floridian, Polynesian Resort, Yacht Club, and would be happy to stay 7 nights at any of these. We've also had a look at the moderate hotels like Disney Caribbean Beach resort, which also look quite nice and are more affordable. Can someone help me with these questions:

1 - Are the 'onsite' Disney resorts really onsite, i.e. in the middle of the themeparks?
2- Apart from the advantages of being in the thick of the Disney athmosphere 24x7 (I'm assuming), are there other advantages to staying at the onsite hotels? (Advantages that outweigh the extra cost?)
3- What about the hotels close to Downtown Disney - like the Wyndham Palace which claims to be a 5 min walk from D/T Disney? How close are these really to the parks?
4- When you visited DisneyWorld, where was your hotel and would you do anything differently next time?

Thanks in advance,

Anna

Ryan

As I'm sure others will point out, www.disboards.com probably has everything you need or want to know. That said,

1) I don't believe that any hotels are within the gates of any of the parks. The Polynesian, Contemporary, and Grand Floridian are a short monorail ride from the Magic Kingdom. The Swan, Dolphn and the Boardwalk resort are just outside the gates of EPCOT. (Can't answer for hotels near Disney/MGM Studio.)

2) The advantage is that you'll be nearby and if you choose not to, you won't have to pay for parking everyday. The other advantage is that some of the parks stay open a few extra hours (think it's only once per week, not exactly sure) and only WDW resort guests can buy these E-Night passes.

3) Some of the hotels can be fairly close to the parks. Although, I doubt any are within walking distance. I would think many of the hotels offer their own shuttle bus service to the WDW parks.

4) The most recent trip, this past November, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We really liked it and our two young toddlers did, as well. We stayed in a Suite which gave access to their Concierge lounge which was a feature we really liked as it allowed us to have a quick Continental Breakfast and a late night drink/snack.

swalter518

I agree with Ryan except that both the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary are within walking distance to the Magic Kingdom while the Yacht Club, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin and Boardwalk are all walking distance to EPCOT. In fact there is a back entrance from the location that is a great way to avoid the front entry mess. We've stayed both in and out of the resort and I overwhelming prefer to stay in the resort.The advantage of taking the bus, monorail or boat to the parks is nice. I've never stayed at Caribbean Beach but I've heard it's nice. We often stay at Port Orleans Riverside and like it alot, although the deluxe resorts are really nice. If you are going to be spending alot of pool time, the Yacht Club has a great sand bottom pool. GF is a very posh hotel and both it and the Polynesian are on the monorail which is very nice if you think you will be spending alot of time at the Magic Kingdom.

bamakelly

We stayed in a hotel near Downtown Disney. There is a whole stretch of hotels there, all of which use the same bus/shuttle service. This means you have free transportatoin and no parking hassles, but it also means the bus will stop at every hotel along the stretch to pick up and drop off passengers. This was not a problem for me, as I was pregnant and enjoyed the little cat nap and extra time for snacks and hydration. The buses are nice, coach variety with a/c. I think we stayed at the Hilton or some type of chain like that. It was convenient, affordable, ahd nice restaurants, and Disney characters were walking around for picture opps. If you do stay in this area, the closer your hotel is to Downtown Disney, the less stops the bus will make when picking you up and dropping you off.

However, if you are staying 7 whole nights, you might want to consider staying in a nicer resort that feels more like home.

That's an awfully long time, by the way, in Disney without kids.

swalter518

I have to disagree with the statement that 7 days is too long in Disney w/o kids. We have no kids yet and have been to WDW 4 times since we were married. I love the restaurants, just hanging out at the pool, Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island-there is a book called Disney for Adults by Birnbaum that has tons of great ideas.

bamakelly

swaleter--you're right--if they go to Pleasure Island and Downtown Disney, there is plenty to do for 7 nights. Once you factor in the Cirque d'Soleil (AnnaG, this is a MUST!) etc, there is plenty to do...but in that case, I'd definitely stay closer to Downtown Disney instead of on-site.

Also, don't forget, AnnaG is pregnant, so this will limit her activities somewhat.

nytraveler

Agree that 7 days is a lot of time for Disney - even if you also go to Universal and Sea World its a lot of time. We always max out in Orlando at about 5 days- and usually just do one or two in conjunction with a business trip. this is especially true since if you're pregnant there are a lot of the biggest rides that you can;t take.

Concerning hotels - we never stay on site because all of the rugrats are just too much for us - even the Grand Floridian still has quite a few kids. We usually do the Hyatt Grand Cyprus - which is a beautiful resort with tons of things to do (golf courses, biking, nature reserve, lake with paddle boats etc) and has a couple of nice restaurants - VERY rare in orlando.

(If you do a search above you'll find a couple of threads on restaurants. Unfortunatly most are of the stoking variety - max calories for min cost.)

WDW is really a series of spearate parks set in a huge, landscaped grounds. None of the hotels are actually IN any of the parks - but as noted above - several are within walking distance of one park. The hotels near Downtown Disney are nowhere near any of the parks - although you can walk from the Hilton and a couple of others through some big parking fields to DD. These hotels have a shared shuttle to the parks. We stayed at the Hilton DD once - since we got it for $59 (I think) and ended up driving to the parks because the shuttle was so inconvenient (slow and not on time).

