Hotels... Disney, Universal or off-site?

[8-bit]

Hello everyone! New here.

I was wondering, what would your advice be to choose the most convenient and affordable hotel for an Orlando vacation? Our current plan is to visit each of the Disney parks and the 2 Universal parks, one each day.

Our trip will be in August, anywhere between the 8th and the 29th. We don't have a specific budget but of course are looking to spend as little as possible in food, transport and accomodations so we can enjoy the rest of the trip.

Considering that, what would be better, a Disney hotel, an Orlando hotel or an off-site hotel?

I see the Disney hotels have the convenience of a bus from the airport to the hotel and they offer meal plans, but the Orlando hotels have the Express tickets for shorter lines and early entrance to Harry Potter (which we REALLY want to check out).

Then again, perhaps an off-site hotel is cheaper and still convenient!

Any advice here, what has been your experience with hotels? Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Stumpy]

I used to think off-site was cheaper, but then there are a few drawbacks:

1. Staying on-site tends to keep you away from the tacky, cheesy and overpriced junk near the parks.
2. Off-site will likely require a car rental. Factor that into the overall cost. In fact, some "cheap" hotels started charging a parking fee. Not many the last time I checked, but some do.
3. You have to factor in parking for each day at the park unless you take the shuttles. I've heard some pretty bad things about the reliability and timing of the shuttles, though.

The last time we checked off-site, when we factored in the additional costs it came out to roughly the same cost as on-site at WDW value resorts. Granted, they may have fewer amenities (free internet, etc.), but overall the cleanliness, safety and convenience weighed in for us.

I guess it's a matter of preference, but we tried on-site and won't go any other way.

As far as taking cabs to Universal, I'm not sure on what that cost would be.

 

[tntarmijo]

I think staying at one of the moderate priced hotels on-site is best. The extended hours at the Disney parks is second to none when a resort guest. We priced a Southwest Airlines vacation where Universal tickets are available (with the Disney hotel and tickets) that comes with transportation to Universal. You may not get extra hours there for Harry Potter, but if you are there early enough it shouldn't be too bad.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[jimsanfilippo]

We have been pricing out every trip to WDW to see what gets us the best bargain for a number of years now and it comes down to this:

1) It is cheaper to buy WDW hopper tickets 10 days at a time with the no expiration option from a discount place like Maple Leaf Tickets than any other way (about $50 per day per adult). This is especially true if you go at least once per year as our family does. As long as we know we are eventually going to go back, we will keep buying the 10-day passes.

2) You can "save" money (not really) by not renting a car and staying on property, but only if you are staying at a value resort. In fact, 3-4 star villas, condos, and suites are definitely cheaper, usually cheaper than value resorts (we usually pay $70-$100/nt), even when you consider $25-$40 per day for a car rental and $14 for parking. I personally would rather stay at a nicer place off-property than stay at a WDW value resort. Even Coronado Springs, a moderate resort, was sufficiently bad enough that we moved out and stayed our last few nights off property. We also had relatives staying at the All-Star Music Resort and they hated it.

3) Having a rental car is much, much, much faster than depending on Disney transportation. So there goes the benefit of extra special hours.

4) The dining plans are not the bargain they were when they first started. They do not save much money at all and pretty much force you to make dining reservations, meaning you must make sure to be at a specific place at a specific time every day. That can suck if you are having fun somewhere and wished you could stay an extra hour or two.

5) Given the above, we always have several days worth of passes on hand so it never pays for us to go during specials such as free dining. These specials are always during the summer months, too, which we try to avoid because of the heat. But, if that happens to work for you and it saves you money, go for it.

6) All of that being said, hearing "Welcome home" and enjoying the great resorts at WDW can't be beat if you do not care about adding 50%-100% to your vacation costs by staying at a deluxe WDW resort. Sometimes it is just worth it. But I would STRONGLY suggest renting points from a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member to save a lot of money at WDW deluxe villas. They advertise right at this site.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I used to think off-site was cheaper, but then there are a few drawbacks:

1. Staying on-site tends to keep you away from the tacky, cheesy and overpriced junk near the parks.

I guess it's a matter of preference, but we tried on-site and won't go any other way.

