?? for finding affordable hotels on our way to WDW

[ratow]

I was hoping to get some help finding a website on inexpensive hotels for our trip to/from WDW. We are driving down from Wisconsin with five kids and have a rough idea on what cities we will be staying in for the trip.

I have never used priceline and am a little leary of picking something and agreeing to pay for it without knowing EXACTLY what it is.

I guess what I'm saying is, it's more important for it to be a decent hotel (clean, pool) than for it to be the cheapest.

Is there anything out there like an Orbitz (for airlines), where it just lists the hotels and prices, but you can choose which one you want?

Thank you.
Jamie

 

[GEM]

we use www.travelocity.com alot. Just go to the section for "lodging" and enter your city and date. We've made lots of reservations with them. You do need to use a credit card, but you can still cancel later if you need to. We have had to do that several times when plans changed, etc.

 

[yoopermom]

IMHO, I would NOT make ressies ahead of time that you couldn't cancel, because then you're stuck stopping there even if it's early in the day, or are forced to rush on to it, if you're running late. We've done that drive quite a few times, and there are *tons* of hotels along the expressway(s). What we do: about 3-4 hours before we want to stop for the night we trace on the map what town is closest to that stopping point, then call ahead direct to the hotel (not to the generic 800 #) to make a ressie (use your AAA guidebook, or print #s off the internet sites of the major chains ahead of time). Ask for the lowest rate possible, politely, and don't be afraid to ask for better if what they offer isn't low enough! Whatever you do, don't walk in and ask, even if it means calling from the gas station across the street, because then you seem like a "captive audience" and you aren't apt to get the best price. If I'm really bored, and have lots of cell phone minutes to use up, I'll call, for example, Holiday Inn's 800 # and ask them to price it out for me at the next few towns down the way from where I think I want to stop (they can see on their computers where their hotels are located along your expressway). Then I'll ask for the direct # of the lowest price one, and call direct to see if they can meet or beat the price. If all you're doing is stopping to sleep, amenities (aside from cleanliness, of course) probably aren't too important.
Terri the Yoopermom

 

[ratow]

GEM - Thanks, I'll try travelocity. Geez, I don't know why I didn't think of that!

Terri the Yoopermom - Love your user name. I can appreciate it being from WI.
Hubby wants solid ressies. His mom always tells stories of the ONE time when they didn't make a ressie (on a trip when he was young) and there was a convention in the area they wanted to stay and they had to drive hours longer with four tired and cranky kids to find a hotel! Personally, I agree with you, just drive! I think I'll make some ressies but check on the cancellation policies at the same time. Maybe I can have the best of both worlds.
Any suggestions on a route to take or avoid?

Thanks.
Jamie

 

[poohsdoodle]

ratow...

have you checked into rental homes? not sure how long your stay is, but you can find some last minute deals on homes that have not been rented.

just a thought! also, if you are a site roomsavers.com, this will list participating hotels. print the coup and take with you. sometimes you can make advance ressies, sometimes not. try and see what you can get!

hope this helps!! i must say i'm jealous, i have a longgggggggg wait until march!

 

[Buschfan]

The best bet is to get coupon books for hotels at truck stops or welcome centers. We always do this when we are travelling long-distances and are not sure how far we will make it on any given day. Priceline will have the best price if you know in advance where you will be on a certain night. I would not hesitate to use Priceline as long as you don't go below 2 stars on bidding. We have used them for at least 30 nights of hotels in the past and they have never let us down.

 

[ratow]

poohsdoodle - We are just looking for accomodations on the way to/from WDW. We're all set (FW cabin) for when we're down there! Thanks!
March is not TOO long to wait!

buschfan - So priceline does at least have a rating system. Didn't know that. Maybe I'll try to go on and read exactly how it works. The idea of agreeing to pay for something I can't see until I've paid for it.....

 

[jgates]

OK Jamie, are you close to me?

We stayed in Terre Haute IN & Perry or Byron GA (somewhere in there).

If price is not the #1 issue, then go for Hampton Inn maybe. 100% satisfaction guarantee. (Although I am still battling with them on an issue right now). I also have never had a problem with a Fairfield Inn either. Both Hampton & Fairfield have excellent continental breakfasts and MOST have pools - either in or out. Comfort Inn's have only once given me a bad experience (school tour group staying at same time - don't ask) & normally have a good cont. breakfast. Super 8's run the gamut from Great to Horrid - I have been at all types. The one in Terre Haute was fine - very basic but at least clean- no pool or breakfast. But it was about $30 nite cheaper that nite than the Hampton - we can eat at McD's for under $10 so we chose Super 8. Days Inn also runs from downright disgusting to beautiful. Call their toll-free number and ask for their own sunburst rating. I won't go under 4 to 5 sunbursts. Their cont. brkfst's can range from nothing to donuts to a wonderful breakfast. ASK if that is an issue. Country Inn & Suites (never stayed) from my understanding are pretty nice also.

