How to decide between Disney resorts and non-Disney properties?

[3cruisemom]

Cross-posted from Orlando Hotels and Attractions:

I'm trying to put together a couple of budgets for a Disney vacation in January 2020. I told my husband (he'll be 35) and my daughter (8) that I would price a Disney Cruise option and a Walt Disney World plus Norwegian Cruise option and they could choose. Just doing really rough math, I was able to show that for about the same price, we could either go on just a 5-day Caribbean Disney cruise or we could go on a 5-day NCL cruise PLUS we could stay 3 extra nights in Orlando, spending 1 day each at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

Now comes the hard part: how do I put together a detailed budget for those 3 days? Everything seems to depend on everything else. We need to get from the cruise port at Port Canaveral to our hotel at Disney, from our hotel to the Magic Kingdom, from the Magic Kingdom back to the hotel, from the hotel to Animal Kingdom, from Animal Kingdom back to the hotel, and from the hotel to MCO. Would it be cheaper to Uber/Lyft or rent a car and pay for parking? It obviously depends on the cost of each variable. So which do I pick first: hotel or method of transportation? We could get a good rate with IHG points at the Holiday Inn Vacation Club at Orange Lake, but it is apparently gated, so then we couldn't use Uber/Lyft. So that means paying for a one way car rental from PC to MCO, plus parking at Disney. But then we could save money by going to a grocery store to buy breakfast and snacks. Or we could stay at Art of Animation or All Star Movies and just use the free transportation to the parks, but is it super slow and therefore worth it to just Uber/Lyft? Then again, if we are Ubering/Lyfting anyway, we could stay at CoCo Key for cheaper than the Disney properties and they have a free waterpark.

Is deciding between Disney and non-Disney hotels the biggest decision I should make? How do I decide?

 

[Hopefully]

How do you define”super slow” Transportation?
A value hotel and free transportation, including back to MCO is likely cheapest.
You need to do your math to be sure.

 

[kiford]

If you try to look at and price in every possible option, you will spend way too much time on it and will drive yourself crazy. I usually select a maximum of 3-4 options and describe them, i.e., dates, flights, hotel, activities. One or two of the options may be similar with only a few differences between them such as a different hotel or they may be very different. Then I price out each option. Here's where you may have to make a decision on what you are and aren't including in the option. For example, if you choose HI, you will price out the rental car. If you choose AoA, you will not include transportation costs. If you choose CoCo Key, you will choose whatever makes the most sense. You may have to make an "executive decision" about food. This will mean that you won't necessary have every single different option of transportation for each hotel with every possible option of food but you will narrow it down to something manageable.

When you've described and priced them out, you may find one option that jumps out at you as far too expensive. You then have the option of looking at ways of modifying the selections in that option to reduce the cost or just eliminate it. Then you can look at the non-financial pros and cons, e.g., transportation too slow, water park on site, etc. Usually after this process, we will have narrowed down to 1-2 options and we may tweak them a bit until we decide on what's best.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If budget is your only consideration, then, yes, you need to price it all out. It sounds like you have 3 options:

1)Holiday Inn Vacation Club with all the needed transportation
2) CoCo Key with all the needed transportation
3) AoA or ASMo with just transportation from PC to WDW (all other transportation to parks and back to MCO would be included)

If budget isn't the only consideration, personally, I would go with convenience and nothing is more convenient than staying onsite if your only plans for the Orlando portion of the trip is going to WDW parks.

 

[3cruisemom]

How do you define”super slow” Transportation?
A value hotel and free transportation, including back to MCO is likely cheapest.
You need to do your math to be sure.

I guess that's what I need to know from experienced park visitors. I have no idea how much time anything but Uber/Lyft takes, and that is just their estimate. Plus, if you Uber/Lyft to the main entrance, don't you still have to take some kind of monorail or bus or something to the actual MK? I remember that it is complicated every step of the way, but I havent beeen to WDW since I was about 12, 3 decades ago.

So how long does each option take? Like if I stay offsite and drive a rental car there. how long do all of the next steps take: walking from my standard parking spot to wherever I show my ticket and then taking whatever I have to take until I am actually enjoying Main Street USA or whatever the first part of AK is? Or if I Uber/Lyft, how long from the drop-off point to the part where the enjoyment starts? Likewise, if I stay on site, how long from when I leave my room, through all the complimentary transportation, to the fun part?

If you try to look at and price in every possible option, you will spend way too much time on it and will drive yourself crazy. I usually select a maximum of 3-4 options and describe them, i.e., dates, flights, hotel, activities. One or two of the options may be similar with only a few differences between them such as a different hotel or they may be very different. Then I price out each option. Here's where you may have to make a decision on what you are and aren't including in the option. For example, if you choose HI, you will price out the rental car. If you choose AoA, you will not include transportation costs. If you choose CoCo Key, you will choose whatever makes the most sense. You may have to make an "executive decision" about food. This will mean that you won't necessary have every single different option of transportation for each hotel with every possible option of food but you will narrow it down to something manageable.

