Parents want to stay at an offsite hotel

[Frederic Civish]

The Disneyworld experience is much different as everything is much more spread apart at WDW and transportation is a big factor as you move around.

For your first visit, I would suggest staying together at the same Disney resort somewhere within your budget if possible. I think this will reduce the stress on everyone. Yes, you will pay more but I think your overall vacation will be better.

i strongly agree. travelling separately and trying to meet up definitely hurts the Disney experience. We have been going to DW for forever, and stayed at so many resorts and hotels both on premises and off. I also own other timeshare in the area, which I don't hesitate to use for DW. But there are so many advantages to 'being together,' not the least of which is the extra time with your loved ones. It may not seem like much, but it will almost certainly add up to an hour or more of 'extra time.' I would NOT recommend that inexperienced people try to split into different groups and stay at different locations. Stay together if you can.

I would also strongly recommend that you look at renting points to get a room for all of you at AKL or somewhere similar. With point rental, it usually comes in somewhere between a Value resort and a Moderate resort in price.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

All stars may be open we really like ASM.
Other than that I say Disney springs hotels like b resort

 

[csace7]

Thanks everyone for the replies! A lot of you mentioned to stay together all in one room but my parents are coming in separately and they are only staying 4-5 days and we will be staying the full week.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Thanks everyone for the replies! A lot of you mentioned to stay together all in one room but my parents are coming in separately and they are only staying 4-5 days and we will be staying the full week.

Well, you could get two studios at AKL, OKW or SSR by renting the points from owners who are on boards like this. Then you could put in a request to 'keep them together, if possible.' Sometimes this works, sometimes not. In a recent trip to Kidani, we were on the 2nd floor. A daughter and her family were in the same place as us, but 2 floors up (since we were close to the Elevator this actually made them very close) and another daughter was on our floor and 5 doors down the hall. Sometimes we get rooms closer than this, and sometimes a bit farther away. Or, if you RENT directly from Disney at Pop Century, they will definitely get you close to each other, in two separate rooms.

With my large direct family, which includes 15 or more people who go to DIsney World often, plus my wife's family of 10 people who often come up from Miami, I just have tried all kinds of permutations for staying together at the same resort and at different resorts, both on property and off. And with rental (or personal) cars or without, and I really have to say that I very much prefer when we are all at the same resort. It not only makes it easier to go to the parks together and return, without having to end up 'waiting' somewhere for each other, but it makes it so much easier to do breakfasts and dinners together, go to the pool together, go shopping together, and other things. I am VERY big on TOGETHER, for trips like this. It is worth a little compromise and change in planning.

 

[csace7]

Well, you could get two studios at AKL, OKW or SSR by renting the points from owners who are on boards like this. Then you could put in a request to 'keep them together, if possible.' Sometimes this works, sometimes not. In a recent trip to Kidani, we were on the 2nd floor. A daughter and her family were in the same place as us, but 2 floors up (since we were close to the Elevator this actually made them very close) and another daughter was on our floor and 5 doors down the hall. Sometimes we get rooms closer than this, and sometimes a bit farther away. Or, if you RENT directly from Disney at Pop Century, they will definitely get you close to each other, in two separate rooms.

With my large direct family, which includes 15 or more people who go to DIsney World often, plus my wife's family of 10 people who often come up from Miami, I just have tried all kinds of permutations for staying together at the same resort and at different resorts, both on property and off. And with rental (or personal) cars or without, and I really have to say that I very much prefer when we are all at the same resort. It not only makes it easier to go to the parks together and return, without having to end up 'waiting' somewhere for each other, but it makes it so much easier to do breakfasts and dinners together, go to the pool together, go shopping together, and other things. I am VERY big on TOGETHER, for trips like this. It is worth a little compromise and change in planning.

I would love to stay with my parents, but we are all flying in from California at separate times and my parents are leaving earlier than we are. My parent's are in their 60s as well. I doubt they will stay at the parks from open til close everyday like we are.

 

[Frederic Civish]

I would love to stay with my parents, but we are all flying in from California at separate times and my parents are leaving earlier than we are. My parent's are in their 60s as well. I doubt they will stay at the parks from open til close everyday like we are.

Yes, but even though you are coming at different times, you can still request that your reservations be linked, and your rooms be somewhat 'near' each other if possible. We have done this several times, when some party members arrived up to 4 days later and left up to 4 days earlier, and Disney tried their best to get us close. One time we weren't close at all, but the other times it definitely worked.

 

[VandVsmama]

I would love to stay with my parents, but we are all flying in from California at separate times and my parents are leaving earlier than we are. My parent's are in their 60s as well. I doubt they will stay at the parks from open til close everyday like we are.

