Off-site hotels? Pls recommend one

[SandraC]

Hello All ~ One of the options I'm looking at is staying off-site half our trip to save money. Any good cheap and great off-site hotels near WDW? It's gotta have a great pool! Blessings ~ Sandra

 

[langin]

We stayed at the Double Tree in Dountown Disney and we thought it was great, we are a family of 5 and needed the extra space it offers, 2 dbl beds , sleeper sofa, sm kitchennete, full dining table with 3 chairs, Pool was nice, not spectacular but nice, staff were supper, you can send your pkgs from the parks straight to your hotel (next day). we loved being so close to Downtown Disney , we there practically every day!!! Buses were buses , they were great if you didn't miss one!!! LOL We got a great deal from one of those sites I can't mention (but you can PM me and I will give you the details)

Hope this helps!

 

[misslissa]

Hi there,

I have never stayed offsite but did have a friend who went last year and stayed at the Sheraton Safari. She wasn't too much into Disney (I think only went to MK ) but said that it was a nice place to stay, so I am not sure of the proximity.

I think that if I were to personally book a hotel offsite to save money, I would choose the Grosvenor, the prices seem to be very low every time I see it on Expedia.ca and even though it is only a 2-3 star, it is in a great location right across the street from DTD.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[disneyfan2005]

Hi I stayed at the Amerihost in Kissemee I tried other places but they were seedy. This place is great and has an indoor and outdoor pool, whirlpool, Karaoke at night, restaurant with a special kids eating area, they also have kids.'s suites. If you have an Orlando Magic card you can get a room for $45 regular $99

They also have free transportation to the them parks at Disney and Universal

 

[Disneyrsh]

We usually rent a house-it costs us less than a hotel room (under 100/night) and we've had great luck each time. Lots more room to spread out and your own pool.

 

[Polynesianfan]

I loved the Radisson Resort Parkway in kissimee. They always have great deals.
BUT for the price...the Disney magic always rules. I would take an all-star over off-site anyday, and 77$ in value season is cheap for what you get...extra magic hours, transportation system, etc.

On-site is the only way to go !

 

[twinz]

I was also going to suggest a vacation home, you can get your own private pool, and tons of space. You also get a FULL kitchen which helped us save a ton of money on food in the parks.

 

[PrincessasMommy]

To those that rent vacation homes, can you tell me which home you stayed at specifically? Reason I ask is that we rented one through Signature vacations our last trip and the place to pick up/drop off the key was half an hour from the house - what a pain!

Why we chose a home.....We loved the roominess and the private pool was so great for the kids, and DH loved to take late night dips while the kids slept. I loved that I came home with all clean laundry as I did everything the night before we left.

 

[CharlesTD]

Sandra you should look into renting points from a DVC member it may save you quite a bit of money.

 

[misslissa]

Sandra you should look into renting points from a DVC member it may save you quite a bit of money.

Definitely!!! I should have mentioned that. I am renting points this week and at Old Key West, it is 40 points from Sunday to Friday... 5 nites. Renting them from a DVC member only ended up costing $400 for a room with 2 queen sized beds.

 

[mbb]

To those that rent vacation homes, can you tell me which home you stayed at specifically? Reason I ask is that we rented one through Signature vacations our last trip and the place to pick up/drop off the key was half an hour from the house - what a pain!

Why we chose a home.....We loved the roominess and the private pool was so great for the kids, and DH loved to take late night dips while the kids slept. I loved that I came home with all clean laundry as I did everything the night before we left.

That's why we only rent homes tht have 24 hour gated security...you check in right there Day or night

Here's our house for this February...
http://www.vrbo.com/55883

Although the listing above is with VRBO, we rented through www.onlinefloridavillas.com
The two sister sites are www.orlandovillas.com and www.villasflorida.com Great discussion forums over there, as well

HTH!!

 

[digskat]

I was also going to suggest a vacation home, you can get your own private pool, and tons of space. You also get a FULL kitchen which helped us save a ton of money on food in the parks.

Which Vacation homes do you reccomend? I signed up for Orlando villas and recieved a ton of emails however would prefer one reccommended by a Diser! I thought one called the Briar Patch looks nice!

