Offsite Suite with Reliable Shuttle to Disney

[marblejay]

We are planning a trip in July with our 4.5 year old twins. We will not have a car. We would like a suite so they can go to bed and we can stay up. What's our best, least expensive option that will get us to the Disney Parks when we want to (early morning).

Also, we'd like a hotel with a decent pool and possibly a playground. We are on a budget.

 

[dougsmom98]

I am going to make a few suggestions for you. I want you to really reconsider not having a car especially with kids. From what I have heard, shuttle services run a couple of times each morning and a couple of times in the evenings, so you are going to be limited in how much you can come and go from the parks. With the July heat and humidity and all the stuff you have to bring with kids, I think you might want a little flexibility and you should try to find a small inexpensive rental car. I looked quickly on dollar rental car's site and found that you could get a compact car for a total of $228.29 including taxes using the KISSE promo code. It sits 5 adults and 3 suitcases. It might be a tight fit with luggage, but it would give you freedom to come and go as you like from the parks. I am guessing that you would have to pay some money to be transferred from the airport to the hotel anyway so, once you figure out the difference between that and renting a car, it might be a better deal. You can check out other rental car deals by going to mousesavers.com and clicking on the planes, rental cars and shuttle tab on the left side. It is a little time consuming to try the different promotional codes on all the different sites, but you can usually find a good deal on a car.

As for a hotel suite, you might want to look into renting a condo. You won't have maid service daily, but you will have lots of space and a full sized fridge so you can store lots of drinks and snack for the kids. Some of the condos have more than one TV, so you won't spend your down time watching cartoons and kids shows. You can have your morning coffee and breakfast in your pjs. You will have a washer and dryer so you won't have to over pack. When we went in the summer the washer and dryer were a life saver. We had to change clothes at least twice if not three or four times each day because we were soaked with sweat from the humidity. We have four kids (one set of twins too) and we love staying in vacation rentals. We will never stay in a hotel again. Some people on these boards have rented at Grand Palms and have had good luck. There are tons of communities to rent from, but from what I have seen, Grand Palms is among the least expensive and people have given it good reviews. Here are a few examples I found for this community on www.vrbo.com.
http://www.vrbo.com/35878
http://www.vrbo.com/123473

As for hotel suites with separate bedrooms, I am not sure if you will find anything less expensive than Grand Palms. If you have a "budget" set, and you care to share it, people on these boards would be happy to help you find something. We would also need your dates.
Good luck.

 

[crazelion]

Your best bet is stay at the Doubletree Suites at Downtown Disney. Check out the mousesavers.com to see if get a discount on the hotel. that is most reliable transportation is you get. If want to stay off site then rent a car give your self more breathing space.

 

[marblejay]

Thank you so much...This is our first trip to Disney (except our honeymoon 12 years ago). We're not opposed to anything...trying to figure out the best way to do this. We are actually planning to rent a car and drive from a wedding we are going to in Atlanta to Orlando. All we have bought so far are plane tickets from Atlanta on 7/5 (wedding is 7/6) and flight home to Detroit on 7/11. So between that we haven't really committed anything including the car rental from Atlanta.

I have a GM discount on Disney Magic your way base ticks (12% discounted) and were thinking we'd do 2 days at Disney and one day either at sea world or just hanging out at wherever we stay/shopping, etc.

In terms of budget, we have 4.5 year old twins and we're just going for the lowest price possible.

OK experts, what do you recommend? I really appreciate it. If you know any rental car secrets that would be great (we also need 2 car/booster seats). We need to get from Atlanta too.

 

[Maxie86]

Thank you so much...This is our first trip to Disney (except our honeymoon 12 years ago). We're not opposed to anything...trying to figure out the best way to do this. We are actually planning to rent a car and drive from a wedding we are going to in Atlanta to Orlando. All we have bought so far are plane tickets from Atlanta on 7/5 (wedding is 7/6) and flight home to Detroit on 7/11. So between that we haven't really committed anything including the car rental from Atlanta.

I have a GM discount on Disney Magic your way base ticks (12% discounted) and were thinking we'd do 2 days at Disney and one day either at sea world or just hanging out at wherever we stay/shopping, etc.

In terms of budget, we have 4.5 year old twins and we're just going for the lowest price possible.

OK experts, what do you recommend? I really appreciate it. If you know any rental car secrets that would be great (we also need 2 car/booster seats). We need to get from Atlanta too.

First, 2 days is not enough time unless you are only going to the MK. I would leave Sea World for another trip. You can get a great rate for a rental car if you are willing to spend time trying a lot of different codes. Mousesavers has a list of different codes for most of the rental companies. With a lot of time spent trying different codes and on different days, I was able to get a full size car from Alamo for $110.00 for a week. Spend some time on the transportation board, someone will usually post a good e coupon. Things seem to change from hour to hour, so if you don't get a good rate try again another time. Some days it will take a discount and others it won't. You can also use a rate code and a coupon. I saved $140.00 just by picking up my car a half hour later. For some reason on Alamo if you pick up and drop off on the hour instead of the half hour it is a lot cheaper. I wouldn't even consider staying off site without a car. Good luck with whatever you decided to do and have a great trip.

