Downtown Disney Resorts & Bus Stops?

[klwdisney]

I am trying to work out a budget for a trip in November 2013. It would be my mom (63), me (40), my friend (40) and her son (7). She is floored by the pricing I am quoting her for just her and her son. We definitely do not want to stay at a value. We could split a 1 br DVC but Im just not sure we'd wanna be squeezed in like that and deciding who gets the pull outs and who gets to share the king sized bed.

Im toying with breaking my "never stay off property again" rule by compromising with a stay at a downtown disney resort. Does anyone have recent pictures (i see a lot of hotel brochure pics) and what can you tell me about their transportation? Where are there bus stops located?

The only time I stayed off site was at the Hyatt Orlando in 1997 - when we didn't know any better - and our bus stop was a spot in the parking lots and transportation came at 20 past the hour and picked up from the hotel at 40 past the hour, every hour, until closing. Which meant we couldn't stay for the fireworks during that whole trip.

Any help/advice/opinions would be appreciated. THANKS!!!

 

[dzorn]

I am trying to work out a budget for a trip in November 2013. It would be my mom (63), me (40), my friend (40) and her son (7). She is floored by the pricing I am quoting her for just her and her son. We definitely do not want to stay at a value. We could split a 1 br DVC but Im just not sure we'd wanna be squeezed in like that and deciding who gets the pull outs and who gets to share the king sized bed.

Im toying with breaking my "never stay off property again" rule by compromising with a stay at a downtown disney resort. Does anyone have recent pictures (i see a lot of hotel brochure pics) and what can you tell me about their transportation? Where are there bus stops located?

The only time I stayed off site was at the Hyatt Orlando in 1997 - when we didn't know any better - and our bus stop was a spot in the parking lots and transportation came at 20 past the hour and picked up from the hotel at 40 past the hour, every hour, until closing. Which meant we couldn't stay for the fireworks during that whole trip.

Any help/advice/opinions would be appreciated. THANKS!!!

I would not stay off site without a rental car.

Denise in MI

 

[ars0525]

Is it your decision not to stay at a value or everybody feels that way?

 

[nodell111]

If you do stay off site then I would stay at the Hilton Bonnet Creek, it's not a Disney hotel or owned by disney however it is in Disney world, we stayed there one night at the beginning of our trip and end on our last trip and it wasn't to expensive(I forgot the actual price), they also have busses to the parks.

 

[NemoLeo]

I am trying to work out a budget for a trip in November 2013. It would be my mom (63), me (40), my friend (40) and her son (7). She is floored by the pricing I am quoting her for just her and her son. We definitely do not want to stay at a value. We could split a 1 br DVC but Im just not sure we'd wanna be squeezed in like that and deciding who gets the pull outs and who gets to share the king sized bed.

Im toying with breaking my "never stay off property again" rule by compromising with a stay at a downtown disney resort. Does anyone have recent pictures (i see a lot of hotel brochure pics) and what can you tell me about their transportation? Where are there bus stops located?

The only time I stayed off site was at the Hyatt Orlando in 1997 - when we didn't know any better - and our bus stop was a spot in the parking lots and transportation came at 20 past the hour and picked up from the hotel at 40 past the hour, every hour, until closing. Which meant we couldn't stay for the fireworks during that whole trip.

Any help/advice/opinions would be appreciated. THANKS!!!

You could try trip advisor for photos taken by travelers as opposed to professional photos. You can also try oyster.com for photos, they don't have tons of hotel on oyster, but it's worth a try.

 

[Sue M]

If you do stay off site, the DTD hotels or the Hilton Bonnet Creek are your best bets. The bus stops are in the parking lot with all the other offsite busses.
I know the DTD hotel busses run every 30 min. Mousesavers.com freq has special rates for some of them, like The Doubletree and Royal Plaza using their special link.

Last Aug we stayed 1 night pre WDW pkg at The DTD Doubletree and it was very nice. All suites. We used the mousesavers link and got free breakfast incl for under $100, I think our rate was $79/night. Our room had a microwave, fridge and coffee maker. Very spacious suite.

Recently I read Mousesavers had a special at Royal Plaza. Drove by and it looks nice, gets good reviews. And if you want you can walk to DTD.

Another option is, if you want to stay in a WDW resort, and your friend wants to stay off site, it's easy enough to meet up in front of a park in the morning. And you'd still be spending the day together. With cell phones and texting it makes it so easy to arrange meet ups.

 

[Lynne M]

I'm going to move this over to the Orlando Hotels board, you'll find lots of discussion on the DTD resorts there.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

I'm a Disney-property snob, but I stayed with my boyfriend and his mom at the the DTD Doubletree because she gets HHonors points through work (and the DTD Hilton and Hilton Bonnet Creek were booked... last-minute trip).

The DTD bus system is absolutely DREADFUL! The buses are supposed to arrive every 30 minutes and begin at 8:00. We always got out there for the 8AM bus, but on our second day when we were heading to DHS, the first bus read "Magic Kingdom/Animal Kingdom," and the second bus read "Epcot/Animal Kingdom." I tried to ask the second bus driver where he was really going, but he literally shut the door in my face (nobody was boarding his bus, and I must've hesitated too long to walk to the bus). We went inside to ask about the bus, and they told us we'd have to wait for the 8:30 bus. At 9:00, the next bus still hadn't come. BF's mom spoke to the manager on duty, and she provided us with car service to the park that morning and to and from the parks for the rest of the week.

Parking at the Doubletree was $10/day, and parking at Disney is $14/day.... so driving to and from the parks means you'd be spending $24 on parking. For a week, that could quickly add up. The other alternative is to take a car service (it was quick and relaxing - no bus crowds and comfy seats), but I'm not sure the cost, since we never paid full fare, only tips.

The DTD Doubletree was very clean, but definitely not upscale. By all "suites," they mean all bedroom/living room... not upscale suites. BF's mom stays in a lot of hotels for her work, and she was very disappointed that Hilton had rated the hotel 4 stars, but it was more along the lines of a 3-star property.

 

[Grumpy92]

Recently stayed at the Hilton BC. This is a beautiful resort and their buses are for only two hotels (Hilton BC and Waldorf). They are not in DTD but very nice, the pool is great.
Another option might be the Hilton at WDW. This is directly across the street from DTD. The rooms are clean and it is a pretty nice hotel. We loved the location and the value resorts could not beat the discounted rate we got. The buses leave about every 30 minutes and do stop at a few of the other DTD hotels. They only go to the four parks. What we like is crossing the street to the DTD bus stop and using the Disney buses. None for the parks but they do go to the resorts. We also like the wider variety of food options this location offers.
I have done reviews and pictures on tripadvisor, so definitely check them out.

 

[Wynton67]

If you are offsite, you'll need a car. That being said, We LOVED Buena Vista Palace when we were there in June!