if not a disney resort...then where?

[tiffanym5375]

Why would someone not stay with disney? Is there any resort with similar perks, thats not a disney resort? If so which hotel? If i chose to stay in a disney resort i would chose Swan/dolphin or ak, or for a moderate resort i would chose cornoado springs. We don't have kids, and plan on staying 2 nights at the hard rock to do universal. But still need a second choice! Help

 

[spiceycat]

how much money do you want to spend?

there are some nice hotels in Kissimmee that are much, much cheaper than WDW resorts.

Also there are tons of timeshare in Kissimmee/LBV/Orlando - you can get a 2-bedroom condo much cheaper than a room at WDW resorts.

I do both - use my other timeshares for offsite and use my DVC for on site.

there are also 2 new hotels Gaylord in the Kissimmee area and Ritz Carlton in Orlando - that might be 5 stars.

there is also a Grand Cypress Hyatt in LBV.

 

[vernon]

I think it depends on what you are looking for, if you're planning to spend all you time on Disney then it probably makes sense to stay on property. If quality of hotel AND $$$ are issues then you will get a better class of hotel for the same $$ off site than you will on, but you lose the perks like Disney transportation.

There are a number of hotels near DTD that offer many of the perks Disney hotels do, I know many people who have been very pleased with them. If $$ is an over riding issue AND you have your own transportation I would suggest checking out hotwire.com and seeing how cheap you can get certain qualities of hotel in and around WDW.

I tend to think, reading your wording, that you're looking for justification of a choice you've already made (or to antagonise those that decide to stay offsite) , which may explain the lack of answers to your post. If you want some serious answers to your subject, you may get more luck if you word the question a little differently and be more specific on the information you would like.

 

[tiffanym5375]

Vernon-Antagonize? Absolutely NOT! I appreciate your help, but I do not need you to dissect my question for me. I only asked the question because I had never thought of not staying off site, until finding Orlando Hotels and Attractions forum. After reading a few threads, I got interested. I even checked out hotwire, placed bids on priceline. I was looking for some answers, to help in making our second choice, while in Orlando.

Maybe since we don’t have kids one would say there’s no need to stay onsite, or if you have your on transportation, go offsite. Maybe there are hotels that offer all the perks as Disney. Answers above would have encouraged me to stay offsite, for a great price at a great hotel.

It really disturbs me you would suggest that I would, someone you know nothing about, antagonize those who stay offsite.

I'm really sorry you read into my post wrong

 

[tiffanym5375]

Pat, I don't really know how much i want to spend. Swan/dolphin is right at 250 a night so no more than that Just looking for a great stay. The three hotels you mention how far from disney? We have our own car. Thanks

 

[laurabelle]

I have stayed on property more times than off, everywhere from Value-Deluxe, but I really liked staying offsite and my next 2 trips are planned offsite. Last July I won a week through Skyauction for $400 at the Vistana Resort (1br condo) and it was lovely and relaxing, and tons of room. I'm staying at Cypress Point (near DTD) next month and again in July. Since it's for less than a week, I'm not using skyauction this next time, but through Hotelkingdom.com I got a 2br condo for $70 a night. The condos have full kitchens, washer/dryer, screened in balconies, nice pools. I've learned it's easy to drive around WDW (I like to come and go as I please), nice to have breakfast in the room, being able to throw in a load of laundry if I need to is not a big deal and relaxing in the master br whirlpool tub after a day at the parks is lovely! If you don't mind missing EMH, charging to your room and the bus service, you should give it a try!

 

[tiffanym5375]

Thanks! I'm still doing my research, and your suggested websites will help out alot
...also congratgualtions

 

[floridagirrl2]

DH and I love the Dolphin. The best thing about staying there (to us) is the proximity to Epcot, which is our favorite park. The ONLY reason we stay offsite is because we often want to have an inexpensive trip (we live in Florida and have annual passes so we go to WDW a lot). However, now that we have tried Pop Century, we will probably try to do most of our budget trips there (great food court, fun theming, gated & safe, decent bus transportation, good discount codes).

I love not having to drive to and from the parks. We do drive from our city to Disney, so we always have a car with us, but it's very relaxing to just hop on a bus, boat, or monorail to go to/from the parks and our hotel.

 

[Sandyincanada]

Why would someone not stay at Disney? Well, lots of reasons. For us, we prefer a condo, we love the space, balcony and most of all the quiet after all the hustle and bustle of the parks. We like to escape the "magic" (and all the little kids, lol) while others want to be apart of it 24-7. We like to do other things in Orlando besides Disney like Universal/IOA, Busch Gardens, shop, the kids like visit the factory direct places like Nike because we don't have those where we live. We also rented from hotelkingdom this time around, great prices. We have thought about staying onsite (we have before) while going to Disney and moving offsite for the rest of our vacation but none of us like the idea of repacking and moving so offsite it is. Its all personal preference really and what your plans are while you are in Orlando.

