Hisf Or Value Resort For $55.00

[mal0808]

WHICH WOULD BE THE BETTER DEAL? WITH THE CHILDREN EATING FREE UNDER 12 DEAL, AND FREE BREAKFAST FOR ALL, I CAN'T HARDLY PASS IT UP EVEN THOUGH VALUE RESORTS ARE BEING OFFERED SO CHEAP. WE WILL BE GOING 1ST WEEK OF FEB. AND I AM TAKING 2 ELEVEN YEAR OLDS. ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. I HAVE STAYED BOTH AND OFFSITE AND ON AND I LIKE THEM BOTH! HOW EXPENSIVE IS THE FOOD AT THE VALUE RESORTS?

THANKS,

 

[crazelion]

It depends on what look for in a hotel. I happen to like a the value resorts. But if have a car going offsite for meals is not a problem.

Here's a few places I found that has cheap food onsite:
Trail End Buffet
Planet hollywood
MC Donalds
House of Blues
All-Star Food Court

Offsite good values
Ci Ci Pizza all you eat pizza buffet 3.99
Golden Corral
Steak and Shake
Shoney's
Fazzonis
Applebee's
Chili's
Perkins


I would stay away from Western Sizzler 3.99 breakfeast buffet is aweful. I got food posining. Yes I know get it any where. I just not like the food.

 

[AZKathy]

There is something magical staying on site having the whole Disney feel 24/7. You can buy breakfast food at a local grocery store and get a fridge and eat in the room.

We have stayed at HIFS and it is a very nice off site resort. The breakfast is good and the atmosphere is totally kid friendly. You also have better space in the kid suite with the separate bedroom for the kids and also a living area separate from the bedroom.

It is all up to you, Disney 24/7 or more space. HIFS is not far from Disney at all and if you have a car, you don't have a long distance to travel to get there.

Happy planning!!!!!!!!

 

[CdnMom2]

Don't know how long your trip is, but with 2 11-year olds I would split it & do both. Kids can stuff themselves silly at those breakfasts (you too) & enjoy all facilities & free evening Entertainment & you have the extra room at the HIFS. Then can go a little leaner on food & space on the days you are on-site without feeling hard-done by at all.

You will have Free Parking at The Parks on-site on the day you check in & check out so there's $8 (?) saved 1 day (if you make it a Park Day, that is). Would really be a fun adventure for the kids transferring to on-site from HIFS part way thru or vice-versa. And you'll have the break from driving (even though is easy from HIFS) & parking on the days you're on-site.

Get 1 of the referral Pizza Party coupons from these boards & take that with you on the day you check out to your more-expensive-food on-site. Or the day you leave to drive home & snack in car. This is assuming you have a fridge! The day we checked out of HIFS for a week in a condo we had late check-out thanks to their Priority Club Membership, some snack freebies thrown in at check-in because of the Membership (popcorn & pop, I think) that we enjoyed that night at the condo. We ate lunch at the A&W with Kids Eat Free Policy. And used our Pizza Party coupon & took Pizza to go for dinner!

Look into the Park hours & events at WDW & at HIFS to decide which way to split the trip to take advantage of best way for your family.

That's what we want to do next time, actually. We all loved HIFS, but also want to try on-site.

 

[mal0808]

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS. WE WILL ONLY HAVE 4 DAYS TOTAL AND I WILL NOT RENT A CAR. I WOULD HAVE TO DEPEND ON HOTEL OR WDW TRANSPORTATION.

THE THOUGHT OF FREE FOOD COULD SURE SAVE ALOT OF MONEY.
AND, SINCE WE ARE ON A TIGHT BUDGET, HIFS JUST MIGHT BE THE WAY TO GO.


THANKS AGAIN

 

[AZKathy]

Originally posted by mal0808
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS. WE WILL ONLY HAVE 4 DAYS TOTAL AND I WILL NOT RENT A CAR. I WOULD HAVE TO DEPEND ON HOTEL OR WDW TRANSPORTATION.

THE THOUGHT OF FREE FOOD COULD SURE SAVE ALOT OF MONEY.
AND, SINCE WE ARE ON A TIGHT BUDGET, HIFS JUST MIGHT BE THE WAY TO GO.


THANKS AGAIN

I think it would be a pain not to have a car when staying off site. You may want to take advantage of staying on site, then and getting a fridge and eating light meals in the room. Just a thought.....