 

[marblejay]

I figure MK one day and either MGM (whatever it's called now) or Animal Kingdom the other. financially it doesn't make sense for us to do more than 2 days at Disney. We're not committed to Sea World at all. Especially if we end up in a cool location with enough to do that we could hang out, play, swim, shop, etc and be fine.

I will go to transpo on the whole rental car biz. It seems pricey when we're trying to get a car from Atlanta to keep for the week.

Sorry for the smiley abuse...my daughter is sitting here with me making requests

 

[Poly-Anna]

Marblejay, we leave in a week and a half and are staying at the Doubletree Suites at DTD with our 4 year old. We wanted to be close to Disney with extra room without paying the price. We will be using the bus transportation for the Disney parks even though we rented a car. We got a Mousesavers special of $109 per night including the continental breakfast, so I would definitely check their specials. I'll let you know how it goes when we get back. We're renting a car at the airport through Budget which also conveniently has a site located in the hotel for $193 a week. Alamo was also pricing out the same.

I'll post when I get back.

 

[Maxie86]

ITA with the PP. The Doubletree may be your best option. If you haven't already done so sign up for the Mousesavers newsletters. They come out on the 15th of each month. You can get good deals on hotels and park tickets, but you have to follow the link in the newsletter, not the web site. I don't know what you can get your tickets for, but you may be able to save more by following the link in the newsletter. We saved $20.00 a ticket. They also have free shipping. Be careful when checking sites for tickets, most don't have taxes and shipping added when you look at the price. You may find that you can get a 3 or 4 day ticket for the same price as a 2 day. You also may want to do some research on the Animal Kingdom before you decide to go there. It is very large and HOT and does not handle crowds well. You are going at a very busy time. To give you some perspective, the MK will fit inside the east section of the savanna. A lot of people find that AK and MGM are half day parks, so unless you have park hoppers you may be disappointed.
Not trying to discourage you, but I also don't want you to be disappointed. Do not underestimate the size of WDW. Check out the Theme parks board and decide what is most important to you, and then decide what parks you want to do.

 

[marblejay]

This info has been most helpful. We decided to go with a condo type place (Windsor Hills) so we can have our own kitchen and then we'll rent a car since we have to rent one for Atlanta. Now our mission is to find the best deal on a car rental to obtain in Atlanta and drive to Orlando.

Also still not sure about the tickets/theme parks. The GM discount is 12% but we can't get a 1 or 2 day magic your way with park hopping...it's 1 day base or 3 day with park hopping. Is this a good deal? 3 days, adult MYW w/ park hopping adult $232.43 and kids 3-9 $202.44. Daily Base tix are $66.55 for adults and $56.24 for kids

 

[spiceycat]

for the tickets in your situation would go for the 7 days park hopper unlimited (does not expiry).

It will cost you more now - but when you come back it will free.

www.ticketmania.com - has good prices so compare with them. look for their special/bonus/sales

 

[dgaston]

marblejay: Those are excellent prices on the 3 day hoppers. I don't think you'll find anything cheaper. I just checked on the Mousesavers link to undercovertourist where I purchase my MYW tickets.

Have you found a condo at Windsor Hills? Many of us put in dates at www.windsorhillsrent.com and get replies from owners. My family and my CA brother's family stayed in a pool home over Christmas, and really liked Windsor Hills.

Good luck in your planning and keep asking us questions.

 

[marblejay]

Yes I did exactly that and picked a condo based on a response I got from someone based on how they sounded and how their condo looked. The owner said that she has one stroller there. We have twins. What are the chances that we find another stroller to borrow from another friendly resident while we're there? I'd rather not shell out the $31/day to rent a double but I know our two girls won't want to walk as much as I do.

Also If I buy a "3 day" or "7 day" can that only be used for one person or can we share it so the 3 day gets used for 3 people, for example?

What about buying the base at the discount and adding park hopper? I think we only want to do 2 days at disney...although......we don't know when/if we'll be back again.

 

[dgaston]

No Disney closed the loophole of using a longer ticket for 2 people. I would just get the 3 day and eat the extra day. Park hopping doesn't exist on a 1 day ticket, and it's an extra $45 to add it to multiday tickets. The prices you have are excellent. It was over $250 for a 3 day hopper at UndercoverTourist with the Mousesavers discount.

There is a rental company that some use for equipment. A Baby's Best Friend, and I think the website is www.abbf.com

Or can you bring the stroller from home?