They can still stay at the same WDW on site hotel as you. And I fully support the idea of them having their own room. We did that with my MIL on a Disneyland trip a couple of years ago. Thank goodness we had separate rooms...we all got along better as a result. Haha!

And it's fine if they don't want to be at the parks from open to close like you will be. They can go back to their hotel room on their own while you stay and close the park down. It's not a big deal.

 

[VandVsmama]

They can still stay at the same WDW on site hotel as you. And I fully support the idea of them having their own room. We did that with my MIL on a Disneyland trip a couple of years ago. Thank goodness we had separate rooms...we all got along better as a result. Haha!

And it's fine if they don't want to be at the parks from open to close like you will be. They can go back to their hotel room on their own while you stay and close the park down. It's not a big deal.

A benefit of staying in the same on site hotel, for example, is if you guys all decide that you want to start your day together, then you meet up in the food court or at the Quick Service place for breakfast at a certain time and then you board whatever transportation to head into the park together.

If your parents have their heart set on staying off site, though, then they should go ahead and do that. The point that some of us are trying to make is that they may not end up saving a lot of money like they think they will be.

 

[Krystal659]

My father refuses to pay "Disney prices" but goes very often with us. He will usually rent a large condo for all of us to stay together. Last year I paid for the Ubers back and forth to the parks. Trust me when I say I could have paid for both of our rooms on site. If your parents plan to take a mid-day break that is another trip if you are using a car service. My parents typically only stay 3-5 days, then we (myself, husband, and teen) move onto Disney property to finish our vacation.

I completely respect my father's decision, but my strongest recommendation would be plan for "extra" costs and time. If you both go in expecting those two things then you should be great.

 

[Woodview]

It is a Vacation ..... Why would you even think of staying in a One BEDROOM with your Parents ?

 

[nursejackie]

Coming from the UK I've never understood what a 'resort fee' is. If it's a compulsory fee, then it's part of the room rate surely. Additions that cannot be declined (except tax) are just a way of advertising cheap room rates then when you read the small print it's not quite as cheap as you think. This happened to us in California. Although Disney is expensive but there's no resort fees, you have DME and can use the transportation meaning you don't need a car or pay parking fees at the off-site hotel or parks.

 

[Planogirl]

Parking fees have to be factored in at the Disney hotels too. I might have missed it being mentioned but wanted to bring it up just in case.

 

[mamaofsix]

Parking fees have to be factored in at the Disney hotels too. I might have missed it being mentioned but wanted to bring it up just in case.

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. For those saying offsite hotels have added parking fees . . . so do onsite hotels.

That being said, I echo those who have suggested renting DVC rooms. Even if you're renting 2 different studios, it will be LOADS cheaper than getting 2 rooms at Coronado, and you will be at a Deluxe resort. DVC studio rentals is about the same as staying at an offsite hotel. Might make your parents feel better that they are getting a "deal."

 

[Macprincess]

I'm a Florida resident who lives about an hour and a half away. We have been WDW AP holders for many years.

When my family is just looking to stay for a quick over night in a safe, clean and cheap hotel to basically sleep and shower we have often stayed at the Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista (formally known as Clarion Palm Parkway) at 8442 Palm Parkway Lake Buena Vista, FL 32836. It's far from fancy, but it may meet the needs you described for your parents. It has no resort fees or parking fees. I looked up the dates of March 22- March 27 and the five nights will run a total of $404.96 with a AARP rate at $71.99 a night. Regular rates are showing up at $89.99 a night for the same dates.

I would not recommend staying here without a car. They offer an extremely limited bus service to and from Disney which I think requires an extra fee but I do not recommend it! I did a quick search via Priceline and both Dollar and Budget are offering a Economy car rental at MCO for a total after all fees of $318 for 3/22-3/27 car rental. Also, do make sure you add in parking fees at the parks to the budget.

Google maps shows the Rosen Inn and Disney's Coronado Springs resort being 5.9 miles apart.

In addition, I use to reside and work in Anaheim, Ca and have others have mentioned DL and WDW are worlds apart in size and accommodations. You need to realize that what you are use to with planning a DL trip is not going to compare to planning a WDW trip. Accept that they are two very different experiences and appreciate each for what it is. As mentioned, there is a enormous difference in sheer distance from resort to resort on site and off site is going to require far more time to get from place to place then anything in the DL general area would. I would never recommend anyone stay off site at WDW without a car or a budget to Uber around. While it is common place for a DL trip to eat and stay offsite. Part of what makes a WDW vacation so special is that the restaurants and resorts are a huge part of the Disney experience at WDW. However, it is true that if you stay off site at WDW and have a car that you can save a few dollars eating and staying off site. We have done this many time and there is nothing wrong with it, but I would be remiss to not add that there is also something very magical about staying on site in the Disney Bubble too. Especially if a WDW vacation is something you don't get to experience often. Your parents will have to decide what is best for them.

