At WDW for 2 nights, should I try the $30-40 budget hotels? Any issues with them?

[TornadoTitan]

I am planning to take a detour from a business trip to Orlando for 2 nights so I can do Epcot's Food and Wine for a day, planning to fly in on Tuesday, do the park on Wednesday, then leave very early Thursday morning. Since I will be spending very little time in the hotel (don't need pool, room service, etc.) and mostly just need a place to sleep for the night and keep my luggage safe, should I try for one of the hotels I am seeing in the $30-40 a night range? Do those prices seem sketchy for the Orlando area? Ones in that range I am currently looking at are Red Lion Hotel Maingate, Rodeway Inn Maingate, Seralago Hotel & Suites Main Gate East, and other similar ones.

The other option was staying at the Wyndham near Disney Springs which I see would be around $70-80 a night, so about double the price but looks closer to the parks.

Alternatively I could try an AirBNB. What do you all think is a good option for this spontaneous short trip?

 

[Dinosauce]

I would also like to know if anyone had any issues with any of these budget hotels.

 

[HopperFan]

I am planning to take a detour from a business trip to Orlando for 2 nights so I can do Epcot's Food and Wine for a day, planning to fly in on Tuesday, do the park on Wednesday, then leave very early Thursday morning. Since I will be spending very little time in the hotel (don't need pool, room service, etc.) and mostly just need a place to sleep for the night and keep my luggage safe, should I try for one of the hotels I am seeing in the $30-40 a night range? Do those prices seem sketchy for the Orlando area? Ones in that range I am currently looking at are Red Lion Hotel Maingate, Rodeway Inn Maingate, Seralago Hotel & Suites Main Gate East, and other similar ones.

The other option was staying at the Wyndham near Disney Springs which I see would be around $70-80 a night, so about double the price but looks closer to the parks.

Alternatively I could try an AirBNB. What do you all think is a good option for this spontaneous short trip?

Of your list, DD stayed at Red Lion a couple years ago. It had just gone through a complete renovation. She said it was just fine.

 

[elaine amj]

I looked into staying at the Confort In. maingate for free on points. But then throw in transportation to/from airport, rental car/parking/cab to the parks, it was cheaper to stay atban onsite value - especially for shorter trips.

Late August was cheap and I scored All Star Music for under $70/night stacking Discounts and cashback rebates. Have also been hearing reports from Hotwire/Priceline for onsite rooms.

 

[TamaraQT]

Of your list, DD stayed at Red Lion a couple years ago. It had just gone through a complete renovation. She said it was just fine.

You recommended Red Lion a little while ago. So we tried it for the first time last year. We were very pleased and satisfied. We now book as our "go-to place" when we need a quick one night stay before checking into our resort. This year we used them again and as usual we were very pleased. We were flying out of Philadelphia on Frontier. The plane was scheduled to leave PHL @ 815pm and arrive in Orlando @10:50pm. Well we had passing thunderstorms in Philly that evening and our flight got delayed. I called Red Lion and told them my arrival will be around midnite. They assured me all was well. Next thing I knew it was announced we wouldnt leave Philly until 1150pm and arrive in Orlando around 2:10am. OMG!!! I panicked. I called Red Lion and told them my arrival time wouldnt be until after 3am but I was definitely coming. The front desk assured me all was well and told me they would NOT cancel my reservation. When I arrived at 345 they had my room keys and packet ready. All I did was swipe my card and sign. They had even honored my room request!!! It literally took me less than 2 minutes to check in. The best part is, she had already got approval from a manager to grant me a 3pm check-out at no extra charge. Red Lion has earned my business!!! I will never hesitate to stay there again. I highly recommend it!!!

 

[ibob52]

The best part is, she had already got approval from a manager to grant me a 3pm check-out at no extra charge. Red Lion has earned my business!!! I will never hesitate to stay there again. I highly recommend it!!!

two thumbs up ... .. .

 

[HopperFan]

You recommended Red Lion a little while ago. So we tried it for the first time last year. We were very pleased and satisfied. We now book as our "go-to place" when we need a quick one night stay before checking into our resort. This year we used them again and as usual we were very pleased. We were flying out of Philadelphia on Frontier. The plane was scheduled to leave PHL @ 815pm and arrive in Orlando @10:50pm. Well we had passing thunderstorms in Philly that evening and our flight got delayed. I called Red Lion and told them my arrival will be around midnite. They assured me all was well. Next thing I knew it was announced we wouldnt leave Philly until 1150pm and arrive in Orlando around 2:10am. OMG!!! I panicked. I called Red Lion and told them my arrival time wouldnt be until after 3am but I was definitely coming. The front desk assured me all was well and told me they would NOT cancel my reservation. When I arrived at 345 they had my room keys and packet ready. All I did was swipe my card and sign. They had even honored my room request!!! It literally took me less than 2 minutes to check in. The best part is, she had already got approval from a manager to grant me a 3pm check-out at no extra charge. Red Lion has earned my business!!! I will never hesitate to stay there again. I highly recommend it!!!

