No car-where would you stay?

[jsmla]

This is why it's very hard to offer advice. Everyone has different priorities.

For me, Disney and cruises are my favorite vacations because I can park the van and never see it again until we are on our way home. I actually like Disney transpiration. The crowded buses are part of the experience for me. And, even though we no longer stay at monorail resorts, we always go take a spin on the monorail just for fun.

The answer really depends on your priorities. In our case, we spend practically no awake time in the room, other than showering. I don't care about anything other than being onsite. I was to be immersed in Disney. When I exit the room, I want to see Disney all around me. That's it. No other requirements. So, obviously, I'd get a value resort and take turns sleeping on the floor.

I agree. I like to make several trips each year. DH is not a fan and I can usually only get one WDW trip with him along. I enjoy staying onsite but really can't justify spending that kind of money if he's not along. I'd rather make four trips with three being off site than just the one.

Food is another issue for me. I get tired of eating Disney style at every meal and love having the ability to prepare breakfasts and dinners as well as packed lunches in my room.

I have a bad case of wanderlust and have never been able to wrap my head around the "go big or stay home" mentality. I want to go! (And not just to WDW).

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Which hotel do you prefer? I've stayed at the Hilton and what is now the Holiday Inn, but both of those were many years ago. Since I now live in the area I don't frequent any of the WDW hotels, but occasionally I'll book a night at the Waldorf or Four Seasons when we are celebrating a special occasion.

The new B is very nice. I like it and the rates are good. For a group you can't beat the Doubletree Suites, but it's the farthest location.

I have stayed at the Hilton a lot and never had any of the issues an earlier poster had.

 

[married2mm]

I **think** if we do make the trip it may well be just me and dd.
That clearly makes it easier sleep wise & bathroom issues too!

Pop or aoa are the only values dd would stay in..
Pofq is her fave onsite resort (which we've stayed in prev)
And an awful lot of very nice looking off-site hotels are around those prices.
Gee, sooo indecisive

Last night was considering possibly renting dvc points and having a deluxe property for obviously a vastly reduced price-
Could well not be an option as they may not be available-& realistically I wouldn't know how/where to start?!

 

[BeerMe]

Definitely onsite. Offsite transportation is unreliable at best. Plus, DME is free if you're onsite. The last few times we've stayed we've stayed at AoA, SSR and POFQ and used onsite transportation exclusively and had no problems. We're offsite in the fall and will be driving.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Pop is my favorite value. You can't really go wrong with ME and Disney buses, especially if it's only the two of you.

 

[married2mm]

Pop is my favorite value. You can't really go wrong with ME and Disney buses, especially if it's only the two of you.

Is it simple enough to change resort's without a car if we had a multi resort trip?

 

[jsmla]

Is it simple enough to change resort's without a car if we had a multi resort trip?

It's fairly easy. I just had Bell Services pick up my bags and transfer them to the new resort before we went out that morning. We spent the day in the parks and our bags were at the new resort when we got there.

 

[HopperFan]

Is it simple enough to change resort's without a car if we had a multi resort trip?

Easy enough if you stay at only Disney resorts, their bell services will handle it. BUT if you are talking about any non-Disney resorts you will have to pack it up and take it to the next resort and check in.

 

[married2mm]

Thanks again guys for all your posts and advice.

 

[TamaraQT]

Personally I ALWAYS prefer Offsite....but like a few others have said, if you don't have a car then definitely stay onsite. I watch people waiting for buses in the parks and outside of the parks. Personally, I am not a fan of doing that on vacation. Even when I stayed onsite, I had a car. I guess I am just NOT a fan of bus transportation. I gave it a try once onsite and concluded it wasn't for me. But if I couldn't rent a car, I would stay onsite and deal with Disney transportation rather than stay off-site and have to rely on other forms of transportation. You will lose a lot of park time waiting for buses/cars offsite. In Disney you can jump on buses, monorails and boats to get around and it's included in your package price. I can't imagine how inconvenient it would be to stay off-site, try to grocery shop, get to disney, and do other things without a car. Believe me, there is a reason why those Disney Parking lots are so full. People use a car to get around far more than they use Disney transportation. So if you can't get a car, stay onsite and enjoy your vacation without transportation headaches.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I've stayed recently (within the last 2 years) at four of the seven Disney Springs Hotels. I'd highly recommend two and provide cautionary advice about the other two.

Highly recommended:

• DoubleTree Suites: This is my favorite Orlando hotel. All suites are 540-square feet, which is twice the size of a Disney Value room. The staff is great. I've stayed there 40-50 nights in the past couple of years and never had more than a minor issue. And I do mean minor...like Housekeeping forgetting to replenish shampoo or a broken iron. The restaurant is mediocre, but you can walk to both Disney Springs and off-site restaurants in the Crossroads Shopping area. No resort fee, but they do charge for parking.
• Holiday Inn Disney Springs: This is an extremely well-run hotel. The employees smile and seem happy to be there. Twice on my last stay, I had managers approach me in the lobby and ask if everything was satisfactory with my stay. I've never eaten there because the nearby Wolfgang Puck Express is so good. No resort fee, but they do charge for parking.

Proceed with Caution:

• Buena Vista Palace: This hotel is currently under a long-needed renovation. I tried staying right after the renovation started and switched hotels after one night. It was not a good experience. Based on the work being done, this hotel might soon rival the big convention hotels like Marriott World Center and Hilton Bonnet Creek. Currently, no resort or self parking fees but that will likely change. Personally, I won't return until after the renovation.
• Hilton Lake Buena Vista: This is an average hotel with a great location. I've stayed there 30-40 nights and experienced many issues. Things like: groundskeepers using leaf blowers outside guest rooms before 7am; a broken toilet that took 1.5 hours and 4 calls to get fixed; being woken by Housekeeping who ignored the "Do Not Disturb" sign. Most employees don't seem to care. They charge a $24/night resort fee and a parking fee. Despite the fact that I'm Hilton HHonors Gold (which means I get free breakfast and potential upgrades), I tend to avoid this hotel unless it's super cheap (like about $100 or less including the resort fee).

If I didn't have a car I'd probably stay onsite. But if you're going to stay offsite, concur with the recommendation of Holiday Inn DS. DW and I stayed there for 5 days last August while I was in Orlando on business and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Room was awesome and service was exceptional. Restaurant is overpriced IMHO but with DS so close we preferred to eat at DS. DW used the shuttle for 2 days of our trip and she liked it fine. They share with other DS hotels but that wasn't a problem that time of year.

 

[joplinmouse]

We always stay at the Sheraton. It's near one of the entrances, shuttles, and usually around $100. Plus there's several restaurants within walking distances. Easy peasy.