Any HIFS Questions?

[preb]

We just returned from 6 nights at the HIFS and really enjoyed it. I know I learned alot from all of you before we went, so I'd like to return the favor! Any questions I can help with?

A couple of pointers...

1. If you're planning to do laundry, bring your own detergent and fabric sheets from home if you have room. I paid $8.00 to do 2 loads of laundry!

2. The kids eat free deal is a little confusing. They eat free off a specific menu at the A&W or Pizza Hut from 11 am until 4 pm and for free at dinner in the main restaurant only.

3. Yes, the eggs are a little strange on the breakfast buffet, but there are so many things to choose from you can skip them and still have a good breakfast.

4. The swim diaper issue never even came up. My 21 month old wore swimmies with plastic pants over them and no one questioned anything, so I wouldn't make yourself crazy over it.

5. The drive from the hotel to Disney was so easy - Just exit the hotel, turn left and drive about 3/4 of a mile and you're there!

We'll definately stay there again!

 

[kimntroy]

We are going in 2 1/2 weeks and I am curious if I made the right choice. Is there enough room in a kid suite for 7 people (4 adults and 4 children). 2 adults in bedroom + possibly 1 toddler, 2 or 3 kids in kids room and 2 adults in sleeper sofa. Is it really big enough? We are paying 153.00 a night (I have tried everything to get the rate down to no avail) and now I am seeing posting for all star hotels for 49.00 a night. This is much cheaper even for two rooms at All stars. The kids are ages 14, 4 and 2. Is there enough room for all of us? Thanks alot.

 

[funhouse8]

Hi, We just got back from the HIFS wtith six people and found the room size to be O.K. I have four kids and their ages are 17,15,11 & 10. The only thing we didn't like was that the cot was a little small and lumpy so no one slept on it. Also if the bed is out in the living room there really wasn't much room to walk around. We had the room with the king size bed and the bed would slept all of my kids if it had to. The fridge in the room was great and had enough cabniet space to put my food. The best part was the freezer were I could freeze water bottles to use in the parks the next day. I packed a suitcase with snacks to eat in the park and felt the money we saved on beakfast was a great plus. You will not believe how close you are to the parks till you get there. I hope this helps. Have a wonderful trip. Gina ºoº

 

[mjohnson512]

Since you stayed at HIFS recently-do you know if they have any car rental companies on site? If not, did you happen to see which rental company was closest? thanks-been looking for an answer to the question for a week or so!!

 

[sunnymom]

I have several ?s....
(1) How would you rate the cleaniness of the room

(2) Sounds like you have a young toddler as well...how would you rate the kiddie pool? Did you use that pool more than the 0 depth pool?

(3) Do you recommend a certain room location?

(4) Did you have PS for any of the character bkfst? If so, how early did you have to leave HIFS to arrive in time for the PS? I heard that you should leave one hour prior to PS or park opening? How was the traffic?

(5) Did you ever use HIFS transportation to the parks? If so, how would you rate it?

(6) How would you rate the restaurants?

(7) Do you feel this is an ideal place for a family with small children (toddlers)?

(8) What other activities were there for small children?

(9) How would you rate the room (size, amenities etc?) What type of suite did you stay in? We are staying in the residential (I think that is the name. It is the one with the kitchen)


(10) They didn't even check for the appropriate swim diaper? I never even heard of other swim diapers other than the swimmers until I started reading these posts.

Any other advice would be appreciated. I got nervous after reading that recent negative review on HIFS. We had a negative experience last time at the Beach Club deluxe Disney resort so we are hoping for a great experience this time. thanks.

 

[pstepka]

There isn't a car rental place on-site and I don't recall seeing any anywhere around. If you're flying in, I'm sure there are plenty near the airport that would deliver a car TO the airport for you.

 

[Brenda67]

I also read this post but really have to disagree. The breakfast was not the best food I've ever eaten in the world but we all thought it was good. Besisdes the eggs (which we liked ok) there was always french toast or pancakes&all the other normal stuff. We never left hungry&the fridge was usually stocked with drinks for the evening. We had no problems with oure room. Always clean. Sheets were changed every 3 days during our'e 8days there. Kids all loved the hotel.

Theres always going to be a negative post the odd time but I don't think you can judge a hotel on 1or2 bad posts. Look at all the good post you've read.

By the way we just got back about 2 weeks ago. We truly did not have 1 complaint about this hotel.

 

[preb]

Wow...did I open a can of worms, or what?!? I'll do my best to answer everything!

