Disney Resort VS other accoms

[DVCAustralia]

All Disney hotel guests get EMH, you show your room key to get in.

 

[brettystar]

Thanks very much for your help guys.

 

[brettystar]

Kalice - does adding the ground transportation form the airport feature mean it becomes a package or can you still do this as part of room only?
If it does, do you know if you can amend the booking later to include the ground transportation aspect?

 

[Kalice]

Hi, The ground transportation is available to all guests of WDW hotels, if you've already booked with expedia and they haven't provided you with any details try contacting https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/reservations/dme/index?bhcp=1 I'm sure they will help you.
If you haven't booked with expedia already I would check the historic discounts on mousesavers and see if your dates have been offered before. We booked room only, then ended up booking a discounted room with the standard dining package.
The dining package has some that love it and others that hate it. We loved, it meant that when were in WDW we didn't have to worry about extra costs (even though we'd already paid it ). It meant that we would order whatever we wanted instead of worrying about the cost at the end of the meal. Even my number crunching DH thought it was a good deal.
BTW on that point if you are 180+10 days out and you are a guest at WDW you can start making dining bookings. The web page is pretty good.
I worked out what parks we intended to be in and booked meals based on proximity to our planned parks. Sooo... booked an Epcot restaurant for Epcot days, booked a close to beach club meal for rest days etc.
We didn't park hop so we avoided the parks with EMH, as the EMH tends to make the park busier. We also booked a Fantasmic dining package, which I think you need to do by phone. This just gives you access to a predetermined area in the Fantasmic viewing area. Our meal (Mama Melrose) was great, we were sooo full we took our dessert to go and ate it while waiting for Fantismic to start. Sorry to make this so long winded, but I remember the massive amount of research I did for WDW, and it all paid off in the end.

 

[brettystar]

Kalice - that last post has now completely overwhelmed me

I think I need to re read to fully understand. Not sure what 180 (+10) means? Does that mean I need to book 190 days out?
Thanks for the tips though - again I appreciate it.

 

[Kalice]

Sorry, I'm not great at plain English You can book 180 days out without a WDW hotel reservation. You can book 190 days out if you hold a reservation.
Some of the more popular reservations are best made asap. Let me know if you need any other translation

 

[brettystar]

Ah no, got it loud and clear that time. So much to read and research. I love it but there is so much more to consider at WDW than DL.
Thanks again.

 

[gregpso]

I am starting to research my trip for next May/June, 2011.
Was wondering if those of you who have been before could lend me your opinions and expertise regarding if it really is better to stay at DR or in another hotel?
Aside from getting free shuttles to the park and from the airport, can anyone advise me if it really is best to stay at the DR or elsewhere?
It seems to me that most of the hotels I have found offsite tend to only have the one departure per day for each of the parks which look like they do not arrive til after the park opens (11.40am etc).
Alternatively,can anyone tell me if it is usually hard to find a taxi to get home at the end of the evening?
Your help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

DO NOT GO IN MAY/JUNE ITS WAY TOO CROWED Go in their off season. having said that we stayed o property and it was cheap (free dining) plus very very convenient. even in sept (their low seson) it was a 20 to 30 minute wait and people every where but in June in their summer Hols.. forget it. I cringe when I hear aussies say they are going in the peak seasons. JAN FEB MARCH SEPT OCT NOV AND EARLY DEC IS THE GO. HAVE BEEN THERE 5 TIMES TRUST ME ITS TRUE:

 

[brettystar]

Thanks Gregpso but we are in the US in May/June - flights booked and everything. It is our favourite time to visit the USA.

 

[tmac]

If you will have a car, staying off site is the way to go. We've stayed both on-site an off-site, and I think it really depends on the age of your children. If you have small children, on-site may be better so that you can easily go back and forth to your hotel. However, if you have slightly older children or teenagers, off-site is a better option. When we stayed at Windsor Hills, we rented a townhouse with a pool for so much cheaper than a hotel room on site. (The pool was my kids favorite part!) Even when you factor in the cost of renting a car, it is still much cheaper to stay off-site and in my opinion much nicer having your own laundry facilities and a kitchen.

 

[austraveler]

We have been to Disneyland a number of times but WDW only once (POFQ). I would always stay off site at DL, but never stay off site at WDW. The integration of the whole resort/park thing is seamless. You walk out to the front of the resort after breakfast and the busses just start rolling up. THe music on each bus is themed to the destination (hilarious) and all the carry on about transport times is just a whinge fest. The buses come fairly quickly and the transport is quick and efficient. Using the room key to get all the food and merchandice in the parks is great for the kids and the service where the park send your purchases back to your resort is a winner. On site on site on site!