Am I overlooking options close to the world?

[dminnie]

We are planning a spring break trip and I think we'll be staying at a moderate resort on site. I'm wondering if I'm overlooking another good option. We have 4 going...2 are college age. We're getting a standard room. Is there anything really close to Disney that's nice and would have 2 bedrooms to give us more space? We're saving some money by not getting a rental car and using Magical Express. it seems like everything I look at that's close to Disney adds up to more money when I add in resort fees, parking fees and the car rental we would need. Any suggestions?

 

[ranman1973]

We have a 2BR offsite that is 20 minutes drive from the parks. The further out you go, the cheaper it will be. You're right, you do need to rent a car and pay for parking (at the resort and potentially at the hotel as well). And there is some overhead driving to and from the parks each day. However, I also like the freedom to go shopping (groceries, clothes, etc) and visit non-resort destinations. It works out way, way cheaper for us. We have a 2BR, 2 bath, full kitchen, 1000 sq ft unit which will be ample space for us.

Both times we have used Hotwire to get our hotel. The site http://www.hoteldealsrevealed.com can help you figure out what hotel you're going to get. Done this twice and got the following hotels:
1. Lake Buena Vista Resort Village
2. Summer Bay Resort

Be sure to search for a 1 or 2 bedroom unit as most things listed on Hotwire are standard hotel rooms.

If you decide to rent a car, look into whether you can port over your personal vehicle insurance to your rental car. Our insurance policy allows us to do this. Thus, we don't have to buy additional insurance and just pay the base rate of around $30/day for a rental car.

Also consider, going to Walmart or Publix for groceries will save you a lot of money.

 

[chartle]

We stay at Buena Vista suites two real rooms, really close to the front gate, no resort or parking fee, and free real breakfast (which easily covers the WDW parking fee) ~$99 but close is relative if you are offsite without a car. We drive so we have our own car.

 

[Macprincess]

What are your exact dates? Spring break is different dates throughout March and April.

I live in Florida and typically spring break dates are some of the most expensive to travel here. One thing to keep in mind if your planing on being here on either side of the two weeks of Easter and will need a car is to book the best price you can find now! Even Orlando can sell out on car rental these dates plus they know they can charge a arm and a leg last minute during theses weeks for those who wait. As long as it's a refundable rate you can always change it if you find a better rate. Also, book flights as soon as possible because they often get crazy expensive those weeks. We live here and unless we are driving we often vacation in our own state spring break because flights are so much more expensive for us to fly those weeks.

With all that said Spring Break is a beautiful time to travel here. The weather is great! If your looking to save money and stay off site I would suggest booking a condo vs a hotel for better rates and space. I have 3 teens 19, 17 and 14 we find that the space of a condo with an extra bathroom or two is so much nicer than all being stuffed in one standard room. I would suggest looking at Windsor Hills, Bonnet Creek, Sheraton Vistana resort/ Vistana villages, Orange Lake, World Quest, and Vacation Village at Parkway to name a few. Vrbo is another great resource to use to find vacation condos. With off site bookings always check if there is a resort fee, cleaning fee, or parking fee. Some have them and some may wave them after a certain number nights. Then do the math to compare prices compared to staying on site. Also, keep in mind you will have to pay Disney $20 a day to park at the parks. A condo will give you more space, a kitchen and most of the time a in room washer and dryer. The down side is no daily maid service so do keep that in mind. Even with adding a cleaning fee and paying for parking at the parks we find it is often far cheaper for us to stay in a condo. Especially with having a full kitchen. We often just eat one meal out instead of all three. That alone saves us a small fortune with two teen boys in our family.

To be honest its far easier to plan to just stay on site and let Disney do the driving to and from the airport and parks. Yet, there are perks to being off site as well. Only you can decided which is the best type of vacation for your family. There is no right or wrong way to vacation. Our family has done both on and off site depending on our budget and needs. Both types have been great vacations. Do what works best for you.

 

[TamaraQT]

We are planning a spring break trip and I think we'll be staying at a moderate resort on site. I'm wondering if I'm overlooking another good option. We have 4 going...2 are college age. We're getting a standard room. Is there anything really close to Disney that's nice and would have 2 bedrooms to give us more space? We're saving some money by not getting a rental car and using Magical Express. it seems like everything I look at that's close to Disney adds up to more money when I add in resort fees, parking fees and the car rental we would need. Any suggestions?