So glad it turned out to be a good.

 

[jkh36619]

I stayed at the Red Lion last year for a couple of days. No complaints at all

 

[chartle]

You will need a rental car or expect to use taxis. Even if they say they have a park shuttle I wouldn't count on it. That and airport transportation may push you to an onsite value resort.

 

[TwoHeartsBeat]

I like the Ramada Kissimmee Gateway for a cheap stay. If you book through Last Minute Travel Club, http://www.lmtclub.com it is usually in that price range.

 

[persimmondeb]

We hotwire Baymont Inn and Suites Celebration in that range with some frequency, and it's fine. We only do that when we're not doing parks that day, though, and stay on property for that. You definitely need a car. I think the Wyndham may be in walking distance of Disney Springs though, so I might go for that for convenience.

 

[Bete]

Those staying at Red Lion what do you do for breakfast?

 

[Princess_Lisa]

I like the Ramada Kissimmee Gateway for a cheap stay. If you book through Last Minute Travel Club, http://www.lmtclub.com it is usually in that price range.

The Ramada is good. I have only stayed in the tower, though. The Deluxe Queen was nice (minus a few of the amenities in the King) and not overly expensive ($60-80 range). The standard rooms are cheaper ($38-55), but exterior doors (motel style). The only thing that I didn't like was there was only one laundry - in the motel section.

 

[maxiesmom]

You will need a rental car or expect to use taxis. Even if they say they have a park shuttle I wouldn't count on it. That and airport transportation may push you to an onsite value resort.

That seems to be the problem a lot of the time with off site hotels. I just went to check out the Red Lion, and it looks very nice! However, for the dates I plugged in it was also $110 a night. Rack rate at a value for those same dates is $129. So if you pay for parking you are already paying more than you would be if you were staying on site.

 

[chartle]

That seems to be the problem a lot of the time with off site hotels. I just went to check out the Red Lion, and it looks very nice! However, for the dates I plugged in it was also $110 a night. Rack rate at a value for those same dates is $129. So if you pay for parking you are already paying more than you would be if you were staying on site.

Try this one. I'm not sure how much you want to spend.

https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/bvsuites/index.htm

 

[Princess_Lisa]

You will need a rental car or expect to use taxis. Even if they say they have a park shuttle I wouldn't count on it. That and airport transportation may push you to an onsite value resort.

This. One time I checked into a hotel with a shuttle and thought "Good, I can just leave my car at the hotel." That was short lived when I found out the shuttle only went to the park I was visiting once a day and only came back once a day. I was meeting some friends at the park at 9 AM, but the shuttle didn't leave until 10 AM if I remember correctly. Plus, the return shuttle was at dinner time (a few hours before the park closes). Every other time I've looked at off-site hotel shuttle schedules, they have seemed to be very limited.

 

[chartle]

This. One time I checked into a hotel with a shuttle and thought "Good, I can just leave my car at the hotel." That was short lived when I found out the shuttle only went to the park I was visiting once a day and only came back once a day. I was meeting some friends at the park at 9 AM, but the shuttle didn't leave until 10 AM if I remember correctly. Plus, the return shuttle was at dinner time (a few hours before the park closes). Every other time I've looked at off-site hotel shuttle schedules, they have seemed to be very limited.

Besides those staying in the Bonnet Creak area and maybe a few other properties ( really don't count DS hare), I have never seen a post from anyone where they say the shuttle service was even adequate. They always say after a day or two they either had to take taxis or rent a car. At least you had a car. Its really tough for those from overseas that either don't want to or can't drive here so all their savings go to taxis.

 

[persimmondeb]

Our only experience with a shuttle was very mixed. Going wasn't too bad, but coming back was a nightmare, since the shuttle was very late, and there were far more people who expected to be on it than it could accomodate (last of the evening). Really strikingly bad in comparison to Disney buses. We took a day trip off a Carnival cruise once, and THAT bus experience was much better too.

 

[sbd78]

Yes, you definitely need to factor in transportation when comparing off site vs. on site cost. We drive to Orlando, so we already have our car. But for those flying in, you have to factor in rental car and airport transfers when staying off site. (Plus the $20 parking fee at the parks if you don't have APs.) The only offsite hotels I think you can get by without a car relying on their bus system is the Disney Springs Hotels.