60 Day Window for non-Disney hotels, for example DS hotels

[DrummerBoy523]

I do like the idea of being able to walk to the hotel because I really hate Disney transportation.

Yeah - good point! I think the transportation might be worth it for sure. And I absolutely love the Disney "bubble". I'm just trying to gather a list of ideas. I'm going to have to present my argument to the spouse very soon... We have a rezzy at POFQ and either we keep it or go with a DS hotel.

 

[AngiTN]

Has Disney upgraded the beds and sheets to something better? My moderate experience was a Motel 6 one.

Yes. Queen now
And no, while I don't like the Values they are NOT down to level of Motel 6

 

[AngiTN]

That’s where my head is at. I just skip WDW and go to DL. I didn’t want to pay up for a WDW hotel to get FPs. I find the value and moderates to be equivalent to Motel 6. They’re just not that nice.

With these alternatives, I can get the FPs and not pay up for them. This is ideal.

You still get FP no matter where you stay. Only difference is WHEN you get them.
So you can go to WDW, stay anywhere you like and get FP

 

[lanejudy]

I think you are missing my point.

No, I get your point. You previously stated that the point you are making is regarding something that was an exclusive perk for onsite guests has been extended to more guests, making it not as exclusive - and to you, not worth paying onsite rates. I was simply pointing out there have been plenty of changes or watering down of perks over the years. You need to look at the pros and cons of your options, and choose what suits you best. There are other perks to onsite, but it also depends on what you consider to be valuable. However, if you consider FP+ booking window to be the primary perk of an onsite stay, then you can definitely save money and have an enjoyable vacation with an offsite stay.

But Disney advertises that you get all these benefits for staying onsite. I'm just not sure what they are.

• Magical Express transportation to/from MCO
• skip luggage carousel on arrival at MCO
• various forms of transporation around WDW, usually more frequent than offsite shuttles
• resort theming
• Minnie Van service available
• free theme park parking
• merchandise delivery to resort from parks
• ability to charge to your resort room account
• location - especially some deluxe resorts with proximity to parks
• the "bubble"

and I'm sure there are more... but whether any of these is of enough value to pay onsite rates is subjective.

The "Amenities" page of the resorts also list the following, which may or may not be available at other resorts:

• wifi
• online check-in
• ATM in the lobby
• guest laundry
• dry cleaning and laundry service
• locker rentals
• resort concierge
• recreation options (varies by resort but may include boat rentals, jogging paths, fitness center, carriage rides, etc.)

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[AngiTN]

Before. There was a shower curtain separating the bathroom from the room. It was gaudy.

I was put off by the bad experience. Then the prices went up. And I didn’t want to risk another bad experience. I was even told on the phone that all of the WDW hotels used the same mattress.

Now, before this experience, we stayed at the DL Hotel, and the bed was great. We expected the same mattress and were disappointed.

Never, EVER believe anything you are told on the phone about the property. It's wrong more than it's right.
Including the beds. Heavens the stuff those CM can come up with

 

[AngiTN]

Sure, I see your point...they are also getting a much nicer resort, room, amenities and are closer to the park. But Disney advertises that you get all these benefits for staying onsite. I'm just not sure what they are. They have bus service at the Disney Springs resorts, they get the 60 day FP window, hell, they even get Mickey Waffles lol!!

You are leaving out something important, these DS hotels ARE on site.
I assume you mean Disney owned, not On Site.
And yes, there are still differences between Disney owned and On Site properties. FP isn't the only thing Disney advertises as a perk of a Disney owned hotel.

 

[DrummerBoy523]

No, I get your point. You previously stated that the point you are making is regarding something that was an exclusive perk for onsite guests has been extended to more guests, making it not as exclusive - and to you, not worth paying onsite rates. I was simply pointing out there have been plenty of changes or watering down of perks over the years. You need to look at the pros and cons of your options, and choose what suits you best. There are other perks to onsite, but it also depends on what you consider to be valuable. However, if you consider FP+ booking window to be the primary perk of an onsite stay, then you can definitely save money and have an enjoyable vacation with an offsite stay.