Lastly, the later part of March is typically what we call a high season here in Florida. As in it is more expensive to travel here. As our weather is beautiful that time of year. Its also spring break in many parts of the country. Keep in mind prices on everything from car rentals, hotels and restaurants may increase compared to other times in the year. Also, traffic is typically a bit busier. Best of luck with your family planning. I hope your WDW experience is magical.

 

[keishashadow]

They would most likely need to get a car to travel to and from anywhere. Do you guys have any ideas on where they should stay

You could probably book a 2 BR unit at wyndham bonnett creek for all in your party for less than your Coronado rate. It’s closer to some parks than many of the ‘disney’ resorts.

I often travel with extended family, love ‘em but nice to have some privacy each day. Separate units in one resort would work as well as a condo.

DVC rental is another option but likely less flexibility as to rescheduling/cancelling vs many of VRBO listings or agencies out there that handle WBC. there were so many sad stories of people here reporting cancellation issues with DVC rentals this year.

After running out of our DVC point allotment, we used vacation strategies to book WBC the last go-round...an easter trip this year that went poof. Even though we didn’t pick up their insurance, they graciously offered us a non-expiring credit towards a future trip...classy IMO. Not sure if they or others still have that policy, YMMV.

Re offsite transportation costs:

Ride share likely less expensive than factoring in a car rental with parking costs in WDW. a lot depends on how many people are in your party, 5+ People using Uber a bit higher than regular cost. Recently, priced it out for a friend. most expensive I saw was approx $30 RT transport costs per day. you won’t have to rely on disney buses & your parents could decide to easily cut the day short if they became fatigued

WBC also offers a shuttle, believe it’s $16 a day PP but you need to make reservations last I checked.

Another suggestion for offsite is the caribe royal. A lovely property that you often can pick up, including taxes & fees, for well under $100 on Hotwire. Of course, you generally need to wait until the date is closer & do your homework as to matching up the property description.

AoA has smaller family units you might want to price out too.

2 Locals may drive fast but the plethora of people from out of the area who aren't paying attention to stuff or familiar with where they are going are the bigger problem.

Locals don’t have pixie dust clouding their vision, I feel for them dealing with us tourists trying to figure out how to get from point A to B, all the while mulling why north to south is listed as east to west on the interstate

I have a theory that a large majority of problem drivers we’ve observed in the tourist area are either people who rarely drive back at home or those who rent a monster SUV or minivan & struggle as they are used to driving a compact.

 

[BostonEd]

Even if you're renting 2 different studios, it will be LOADS cheaper than getting 2 rooms at Coronado, and you will be at a Deluxe resort.

I think you and the other person talking about how cheap renting points is, hasn't price them in several years. There is no way renting points for a studio is "LOADS" cheaper than a room at the Coronado. It could even be a little more. This is not 2011 anymore.

PLUS, they have to contend with the fact there is generally no way to cancel a point reservation. In the current environment, there is no way I would rent points for a trip in March. Heck, I'd be hesitant to rent points for next week!

That all said, I do agree with everyone recommending trying to find a way that they are in the same resort. Not the same room.

 

[KittyKitty]

My family lives really close to Disneyland

Have your folks been to Disney World? The 1st thing newcomers say is how huge Disney World is. Disneyland is much smaller(but great too!)

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

I could be off on this but from seeing all of the hassles people were going through earlier in the year because of renting points when Disney closed, I would be very hesitant to rent points for quite a while unless they have added new stipulations in the renting contracts that allow for closures or last minute cancellations due to COVID, this could be a non-issue now but if you do decide to rent points make sure you ask those questions. Price wise with all of the above extra expenses mentioned, parking/resort fees, I would suggest POP or one of the renovated All Stars. We are actually staying at POP in two weeks....we have been to every moderate and some deluxes but still do POP every now and again.

 

[happymommy]

If I were you (okay, I’m not, and my advice is worth what you paid for it), I’d see about Pop Century for you, and insist, insist, insist, that they also stay there. They will be able to use Magical Express, not bother with a rental car, or driving somewhere unfamiliar, and be at the same resort. The cost savings is minimal at best to stay offsite (the rental car alone will be at least a couple hundred dollars). The hassle of being at different resorts is huge.

Since they are joining along on YOUR vacation, they should be open to that.

 

[wilbret]

I agree. WDW is something like 40 square miles. Check it out on google maps up close.

Disneyland would fit in the parking lot for Magic Kingdom. Or so I’m told by a ferry captain. Lol