Tell me about staying off-site

[TheDailyMoo]

Specifically Margaritaville for half the price of the swan. Been going to Disney World for about 2 decades and Swolphin is as "off-site" as we've stayed. Building a trip for February and I ran out of DVC points and need to pay cash for a few days and was originally going to book the Swan again but it's a ridiculous amount to pay right now. I know they have dynamic pricing but I need to book. I'm looking specifically at Margaritaville because it's very cheap in comparison and it's part of AMEX The Hotel Collection so I'd get a few bucks off as well. I'm assuming they have shuttles or busses? Is the ride to parks really annoying? Would be only going to Epcot/HS for those couple of days. Also is the pool open in February?

 

[HopperFan]

Here is your shuttle information ~

https://www.margaritavilleresorts.com/margaritaville-resort-orlando/things-to-do/transportation

 

[Genie+]

Ooh the one thing I noticed on that shuttle schedule is needing to take the EP monorail over to MK to catch the shuttle back

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Here is your shuttle information ~

https://www.margaritavilleresorts.com/margaritaville-resort-orlando/things-to-do/transportation

Oh wow ok...hm I see you have to make reservations AND there are limited times. This is not like the Swan's busses that run like Disney busses. Ok that's already making me wonder if ponying up for the Swan is the better option

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Ooh the one thing I noticed on that shuttle schedule is needing to take the EP monorail over to MK to catch the shuttle back

Yeah that may not cut it for a short trip. We're big fans of popping out of park to head back for a while then either going back at night or hopping to another park. But man oh man it's half the price! lol

 

[Genie+]

Yeah that may not cut it for a short trip. We're big fans of popping out of park to head back for a while then either going back at night or hopping to another park. But man oh man it's half the price! lol

I hate to encourage this but it has come in handy for us: Have you looked at confirmed reservations? There’s an aggregator out there. We’ve booked them a few times. Got OKW at $200/nt and AKV Jambo at $300. It’s not bad when availability is tight.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I hate to encourage this but it has come in handy for us: Have you looked at confirmed reservations? There’s an aggregator out there. We’ve booked them a few times. Got OKW at $200/nt and AKV Jambo at $300. It’s not bad when availability is tight.

I have! Nothing that works. I'm looking at getting points transferred which would be great but that ends up being close to the Swan pricing anyway after the AMEX benefits kick in. This will force my hand to buy another contract lol.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Yeah that may not cut it for a short trip. We're big fans of popping out of park to head back for a while then either going back at night or hopping to another park. But man oh man it's half the price! lol

Have you checked to see how much Uber would average from Margaritaville? Combining Uber & the shuttle may work for you.

 

[CarolynFH]

Look at the Disney Springs hotels - many are walking distance to DS, and you can catch a resort bus at DS or a park bus at SSR. https://disneyspringshotels.com/ Some have shuttles too. If we needed an offsite hotel, I’d look at the Drury.

 

[CarolynFH]

The Orlando Hotels and Attractions forum can be helpful in finding an offsite hotel. https://www.disboards.com/forums/orlando-hotels-and-attractions.15/

 

[DL1WDW2]

I was just checking out the MargaritaVille Resort and got invited to tour the new Club Wyndham sales center … they said it would only be 2 hours …
But I got $100 gift card and invite for 2 nights 3 days “ tour “ at any location.
Appsrently they will be building new Resort on property adjacent to MargaritaVille and I could have purchased a small 100 points contract. Or an even smaller 2 year for $4000 which would keep the current price package offered if I changed my mind.
Unfortunately New Club Wyndham won’t be open soon enough but it will be beautiful!
I have to say the view created by the Jimmy Buffett location and planning design is incredible ! I think many weddings are planned at this location.
And MR gift shop has lots of Tshirts for his fans !
There is attached Paradise Walk with lots of restaurants and special events on weekends planned. Love the vintage car shows and fantastic local music on stage .
The children’s Arcade is huge & lots of fun with attached Bar Dining area so “family can have fun “ lots of locals have children’s birthday parties !
This location also has a really fun WaterPark called H2O live!
Their lazy river and wave pool and separate adult pool with bar and big screen movie nights with current weekend Florida football games to watch with bucket of beer in pool in the wave pool ! You really should visit ! The children’s area is a great design also. I think their season ends with Thanksgiving Week and then has a holiday lights nightly. That was fun too! Search online for special discounted tickets that could be purchased for their extended season pass if you plan to visit WDW again .

I also think the Flamingo Crossing / Western Way area is very nice .But the traffic in the morning from the college intern program housing was intense .
I guess a lot of them have their own cars maybe ?

 

[HopperFan]

Oh wow ok...hm I see you have to make reservations AND there are limited times. This is not like the Swan's busses that run like Disney busses. Ok that's already making me wonder if ponying up for the Swan is the better option

That is how most offsite hotels' buses work. Reservations, limited times, limited park drops, sharing with other hotels and some have fees. Even since COVID and the demise of the Disney Springs Bus Service, each Disney Springs hotel has their own offering with some requiring reservations with limited times.

For ME, to stay off site I must have a car, I'm not a ride share person. My kids though stay off and use Uber no problem.

 

[teawar]

You might want to consider the Drury Inn at Disney springs. They have their own buses, not shared with the other Disney Springs resorts. The hotel is pretty much brand new! We own DVC and stay at the Dolphin a lot, but the Drury is now our next go-to!

 

[kevtlas]

I second the Drury. We stayed a night there and were happy with it.

 

[jimmymc]

Uber and Lyft prices are usually pretty low. If you're able to pair the shuttle with rideshares, you'd still be much cheaper than staying on property.