Hi- In the price range you are tlaking about you would probably be happiest at either Port Orleans or Dixie Landings. They are basically sister hotels. Your best bet would be to purchase one of the many WDW boooks on the market. Every book store is full of these books now a days. If you are going in the fall you would also probably get an even lower price. Do you have a Magic Kingdom card? If so, in the fall you would be able to get 20% discount on the hotel. You can purchase this card for $65 for 2 yrs. but many places of employment give these to their workers at no cost, so check where you or your spouse are employed. You should definitely stay on property at WDW & not at any hotel off property. It's much more fun & you save the hassel of needing a car & so save lots of time & can get into the parks about 2 hrs eariler than "outsiders". Don;'t let anyone talk you out of staying on property .
Enjoy your trip & please don;t hesitate if you have any more ques. If this is your first trip you'll been having lots of questions as time goes by!
Homer

Mr. Homer;
i read your answer to a query about a hotel in disnetworld;
I am a foreigner; how do i go about getting a magic kingdom card;
we have 2 kids in our group; is disneyworld better or disneyland better ; is it worth going to both?
thank you for your help;

I agree that staying on-property at WDW is the way to go. The early entry alone is worth it, not to mention no parking hassles etc. My wife and I stayed at Dixie Landings last Oct. and loved it. Transportation was great, we never waited more than a few minutes for a bus to any destination. I have a Magic Kingdom Card thru my employer and even tho I booked our Oct. trip in March, we weren't able to get a discounted room. There are only so many. My company just received a message from Disney, that due to the 25th anniversary, MKC rooms are quickly being booked. The card, however, is still good for discounts at most of the shops @ Disney Village Marketplace and will get you reduced admissions to parks too. I agree with the above "don't let anyone talk you into not staying on-property". Have fun.

My family has stayed at the Carribbean Beach Resort every year since it opened. The price is right, and it has a wonderful food court with quick, relatively inexpensive meals. Just next door, so to speak, to Dixie Landings.

Re: lodging in Disneyworld...I've visited Disney every year since I was a child (20 some odd years now!) I agree that staying IN the theme parks are your best bet...however...renting a trailer (Disney supplies them) and staying at Fort Wilderness is awesome fun! If you like the great outdoors, it's the best of both worlds! You're only a matter of minutes from any theme park by Disney transportation, but also have the peace & quiet of the woods (not to mention great horseback riding, campfire sing-a-longs, etc.). Check it out! HAVE FUN!

I always thought that Disney is the best place to visit, and I thought you might want to info from a kids point of view. I've stayed in many places in the park, I would suggest that, cause its an experience you can't miss. My family and I stayed in Fort Wilderness when I was 9 years old, and it is still my favorite of all the resorts. I liked the idea of the trailer, it made us feel more at home. And cause I am a picky eater, we made breakfast and lunch in our room almost everyday. There was a grill outside that we used as well. As for going to see Sea World and everything, there was a small driveway next to our trailer, for the rental car. The place is awsome, kinda like camping out, but you have to remember Mickey does not allow any mosquitos! And if there is a day when you just want to hang out in the resort Fort Wilderness has plenty to do: I went horseback riding, canoing, swimming, movies every night with Chip and Dale, etc... Well where ever you decide to stay, have a lot of fun.

If you are an attractive,single, caucasian woman (25-40)who would like to see Disney-I say -save your money and stay on the beach at my place. Indialantic is a short hour drive to the theme parks and there's nothing like watching the sunrise over the ocean!

We stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort and loved it. The food court offers are variety of food all reasonably priced. The in-park buses run regularly, so you don't have to drive if you don't want to -- we didn't miss not having a car. I understand that you can get transportation from Mears Bus Service for areas away from WDW. The Fodor's book is good but the Unofficial Guide to Disneyworld is good too.

I'll put in my family's vote for Dixie Landings! We have stayed at other on site places and were disappointed! The food court is great!

My family stayed at the inexpensive ($69) All-Star Music Resort in DW and LOVED it! The food court was great, the pools were wonderful, and the rooms were fine. Even got Mickey Mouse shampoo and soap! My feeling is, you don't stay in the room that much anyway, so why pay top dollar to fall into bed when the lower priced places sleep just as good. But once you've stayed on property, you will never want to stay in off-property lodging again! Disney World Resorts are great!

I think that Disneyworld is better than Disneyland many more
attractions and rides. Also, there are other pplaces outside of Disney
you can go to as well if you have the time like Busche gardens, SeaWorld,
Cypress Gardens,Universal Studios etc.

