Bad idea to stay at Disney springs hotels with no car?

[Libby6]

I'm thinking about booking a short trip during thanksgiving week, and with crowds being so crazy onsite, thought maybe one of the 7 Disney springs hotels would be an option? We've never been to that area and would probably spend a fair amount of time there. Plus it looks to be so much cheaper!

But- no car. How far are the hotels walking distance to the stores and attractions at DS? And is the hotel transportation to the parks not good? It'd be my husband, me and our 1 year old, so we'd have a stroller. Thanks in advance!

 

[writerguyfl]

I only stay at the Disney Springs Hotels and I never have a car. As much as I'd love to stay at a Disney resort, I simply can't justify the prices. I also love the fact that 6 of the 7 hotels have frequent guest programs that award points for every dollar spent. (The B Resort is the only hotel that doesn't have a frequent guest program.)

As long as you have appropriate expectations, you can have a great trip staying at the Disney Springs Hotels. Of the choices, my favorite is the DoubleTree Guest Suites because every room is a 540-square foot suite. That hotel is the furthest from Disney Springs. I'd say it's a 15-20 minute walk along the well-landscaped Hotel Plaza Blvd. From 6pm to 3am, there is a shuttle that runs between the seven hotels and Disney Springs.

The other hotel I recommend is the Holiday Inn Lake Buena Vista. That hotel is closer to Disney Springs by about 10 minutes. The staff there is wonderful.

I've spent roughly 40 nights at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista. On a good day, it's a very average hotel. Sadly, I've had many stays that have had problems. The Buena Vista Palace is currently under a property-wide renovation. The expected end date is October 2016...but I wouldn't be surprised if that date gets pushed back. I have not stayed at the Wyndham, Best Western, or B Resort.

Be sure to check for possible discounts on the Disney Springs Hotels marketing website: http://disneyspringshotels.com/

As for transportation to the theme parks, there are pros and cons. The shuttle bus service is run by Mears Transportation. (That's the same company that runs Disney's Magical Express service.) Drivers are very friendly and the buses are quite punctual. Each bus serves 3 or 4 hotels. Fortunately, that's not as bad as it sounds because the hotels are literally adjacent to each other. In some cases, it only takes 1-2 minutes to get from one hotel to the next. Unlike Disney transportation, these buses operate on a schedule...every 30 minutes. It's great knowing that the bus will be leaving the hotel at a designated time. Pickup times at the parks are slightly less exact, as there might be traffic. But, buses never leave prior to the time listed.

The biggest downside is that each bus route goes to two theme parks. Usually, it's one bus for Magic Kingdom/Disney's Animal Kingdom and a second bus for Epcot/Disney's Hollywood Studios. If you are going to the second park, having to take the detour to the first park can be annoying.

The other annoyance is that the Magic Kingdom stop is actually at the Transportation and Ticket Center. That means you need to take another form of transportation (ferry, monorail, or bus) to get to the Magic Kingdom entrance.

Here are scans of the transportation information from a stay in May 2016. As far as I know, they are still accurate.

Feel free to ask any follow up questions.

 

[mjhtvchick]

I would ditto just about everything writerguyFL has said and would add...

We had a very good experience at the Holiday Inn so that would be my recommendation (Just make sure you book the right one! There are so many in Orlando - they are now called Holiday Inn Orlando - Disney Springs™ Area and their website is:http://www.hiorlando.com/). It was a nice clean hotel, a very close walk to Disney Springs, and had a Disney gift shop on site and a very good buffet breakfast. We were also able to get a "shopping shuttle" to the Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores and a scheduled pickup for Universal for a very reasonable price.

The only negative was that there was no "convenience store" that we very close by - we would have liked to have a few things that we could have kept in our room to save on some costs - bottled water, milk, snacks, etc. However, you could book one of the transportation services from the airport that includes a grocery stop or have some incidentals delivered by Garden Grocer, etc. That's probably what I would do if we stayed there again in the future.

 

[Grumpy92]

I agree with the other posters. The Hilton has the best location. You can take their buses to the parks or walk across the street and pick up resort buses at Disney Springs. The hotel is average, clean but in need of rehab. Service seems to be hit or miss. We like the ability to go to DS for meals as well.
Have to say the Doubletree Suites is the best hotel. Rooms are in great shape, and you cant beat the free cookie at c/I. Sadly it is the farthest from Disney springs.
The B resort does seem to offer some really good specials. Check out mousesavers.com I have seen good reports on the board about it.
At all them watch for the Resort fee.

 

[HopperFan]

I totally agree with @writerguyfl - see my stays below. Disney Springs is the ONLY place I would stay besides Disney without a car.

