Need suggestions (non luxury) hotel near WDW with shuttle.

[wdwmoxie]

We stayed at the MainGate (holiday inn?) near OldTown back in 1995. It was just ok. The bus shuttle was adequate.

Where have you stayed that we can consider with the following:

- clean rooms
- queen beds (2 in a room)
- decent shuttle service to the parks
- location not too far from parks
- near restaurants walking distance
- free breakfast/coffee would be nice.
- restaurant on site or grab&Go food on site or nearby walking distance.

Budget is a concern so we're not looking for the lap of luxury on this trip.

Thanks.

 

[Brian Noble]

In my opinion, no such place exists.

The closest you will come will be something in the DTD area. The bus system there is adequate. None of them are budget properties. Anything farther afield has scheduled, shared bus service, and that's too hideous to contemplate.

http://www.downtowndisneyhotels.com/

 

[05MM08MM]

Best bet if staying off-site is probably to have a rental. But be sure to factor in tolls & parking along with your rental fee, but it would be worth it for flexibility than relying on your hotels transportation, especially if you plan to take a break from the park during the day or have early ADR's on property.

 

[danceintherain]

It really depends on how much you plan on spending. We stayed at Doubletree Guest Suites on Hotel Plaza Blvd a week ago on a Mousesavers e-mail rate ($89/night) which was nice for us because we had 6 people, which meant we would have to get two rooms just about anywhere else. I would definitely sign up on the Mousesavers website for their newsletter, because they offer lots of deals.
The bus service was slightly less convenient than on-property, but we were satisfied. They run buses every 30 minutes, which I think is better than most off-property places.
The suites are set up with two double beds and a queen sized pull out couch, so it sleeps 6. Also, a mini fridge and microwave.
Also, to save a little extra money, from the airport we took the LYNX 111 bus. The bus stop happened to be right in front of the Doubletree, which was really nice. It took a little extra time, and it's better to not have a lot of luggage in case the bus gets full.
It's within walking distance of both DTD and the Crossroads shopping center, which both have various restaurant choices.