1. Roominess/Rate - We had friends staying at the same time as us with 8 in a kids suite (4 adults and 4 kids). Yes, things were a little cramped, but they only paid $111.00 a night and it included breakfast, so they felt it was worth it. The rooms are exactly as depicted on their website/brochure, so you can see that once the sofa bed is opened, your walk space in the living room disappears. Just make sure that the last ones to go to sleep are out there! The comparison to All Stars is apples to oranges...you get breakfast, a kitchenette, and tons of kids activities at HIFS at no additional charge. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

2. Cars - I did not notice any car rental at the hotel. You may want to call their toll free number or email them for advise on which company is closest.

3. Sunnymom - We actually commented on how clean the resort and our room was! We used both the kiddie pool and the 0 depth pool. The 0 depth could get kind of crazy with older kids, so we'd head over to the kiddie pool. The kiddie pool never had more then 3 or 4 kids in it, was fenced in from the other pool area, and had the playground and some little tykes playhouses right next door. It was great to sit down and just let her run around without having to worry. We had PS for dinner at Chef Mickey's and it took about 15 minutes to drive from the resort, park and get up to the 4th floor of the Contemporary. You are literally 2 minutes away from the entrance to Walt Disney World with no traffic at all! We didn't use their shuttle because we had a rental car. We also wanted the freedom (with a toddler) to leave at anytime for a nap (which we did). They handed out the shuttle schedule when we checked in and they seemed to have transportation hourly. The A&W and Pizza Hut were good, but high priced. The Family Style restaurant offered ala carte dining or a buffet for dinner and we opted for the buffet twice. I think it was $13.95 per adult including soft drinks(kids free) and offered a full salad bar, assorted pastas, prime rib, chicken, fish, chicken nuggets, assorted hot veggies, mashed potatoes, rolls, and an ice cream bar plus cakes for dessert. This is a perfect place for toddlers. My daughter opened her eyes each morning and said "Choo-choo". She loved the train in the lobby, the train rides (free suckers), feeding the ducks and the swans outside of the restaurant, the clowns in the evening, JJ the bear poolside, and free balloons each night at dinner. They have bingo and kareoke plus the game room for the older kids, with poolside activities during the day (pool games, limbo contests, name that tune...)plus free putt putt. We were in the kids suite. I would suggest requesting a room on the second floor. You don't have all the walk by traffic of the first floor and you don't have to climb down a bunch of stairs or wait for an elevator like on the higher floors. We were near the putt putt and didn't find noise from the pool to be an issue.

Hope this helps!

 

[iluvpooh]

ok so we should be able to fit 4 adults an 3 children 14, 13 an 9 comfortably in a kids suite? do they charge extra for 2 adults? i have been going back an forth between the pop century in disney an here. if i can get the 49 fall value rate for next year was going to go with the pop century 2 rooms but i have heard such wounderful things about hifs that i am so confused. my mother inlaw will book the rooms at hiffs for 79 pernight under the grandparents package. i am so confussed help me to decide

 

[curlyjbs]

I just love to hear good things about HIFS!
I read about the $49 Allstars rate (who didn't) and it was really tempting. hmmmmm disney property.....? NAH! HIFS sounds great! with 3 dds all under 9 we need all the "back at the hotel after the parks" kid entertainment we can find.
Preb, feel free to tell us more and more about HIFS....love to hear it.

what rate did you get (if you don't mind me asking) Is it true they only use daily rates and not weekly? They quoted me $98 for the first 2 nights and $116 the remaining 7 nights. Wish I could get the $98 for all 9.

<font Color =FF0000>HIFS 10/01
<marquee direction ="right" align="middle" behavior="alternate">can't wait, can't wait, CAN'T WAIT!!</marquee>

<font face="comic sans MS">"It's disney, it's crowded. Get over it!"</font>

 

[preb]

I really can't decide for you, but keep in mind you're getting a kitchenette, free breakfast and activities at HIFS. Breakfast for 7 would run you $35-40 each day at another hotel. Based on the ages of your kids I would think they would enjoy the pool and games, putt putt, Nintendo 64 and game room at the hotel. It will be cramped in the room, but 7 people would be cramped just about anywhere. Keep in mind that the pull out bed is kind of small, so the youngest (smallest)would need to sleep there. Whatever you decide...have a wonderful time!

 

[preb]

Ask me anything...I'll tell you all!

We paid $111.00 on a corporate rate through my travel agent. I called the hotel directly and was quoted $149.00 for our dates. It might be worth checking with an agent for a lower fare. If you want, email me at preb@home.com and I'll give you my agents name and number. I don't know if that rate is good anytime or not, but it's worth a try!

