Its either offsite or no Disney :/

[lilandvisma]

Its been 3 LONG years just about since I have been in my Happy place. Between a custody battle with my Ex (btw, Lawyers are EXPENSIVE LOL) and a icky divorce I more than need a Disney vaca. This time it will be adults only though. My sister and her husband and my boyfriend and I. 4 Adults and I am the ONLY one who has ever been to Disney!

I am having a major problem with staying onsite. Mostly because we decided this pretty much last minute and we have not gotten any recent pins so we are trying to keep this trip cheap so to say

I would rather stay onsite as I have in the past. However, financially its pretty much out of the question during our chosen time of year. First week in April (#1 choice) or First week in May 2014.

Where to stay, where to stay? I'd like to keep cost below $100/night please. Breakfast free would be fabulous...t BF is a US Veteran, Sister has AAA. Convenience would be nice (close to DTD or in DTD area?). We will be driving so will have a vehicle. Would like to avoid parking fees though (ahh..the perks of staying onsite!)

Of course since they have never been, I want them to be able to experience the awesomeness that IS WDW! I am in charge of all of the planning so have once again found myself on the Disboards .


I remember staying at a Holiday Inn several years ago and cannot recall which one it was! They had a great hot breakfast, nice rooms...kinda had like a fence along the side of it with a swamp behind it lol...and I remember we could see some sort of amusement park from our window, want to say we were on the 7th floor which was the top? Probably doesn't help much but is worth a try.

Sorry if this seems scattered. I'm totally excited that we are going

 

[supergoofy]

Have yet to stay there but we have booked at Bonnet Creek in a 2 bedroom deluxe.

2 bedrooms, 2 baths, full kitchen and living room with balcony.

 

[AuthorAndrea]

The "Getaways" on Groupon.com and the "Escapes" on LivingSocial.com always have amazing deals for hotel stays near WDW, priced as low as $42 a night.

 

[RedOne3781]

Since your BF is a US Veteran, aren't you eligible to stay at Shades of Green? If so, it is under $100 a night and is considered on property! I believe he would also qualify for discount tickets.

 

[jcano]

Since your BF is a US Veteran, aren't you eligible to stay at Shades of Green? If so, it is under $100 a night and is considered on property! I believe he would also qualify for discount tickets.

I would check into Shades of Green DD and DS-in-law just stayed there and loved it. Their room was huge. They loved it and under $100.

 

[lilandvisma]

Thanks guys ! I thought about SOG before, just tried to check our dates and apparently its booked

 

[lilandvisma]

Unfortunately, since he didn't "retire" military we don't qualify for discounted tickes even though he served almost 10 years in the USAF :/

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

You could get a one bedroom villa (sleeps 4) at the Sheraton Vistana Resort, which is VERY close to DTD, for $99 a night through Dreams Unlimited's 'no housekeeping' offer (for the first week of May week....rates are higher the first week of April):

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/sheraton/vistana/svr-res.cfm

The resort is fantastic, and it would give you the benefit of a full kitchen. Parking is free, and internet is free.

 

[mjmcca]

Just came back from Orlando. We did not do Disney since the prices are so steep. I had passes to SW and Aquatica. Did Hotwire and got Caribe Royale well under 100 per night. The property was gorgeous. It's a gamble using either Hotwire or Priceline but in my case it paid off

 

[taraprather]

Try VRBO. I got my family of 5 a 3 bedroom home with a private swimming pool for the first week of April (2-7) for a total of $400! Only 10 minutes from disney.

 

[4forMe]

Check out Clarion Suites Maingate in Kissimmee. They offer a AAA rate of $65 per night (for the first week of May) and includes free parking, free breakfast, and free wireless internet. They get favorable reviews on tripadvisor.

Good luck with your search.