Doubletree and B Resort are our favorites. We are Hilton Diamond so hard not to book for points but price will dictate when choosing between them. I've stayed at B Resort a couple times with no resort fee and no parking fee. LBV Palace, a construction zone and pool area close to done, but for our last trip it was super park focused and two after hours events so all we wanted was a nice room, comfy beds (which we got) at a good price and I got Hilton points. Hilton LBV is off our list until they rehab it, the resort in no way warrants the fees. Not HI yet but great reviews.

Regarding B, they are in process of starting a frequent stay program, B VIP, I'm signed up for notification when it comes to fruition. We'll see.

Convenience store is at "Hess" (changed names now ... Speedway?" Station across from DS past and on same side as Hilton. At other end by Doubletree you can cross the street to the Crossroads Grocery, over priced but without a car fine for few items. Some resorts do have convenience stores so you could always walk to another resort.

CHECK for discounts and deals -
- Direct with each resort for specials
- DisneySpringsHotels.com
- Mousesavers.com

 

[writerguyfl]

The Hilton has the best location. You can take their buses to the parks or walk across the street and pick up resort buses at Disney Springs.

Sadly, the Disney resort buses are no longer stopping that the Marketplace bus loop. They now use the new bus area down past the new section. It's near Planet Hollywood. Certainly still walkable, but not as convenient as before.

Regarding B, they are in process of starting a frequent stay program, B VIP, I'm signed up for notification when it comes to fruition. We'll see.

Thanks for mentioning this information. Not being able to get reward points was the deciding factor in choosing the Holiday Inn over the B Resort on a previous trip. I just signed up.

 

[Libby6]

Thanks for the responses! So the walk from the Holiday Inn, B resort and the doubletree to Disney springs doesnt sound too bad. I was imagining it could be a really long hike with no car. We'll have a stroller so I just wanted to make sure it would be an easy, stroller-friendly walk to and from.

 

[writerguyfl]

Thanks for the responses! So the walk from the Holiday Inn, B resort and the doubletree to Disney springs doesnt sound too bad. I was imagining it could be a really long hike with no car. We'll have a stroller so I just wanted to make sure it would be an easy, stroller-friendly walk to and from.

It's actually a fairly pleasant walk...provided it isn't 90 degrees with high humidity. The sidewalks are separated from the street by landscaping with occasional shady trees. Here's the Google street view looking towards Disney Springs from the Holiday Inn:

Link to Google Maps for More Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/place/2...a9a41a!8m2!3d28.3792393!4d-81.5061583!6m1!1e1

 

[Deb & Bill]

It's actually a fairly pleasant walk...provided it isn't 90 degrees with high humidity. The sidewalks are separated from the street by landscaping with occasional shady trees. Here's the Google street view looking towards Disney Springs from the Holiday Inn:

Link to Google Maps for More Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/place/2305+Hotel+Plaza+Blvd,+Orlando,+FL+32830/@28.3754816,-81.5089839,3a,75y,193.8h,86.09t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sMe8X1kDcdpi8BiwAWiv7Ng!2e0!6s//geo3.ggpht.com/cbk?panoid=Me8X1kDcdpi8BiwAWiv7Ng&output=thumbnail&cb_client=maps_sv.tactile.gps&thumb=2&w=203&h=100&yaw=141.54123&pitch=0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x88dd8023610ee1a9:0x15ff5e70eea9a41a!8m2!3d28.3792393!4d-81.5061583!6m1!1e1

Unless it's raining.

 

[Pumpkin1172]

thank you writer guy for that info posted above. I had planned a trip for myself and the dd. We were gifted with a cruise from Miami from a family member, but as you can imagine, we need to keep costs down as we are paying over 1,500 for flights alone. We wanted to make it worth our while since it takes time and money to take a trip like this, we decided to take the dd to Disney since we could never afford to do it when she was little. So We are trying to do what we can...but on a budget. AS much as we would have loved to stay onsite...it wasn't an option for us. I'm glad to know that there is good shuttle service in Disney Springs. That was worrying me, even though I read in the description of the hotels in the area that they had shuttle services, people didn't have many great things to say about them.

 

[figment74]

Be sure to check for possible discounts on the Disney Springs Hotels marketing website: http://disneyspringshotels.com/

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for posting this link. I'm Hilton Honors and booked with the HH discount. Then today I stumbled across your posting for the Disney Springs Hotels. Not only did I get a cheaper rate, I also got a better room!. Thanks you very much.

 

[writerguyfl]

That's awesome figment74. That site occasionally has some great discounts. Plus, since the reservations are through the chain websites, you get points and benefits of the frequent guest programs.

