We are going to Disney World 1st time with 3 kids. Looking for good deal. Is it better to stay on site or closeby? If onsite, which Disney property?

Kathy - My suggestion to you would be to hop on over to the wdwinfo.com or wdwig.com sites. There you will find many kind thoughtful people who just love to answer that exact question.

But just to get started, I have found it very pleasurable to stay onsite - as do most of my siblings and friends. Convenience is a big factor. My favorite to date has been the Beach Club - one of the deluxe resorts - primarily because of its proximity to Epcot, its location on a lake and its fabulous pool. I've also stayed at the Contemporary (very nice large rooms, very convenient to Magic Kingdom, on the monorail system, fast food rest to feed hungry kids, pool was okay) and the Boardwalk Villas (better than Contemporary's pool but not as cool as the Beach Club, studio style room with small kitchen, balcony, same proximity to Epcot as Beach Club, feeding kids a bit of an issue as no fast food available but great Spoodles rest.)

Disney has rooms available for as low as $89 night and as high as $2000. However the lower priced rooms generally only accommodate 4 individuals - 5 if one is in a crib. If you prefer suite type accommodations you may want to look into the Holiday Inn Family Suites in Lake Buena Vista. Its built with families in mind, appears to have a great pool, reasonable restaurants and is convenient to WDW.

Anyway check out those other sites. Its almost comical how much info you'll get on planning your entire trip. But

Kathy,

As the previous poster said, you'll probably get way more info at wdwinfo and wdwig--probably more than you want!

Unfortunately, Disney sort of gears its hotels to families of four. We have a family that size, so it's never been a problem. However, they don't really advertise that you CAN get a rollaway bed (for a fee, of course). I have a boy and a girl, and they're now too old to share a bed, so that's what we do. Also, Dixie Landings has trundle beds--another thing not advertised. If your kids aren't too big, one of them could sleep in the trundle and the other two could share the bigger bed. And the Polynesian has a day bed in addition to the other two beds, so you could do a similar thing there. The Polynesian is much more expensive, but it has the advantage of being right on the monorail.

I'm a firm believer in staying on Disney property, because of the convenience and service.

The Dixie Landings property also has trundle beds. We took our two grandchildren three years ago and my grandaughter didn't like the idea of sleeping with either me or her brother even though she was only 11, so she pulled out the trundle. I have to say that the rooms with five in them will be very crowded. But if you are in the parks all day, the minimum amount of time is spent in the room. We also rented an small refrigerator from them. At that time it was $5 a day. We kept cold drinks, milk and yogurt, etc for snacks. It can be very expensive to eat all of your meals out. So we would have a simple breakfast (cereal or friut) in the room before starting out for the day. They also have a special schedule for people staying onsight, like early openings. We had a blast.

I agree with the others, on-site is best for convenience. We have stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and the Vacation Club. We loved both, but would stay at the Wilderness Lodge if we visited again since it is much closer to the parks.

I'm not sure I've heard of many "deals" when going to Disney. I know a lot of people who book their trip through AAA.

My advice, pretend like you're planning a trip to Europe (it will cost this much) and just enjoy yourself.

Hi Kathy,
The best place to look for discounts is www.theorlandowebsite.com There you will find free nights 1,2 bedrooms, even Resorts, luxury or standard accomodations. They have free tickets when you visit the resort, and coupons, maps and schedules for all major and minor attractions delivered by mail to your door. Check them out, I'll bet ya you'll have a great time in Orlando.
Lucas,
GO MANCHESTERS, GO...

For convenience I'd chose Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian. For value I'd go off site to the Holiday Inn Family Suites. Five could fit comfortably, plus kitchenette, plus full breakfast buffet and transportation included.

Kathy,
I would urge you to try Vistana Resort which is a ten minute drive from WDW. We have stayed there 6 times and always been pleased. They have 2 bedroom, 2 bath units with full LR, Dining area, and Kitchen and screened in porch for about $200 per night in the busy season. It is a timeshare place, but they do nightly rentals. We are not owners, so this is not a plug from an owner. The grounds are beautiful, they have 7 pool, 2 restaurants, etc. You can find them on the web at vistana.com. Please feel free to email me with any questions.

Took my 3 kids to Disney last year. When I called Disney direct, they told me I could only stay at Dixie Landings or Wilderness with 3 children in room. Since my husband and I stayed at Dixie Landings before we had children, we knew the room was going to be too small with 3 children with us, and the Wilderness Lodge was just too expensive for the time of year we were going, so we opted for the Holiday Inn Kids Suite Resort. My children loved the "waterpark" type of pool there, and all their meals were free, and dad and I had free breakfast. Turned out to be a great deal and only a 2-mile drive to Disney. Someone else I know stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn which is next to a very luxurious Marriott hotel, and they were able to share their facilities. This is an option I might look at when we return to Disney. Hopes this helps.

Just returned from Disney. We loved the Holiday Inn Family Suites as well. I was glad we rented a car though, because the shuttle service ran so infrequently.

We have never stayed on-site in the several times we have been to WDW with 2 kids and sometimes grandparent. We hve always looked for the closest chain-type place which would get us a suite with at least mini-kitchen. Saved quite a bit of money and the added time was not burdensome. For us, WDW can be a little much and it was nice to have a respite from the Mouse.

Like many posters, I'm a firm believer in on-site Disney hotels (9 trips so far, all on-site!)

Because this summer is a soft travel season, many hotels are being more aggressive on price, including Disney, although they are very low key about advertising it. Disney never, ever volunteers any of this discount information, you have to request.

www.mousesavers.com has many specific tips for getting the best deal possible from Disney.

For example, a "standard view" room at Disney's highly rated Beach Club hotel, during this summer:

- standard "rack rate", about $300 with the 11% tax.

- with Disney Club (replaced the old Magic Kingdom Club), about $248.

- with special promotional code CVZ, $188 per nite (!!).