 

[Manon]

www.tropicalpalms.com

Nice place, kids friendly , like your own little cabin!

 

[disney06]

We are going on a disney cruise. On the day we return we have a very late flight. So I was thinking of getting a hotel for the day. We have a 4 and 6 year old. Any ideas of nice hotels that will give a day rate near the port / cocoa beach / near airport or any other place that would be appropriate.

thanks

 

[Polynesianfan]

Sandra you should look into renting points from a DVC member it may save you quite a bit of money.

CharlesTD ! I have been thinking about becoming a DVC member for about 5 years. The problem is the money would need to be financed. I became an AP holder so that I could get discounts to about 45% off. Which is better? small AP investment or DVC? Is it because you like to space of a DVC resort?
I obviously prefer the Polynesian...can I do DVC at the Poly?

You still might convince me it's worth it !

 

[mbb]

Which Vacation homes do you reccomend? I signed up for Orlando villas and recieved a ton of emails however would prefer one reccommended by a Diser! I thought one called the Briar Patch looks nice!

I think the Briar Patch is owned by a DISer

Jannyan, and isla bonita also own villas - I know there are other DISers with villas, just can't hink of them!LOL!

Check over on the Orlando Hotles and Attractions Board - lots of help

 

[Disneyrsh]

We're staying at a house this februrary, I need to run to tennis but when I get back I'll give you a list of all the houses we've stayed at and what we thought of them....

 

[CharlesTD]

CharlesTD ! I have been thinking about becoming a DVC member for about 5 years. The problem is the money would need to be financed. I became an AP holder so that I could get discounts to about 45% off. Which is better? small AP investment or DVC? Is it because you like to space of a DVC resort?
I obviously prefer the Polynesian...can I do DVC at the Poly?

You still might convince me it's worth it !

You can use your points at the Poly if you so wish it isn't the best use of oints but it can be done. DVC for us was an investment in our family holidays. We looked at how much we had been spending on yearly trips to Disney and did the math and in 4 trips down the cost of our hotel stays had almost covered the cost of DVC for us so it was really a no brainer for us. We also love the larger accomodations you get from DVC we financed ours directly through Disney it was very easy and our monthly payment comes right off our Visa if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

[Disneyrsh]

Ok, I'm back.

The first house we stayed at was in clermont, it took about 1/2 an hour from the door of the house to main street in Disney, here's the url:

http://www.vacationhomes.com/19321

It was very nicely decorated, and the master suite was great.

The second house was in Formosa Gardens, I couldn't find the exact house but here's one that looks similar. Formosa Gardens is EXTREMELY close to Disney, Animal Kingdom is like, right across the street. The prices are correspondingly higher.

http://greatrentals.com/FL/10301.html

Can't personally vouch for that house since we didn't stay in it but Formosa Gardens is very nice.

The third house was in Orange Tree, won't give you the URL to that one because it wasn't that clean and the water heater had a 'warning, carbon monoxide' red tag stuck on it!


Here's where we're staying in Feb:
http://www.vrbo.com/global/sitefram...www.florida-villa.ch&returnurl=/vrbo/8823.htm

The one above is also in clermont, so about a half hour drive.

And one of these days, we're going to check this one out:

http://www.greatrentals.com/FL/4860.html

I don't own any of these houses, I'm just relating my experiences to you.

Oh yeah, when you rent, make sure you are renting the actual house that you see in the pictures. Try to rent from the owner, not a corporation. It's okay to have somebody managing it, but you want to deal with the owners. We've had MUCH more pleasant experiences dealing directly with the people than with a company who may or may not put you in the house you think you rented.

 

[daver]

I guess it depends on your frequency of travel.
I booked through Disney for several reasons.

1) I knew they would have some kind of promo. They did and it saved me about $550.00 U.S. for the trip.

2) I knew I would be able to count on Disney to have good accomodations. No surprise nightmares.

3) It will most likely be the one and only trip to disney for the whole family. We are doin it up right, so this way the extra money on hotel is offset by no rental car. We can get the extra hours and dining options too.

4) I was there myself years ago, and know that its not a "small" world afterall, onsite will allow us to take in more.