 

[jdm]

I honestly couldn't imagine fitting 7 people in a Kid Suite. We were there a year ago with dh, self, and 3 children ages 17,16 and 7. My 7 year old loved the kidsuite but it was not real comfortable for the rest of us. The bunk beds themselves seemed tiny. I wonder if I was so disappointed because I had a visual of a suite (like an Embassy or Caribe type set-up) We were on the 6th floor and had the bird theme. Did anyone else notice there is no closet or storage space in the kidsuite? We couldn't put our luggage in the living room and even the adult bedroom was tight having to turn sideways between the closet and the bed. We stored all the suitcases in middle of the floor in the kidsuite and tripped over them. The pool area was great and the breakfast was convenient. We were close to parks but not anything else. The teens used the shuttle (we had a rental car and split up sometimes)and did OK with that. We tried to use the evening shuttle once to Downtown Disney and it didn't show up either way so we took a cab. Check-in was smooth but check out was a nightmare. I was using a buy one night get one free through Alaska Air and even though I called 3 times and then confirmed on check-in we were still charged full rate. Took 45 minutes and a almost missed flight to straighten it out. Make sure you confirm, confirm, confirm. I really don't wnt to be negative and worry you but I think you are paying a lot and may struggle fitting 7 people in there. Good luck to you!

 

[TigerBear]

In our two bedroom classic suite, both beds were high enough for luggage to be stored under them.M

 

[bunnie]

KIMNTROY WHY DON'T YOU SEE IF YOU CAN CHANGE TO A CLASSIC SUITE. WE HAVE BEEN 3 TIMES, WITH 4 PEOPLE 2 ADULTS AND 2 SMALL CHILDREN. THE KIDS ROOM IS SMALL WITH VERY NARROW BUNK BEDS. ITS JUST RIGHT FOR SMALL CHILDREN, BUT I THINK TEENS WOULD BE CROWDED. YOU CAN STORE YOUR SUITCASES UNDER THE BUNK BEDS, THEY ALSO HAVE BUILT IN DRAWERS AND CUBBIES IN THE KIDS ROOM. THE ROOMS WERE ALWAYS CLEAN, AND CLEANED DAILY. NEVER ANY PROBLEMS. THE BREAKFAST IS GOOD, NOT GREAT. BUT 1/2 THE TIME MY KIDS DO NOT EAT AND AT LEAST THIS IS FREE. IT IS VERY CLOSE TO THE EPCOT ENTRANCE. IF ANY BODY NEEDED TO RENT A CAR , YOU COULD TAKE THE SHUTTLE TO MK AND THEN CATCH A BUS TO THE NATIONAL CAR RENTAL ON SITE.

 

[jdm]

You may be better off in a classic suite, although I didn't see them when I was there. Also, keep in mind there is one bathroom. It is pretty big but the shower and sink are together in one room. For us (of course, 2 teenage girls :~) this meant really planning out the showers and it took some time in the morning to get ready. If you are traveling with people you are really comfy with and can be in close quarters.. you'll make do. If it's people you love but in small doses.... you might want to think twice! :~)

 

[kimntroy]

I am just curious about the classic suite. Is this more appropriate for all of the children. In addition to a teenage girl, the two younger ones are 4 and 2. Is there more room here? Do they have a VCR? Nintendo is not an issue. Any help would be appreciated. We leave in two weeks.

 

[funhouse8]

Hi, Just wanted to say we rented a car at the airport and found this an easier way to get into the parks. We go $30.00 a day though priceline for a mini-van. We left first thing in the morning and never had any park traffic. It took us about 15minutes to get to the parks. We would stop at the front door and my two older kids and myself would run out and get breakfast. (They had great travel trays that closed) We would get into the car and eat breakfast on our way to the parks. Dunuts, bacon, bagels, etc...and yes the eggs are strange. My son said they are the powered eggs he has at boyscout camp.) I know this seems nuts but we made it into the parks everyday for opening and even were the first ones into AK and my daughter got chosen to do the opening ceremonies it was really cool. Good luck and have fun. Ginaºoº
P.S. The rooms were clean, pool great, Yes the room was small for the six of us, but we were bearly ever in it. It was fine for sleeping.

 

[jdm]

You know, I'm just not sure about a classic suite. It would depend on the number of beds. Where were you planning to put your 7 person? You could put the two little ones in the bunks. The adults on the hideabed and the King bed. Where would your teen go? Maybe put the two year old in the king with you and then the teen on the bottom bunk? If it is an older teen or larger child, they may not fit. Check with the hotel on how many beds you can get with a Classic. Good luck.

 

[Kay1]

I liked HIFS lots and I like staying on and off site equally, but I would chose two rooms at the All Stars for the extra bed and bathroom. Of course, it may be too late to get the low rate.