planning a honeymoon - questions

[ladyv]

Hello
I'm in the beginning stages of planning a honeymoon to WDW for Sept/Oct '05. (We want to make sure that we are there when the wine festival is going on in Epcot and don't want to visit when there are tons of kids there)
I've been looking at prices and so far, I really feel that the disney deluxe resorts are too much $$ for their value, so I had originally thought about POFQ based on suggestions I've seen on various disney websites.
Today I learned that there are hotels that are on Disney property that are less expensive/bigger than Disney hotels (in downtown disney).
My FI and I will not be traveling with kids and things like disney shaped soaps, etc are not a necessity for us. I'd probably be more excited if our room had a whirlpool or soaking tub. We will not be renting a car (is that OK to do?)
I'd like to keep our costs below 180ish a night. So, is a Disney hotel worth it based on what I've said here? Which downtown Disney hotel would be the best bet for us? And is the POFQ the best (moderate) hotel for honeymooners? BTW - if it helps, we haven't been to WDW since we were very young and never stayed at a Disney resort (with one exception - I stayed in the Swan about 2 years ago for a conference and went to Epcot for 1/2 day)
Thanks in advance for anyones help!!!! Sorry for the long post!

 

[laughinplace199]

If I weren't renting a car, I'd definitely stay at a Disney hotel. I know that some off-site hotels have shuttles, but I don't think they run as frequently as the Disney busses do. Some friends of mine stayed at a DD hotel and there was a shuttle to each park every few hours, vs. Disney's every 20-30 min.

It may just be personal preference, but I love the theming of the Disney hotels. After you leave the parks and go back to your room, you're still surrounded by Disney touches. Obviously, that's not important to everyone, so only you can decide what's right for you.

Also, Disney resort guests get into the parks early on selected days.

I've never stayed at POFQ, but it looks nice. We stayed at POR for our honeymoon. If you could get a room in one of the mansion buildings, that might be a nice place for a honeymoon stay.

Good luck with the wedding and honeymoon planning!

 

[SnackyStacky]

I've been planning my September honeymoon since August of last year. Welcome to the planning!

I've stayed at both the French Quarter and a couple of the Downtown Disney hotels. (the former Courtyard - now it's a Holiday Inn, and the Royal Plaza).

I think there are advantages and disadvantages to both. If you're looking for a whirlpool tub, unless you stay at a one or two bedroom Home Away From Home resort, you won't get the it at a Disney resort. The French Quarter has a hot tub, but it is public access, so you won't have too much privacy.

However, the tower rooms at the Hotel Royal Plaza have whirlpool tubs. If you go to Mousesavers.com, you can usually get a good rate for these rooms.

As far as transportation goes, my experiences have been better at the Downtown Disney Resorts than they were with Disney transportation. The Downtown Disney park shuttles arrived every half hour, and were comfortable and efficient. I waited a long time to get from the Studios to Port Orleans. Probably about 45 minutes.

You've picked a great time of year to go. Crowds are less, and prices are relatively cheaper. (If the food/wine festival isn't that important to you - September is generally cheaper than October)

I think the main question is what you're looking for. If you're looking for nice, clean, comfortable accomodations - you'll find those things at both a Disney and a Downtown Disney hotel.

If you're looking for theme and escapism, you'd probably be better suited to a Disney hotel.

Have a great honeymoon!

 

[emilymad]

I am in the middle of planning my June honeymoon. We couldn't afford to stay at the deluxes so we were looking at POR or CBR. I then sort of stumbled on the DVC rent/trade board. We ended up renting points to stay at BCV in a studio room. We are paying the same as we would for a moderate. Some of this work out due to the days we were staying and the type of room we wanted. There is a little bit of risk involved but there is a ton of information over on the DVC Rent/Trade board that explained everything. Its just an option that you may want to consider. Good Luck!

 

[Suziequz]

We stayed at Riverside for our honeymoon two years ago. It was amazing! Such a beautiful place, full of romance... We stayed at POR b/c we could afford about 3 nights at a Deluxe or 7 nights at a moderate.

I definitely recommend staying onsite! And while you're at it, spend $12 and get Bride and Groom pins to wear. We wore ours for our entire honeymoon. The benefit was lots of little perks - free champagne and dessert at Spoodles, for instance. Also, the Disney CM's are great at honeymoons. We came back to our room one day and found a bunch of balloons with a card from Mickey & Minnie!

If you stay at POR, ask for a room in Magnolia Bend (the mansions), as they are much more elegant and honeymoon-ish!

 

[redfraggle]

how do you get the bride and groom pins. . i'm spending my july honeymoon at the world (POR) and would love the pins. .

thanks!

 

[Suziequz]

We bought ours in the gift shop at POR when we got there. You might be able to order them online - but they are easily available everywhere pins are for sale in WDW

 

[emilymad]

I am so happy to hear about the pins! I had read about the bride and groom ears but that seemed a bit much for us. I could definitly wear a pin though.

 

[ladyv]

Thank you so much to everyone who responded!!!!
After looking into things a bit more and lots of advice from this board and others, I think we're definetely going to stay on site.

I love the idea of wearing honeymoon pins! I had heard about the mouse ears and believe me, there's _no_ way I could ever get my FI to wear something like those.