Offsite hotel without a rental car?

[madelyn]

My friend is planning a Dec 2005 trip with her extended family: her husband, kids (will be 7 and 4 then), her mom, her sister and brother-in-law. She was wanting to avoid the expense of renting a car(s) and also was thinking something off-site would be more affordable. BUT, she would also like something on a shuttle route so that her mom might be able to come back early if she got tired. Which of the off-site hotels have a reliable shuttle system? I was trying to steer her towards an off-site condo, saving money by renting the one unit instead of 2-3 hotel rooms and also eating in the condo some to save money and be able to get a car with the money saved. Or, if she had to be off-site, I recommended the Downtown Disney hotels. She has been to WDW once a couple of years ago and stayed at the DD Marriott Courtyard (now the Holiday Inn) and Port Orleans. She mentioned to me that she was thinking of the Radisson Parkway and the Sheraton Safari. I think they have shuttles but I'm thinking they are the type that only run a couple of times in the morning and then a couple of times in the evening to bring you back to the hotel. Would appreciate any tips to pass along to her since I have always stayed on-site and have little first-hand knowledge to pass along.

 

[spiceycat]

if she wants to stay off site and have her mother be able to come back to the room - no choice - she must rent a car.

the DD hotels are generally not more affordable than the value resorts - I happen to love Pop Century and I would recommend it.

tell her to look for the special codes - Jan-April - just ran out - there is surpose to be new codes for May-aug out in January? (might be sooner) - that should be around $55 to $59 (without taxes) for Pop Century.

Now some hotels offer shuttles - but you need to follow their schedules (even if they are late) or you miss them - then no choice but a taxis.

Staying off site can be fun and great - but you really need a car/van.

the timeshares/condo that are close to WDW - Silver Lake, Westgate(okay not my favorite), magic tree (again not a favorite), back further - Wyndham Palms Resort & Country Club, Celebrations World Resort - on the AK side.

on the DD side - Sheraton Vistana, Cypress Pointe, Embassy Vacation Resort, Marriott's Sabal Palms, Marriott's Imperial Palms, Marriott's Royal Palms.

timeshare did not have free shuttles - only hotels do - to ride the shuttle (if there is one) is between $7 to $12 per person per day - very expensive - a car rental would be less.

with that many people she really needs to stay on site. Or at least her mother should be on site.

 

[madelyn]

Thanks for the reply. She isn't going until Dec 2005 so it might be awhile before codes come out for WDW hotels for her travel time. I know that the All Stars did not appeal to her before she took her last trip and I helped her find Port Orleans for I think around $80-90/nt. So maybe a good code will come out for the moderates for her.

 

[spiceycat]

I didn't like the All stars - trust me - Pop Century is different - for anyone over the age of 35 - it has lots of cute stuff - makes you memories sweeter.

It has an lounge and a pool bar.

 

[Badger Brent]

We ALWAYS get a rental car when off-site. The freedom to come and go as you please is a must. I feel very strongly about having one when off-site. At the end of the night do you want to rely on off-site bus service when your tired and just want to get back to the hotel??

 

[disneysteve]

I have to agree. If you stay offsite, get a car. For that matter, we wouldn't even consider staying onsite without a car. It is far quicker and easier to get around by car. Most offsite shuttles run on a very limited schedule.

For an extended family trip, look into renting a pool home. Lots of space and amenities. But definitely get a car, maybe even two.

 

[madelyn]

Thanks for all the tips. I'll pass them along. Spiceycat, everyone in my friend's party, other than her kids, is over 35, so maybe she will like Pop. Steve, any recommendations about which rental homes to go with?

 

[papersoilder1]

how much is parking at the parks?
if i decide to leave trhe park and come back later do I have to pay parking again. and also how do you get thjose counters on your submissions that count down the days till you go to disney

 

[spiceycat]

$8 per day for parking - you only have to pay it once (kept the receipt).

parking is free to on-site guests.

to get the counters - go to the tech board

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=748671

 

[MiaSRN62]

I agree with Spiceycat's suggestions. They should either stay onsite or get a rental car. I can speak for Vistana and say the shuttle was last running around $7/pp/day. The tough part is it only leaves 2 or 3 times in the morning and returns 2 or 3 times in the evening. It's a set schedule that leaves you very little flexibility. If your friend's mom wanted to return to the hotel midday, it could be very difficult unless she called a cab. Even onsite we like to have a car to get around to the different resort for dining or shopping and we even prefer to use our own car for the water parks. We also like to have our car for hitting the shopping outlets offsite.
And I also liked POP Century resort. Just stayed there in Feb and it brought back so many memories from my childhood/teens years.

 

[Lewisc]

The DTD hotels have a decent shuttle service. Although you might be able to get a value resort for a little more most of the DTD hotels are large enough to sleep 5. It sounds like your group might be able to get away with 2 rooms at a DTD hotel but may need 3 value resort rooms.

 

[isla bonita]

I will not even do onsight without a car!!! I think Disney transportation is leaves a lot to be desired. When I want to leave I do not want to wait until a bue that is empty enough to let me board rolls around. Rental vehicles can be inexpensive if you keep checking prices. I recently got one for under $18.00 per day. How can you beat that. That alone is worth not having to wait for a bus.

 

[madelyn]

Thanks for all the suggestions! This thread is so old and someone else "revived it". I had forgotten all about making this post. It turns out that my friend changed her plans and it was just going to be her and her husband and their 2 kids. And recently, they ended up purchasing a lot to build a new home, so they indefinitely postponed their trip. Hopefully the suggestions can help someone else.