Hotel/Transportation for 1/12/02 Magic

[WIcruizer]

Quick question. We're flying down the night b4 the cruise, and my plan is stay at a hotel near MCO for under $50, use a free airport shuttle and then use the Disney shuttle from MCO to the Port. My understanidng is the Disney shuttle will cost me $180 (family of 4).

Does anyone have advice for a hotel, Priceline deals, etc.? Is there a better option for transportation? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

You could use a town car service for less money than you'd pay for the Disney transfers. Plus you'd go on your schedule and avoid the "cattle herding" of the bus system. The most popular options on this board are Tiffany Towncars (www.tiffanytowncar.com) and Happy Limo (www.happylimo.com). If you go with Happy, you can get a discount coupon from Barb's site (www.castawayclub.com).

You could also rent a car and return it near the port. This would be your most cost-effective transporation option. Here's a summary of your car-rental options:

www.dcltribute.com/carhire

As far as hotels near the airport... the Hyatt is the most convenient, but you're certainly not going to get a rack rate under $50. Check Expedia.com or Travelocity.com to compare airport-area hotels. Folks have also reported good luck with Priceline.com and Hotwire.com. My personal strategy is to book a good-priced hotel in advance. Then, about three days before traveling, bid about 60% of my rate for a 3-star hotel. I think they're willing to accept lower bids when you get close to the travel date because they're more concerned about having unsold inventory.

Have fun planning.

 

[WIcruizer]

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'm assuming if I use Avis, we would obviously need to rent it for a day when we return to port as well. How do we et form the Port to the Avis facility?

We are very interested in renting a car since we'll be in Orlando at 1:00 in the afternoon on the day before the cruise, and we want to get around WDW on our own that day. I want to be sure we do this the right way, and I tend to trust Avis more than most car rental companies.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Yes, you'd need to rent another car or consider your options when you return from the cruise.

 

[froshe]

I am also going down this Friday and will arrive at 1pm in Orlando. We have rented a car to be picked up at the airport for $40 Canadian and a hotel near Disney World for $120 Canadian. However, I have since realized that my travel agent could of done much better on the price for the hotel but we wanted Holiday Inn and to be near Disney and the shopping.

Good luck and perhaps we will see you at the car rental counter on the 11th.

 

[inkkognito]

If you don't mind taking a chance, you can use Hotwire or Priceline for an airport-area hotel. We have gotten the airport Amerisuites for $33 via Hotwire, which includes a continental breakfast. Even though Hotwire does not tell you the name of the hotel until you book, it's easy to guess which one is the Amerisuites because of the "suite" amenities listed. We did Priceline for our April trip and got the airport Renaissance for $28. Both of them have a free shuttle, so we take that from the airport and then have Happy Limo handle our transportation to Port Canaveral. It worked really smoothly with the Amerisuites in Nov., and there were restaurants within walking distance so we took a walk to TGI Friday's for dinner.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com