Downtown Disney Area Hotel

[dragitoff]

I have a business trip in October and I'm bringing my family with me. We are probably staying on-site since I'll need the car each day to commute to the Convention Center. For the same amount of money as a Disney Moderate resort (about where my company's daily hotel allotment is), I think we could stay at a pretty nice Downtown Disney area resort. I know most of them offer transportation to the parks, but I didn't know how often they were. I also thought if we were close enough to Downtown Disney, we could use the Disney bus service there.

I would gladly take any other recommendations, but it looks like I've narrowed my choices to the following:

World Quest Resort
Regal Sun Resort
Buena Vista Palace

Please tell me pros and cons of each (especially the shuttle service) or recommend any others you can think of. They MUST have reliable shuttle service though.

I was getting a 2 BR suite at World Quest and Resort View rooms at the other 2.

 

[dragitoff]

I have another to add to that list. I just found the Hilton Orlando Resort @ Downtown Disney. According to their site, you can take advantage of EMH staying there as well!

 

[jdtopgun71]

Unfortuanetly I have only stayed at one, the Hilton at Downtown Disney and I highly recommend it. We only stayed one night a couple years ago but have a very good stay and no complaints. Also you can walk right across the street to Downtown Disney.

 

[SunniKC]

we just recently (over Christmas) stayed at the Regal Sun Resort. The resort was nice for the price we got it for but if I were to stay there again I think I'd pay a bit more for a tower room. The room we stayed in was nice but small, two queen size beds, exterior hallway door though which dh despises (why he refused to stay in a value at Disney). Rooms from what I've heard of the value resorts were probably similiar. It was clean, nice thick towels, and staff seemed nice.
The pool was great and was the closest hotel to DTD -- an easy walk. But...the shuttle service while on time left a lot to be desired and we ended up after the first day using our rental car and just paying for parking. It was the trip back on the shuttle that did us in....it was supposed to be a bus designated for MK and Epcot only but instead of taking us to the hotels after picking us up at MK it took a couple to AK--which had been closed for a couple of hours so never did figure that one out. Then took us to the hotel. By the time we arrived at our hotel over 45 minutes had passed since we'd been picked up...and that was with standing room only.
You can't use the Disney busses from DTD...they only go to the resorts--not to the parks.

 

[dragitoff]

You can't use the Disney busses from DTD...they only go to the resorts--not to the parks.

Thanks. I honestly didn't realize that. The more I look at it, the more I think we may try to stay at either the DTD Hilton (I get my Hilton Honors points and they have EMH), The Dolphin, or even CSR. That's what I think we've narrowed it down to. I just haven't been too impressed with the DTD hotel reviews (other than the Hilton) and want the transportation to be easy on my family since I'll be working some of this trip.

 

[LA1984]

Dragitoff, I've stayed at both the Hilton DTD and the Buena Vista Palace recently AND within a year of each other, so I can provide you a snapshot of both.

They are both contemporary and chic hotels: modern decor, spacious rooms, and catered toward more adult travelers. The beds in the Hilton are more comfortable (but that's probably subjective), whereas the Palace has the potential to offer you a much better view (it's a tall building). The Palace has a better bar/lounge, but the Hilton has a Benihana and an excellent little general store connected to an ice cream shop. The Hilton doesn't have a Disney Store like the the Palace does, but it doesn't matter: you can get tickets from the Hilton concierge. And....

They both sit near the intersection of Hotel Plaza Boulevard and Buena Vista Drive, which is to say that they are RIGHT across the street from Downtown Disney. Other than the Regal Sun, the Hilton is the closest to DTD (less than a 3-minute walk to the Marketplace). The Palace is third-closest (about a 5-minute walk). The proximity to DTD is THE reason I love to stay in the area, and you just can't beat the Hilton's close location, especially if you are bringing children.

Most importantly, ALL of the DTD hotels, including both the Hilton and the Palace, offer continuous shuttle service to all parks. They run every 30 minutes. Now, there's two shuttles: one goes to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, the other goes to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. So, roughly every 15 minutes (give/take 10 minutes), one of the shuttles will arrive at your hotel's bus stop. The shuttles aren't the official Disney shuttles, but are instead run by Mears, which is THE major bus company in the Orlando area.

You can also access the official Disney shuttles at the parks, in case you wanted to park hop. But at the end of the day, you'll have to get back on one of the Mears busses at one of the parks to get direct service back to your hotel. It's not too terribly complicated to understand once you get the hang of it, but it can be time-consuming, so don't expect it to be as fast as a taxi.

In fact, one of the most maddening things about the shuttles is having to endure the circuit. IIRC, the Hilton is the first to be picked up, but you then proceed to the Holiday Inn, the Royal Plaza, the Doubletree, the Best Western, and then the Regal Sun. BUT you are the first to be dropped off on the return trip.

And, as you mentioned, the Hilton is the ONLY DTD hotel that offers EMH, which is a major plus.

Hope that helps.

 

[luv2nascar]

we stayed at Buena Vista Palace in June. I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. It was very nice - great pool. Shuttle service was not bad at all. I found Carribean Beach's bus longer and more iritating.
For the price it was great. We had a small balcony with a view of Epcot.

I would definitely stay there again.

 

[Pats Dragon]

couldn't you take a disney bus to a resort and then get to dtd and walk at the end of the day?

 

[PearlySwan]

To OP: Did you consider DoubleTree Guest Suites? Go to Mousesavers for more info. here: http://www.mousesavers.com/dtguestsuites.html Have fun planning your trip.

 

[dragitoff]

I did think about the Double Tree, but the EMH and reliable shuttle service offered at the Hilton ultimately made me lean that way. I think I've narrowed my decision down to 3 hotels....

Coronado Springs Resort
The Dolphin or Swan
Downtown Disney Hilton

I think we're going with the Dolphin or Swan if I can catch a good rate on Mousesavers or elsewhere.