Need Help Fast Please

[DisneyStarWisher]

Long story short, I may be going to WDW in two weeks! Very unexpected trip. I will be there again in June. I am a DVC member, but I don't have enough points for this trip. I need to stay somewhere cheap. I know nothing about staying off-site or flying really. Here's what I need to know:
1) What is the best way to get from MCO to an off-site hotel and how much does this transportation usually cost?
2) I'm looking at Baymont Inn in Celebration which is 1.9 miles from AK. What would be the best way to get to the parks? They say they have free shuttle transportation, but it has to be scheduled. I've stayed off-site once and the shuttle situation was a nightmare. Would a taxi be the best bet? What would it cost to get to all four parks?
This is definitely a budget trip, so we are thinking about driving. I know there will be parking fees at the parks. I'm just thinking of flying to save time.
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[alliecat523]

If you're flying I think the best bet is to rent a car. You'll only have to pay for parking once per day, but you could easily spend more than that in taxis and airport shuttles. I think the last time I took a taxi (car failed to show up) to the airport from a Disney area hotel it was like $40 one way. That was just last year.

 

[Alesia]

A taxi is definitely not going to be your cheapest option. I wouldn't stay offsite without having a car.

Have you looked at renting a house? They're often considerably cheaper than hotels. Check out VRBO.com or homeaway.com

 

[rwdavis2]

Rent a car. When staying off site I can't stress this enough. As a PP said, look into renting a house/townhouse/condo. All Star Vacation Homes is a good place to start. We rented in Windsor Hills, about 10 minutes from WDW property.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Best offsite location would be somewhere on Hotel Plaza Boulevard - maybe Holiday Inn? You wouldn't need a car, these seven hotels have buses that run every 30-60 minutes all day to all the parks and Disney Springs.

Mears Shutlle r/t from MCO is about $35 pp.

Best, though, would be to check sites like Orbitz, Expedia, Hotels.com, for discounted Value resorts.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Update: I booked value rooms through Orbitz. Had to split the stay since I couldn't get all three nights this close to the trip. I got a good discount. We are also flying. Found a good price on airfare. I'm very relieved to know that flying will save us so much time and we are on-site, so no need to worry about the transportation issue. Thanks, everyone!