Need Magicard Rate Opinions

[BarryCF]

Hey everyone....I just got my Orlando Magicard and info in the mail. Opinions on the following hotels and prices are encouraged and appreciated. I will be there off season Dec 2-15 so these are off peak rates. BTW, price means a lot to me. I use a hotel, especially on a WDW vacation, to sleep and rest between adventures.:D The less I spend on a hotel, the more I can spend on my adventures.:smooth:

Amerihost Resort MG: W-HWY 192 $45nt
Apollo Inn: E Vine St $27 <--- Probably a dump:p
Clarion Universal: Univ. Blvd $49
Comfort Inn LBV: Palm Pkwy $35
Days Suites MG E: W-HWY 192 Standard $39 1-br Suite $49
Doubletree Club Hotel LBV: Apopda-Vineland rd. $59
4-Points Sheraton Lakeside: W-HWY 192 $49
Hampton Inn MG E: Parkway Blvd $47
HI Hotel&Suites MG E: $53
Lake Cecile Suites: W-HWY 192 $35
Quality Suites MG E: W-HWY 192 $69
Ramada Inn Eastgate: W-HWY 192 $47
Ramada Plaza Hotel: W-HWY 192 $55
Sleep Inn MG: W-HWY 192 $39
Travelodge MG E: W-HWY 192 $49
Travelodge Suites MG: W-HWY 192 $36
Tropical Palms: Holiday Trail $59

A couple of these have full kitchens, some have mic/fridge and coffe makers, some offer Cont. breakfast, and as best as I can tell, they all offer shuttle service, although I'll probably rent a car. If I can get a low enough rate, I'll stay at one of the All-Stars, but I can't make myself pay $30 or $40 more a night for a room I'm going to spend 6 or 8 hours a day in.;) I can relax at work, I have things to do on vacation.:D

Cheers:)

[tink2dw]

Stay away from any Days Inn lots of poeple have had very bad experiences there.

Tropical Palms: Holiday Trail $59 - This is a truely great place. It is cabins. About 10 min. from WDW. Close to Old Town.

Doubletree Club Hotel LBV: Apopda-Vineland rd. $59 - This one is very close to WDW. It is in Lake Buena Vista.

[3kidsdisney]

we got the magic card also and booked Four-pionts sheriton lakeside for $49 a night poolsode too. We have never stayed there but friends of ours did and said it was nice. It does not have a free breakfast but kids eat free and we have 3 so we will save there. They have a nice website and it looks good. www.orlandosherarton.com. we will bether oct 14-21 so i will post back if it is not good, but it looks good for the price.

[Gillian]

My parents recently spend 1 night at the comfort inn LBV. They said it was ok. big hotel, lots of people, kind of noisy. I think they also paid $35 & they felt it was worth it. Then they moved to the Marriott orlando world center ($55/night on priceline, which they thought was a great deal).

Have you thought about using Priceline? 3 stars usually go for under $40 (plus tax & 5.95 priceline fee once per room). The 3 stars that come up in the disney vicinity zone are all pretty decent. For december you can wait until the Fall to bid. It isn't a good idea to bid too early. What I usually do is make a cancellable reservation, keep looking for better deals and use Priceline 1-2 months before. I learned how to use Priceline by bidding for 1 night stays in Philadelphia, which is a local getaway for us. I like cheap rooms :D

In Orlando it's easy to start low and go up slowly. You can learn about free rebids & recent prices paid at biddingfortravel.com . Be sure to read the hotel faq, here:

http://pub109.************/fpricelineandexpediabiddinghotels

and the Florida Orlando/Walt Disney World section:

orlando/wdw hotels (http://pub109.************/fpricelineandexpediabiddingorlandowaltdisneyworld)

[BarryCF]

I'm nervous about this trip because as of right now it's a solo trip. I'd like to stay onsite, but unless I can get someone to split the hotel with me, I'll probably stay offsite. Now if a good code comes out for the All Stars I'll stay there, but I'd rather go for 2 weeks and stay offsite than go for 5 or 6 days and pay $150 or more for a hotel onsite.:D Anyone else have an opinion?


Cheers:)

[BarryCF]

Bumping up....anyone else have an opinion?

Cheers:)

[hercamore]

Barry, do you have an entertainment card?

Someone recently posted a rate of $40 (ent. card rate) at the new Country Inn and Suites. There is a big post about this hotel you can search for.

Free bkfst, too and Country Inns are nice.

Also check out the orlando hotel rates at www.valutrips.com


Herc.

[BarryCF]

Hi hercamore...are you talking about the ent book at www.entertainment.com? It's good for travel discounts and looks like a good deal, but offers expire 11/02/02. The new book comes out in Oct I think. If I could get CI&S for $40 I'd be very happy. I understand there are 2 in the Kiss/Orl area. If it's CI&S Calypso Cay I'd bounce like this:bounce: all over the place.:D I wonder if Faye Goldberg would know? I guess I'll have to ask.;) Thanks for the info.:smooth:

Cheers:)

[hercamore]

Yep, that's the right ent card.

You don't need the card to reserve the room, just have it when you check in.

And yes, I was talking about the CC Country Inn. Give them a call.


Herc.

[robinb]

Barry:

I would echo Gillian's suggestion of Priceline.

Once you're sure that you will not be staying on-site, take a look at www.biddingfortravel.com for help on bidding on PL.

I recently stayed at the 3* Renaissance Worldgate for $35 per night using PL. Best available rate through AAA was $89 per night. If you really want to save $$ you can bid at the 2* level. Someone recently got the Sheraton Fourpoints Lakeside for $20 per night for a date in May. You can't pick a hotel and you can't cancel once you buy, but if you're 100% sure of when you are going and if you're flexible you can really save a lot on PL.

[plugnickle]

entertainment.com lists the Orlando entertainment book as sold out. Does this happen frequently, or are they sold out for the year?

Steve

[robinb]

Steve,

I can't answer your question, but I know that you don't need the Orlando Entertainment Book to get the "Entertainment" discount. Any current Entertainment book will do.

Also, IIRC you can print out Orlando coupons on the website if you have another book. I looked at the coupons and none of them looked particularly interesting.

[plugnickle]

I see. I will check with our local big chain book store first, then go back to entertainment.com.
Thanks,
Steve