I am not sure how you would go about getting a magic kingdom card in other parts of the world
but here in the states you can get them through your work if your company has any employee activity
programs or you can go to your city's recreation deptartment.

YOu might call Disneyworld direct and ask them if they can give you an
idea on how to get one or ask a travel agent sometimes they get them as well.

I have stayed in the Contemporary, the Polynesian and the
Tree house villas. The tree house villas were nice but we
liked being centrlly located and staying in the Polynesian gives you
access to both Epcot,Magic Kingdom Trams. We requested the building closest to the Tram and was able to walk
there in less than 1 minute. They also have a wonderful kids club so if you want to go out one nite alone
without your children you can (older children wouldn't enjoy it)the kids get a visit from animals, characters
and a dinner show.

We ate at many restaurants in the Park as well and found the bang for the buck as well as probably the
best food was for Breakfast the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom (Winnie the Pooh and friends walk around)
and the Grand Floridian has a dinner buffet with Mickey and Minnie Mouse that was good.

Have fun.

I can also join the ranks of those who have posted messages by saying that staying on the Disney grounds is great. Transportaion within the parks grounds is excellent and you have all the conviences of early entry and discounts offered by Disney Hotels. My husband and I visited Disney for the first time last year. My husband was on a seminar through his work at the Disney University. We had the opportunity to stay at The Contemorary Resort which was terrific. You have the convienence of the monorail running through the lobby and since I had 2 days free to explore the park on my own, I found the transportation second to none. I travelled back and forth through the different areas on the various monorails and buses that ran every 5 or 10 min. Info is also available from any of the staff at the resorts within Disney. I took a lot of great pictures from just riding the monorails. I'm not sure if the Contemporary is more than $120. a night, but as I didn't see the bill for the hotel I can not be sure. If you are travelling with kids, this hotel is great fun as they have Chef Mickey's located right in the lobby. My husband and I dined there on our last evening and had pictures taken with Minnie and Goofy. Mickey was rather camera shy at this restaurant. Hope you have a great time in WDW, and good luck with your hotel search.

Our Favorite in the lower price range is The Carribbean Beach Resort. Nice rooms with a good food court, Sandy beaches, and many Resort activities like bike riding and water sports. I would also recommend Fodor's travel guide and making your reservations at least 6 mon. in advance. This was our best ever-Family Vacation!!

My husband and I are staying at the Carribbean Beach with our 4 yr old grandson. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

We stayed at the Caribbean Beach 2 years ago and loved it.There were 4 of us so for a little more than the price of taking a shuttle from the airport, we rented a car from Alamo.We used it for Sea World and Universal but it also came in very handy for visiting other resorts ,Typhoon Lagoon ,the Marketplace,Goodings grocery store for snack foods,etc.On days we took a bus to the parks we drove to the food court,ate a great breakfast and hopped on a bus(the 1st bus stop is right there).We stayed at Barbados,room 1526.We had a tough time finding it the first night in the rain as it was set back behind bldgs.14+16,but it was worth a short walk to be right near the pool and laundry.Take a break every few days and rent bikes,swim ,play around the resort and enjoy the ambience of the Caribbean and other resorts.You'll definitely appreciate a little down-time .WDW is the most exhausting and fun vacation I've ever had!

I'll join the ranks of those who love the Caribbean Beach. We've stayed there twice and think it's tops. I think all the on-site properties are wonderful and doubt you will be disappointed in any of them. I haven't stayed at Dixie Landings (although I've visited it and it was great), but think that for the price, Caribbean Beach is better than Port Orleans. Something about the atmosphere is just tons of fun. The bright colors and architecture will put you in a great mood as soon as you arrive. We also like the food court at the Caribbean Beach better than the ones at Dixie Landings or Port Orleans.
As for the All-Stars, the last time we went (May '96) we stayed at All-Star Sports and, while it was nice, I don't think it was worth the $20 or $30 difference from Caribbean Beach. The rooms seemed very small, and something about the atmosphere was just tacky (I wonder if it was the 5-story Coke cans?). It was, in typical Disney fashion, clean and comfortable and first-class, but just not as special as the others.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the rooms at the Caribbean Beach have double vanities in the bathrooms, while the All-Star has a single sink, which can make getting ready to go out in the morning difficult if you have several people in the room.
Anyway, I think it's impossible to go to WDW and not have a blast, and anywhere on-property you stay will be nice; it's just up to you how much you want to spend.
*whew*