 

[Smbmoyers]

Just a reminder that while shuttles are awesome uber and lyft are also a cheap viable option. Were staying at wbc November 27th through December 4th and were using uber as our sole source of transportation.

 

[figment74]

I had a rental car for my two days in the World. I rarely used the shuttle as it was not as convenient as Dis Transport. Staying at the World Hotels is certainly cheaper than a Dis resort, so a good option for a short trip, but if I'm there for a longer stay 5 days or more, I find that I really want to be at CS or CB or better yet the Poly. Why oh why did I pass on DVC in '98? lol!

 

[maxiesmom]

thank you writer guy for that info posted above. I had planned a trip for myself and the dd. We were gifted with a cruise from Miami from a family member, but as you can imagine, we need to keep costs down as we are paying over 1,500 for flights alone. We wanted to make it worth our while since it takes time and money to take a trip like this, we decided to take the dd to Disney since we could never afford to do it when she was little. So We are trying to do what we can...but on a budget. AS much as we would have loved to stay onsite...it wasn't an option for us. I'm glad to know that there is good shuttle service in Disney Springs. That was worrying me, even though I read in the description of the hotels in the area that they had shuttle services, people didn't have many great things to say about them.

I'm surprised you are finding the Disney Springs hotels cheaper than the Disney values on site. Whenever I price them out, a Disney value is always cheaper.

 

[Julia L]

So my boyfriend will be staying at bueno vista without a car, and me and my family will be at the yacht club. Whats the best way for him to get to my hotel? I thought he could take a buss or walk to disney springs, then take a resort buss. IS this manage? Time consuming? Please help!

 

[Spanky]

From looking at a map it might be better for him to cross the street to Sarasota Springs and take their bus to Disney Hollywood Studio and then take the boat to Yacht club. I know the bus to Yacht Club has
moved from where it use to be to much farther over in the Disney Soring complex. Not sure which option would be the shorter walk.

 

[TinkerTerry]

I haven't tried it yet but people have been using Uber to get around Disney. Or he can start the day meeting you at the park you are going to.

 

[writerguyfl]

So my boyfriend will be staying at bueno vista without a car, and me and my family will be at the yacht club. Whats the best way for him to get to my hotel? I thought he could take a buss or walk to disney springs, then take a resort buss. IS this manage? Time consuming? Please help!

If "best" means fastest, that would be a cab. No need to download an app and sign up for any service. Simply go to the lobby and get in the cab. They are available all day long with zero wait time.

If "best" means free, there are a few options.

• Disney Transportation via Disney Springs: Walk to the Disney Springs bus loop and take the Yacht Club bus.
• Disney Transportation via Saratoga Springs: Walk to the Congress Park bus stop at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort. Take a bus to either Epcot or Disney's Hollywood Studios. Transfer to another bus/boat to get to the Disney's Yacht Club Resort.
• Disney Springs Hotels Bus to Epcot: Take the twice hourly bus from the Buena Vista Palace to Epcot. Transfer to a Disney-operated bus to Disney's Yacht Club Resort.

Of those options, I'd go with the first. It is arguably the quickest route and having to wait for just one bus instead of multiple buses/boats limits waiting time.

From looking at a map it might be better for him to cross the street to Sarasota Springs and take their bus to Disney Hollywood Studio and then take the boat to Yacht club. I know the bus to Yacht Club has
moved from where it use to be to much farther over in the Disney Soring complex. Not sure which option would be the shorter walk.

You can't cross East Buena Vista Drive on foot. Disney Security will stop you because it is unsafe. They will make you walk to the pedestrian bridge at the corner of E Buena Vista Dr and Hotel Plaza Blvd.

Here's map showing the approximate walking paths to the Congress Park bus stop at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and the bus loop at Disney Springs. The Buena Vista Palace is the top of the map. The Congress Park bus stop is to the left. The Disney Springs bus loop is at the bottom.

 

[Pumpkin1172]

I'm surprised you are finding the Disney Springs hotels cheaper than the Disney values on site. Whenever I price them out, a Disney value is always cheaper.

To make the trip as cheap as possible ( as I'm a Canadian, our really low dollar as in it costs me 135.00 Canadian to get 100.00 American, and flights costing a small fortune ) I'm taking advantage of the airmiles I have collected, mostly from grocery shopping No onsite hotels were offered through airmiles. I'm trying to do this trip as budget friendly as I can. I almost have enough miles for another trip of hotels for Disney World. It is a huge investment for us to travel to the U.S right now. So that is why I'm planning on staying as close to Disney as I can. Some day, hopefully we can afford to stay onsite. But for now, I will enjoy staying offsite, enjoying 10 days of beautiful warm weather instead of cold and snowy weather