• Magical Express transportation to/from MCO
• skip luggage carousel on arrival at MCO
• various forms of transporation around WDW, usually more frequent than offsite shuttles
• resort theming
• Minnie Van service available
• free theme park parking
• merchandise delivery to resort from parks
• ability to charge to your resort room account
• location - especially some deluxe resorts with proximity to parks
• the "bubble"

and I'm sure there are more... but whether any of these is of enough value to pay onsite rates is subjective.

The "Amenities" page of the resorts also list the following, which may or may not be available at other resorts:

• wifi
• online check-in
• ATM in the lobby
• guest laundry
• dry cleaning and laundry service
• locker rentals
• resort concierge
• recreation options (varies by resort but may include boat rentals, jogging paths, fitness center, carriage rides, etc.)

Enjoy your vacation!

I appreciate your post. I felt with your original post it was one of "well, if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to do it". That kinda put me off. Sorry.

Thanks for the information. I have a POFQ rezzy and I'm really trying to decide if staying offsite is worth the money savings. Yes, the FP+ window is probably 75% of the reason we stay onsite and so if Disney is taking that away, then I'm trying to formulate some type of pro/con argument to convince myself and my wife one way or the other.

 

[DrummerBoy523]

You are leaving out something important, these DS hotels ARE on site.
I assume you mean Disney owned, not On Site.
And yes, there are still differences between Disney owned and On Site properties. FP isn't the only thing Disney advertises as a perk of a Disney owned hotel.

Yes - a true Disney hotel. I know the non-disney hotels are considered on-site. A very good friend is high up at Drury and is overseeing the renovation of the BW there.

 

[RamblingMad]

I appreciate your post. I felt with your original post it was one of "well, if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to do it". That kinda put me off. Sorry.

Thanks for the information. I have a POFQ rezzy and I'm really trying to decide if staying offsite is worth the money savings. Yes, the FP+ window is probably 75% of the reason we stay onsite and so if Disney is taking that away, then I'm trying to formulate some type of pro/con argument to convince myself and my wife one way or the other.

It seems like cheaper options are available to get that perk without paying for a value resort experience. That’s my take.

 

[DrummerBoy523]

It seems like cheaper options are available to get that perk without paying for a value resort experience. That’s my take.

you're absolutely correct. I'm doing the math and research on Uber/Lyft rides to/from the parks now.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Cons:
Transportation is not as frequent as WDW resort buses

two bus routes for the seven Hotel Plaza Boulevard properties, one for each side of the street (so four stops on the closer-to-I4 side, three stops on the other). The buses run on an actual schedule, which was posted in two places at Holiday Inn when it was a Courtyard, I don't know now).

No bus to the parks from Disney springs

No hotel or theme park buses run from Disney Springs to any park. This "con" is a red herring

Some charge a per-person fee to ride the transportation to the parks.

Some do, but the seven properties on Hotel Plaza Boulevard do not. At least not as a separate line item.

for me it's not the pros and cons, it's the fact that a benefit that used be exclusive to those who stay at a Disney resort has now been extended to off site hotels. Did we get any sort of price break for having that exclusive benefit taken away?

Well, actually, before the HBP hotels didn't get onsite perks, they got pretty much the same perks as the Swan and Dolphin.

 

[kaytieeldr]

As someone who stayed at a Motel 6 for one night on the way down, calling at the very least the moderates an equivalent is a disservice to those moderates

I think (hope) they're comparing the room access.

They claim to run every 30 minutes, but they don't always.

Disney claims its buses run about every 20 minutes, but they don't always.

 

[siren0119]

two bus routes for the seven Hotel Plaza Boulevard properties, one for each side of the street (so four stops on the closer-to-I4 side, three stops on the other). The buses run on an actual schedule, which was posted in two places at Holiday Inn when it was a Courtyard, I don't know now).

Like I said, the buses are not as frequent to the parks as the WDW park buses. When we stayed at the Wyndham in August the bus ran hourly. Disney resort buses may not run exactly every 20 minutes, but they are more frequent than once per hour.

