Off site hotel for large group

[Aubsmama]

We are planning on taking our Girl Scout Troop in June 2017. There will probably be 20 girls (ages 8-18) and 10 chaperons. We will be traveling from Texas and of course cost is an issue. I don't know if it would be better to try to stay in several different hotel rooms or rent 4 or 5 large condos. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We will be flying so we won't have a car and if we can save money by using the resort shuttles that would be great. I've never stayed off property before and there are so many choices it's overwhelming!

 

[TwoMisfits]

First, are you planning a Disney only trip? A Universal only trip? An "other Orlando" trip? A mix of the 3?

 

[baler31]

As PP mentioned if you tell us the details we can help more. With a budget we can give specific rec's.

I would still consider onsite. 8 value rooms with free airport transportation with ME may come out equal or only slightly more. The better resort transportation will make up for it. Personal pref. but most of our groups prefer onsite due to safety and transportation. It is very easy to let the older ones do their own thing with Disney transportation and we have always felt safe with the resort security. With discount you may be able to get a value in the 90-100 range that could be divided among the 4 in the room.

Disney will work with you on connecting. I will look for the contact number I used for group reservations and try to update my post.

Not many condo's have transportation and Bonnet Creek began charging per person for transportation last I checked it was expensive. Disney Springs has transportation but the rate of most will not be much better than value. Rooms will be nicer/bigger but not anymore budget minded.

You also may want to look into YES(youth education series ) tickets.

 

[dja14]

With that size crowd (and w/o a bus or several cars) I would stay onsite (and we stay off-site pretty much always) The logistics of getting everyone up and out and then maybe missing a park shuttle that wouldn't be again for an hour or two would drive me nuts. Then at night I would be worried about a group missing the last shuttle of the night. Onsite groups could come and go. A value divided between 4 would not be so bad.

Edited to add: If we were for sure doing offsite then I would rent some condos or houses so we could at least eat breakfast (with some drinks and snacks) there. And we would rent some cars. Airport transportation and breakfast everyday would add up really fast for that crowd.

 

[Ametista]

I would rent a couple or 3 6- or 7- bedroom houses at Windsor Palms, Windsor Hills, Terra Verde, or Emerald Island. And I would rent some vans. Disney value rooms are so tiny they are hardly fit for 2 people, much less 4 or 6. Look on VRBO or on the websites for those resorts, they each have a website where owners can list directly. You will save a fortune on lodging and food, and you won't stand around for hours waiting for Disney buses.

 

[writerguyfl]

Not many condo's have transportation and Bonnet Creek began charging per person for transportation last I checked it was expensive. Disney Springs has transportation but the rate of most will not be much better than value. Rooms will be nicer/bigger but not anymore budget minded.

Rates at non-Disney hotels vary greatly. In the past 18 months, I've stayed in four of the seven Disney Springs Hotels. The cheapest rates I've paid include $63 (plus $24 resort fee) at the Hilton Lake Buena Vista, $81 at the Holiday Inn Disney Springs, and $79 at the DoubleTree Suites. Although I've never stayed there, the Best Western Lake Buena Vista has rates as low at $69 (plus $14 resort fee). I've also seen rates for the Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista around $75 (plus $18 resort fee). It really depends on the dates.

We are planning on taking our Girl Scout Troop in June 2017. There will probably be 20 girls (ages 8-18) and 10 chaperons.

How many total rooms (or total beds) will you need? It will vary, but some hotels won't consider you to be a "group" unless you have 10 or more rooms.

 

[kiltclan]

since ya'll are flying in I would highly recommend staying on property since you'll get the resort transpo and the ME to the hotel like a pp mentioned. The ME would also cut down on keeping your group all together while waiting for baggage, and you wouldn't have to worry about the nightmare of a taxi or uber/lyft or whatnot.

