Help Booking Caribe in May

[AtlantaSue]

Hello, all! I am in the middle of stressing myself out trying to plan a stay in May offsite for our family of 5, and could use some input, please! We have only previously been to Disney in February and not all 5 together; this past Feb. I took my 8 year old during Value Season and we stayed @ a value resort. This year, we are going to make some family memories! And my 12 year old and I are taking a day out for Harry Potter...

After much thought, I have decided that we will travel to Orlando right after my kids get out for summer break, but before the heat and crowds get too bad. I THINK I am sold on a 2BR villa @ the Caribe. Mousesavers price for that time is currently $219/night-that seems good to me, but I am hesitant and wondering if I should hold out. My fear is that if I hold out, it will fill up.

We do not have AAA right now, but have been meaning to sign back up. What are the AAA discounts usually like? Can I use the Mousesavers price AND get the AAA discount? Is it worth my while to get AAA and try to get some sort of package that includes tickets, (assuming that can be done..)or is it just as good of a plan to book the $219 rate and maybe get tickets thru Undercovertourist?

Any input and/or reassurance at this point would be most helpful...

Sue

 

[Upatnoon]

Hello, all! I am in the middle of stressing myself out trying to plan a stay in May offsite for our family of 5, and could use some input, please! We have only previously been to Disney in February and not all 5 together; this past Feb. I took my 8 year old during Value Season and we stayed @ a value resort. This year, we are going to make some family memories! And my 12 year old and I are taking a day out for Harry Potter...

After much thought, I have decided that we will travel to Orlando right after my kids get out for summer break, but before the heat and crowds get too bad. I THINK I am sold on a 2BR villa @ the Caribe. Mousesavers price for that time is currently $219/night-that seems good to me, but I am hesitant and wondering if I should hold out. My fear is that if I hold out, it will fill up.

We do not have AAA right now, but have been meaning to sign back up. What are the AAA discounts usually like? Can I use the Mousesavers price AND get the AAA discount? Is it worth my while to get AAA and try to get some sort of package that includes tickets, (assuming that can be done..)or is it just as good of a plan to book the $219 rate and maybe get tickets thru Undercovertourist?

Any input and/or reassurance at this point would be most helpful...

Sue

Nothing wrong with the Caribe, but you should have little problem booking a 2BR at Wyndham Bonnet Creek for half as much.

 

[AtlantaSue]

Thanks, but a 2 Bedroom is not available at the Wyndham during our chosen travel dates.

 

[cheerky]

Hi Sue,

$219/night for an offsite condo sounds high to me. Have you checked rates on bookit.com or condodirect.com? I have used bookit many times with no problems. I have a future trip booked through condodirect so I cannot share my experience there.

Also, have you considered Windsor Hills? There are nice condos on windsorhillsrent.com. I have booked with an owner at Windsor Hills through the website and paid $70/night in December and April.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[Macprincess]

There is one huge major difference in a stay at Caribe Royale two bedroom villa over an offsite condo. DAILY MAID SERVICE! Seriously, this is awesome! They even cleaned the enormous mess my husband & sons made in the kitchen when they took on cooking a huge family breakfast one day. We rushed out to get some pool time in before a storm hit. I was planning on picking it up when we got back about an hour later. When we retuned the maid had been in to clean. She cleared everything, put the food away, cleaned the kitchen and loaded and started the dishwasher. All this was along with cleaning the condo. I was so embarrassed I actually tracked her down while she was cleaning the next door villa to thank & tip her. She was very sweet and told me that families leave messes like that for the maids here all the time. This is more of a resort then a condo place. They offer a few perks condos often don’t have. Then again you do pay more for these perks.

We’re also a family of 5. For us we find that onsite just isn’t cost effective for the space we need when we travel together to WDW. We love this resort. It has a great main pool area. However, I do advise having a car if you stay here as the buses are limited at best. I also love that this resort has no resort or parking fees. The drive to parks is quick & easy if you take World drive (536) you have very little traffic.

I think you may be able to get a better price in May. We often book last minute at this hotel and have never had an issue getting the room choices we want. We live in FL, go to WDW a ton, this is often last minute. I often get great prices on Last Minute Travel for this resort. The last time we stayed in a two bedroom villa here was this past Memorial Day weekend. The conference we were attending was offering villas for over $200 a night I booked about a month out on Last Minute Travel and paid $169.00 a night for the Holiday weekend. Last Minute Travel won’t tell you the name of the resort but there are two easy ways to tell it’s the Caribe. The photos are fairly easy as they are similar to those on the hotels web site. Also, the hotel list both the standard rooms (sleep 6) and the villas (sleep 8) not many hotels offer these type of room.

 

[AtlantaSue]

Thanks, all for the replies.
Macprincess--I appreciate your response in particular. It summed up what I was going to say regarding renting a house or condo elsewhere--for this trip, we all want to feel like we are staying in a nice resort, but we don't want to sacrifice space and we can't seem to afford two rooms anywhere! And your post was encouraging in the sense that the Caribe may be a good choice for us.

Of the places I've looked at, the Caribe looks like it satisfies all of our wants, and the "problems" won't be deal breakers for us. (i.e.--we are driving and don't plan to use the shuttle system, we will eat in our room or elsewhere and not likely eat the pricey food @ the Caribe, we do not need daily internet on vacation...). As far as staying at a time share goes, I'm just not sure we are up for that yet. I pretty much am willing to pay extra not to have to deal with sales pitches on vacation...I know that sounds kind of wimpy, but I'm just being honest with myself-and y'all, I suppose. The truth is, I would love absolutely nothing more than to get two rooms at the Polynesian; but since that isn't financially realistic, I am trying to find something that will make us all happy.

I reserved a villa, and the representative (Courtney) told me that I am not locked into the $219 price--at any time, if I see a "One Day" offer on their site that is better, I can call back and get that rate; same with the MouseSavers rate. I thought that sounded good. She also mentioned that the current AAA quote was $240-something, so that answers part of my original question.

Thanks again for responding . I have a love/hate relationship with planning vacations...but having a place to go for advice certainly adds to the love part.