Need some help , have never stayed offsite before.

[Shelly]

Hi! I have always stayed on site. And would like to try off site for out family of 5 this time. We like the seperate room for the kids and the price for that at disney is unreasonable. But we love disney transportation.
Is there any off site property that has good tranportation?
or what has been your experience driving, Is disney parking a million miles away, does it take forever to get to your car? Need advice please.

 

[lejaf]

I've never stayed on site, so I'm probably not the person to respond. Driving to the parks has never been a big deal to us. You park your car and a tram comes by and picks you up and brings you to the park entrance. Sometimes at night there might be a wait for the tram to take you back to your car if you are leaving when everyone else is leaving, but it doesn't take that long because they have all the trams lined up to go.

We've stayed at the Vistana Resort and Holiday Inn Family Suites and getting to and from the parks was never a long trip by car. HIFS is actually about a 5 minute drive to Downtwon Disney. I don't know of any offsite hotel with great transportation though. I think most have very limited schedules, but that's just what I've heard...I have no experience.

 

[Robinrs]

I've done both, on and offsite. The Disney transportation to and from the resorts IS wonderful, to being much better than FROM. Offsite the shuttles are restrictive and sometimes the buses park a distance from the entrance because the Disney buses are the only ones allowed to park close.

Driving to the parks is easier than the shuttles. You pay, park, and depending on where your car is you can walk or take a tram to the park. The tram goes to the section you've parked at and you walk from there.

Hope that helps.

 

[pstepka]

We stayed at HIFS (we're a family of 5, also) and used our own car to get to the parks. We had no problems at all.

 

[Shelly]

Thanks everyone, I feel better, and I'm sure it's better than cancelling our trip.

 

[JesNJakesMom]

We stay at the DoubleTree Guest Suites in Downtown Disney. Great accomodations for more than 4 people. One bedroom suites, you can shut the doors to the bedroom/bath area and watch tv and have the kitchen while the kids sleep. They offer 2 double beds in the bedroom and a pull-out sofa in the sitting room. Fridge/Micro are standard and the accomodations are great!

We mostly drive when we are down there but have used their transportation and found it just fine. We don't really plan our trips by the minute so if we had to wait a little while it was no big deal for us.

 

[kilee]

We have only stayed off site, due to cost's. We used the shuttle for all but one day we went to Disney. The shuttle dropped us off right at the Mk gates. If you were going to another park, the Disney buses were right there (and they were free still). Also, the day we did drive, we had no problem with the parking. The price was actually lower than we thought. The tram's in the lot seemed to run every few minutes too.

 

[ppd14]

We have stayed off property 6 times and have never returned to the same place.......until this time. We are going back in March to Holiday Inn Family Suites in Lake Buena Vista. It is only a few minutes to drive to DIS property and we could see fireworks at Down Town Disney from our hotel . Breakfast is included and the food was as good as any other buffet. The kidsuite rooms have a private main bedroom and separate kids room as well as a fold out in the living room. They also have trasportation but we did not use it. Their website is www.hifamilysuites.com - We were very happy with the facility. Good Luck.

 

[Lisa P.]

Shelly, I'm glad to read that you are not cancelling your trip just because your budget will not allow for a stay onsite. We've enjoyed both onsite and offsite, many times. We do prefer to always use a car when staying offsite, rather than the limited bus shuttle schedule offered at most resorts. Perhaps the DD Hotel Plaza hotels may be a good option for you if you must have shuttles.

HIFS is very nearby and you will find almost no traffic in that area. From similarly located offsite resorts, we've found it just as fast and easy to drive our car as to use onsite buses from Disney value or moderate hotels. Remember, there is NO bus stop line to stand in, waiting around on tired feet, when you use your own car. AND, you never have to stand enroute (as you sometimes have to stand on the Disney buses). When we've gone in hot weather, we've left a soft-sided cooler in the car with drinks and snacks. This makes the short drive home or between parks even nicer.