Even if you don't belong to AAA (which you should on that long of a trip), get a friend to get you tour books for those areas and you can check the ratings for some of the hotels so you have ideas of where to stay/avoid.

If you go w/o ressies , check with Chamber etc for the time frame you are driving thru. Make sure there is nothing going on that will cause hotel overload.

Ex: We have run into- Street Rod Nat'ls, Brickyard, etc. You cannot get a motel for 2 hours either direction of these special events. If you need to - take an alternate route. We gambled on the way back this trip and DIDN"T head into Illinois. We ended up leaving St Augustine FL at 7:30 or 8 am & not getting a motel until Champaign, IL. (Check that out on a map - I think it was 18 hours of driving!!!).

The worst part was- we knew better. We just weren't really paying attention and kept going up Indiana's west coast long after we should have cut over into Illinois to get away from Brickyard traffic. Too tired and strung out and paid for it greatly.

If you are USCellular and can do plan changes, go to Span America for your trip to Florida. It was very nice for us. We did 450 minutes for ?$45 that month. Then we just changed back on next cycle.

PS- I think I still have all the AAA guides- if there is a particular city you want me to check - PM me and I can look during the next couple of nights for the motels/ratings in those cities and PM you back.

Priceline info:
http://pub109.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding

 

[travelitis]

Although I've used Priceline and been happy with it, I wouldn't in this instance because of the cancellation penalties. If I were you I wouldn't want to have to search for where our reserved hotel was. I wouldn't travel with reservations for this trip, and I have had one of those worst case scenario trips where I didn't get a hotel room in Vegas until 7 a.m. There were multiple conventions, and I drove hotel to hotel all night because my traveling companinion refused to make a reservation. Are the places you're stopping really big draws for conventions? I'd probably discuss this more with my husband, but that might not work for you.

I would put hotels on a 6 pm hold only - no credit card guarantees. That way if you want to cancel and something goes wrong like you misplace the phone number or your cell phone dies, no problem.

My in-laws have done as well going to a hotel desk to get a price as I've done calling ahead to the same exact location. (Hampton Inn downtown Dallas, Aug)

There are many websites for hotels. Here are a couple I've used:
www.hotelkingdom.com
www.discounthotels.com

Also, don't forget to shop the main website of the hotel chain before booking with a website that represents many. If you're staying at Holiday Inns look for the "great rate", and if you don't see it online, call and ask.

 

[yoopermom]

Jamie,
I would definitely have AAA make you a triptik, just for construction/mileage type things alone it's super useful. Be forewarned that they will route you through Chicago on 94 (we always bypass it on 294 because I'm a big chicken, esp. with the RV), then 65 through IN/KY/TN, then they have you swing over and catch 75 the rest of the way. Just to be ornery(!), we prefer to cut over at Indianapolis on 74 and pick up 75 at Cinncinati. I call this the "chicken route" because I only have to deal with cities with bypasses! Mileage is almost exactly the same. AAA will make the route to your specs if you don't like the way they normally send you. (Just ask for Terri the Yoopermom's chicken route, ha, ha.)
Terri

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

We've driven from SW Michigan to WDW several times in late March. I would not go without reservations. The last time on the way back, we were ahead of schedule (we have found it is better to leave WDW by 7:00 am otherwise you get stuck in major traffic jams leaving Florida!!) ... because we had reservations, we pulled off the road at 6:00 pm and all the hotels right off the highway in Elizabethtown, KY were already full and turning people away! We have also found this on the way down (south GA).

In fact, the cancellation policies for most hotels along the interstate are now 24 hr in advance!

This is a very busy time of year for travel to and from Florida and the midwest and I'd rather know that I have a decent room after driving all day.

I'd recommend making your best guess for driving and get something decent right at an exit.

Good luck!

 

[infoseeker]

Try roomsavers.com. There are coupons that can be used for discount rooms. Most are for walk-ins or same day reservations. We usually stop in Tallahassee and use the roomsavers coupon for the Cabot Lodge.

 

[ratow]

Now we're smokin'! Alright!

Because we're traveling with five kids....still risk it with no ressises?

Our thoughts for stops are Murfreesboro, TN (longest leg while everyone is still excited) and then Valdesta, GA and then short jaunt for the last day. Not planning any major convention towns (I hope).

Important to me - price, free breakfast, indoor pool

trapped - We're traveling this Oct. so I don't expect to see any spring breakers!

jgates - I'm between Milw. and Madison, near Johnson Creek. Where are you located?
Terre Haute? Is that far enough on the first day? We were trying to make the first day the longest. How long does the drive take you?
We're not with US Cellular but that's a great tip to switch service for the month. I'll check our carrier.

travelitis - I went on roomsavers and I understood how it worked but some coupons were for 1-2 people or at the most 1-4. We're 7 people (well, 6 if you don't count the baby)! Usually we just sneak into one room but that's getting harder to do. I just can't see booking two rooms....
I will check out the sites you listed! Thanks!

