help me find great offsite hotels for my family

[jbrnhrt]

we are planning to visit WDW 5/6/15-5/13/15. it is our second time going to disney, the first was our son's make a wish trip, so we were off property. we decided to get a rental car (ds uses a wheelchair so it's much easier than maneuvering disney transportation). it will be 4 of us, me, dh, dd will be 6, ds will be 11. we don't mind a standard room, but a fridge is a must, microwave and coffee pot would be nice. 2 bathrooms would be great, but not a necessity. we were planning to stay in a standard room at POP, but I'd like to figure out if staying off property would be cheaper. We eat breakfast in the room (cereal, bagels, juice), then will eat lunch and dinner in the park ( that's something we don't mind spending money on) we won't be spending much time in the room, just need someplace to sleep and call "home". We'd like to be quite close to disney, but somewhere along the stretch to give kids the world would be fine. It must be clean, and safe. Does not need to be handicap accessible, DS can walk, but because of WDW's shear size and the heat he needs his wheelchair at the parks. there's so many hotels, I don't even know where to start. with the discount we can do POP for $102 a night, then taking parking fees into consideration, it must be under $80 a night to stay off property. or for that price is it worth staying on property to take advantage of free parking and EMH? thanks!

 

[4forMe]

we are planning to visit WDW 5/6/15-5/13/15. it is our second time going to disney, the first was our son's make a wish trip, so we were off property. we decided to get a rental car (ds uses a wheelchair so it's much easier than maneuvering disney transportation). it will be 4 of us, me, dh, dd will be 6, ds will be 11. we don't mind a standard room, but a fridge is a must, microwave and coffee pot would be nice. 2 bathrooms would be great, but not a necessity. we were planning to stay in a standard room at POP, but I'd like to figure out if staying off property would be cheaper. We eat breakfast in the room (cereal, bagels, juice), then will eat lunch and dinner in the park ( that's something we don't mind spending money on) we won't be spending much time in the room, just need someplace to sleep and call "home". We'd like to be quite close to disney, but somewhere along the stretch to give kids the world would be fine. It must be clean, and safe. Does not need to be handicap accessible, DS can walk, but because of WDW's shear size and the heat he needs his wheelchair at the parks. there's so many hotels, I don't even know where to start. with the discount we can do POP for $102 a night, then taking parking fees into consideration, it must be under $80 a night to stay off property. or for that price is it worth staying on property to take advantage of free parking and EMH? thanks!

May I ask how much you paid for the rental car? Dollar has a city special now where a minivan would be $327 for your dates.

I think it's going to be difficult finding a hotel for under $80 very close to Disney. You would be better off renting a condo at Windsor Hills. Rates in Windor Hills are around $80 per night for that time of the year. I found this one on vrbo that is a first floor unit and gets very good reviews:

www.vrbo.com/189225

You would have 2 bathrooms and the kitchen you desire. We've stayed in Windsor Hills many times and love it. It's very close to WDW (less than 7 minute drive to Animal Kingdom and @ 15 minutes of MK parking lot).

 

[jbrnhrt]

expedia shows $298 for my dates for a minivan through payless (off terminal), $302, and dollar for $322 picked up at orlando international. we're only getting a midsize sedan so I'm looking at around $200. the cheapest I found for a van was on orbitz, with ez rent a car, its was $256

windsor hills is Beautiful, but I don't know how I feel about renting a vacation home. I'd rather just stay at a hotel. the whole concept is kind of weird to me, probably because I've never done it before

 

[laceyinwonderland]

Let me start off by saying, I have not stayed here... YET.... but I have it booked for June. As Ive been skimming these boards, I couldnt understand how people got such great deals offsite. It seems the best "savings" is getting a larger unit for the same aprox price as a Value resort at Disney. There are great deals for large families, or families who like alot of space, or for those traveling Sat to Sat or Sun to Sun. When I was looking for a "deal" for my small family of 4 (like yours) I wanted clean, safe, and CHEAP. I didnt need space, and I couldnt stay all week.

I ended up booking Champions World Resort. Its a Disney Good Neighbor hotel, and I got it for $35 a night, fees taxes everything included the week before JULY 4th mind you!!! The reviews on Trip advisor are more good than bad. The most recent bad I read was from someone who was upset that there were no plates and silverwear in the room. Umm... hello. Should you expect that at $35 a night? Im not. So over all, I think this will suite my needs. Maybe it will yours?

If anyone has any reviews (good or bad) of this place, Id love to hear them!

 

[Bete]

The new, fastpass plus system is really a downer for offsite guests, now. With the advantage of being able to plan your fastpasses 60 days out instead of the day you enter the park is worth the money difference. I think this is even more important based on your child's needs.

I believe you can get a fridge at POP by paying a per day charge. You could always use a cooler and save the rental fee. It means you have to get ice on a regular basis.

You already mentioned the other advantages of staying on site.

I would highly recommend getting a DAS for your child at Disney Guest relations.

Surrounding off site resorts are not really that close and the ones that are close are not so cheap.

 

[Amanda999]

FYI Pop rooms (all of them) have a mini-frig (no extra charge, no request needed).