Now what????

[momslave3599]

You all were kind enough to give me a little feedback on the Fairfield Inn and Suites at Marriott Village yesterday. As a reminder, we planned to stay at one of the park resorts until we found out we could stay for free at the Fairfield. Today we found out we could stay at the JW Marriott Orlando for free too! It's a little further away, and the don't provide transportation, and it doesn't include breakfast, but it looks so gorgeous. The Fairfield charges for the shuttle, so I guess it would be the distance and lack of free breakfast if we moved our reservation Anyone know what daily parking is at the park? Anyone know what the shuttle from Fairfield runs? I'm guessing we couldn't walk from the Fairfield, even though it's close. Anyone have a suggestion? Which one should we stay at? Anyone ever seen the JW Marriott Orlando???????

Thanks again!!!

 

[LindaBabe]

You definitely CANNOT Walk from the Fairfield - or really any other off property hotel, unless it's to Downtown Disney from some of the hotels on Hotel Blvd - and even that's a hike.

The off-property shuttles only run at set times a day - you should probably call the Fairfield to discover what times. Also inquire how many other hotel stops their shuttle makes on the way to and from the parks. It can take a LONG time to go a short distance on those shuttles. And, if you're pinching pennies, count on the driver expecting to be tipped, too.

Parking runs $12 per day, is good all day, even if you switch parks, and, staying off site, is well worth it for the convenienct factor, imo.

 

[Detailor]

The JW Marriott complex is a much further out but is a significantly superior hotel. Quite upscale and fancy - quite on the opposite end of the luxury scale from a Fairfield Inn. There are a couple of restaurants at the hotel, a lounge, a Starbucks, and a bar & grill at the pool area. There are also restauarnt options at the Ritz Carlton that's next door. But the complex isn't really near much of anything else so you'd need to drive, or be driven, to other restaurants. I think that the most economical way to go, if you stay there, would be to rent a car. But then parking on site costs $15/day ($20 for valet parking).

The Fairfield Inn location offers more in the area but, as the previous poster mentioned, the Marriott Village location wouldn't allow you to walk to anything Disney. (Downtown Disney is quite close - probably about a mile or so) but the route to get there - SR 535 - is a very busy, main route and you go through an area that includes on and off ramps for Interstate 4). There are, however, several walkable restaurants in that area - Bahama Breeze and the Golden Corral are the closest (same side of the road as the hotel) and then there's Landry's Seafood and a steakhouse (I can never remember the name of that one) across the road and at the intersection of Vineland Ave. and SR 535. Just be aware that traffic on Vineland is four lanes of traffic and quite busy so you need to be cautious if you're going across the road. I'd also suggest a rental car for this location to get the most out of your vacation experience. Onsite parking at this hotel is free. So, I think that everybody - including me - who told you about what a great location that the Marriott Village has were probably thinking that you'd be driving.

Dick Taylor

 

[momslave3599]

Hey There!

Thanks so much for the feedback. We are driving in to begin with, so we will have our car already. I thought staying that close to the park would provide opportunities to save even more money by taking the shuttle. Now, I find that taking the shuttle costs money. Maybe we should just stay at the JW Marriott?? Yes, we'd pay for parking, but it looks like they have more to do at the actual hotel should we want a break. Since it's free, might as well take an opportunity to stay at the nicer one???

Anyone know how far the JW is from the MK entrance?

You all rock! I am SO glad I found this site. Keep it coming!

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

The hotel shuttles suck IMO. It is well worth the $12 to park your car. You can come and go when you want and you won't have to cram on a bus with a ton of other people at night.


Sarah

 

[Detailor]

Anyone know how far the JW is from the MK entrance?

It's about 15 miles from the hotel to the MK parking lot. It'll probably take about 25 minutes to drive it. The Marriott Village is about half that distance and time from MK.

Dick Taylor