"areas" near WDW

[kiki02]

Booking a hotel that's not too far from WDW/ Epcot but not sure which area is closest (aside from downtown Disney LBV)...

Is Seaworld area close enough, is International drive further, is Universal near the World or ?

thank you all.

 

[gdrj]

Booking a hotel that's not too far from WDW/ Epcot but not sure which area is closest (aside from downtown Disney LBV)...

Is Seaworld area close enough, is International drive further, is Universal near the World or ?

thank you all.

Depends on what you want. Sea World can be 20 minutes to parking lots, Int'l Drive goes as far as Sea World. On the few occasions we stay off site I usually we look at googlemaps and search hotels to see where they are. For us the closer the better. Also we tend to stay towards Lake Buena Vista vs Kissimmee. I like to avoid I-4 and be able to access Disney from 536. Last time down issue with right outside of DTD is if you enter Disney World from Hotel Blvd, with DTD construction the road was very slow.

 

[Grumpy92]

I would stick with the LBV area. I stayed at a Hilton TS property near SW and it took me about 15 minutes to get to Disney property.
There is a nice HGI and Doubletree near SW.

North of SW on Idrive is where I would avoid. Some of the hotels are considering hiring their own security group to patrol Idrive. Sad because I like the Hilton Orlando which is across from the Convention Center.

 

[staceyrhood]

We live in Celebration, there are two hotels here, the Bohemian and Melia, it takes me about 8 minutes to get to Epcot. A great place and really great restaurants

 

[NinaBella]

Are you looking for other tourist or non tourist area?

The Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee has some clean budget hotels.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Palm Parkway near DTD or LBV, perhaps international Drive South

 

[DOOM1001]

I've stayed in probably 50% of the off site hotels in the tourist areas and my choices are always going to favor Lake Buena Vista and the International Drive south/Sea World area.Basically International Drive and Universal blvd but stay south of Sand Lake Dr towards the convention center and Sea World.You will find some good hotels north of Sand Lake Dr but the area gets more cramped,older and from what I hear has more crime.Lake Buena Vista along 535 is good and closer to Disney but a hotel south of Sand Lake near I Drive won't be that much further.

 

[kiki02]

I've stayed in probably 50% of the off site hotels in the tourist areas and my choices are always going to favor Lake Buena Vista and the International Drive south/Sea World area.Basically International Drive and Universal blvd but stay south of Sand Lake Dr towards the convention center and Sea World.You will find some good hotels north of Sand Lake Dr but the area gets more cramped,older and from what I hear has more crime.Lake Buena Vista along 535 is good and closer to Disney but a hotel south of Sand Lake near I Drive won't be that much further.

Thanks all. Really helpful!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We just stayed at the Quality Inn and Suites on Palm Pkwy last week. Very nice place. Carpeting in the room was brand new as was the couch and décor. Bedroom was separate from living room. Also had a full kitchen. Free breakfast was good and plentiful with full size Mickey waffles. Very quiet.

We will stay here again Got it for $75.00 on Orbitz thru Ebates. Book it last minute. We decided to go to WDW Sat morning and were on a flight that night!

 

[Planogirl]

Is crime getting really bad around International Drive? That's too bad because we like to stay part of the time on nearby Universal Blvd since it's such a straight shot into Universal.

 

[2girlsmom]

For close to the Disney parks and offsite, we love Caribe Royal. It's on 536, which is the Epcot exit from I4, and the back entrance to Downtown Disney, and is also at the south end of International Drive. There are a few hotels close here, the Nick Hotel (which I do NOT recommend, very old and expensive for not as much quality), the Marriott World Center, Caribe and Buena Vista Suites.

 

[kiki02]

For close to the Disney parks and offsite, we love Caribe Royal. It's on 536, which is the Epcot exit from I4, and the back entrance to Downtown Disney, and is also at the south end of International Drive. There are a few hotels close here, the Nick Hotel (which I do NOT recommend, very old and expensive for not as much quality), the Marriott World Center, Caribe and Buena Vista Suites.

Caribe Royal is fine, looking for 70$ or less this time. CR is never that cheap. Plus a hotel fee/nightly.

 

[DOOM1001]

Is crime getting really bad around International Drive? That's too bad because we like to stay part of the time on nearby Universal Blvd since it's such a straight shot into Universal.

I've stayed hundreds of time on International Drive without any incident.The Oak Ridge area near the northern end of I-Drive is not the greatest area out there and supposedly adds crime to the northern I-Drive area.I stay south of Sand Lake Dr on I-Drive and Universal blvd which is nicer with better hotels anyways.Whether you stay anywhere on I Drive,Lake Buena Vista,192,or even inside Disney you should always be alert and avoid any unsafe scenarios.