When you've described and priced them out, you may find one option that jumps out at you as far too expensive. You then have the option of looking at ways of modifying the selections in that option to reduce the cost or just eliminate it. Then you can look at the non-financial pros and cons, e.g., transportation too slow, water park on site, etc. Usually after this process, we will have narrowed down to 1-2 options and we may tweak them a bit until we decide on what's best.

That's a good point! I was hoping to eliminate a few options before doing the pricing out and then just price out all of the sub-options within that one option. Like if people here said that staying onsite and using the free transportation really only worked for really patient people who love waiting in lines with crowds of other people, then I'd eliminate that option and just price out three different off-site scenarios...

If budget is your only consideration, then, yes, you need to price it all out. It sounds like you have 3 options:

1)Holiday Inn Vacation Club with all the needed transportation
2) CoCo Key with all the needed transportation
3) AoA or ASMo with just transportation from PC to WDW (all other transportation to parks and back to MCO would be included)

If budget isn't the only consideration, personally, I would go with convenience and nothing is more convenient than staying onsite if your only plans for the Orlando portion of the trip is going to WDW parks.

Budget is definitely NOT the only consideration. Basically, I think I've mostly solved the budget problem by limiting myself to either the 2 cheapest onsite hotels, or offsite hotels that are either cheaper than those or that I can get with points. I guess my first main question is just how long does the free transportation take and is it genuinely worth it, given that (for example) a Lyft from Art of Animation to MK costs $12 and only takes 10 minutes.

Thanks everyone!

 

[babyruth]

While I am constantly researching and piecing together my wish list I usually book flights first because that tends to be the most difficult to schedule and expensive for my family size. If I can’t get reasonable fares on the dates I want I won’t pay a thousand more to fly out on a Friday opposed to a Saturday kwim? But I will spend the same or less to have more time and leave or come back on a different day. However with cruising I book the cruise first because everything else revolves around that. You need to be in the Port area a day ahead in case of delays and then decide if your vacation is over when you disembark or if you’re extending on land. Then come the flight fares and hotel costs hand in hand for the budget. And then transportation options. That’s just me.

 

[3cruisemom]

While I am constantly researching and piecing together my wish list I usually book flights first because that tends to be the most difficult to schedule and expensive for my family size. If I can’t get reasonable fares on the dates I want I won’t pay a thousand more to fly out on a Friday opposed to a Saturday kwim? But I will spend the same or less to have more time and leave or come back on a different day. However with cruising I book the cruise first because everything else revolves around that. You need to be in the Port area a day ahead in case of delays and then decide if your vacation is over when you disembark or if you’re extending on land. Then come the flight fares and hotel costs hand in hand for the budget. And then transportation options. That’s just me.

Agreed! The days are set based on the cruise and the flights. We'll be disembarking on a Thursday, checking into a hotel, spending the rest of the day at the pool, going to MK on a Friday, going to AK on a Saturday, having a nice breakfast at the hotel on Sunday and then heading to MCO for an early afternoon flight. Basically just stuck on hotel and transportation. Can't decide if the free transportation will be more trouble than it is worth.

 

[mmouse1239]

If you are not a veteran Disney traveler, I would suggest the least expensive on site hotel. My first trip was many years ago, staying off site. On the next trip, staying onsite, I realized how much I missed and how much time I wasted going back and forth. For me, the best case scenario, given the times all work out, I would do however many days at the park followed by a few days on the cruise to recover and relax Good luck!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would do a value resort and use Disney transportation. It is the easiest. If you stay offsite and use Uber you will probably end up spending the same as staying at a value and using Disney transport.

 

[nkereina]

We need to get from the cruise port at Port Canaveral to our hotel at Disney

I would recommend getting a price quote from Tony Hinds for some of your transportation needs, including to and from Port Canaveral. We used him to go from the airport to a resort near Universal, from our resort to Port Canaveral, and then from Port Canaveral to the airport. I thought his price was competitive and service was excellent. He is often recommended here on the boards and drives a private 12 passenger van and includes a complimentary 30 minute grocery stop as well.

Would it be cheaper to Uber/Lyft or rent a car and pay for parking?

Is it 3 of you? One thing to consider for between Port Canaveral and your hotel is that UberX may not be able to accommodate 3+ people plus 3+ pieces of luggage. You may have to book UberXL for this, which pricing is usually on par with the available car services.

Or we could stay at Art of Animation or All Star Movies and just use the free transportation to the parks, but is it super slow and therefore worth it to just Uber/Lyft?

Bus transportation to and from WDW resorts is more than sufficient. Any resort is subject to good days and bad days, and the values aren't necessarily any worse or slow. Since you'll only be visiting two parks over two days, I think this is your best option. The buses are certainly tolerable for two days, and you'd be able to take Magical Express to the airport.