An alternate option to a hotel room, though I know some girls are super anti-camping, i remember camping a lot when I was in scouts. If ya'll are camp-friendly there is a group campground on disney property in ft wilderness that is one of the least expensive places to stay onsite. If I recall, there's also a scouting badge you could get for camping if you do choose to take that route and with showers/laundry/electricity so close, you'll be in one of the safest wilderness in the world.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

How about this http://www.allstarvacationhomes.com/

 

[Aubsmama]

since ya'll are flying in I would highly recommend staying on property since you'll get the resort transpo and the ME to the hotel like a pp mentioned. The ME would also cut down on keeping your group all together while waiting for baggage, and you wouldn't have to worry about the nightmare of a taxi or uber/lyft or whatnot.

An alternate option to a hotel room, though I know some girls are super anti-camping, i remember camping a lot when I was in scouts. If ya'll are camp-friendly there is a group campground on disney property in ft wilderness that is one of the least expensive places to stay onsite. If I recall, there's also a scouting badge you could get for camping if you do choose to take that route and with showers/laundry/electricity so close, you'll be in one of the safest wilderness in the world.

I hadn't thought about Ft. wilderness. Would we have to bring all our camping supplies?

 

[Aubsmama]

First, are you planning a Disney only trip? A Universal only trip? An "other Orlando" trip? A mix of the 3?

It would only be Disney. We would be doing the YES program and getting 3 day park hoppers.

 

[kiltclan]

I hadn't thought about Ft. wilderness. Would we have to bring all our camping supplies?

As far as camping supplies goes, you have access to "comfort stations" with showers, toilets and laundry. Each campsite also has a bbq (if you stay in a standard site) or a picnic area and a firepit if you stay in creekside meadows (primitive site with no electricity). As far as tents go, you can rent tents from Disney but they do cost an extra fee per night. If you choose to take the camping path, I've heard it said that the best thing to do, if you fly in, is ship all the camping gear ahead of you by a few days with your info and check-in date.
You might also be able to qualify for some kind of youth rate and not have to pay to rent the tents or some such. Its always worth a look lol.

 

[KristinU]

I hadn't thought about Ft. wilderness. Would we have to bring all our camping supplies?

Fort Wilderness does rent tent and cot setups. There's also a group camp area that might suit you guys really well. If you plan to do any cooking I think you'd need to arrange to ship that stuff, or maybe even reach out to a local troop to borrow or rent from them? I think logistics of shipping camp stoves and fuel might be a little tricky, especially the fuel. But if you're interested in learning more about this route, swing on down to the Camping at Disney World forum where there are folks with lots of Fort knowledge to help you out.

 

[baler31]

A value resort in the summer with the typical discount would run 32.25 per person tax included 4 person occupancy(our group discount was better). This would include all your transportation needs. It will be very hard to better this with a group that size due to transportation costs. The contact we started with for our group is (407) 828-3318. There is a minimum number of rooms for the group rate but it was better than the general public discount, I know we had 25 rooms but I believe the minimum was 10. We did not choose the value but if I remember correctly the rate ended up around 20 pp tax included.

 

[Disneyliscious]

Just a quick vrbo search...

https://www.vrbo.com/292485

Sleeps up to 34 people for $227 a night. You wont find ANY hotel to accommodate your group for that price. Take the money you save and rent two passenger vans. Would still come out cheaper than staying on site.

 

[MistressMerryweather]

The experience of staying onsite and the convenience of using Disney transportation, is going to far outweigh, staying offsite.

 

[kalamazoo]

Definitely see what kind of deal you can get at the on site values - you never know. I suspect though that if Disney is offering a good price for their hotels then the off site hotels will have lowered their prices as well. Off site I would say your best bet would be one of the Disney Springs hotels.The hotels there have a shuttle to the parks that runs regularly (I think every half hour). The Best Western is usually pretty inexpensive and it is about a 15 minute walk to the edge of Disney Springs. You can also use the Disney buses at Disney Springs to get to any Disney resort (though, from what I understand, not first thing in the morning since a lot of Disney Springs only opens mid morning so no buses). Staying off site you would have to organize your own ride from and to the airport - a mini bus or something. It will cost a bundle but split amongst 30 people will not be bad all.