I've done both and the unanimous decision is we are an off-site family. 4 adults/children in a room with only 1 bathroom and 1 TV is not our idea of vacation. First of all, I need and appreciate a jacuzzi tub in a private bathroom at the end of the day. Top that off with a balcony to enjoy a nice refreshing drink while the kids are in their own bedroom watching their own TV. Nice to have a full-sized fridge to keep drinks and frozen treats. A $3 box of 4 klondike bars satisfies just as well as a $7 bar with mouse ears. We don't find the disney buses to be convenient. We'd rather ride the tram thru the parking lot to our car. Stop somewhere for dinner or pickup dinner. It works for us. But like previous poster said....its what works for you and your family. Just enjoy!!!

 

[dminnie]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I think we're going to stick with the room at CBR this time. It's the 3rd week in March, so getting close to, but not Easter week. I think letting Disney do the driving is winning out. We'd have to save quite a bit to make up for the cost of the rental and parking fees. So far, our kids are willing to put up with one room and bathroom! I'm sure in another couple years, if they even have time to vacation with us, we'll need to look for a condo.

 

[bankr63]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I think we're going to stick with the room at CBR this time. It's the 3rd week in March, so getting close to, but not Easter week. I think letting Disney do the driving is winning out. We'd have to save quite a bit to make up for the cost of the rental and parking fees. So far, our kids are willing to put up with one room and bathroom! I'm sure in another couple years, if they even have time to vacation with us, we'll need to look for a condo.

Not meaning to sound to critical of you (and I know that by stating that, I am), but I do think maybe you are missing that the comparison is not apples to apples. If you get a full 2BR 2 bath villa with a Living Room and Kitchen (1000ish square feet) for about the same price (including car costs) as a tiny little Disney hotel room (300ish square feet), then you are way ahead IMO. Kids will all have their own beds, two bathrooms for the morning rush, ability to watch TV while others sleep in their own private bedrooms. Giving all this up for the convenience of taking a bus to the park is not the decision I would make, but YMMV. I would never consider my family of four (two YA kids) in a single room; that is crazy making for us.

You might not save $$, but what is your sanity worth to you?

 

[wdw&sonny]

Check at Bonnet Creek...through Vacation Strategy. There is a reason the "We Love Bonnet Creek" thread is so long.
You should be able to get a 2 BR for about $200 per night. You will have 2BR, full kitchen, dining, living, can spread out like a home. The resort is beautiful, located very close to WDW...
If no availability this time (March is almost here), then look into it for next time.

 

[TamaraQT]

Check at Bonnet Creek...through Vacation Strategy. There is a reason the "We Love Bonnet Creek" thread is so long.
You should be able to get a 2 BR for about $200 per night. You will have 2BR, full kitchen, dining, living, can spread out like a home. The resort is beautiful, located very close to WDW...
If no availability this time (March is almost here), then look into it for next time.

Yes....we LOVE Bonnet Creek too. In 2016 I found a Wyndham points owner who booked me 7days at Bonnet Creek for only $599 because she had points she had to use up. I almost fainted when I saw her ad. I was convinced it was a scam. But she allowed me to pay her AFTER Bonnet Creek sent my Confirmation. Wow....I couldnt believe it.

 

[TamaraQT]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I think we're going to stick with the room at CBR this time. It's the 3rd week in March, so getting close to, but not Easter week. I think letting Disney do the driving is winning out. We'd have to save quite a bit to make up for the cost of the rental and parking fees. So far, our kids are willing to put up with one room and bathroom! I'm sure in another couple years, if they even have time to vacation with us, we'll need to look for a condo.

Ok...so it sounds like CBR is the final decision. Are you doing a meal plan or playing it by ear? You have to factor in the costs of your meals. Its far less expensive to eat off-site than it is to eat on-site and the meal selections off-site have far better options than on-site. Just something else to think about.

 

[TLM2015]

Not meaning to sound to critical of you (and I know that by stating that, I am), but I do think maybe you are missing that the comparison is not apples to apples. If you get a full 2BR 2 bath villa with a Living Room and Kitchen (1000ish square feet) for about the same price (including car costs) as a tiny little Disney hotel room (300ish square feet), then you are way ahead IMO. Kids will all have their own beds, two bathrooms for the morning rush, ability to watch TV while others sleep in their own private bedrooms. Giving all this up for the convenience of taking a bus to the park is not the decision I would make, but YMMV. I would never consider my family of four (two YA kids) in a single room; that is crazy making for us.

You might not save $$, but what is your sanity worth to you?

This is the decision that I'm debating now too. When I price out the off site, I don't know if I save enough for it to be worth it. I rent a car anyway but with Magic Express I can rent for at least two days less which saves some money and once I've factored in cleaning fees and parking, there's not much savings for off site. We like to take mid day breaks and I don't cook on vacation even when we stayed at the Cabins at Ft Wilderness (my parents came along and cooked all meals- the fridge is nice for snacks and I bring snacks in the park) but I see your point @bankr63 regarding weighing breaking even and having more space and I too am wondering where that balance is.

