It's been a few years since we stayed offsite...

[Camno's Mama]

Dh and I are going on our first kid free vacation. Right now, we are booked at CSR, and have MNSSHP tickets for Friday night, and are planning on going to the F&W at Epcot on Saturday. I think dh really wants to go to Universal on Sunday, but I just don't want to spend the money to get a cab, etc. And I don't really want to stay at a value this trip.

So, I'm thinking maybe we will stay offsite so that we can do it all for the same price that I'm paying now. Based on the prices that I see on vrbo, we can rent a car, pay for parking at the parks for less than we're paying now at CSR for room reservation only. And we'll probably save money on food, too. Not sure if I will end up switching over in the end, but I need to make a really good comparison to see if it's worth it.

We have stayed in several condos/townhomes/pool homes over the years, depending on how many people we've been there with. Terra Verde, Windsor Palms and Emerald Island, specifically.

Are those still good places to stay? Are there new ones? We would love to have access to a hot tub after a day at the parks. I really like staying onsite, but I really want to surprise dh for his birthday by getting tickets to Universal since I know that's what he really wants to do. Since the resort discounts just aren't what I need them to be to do it all, I think we might have to think outside the Disney box!

Ideas???

 

[Camno's Mama]

I also love downtown Celebration, and think it would be such a great place to stay. Do people rent out their condos/townhomes in that downtown area? Would we have access to a pool/hot tub if we stayed somewhere like that?

 

[swilshire]

If it's just the two of you, why not just rent a comfortable hotel. If you don't want just a room, a Homewood Suites or Residence Inn would give you a little extra room. Or use Priceline and really save.

Sheila

 

[Brian Noble]

I second the idea of a nicer, but offsite, hotel. For a trip without the kids, I often am wiling to give up a little space for more "activity" around.

What sort of room rate are you able to get at CSR? That helps us know what we are working with.

 

[Camno's Mama]

I'm paying just over 500 for the three nights.

I looked at Bonnet Creek, and can get that for 475 for three nights. The car rental would be 60 and parking at Universal (we would take bus to Disney) is about 15. So, it's a little more, but it's gorgeous and seems to be worth paying more for. My husband liked that idea.

I looked at the Radisson...that looks like it would be about 309 (including resort fees) for three nights.

But I really like Bonnet Creek. I love the resort feel...the balconies on the room, the pools, stuff to do...iit really looks so super beautiful. Is there another place like that that is cheaper? I feel like it looks even nicer than the mods, but is really roughly the same price.

TIA!

 

[Camno's Mama]

And, you're all right...the extra space is totally not necessary. So, if it's just a regular resort room at a hotel with a similar vibe and reputation to Bonnet Creek, I would be totally up for that.

 

[Camno's Mama]

Ooooo...how about the Mona Lisa? Just looked into that, and I can get it for 437 for three nights. Looks gorgeous as well...

Nothing like too many choices.

 

[rebecca06261]

I would suggest renting DVC points through DVC rental or the other site that you see frequently on the Dis. I have experience renting points with Scott (owner of the rental place) and each time it's been cheaper than staying at a moderate, although sometimes not by much. For instance, I am staying at BWV standard studio 9/5 thru 9/8 (3 nights) for $360.00.

 

[shalom]

But I really like Bonnet Creek. I love the resort feel...the balconies on the room, the pools, stuff to do...iit really looks so super beautiful. Is there another place like that that is cheaper? I feel like it looks even nicer than the mods, but is really roughly the same price.

If you want a lower price, and especially since you're planning to do Universal anyhow, I'd look a little farther from WDW. Location adds to the price of Bonnet Creek, IMHO. Have you looked at Hilton Grand Vacations on International Drive? Gets a great rating on TUG and the pictures I've seen of it are gorgeous. It's on International Drive, but not down by all the stores and SeaWorld; at the Walt Disney end, where it's much prettier. It surrounds a lake about the same size as the one at Bonnet Creek or a bit smaller, I would guess.

The Fountains and Sheridan Vistana Villages are in the same area as the Hilton, and both surround ponds with fountains that may give you the same feel as WBC. The ponds are much smaller than the lake at Bonnet Creek, though. There are some units at the Fountains fronting a lake but the resort doesn't surround it. Those resorts are not as nice as the Hilton, but probably cost less.

The Fountains and the Hilton, unlike Bonnet Creek, have screened porches, which I personally prefer, but some people feel that detracts from the resort feel. Dunno about Sheridan. At the Fountains can ride a canoe or paddle boat on the lake or fish there, there are two good sized pools, one with zero entry, and they've got some organized activities every day (not as many as Wyndham, I would guess). I don't know if there are activities at the Hilton but I would guess so. There's a thread on Sheridan Vistana Villages in the Review board - I think it offers the same kind of activities as the Fountains (except the lake stuff), but I have been known to mix it up with Sheridan Vistana, which is on 535 and is considerably larger.

