Best Disney Hotel the night before cruising

[TeamMMouse]

We are going on the 7 day cruise in March. We'll be arriving on Thursday night, so we'll have Friday in DW. Are there any advantages on staying in any of the Disney hotels? We are planning on taking the Disney cruise bus to Port Canaveral. Which hotels do the buses go to first? Do they go to all Disney hotels on property? Any suggestions???

 

[DrCavin]

Here is a list from Disney's web-site:

Deluxe Flagship Resort

Available when you book a Category 1, 2 or 3 Stateroom.

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Deluxe Resorts

Available when you book a Category 4, 5, 6 or 7 Stateroom.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Disney's Beach Club Resort

Disney's Polynesian Resort

Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel

Walt Disney World Swan Hotel

Moderate Resorts

Available when you book a Category 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 Stateroom.

Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside

Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter

Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort

 

[Kim&Chris]

We were originally going to stay at the Ron Jon resort at the port, but we decided to spend the night in Disney instead

I was able to rent DVC points from someone on these boards (at a reasonable price) and now we're staying at the Beach Club Villas!!! Can't think of a better way to begin our vacation

We opted to rent a car for around $22, which we will pick up at the Orlando airport, drive to the Beach Club, and then drive to the port the following morning. There is a Budget facility right there, so turning in the car won't be a big deal!

 

[wdwstar]

It all depends how much money you would like to spend on the resort. The poly is very nice and has a DCL booth inside the lobby and I also agree BCV are very nice too. the bcv has a DCL desk located in the hallway by the market place store and you have a very nice private room to wait in before the bus picks you up. Being a DVC member i also suggest renting points from a dvc member fro the rent/trade board to stay at BCV or BWV. unless it is a friday or sat stay before the cruise then the points are doubled and it would be cheaper to go thru wdw direct.

 

[kcashner]

There is no "best." Since you are not booking a land/sea, the level of hotel corresponding to the cabin category is irrelevant.

It really depends on how much you want to spend for your night at WDW. A thought--Priceline can sometimes get you a room at the Swan/Dolphin at a very reasonable rate. DCL bus does service this hotel. To learn about priceline, go to biddingfortravel.com

If you just want a room and don't care about amenities, you can stay at one of the All Stars. The bellman will take you to the nearest DCL bus hotel to catch your bus. The pool at the Beach Club is my favorite. I like Saratoga Springs for the spa and fitness center. It really depends on what you want.

The bus schedule changes slightly for each cruise depending on how many guests are at each hotel for pick up. Sometimes a bus comes to one hotel, loads, and goes to the port. Other times, a bus may do 2 or 3 stops. They all pick up in the 11:30 - 12:30 range.

 

[TeamMMouse]

We are DVC members and this is our 3rd cruise. My question on the best resort was about which resort is the first/last for pick up by Disney Cruise buses? Is the sequence always the same or does it vary for each cruise? We will stay at one of the deluxe resorts or a DVC property. Any tips or info on sequence of buses? (on our last cruise we stayed at the GF and we all barely made it on the bus; some had to wait longer for a 2nd bus).

 

[ElenitaB]

The first resort to get picked up for the cruise is GF, after that I'm not sure what the progression is (I asked a friend who used to drive for DCL).

 

[dairyou]

I think it depends what kind of "theme" you want also. I love the Floridian. My second choice would be the Beach Club. The Beach Club also has Stormalong Bay which is a mini waterpark. You could go on the Rent/Trade board and maybe find some points that are discounted in price.

Good luck,
Deb

 

[Cuzisayso2]

I would recommend the Beach Club for the day, the pool area is awesome and you can walk to the boardwalk and Epcot. This where we stayed for our land/sea and LOVED the beach club.

 

[TexasGirl]

You may want to go to the resorts forum for more help but here is my 2 cents.

I think it is worth it to stay on property so you don't have to mess with luggage and so the transfers are so hassle free.

We spent 3 days at Port Orleans French Quarter just prior to our July 3rd cruise and would recommend. There was DCL booth on site to help you with docs and questions and to facilitate the whole process. We used magical express to get ourselves and our luggage to the resort and it was exceptionaly smooth and trouble free. Once it was cruise day, our luggage was picked up from our room and delivered to our stateroom on the ship. Also very easy and smooth. The pick up time was noon and we just lined up in the lobby.


Def would recommend. Also enjoyed the hotel itself...we took the ferry to downtown Disney which was fun. And the hotel pool was very festive and fun...esp for children. Even the food court had very good food. We chose POFQ specifically because it was one of the resorts offering direct pickup to the boat. We were pleased with our choice.

Good luck. I'm sure you will enjoy yourself no matter what you choose.