As far as taking cabs to Universal, I'm not sure on what that cost would be.

Tacky, cheesy and overpriced junk near the parks? What are you referring to? There are many nice places to eat, many many nice resorts to stay at. Some that actually put Disney's Value & Moderates to shame costing less per day. I have stayed on & offsite. For years I had to have the onsite experience. Now my children are adults, and we need more room than a value or moderate can give us.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

if you want onsite, go with Universal's Royal Pacific. You can get that for the same price range as a Disney moderate and you will be in a nicer resort. Not to mention that Universal gives you FOTL for the attractions as many times as you want to experience them

If you want to stay offsite, there are several nice places to stay at. Will you have your own car? That can make a big difference on where you might want to stay..

 

[VinnyNYC]

We have been pricing out every trip to WDW to see what gets us the best bargain for a number of years now and it comes down to this:

1) It is cheaper to buy WDW hopper tickets 10 days at a time with the no expiration option from a discount place like Maple Leaf Tickets than any other way (about $50 per day per adult). This is especially true if you go at least once per year as our family does. As long as we know we are eventually going to go back, we will keep buying the 10-day passes.



2) You can "save" money (not really) by not renting a car and staying on property, but only if you are staying at a value resort. In fact, 3-4 star villas, condos, and suites are definitely cheaper, usually cheaper than value resorts (we usually pay $70-$100/nt), even when you consider $25-$40 per day for a car rental and $14 for parking. I personally would rather stay at a nicer place off-property than stay at a WDW value resort. Even Coronado Springs, a moderate resort, was sufficiently bad enough that we moved out and stayed our last few nights off property. We also had relatives staying at the All-Star Music Resort and they hated it.



3) Having a rental car is much, much, much faster than depending on Disney transportation. So there goes the benefit of extra special hours.



4) The dining plans are not the bargain they were when they first started. They do not save much money at all and pretty much force you to make dining reservations, meaning you must make sure to be at a specific place at a specific time every day. That can suck if you are having fun somewhere and wished you could stay an extra hour or two.


5) Given the above, we always have several days worth of passes on hand so it never pays for us to go during specials such as free dining. These specials are always during the summer months, too, which we try to avoid because of the heat. But, if that happens to work for you and it saves you money, go for it.



6) All of that being said, hearing "Welcome home" and enjoying the great resorts at WDW can't be beat if you do not care about adding 50%-100% to your vacation costs by staying at a deluxe WDW resort. Sometimes it is just worth it. But I would STRONGLY suggest renting points from a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member to save a lot of money at WDW deluxe villas. They advertise right at this site.

1) great value, we do the same

2) We usually stay in a 1B or 2B condos. Disney would cost you about $400 a night compared to off site around $100 or so.

3) If you stay off site your going to need a car, but it can pay for itself by buying breakfast items, water, soda, snacks, beer or wine at a Publix.

4) Disney has some good restaurants, but they have good restaurants off site and a lot cheaper!

5) Never did the dining plan and not doing this time either.


6) If moneys is not an option, stay at a top flight Disney resrt. I'm staying at Disney's Old Key West Resort on a RCI exchange and 3 more night at the Sheraton Vista Villages. If I was paying full price for OKW (about $400 a night for a 1b), to me that just not worth it. You can stay off site at a great timeshare for about $100 a night if you do you homework.

 

[Kat&Dom]

Hello everyone! New here.

I was wondering, what would your advice be to choose the most convenient and affordable hotel for an Orlando vacation? Our current plan is to visit each of the Disney parks and the 2 Universal parks, one each day.

Our trip will be in August, anywhere between the 8th and the 29th. We don't have a specific budget but of course are looking to spend as little as possible in food, transport and accomodations so we can enjoy the rest of the trip.

Considering that, what would be better, a Disney hotel, an Orlando hotel or an off-site hotel?

I see the Disney hotels have the convenience of a bus from the airport to the hotel and they offer meal plans, but the Orlando hotels have the Express tickets for shorter lines and early entrance to Harry Potter (which we REALLY want to check out).

Then again, perhaps an off-site hotel is cheaper and still convenient!

Any advice here, what has been your experience with hotels? Any advice is appreciated!

