So I have been to DLR before with my family but now I want to try and take my DGF and I on a 4 day trip to DLR since she has never been. We are WDW vets that lived there for three years pre FP+ so any tips there would be awesome too. I want to go before the end of the year and I am not sure where to stay, does anyone know if I can get the friends/family discount from a WDW CM for my stay there? Would it still be cheaper to stay offsite anyway? Where should I? Also what would be the slowest time from now until the end of the year, at WDW it would be between thanksgiving and christmas but I am not sure if the same rules apply to DLR. We also may want to do one day at USH since she has never been, any thoughts on what I should be looking into and any money saving tips as well?
TIA!
I can't help too much, but I can tell you that it likely still going to be cheaper to stay off-site, unless your F&F discount is above, say, 50% or more, and you are wanting to stay at Paradise Pier, where basic rooms are around $200/night. While the places across the street may not be "Disney-level" motels, they are close, and, in my opinion, are perfectly good. We had the option of staying onsite for our honeymoon, and actually chose offsite, because we would be closer, spend half as much (even *with* a military discount!) and have a good free breakfast! We stay at the Park Vue Inn across the street, for less than $200/night for the Jacuzzi suite with a king bed. Other places have rooms even less expensive--the Best Western across the street has rooms around $125, I believe, and if you are really conserving money, the Desert Inn and Suites has rooms for $69 if you book early enough. (Granted, their $69 rooms may be all taken now, but even being closer to the date you want to go, I'm betting those rooms are $109 or so.)
As far as quieter times to go, you are right about after Thanksgiving but before Christmas. The 1st and 2nd weeks of December are usually a little quieter, so I've been told. However, the first weekend in Dec is likely to be the Candlelight Processional, which will likely increase crowds.