No hotel or theme park buses run from Disney Springs to any park. This "con" is a red herring

Not a red herring - there are folks who think that staying at Disney Springs means they can hop a bus from the springs to the parks. Since those buses don't exist, I felt it worth mentioning. It IS possible to hop a bus at Saratoga Springs, but it's a long walk even when you're staying at the Hilton or Wyndham (the two closest DS hotels) and was never worth it when we could Uber or Lyft over to the parks.

 

[RamblingMad]

I appreciate your post. I felt with your original post it was one of "well, if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to do it". That kinda put me off. Sorry.

Thanks for the information. I have a POFQ rezzy and I'm really trying to decide if staying offsite is worth the money savings. Yes, the FP+ window is probably 75% of the reason we stay onsite and so if Disney is taking that away, then I'm trying to formulate some type of pro/con argument to convince myself and my wife one way or the other.

How did you pick POFQ?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Not a red herring - there are folks who think that staying at Disney Springs means they can hop a bus from the springs to the parks. Since those buses don't exist, I felt it worth mentioning.

It doesn't matter what [some] folks think. Clark my this as a .com relating to off-site properties while not also stating that Disney does not provide that routing is misleading. Ideally that's not an intentional omission.

 

[siren0119]

It doesn't matter what [some] folks think. Clark my this as a .com relating to off-site properties while not also stating that Disney does not provide that routing is misleading. Ideally that's not an intentional omission.

LOL OK
Next time I'll check in with you to make sure my wording is approved by you.

 

[kaytieeldr]

LOL OK
Next time I'll check in with you to make sure my wording is approved by you.

1. Speaking of wording, at the moment I can't recall what, "Clark my this as a .com" was supposed to say. I think, maybe, "Claiming this as a con..."
2. Why would anybody not be willing to provide complete information? Saying offsite properties don't provide transportation from DS to parks, without also explaining that neither does Disney, is (intentionally?) misleading.

 

[siren0119]

1. Speaking of wording, at the moment I can't recall what, "Clark my this as a .com" was supposed to say. I think, maybe, "Claiming this as a con..."
2. Why would anybody not be willing to provide complete information? Saying offsite properties don't provide transportation from DS to parks, without also explaining that neither does Disney, is (intentionally?) misleading.

Gatekeeping isn't necessary. Neither is accusing me of being misleading, intentionally or otherwise. Perhaps my wording wasn't clear, but I did not ever state that OFFSITE hotels don't provide transportation from DS to the parks, I said there IS NO transportation from DS to the parks. I felt it bore mentioning because there were people staying at the Wyndham LBV when we were there this past August who thought they could walk over to DS and hop a bus to the parks. I assume if we encountered people who mistakenly thought this was possible, there may be others with the same bad information.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I appreciate your post. I felt with your original post it was one of "well, if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to do it". That kinda put me off. Sorry.

Thanks for the information. I have a POFQ rezzy and I'm really trying to decide if staying offsite is worth the money savings. Yes, the FP+ window is probably 75% of the reason we stay onsite and so if Disney is taking that away, then I'm trying to formulate some type of pro/con argument to convince myself and my wife one way or the other.

Disney is not taking anything away. Onsite guests can still book FPs 60 days in advance.

The 60 day access for select Disney Springs resorts started sometime in 2018, so it’s not like this was a terribly recent change...

 

[SamanthaH]

Keep in mind too that the hotels which get this privilege are on Disney owned land. That's why it's not ANY nearby offsite hotel, it's specific hotels on specific plots of leased land. WDW is hitting capacity and they'd rather see additional guest traffic go to places that have some impact on their revenue stream, so for Disney it's a win-win.

The 60 day FP and EMH perks are also being offered at Hilton Bonnet Creek and the Waldorf through 2020. I don’t know whether these are on Disney land. They aren’t in the Disney Springs area. I thought they were considered off site, but I could be wrong.

I went back and did a little research. It looks like land that Bonnet Creek and the Astoria sit on, Bonnet Creek Resort area, is actually not owned by Disney.