Disney Springs Hotels: 60-Day FP + EMH Through 2020: *No Packages Needed*

[dmunsil]

I did not mean that reservations could not be made but stating the fact that it is currently owned by one brand and on the surface operated by another .... who knows what the ability is to tie in to Disney's site. It may be why this is the only hotel that is not connected.

Most hotels are owned by a separate company from the brand. Hotel companies are mostly franchises. The DoubleTree in Lake Buena Vista is not owned by Hilton, for example. It's usually small brands like Drury or B that own all their own hotels. I think everyone assumed that when Drury bought the Best Western they were going to rebrand, but so far they've stayed Best Western. In any case, rebranding is just changing signs and stuff; it wouldn't impact anyone's stay.

It's definitely true that their bookings are running through Best Western and not Drury. You can see that just by going to their site and booking. Anyway, I kind of doubt that the Drury purchase is the key thing keeping the 60 day fastpass stuff from happening. If I had to guess, I'd guess it's because Best Western is a smaller company with less IT resources to bring to bear than Hilton, IHG or Wyndham. (B is a special case: they're a tiny local company who can focus like a laser on whatever the Lake Buena Vista location needs.) But who knows? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm confident that they're working on it and it'll get done when it gets done. In the meantime, if 60-day FP+ access is a make-or-break amenity, the BW isn't the right choice.

The reason I wouldn't stay there in recent years is because it is outdated and gets consistent complaints about it being dated. I look at the rates, plus the fees and I'm not paying that for a hotel in need of renovation (and that goes for the Hilton as well). Every hotel at Disney Springs is a vintage hotel but most of them have renovated and upgraded.

I've stayed at most of the Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels. They all are dated, and just as you say, after a big refurb they all tend to look better. I'm just saying that when we stayed at the Best Western just recently it seemed to be in pretty good shape, based on the wall coverings, furniture, etc.

(snipped price comparison)

I don't doubt that those prices are correct, but that's not the common case. Most of the time the Best Western is the cheapest or close to the cheapest hotel on Hotel Plaza Boulevard, in my experience. (The Wyndham next door can be cheaper, especially in their Garden Wing.) But that fluctuates based on how full each one is.

Really, I don't hugely disagree with you. I just feel like the Best Western is a perfectly decent hotel, and when it has a good rate it's worth staying at. There are other good hotels in the area, and when they have a good rate they're also worth staying at. The DoubleTree is one of our favorites, but usually they have higher rates.

 

[HopperFan]

Most hotels are owned by a separate company from the brand. Hotel companies are mostly franchises. The DoubleTree in Lake Buena Vista is not owned by Hilton, for example. It's usually small brands like Drury or B that own all their own hotels. I think everyone assumed that when Drury bought the Best Western they were going to rebrand, but so far they've stayed Best Western. In any case, rebranding is just changing signs and stuff; it wouldn't impact anyone's stay.

It's definitely true that their bookings are running through Best Western and not Drury. You can see that just by going to their site and booking. Anyway, I kind of doubt that the Drury purchase is the key thing keeping the 60 day fastpass stuff from happening. If I had to guess, I'd guess it's because Best Western is a smaller company with less IT resources to bring to bear than Hilton, IHG or Wyndham. (B is a special case: they're a tiny local company who can focus like a laser on whatever the Lake Buena Vista location needs.) But who knows? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm confident that they're working on it and it'll get done when it gets done. In the meantime, if 60-day FP+ access is a make-or-break amenity, the BW isn't the right choice.

I've stayed at most of the Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels. They all are dated, and just as you say, after a big refurb they all tend to look better. I'm just saying that when we stayed at the Best Western just recently it seemed to be in pretty good shape, based on the wall coverings, furniture, etc.

I don't doubt that those prices are correct, but that's not the common case. Most of the time the Best Western is the cheapest or close to the cheapest hotel on Hotel Plaza Boulevard, in my experience. (The Wyndham next door can be cheaper, especially in their Garden Wing.) But that fluctuates based on how full each one is.

Really, I don't hugely disagree with you. I just feel like the Best Western is a perfectly decent hotel, and when it has a good rate it's worth staying at. There are other good hotels in the area, and when they have a good rate they're also worth staying at. The DoubleTree is one of our favorites, but usually they have higher rates.

I understand how hotels work on ownership. And I only shared the info about BW because it was published Drury bought it and is going to fully renovate it. Anyone booking needs to know to watch for that, staying in a hotel under full reno can't be quite disruptive ... and right now there is no followup info to know when etc.

I do disagree that branding doesn't matter when it comes to service. And a brand will absolutely alter whether I may stay or not. Another thing that will keep me from staying is an Owner. There are several hotels with great rates and look good on International but I won't stay due to the owners.

I have also stayed at most the Disney Springs hotels. I have had great experiences at Doubletree, B Resort, a good one at Buena Vista (and that was as the pool was finishing up), I've stopped staying at Hilton due to it needed renovation, will never stay at Wyndham again (I was in Garden) and have heard nothing but good reports on Holiday Inn. DTS, B, BVP, Wyndham and Holiday Inn are all renovated.

I look at all the DS hotels often, while BW is one I will price out with deals ... it never comes up with an acceptable rate for what I get, especially when I can cross the street and get much nicer. Or I can pay much less than their rates just outside DS for the same type room.

It will be interesting to see if DS gets the EMH and 60 day FP+ in 2019. If so it could possible impact the rates there. I would rather give up those perks and keep the rates reasonable.

