HELP!! Where to stay???

[HadesHoose]

All right, first let me say that I'm relatively new to the boards and I was more of an "observer" before I recently signed up - We were in WDW in late September and all I can say is that these boards are "INVALUABLE" - they helped make our trip the greatest.

OK, now to the issue at hand. I'M TOTALLY CONFUSED (and freely admit it) about where to stay. Our next trip is the week of Sept. 27 2003 and we have reservations at both the Summerfield Suites LBV and Homewood Suites with a decent rate (about $200 a night for a 2-bedroom suite). But I keep hearing about all of these other great places to stay and I certainly want to stay in a great place.

The troops consist of my wife and myself, my 3 year old daughter and my 18 month old twins (which will be 4 and 2 respectively by our next trip) PLUS Grandma - so we need at least a 2 bedroom suite and lots of room.

I need HELP!!!! Is Hotel Kingdom.com good? How about Priceline.com? Hotels, Villas, Timeshares?????? Can anyone clear up the confusion???? Any recommendations would be great. And thanks, our last trip was great at SS, but we want to make it better.

HH

 

[baileybrad]

I would choose Summerfield over Homewood Suites...not a knock on HS just more room at Summerfield. I would not hesitate using Hotel Kingdom. We have used them several times for Vistana Villages and Vistana Resort. I don't think that the time of your visit is an extremely busy time. I would watch Hotel Kingdoms's rates for awhile. Are you paying $200 a night for a 2 bedroom? If so I believe that you would be much better off staying at Vistana Villages, as long as you have a rental or your car. They are showing around $140 a night for a 2 bedroom for the time period that you are looking at with a "free" night if your stay is 7 nights or longer. VV, in my opinion, is a better property than SS or HS. The washer and dryer in the unit is a tremendous help especially with 3 little ones in tow. They have decent size baby beds available and the 2nd bedroom has 2 full size beds. It is a really beautiful property and while not as close in as SS or HS. You are only talking about 3 to 4 minutes more each way. We returned for naps with our little one's everyday with no problems. Hope this helps.

 

[daannzzz]

Priceline is great iof you don't have a large group. Hotels through priceline only gurentee double occupancy and while a huge portion of the rooms you receive will have two beds you could be assigned one with a single king or queen. You can bid on two rooms at once but will still maybe only get two beds.
I almost always stay on Disney property but have been to a couple smalle places that are not particularly good for you. We have family who rents from one of the vacation home places in Kissimmee and Orlando where you can get a whole 3 bedroom house with its own pool for the same price as what you have reserved. Of course you have to rent or have a car to get to the parks.

 

[DianeV]

I would DEFINITELY check out timeshares! Lots more room and a kitchen too. Check on www.tug2.net under the classifieds section or on ebay too..

 

[kilarney]

A planner like me!
Those prices don't seem to be a bargain for September. If you book now, I would make sure that it is refundable. That way, you can keep checking rates to see if they go down.
You might want to consider renting a condo or vacation home, as those go for much cheaper than most people expect. (Granted, you are not in a "resort") I can't remember the best web pages off the top of my head, but I am sure someone can provide one.
Good luck!

 

[sharona77]

Is where we are going to stay in January. We got a rate of $55 for a loft one bedroom. I know they have two bedrooms too that aren't too pricey. It is about 6 miles from Disney, and has complete kitchen, washer/dryer, and is probably under $100 per night. There are several pools, and it sounds pretty nice. We used the entertainment rate from our entertainment book, and it was a little cheaper than the hotelkingdom rate.

I'll post more after we get back!

 

[disneysteve]

I think you're going to find a 2-bedroom suite pretty tight with 6 people. There are definitely better options. I would highly recommend renting a house. There are homes available with 2-5 bedrooms. You could do a 4-bedroom house (one for you and wife, one for grandma, one for daughter and one for twins). That way, everyone has their own space. And the common areas - living room, dining area, kitchen, etc can be used when others are asleep. In the suite hotel, if someone is sleeping in the living room, everyone is stuck in their bedroom. $200/nite for the 2-bedroom also sounds like not such a great deal. I think you can get a lot more space for the same money.

Steve

 

[mark & sandra]

Hi HadesHoose- I'll chime in too. Check out the Holiday Inn Family Suites. In a Kidsuite you get a locking room w/ king bed; kids semi private ( curtain ) with bunkbeds and a small trundle bed: and the living room has a queen size couch/ pull out bed. 3 large color T.V.s , nintendo in kids room, small fridge,micro and coffee maker. Special pricing for room (senior rate) if in grandma's name (Age 50-69 =94.00, 70-79 = 79.00 and 80-89 =69.00, thats for the room, not just grandma). Free huge breakfast buffet for all, kids eat free with paying adult at lunch and dinner. Huge pool and about 5 min. to Magic Kingdom parking lot. Also nighttime bingo, kareoke and face painting. All in all a great deal and loads of free stuff and the extra room for all. At least worth it for you to check it out. www.hifamilysuites.com

 

[baileybrad]

Please keep in mind that a 1300 square foot luxury condiminium or a 3 bedroom house with its own pool are far superior to a cookie cutter hotel suite. Multiple bathrooms, along with having a washer and dryer in your home/condo, are tremedous bonuses. If money is not the overriding factor and if you were willing to pay $200 a night for SS then I don't think that is necessarily the case.

You have plenty of time to make an informed decision. Here's hoping that things come together for your family in way that works out for the best.