Budget!!!

[kevinad17]

Hello Everyone-

There are two of us coming down, we already have tickets and just need a place to stay as cheap as possible.

On site or off site? Do you have any specific suggestions? Keep in mind we are trying to keep the cost down.

 

[vicki_c]

Unless you are getting a package deal from Disney (like free dining, which requires an included ticket purchase), it's unlikely you would get a better price than a budget motel off-site.

Make sure you factor in transportation costs / issues though if you don't have a car. That alone can be a deal-breaker for staying off-site. Including transportation from the airport, which would be free if you stay on Disney property.

 

[henry72]

If you are looking for a "cheap" place to stay, I would stay off-site. But you lose some of the benefits of onsite resorts. You don't get extra magical hours (EMH) which let you in the park early or let you stay late. Unless you have a car, you will need to make sure the hotel offers a shuttle. If you do have a car, then you will need to figure in the cost of parking at WDW. Onsite you have access to Disney's buses plus can use Magical Express bus from the airport for free. If you want to stay on-site and are looking for cheap, consider the "value" resorts - All Stars or POP Century. There is a current special running where you get up to 30% off your room rate - assuming you are traveling during the promotion dates.

http://bookwdw.reservations.disney....romotionCode=fy12q2q3room&market=fy12q2q3room

 

[Warren W]

I also want to know the answer to this question, thanks for your reply.Merry Christmas All .

 

[fla4fun]

Unless you have a car, you will need to make sure the hotel offers a shuttle. If you do have a car, then you will need to figure in the cost of parking at WDW.

Sometimes you also have to factor in the cost of the shuttles. Some hotels offer them for free, but some are at a nominal per person cost that can add up over the course of a vacation. Also, some of the shuttles run on fairly restricted schedules. They may only go three or four times in the morning and back three or four times in the afternoon. A lot of times the shuttles will only drop at one location on property, so if your hotel shuttle only drops at TTC, you have to allow extra time if you are going to AK, or if they only drop at Epcot, allow extra time if you're going to MK, etc. Sometimes they don't run shuttles late in the evening. You might have to go back to your hotel as early as 5-6pm. The cheaper your hotel, the less likely they will have a shuttle service you should consider using - if they have one at all.

I would not recommend staying off property unless you have a car. Sometimes you can get good deals at Swan/Dolphin or the DTD hotels. They don't have as many issues with transportation as other off property resorts do. But you will still pay more than you would at some of the really cheap budget hotels. If you can tell us what kind of budget you have for accommodations, we can point you in the right direction.

 

[autismgoesdisney]

Personally I recommend a value resort! Its 24/7 disney and cheap enough!

 

[Missytara]

I would go over to the budget board and find suggestions to pare off costs.

If you are looking for a Motel 6 type cheap, you will have to stay offsite. If you are looking for a cheap vacation all around, then Disney is not for you.

 

[MrsDuck]

If you are looking for a Motel 6 type cheap, you will have to stay offsite. If you are looking for a cheap vacation all around, then Disney is not for you.

Ehh.. it depends on your definition of cheap. Before DFi had a "real" job and we were both in college we would go to Disney almost monthly for "cheap". We'd stay off-site at very inexpensive hotels and we'd drive to WDW, park at DTD, take a bus to one of the resorts, and then take a bus to the park. We brought snacks with us into the parks and ate Counter Service-- I'd always get a kids meal. No sodas, etc. We rarely bought merchandise.

Our biggest expensive was gas for the 1.5 hour car trip, the tickets (always purchased during FL resident deals, though), and depending on where we stayed, the hotel.

Point of my blathering post: Disney can be done for "cheap" if you're willing to cut things out and prioritize. We didn't do Disney the way we really wanted to (TS, a Disney resort, etc) but we cared more about just being there than anything else. Hence our monthly cheapo trips!

OP: You need to compare the benefits of staying on-site at a Value resort or staying off-site at a cheaper resort. If you're driving, stay off-site. If you are flying, you may want to considering spending a bit more and staying at Value.

Good luck!

 

[Missytara]

While I understand your post, after being on these boards for several years, when someone comes on the resort board with 3 posts and asks about a "cheap vacation" at Disney, they are looking to stay somewhere onsite, paying 59 dollars a night and then for some wondering how to get a free upgrade to the CR.

 

[plutolovr]

we'd drive to WDW, park at DTD, take a bus to one of the resorts, and then take a bus to the park.

 

[minnie mum]

we'd drive to WDW, park at DTD, take a bus to one of the resorts, and then take a bus to the park.

Tsk Tsk. I'm sure you know that this is REALLY frowned upon (at least here on the Disboards)

OP: It is extremely difficult to give you useful advice without more details from you. Will you have your own car? Will you have to rely on shuttles? How much is your budget for hotel and ground transportation?

As PPs have said: if you have your own car then you can stay off site much more cheaply and either drive in (paying $15/day for parking) or rely on hotel shuttles.

If you won't have your own car (ie: flying in) then it is probably cheaper in the long run to pay the extra for an on-site value resort so that you have free airport transfers and resort to park transportation.

 

[maxiesmom]

Tsk Tsk. I'm sure you know that this is REALLY frowned upon (at least here on the Disboards)

I'm not sure it is frowned upon as much as it is thought of as a huge waste of time. When you are paying over $60 a day to enjoy the parks it is a huge waste of time (and therefore money) to mess around parking at DTD and taking multiple buses to get to the parks.

I do agree though that we need to know more about the OP's trip. Flying in? Car or no car? Willing to drive or not?

 

[elainesj]

last oct we were in a similar situation...plus we were only staying 3 nights. we were going to use points to stay off site, bazically for free. butbafter i worked out the cost of either renting a car or getting a shuttle to the hotel, it was about the same cost to stay in value and use the free ME. (and yes we were flying).

i even researched taking the lynx bus from the airport to the hotel as well as to WDW. it was cheap, but when i studied the schedules, the times did not work out for us.

 

[Sue M]

I'm not sure it is frowned upon as much as it is thought of as a huge waste of time. When you are paying over $60 a day to enjoy the parks it is a huge waste of time (and therefore money) to mess around parking at DTD and taking multiple buses to get to the parks.

I do agree though that we need to know more about the OP's trip. Flying in? Car or no car? Willing to drive or not?

It pretty much is frowned upon, as DTD parking is meant for DTD visiting, which is why Disney stopped having park busses from DTD area. Too many people were using it to get out of paying to park at the Parks. The people who are actually going to DTD to eat or shop will not have a place to park!!

 

[Sue M]

Hello Everyone-

There are two of us coming down, we already have tickets and just need a place to stay as cheap as possible.

On site or off site? Do you have any specific suggestions? Keep in mind we are trying to keep the cost down.

I would look at the WDW value resorts. You get all the perks of staying on site, Airport transportation, and WDW continuous park busses.
Off site, you'd have to pay to get from airport to hotel, and off site shuttle service isn't the greatest, or have the most convienent schedules.
But there are a lot of cheap hotels outside of WDW. Comfort Inns, Motel 6 etc. Go on Expedia to look them up.