 

[dmunsil]

I do disagree that branding doesn't matter when it comes to service. And a brand will absolutely alter whether I may stay or not. Another thing that will keep me from staying is an Owner. There are several hotels with great rates and look good on International but I won't stay due to the owners.

Agreed. My point about brand wasn't clearly stated. I'm saying that the changeover process from one brand to another doesn't necessarily affect your stay. There's no significant construction involved in a brand changeover. They could become a Drury over a weekend if they got all the signage set up and ready to go. If they do end up doing a major refurbishment of the property, that might affect your stay, or it might not. I've been in hotels under refurbishment where you could barely tell it was going on, and I've been in ones where the incredibly loud construction noise was constant from the wee hours to the early evening. Good hotels manage their refurbishment well, emptying out not only the floor being refurbished but also the adjacent floors, and maybe even closing the hotel entirely to do big common areas like lobby or pool. If Drury is a good company, they'll do a good job on the refurb, whenever it happens.

I concur that ownership is really the key factor. Good ownership will hire good management and make sure the hotel is kept up. The brand is less important. Strong brands like Hilton or Marriott obviously do a lot more to make sure their franchisees are meeting brand standards (though we've stayed in some questionable hotels from every brand under the sun). A smaller company like Best Western is typically less consistent about brand standards - and the standards aren't as extensive to begin with. The fact that we've stayed at and enjoyed the Best Western on Hotel Plaza Boulevard doesn't tell us much about other Best Western properties, IMO, because the brand encompasses everything from old motel-style properties to midpriced full-service hotels.

 

[Belle0101]

Rate Details Disney Springs Promo
Disney Springs Hotel Plaza Association Discount Promotion! Including FREE internet and self-parking! Kids up to 17 stay free; no resort fee; 1 night deposit required with booking 3Day Cancellation policy; Limited availability ***HRCC DO NOT BOOK*** *OFFER is ONLY VALID for online booking through link*

I copied/pasted this directly from the booking link; how do you (anyone) read the following - "Including FREE internet and self-parking!".

I want to read it as the rate includes free internet and free self-parking; is that wishful thinking on my part?

 

[Good&Plenty]

Just wanted to add an extra data point to this thread. I booked a reservation at the DS DoubleTree for mid-October directly via Hilton.com using my Hilton points and was able to add it to MDX approximately 30 hours later. Thanks for great information in this thread!

 

[loveswdw]

Rate Details Disney Springs Promo
Disney Springs Hotel Plaza Association Discount Promotion! Including FREE internet and self-parking! Kids up to 17 stay free; no resort fee; 1 night deposit required with booking 3Day Cancellation policy; Limited availability ***HRCC DO NOT BOOK*** *OFFER is ONLY VALID for online booking through link*

I copied/pasted this directly from the booking link; how do you (anyone) read the following - "Including FREE internet and self-parking!".

I want to read it as the rate includes free internet and free self-parking; is that wishful thinking on my part?

Where did you see this and for what hotel?

 

[Belle0101]

Where did you see this and for what hotel?

Sorry, it was for DoubleTree Suites at Disney Springs; I was looking at different dates and room types (King v. 2 Queens) when I noticed it. I used the link to the Disney Springs hotels from the 1st page of this thread to navigate to the hotels.

 

[magyargirl]

Does anyone know if the magicbands can be used at the disney springs resorts, like charging to our room or access to room?

 

[dmunsil]

Does anyone know if the magicbands can be used at the disney springs resorts, like charging to our room or access to room?

They cannot. You can bring or buy your own MagicBand and use it for park entry and FastPass+ but it can't be linked to your resort for charging or room access.

 

[magyargirl]

Is parking in the parks free?

 

[MommyinHonduras]

Is parking in the parks free?

no, it is still off-site

 

[100AcreWood]

Sorry if I missed this information but my 60 days starts on Sunday. I assume I can make all reservations for our five night stay when my 60 day window opens?

 

[hiroMYhero]

Sorry if I missed this information but my 60 days starts on Sunday. I assume I can make all reservations for our five night stay when my 60 day window opens?

Yes. Your FP Booking Window is for your length of stay for the # of ticket entitlements that you have. See the FP FAQ Thread that is linked in the first post of this thread.

 

[100AcreWood]

I booked my FPs this morning. I managed to snag everything I wanted but Toy Story Mania.

It was nice to book all FPs for the entire trip!

 

[loveswdw]

Just to report no problems booking my 60 day FPs this morning! Yay!

 

[2009CAN]

Do any of these hotels sleep 5+? I just tried plugging our dates in (1/1/19-1/5/19) and for each of the hotels I tried, I got a pop-up saying I was exceeding the number of guests permitted. We are two adults/three kids (all 9 and under)

 

[hiroMYhero]

Do any of these hotels sleep 5+? I just tried plugging our dates in (1/1/19-1/5/19) and for each of the hotels I tried, I got a pop-up saying I was exceeding the number of guests permitted. We are two adults/three kids (all 9 and under)

The Doubletree does but they appear to be sold out of the Suites that sleep 5 for your specific dates.

 

[MommyinHonduras]

Also unknown if they benefits will continue into 2019

 

[ashleyr409]

Also unknown if they benefits will continue into 2019

I am hoping this continues for 2019.

 

[ashleyr409]

Can someone tell me all the Disney Spring hotel that can accommodate 5 guest. 2 adults 3 kids 15.12.6.?