While everyone is focusing on the cost side of this proposed agenda, there is a more fundamental part of it that I can't get past. Take a look at each day's itinerary from the standpoint of where it starts, where it ends, and what time you would have to get up in the morning and when you would get to bed each night, factoring in time for showering, dressing and other preparation and then transportation to and from each day's start and end points. Then think about how much time during each day is spent getting to and from the parked car and driving to meals and other stops.
Right off the bat, landing at MCO at 7:50 and getting to the gate at MK by 9:20 seems very ambitious to me considering that you have to pick up luggage, pick up a rental car, drive to a hotel, check in to the hotel, take luggage to room (I suppose you could do this later), drive to WDW and to the MK parking lot, then get to the TTC to get the monorail or boat to the park. Maybe this can all be done in an hour and a half, but a lot of those steps are out of your control and a significant delay in any one of them would throw the whole thing off. Maybe more importantly, though, even if it could be done, it seems like a lot of effort for 2 hours at MK and a return to the hotel by probably no earlier than 1AM.
As I look at these itineraries, they all seem to involve getting the family up by about 7 AM, or maybe 7:30 at the latest on most days to get ready and get to the car in time to get to the starting point and returning to the hotel by no earlier than 10 PM, and much later than that when the last event is something like a late MSEP or Illuminations. If I am only going to spend time at the hotel showering, prepping, and sleeping, how much does it matter how many stars the hotel has as long as it's in a safe neighborhood, the bed is comfortable, and the shower and sinks work? As with buying a house, it's location, location, location.
We've already covered the fact that an agenda like this makes no sense at all for the typical one week visitor for whom it makes no financial sense to get AP's for either WDW or US, much less both. But, even if I had AP's, I would choose to spend full days at WDW and full days at US instead of shuttling back and forth between the two of them. It may not be an issue for LT, but getting cars in and out of theme park parking lots and driving around a busy resort area like Orlando is not much fun to me. I put significant value on personal comfort and convenience, and I think even people on a tighter budget put some value on that. Otherwise you might as well stay at the Motel 6 on 192.
Obviously, if cost is a motivating force, staying offsite is less expensive than staying onsite. But, if you're only going to be at the hotel from 11 PM-8 AM (if that) every day, maybe the better comparison would start with a WDW value resort (with applicable discounts), even if you have to get two connecting rooms to accommodate the party. Then you can start comparing the costs and weighing that against the convenience of being closer to the WDW parks (even if you don't use WDW transportation).
Let me use Day 3 as an example, since that's the only full day that is devoted entirely to Disney. LT's plan involves starting the day at Epcot and ending it at DHS. That is the kind of thing we would often do. But, in the middle of the day, he goes back to the Epcot parking lot, drives out to a restaurant (which I think is on 192), eats lunch, and then drives back to the DHS parking lot. To me, this serves no purpose except to keep from spending money on Disney property. If we were on that general agenda, we would have our lunch at Epcot or at one of the many places to eat on the Boardwalk. We wouldn't spend that much because we are satisfied with things like a club sandwich from Norway or a ham and cheese croissant from France, a slice of pizza from the Boardwalk window, or, if we want to have a sit down lunch, the ESPN Club. When we want to go to DHS we can either enjoy the walk there, or take the boat.
I guess the bottom line is that this agenda may make sense for people who are making enough trips to Orlando in a year to justify the cost of APs for both WDW and US and who do not mind spending a significant part of every day (like 2 hours or more?) in their cars and getting to and from them. Otherwise, this whole thing is nothing more than the age old discussion about the benefits of staying onsite vs offsite with the added factor of seeing how little money we can spend on Disney property.
Should make it there by 9:30, even checking in. Still time to do a 9-10 FP. Another 10-11, and you might squeeze in a ride after your 10-11 FP.
