lodging advice needed

[pwinsten]

Our family of 5 is planning a one-week trip to Disneyworld, hopefully late March to early April (after spring break crowd, before Easter crowd). We are torn between staying at the Hyatt Grand Cypress off-site, staying in a jr. suite at the Dolpin using our 50% Entertainment book discount, or renting points to stay at a Disney Villa. Any advice? Our kids are 12-15-17. Does Disney do early admission to the parks again for on-site guests? Heard they dropped it, so maybe on-site isn't necessary. Is traveling from off-site hotels a major pain? Also, is it worth it to get concierge level at the Dolphin so the kids can eat up for free? I read somewhere that at many of the hotels the lines to the buffets are huge and when you finally get to it, there isn't much to offer. Thanks!

 

[luvindisneyworld]

hi, my suggestion would be try to rent points from a dvc member it may come out quite a bit cheaper and you could get a 2 bedroom at one of the dvc properties just go over to the rent and trade board and see what you can find.yes, they have brought back early entry each day it is a diffrent park, i am sure somene here can tell you what park is what day. yes i think staying on property beats staying off property you can use the bus service and never have to move your vehicle and if you were to stay off property you would have to pay to park and you would not have early entry. i hope this helps with some of your questions.
misty

 

[skfulkers]

Here's another vote for renting points from a dvc member. We've stayed both on and off site, but would always choose any on-site accomodations if given the choice. We stayed at the Dolphin last February and thought it was a great resort, but I personally think that staying at a 1 or 2 bedroom villa would beat a junior suite at the Dolphin any day. Based on the rates for the junior suites last year (we also had the Entertainment rate), we could have gotten a 1 bedroom villa at the Boardwalk for the same price for one week--too bad we didn't know about renting points last year.

Also, if you stay at a 1 or 2 bedroom villa, there is a full kitchen so you can buy groceries and eat some of your meals in the room. This would probably be cheaper than paying extra for concierge.

Just as "luvindisneyworld" mentioned above, staying on-site is so much more convenient than staying off-site as far as transportation goes. We always had to plan at least an hour to get to and leave the parks when we stayed off-site. Staying at Disney, you simply catch a bus, boat or monorail (or maybe even walk) to the parks, downtown disney, etc. You can park the car at the resort for the week and leave the driving up to Disney. Plus you never have to leave the "magic" of disney--you really do feel enveloped in the magic by staying on-site.
Hope this helps. Have a great trip!

 

[Ricola]

I have never encountered any shortage of food in my concierge stays at the Dolphin, Poly, or AKL. If you can get a good price there, it's worth considering.

Really, choosing a resort is a personal preference kind of thing. I would choose a 2BR DVC villa over the Dolphin any time. But I am sure there are many others who would pick differently.

As for staying offsite, I really enjoy the convenience and "magic" of staying onsite. I am sure that there are perfectly wonderful accomodations offsite, but for me it just doesn't feel the same.

 

[MELSMICE]

Another vote for on-site & renting a 2BR from a DVC owner. You would also have 2 bathrooms in the 2BR unit. Do they have 2 baths in the Jr. Suite?

Everyone has their own opinions but personally we enjoy staying on-site & having a lot of room (we are also a family of 5). We also enjoy having a kitchen, especially for breakfast & snacks at the end of a long day.

Good luck w/ your decision.

 

[eeyore0062]

Yes, Disney does do early entry for onsite guests, and during the time you are planning to go, it will be very helpful. With the ages of your family members, and the size of your family, you will likely be more comfortable renting points for a villa... you may also run into a good deal!