Terri - I need to look that route up on the map!

I appreciate all the help.
Jamie

 

[jgates]

I'm up in Black River Falls (Oh, yeah-did I mention we also really like Holiday Inn Express? - duh- have one right here - never a bad experience there either).

We WILL BE in Watertown for the car show the last weekend. Have stayed at the Super 8 there since a year or so after it opened. Every spring - every fall. They are comfy, clean and have a small pool. Would like the HI Express for better breakfast but the cost difference ?$25 nite or so was not worth it - plus when you know they are owned by the same company it's irritating (at least that is what the Super 8 told us - I think they also own the Days Inn down by the Pine Cone where our friend stays). The Super 8 has always been so polite to us and the rooms are very clean. (Quite a contrast to some I have been to!)

We should have gone further than Terre Haute, but I didn't make one problem clear- DS had 'Soar' at UW-Mad on Thurs/Friday till 4 so we didn't hit the Illinois State line until around 5:30 pm.

If I remember right Murfreesboro or one of the towns quite close to it had a TON of motels. I believe that is where we stopped in 1988 when my ds & I went with my mom and dad.

Total time for us I believe was 22 or 24 hours? Somewhere in there.

Next time ds says he isn't going and my dh HATES anything Disney so I have a feeling dd & I will be flying/renting a car. Too far for just me to drive.

 

[Disneydenise]

I am going to suggwst AAA they do have alot of services that are a great help when traveling by car. When we would travel to DW from PA we would consult the books they provide at the office and I would get a trip tick. It was a good way to teach the kids how to read a map. The books of the different areas you will be traveling through contain the lodging along the way. I would advise to take only a 3 star hotel. We didn't once and well we never made that mistake again. You will have a good idea of how long you will want to be driving and where to look for your accomodations.

 

[tar heel]

Although we've had great success with priceline, we still don't use it for our "drive as far as possible" road trips. (We also don't do it for Disney b/c I'm not willing to stake my whole vacation on an unknown hotel.) We used the AAA book when we drove cross country -- tried to call ahead when we were a couple hours away from stopping. We usually leave late in the day and spend the night on our way to Disney, and we've never had trouble finding a place. Two things I would do: throw in a couple sleeping bags, so you can do whatever bed arrangements are available and join Hilton Honors (covers Hampton Inn), Choice Privleges (covers Comfort Inn and Sleep Inn). You might get an upgrade and you'll definitely get points toward future hotel stays.

 

[skiwee1]

We always drive from MD. I decide how many days I feel like taking to get to WDW and then I split my miles up how I want. Because we like to take our time getting there, I take 3 days to do so. I make the last day the shortest drive so we get to WDW around 2pm. I figure out where I'm going to be each night and the get AAA to make me a triptik. Next month we are driving and will stop in Rocky Mount NC and Savannah GA. When I look for hotels I look for them having an indoor pool That is a must for me as I travel with a 3 year old that needs to burn off a lot of pent up energy. You will need this also with 5 kids! Believe me! I don't remember when you are going as that will depend in needing an indoor or outdoor pool I travel in May and October and need the indoor. I go online and look up hotels in the cities I'm staying in and the weed them out to what I want. I usually book them online using the hotel website. Definitely make ressies for your hotels. I can't tell you how many times we puled in to our hotel only to hear others being turned away due to no vacancy and this is at 5pm! These hotels book up very quickly. There are times when we go to bed with few cars in the parking lot and wake up with the lot full. I always make sure the cancellation policy is same day by 6pm so you don't lose anything. If we run early so be it. We still stop at the chosen hotel and relax. No sense pushing it as it is all planned out anyway. You might want to make sure you get a nice breakfast included with 5 kids. That will save time and money for you. We do not eat much for breakfast but have found that Hampton Inn has a really nice set up. Great for bagels, muffins, juice and coffee. Oh well, I've certainly rattled on long enough here. LOL! Have a wonderful and safe trip!

 

[ratow]

My in-laws belong to AAA. Is it considered a no-no to have them get the maps for my trip?
I'm not ready to join (isn't it more than $300/yr?).

jgates- I will be selling brats/hotdogs in Johnson Creek on the Sunday (9/29) of the car show for a fundraiser for youth baseball (intersection of Hwy. 26 and Cty. B, Pernat's Meats). Honk!

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by ratow
My in-laws belong to AAA. Is it considered a no-no to have them get the maps for my trip?
I'm not ready to join (isn't it more than $300/yr?).

Go ahead and do it and see if you like it. My mom did this for me once many years ago. I saw how good it was and decided to go for it myself. I think we pay $100 and have the Plus or something. It gives you towing anywhere and not just a certain distance. It is good to have in that if you have car trouble they are there for you. That might come in handy in a strange place.

 

[tar heel]

We pay $42 a year for AAA.