 

[pammy1027]

I'm not a veteran of WDW, only been once last year, but I can tell you that I'll probably never stay at a Disney Hotel just because of the pricing and the amount of kids there. I loved our stay at the Grosvenor because it's closest to DTD where there are lots of adult things to do at Pleasure Island. We still got Disney Bus service from our hotel and Unlimited Park Hoppers. We saved a bundle and got exactly what we wanted.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We've stayed on-site numerous time, not to mention the on-site stays at Universal. Like floridagirll2, we live very close (an hour away), which provides us the opportunity to go often. That said, we have stayed off-site 4 times. Twice in our RV at Tropical Palms, once at what used to be the Courtyard by Marriott at DTD, and once in a condo. These trips were much more relaxing, not so much the one at DTD, but especially the condo. We've had longer stays, but the 7 nights we spent there seemed like a mucher longer trip. Although, we like staying on-site at whichever parks we're visiting, it really does seem like a much more hectic pace. If you're looking for a relaxing, laid back vacation, on-site isn't the way to go, unless you know some secret we haven't discovered.

 

[ttfn3]

What kind of perks are you looking for? I can now say I've stayed both onsite and offsite (onsite for the first time this past October). While I really enjoyed staying at the Boardwalk during Food & Wine Festival -very convenient while tasting wine ;-) I also enjoy staying offsite. There are quite a few choices near Disney parks. We really like staying in a condo/timeshare on 535 or the south end of International Drive (we've staying at the Vistana Resort twice, Vistana Villages, and Marriott Grand Vista). When we stayed at these resorts we did not go to the parks every day. We enjoyed having a place to stay that had activities there (these places had more activities than the Disney onsite resorts) and a nice pool to hang out at. It was a much more relaxing vacation. I really like having separate bedrooms, a kitchen (tho. I try hard not to cook meals - just breakfast/lunch/snacks/drinks usually), and a washer/dryer. Plus, we have gotten some incredible deals. Much cheaper than staying onsite. Of course, we always have a car. I kinda enjoy getting to know the Orlando area outside of Disney.

 

[spiceycat]

the Hyatt is very close to WDW - but believe me this place has so much to do that you probably won't even want to go to WDW.

That for one night is probably close to all of them - look for deals on expedia.

Sometimes they are also on www.hotelkingdom.com

However I would suggest a timeshare off-site.

look at www.skyauction.com
if you like audition - click on us/canada - then click on Fl (to the right) - then click on hotels only (to the right and down)

you are looking for 7 days only and try to find a good deal. ANy questions ask away - if I have any information I will definitely share - as will others here.

if you don't like audition
then try
www.condodirect.com

this II site. there are Marriotts and Sheraton Vistana plus several others.

on the RCI (skyauction) there are Hilton Grand Vacation Club, Orange Lake, Sheraton Vistana (yes it is on both sites), plus several others.

Stay in a condo for a week for about the same price as one or two night(s) at on-site hotel. Yes, I love my own site stuff - but off-site is pretty wonderful too.

the things that only WDW resorts can give you - WDW transportation, being on property 24 hours a day, surprise morning and evening (e-night), being able to go resort hopping with no problem - (you can do this off-site too - but you will probably need a PS reservations), charging rights at the parks, parking for free at the WDW theme parks - no offsite will give you these.

most offsite resorts have transportation - but it is not free for condo stays. and for the hotels I would still use my car.

I have a wonderful animal - Spicey - at some of the offsite hotels he can stay with me!!! and I have finally found an off-site timeshare where he can stay too....

just depends upon what you want.

 

[swilphil]

I'm another fan of Swan/Dolphin. If $250/night is okay for you, go with them. I like to wait for their discounts of $140-$160. I think I would stay at a moderate before staying off-site. As a matter of fact, we're booked at POR(split with CR) because S/D doesn't have a discount rate when we are going in March.

I have considered staying at a DTD hotel during the off-season. We stayed at a nice condo at Christmas and I'll never stay off-site during a busy time of year again. My most vivid memories of the trip are being stuck in traffic.

 

[tiffanym5375]

Thanks to all you guys have been great

 

[MiaSRN62]

being able to go resort hopping with no problem - (you can do this off-site too - but you will probably need a PS reservations), charging rights at the parks, parking for free at the WDW theme parks - no offsite will give you these.

Just to add......we often stay offsite at Vistana and have never had a problem resort hopping for dining/shopping. Places we have driven to while staying at Vistana are : Poly (O'Hana's), AKL (Boma's), BWV (Spoodles), BC (Cape May), WL(Whispering Canyon), Contemp (Chef Mickey's) to name a few. This is over a period of years and while the guard asks what is the reason for our visit, we simply tell him to have dinner/lunch and he lets us right in, explaining we have a 3 hour parking limit. When we first started going to WDW we used to always have PS for dining. Now that we've been so many times, we prefer a more laid-back approach with less time commitments. So we only do PS now if we REALLY want to assure a spot. But I just wanted to mention that resort dining/shopping can be done without PS when staying offsite for those who might be considering it.

 

[eeyore0062]

It depends on if you are going to WDW exclusively. I have heard very nice things about the Wyndham Palace on Hotel Plaza Blvd and the Hilton Lake Buena Vista, also on Hotel Plaza Blvd. Of course, there are always the Swan and Dolphin. There is a hotel on 535 with Safari theming that a friend of mine stayed in and said was nice. It is on the corner of 535 and Palm Pkwy across from the Olive Garden.

If you are planning to go to Universal great things have been said about Hard Rock, and Portofino, plus staying on Universal property will give you front of the line access on all attractions. The Hilton SeaWorld is said to be nice, as well.

Of course, I will always recommend a Disney owned resort over any others!

Whatever you decide, have a great time!