Hotels within walking distance

[MrsPinup]

Hello! I am a DL vet coming over to WDW to run in the Princess Half next February. What hotels/motels are within walking distance to the park that are reasonably priced? I have not been to WDW in 20 years so I do not remember a thing about the resort. A couple friends and I are going together without kids just for the weekend. Any tips/advice would be great. TIA!

 

[Upatnoon]

WDW is massive. It has 4 theme parks, 2 water parks and a dozen resorts. Where did you want to walk to? What is your budget? What kind of sleeping arrangements are you looking for?

 

[disney1990]

Unfortunately, Walt Disney World is NOT like Disneyland. There are not really hotels that you can walk to Disney World. The parks are not right across a walkway from each other -- they are separated by miles in some cases.

 

[Darcy03231]

I would suggest staying on-site at one of the value resorts.

 

[Sunnywho]

Any of the onsite hotels comes with free Disney-operated bussing if that helps.

 

[At World's End]

You might look into renting a condo at Bonnet Creek. I have never stayed there, but it is very popular. It is in between several Disney resorts. It offers shuttle service, but they may be limited.

 

[MrsPinup]

We will probably only be there for 2-3 days and probably only going to WDW since that is where the race is. I have looked into the Disney hotel's, but they are super pricey - $164 a night for the All Star hotel. No thanks! I just need a clean place with a shower and a comfy bed. We don't need all the luxuries. The weekend after the race I am taking a vacation to DL and want to save most of money for that.

 

[paladin]

When you say "WDW", do you actually mean the Magic Kingdom? As mentioned before, WDW consists of 4 theme parks, 2 water parks and multiple resorts and lots and lots of woods, roads, etc. WDW is not a park itself.

If you do mean the Magic Kingdom, the only resort within walking distance is the Contemporary (and that is way more expensive than the All Stars). It is not like DL, where you have the parks surrounded by hotels.

If you are looking for much less expensive, you might want to look into off-site, but then you need a car (some off-site hotels have shuttles, but they generally run on a very limited schedule).

 

[snowy76]

Check the website for the Downtown Disney hotels. Many rooms priced under $100 regularly, walking distance to DTD shops and restaurants, and buses to the theme parks.

Off the top of my head there is a Hilton, a Holiday Inn, a Best Western and some other non-chains or lesser-known chains.

You can find accommodations for less than that, even, but now you're talking at least a half hour drive door-to-door to walk into Magic Kingdom (in a manner of speaking, since the parking for MK is across a lake from the park with no car access to the park itself).

 

[Spanky]

I assume you are flying - Disney offers free transportation from the airport to their resorts - otherwise you are looking at $50+ each way for a taxi or other transportation. So staying off site and renting a car can be a cheaper way to go - parking at the parks is $14.00. I think the race starts from Epcot. Is so the Swan & Dolphin hotels are starwood chain if you have any points. The downtown hotels are cheaper but you will have to pay for transportation from the airport. You will also need a taxi to get to the race start as the 'free' transportation is not available at that hour of the morning. So having a car will relieve a lot of stress for you the day of the race. Check out the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World from the library. They give you info on a lot of the off property hotels.
Good luck at the race.

 

[Brian Noble]

What hotels/motels are within walking distance to the park that are reasonably priced?

As noted---none of them.

If you are flying in, and want the best possible deal, I would guess that a Disney Value resort will ultimately be the best deal---pick one that is a host for the event, so that you have bus service to the race in the morning. It will include transportation to/from the airport and while you are there---and that would run you $100, minimum offsite.

 

[DISengineer]

Remember that the area Disneyworld occupies is bigger then Manhatten. Much of it is swamp. There are just no real walking distance hotels close to the parks and off site. I agree that the Disney value resorts are your best bet. You get free on park transportation by bus.

There are non Disney run hotels on Disney property by Downtown Disney on Hotel Plaza Blvd but they are pricey. They also have shuttle service and a few are close to Downtown Disney.

The only place where there is even a chance of an offsite hotel within some walking distance is at the gate entrance at State HWY 535 by Downtown Disney. I have never stayed around there or known anyone who has. There's a Days Inn there. Another one a bit more away is the Double tree Orlando Vista. Even with these your looking at a mile to Downtown Disney at least. You good go from these hotels on foot to one of the on site hotels along Hotel Plaza Blvd and catch a shuttle there. That saves some walking. The first one I think you run into is the Raddison Lake Buena Vista.

If you go on Google earth, look for the intersection of State HWY 535 and Hotel Plaza Blvd. many offsite hotels have shuttle service to the park. For example try the Choice Clarion at 7675 W Irlo Bronson Hwy in Kissimmee. It's clean and cheap and a shuttle runs a few times a day.
,

 

[MrsPinup]

Thank you all for your help! I looked into prices again today and it looks like the ASMR is the best deal, plus it looks like they are giving military an extra discount.

 

[DOOM1001]

You can find pretty good off site hotels for $40-$70 but there's nothing that would be considered walking distance.So it's either book one of these hotels and rent a car or stay in a Disney hotel ,some areas to look into if you plan to get a car are Lake Buena Vista outside of Downtown Disney,International Drive which is further away but has a lot of hotels available since it's by the convention center,Universal and Sea World or 192 in Kissimmee which has fewer quality hotels,don't go further east of 535 on 192 as the neighborhood goes downhill.If renting a car is not an
option then you have to stay at a Disney hotel where you can take a bus,monorail or boat anywhere on property.

 

[happymommy]

Thank you all for your help! I looked into prices again today and it looks like the ASMR is the best deal, plus it looks like they are giving military an extra discount.

If you're military, you can also get your ticket with the new special - it's about $138 for a 4 day park hopper. That is your best deal - so maybe you'd want to stay an extra day or so? I don't know if race runners get special tickets, but this is a really good deal. That way you aren't limited to just visiting the Magic Kingdom! There is so much to see at WDW!

 

[DCTooTall]

Thank you all for your help! I looked into prices again today and it looks like the ASMR is the best deal, plus it looks like they are giving military an extra discount.

If you are military, Can you get into the Shade of Green? It's the "military" hotel located near the TTC. I honestly don't know of costs related there, but it may give you some of the proximity advantages you are wanting. it may be worth a quick comparison with the All Star you were looking at.

 

[happymommy]

I stayed there years ago, and it is definitely way nicer than a value resort. The rate is tied to rank, but the prices are definitely a good deal. Google them - you won't get Magical Express (which I hated anyway) but you will get other on site perks, like Extra Magic Hours. They do book up quickly, so I'd check them out! And, you can walk across the street to the monorail resorts! I ate at the Grand Floridian every day when we stayed there (my husband was at a conference, and I didn't go to the parks as it was super hot out and I was pregnant and not up to it).

 

[ntsammy5]

I stayed at SOG for the Disney Marathon in 2008 and it was very convenient. It will still be less expensive for you to stay at the All Star Resorts though with the 30% discount. SOG is a very nice resot though.

One nice thing about staying on property is all the transpoortation they have for runners - plan on a very early race start and lots of people running. If the Princess is anything like the one I did it is an awesome event. Good luck