I noticed that you mentioned "affordable" and "spend as little as possible" in your post. Since you plan on visiting both Disney and Universal - I would recommend staying off-site. You can get some incredible deals for various hotels and for car rentals. I love staying in a condo that has 2 or more bathrooms so that in the morning, everyone can get ready at the same time and be ready to go. You can also save a tonne of money on food. 6 of us (3 adults, 1 teenager, 2 children) stayed at Grand Beach last August and we spent $180 in groceries for the 8 days. Also, loved having the washer/dryer in unit - with how humid August is, it was nice to wash our clothes and always have clean clothes to wear.

Parking will add up as both Disney and Universal charge $14 per day for parking but with what you will save in hotel and food costs - you will be farther ahead being off-site. Have an awesome vacation!

 

[webray]

If you stay on site at Universal, you will be thrilled with your front of the line access you don't have to pay for. Universal resorts are Loews boutique resorts, and even what they consider their value resort (Royal Pacific) is equivalent to disney's deluxe resorts (well, we think nicer).

Universal gives lots of discounts, or used to anyway on food/shopping with your AAA card if you have one. If you check their website probably some great specials going on.

(oh and yes, we have stayed at all of them/disney and universal multiple times)

So for your days at universal spend two nights at universal, then spend the rest of the days on disney property. Figure out what parks you will spend most of your time in at Disney and then pick a convenient resort for getting around.

Also..don't rule out the Swan/Dolphin resorts. they are on disney property but are Sheraton/Westin resorts. Very convenient for getting around the disney parks. Beautiful resorts and great restaurant options in both resorts and nearby in the EPCOT resorts.

 

[myjourney]

http://www.thecaribeorlando.com/buena-vista-suites/ the rooms are very nice, clean, full free breakfast and free shuttle to Disny Parks, not sure if they go to Universal around $89 a night

 

[moongirl]

If you want to spend as little as possible, the free dining deal staying at a Value Resort is the cheapest if it is still available. It is offered during the latter part of August if it is not sold out. However, I would never take this deal as there is no way that sleeping four people in a room with 2 double beds would seem like a vacation to me. YMMV.

For me, staying in a condo can't be beat with the amenities and what they mean to me.
1) Having my own washer and dryer means less packing required and never having to put on a damp bathing suit. Undress straight into the washing machine each day and do a load of laundry while relaxing in the evening.
2) Having a full kitchen means cheap and fast breakfasts in the room. We also packed sandwiches, snacks and water for the parks. I cooked some easy meals for dinner while DH and kids hung out at the resort pool. We spent about $300 for groceries, snacks, and food for a week.
3) My kids had their own bedroom, bathroom and bedtime. There was no tiptoeing around a dark room at night. Everyone had there own space. (2 tv's, 2 bathrooms, readily available snacks and drinks out of the fridge, etc)

For $100 a night (plus about $35 for parking and car rental), I'll take the extra space, lower price, and lower food costs by staying at a condo any day over a room with 2 double beds and overpriced food at a comparably priced Disney resort.

However, I would be willing to spend my last night at a Universal hotel to get the FOTL passes for the day I checked in and day I checked out. Those rooms have 2 queen sized beds.

 

[torinsmom]

We stayed in a 3 bedroom Emerald Island townhome for $450 for the whole week. We were within 15 minutes drive of all the Disney parks, and about 20 minutes from Universal. Yes, we had to pay for parking, but I just figured that into the budget. It was still cheaper than a value room at Disney. We also had a full kitchen, washer/dryer, 3 bathrooms and free wireless.

We did stay onsite at Universal for one night, but IMHO that was a waste of money. I spent $280 for one night. Yes, the Express perk was nice, but the hotel itself was not that great. I wouldn't stay there for my whole trip, even if I won the lottery. For that much money, I would expect a fridge, microwave and free internet and parking.

You will have to have a car for a few days(or take a cab or something), if you are planning on going to Universal and Disney. You can also use a car to get to offsite dining and shopping. There were lots of restaurants close to EI and we ate out quite a bit. You can also drive to the outlet malls and store like Walmart and Target to get snacks, groceries, etc.

marsha