Friend needs advice for quick trip In 2 weeks!

[GabetrixDisney]

Sorry In advance if this is in wrong thread area. I do apologize if so but this is sort of a Loaded question and scenario.

A very close friend to me is going to Disney World for Memorial Day weekend to see her nephew play at Wide World of Sports. It's a big event and she had a lot of questions and concerns. I LOVE Disney, and am so excited and wish I was going! However, some of her questions go well beyond my Disney expertise so I need the help of the wonderful DisBoard community.

She is going May 27,28 and 29. Unfortnalty virtually every on site hotel is booked unless you pony up the big bucks.. and that IS and option but she just wants to know the perks (magic hours, transpiration, and tickets) are worth it as oppose to staying offsite, and getting transportation. Is it easier any way?
Swan/Dolphin is an option but you'll need transportation. Is that a challenge? How about magic hours?

Like I said, I know it's a loaded question and it's extremely short notice. I just wanted to ask around in a great community like this.

 

[FelisLachesis]

Most of the main perks of staying on-site are already gone. The 180+10 dining reservations, the 60 day fast passes, those windows are already well passed.

It's still nice to stay on property, and most of the basic transportation needs are covered by Disney.

Extra magic hours might be worth it for this trip. Just make sure to actually use them! If there's a lot of late mornings and early nights, that extra magic hours might not be worth it.

The Swan and Dolphin both participate in extra magic hours. They also have transportation regarding both the airport and the theme parks. For information about Swan and Dolphin's transportation services, check here http://swandolphin.com/concierge/transportation.html

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I agree with PP. The advance perks (ADR's, FP+) don't factor into this because the trip is coming up so soon. The only perks in play here are DME, WDW transportation and EMH.

That being said, if the onsite resorts are priced through the roof, I would seriously consider Swan or Dolphin (if pricing is better). We've stayed in both (prefer the Swan, but it usually prices out more) and they are great resorts. Great location, great restaurants and they will get EMH and WDW onsite transportation. The only thing they would need to do is get private transportation back and forth to the airport. A cab is about $50 each way. Uber will be slightly cheaper. A private car company would probably be about $200 round trip. If they do book the Swan or Dolphin make sure they make the reservation directly through the Swan/Dolphin website for the best rates and that they join SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest), the resorts' loyalty program, to get better rates. If they book Swan/Dolphin, they will need to purchase their tickets separately which they can do through Disney or a third-party reseller like Undercover Tourist. I would suggest buying the tickets in advance and linking them to MDE if they want to make FP+ reservations ASAP.

They could also consider a Disney Springs resort, but, again, they would need transportation to/from the airport and there would be no EMH or WDW transportation. Some of those resorts have shuttles, but I've personally found offsite resort shuttles to be not so reliable and their shuttles tend not to run as regularly as WDW transportation. If they opt for a DS resort, I would recommend using uber to get to ESPN and the parks.

 

[Surgie2]

I never use third party sites for booking hotels but she might find something that is not available elsewhere. I just checked Expedia and the Swan is available for her dates for $310 per night. I'd go directly through the Swan first, though to see pricing and availability.

Regardless of where she books her hotel stay, I would encourage her to buy her park tickets immediately. She does not need a hotel booked to purchase park tickets. Have her create a MDE account, purchase and link her park tickets, and get some FP+ booked.

 

[Kellykins1218]

If we don't stay on-site, we always use Hotwire and get a Disney Springs hotel. The Disney Springs hotels have their own very reliable bus line that runs every 30 minutes and is great! Wyndham Lake Buena Vista is our favorite and is directly across the street from Disney Springs.

 

[lanejudy]

One comment about transportation -- if she intends to spend time at WWoS each day to watch her nephew play, WDW transportation options to/from WWoS are VERY limited. She's going to need alternative transportation for that, and it could be a taxi/Uber, but I would just do a rental car and stay offsite. A rental will solve any questions with transportation from offsite (airport, WWoS, parks) and likely would cost less than the upcharge for staying deluxe onsite. Of course, it assumes she is comfortable driving.

