Question about hotel for the 1st night

[Park Kids]

Planing first trip to WDW with the kids in June . We are planning to stay at the POR from 6/12- 6/26. Arriving WDW late on sunday the 20. My question is where to stay Sunday night. Should we stay some place cheap of site, or stay at the sport/music or try to get a another night at the POR? How hard is it to change hotels? Is it worth it to get all the transportation passes out of the way the day before so we have all day Monday to spent in the parks?
Thanks for any help
Great site!!

 

[Stitch Inside]

Coming in late, stay off site. There are plenty of hotels nearby. We stayed at a nice little Hampton Inn in Kissiminee last year that was just accross the interstate from Disney. They had a shuttle, and Disney Resorts allow you to check in as early as you can get there, so you can drop off your bags and head to the parks before they even open.

 

[macbro]

We are leaving very soon, and I booked us a room at the Amerisuites at the airport. Our plane doesn't get in until 9:15pm, and then we have to pick up our rental car. I didn't want to try to figure out where to go at night. So we are staying at the airport then getting up early and heading to the parks. Then it is POFQ for a few nights. Hopefully it will work out smoothly for us

 

[Castillo Mom]

I would suggest staying somewhere near the airport that has a free shuttle.

We're flying in at about 6:00 p.m. and will be staying at the Embassy Suites Orlando Airport. They have a complimentary shuttle that will pick us up and take us to the hotel. Several of the airport hotels offer this service. Once you get your luggage from baggage claim, you just go to the courtesy phones and dial the extension that corresponds to the hotel you're staying at.

 

[my3kids]

We stayed off site last time for that late, first night. We stayed very close to WDW though, not at the airport. Got up early and entered and went to the resort about 6 am, if I am remembering correctly. We were just planning to get our ID's and enjoy early entry, but they actually let us go on to our room. We dropped off our bags and made it the park before opening. Worked out great and saved a lot of money.

 

[labst60]

We are going to get in at 11PM on our next trip.

We will be staying at the Sheraton Suites by the Airport (first time). It is 89/night including a full buffet breakfast (bed & breakfast package.)

THey have a shuttle from the airport, which is one less thing to pay for... we will just have Happy Limo pick us up around 9AM and head over to the Swan from there. I am sure our room won't be ready, but that's okay since we are headign to a park that day!

All in all, it will save us about $100 and I think will be better for us than having to ride all the way to the swan at midnight!

 

[debster812]

We did the same thing in January for our first night. Flight did not arrive til a bit before 11. I did not want to be cruising around that late at night, and did not spend the money for onsite accommodations to just crash and burn that night.

I used Priceline for our first night. Bid on a 3* in the MCO area. (as near as I can tell, all 3* in MCO have free shuttle). I bid $35, and got the MCO Renaissance (A Marriot propery--for which the rack rates were $129 and up). There was a courtesy phone in baggage claim, and they were there within 10 minutes. Our room was large, and perfect for what we needed.

The next morning, DH took the hotel shuttle BACK to the airport to rent our car, while DS and I got ready. We hit the Denny's across the street for breakfast, and were checking in at FW for the cabins by 10:30 am!!!!

 

[Bugfella]

For our first night accomodations we usually arrive late and pick All Star Movies. My practical side thinks that for a 12 hour stay (10pm to 10am) you can get a lot of value from the theming and pool.

My kids are little so the tall statues of Buzz and Woody are a favorite.

Once we wake up in the morning we pack up and head over to our main resort. We usually arrive for check-in around 10am and then enjoy a full day at the parks.

Good luck with your decision. -- BugFella