 

[spiceycat]

would call WDW - Disney use too (many years ago) offer some nice discounts for groups - if you are willing to stay in the All stars (Music, Movie, Sports) resorts.

the problem with staying on property is the girls might decide to go someplace - while you are sleeping - of course you could get that problem even staying offsite

 

[halfpintpeggy]

I love the idea of camping at Ft. Wilderness & contacting local, Orlando area scouting groups to see if you could borrow tents!

 

[dizzy daisy]

So I'm sitting here and ready to suggest you look and see if the Homewood Suites Lake Buena Vista - Orlando would suit your needs, when I realized I'd not want to stay offsite with that many people

The main reason being the transportation. ME to/from the airport is a no-brainer - it's so convenient. While offsite transportation can be a good experience, the number of trips those hotel shuttles travel to/from the park in our experience are limited. I was in GS a long time ago, but my troop was lucky and we traveled a lot. Even with only 12 girls someone always needed at least a little down time due to feeling unwell, or there was an adult that needed to go back to the hotel to get something one of us girls absentmindedly left behind. Having the option to easily return to a room when one wants to, or to meet up with the group later in the day would be important to me if I were planning this group travel, lol.

I love the camping idea others have mentioned. That would be fun and you have the easy transportation! I like the idea to contact the local GS council and see if they can help. Maybe even a Boy Scout troop would be willing to loan some gear.


With all that said, my family does like the hotel I mention above (it is a WDW Good Neighbor Hotel). We've used their park transport and found it fine, just somewhat time consuming and limited (we drive to the parks more days than we take the shuttle). They have nice studio, 1 and 2 bedroom units with kitchenettes (no oven if I remember correctly). They have a decent buffet at breakfast but it might take a while having all those girls make their own Mickey waffles The pool area is nice, but it's on the small side so not really a plus for a large group. There is no where to walk to as it's a little isolated on Palm Parkway (but the city bus goes along that road down to DS. I'm not sure how often or how much it costs.). Because it's a Hilton property they MAY have a contact there to help you book a group and help with your own transport needs. It couldn't hurt to ask.

Happy planning!

 

[halfpintpeggy]

So I'm sitting here and ready to suggest you look and see if the Homewood Suites Lake Buena Vista - Orlando would suit your needs, when I realized I'd not want to stay offsite with that many people

The main reason being the transportation. ME to/from the airport is a no-brainer - it's so convenient. While offsite transportation can be a good experience, the number of trips those hotel shuttles travel to/from the park in our experience are limited. I was in GS a long time ago, but my troop was lucky and we traveled a lot. Even with only 12 girls someone always needed at least a little down time due to feeling unwell, or there was an adult that needed to go back to the hotel to get something one of us girls absentmindedly left behind. Having the option to easily return to a room when one wants to, or to meet up with the group later in the day would be important to me if I were planning this group travel, lol.

I love the camping idea others have mentioned. That would be fun and you have the easy transportation! I like the idea to contact the local GS council and see if they can help. Maybe even a Boy Scout troop would be willing to loan some gear.


With all that said, my family does like the hotel I mention above (it is a WDW Good Neighbor Hotel). We've used their park transport and found it fine, just somewhat time consuming and limited (we drive to the parks more days than we take the shuttle). They have nice studio, 1 and 2 bedroom units with kitchenettes (no oven if I remember correctly). They have a decent buffet at breakfast but it might take a while having all those girls make their own Mickey waffles The pool area is nice, but it's on the small side so not really a plus for a large group. There is no where to walk to as it's a little isolated on Palm Parkway (but the city bus goes along that road down to DS. I'm not sure how often or how much it costs.). Because it's a Hilton property they MAY have a contact there to help you book a group and help with your own transport needs. It couldn't hurt to ask.

Happy planning!

LOVE the Homewood Suites Lake Buena Vista! Also, they offer a free, light dinner Mon. - Thurs. too!