Place to stay for 6 of us?

[Corey]

We will be travelling to Florida in April for 6 nights. There are 2 s and 4 children and we may or may not rent a van. I keep reading about staying on site - but that seems way too expensive an option for us, since we can rent a 2 bdrm condo for about $109/night. This trip is costly for us, so we are looking to make some of our own simple meals rather than dining out which seems to be required if we were to stay onsite in a standard affordable hotel room. Would someone be willing to identify the hidden costs of being offsite - such as how much does parking really cost???? Can it be that much? I am so overwhelmed with making a decision on the place for us to stay. We are looking at Liki Tiki or Parkway International. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.

 

[Cujo]

Corey,

We had researched for months trying to find adequate accomodations at a reasonable price. We quite happily settled on Cypress Pointe. When we booked our room in July, we got a 3 bedroom condo for $84.00 (through HotelKingdom). For the price we paid and all the amenities, we feel this is a good deal.
The overall feedback on Cypress Pointe has been positive, other than a few posted lately. We also checked reviews on tripadvisor.com, which again were mainly positive. The location is close to DTD, another plus. There are many reasonably priced restaurants in this area.
Other Dis members have posted websites to view their pictures, which we thought were quite nice.
Depending on what you are looking for, Cypress Pointe is worth considering.

We are renting an SUV through National from Orlando for 16 days, returning it to Miami, for a cost of $391.00.

Parking at WDW parks cost $8, which you only pay once per day and covers parking at other parks.

We have found this site to be "so" helpful in planning our trip. Other sites that were quite useful were: tripadvisor.com and mousesavers.com.

Good Luck in your planning!

Sandra

11 more days til we leave. . . . .

 

[HappyLawyer]

you could try skyauction.com
good luck

 

[agnes!]

Some of the hidden costs aren't easy to calculate.
How far away are the off-site accomodations? Or, actually, how long will it take you to get from the off-site place to whichever Disney park you are visiting first that day? On vacation, time is doubly precious to me. I *don't* want to spend "fun-time" in lines to get into parking, in traffic to get to the parking itself, in traffic leaving the parks...when I could be taking Disney transpo directly to/from my resort, when I could be taking advantage of evening/morning Extra Magic Hours & riding popular attractions without *any* lines...

Another factor is the time of year that you are going to visit WDW. April can be quite a busy time, with various spring breaks happening all throughout springtime. Staying on-site can get you in the WDW gates earlier & allow you to stay later than off-site guests. Just something else to consider.

Have you looked into a Fort Wilderness Cabin or renting DVC points? Maybe you could spend part of your stay off-site and then transfer to a WDW resort...thereby getting the best of both worlds .

I think that many fine sites, including www.allearsnet.com, The DIS & www.mousesavers.com , have extensive planning sections including parts that help WDW guests decide "Off-site vs. On-site". You're the only one who can decide what is right for your family & for your pocketbook.

Have fun whatever you decide. Besides, how bad could it be? You're goin' to DISNEYWORLD !!!

agnes!

 

[lrjc]

Try Tropical Palms Fun Resort. 3 bedrooms, kitchen. clean, cheap and close! It is off 192.

 

[Ahrizel]

I would try a condo, best choice for a large family. We stayed at Cypress Pointe a year ago, it was fine. Transportation doesn't take long, does depend on traffic levels. Won't take you more then 15 minutes to get to the parks, probably less. Only MK takes longer offsite because of parking at the TTC and taking the monorail or ferry over. I've gone from door to park entrance in 10 minutes from some offsite accomadations. None of the offsites I've stayed at have taken more then 20 minutes to get to the parks except when I've hit really bad traffic, and that's no often. Magic Kingdome being the big exception, of course. Parking costs $8 a day, paid only once no matter how many parks you go to-keep the ticket. Onsite will cost 150-250+ a nite for a week, even at Fort Wilderness or renting points with the DVC. We stayed onsite once at Pop-and we did like it. But truthfully we could have driven to and from as quickly as the bus, by the time you wait for pickup and return. Not that it's bad, it's just a very busy system. I love having the room offsite gives us, the laundry and kitchen is mighty nice too. Disney is magic, period, weither you stay onsite or offsite you'll have a wonderful trip!

 

[Corey]

I appreciate the help.

 

[isla bonita]

Try the pool homes they give you everything or not to much cash. Full kitchens own pool and close to everything.

 

[Sandyincanada]

With 4 kids, I would definately look at a condo or pool home. We never had problems travelling to the parks, it doesn't take long at all if your close by. The nice thing with a condo/house is you can relax on the balcony while the kids are playing/sleeping in their own rooms, you can easily stop in the store and stock the fridge/cupboards with pop, snacks, etc. Having breakfast in your PJ's, lol. It gives you extra time in the mornings and you have a toaster. fridge and micro so you don't have to eat junkie foods for breakfast. I think there are more hidden costs onsite as its harder and more expensive to stock up on snack foods and pop and it costs alot more to eat, in general.