Hello. You will definitely lose a lot of Disney magic by staying here, but you will save some money, unless you were getting only 1 room at the All-Stars. We paid the DIS rate, $102/nt for 4 adults and 1 child. The rooms were adequate, 2 full/queen beds, sleeper sofa, small microwave, small refrigerator (cold enough if you didn't open the door much), 2 TV's, VCR, Kit sink. Bathroom had toilet & tub w/ shower separate from sink/vanity area. A door separated Living area from vanity area, but an open doorway was between vanity and bedroom area. Our floor had brand new carpet (room 738). Hotel was relatively quiet. Outdoor pool was heated, with kids swimming in it, but still too cool for me once the sun was down and wind was blowing. Hot tub was nice.
Shuttles -- we did not use. We were going to, but breakfast began at 7am, and the first shuttle was 7:05. The next shuttle was 9:00 (too late), so we ate breakfast every day and drove our own car. The shuttle was free and I did not hear other guests complaining about it. We were told it would not leave early, but may run a few minutes late. There were 4 or 5 departures daily to each WDW park, and 4 returns.
The full breakfast buffet was pretty good. Menu:
scrambled eggs/fried to order
pancakes OR waffles (varied daily)
ham OR bacon OR sausage links (varied daily)
breakfast potatoes OR hash browns (varied)
Assorted pastries, doughnuts, cereal, fruit.
Juice, coffee, milk, choc. milk
Biscuits, gravy, grits, oatmeal, toast
This hotel was very convenient to WDW. There is a quickiemart (which I discovered on the day of departure had fresh fruit, salads, sandwiches inside)and walkin clinic and pharmacy across the street. Up the street several blocks (sorry, I don't remember the name of it) were several restaurants--Wendy's, TGI Friday's. Housekeeping was adequate. From our floor at the end of the hallway, we could watch MK fireworks from a distance. You could see the very tip of the castle. If you have any other questions, I'll try to help. We would stay in this hotel again, but would prefer to stay on-site if possible, or at Holiday Inn Family Suites, which looked great from the road.
Disneyland 1982
WDW:
Off-Site:
Aug. 1983, May 1985, May 1987, Oct. 1996
Polynesian July 1999
March 2001--Buena Vista Suites
