HELP??? December 08/09

[Karenpowley]

Stil debating on where to stay for next christmas. Wayne suggested Marriott Courtyatd in LBV - which i really do like the look of, and am thinking of booking. But we are taking our DD who will be 6 - So Dont know wether to stay at WDW but would only be able to stretch to the budget hotel Pop Century etc, and was thinking of the Disney Dining Plan - but is it really worth it??Ans what are these hotels like???We will be hiring a car.
Want to make it magical for DD,

Any suggestions anyone??

Thanks Karen

 

[emily1982]

I haven't experience of those hotels or hiring a car, but we stayed offsite dec 03 and onsite dec 05, and boy did onsite make a difference went it was closing times at the parks and getting back to the hotel. It's busy during xmas week so the traffic around Disney is also v.busy. We're staying onsite again in 08.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

We stayed at Disneys All star music last Christmas, for the second time. Also we have stayed at pop, during summer 05. Both resorts are great and at Christmas the decorations and atmosphere are wonderful. I would recomend both resorts and my kids loved it there, as well as me.
Our first trip to wdw we did not have a car, and just relied on disney transport which was very good. For our following trips we, did hire a car and it made our holidays even better because we had independance to come and go as we pleased. And it saved alot of time waiting for transport.
Christmas week is very busy, but the week before is fairly quiet.
We hav'nt been on the dining plan, but love the wdw restaurants. I think it would save you money if your going to eat inside the world for all your meals.
Also with a car your can drive to the restaurants at the different wdw resorts.
Make sure you book your dining reservations from 180 days before your visit.
If i had a choice i would always stay at a disney resort.
Happy Holidays.

 

[Karenpowley]

Thanks both, that really helps. WDW it is then. Which hotel tho, out of the budgets do u suggest - i heard pop century was the best - wot do u think?

Karen

 

[wayneg]

Only experience I have with Disney hotels is AS Movies, Its not somewhere I would recommend especially at Xmas if you wanted to use Disney transport, not as bad if you have a car but still not our sort of place. It was a few years ago so might have changed but room was tiny, inroom facilities minimal. Apart from Popcorn light fittings there was no other relation to it being Disney or movie related room. We could have been anywhere. Only when we went out for a look around could we tell it was Disney with the over sized figures, looked at them once and that was it. We could have stayed offsite and gone in and looked would have been a lot cheaper.
Worst thing was the transport, I believe Movies is the worst resort for buses, glad we only had to do it for 1 day because it was a nightmare, like sardines with ignorant people.
I have said many times you need to try places to see if you like them yourself, value resorts onsite are not for us, neither is Disney Dining, way too busy and could never plan a meal day before never mind months in advance.
More people that stay onsite the better though, that makes cheaper rates offsite for us and quieter roads
Just check the difference between Value and moderate resorts, I priced up for someone a few days ago and there was only about £15-£20/night difference, probably more at Xmas but check.

 

[Karenpowley]

Thanks Wayne, i thought i had made my mind up on staying in resort - but really am not sure again,as you seem to have put a few things into perspective as regards the budget resorts. I was just thinking of my 6 year old really. Thought that they might put something on special on Christmas day etc for the children thats all, and also the allure of the extra hours in the parks was the draw - but am re-thinking yet again. Last year we stayed at a villa, but there was more of us. Next year there will only be the 3 of us, and was thinking about atmosphere etc for the little one. Mmm.. back to the drawing board i guess.

Karen

 

[Fozzie Bear]

We've stayed at pop, music and movies, and we would go back to any one of those without hesitation. There is'nt much difference between any of them. The only real problem, is at breakfast time when every body comes down to the counter service restaraunt at 8.30 onwards. Its normaly ok, if your down before then.
Just one warning, I found two 4foot aligators in the lake behind the broadway buildings at music last christmas . The've probably been removed now.

 

[Lisash]

It's very much personal choice and I haven't stayed on-site before so can't comment much on the accomodation, but we have had a few stays at the Marriott Village LBV a few times including 3 weeks last Christmas/New Year and have always had a great time. It is a very short ride to the Disney parks from there and we find it is nice to have a break from them anyway to experience a bit more of what the area has to offer. Having seen the resort bus queues over the festive season I am always glad to have our car to go to. The bus queues at MGM after Fantasmic were absolutely horrendous last year there must've been a wait of an hour or more

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Forgot to mention that we did find santa visiting hotel reception on a couple of evenings. He would come in and sit by large Christmas tree and my youngest DD had her photo taken with him, which was nice. Also different choirs and singers would come and sing a few christmas songs.
My youngest dd loved a l movies the best mainly because there were more disney characters built in to the decor of the resort. eg. Giant dalmations etc.
We found christmas day the same as any other day, no extra celebrations which was a little dissapointing. We did have a little tree though.Had christmas dinner at Boma akl, and that was nice.

 

[wayneg]

Thanks Wayne, i thought i had made my mind up on staying in resort - but really am not sure again,as you seem to have put a few things into perspective as regards the budget resorts. I was just thinking of my 6 year old really. Thought that they might put something on special on Christmas day etc for the children thats all, and also the allure of the extra hours in the parks was the draw - but am re-thinking yet again. Last year we stayed at a villa, but there was more of us. Next year there will only be the 3 of us, and was thinking about atmosphere etc for the little one. Mmm.. back to the drawing board i guess.

Karen

Didn't really want to put you off staying onsite, just choose your resort carefully and do a little homework on them.
Many people love staying onsite, for us a hotel is somewhere to sleep 11pm-8am ish and out to the parks, does not matter if its a £25 or a £125/night room. For others it is a big thing to be onsite.
One of the biggest advantages of being onsite is guaranteed admission to a park(may not be the one you want) For eg EPCOT NYEve can stop with general admission not long after opening time. For us this doesn't matter as we are there for rope drop everyday.