Some advice on resort choice please

[compmom]

Hello fellow disboarders,


I have been very fortunate to benefit from the excellent advice from members who have helped me and my family enjoy the magic.

I am a bit overwhelmed with the following request and would like some advice from those of you who would like to try to help. Since, my family and I always stay offsite and do not have such a large family.


I have a friend who has a DH, DS 14, DS 11, DD 8 who wish to visit the mouse.

Here are the parameters of what is going on. What I really need are some recommendations for resort accomodations within their limits and needs.

Time of trip- Jan 1 and 2nd 2004

Budget per night for accom- 150.00 max

willing to use more than 1 room- yes

Ability to cook- yes

non-smoking

non-dvc members

non- ap holders


What resort would fit into their plans better? Any further suggestions. BTW they really want to stay on property.

Again I really would appreciate any options laid out or suggestions in this matter.


TIA
compmom

 

[soccer mom]

Based on rack rates, the only thing I can see for them is POR. Some rooms have two double beds and a small trundle that slides out from under one of the beds. That would be about $149.00 with tax. FW cabins have cooking facilities but rack rate is $229.00. Two room at a value resort would put them over $170.00 a night with tax at rack rate.

Watch for codes or discounts. If one comes out, it may get them into the cabins or value resort.

Anyone else got an idea?

 

[franw]

Wow, it sounds to me like they want a condo since you mentioned ability to cook. That is quite an upgrade in price. You could almost eat at the food court and wing it with a cooler or rent a fridge in a value resort and do the fruit, cereal type brakfast in the room with a break now and then at the food court. They can request a non-smoking room at any resort but with no guarnatees unless there is a health problem in the group. Since they will spend so little time in the room and their budget is tight, I'd rough it in a value and use the extra money for the fun part of the trip. They can go to Goodings and buy a bunch of snacks, water, etc. to keep food costs down. With kids their ages they will probably not set foot in the room except to crash at night. I don't know if you can get a rollaway at values but we brought a single blow up aerobed with us (checked it at airport) and one of us slept on the aerobed at night. Then you just deflate it in the morning. Your a good friend to help them with the planning. I think you should go with them and sleep on the aerobed.

 

[compmom]

Oh how I wish I could squeeze another trip to the mouse out....but my family is not dis-deprived. We have been there 3 times in the last 16 months...This will be my friends' family's first official visit to see the mouse. Yes, they really want to stay on property.


Question about the aero bed/rollaway bed? Does the check in costs increase if you make the ressie for 4 people and then show up with a 5th? Another words will they charge you extra at check in? Just curious>?

Thanks

compmom

 

[soccer mom]

I think what franw is suggesting is not telling them about the fifth person. I'm not sure they would let you have one room if they know there are five people. Room capacity is four at the values. There has been debate on this board before as to the reason for this. Some say firecodes, some say crowd management, i.e. if half the rooms at a value resort had a fifth person that would be about 1,000 extra people to feed, transport, and get into parks that were not planned for just from one resort. It is also a safety issue. If there was an emergency, they need to know who and how many people in a room to really know everyone is safe.

Hope they find something that will work for them.

 

[Scoootch]

Unfortuneatly, they do not allow for a 5th person at the value resorts -- they would need to upgrade to a moderate resort in order to be able to accommodate 5 in a room with the trundle bed. The Alligator Byou section in POR-R is the only resort that has this option without having to move up one to the deluxe catagory as far as I know. I thought I'd heard CBR could do 5 also with the trundle but from what I've read of post lately I think that must be incorrect. If your friends really want to stay on property for under $150 a night it's going to be tight trying to get the ressie for Jan.1 as it's a holiday so I'd suggest calling ASAP to see if they even have anything left. Sorry the news isn't better. Best of luck.

P.S. -- the aero bed thing, even if you could get away with the extra person that way at a value resort (which I would not suggest btw) I doubt there would be enough floor space to put it as those rooms are kind of small.

 

[compmom]

thanks for al the replies so far,,,,,


compmom


what are the chances for OKW or BV under 190.00 for a 1 bedroom? On mousesavers is says that after the first, sometimes you can get the "home away from home villas' for up to 45 % off during the month of January. Anyone have any luck getting that good of prices for those during that time of the year?

 

[swilphil]

We just stayed at the Dolphin for $129/night. I've heard you can get it for less on Priceline, but there's a trick to making sure you get on-property. There have been several posts about this.

The Dolphin, I believe, lets you have a 5th person with a rollaway. I was told there wouldn't be a rollaway fee for my 3 yo, but there may be one for someone older. The great thing about the Dolphin is its location. I would think being close to MGM/Epcot would be ideal for kids at that age.

We stopped at the grocery store, bought a cooler and stocked up on food. We were able to make our own breakfast and lunch without really cooking.

Another money saving tip if you are flying or driving in late in the day is to stay off-site or at a value for just the first night.

Are they really only going to be there for 2 days??

 

[franw]

I made a rash assumption that the value rooms are as big as the moderates. We had four adults in the room at the CBR when we brought along our aerobed. We didn't want the rollaway taking up too much space. We had two adults that didn't want to share a bed but we did tell them we had four in the room. I think there was a $10 per person per night charge for anything over 4. We always tell them how many people will be in the room so that we have plenty of towels, pillows, etc. I am sure many people don't, especially if there are little ones.

 

[compmom]

swilphil- my friends are driving down. They are visiting relatives in Kissimmee over X-mas and then want to get some Mickey time in before school resumes. Thanks for pointing out the rate for the Dolphin, although I have heard that it is more suited for convention travelers(or is that the Swan?)


Franw- thanks for talking about the CBR. I am not sure exactly how picky the moderates will be when the 5th person is an 8 year old girl( the other two boys 14 and 11 probably will share???). I personally think the setup that includes the trundle will be a good option for my friend and her family. I am on a fact finding mission and getting the pros and cons of different accomodation choices for her. I am sure that she will appreciate everyone's time and their contributions to this discussion.



compmom

 

[Scoootch]

Originally posted by compmom
thanks for al the replies so far,,,,,


compmom


what are the chances for OKW or BV under 190.00 for a 1 bedroom? On mousesavers is says that after the first, sometimes you can get the "home away from home villas' for up to 45 % off during the month of January. Anyone have any luck getting that good of prices for those during that time of the year?

Unfortuneatly, not very good. As a DVC member I called for a sat. night asking how much for just a studio would be paying cash (costs more pts for members on wknds) and was told $247 per night and that was with the 25% discount they give to members. To move up to a one bedroom would be quite a bit more I'm sure but even so, the occupancy for a 1bdrm villa is still only 4 people with 5 if one person is under the age of 3 and sleeping in a pak-n-play crib. DVC is pretty strict on their occupancy rules too so they would need to go up to a 2 bdrm villa in order to fit 5 people
You may want to check out the DVC rent/trade board though as you can rent points from a DVC member for much less than booking through CRO with Disney most times

FW cabins may be reasonable though, esp. if a code comes out (www.mousesavers.com does come out with some codes that anyone can use - not just AP holders). So you may want to keep an eye on that site.