Good luck to the nephew and I hope she enjoys her quick weekend trip!

 

[GabetrixDisney]

Thank you everyone for all the helpful advice!!! Every reply post has been incredibly helpful. Im going to meet up with her shortly and share this information so she can book ASAP

 

[GabetrixDisney]

In regards to transportation within the parks. She would want to stay at a hotel close to monorail or by the Epcot transportation center?
Where would be better to depart from when traveling to WWoS?

 

[bffdisney]

Neither are close. WWoS is near Pop and AOA. Pick whatever location she likes better.

 

[lanejudy]

Where would be better to depart from when traveling to WWoS?

The last I knew, standard WDW bus service to/from WWoS is only available at POP and CBR (from the Custom House only, not the island bus stops). We had trouble getting to a Braves spring training game one year, learned the hard way; fortunately we'd allowed plenty of time.

 

[baler31]

Here is the transportation options for WWOS:

https://www.espnwwos.com/faqs/transportation-parking/

Personally, at this point I would stay offsite for a quick trip. The Hilton Bonnet Creek has availability and is $141: www.hiltonfamilymvp.com. They have a pretty good shuttle for the parks or uber or rental car would be a good option. It is a nice resort for $240 the Waldorf is available. For just a short trip I don't see value in the on site resorts at the prices available for those dates and I am very pro on site in most instances.

 

[scrapquitler]

Try a third party booking site like Expedia, Travelocity, etc. One of our trips showed no availability at any value resort, and I was able to find several options with Expedia and Travelocity. You still get all the benefits of onsite, even if you book the room elsewhere, as long as you put your confirmation number in your MDE account.

 

[GabetrixDisney]

Thanks again everyone!

*UPDATE*

She was able to book Port Orleans French Quarter for a good price!!! She also booked a few fast passes and has that worked out. She is relieved.
I stayed at Riverside (LOVED IT!) and want to stay at FQ next visit so I'm happy for her.

She is still contemplating renting a car for transportation within the parks. She knows that Memorial Day weekend is going to be crazy busy and it looks like she will have to take FQ bus to transportation depot at Magic Kingdom? Then take a bus to Carribean beach and then to WWoS. Anyone ever rent a car to bypass this?

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks again everyone!

*UPDATE*

She was able to book Port Orleans French Quarter for a good price!!! She also booked a few fast passes and has that worked out. She is relieved.
I stayed at Riverside (LOVED IT!) and want to stay at FQ next visit so I'm happy for her.

She is still contemplating renting a car for transportation within the parks. She knows that Memorial Day weekend is going to be crazy busy and it looks like she will have to take FQ bus to transportation depot at Magic Kingdom? Then take a bus to Carribean beach and then to WWoS. Anyone ever rent a car to bypass this?

I'd totally rent a car. To get to WWOS by transportation from her hotel she could catch a bus to any park, then catch a bus from that park to CBR or Pop to then get the WWOS bus.

But why do that? Rent a car or call a taxi/lyft/uber.

For parks, most people don't drive to MK (though we do), though.

 

[alliecat523]

Definitely rent a car or take Uber. That's way too much bus riding and will take a lot of time.

 

[lanejudy]

it looks like she will have to take FQ bus to transportation depot at Magic Kingdom? Then take a bus to Carribean beach and then to WWoS. Anyone ever rent a car to bypass this?

The route outlined here -- she probably needs to plan to leave her resort room a good 2 hours early. That's a lot of bus riding and waiting for buses. Also, if she must take a bus, go to POP or *** and not CBR -- the main buses to CBR do not go to the Customs House, so she'd then need an internal bus at CBR. Too much busing; we made that mistake once. I'd never do the WDW bus to WWoS again.

I definitely recommend she either rent a car or plan to take a taxi/uber to WWoS.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would highly recommend uber over renting a car. It will cost about $5 - $7 each way.