The whole idea on
Priceline is that you don't get to pick a specific hotel. You pick a location (such as Orlando Airport), a quality level, and a price in the hope that you'll be successful. You're committed to whatever you get -- you can't cancel. I've never tried Priceline. There are Web sites devoted to Priceline strategy, and it seems that many people have had good results.
On the other hand,
Expedia is an online
travel agency. You can compare the rates at various competing hotels. In some cases, Expedia claims to have negotiated rates that are lower than a hotel's usual rate. (Expedia also had a service similar to Priceline called Expedia Price Matcher, but I don't know if they still offer this service.)
Originally, when I thought we were flying in on a Friday evening for our upcoming Disney Magic cruise, I had planned to book a hotel near the airport. I planned to use the free shuttle to take us from the airport to the hotel. The next morning, I would have had Tiffany Towncar take us to the port directly from our hotel. That seemed easy and convenient -- and cheaper than the staying at the Hyatt, especially considering that that many of the deluxe Orlando Airport area hotels have attractive weekend rates.
Now that that we're actually flying on Friday morning, we're renting a car instead, and staying at a resort closer to the attractions area (but not on-site at Disney). We'll have almost 24 hours between our arrival at MCO and our Disney Magic embarkation.
On the other hand, it we had booked a late night flight, I would have seriously considered the Hyatt so that we wouldn't have to bother with a shuttle at midnight.