You can get to WDW from all these resorts without getting onto I-4 or any of the highways; just take International Drive south to World Center Drive, turn left, then as you pass under I-4 World Center Drive turns into Epcot Center Drive. Not ideal but the only time we have ever been caught in traffic there one of the lanes was closed off for some reason. We go off season, though.

Windsor Palms and Emerald Island still get pretty good reviews, but the new favorite seems to be Windsor Hills, which might be worth looking into if you liked the other two.

 

[Brian Noble]

You know, for the life of me, I can't remember if Vistana had screened porches or not. I think they might have. On the other hand, I've never noticed bugs at Bonnet or any of the DVC resorts, even though they are not screened. Perhaps that's thanks to RCID's incredibly aggressive insect-control program. (You don't want to know...)

For a target of about $140/night in the I-4/I-Drive area, I'd see if you can get something like Rosen Shingle Creek

http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com/rosenShingleCreek.asp

It's not super close to WDW, but if you aren't coming and going twice in the same day, maybe not too bad.

The other thing to consider: depending on how much Wine you expect in your Food & Wine experience, it might be better to be on WDW property and let Disney do the driving, and just biting the bullet on a cab to Universal.

 

[snoobydi]

Mears has bus service at the disney resorts they will come and pick you up and drop you off at whatever resort you are staying at. Last time I used them was in 2006 and it was $12pp each way. So really not that much of an expense. You should google them and see what they are offering. good luck

 

[Camno's Mama]

I would suggest renting DVC points through DVC rental or the other site that you see frequently on the Dis. I have experience renting points with Scott (owner of the rental place) and each time it's been cheaper than staying at a moderate, although sometimes not by much. For instance, I am staying at BWV standard studio 9/5 thru 9/8 (3 nights) for $360.00.

I tried. I looked at the disboards and ***********, but I just didn't get any responses from anyone. I think our days were full or something. I would have been interested in that for sure.

 

[snowy76]

I'd look at the Hilton DTD and rent a car for the weekend. Best of both worlds - across the street from DTD, the only DTD hotel with EMH privileges, but you can easily book a room for less than a mod - Last Minute Travel has it now for $83 (it's one of their unnamed hotels but you can tell by the pics and description).

My sister and I did a girls' only weekend a few yrs ago staying there. We could see DTD, Spaceship Earth, the CR and the teeny tiny castle from our room. Car rental was only like $75 for the weekend with a discount code. We used the hotel shuttle to get to Epcot for our F&W day, but since it was easy to walk from WS through the IG to the Boardwalk, we took the BW bus to DTD and walked back from the bus stop to the Hilton. No driving needed on F&W day.

Fun, full quick trip for cheap!

 

[Camno's Mama]

I'd look at the Hilton DTD and rent a car for the weekend. Best of both worlds - across the street from DTD, the only DTD hotel with EMH privileges, but you can easily book a room for less than a mod - Last Minute Travel has it now for $83 (it's one of their unnamed hotels but you can tell by the pics and description).

My sister and I did a girls' only weekend a few yrs ago staying there. We could see DTD, Spaceship Earth, the CR and the teeny tiny castle from our room. Car rental was only like $75 for the weekend with a discount code. We used the hotel shuttle to get to Epcot for our F&W day, but since it was easy to walk from WS through the IG to the Boardwalk, we took the BW bus to DTD and walked back from the bus stop to the Hilton. No driving needed on F&W day.

Fun, full quick trip for cheap!

I thought about doing that...I saw it on Last Minute Travel as well. Here's the thing that keeps getting me...all of the resorts around Disney and the DTD hotels have fees for parking/resort fees. Once you add that and the parking at Universal on, I'm not saving nearly as much money as I thought I would.

We may end up sticking with CSR, but the Hilton may be the best idea outside of that. Thank you!

 

[Elfstar]

The Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort does have a resort fee of $8 a night (I think that's what it is) but parking and WiFi are both free. I'm spending a week there in October. I got a really good price, with a room upgrade, free breakfast, late checkout and a food/beverage credit, along with a deal on a rental car, through Bookit.com. I called the hotel, and the car rental agency (Alamo) both before I booked, and they said they deal with Bookit.com often and have very few complaints. I checked because of some poor reviews that I read online but the woman at the hotel said unhappy people frequently post reviews; unfortunately, the larger, happy group generally doesn't post their satisfaction.