 

[Lisa P.]

Without a car, I would choose onsite. We love our offsite stays and prefer the added space of a suite or villa. However, we always have a car and would not want to be restricted by the limited shuttle service of most offsite properties. Some of them have the last return time prior to the evening fireworks!

Go with the value hotel onsite and use shuttle buses.
Use towncar service to get to the resort, with 30 minute grocery stop on the way.
Pick up a cheap, styrofoam cooler on your breakfast/food stop.
Use free ice at the hotel to keep milk, yogurt, soft drinks and cold cuts chilled, for cheap breakfasts and snacks in your room.

HTH!

 

[kessieann]

We are going at the end of Jan. and like you I started wondering if staying on site with a good rate was a better idea. I went and looked at the Value hotels and that made up my mind pretty quickly. We are staying with HIFS for the free meals as well as the kid friendly atmosphere. The suite sizes look big and private. I also got a $25.00 gift certificate that I won off Ebay for only $3.00 for Club Car for one night. All in all the pools look nicer, they have all that stuff for kids to do throughout the day and evening and it just seems like a much better choice for us. I am not at all worried about losing out on the magic because we will be making our own

However, that being said I have been researching this trip for about a year now and everyone has always said if staying at HIFS that a rental car is an absolute must! They simply don't shuttle back and forth enough and you have to have a reservation I believe the day before. Most people have said they would not do HIFS again without a rental car. I did well with the rental car rate with just constantly checking the sites and changing my ressies. Right now we have a full-size car for $180.00 including all the taxes for 8 days.

Good luck deciding!

 

[CdnMom2]

Only 4 of you, for 4 days AT Disney, no car. I think given what I've heard about the shuttles at HIFS. And that it's only 4 days that you'll have to be creative with your food (and you CAN be with advance planning -- lots on these Boards about it) & all in one room that you should take the good deal on-site. Then you'll hardly be in your room at all! 24/7 Disney for 4 days is certainly pleasurable. So I change my vote now to 4 days on-site!

 

[maggiew]

One thing you may want to look at is the bus schedule. If you plan on going back to the hotel at lunch, to take advantage of the kids eat free program, the bus schedule is important. It looks like there is only one bus back from the parks to the hotel around noon. Then the next bus back to the park is around 5 pm! If you are going at off season time, the parks may close early. So you would be losing a lot of time.

http://www.hifamilysuites.com/shuttle.html

I have no problem staying off site. But, I think in your case, I would stay at the all-stars this time. At least, if you don't have a car. The money you may save at HIFS will be lost in time at the parks.

You can get a pizza at the all-stars in the evenings for you all to share for dinner. That could be inexpensive. Most kids meals in the parks are 3.50 or so. There is a family meal at Cosmic Rays that has a whole rotisserie chicken, potatoes, etc. for around $11. You can eat cheaply enough at the parks if you plan. Avoid buying lots of cokes/water/etc. Those can add up. Bring your own water bottles or juice boxes (if your kids still will drink those). I also brought nutrigrains/granola bars for when the kids wanted a snack.

We tried to eat reasonably, but still did some character meals. What we did was eat a character breakfast at the latest time possible (usually 10:30, but later at Chef Mickeys) and had that be our BRUNCH. Then we would eat an early counter service dinner. Maybe a snack later in the evening, but not often.

At EPCOT, we got one children's meal at several places and sampled our way "around the world".

Maggie

 

[CdnMom2]

We really thought the Ice Cream Social at Garden Grille was a great deal for us. Even though some think it is expensive for ice cream. The ice cream was special, the restaurant deserted -- we had characters to ourselves. Hilarious. Kids loved the revolving feature too. We just couldn't justify the bucks for all 6 of us (4 kids, ages 5 to 13y) to eat at a character MEAL. Now with 2 11-year olds it may be different for you, but I do recommend looking into it. Great memories there. Also surprised DH & kids with a "re-hitching" there.

Our frugality with food also meant we splurged on a Kitchen Sink at Beaches & Cream 1 day. Again great memories. So the kids had Disney Magix cereal or Instant Oatmeal with dried fruit & nuts, etc. (both a treat in our family), granola bars, PB, pepperoni stix, bagels, GORP, juice boxes, our own bottled water using Brita, etc., Microwave Popcorn in eve lots of the time (16 days). No one was complaining or felt bad about it! For only 4 days & with the Searches on these great boards (especially regarding the collapsible coolers, ice, & Microwave at All-Stars). I'm sure you will have a fantastic & still healthy time on-site around the clock.

