One night pre-stay: Hilton v. All Stars

[Mississippian]

I'm going to arrive in Orlando between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on a Saturday. On Sunday I will be checking into OKW for a three-night stay.

There are no discounted rates for a Saturday night, so my cost to stay at the All Stars will be about $130. The Disney Village Hilton is $120, but after you figure in the parking they are about the same.

I'm thinking we would get a much more comfortable room at the Hilton, but it would be easier to visit one of the parks for an hour or so if we stayed at the All Stars. Plus we could have our luggage shipped over, which would save some hassle.

I'm sure some of you have faced this situation. Just curious as to what you chose and how it turned out.

 

[Spacemonkaay]

If budget is an issue (is for us), then you could always grab a 3 and a half star or higher on Priceline. You can land them for as low as $45 -- we've ended up in only places that were decent. Just look at the map and pick an area more or less on property.

 

[deva]

Same situation here. Husband and daughter are going on a Saturday. Rest of us are joining them at OKW on Sunday. After going back and forth, he went with POP. Value prices are quite high in March (we've paid around $64 per night off peak, so at first we had sticker shock) but given the convenience, free parking at parks, luggage transfer and good old Disney Magic, it was worth it.

 

[logan115]

Also keep in mind that if you're flying into Orlando you can get DME, otherwise if you're not renting a car you'll be paying OOP to get to the resort.

 

[daisyduck123]

What we have done is rented points (when we didn't have enough left of our own) & were able to get one night at AKV for cheaper than a night at POP. Definitely worth it!

 

[twinklebug]

I'm going to arrive in Orlando between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on a Saturday. On Sunday I will be checking into OKW for a three-night stay.

There are no discounted rates for a Saturday night, so my cost to stay at the All Stars will be about $130. The Disney Village Hilton is $120, but after you figure in the parking they are about the same.

I'm thinking we would get a much more comfortable room at the Hilton, but it would be easier to visit one of the parks for an hour or so if we stayed at the All Stars. Plus we could have our luggage shipped over, which would save some hassle.

I'm sure some of you have faced this situation. Just curious as to what you chose and how it turned out.

A hotel room is a hotel room unless it comes with it's own personal masseuse This is to say, I just don't think it's worth the effort unless there's something really special about the place.

The value resort for a night sounds like fun. We've never done it, but I'd like to try it as long as we end our vacation at a resort that feels like home.

 

[Tink&PirateMama]

Our last trip we had a 7 night stay at SSR, and decided to go down early (and the first night we were arriving after midnight- did NOT want to pay a high price on that). Through a special we got a room for $49 a night at allstars movies for both nights. Having only been to disney one other time and staying at poly, I was really nervous about doing a value- but we really loved it! We didn't hit the parks at all until our checkin morning at ssr as we didn't have extra tickets (which we checked in about 8am I believe and then headed to hollywood studios)... but my kids really enjoyed the pools, and I was surprised how much fun it was. We did end up upgrading (I think it was ten bucks a night) to a preferred room, and we were really close to the parking lot, which was good for us not to walk soooo far. We spent our time in the pool there, and at the outlets exploring. I'd do it again! But definitely at the BEGINNING of the stay, not the end. We were SO spoiled by our 2 br at ssr... well, now we're trying to buy in there!! And we went to cocoa beach after that, and I was frankly disappointed after SSR!!

 

[damilani]

We did stay at the Disney All Star Sports resort over the Christmas break for 3 nights before we were able to stay at SSR. I was very pleasantly surprised and my kids loved the pool. If I had the choice between the Hilton and All Star, I'd take the All Star, it's still Disney! and it'll be a lot easier when they move your things from one hotel to another.

 

[CarolA]

Room is MUCH MUCH nicer at the Hilton!

Sorry but Disney is charging for "theme" The room lacks a LOT (like a hairdryer, coffee pot, queen size beds, nice linens etc... LOL!)

If you need DME go with the Value, if you want something worth the price you pay go with the Hilton. (Seriously folks, rating agencies rate them at different levels, but the "lower rated" costs more??LOL! Only at Disney!)

My rule of thumb is that if I can get a GOOD hotel for less then or equal to an a Value I am there. And since Disney is raising rates faster then the general world.... they don't often get my cash anymore!

 

[starbox]

My rule of thumb is that if I can get a GOOD hotel for less then or equal to an a Value I am there. And since Disney is raising rates faster then the general world.... they don't often get my cash anymore!

ITA - no way on earth would I pay even the "discount" AP rate for the teeny tiny room, teeny-tiny bed, teeny-tiny shower, and awful mattresses at a value when I can priceline and get an actual 4 star for around 65$.

We've had nothing but wonderful experiences with Pricelined 4 star hotels in Orlando - and I've never paid more than 70$ a night. My kids liked The Peabody more than they liked Boardwalk last year - and the DTD Hilton sent DH and I champagne and strawberries for our anniversary - something a Disney value would never do!

 

[CarolA]

ITA - no way on earth would I pay even the "discount" AP rate for the teeny tiny room, teeny-tiny bed, teeny-tiny shower, and awful mattresses at a value when I can priceline and get an actual 4 star for around 65$.

We've had nothing but wonderful experiences with Pricelined 4 star hotels in Orlando - and I've never paid more than 70$ a night. My kids liked The Peabody more than they liked Boardwalk last year - and the DTD Hilton sent DH and I champagne and strawberries for our anniversary - something a Disney value would never do!

Yeah, that's my Priceline Strategy... See what Disney wants for Value and hit PL. Generally I do get a 4 star for those rates and that's when I was paying $70 a night for the Values. At $140 I KNOW I can get a good hotel on PL or Hotwire.

But the Hilton is one of my favs. It's such an easy walk to DTD!

 

[DisneyDreamers2007]

If you go with Priceline, be sure to check out: www.biddingfortravel.com for tips/guide on how to bid on rooms (and car rentals) & get the best deal, plus you will see what hotels you will most likely get. I think Priceline is awesome and almost always use it for Disneyland Hotels, but you won't know for sure what hotel location you will be assigned, something to keep in mind if it's really important for you to be in the midst of all the WDW action/transportation.

And I love Hilton Hotels, the beds are more comfortable than what Disney offers. You should sign up with the HHonors program if you aren't already so that you can earn points and perks (if you are a gold or diamond member you can get upgrades & free breakfast). We are diamond members, so if I were looking for one night I would most likely go with the Hilton.

 

[Mississippian]

I followed some advice and put in a bid on Priceline last night but didn't get it. I wasn't willing to bid over $75 for a 4 star or resort hotel. On top of the bid is another $10 or so, and then there is often a resort fee, and then there is parking.

I'll try Priceline again in a few days and will just leave it in the air as to what to do if I don't get a Priceline room. The Hilton at $118, plus fees, is not bad, and I'm a Gold HHonors member so I would presume we would get free breakfast.

We'll just see how it goes. If the crowds are down then I suspect I'll get a nice room on Priceline eventually.

 

[jade1]

Wouldnt arrive early and stay offsite if it was free...period (unless WDW is sold out). Out of the total cost of the trip-just insignificant. We never get enough time to stay at the WDW Resort the way it is, no desire to shorten the stay in any way, only lengthen it-even if its Allstars.