Sheraton Safari question

[ldibo]

Have any of you stayed at the Sheraton Safari? How close is it really to Disney? I know the site says 1/8 mile but is that geographically or do you need to drive all around to actually get in the park? How are the rooms etc? We got the offer to use this hotel for the HI deal but we already have a room booked at ASMO. We are trying to decide if we want to change and have to rent a car and pay parking etc. or just go with our original plan to stay on property. Is it easy to go back & forth if we want a break in the afternoon? Any knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks!

Lynn

 

[ncbyrne]

The Sheraton Safari is 1/8 mile (a few blocks) from the ENTRANCE road to Downtown Disney. You will need a car from this hotel. Most of the people on these boards will tell you to stay with ASMo as it is onsite. You CAN get away without using a car if you are ok with taking busses everywhere. I've stayed at both and both have their pros and cons. Do you have young kids? How important is the room? Would you prefer a food court (kids might) or a sit down (more expensive) breakfast. Sheraton Safari has a breakfast buffet bar or you can order from the menu. If our WDW trip is just me and DH, we prefer a nicer, bigger room. If I travel with my grandkids, any of the WDW All-Stars resorts is their preference.

 

[disneyagain]

This rate is unbeatable, even if you rent a car you still are saving big bucks!

The question is how comfortable are you with driving?????

The Sheraton Safari is right by Downtown Disney. We are very familiar with the area and driving on disney property, so to us it is very easy to maneuver. If you're not familiar and don't realize the size of the WDW property you may just be overwhelmed.

The easiest way if you're not familiar is to get back on I-4 and head down an exit or 2 or 3 and then follow the signs to which ever park you want to go to.

I'm guessing the drive time from Sheraton Safari to MK would be about 15-20 minutes ...then you have to take the tram, to the TTC, then the boat or monorail over to MK. Epcot and MGM would be a little closer maybe 10 minutes and then AK would be the farthest maybe 20-25 minutes. These are just guestimates.

If this is a one time only trip, I'd stay on-site...If there are plans to go again, I'd grab this great rate and stay on-site next time.....

ENJOY!

 

[blestmom]

I'm in a similar situation, Lynn, so I don't have any answers for you but am curious as to what others have to say. I also got the same HI deal...2 rooms for me and my 5 kids for 2 weeks. This is our 2nd trip in a year from Alaska, so the only way hubby is letting me do it is to keep expenses way low. We will be using our AP's, so no cost there, and of the course the hotel is not much! But he isn't real excited about me having to rent a mini-van just to drive to the parks, so I think I'm going to have to rely on the hotel shuttle. Hope it works out okay.
Deb

 

[KLAIT]

I have stayed at the Sheraton Safari in the past and have also been bumped to this hotel again from the HI...It really is not that far from Downtown Disney entrance. We did not feel it was a bad ride at all.

There are several restaurants close by and a Dunkin Donuts across the street which is great in the am.

The hotel itself is good....they have the new Heavenly beds in their rooms. My son was disappointed in the game room of all things as there were maybe 5 games and an air hockey table. The pool is pretty small....not tiny with an enclosed serpant slide..very short.

The rooms are bigger than those at the All-Stars..pretty decent size I guess. They charged my $5.00 per night to rent a small refridge.....The thing that my DH did not like about the hotel is it has several buildings with the pool in the middle. We went in December and it was not a direct sun that was warm enough to swim in during the day unless it was around the noon-2p, timeframe.

It is a really good deal at the H Inn rate, but I would not spend more than $50 per night if paying full-price.

 

[5kwallace]

We stayed here for one night this past April. We decided 2 weeks before our trip to drive all the way down. I called to add one night to our existing reservation and WDW did not have a room available at all on property. It was close to the downtown disney entrance to WDW. It is really convenient to the Crossroads Shopping Center. The room was ok. It was clean. We paid $99.00 for the room. It was larger than the value resorts. I would pick the value resort for the convenience of staying on-site. I hope you have a great time wherever you decide to stay.

 

[hollywoodswingin]

Hi there. I see you stayed in Wyndam palms, how did you liek the rooms and are there any special ammenties? thanks

 

[ldibo]

Thank you everyone for the great advice! There are actually 8 of us going which involves 3 rooms. I think we are going to opt to stay at ASMO mostly because of the kids. If it was just dh and I we would opt for the hotel. Even though we would save tons of money on the hotel we would have to then rent 2 cars to fit all of us and pay for parking. We wouldn't be able to do the dining plan either so we'd be spending more money on food. I worked out the numbers last night and it looks like we'd actually only be saving a couple of hundred dollars over staying onsite. With the need for breaks in the day etc. I think we'll opt for onsite. Thanks again!!!

Lynn

 

[FayeW]

ldibo, when are you going? There is a special on right now at www.travelzoo.com, I was able to book in Oct for $59. per night! That is $40 cheaper than the value, so you would save $120. per night on the 3 rooms you need. You only have to reserve with a credit card, and can cancel up to 2 days before checkin if you change your mind. I am expecting the kids will love the python waterslide!