We had each kid wearing a Waist-Pouch with 2 snacks in it. I had purchased a bunch of mini-candy packages (gummies, etc.) at after-Hallowe'en large clearances. So big treat for kids to get these daily. Also get the Disney gummy treats in box (Betty Crocker? Toy Story, Princesses) when on sale. Protein is the only thing you need to put some extra thought too. Tuna Salad pkts also easy. Plan it out & budget for some Park meals & treats balanced out (like croissants at Epcot's France, Pecos Bill's in Magic Kingdom, a turkey leg, a Mickey Bar, whatever!!) and you won't feel you had to pinch & starve the whole time. Much easier to go back to your room or the Microwave at All-Stars if need be for meal that day if you're on-site than to HIFS without a car.

I also really recommend going to the Campfire at Ft. Wilderness as you'll be an on-site guest. Can try to take your own ingredients for S'more's with you, but really I thought was reasonable enough to buy there. Sorry, can't remember $5? for pkg WITH the stick! Lovely evening ferry ride over (saw the Electric Light Parade), sing-along, making S'more's, outdoor Disney movie on big screen. Can't do this if you're at HIFS. Others have recommended the Trails End Buffet or Pizza as good family affordable place to go. Again, SEARCH on Boards.

Long post, sorry, but I loved HIFS & in this case would really go for ON-SITE with advance planning! It is SO do-able & magical.

Have fun!

 

[vhoffman]

I wouldn't let the "kids eat free" option be a decision maker for me. We've never stayed at the HIFS in Orlando, but we did stay at a HI in San Antonio last summer. To use the "kids eat free" option we had to eat at their over-priced restaurant. The tab for my DH and me came to $20 more than all of us going a mile down the road to Denny's. Of course, if you don't have a rent car, you don't have that option. And rent cars add into your cost. I would stay at the Value resort for $55 and buy some breakfast food to eat in the room. But hurry!!!The $55 deal for the value resorts ends at midnight tonight (that is, you must book by midnight tonight). After that, the rooms are $70 per night.

Also, concerning the "kids eat free", like I said, you end up paying more overall to eat there. But also consider that you probably won't even be there for lunch, and who wants to hurry up to come back from the parks to eat dinner? The most you'll get in free eats, realistically, is the breakfast buffet and you can do just about as well with some breakfast food in your room. Also, you probably won't have time to eat your free breakfast in HIFS because you'll be trying to catch the shuttle to the park! (They don't run as often as the shuttles in DTD).

 

[rrsafety]

Originally posted by CdnMom2
Only 4 of you, for 4 days AT Disney, no car. I think given what I've heard about the shuttles at HIFS. And that it's only 4 days that you'll have to be creative with your food (and you CAN be with advance planning -- lots on these Boards about it) & all in one room that you should take the good deal on-site. Then you'll hardly be in your room at all! 24/7 Disney for 4 days is certainly pleasurable. So I change my vote now to 4 days on-site!

I would agree with the above. I'm staying at HIFS in late January for an entire week, but if I had four days then I'd be doing the parks pretty hard....might as well stay onsite...

 

[Lewisc]

GET A RENTAL CAR or stay onsite. Offsite shuttles are on a limited schedule.


http://www.hifamilysuites.com/shuttle.html

 

[MrsMud]

I would say absolutely, positively, without a doubt HIFS... unless you don't have a car, then I would say absolutely, positively, without a doubt onsite.

 

[Lisa P.]

To use the "kids eat free" option we had to eat at their over-priced restaurant...

That's probably true. At HIFS, the kids' free lunch is at the "Foodland Express" (Pizza Hut or A&W) but you'd have to get back & forth from the parks to the resort. If using their shuttles, this would be a bad idea. The kids' free dinner is only in their Club Car restaurant.

Here are menus with prices for breakfast and lunch/dinner at the All Stars Movies food court. You can expect similar at the other Disney value hotels. I think it's a bit expensive for what you get. Offsite buffets and meals are usually cheaper and more plentiful. But at least you can plan by looking at the menu. HTH.

 

[westjones]

If you stay onsite, consider the Pop Century Resort. We just stayed there last week and LOVED it! It is a value resort and has a very nice food court. My kids loved it and the buses worked out very well for us.

DJ