Strategy for arriving at MCO a day before you reservation begins.

[sachilles]

Hope this is the right area for this, if not, mods please move it to the right spot.
Long story short, we happened on a last minute sale for DVC points at Saratoga. Our check in date, in 2/22. However, flight deals make it wise to fly to Orlando on 2/21, arriving around 9pm.
I'm just trying to figure out what makes sense.
As I see it, there are a few options.
-Stay at the airport hotel, which is about 2x the cost of Hilton across from Disney Springs. The upside is that I THINK we could take the magical express the morning of the 22nd. Unsure if we can do the magical express in that scenario.
-Stay at the hilton across from disney springs, taking a taxi to get there, then a taxi to saratoga the next morning. 2 taxi's plus the room is cheaper than the airport hotel. I also have hilton points, and could redeem those to make it cheaper.
-Figure out if there is a rack rate option on saratoga for the 21, and take the magical express.

Given it's only $380 for the 3 nights at Saratoga, the thought of doubling that for 1 night extra, sort of defeats the big savings.

We'd like to do this on the cheap, but family time is worth the extra expense to me.
I travel a lot, and have points for many things I can use. I'm certain, I can rent a car for one day only at no cost to me. I know the Hilton has a Avis desk, so I could one way a car there as well, but think that is more hassle than it's worth.

Are there other options we should consider?

We've not stayed at Saratoga before(stayed at Carribean and Port Orleans on our 2 previous trips). I do know it's a bit out there so bus transport to the parks is a bit longer than other resorts.
We only have 3 full days in the parks, which is very short. We head out late afternoon on the 25th.
We do enjoy Disney Springs, but given our son is 7, we'd probably be too late to enjoy the evening of the 21st(though he is a night owl, and will be wound up).

SO......if I gave you a budget of $400. You arrive at MCO at 9pm on the 21st and can't check in at Saratoga until the 22nd. How would you spend it to get my 7yo son, wife and myself to Saratoga by morning of the 22nd?

 

[verleniahall]

is there a disney value that you could stay in for one night and use ME to get to that hotel and then just have them take your luggage over to Saratoga Springs the next day?

 

[lanejudy]

You should be able to stay at any hotel in the airport area and take ME the next morning. It does not have to be the in-airport Hyatt. If you have Hilton points, can you use them at a Hampton Inn? I believe there is one near the airport with a free shuttle to/from MCO. Or check rates at a WDW value resort for one night.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[pigletto]

Grab one of the hotels with a shuttle near the airport. We've stayed at several nearby and you will pay much less than the one inside MCO. On average the ones we have stayed at are no more than five minutes away. Then take the shuttle back to MCO in the morning and head to Disney. Another added bonus is that many of them offer a free breakfast and you could save some money by eating before you head back to the airport.

 

[Steph01002]

We stayed at All-Star Sports which we booked cheap through Expedia the night before our real vacation started. We took ME to the All-star Sports, and we could of had them transport our luggage to the next Disney hotel, and we could have just went to a park and returned to our different hotel later, but instead, we just took a $10 cab ride to the Beach Club Villas. It was easy and quick.
We had an early morning flight on our way out of MCO and we stayed at the Hyatt in the airport, ME picked us up at 11:30pm (as we requested the last ME from our resort that night since it had to be scheduled on our departure day) and we were the only ones on the bus to MCO. ME will transport you to or from the airport based on your arrival/departure day. Either pick a flight near the time you want to be picked up, or give them a time frame and they will fit you into the schedule. It was for our departure that I wasn't following a flight schedule, so when I asked for the last ME, she gave me a time and "booked" us on that bus.
We thought about getting an off-site hotel near the airport and take advantage of the shuttle back to the airport for ME, but it began to sound like it would take up lots of time and be a hassle.
I am getting spoiled by deluxe/DVC rooms, so I would probably splurge for a night at a moderate to explore all of those resorts (I love Port Orleans Riverside, but have not been to the others) the night before. A value is just fine though, but were were there during a cheer competition and it was loud and the walls seem thin!

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

Room-only for a standard room at Pop that night is $123 (plus tax, so let's say $150). I would take DME, check into Pop, check out early the next morning before park touring and drop luggage with bell services, then go to SSR later, check in, and pick up my luggage. That's much cheaper than $400!

 

[sachilles]

I was under the impression they no longer transfer luggage for split stays. Suppose we could taxi with luggage anyway if we stayed on property.

 

[sachilles]

...anyways staying on property totally makes more sense. Not sure why I didn't think of that. Thank you.
I think I was hung up on trying to stay close to Saratoga some how the night before.

 

[DisneyDiana]

They do transport your luggage free of charge. We do split stays every trip. I would definitely stay in a value for the first night.

 

[Marionnette]

They do transport your luggage free of charge. We do split stays every trip. I would definitely stay in a value for the first night.

Yep! It's quite common for DVC owners to spend their first night in a less expensive onsite room and then have their luggage transferred to their DVC resort while they hit the parks for the day.

Just a couple of hints:

• Do not check your bags thru to your resort via Magic Express. Stop at the baggage carousel and claim your bags there. Then go to the DME location to catch your bus. The driver will stow your bags under the bus.
• Pack what you need for the night for the whole family in a single bag (change of clothes, pajamas, toiletries, etc). That way, you aren't re-packing several bags in the morning when you check out of your 1-night resort.

 

[sachilles]

Good tips, thank you.
We booked All Star Movies for the first night. That is a done deal.