One Night, On or Off Property?

[mikeweider1]

We there in June and stayed at the Embassy Suites near the airport due to arriving late, wasting points, etc. It was great. It was easy to catch the shuttle, get settled in, sleep well, and then wake up the next day to catch the shuttle back to airport (10 min drive) and get on the Magical Express. We were really glad that we did that because it allowed us to sleep well and get up early.

Another time, for New Years Eve, we stayed at a hotel very near to Downtown Disney for the first night (nothing available). That was nice, too, because we could go to DD for a short visit and still be up and out the next day early. We didn't feel like we missed anything and we didn't use our points that night.

 

[leanne2255]

We've got a studio at SSR for Saturday, so renting a car for 1 day. Doing all our grocery shopping, etc between Saturday night and Sunday morning, then dropping the car off at the Dolphin (National Car Rental), checking in at BWV and doing Disney transportation for the rest of the trip, and DME for the trip back to the airport.

This works very well for us since we don't have the expense of the rental car for the entire time we are there, but do have the convenience of being able to shop for our groceries, liquor, Starbucks before arriving at the villa.

 

[Tiger926]

We've stayed at Marriott or Hilton off property, as well as cash Disney rooms. But last year we stayed at Wyndham in Downtown Disney, and vowed never another cash room the first night!

We used to do it as we valued our points too much, and felt it was a waste. Now, we have seen the light, and realize that our points are valuable for us in any way we see fit, and that is definitely getting settled into our villa on the first night.

Now, OP has an airport and rental car issue, so that might be different, but for us,since we drive, we love starting our vacation in our villa as soon as we arrive.

Plus, it was getting harder to justify $100-$150/night several times per year, when we have already spent a mint on DVC!

Good luck to OP, Tiger