Priceline ?

[susan137]

I would like to bid on priceline for our first night in WDW. We will be arriving on 8/31 very late in the evening. We are then moving to the AKL with a package for the rest of our stay. I have never bid at priceline. Can anyone give me any advice. I would like to know if I request Lake Buena Vista will I most likely get to stay on one of the non=disney owned hotels by the marketplace? Any ideas on what amount to bid or how many stars these resorts are would be most appreciated.

TIA, Susan

 

[Trekker]

In an effort to keep the resorts board on topic - Disney Resorts.

This thread is being moved to the Budget Board.

 

[Gillian]

Hi!! There are some discussions on this over onthe Orlando hotels board. Take a look over there, or try a search. You may find your question moved there any minute!

Also, biddingfortravel.com will be able to help, if you are willing to do your research.

And finally, there is no way to specify Lake Buena Vista, nor is there a way to guarentee a DD hotel. It isn't even likely!!! If you go to Priceline & do a practice bid, look at the map for the Disney vicinity. It includes some areas of Lake Buena vista (not sure if it's labelled LBV), and an area of 192 in Kissimmee. A few of the DD hotels participate in Priceline, but there are a lot of other hotels. You should be able to get a nice, 3* hotel for no more than $40, depending on availability for your dates.

Good luck!

 

[MAKmom]

Don't do it!!!!! No you can end up in Kissimmee. Are you flying or driving? If flying you will stillhave to pay for a taxi. How about staying at the ALLStars they will transfer your luggage & you can go right to the parks

 

[robinb]

Yes, you could end up in Kissimmee, but not all that far away from WDW and AKL. Especially if you stick to the 3* and resort* properties. The Kissimmee hotels in the "Disneyworld Area" are around I-4 and 192. If you make a "practice bid" to see the PL map, make sure you don't go as far as actually entering a price or your credit card info. You don't have to do that to just see the maps.

Go to www.biddingfortravel.com and review the Hotels Bidding FAQ and the Orlando Board. Someone just scored the Wyndham Palace across from DD for $48 (plus the $5 bonus money) for 8/29-9/4.

 

[Lewisc]

Susan--If you're coming in late I'd stay by the airport. You can use PL (keep in mind the $6 PL fee) or just shop around. Courtyard by Marriott frequently has a $50 rate, I got the Hilton Garden for $55. Most of the hotels offer a free shuttle or you can pick up your rental when you land.

 

[sablair]

We got our rooms in July through priceline and were happy happy happy!!!
If you do this, check out biddingfortravel.com first. Read everything available on the website and check out the bonus money links. If you are flexible and know they wont tell you the hotel up front you shouldnt have a problem. We stayed at the Renaissance Maingate and the Marriott in DD (both 3* in the WDW zone.. the Renaissance is in Kissimmee) and were very happy with both places for the $40 a night we got through priceline. The renaissance was on 192, but it didnt matter to us because we prefer to have a rental car anyway
Priceline isnt for everyone for sure. I know the resort quality hotels are going for @$48 plus $5 bonus money and i have seen accepted bids through the beginning of Sep. The only ones I know of coming up are the Marriott World Center and the Wyndham Palace. Both of these places are very nice. Some will tell you you dont have a guarantee and they are right, but like I said, if you bid on a resort in the WDW area now, you will likely get one of these two places. I havent seen one post on biddingfortravel.com for any other resorts in that zone right now.

Watch out though.. you might become addicted like me... since finding priceline Im dragging my family somewhere out of town at least once a month...haha. $30 or $40 a night rooms makes it much easier for us to get away.

Good luck!!

Sheila

 

[lady400]

In our case, we just wanted a decent place to crash the first night. Like you, we are arriving quite late. We had no interest in trying to find our way to the WDW area at that time of night.

I researched very carefully, using every bit of info I could glean from www.biddingfortravel.com, as well as researching all the rates for the airport hotels. I looked at all the recent history of winning bids in the airport area, and followed the same strategies. We ended up with the Amerisuites Airport West for $25 + $5 bonus money. Total for the night, with all taxes and fees is $34.25, and that includes free breakfast.

I think Priceline is great, if you do your homework and can be flexible.