Did anyone go back and forth to the parks and their resort? Was it that much more inconvenient than staying on site especially at the Value resorts which are bit farther away? Additionally, my other concern is the FP situation since you can only reserve 30 days out. Did anyone find that it was an issue? We're going in summer and even last summer when we went in late August it was hard to get some FP for the popular rides like 7DMT and the Avatar rides. No matter how much I try to spend some time at the resort, most of the time we spend in the parks. My kids are 8 and 2 so space will probably become more of an issue as they grow up.

 

[bankr63]

We do back and forth all the time. Our home in Orlando is usually Sheraton Vistana Resort which is about 15 minutes away once you are back at your car (takes longer to get to your car at MK compared to the other parks). Most days we are out of the parks by 3pm latest, back to the resort for a swim, a quick dinner (we cook fast/simple if staying in, or fast casual if going out - MUCH less expensive than Disney food) and then back to the park for evening parades/fireworks and a few more rides.

I actually thought the extra space was more important with younger kids. A 2yo is usually in bed by 7 or so; what do you do until adults are ready to sleep at 10 or 11 if everyone is in one room? But now that mine are YA's, DW and I can go to bed at 10 or 11 and THEY can stay up until sunrise and not keep US awake. (Of course waking them in the morning for rope drop is a whole different story).

We travel at March break and generally have no problems with 30 day FP's; except 7DMT was a bit harder, but I did get it mid-week (Avatar wasn't open last trip). At 30 days, all our FP's tend to be later in the day, which has changed our touring style a bit; but as alluded to, rope drop is tougher now anyway with older kids (but they are still full of energy at park closing time). I do expect that this trip we will be SB for Avatar rides, but will hit them first (1 rope drop day), be willing to wait, and FP all the other headliners at DAK. 7DMT was fun (but cramped) the first time, so not on my must do list for this trip.

But yes, it is a personal decision. My family needs its space, so an apples to apples comparison for me is a DVC villa which is $thousands$ more than my offsite costs. I could do a hotel room on site for comparable $$, but I would go insane. Oh, and we now usually drive to Orlando (24 hours each way), so I have my own vehicle; but we used to fly and rent so that used to be part of my equation. BTW - quick tip for folks with connected cars (OnStar or similar); use the app to auto-start your car as you are passing the gates; it will be nicely pre-cooled when you get to your vehicle. So much nicer than a stinky bus on a hot day!

 

[Ametista]

I know you already decided but we always get a house/townhouse/condo at Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms, Emerald island, etc. Usually we get a private pool. As I have said before, last time we stayed at W Palms our drive to AK was under 10 minutes and MK was 15 minutes, and overall we paid less than a moderate resort for a 4 bedroom with pool and hot tub and laundry, full kitchen, game room, etc. I don't know, it's just whatever you can stand I guess. For us, having the space, multiple tvs and bathrooms was as important as the parks. Plus the hot tub after being on your feet all day, OMG it feels good.

 

[TLM2015]

@bankr63 and @Ametista Thanks for the additional info. The drive times don't seem too bad. I'm trying to be open minded and not be too much of an onsite fangirl and weigh my options. I do like the Disney bubble though.

 

[dminnie]

I really appreciate everybody taking the time to share their thoughts. Even after I decided, I still keep looking at other options. It's finding the right balance. Generally, I don't think my family minds less space when we're in the "Disney bubble". Any other place we vacation, we like to drive ourselves...and yet, at Disney we really like taking the buses and not fighting traffic, etc. We used to stay off site and it was sometimes so frustrating finding a place to eat for dinner. We have memories of stopping at various places that were all long waits and winding up with fast food and a flat tire instead of a relaxed dinner! Even though, we pay more on site for food, we like the ease of having ADRs at the various Disney restaurants(but we hated the DDP the one time we got it!) We also really like taking breaks mid day...but, not everyone wants a break at the same time, so it's nice being able to take the bus back to the room.

On the other hand, more space sounds great...so, I keep looking just in case I see something. Our reservation is at CBR and we really like that resort...I'm not sure how it will be with the construction though. That's part of why I keep looking for other options. We do have a room only ressie, so we can cancel pretty close to the start of our vacation. Too bad it's not in the budget to just get 2 rooms!

