Staying in the lobby?

[jfm685]

Here is my question for all you Disney lovers. My husband booked a trip for my 30th birthday, no kids just me and DH. Our reservation is for May 21, our flight lands at 11:30pm on the 20, we want to head to the parks at 8 am on the 21. Has anyone ever stayed in the lobby? By the time we get to Beach Club it will be about 1:30 and we plan to be on a 7:00 shuttle to the magic kingdom. I don't want to make a reservation at another hotel for that night as I don't want the hassle of changing hotels and I also don't want to pay the $400+ for a night that we really won't be there for. Looking for any advice, thanks all!

 

[bumbershoot]

That doesn't sound like fun at all. If the Hyatt Regency MCO is available, book that. Have a nice, short night of sleep and wake up refreshed. Much better than headachey from sort of sleeping in a bright busy lobby (people do arrive all hours of the day and night).

You won't be able to check in until 6am when the computers "turn over" to the new day.


I remember someone posting about wanting to do this a couple years ago and he was just adamant that it would be awesome. I don't remember him ever coming back to tell us how awesome it was. I wouldn't have wanted to do this even as a college student, let alone as a full fledged grownup, LOL.

 

[disneydude365]

do you mean stay as in have all your luggage around you in an area and sleeping? in the lobby or an area of the hotel?

i know when waiting on an event I've laid down in the walking areas of the contemporary but 15-30 min max

not sure best idea, if you just wanna sit there with your stuff an not sleep i think that would be fine

 

[ethanwa]

My guess is that Disney would look down upon it if you were out there asleep all night. Probably best just to book a cheap hotel room for sleeping only just right in the Downtown Disney area... sometimes there are rooms for less than $100 at places like Holiday Inn Express, etc.

I know it seems like an extra hassle, but getting some good sleep in a bed where you won't be bothered is going to make you feel 1000% better.

As others have said, you may want to consider a room at the airport in the Hyatt and then get up super early and catch a bus/cab to your resort in the morning. You'll get the most rest that way. But that hotel isn't the cheapest.

 

[O2H O2H]

I can't imagine that checking in and getting 6 hrs of sleep at a cheaper hotel is going to be MORE of a hassle than trying to be comfortable in the awkwardness of hanging out in a lobby overnight

 

[bhodonne]

Get a cheaper room at an on property hotel near DD. You will thank us later.

 

[Redarrow5150]

Heck go on priceline.com and just find something cheap.

 

[lucas]

Book another flight with more convenient times or book a value for 1 night. If I had to sleep in a hotel lobby, I would be in no shape to then spend all day in the parks.

 

[NewRVLady]

Well since you don't have a Ressie for that night, you would not be able to ride Magical Express bus, nor drive in with a rental car.
Right?
And you would be totally exhausted by the time 7 am rolls in....get an earlier flight

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I highly doubt they will allow you to doze in the lobby all night because you don't by want to pay for a room. By that logic you could go to any top notch hotel and not pay for a room, just stay in the lobby and use the common bathrooms.

 

[POOHsie]

Nobody wants a couple of non-payers camping out overnight in a hotel lobby. Best to change your resort stay to a more-affordable Disney moderate.

 

[Alesia]

You will not be allowed to camp in the lobby. You will be asked to either pay for a room or leave the premises.

 

[DebbieB]

Well since you don't have a Ressie for that night, you would not be able to ride Magical Express bus, nor drive in with a rental car.
Right?
And you would be totally exhausted by the time 7 am rolls in....get an earlier flight

Good point, how are you going to get there?

I would stay at the airport hotel.

 

[conandrob240]

This pits has to be a joke. New poster, first post.

 

[sndral]

...
Looking for any advice, thanks all!

First - welcome to disboards
Here's my advice - the discounts for rooms for May 2015, will probably come out in the first week of January 2015, as soon as they are out call and apply the discount to your Beach Club room and with the money you saved add the night of 5/20/15, and pocket the difference.
Some numbers:
A garden view room @ the Beach Club for 5/21-5/27/15 is $3747.39.
That same room with a 30% discount for 5/20-5/27/15 is $2623.18,
If the discount is 25% it's still cheaper than the shorter stay @ $2811.39, even a 20% discount for the longer stay is $2997.91.
BTW, if the discount isn't available for the Beach club, the Yacht Club is a great choice as well.

 

[moogiepet]

We had a change of plans & are, like you, arriving late the night before & going to the parks early the next morning, so we found this hotel with good reviews for $50/night. It is 7 miles (12 minutes) away from Magic Kingdom.

Super 8 Maingate

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...immee_Orlando_Maingate-Kissimmee_Florida.html

 

[bumbershoot]

Well since you don't have a Ressie for that night, you would not be able to ride Magical Express bus, nor drive in with a rental car.
Right?
And you would be totally exhausted by the time 7 am rolls in....get an earlier flight

Since they'll be landing at 11:30, assuming their DME reservation was after 12:01am on the day they are checking in, I think they could get on that bus. And likely get in the gates. Maybe.


DH tried to sleep a couple years ago at the Munich airport. Utter abject misery. Especially when they started cleaning the floors around the sleepers...

 

[fla4fun]

Well since you don't have a Ressie for that night, you would not be able to ride Magical Express bus, nor drive in with a rental car.
Right?

Why not? If they are arriving at MCO at 11:30, it will be after midnight by the time they get to ME, or to the resort with a rental car, even if the flight is on time (which we all know doesn't happen very often). So technically, it will be their check in day. I do not see an issue with transportation at all.

The issue is what to do between arriving at the resort and the time you are allowed to check in. The earliest I have ever checked in was around 5:30am (I stopped by on my way to work on the off chance they would let me check in so I could go directly to my room after work that day - I did not expect to get a room that early).

I would agree with the poster that suggested watching for a discount at your resort and changing your booking to include the prior night. If you are getting the room for an extra night and paying less overall than your current booking, that is a win-win for this situation.

 

[aidtrismommy]

Book a room at a hotel near MCO. Most have free shuttles. We landed late at night once, well more like 10:30pm. Got our luggage, took free shuttle to Embassy Suites which was 5 minutes away. Went to sleep, ate breakfast at included buffet, took shuttle back to MCO to get rental car and away we went. You could also take shuttle back to MCO to get the bus to Disney, although I have no first hand knowledge of this as I have never taken the DME.

 

[jfm685]

First of all yes this was my first post and I am new but it wasn't a joke I was just looking for advice and opinions. Isn't that what this website is for?

Secondly thank you all for your ideas and suggestions, I'm not saying we are going to do this I was just wondering what other would do. My husband booked this as a surprise and we were lucky that he could get two days off of work, he is a police officer and his post is in a large school district so during the school year he can't take time off ( I had a baby in June and they let him have 2 days off).
I actually called Disney myself and explained to them my idea and the representative said to me that that is perfectly ok and I would be surprised how many people actually do this. That being said I am going to look into staying at the airport or adding an extra day once the discounts come out.