IMHO the Disney properties are not bad - and a few are very convenient - their only real saving grace. Otherwise - they're charging too much for what they give you versus staying outside and driving in.

swalter518

Maybe I should have been more specific. 7 days is fine in Disney b/c there is a ton to do both in and out of Disney. I agree Cirque de Soliel is a must, the Space Center is a short drive, Sea World, etc. Last time we were there we were with another couple-the wife was pregnant and we still enjoyed DD and Pleasure Island. Pleasure Island isn't just dance clubs, we love the comedy club and Adventures Club which is a comedic spoof on the old 1930s hunt club. Very fun and not your typical night club atmosphere as it has comedy skits throughout the evening-hard to explain but check it out. Also, Jellyrolls, the Dueling Piano bar at Boardwalk is very fun.

kamahinaohoku

WDW is approximately the same size as the state of Rhode Island, so some hotels are closer to the parks than others. They could build one hotel every year for the next 50 years and still have lots of room left.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Beach Club. A five minute walk to EPCOT, a separate adults only pool, and the Cape May Cafe, which has an excellent seafood buffet.

The other suggestions are excellent. I'd also like to suggest the Backstage Tours that Disney offers. They're only for adults, and you go behind the scenes to see how things are "really" done. Fascinating.

AnnaG

Thanks for all your replies, they help a lot. We would probably stay 7 nights in the same hotel for simplicity, but I reckon 4 days is about the max we'd give to themeparks, and at that probably not full days. We'd like to spend some time vegging, shopping the factory outlets, and anything else in the area. Don't let me give the impression of frantic activity - plenty of vacation days we do precious little, it can be bliss!. I like the tips on hotels inside the resorts, and I also like the recommendation for the Hyatt Grand Cyprus. Will check all of these out.

Thanks again,

Anna

vacationdreamer

My pregnant wife and I are going to Disney next month - we decided on the Swan, reviews seem to indicate it is less overrun with kids (for Disney) than the others - the Swan and Dolphin are a Westin and Sheraton that are in WDW but not owned/run by Disney. You may want to consider whether you're going to want to shuttle back and forth in and out of the park if you're pregnant.

travelinwifey

Staying on grounds is wonderful, but you may want to consider Priceline too.

While the the Wilderness Lodge is my favorite, the resort is on the manmade lake and it is fun to take the ferry to the Magic Kingdom.

When I'm see previous winning bids for the Gaylord Palms (should cost around $85/nt) we use Priceline. Now there is a chance that the Wyndam and Hilton may come up, usually those hotels have winning bids around $60-$70. The great thing about the Gaylord Palms is that you can upgrade to a 1 bedroom suite for $50/nt, and all rooms have a free computer with internet. It is a very nice, grand hotel. All the above listed hotels are about 5-10 minutes from the parks.

If this is possibly the only time you'll visit Disney I'd stay on property, but sonce you're going the first week of April (spring break) it may be really crowded, the pools are very busy as well as long waits for in-hotel dining, etc.

travelinwifey

sorry for typo's, have a great trip

travelinwifey

lol I did it again, typos......

raindrop

Hi,
Another advantage to staying on Disney grounds is early entrance to the parks. Each day of the week one park opens early (I think an hour or an hour and a half) and only guests staying on site are allowed in at this time.

GoTravel

Have done both, staying onsite at Disney far outweighs any price savings staying offsite.

Go to Mousesavers.com to see if any discount codes apply for your stay.

Also, stay onsite at Universal as well. Wonderful hotels, Portifino Bay, Hard Rock, and Royal Pacific.

My fave at Disney is the Yacht & Beach Club.

Ann41

I stayed at the Yacht Club for three nights for a conference, and after that experience, I would never stay at a Disney property again. I just felt like I couldn't escape the "Disney experience". And this is someone who enjoys going to the Disney parks.

But it was just too much. And although I tried eating EVERYWHERE, the food was average at best, but priced way above average. I was also surprised at the state of my room. Curling wallpaper, mildew in the shower, and the stupid mini-bar food was stale.

bennnie

Personally I think the best value jwe've ever gotten from a WDW vacation is when we stayed at Coronado Springs - one of the moderate resorts. It was very well landscaped, the pool was really cool, there were other recreational things available like bike rental, the food service good and not too over-priced, and the rooms were as well equipped as the deluxe resort rooms but did not have a balcony or interior corridors. We found that we didn't miss either. The resort is serviced by busses and we found them to be very convenient, never waited more than 5 minutes. On the other hand the Yacht Club shares bus service with the Swan, Dolphin, Beach Club and Boardwalk. We waited for at least 20 minutes for busses and then had a long ride back from the AK and MK.

check out allearsnet.com for pictures, maps etc.

swalter518

I'm somewhat shocked by Ann's report-last time there we mentioned that we were off a parking lot, not even complaining but just "oh, we're off the parking lot" when they showed us where are room was on a map and they immediately changed us to a better room. Ann, did you complain?