Need Advice for our Expanding Trip!

[JKnLydia]

Our trip in May keeps growing! We got back from our first BLT stay in August and immediately bumped from 5 nights to 6. Then last week I booked airfare from Manchester to Orlando and saved more than $300 by flying down on Friday instead of Saturday. Woot! I'm trying to save points for a week long 2BR stay with my parents in 2012, sooooo, without spending more points, what do you all have for suggestions for a one night stay at the beginning of our trip before moving over to BLT? I'd like to stay under the $300 we're "saving" by going down early. Options considered so far include everything from DTD hotels to the All Stars to a room somewhere near the airport...in short, it's all on the table. HELP!

 

[pamickey]

Make sure that you stay on-site so that your luggage is moved from the one-night resort to BLT while you are at one of the parks. It will then be there when you check in.

You could save more money by staying at a Value resort for the night, but if under $300 is in your budget, I would recommend Coronado Springs Resort. It's very large so it doesn't appear to be crowded. The rooms are very nice and the grounds are beautiful. And it's so much quieter than one of the All-Stars or Pop - more families than large groups.

Have fun!

Terri

 

[nolanboys]

If you're only going to be there for a night, I would just stay at a value. Especially if you're going to go to the parks that day. People seem to really like the POP. I stayed at All Star Sports and enjoyed it. Also stayed at POFQ and POR and enjoyed both of them. Don't think you can go wrong with any value or moderate.

 

[bookwormde]

I would book an off site with no cancellation fee, and watch the DVC rent boards in the last 60 days for a bargain. In August they are easy to come by and you should be able to get a DVC studio for abut $150 if you are not overly pickey about where, you might even get one at BLT

 

[kiddisney]

i'd recommend staying off-site at the airport - we did this for our past two trips & will be doing it again in two weeks -

as we're flying in at night the ME trip could bring us into WDW late at night - so we go to the Sheraton Suites -5 minute airport shuttle - we're in bed at a reasonable hour - and back to the airport the next day - and it's cheap for a room that can handle 6 people -

 

[permavac]

If you are going mid to late August I would recommend staying on-site and potentially booking through Expedia or Travelocity. My DH and I went to Disney at the end of September this year and had a few nights booked at DVC but, like you, we had an initial night (actually 2) where we needed other accommodations. I usually book directly through Disney but found an unbelievably cheap rate with Travelocity (cheaper than through Disney directly) - we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter for $102 per night including all taxes. Granted - those deals might not be there right now - we didn't book our room until a few weeks before our trip because we knew it was the cheap season and we knew we would find someplace to stay even cutting it so close. We even saw that Wilderness Lodge was priced at $148 per night on Expedia during the same time we were looking (tempting but we decided to save the extra money for dining). You can stay at the Values for even cheaper and we usually enjoy staying a night or two at Pop Century or even All Star Music but opted this time for POFQ since we hadn't been there in a while and the beds are a bit better than what you get at the Values. Staying on-site is helpful too since you get Magical Express (a moot point if you like to rent a car though). Whatever you decide, enjoy!

Terri