 

[Bete]

If you are willing to share a room together then maybe you could manage a value at Disney. With the new fastpass plus system it's a definite disadvantage to stay offsite. If you have a car you can always eat offsite or bring in groceries to keep costs down. I know this cramps everyone's style being together in the same room, but you can always make arrangements to take turns with the room, if needed. We really like Residence Inn Lake Buena Vista. The 1 bedroom suites have a sofabed; so, you could have separate quarters if a couple is willing to do the sofa bed. Maybe, you could take turns with bedroom. There are two bedroom suites available, too, but, they cost more. You have to look for a good sale and they do have them to get your price. You get a full kitchen and living room. The living room, as well as, the bedrooms have TVs and phones. This resort has a hot, breakfast buffet that is fabulous. There is a wide assortment of foods and beverages. We even took fruit and such for a snack later on. We ate a hearty breakfast and we found one meal was enough later in the day. On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday there is an evening reception from 5:30 pm to 7 pm which is a quick service meal and it's all you can eat. They include beer and wine with this reception. There's a free shuttle to the Disney parks, too. We never used the shuttle. The hours seemed restrictive and you get dropped off at Epcot and then you need to use Disney transportation to get everywhere else. I felt you lose too much time with the shuttle. You pay for park tickets and that's expensive and to waste time using the shuttle is simply not worth it. The pool at the resort is outside and okay. The rooms are outdated, but nice. Housekeeping is really good. There are plenty of restaurants near by and the resort is not too far from Downtown Disney.

Right now on 2-24, I just checked and the week starting April 27 is a bargain. Rates are going from $100 to $110/night. The $110/ night is for a 2 bedroom suite. The rate is based on a minimum of 5 plus nights. I used the AAA rate.

 

[lynn71092]

We've gotten some great rates for the Clarion at the end of Hotel Boulevard. (Vineland?) Bookit.com usually has 24 hour deals, we 've usually paid less than $60.00/night. The rooms are clean and include a fridge and microwave. My only issues were (being a Disney snob) I felt like the stairways could have used some pressure washing and there wasn't an exhaust vent in the bathroom. Other than that I had no issues. I can't vouch for the pool we've never used it but there are always people using it. Go to tripadvisor.com for reviews. There are always good and bad there but we're staying there again in April, Disney has just out-priced us (and we're Annual Passholders), we can save the extra money from the room and spend it in the parks.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I'd get a condo with two couples. I think vets can use Armed Forces Vacation Club. It's about $350/week for Space A (a little more for others) and they have some 2BR options. We've stayed at Silver Lake (right outside Animal Kingdom) through them a few times and it's an awesome deal. It's a little late in the game so you'll want to book soon.

Also SOG is more expensive than a value on property sometimes. My husband is active Air Force and we rarely stay there. May is lower season than April.

 

[*disgal*]

sending you a pm

 

[denneg]

The Armed Forces Vacation Club s having their BOGO free sale. You could book the first condo, then when you get your free code, book anther unit at the same place ( or book 2 back to back weeks, which we usually do). It would be $380 for both for the week if you do it that way. We take advantage of the sale twice a year and love it, so if you have any questions let me know. We have stayed at Silver Lake and Orbit One and been happy with both. Orbit is near Silver Lake and therefore new AK, with no traffic heading into the parks. We are just booking our free week in May now, plenty of space available at Orbit, and they are all 2 bedrooms. Orbit isn't fancy, but its clean, quiet, has a nice pool, good size units, laundry in the room, plenty of parking, and close to Disney.

Also wanted to add, if SOG if booked, you can call and ask them about overflow rooms. We have done overflow at the Contemporary, and it was so great we almost hope we get bumped when we book SOG. We tend to stay there for a night or two on either end of an offsite vacation, when staying for a week or more, it's so much cheaper to book through AFVclub.com and then just add a few days at SOG if we want to. In May, we are there for two nights, and because of the BOGO sale, those two nights are going to cost us more than our whole week at Orbit. But DH suggested it, and I'll take all the extra days at Disney I can get!