 

[TamaraQT]

I really appreciate everybody taking the time to share their thoughts. Even after I decided, I still keep looking at other options. It's finding the right balance. Generally, I don't think my family minds less space when we're in the "Disney bubble". Any other place we vacation, we like to drive ourselves...and yet, at Disney we really like taking the buses and not fighting traffic, etc. We used to stay off site and it was sometimes so frustrating finding a place to eat for dinner. We have memories of stopping at various places that were all long waits and winding up with fast food and a flat tire instead of a relaxed dinner! Even though, we pay more on site for food, we like the ease of having ADRs at the various Disney restaurants(but we hated the DDP the one time we got it!) We also really like taking breaks mid day...but, not everyone wants a break at the same time, so it's nice being able to take the bus back to the room.

On the other hand, more space sounds great...so, I keep looking just in case I see something. Our reservation is at CBR and we really like that resort...I'm not sure how it will be with the construction though. That's part of why I keep looking for other options. We do have a room only ressie, so we can cancel pretty close to the start of our vacation. Too bad it's not in the budget to just get 2 rooms!

At the end of the day, you want to have a FABULOUS vacation. My family prefers off-site, but it sounds like your family prefers on-site so I think you should stay on-site. The way I see it, you are going for a DISNEY only vacation that can only be found on-site. When my family talks about vacation, we say ORLANDO vacation because we enjoy doing more than just Disney. There are plenty of times where we go to Orlando and don't go to Disney at all, so off-site makes sense for us. We LOVE being able to rent a car and drive all over Orlando and surrounding area. We even drive down to Clearwater beach and Tampa area. We have YET to get a chance to go to Busch Gardens. We put it on the agenda every year for the past 5 years and still can't squeeze it in to our 15 day stay. We find so much to do and see besides Disney that it gets crazy. We even have favorite "Must-Do" restaurants for dining in and taking out. For example, Flippers pizza is a MUST-DO the first night of our timeshare resort stay. Stuff like that. My adult boys love going over to Dave & Busters for food, drinks and games. Then I have an 11 year old girl that LOVES the poolside activities at the timeshare resort. She learned all of her line dancing at the pool parties at Westgate Resorts. Our Orlando vacation gets crazy and every couple of years we try to squeeze a few Disney visits in, even if its just to go to Ohana's for dinner one night. Of course I have to make ADR's well in advance for that, but it becomes hilarious sometimes to get there on-time if we are NOT doing the parks that year. For my family we sometimes have all kinds of stuff going on all day seperately but will meet up together for dinner and talk about what we did all day. Sometimes we spend all day on timeshare resort property but have different agenda's and activities planned. My husband and sons have gone jet-skiing and did helicopter rides while my daughter and I did Magic Kingdom for a day. So my point is, just plan based on what YOUR family will enjoy and Do NOT keep second guessing yourself. The "Magic" will happen wherever you are and the memories last a lifetime no matter where you stay. Just enjoy your vacation!!!!!

 

[katyjeka]

We have many trips under our belt and as a family we prefer Bonnet Creek. I love that you drive under the sign on your way to the resort and really do feel part of the Disney bubble. Our trips are always 10 days or longer and we just need the space. I also appreciate a washer/dryer and not standing in a laundry room waiting my turn. On the flip side most of our extended family will only stay onsite. WDW has some fantastic resorts and the customer service at Disney hotels is usually the best. The idea of easy transportation to the parks is a win for most. I have no issue with the busses but my dh hates them. I've loved our trips onsite and will stay onsite again but for now we have found a better option. CBR is a beautiful resort and you've chosen well. Enjoy your trip.

 

[Ametista]

Tamara you HAVE to go to Busch Gardens! It's our favorite park after Islands of Adventure. Use the skyride to get around though, it's a gigantic park.

 

[TamaraQT]

Tamara you HAVE to go to Busch Gardens! It's our favorite park after Islands of Adventure. Use the skyride to get around though, it's a gigantic park.

It's on our list EVERY year and it just NEVER happens. I will try again this year, and thanks for the encouragement. I am wondering if it is going to take more than one day to really enjoy it. Makes me wonder if we should stay overnight or not.

 

[Ametista]

Where would you stay? We stayed at Indian Rocks Beach a few times thinking it would make the drive to BG shorter, but it doesn't because then you have to drive all through downtown Tampa. The area BG is in isn't a great neighborhood from what I am told (I just drive through, so I have no idea). Just get the BG/SW/Aquatica 14 day pass and plan to spend a couple days there, drive from Kissimmee. It doesn't usually open til 9 or 10 anyway. I promise it's so much fun. Plus there is so much to do for people who don't like thrill rides, animal exhibits and that kind of thing. My family is 1/2 coaster fans and 1/2 NOT coaster fans so it's an ideal park for us.