Two city slickers who don’t drive (can but don’t) - is on site the best value regardless then?

[MadderAdder]

Howdy! Planning a trip to Disney (and maybe The Other Side) for fall 2023 (late September or early October) for myself and my person. We don’t drive; we moved to a major city so we wouldn’t have to. The off site hotels are ridiculously tempting, because this is a budget-lite trip… but adding in Ubers/shuttles and the time sunk for transportation… is it really a value/savings? Thoughts?

PS: wasn’t sure if this should go in the Disney resort forum or this one.. sorry!

 

[smwisc]

I would say maybe, but not necessarily. I recently had a short solo trip and stayed at the Wyndham LBV Disney Springs. It's only a 5 minute walk to DS, which basically opens up all of the Disney transportation options. You can also walk to Saratoga Springs from there, although I didn't. They had a free shuttle bus that ran on the hour starting at 7 (I think - before park open).

What I generally ended up doing was taking the shuttle bus in the morning, and then for the rest of the day using Disney transportation to get around and back to DS at night (e.g., from MK I walked to the Contemporary and hopped on a bus). I could have taken the shuttle bus back in the evening, but trying to time it to catch only once an hour seemed like more trouble than it was worth. I was prepared to Uber/Lyft if it made more sense, but I never felt the need.

I probably spent a little more time on transportation than if I had stayed on site, but honestly I don't think it was that much of a difference, and the cost difference was significant enough for me to make it worth it.

 

[nw6675]

Personally, I would stay onsite. We have done both and one of our main reasons is convenience to stay onsite - usually in the Epcot resorts. Maybe look into the Swan or Dolphin for the best of both. DS bus transportation is awful and does not go to the parks most of the day.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I agree. Your dates will probably be discounted for late September 2023.

I have heard the Swan & Dolphin fees are included with Costco packages.

Are you AAA or Costco or anyother discounts , etc.?

Try to budget for POP Century value resorts . You will have better transportation options and enjoy your stay and actually have fun.

You also are considering Universal possibly. I just stayed at their very very nice Dockside Value Resor….. WOW so fun ! Normally I book at their Cabana Bay Beach Resort but have to say Love for Dockside price ! Also you will find better pricing for tickets, etc.. at Universal.
I definitely would budget for both locations WDW and Universal for a great trip.
Keep us posted with your trip planning . Love to give advice!
This might be moved to Trip Planning thread …

 

[HopperFan]

Howdy! Planning a trip to Disney (and maybe The Other Side) for fall 2023 (late September or early October) for myself and my person. We don’t drive; we moved to a major city so we wouldn’t have to. The off site hotels are ridiculously tempting, because this is a budget-lite trip… but adding in Ubers/shuttles and the time sunk for transportation… is it really a value/savings? Thoughts?

PS: wasn’t sure if this should go in the Disney resort forum or this one.. sorry!

Stayed onsite for years and years. As transportation slowed started driving to the parks except MK.

Moved offsite to get much more for much less. Driving didn't matter as I was used to it and I have an AP so no parking fees. I was still getting to/from parks faster than when I used Disney transportation.

One trip DS#1 and I left MK, took ferry to parking lot, slow drive out (was a police incident in parking lot) and drove to hotel over by outlet mall. I was IN BED when DS#2 texted he and friend's bus to POP had just arrived to MK. Driving to parks if you stay in a general area is easy, easier with ride share since you aren't doing the pay at the booth.

DS#2 has flown in a few times, stayed offsite and used ride share. He said it is so easy and reasonable that he doesn't feel compelled to be onsite anymore if he can save plenty. Disney not offering free Magical Express from MCO opened up lots of options.

I would first look at the Disney Springs hotels. Fast ride to parks and you can walk to Disney Springs. If those prices are still not what you are looking for look at the Palm Parkway hotels, still an easy shot in, some with free breakfast, most no resort fee and many has other dining in walking distance.

 

[Best Aunt]

I think to some extent it depends on your personality.

Are you "we'll get to the park when we get there" kind of people, or would you be determined to get there for rope drop?

Are you flexible enough to wait around for the hotel shuttle to take you back from the parks, even if it means waiting around for an hour? Or are you "we're tired, we're cranky, we need to get out of here now" kind of people?

Will you be happy eating all of your meals either at your hotel or in a theme park, or will you want to eat somewhere else?

I think these things determine how often you would taken an Uber/Lyft.

I never drive in Orlando. On one trip, I learned that I'm only happy if I can get places on foot. I'm a happy camper in the Epcot resort area because I can walk to other hotels and theme parks. When I stayed at Wilderness Lodge, I felt stuck because even though it was a Disney-owned hotel, once I was back at the hotel for the afternoon, it was a pain in the neck to get somewhere else if I wanted to venture out after resting up. Take the bus to Magic Kingdom and then get on another bus to go somewhere? No thank you. I have to recognize that this is my personality and I can't ignore it when planning, even though thousands of other people are delighted to stay at Wilderness Lodge.

My advice would be: if you see a good rate at an off-site hotel, book it, but only if it is completely refundable. Be careful when booking because websites are often set so that the "default" is nonrefundable rates; you have to actively click on something to get the refundable rates. Then I would keep watching for discounts at a Disney-owned hotel. I also would keep an eye on Swan and Dolphin rates. Start watching the Swan & Dolphin thread; those people are super knowledgeable and are always looking for good deals.

 

[k5xs]

After a disappointing experience staying off property many years ago, we vowed never again. And we have been happy with our decision.

Cost is a significant factor arguing against our choice, but we value more:

- Being immersed in the Disney Magic (I know, it's in the eye of the beholder, but it's real to us)'

- Reasonably predictable high-quality staff and facilities

- Reliable transportation. Not only was our off-property transportation experience unpleasant, but we watch with sympathy off-property guests who have obviously been waiting a very long time for their buses at EPCOT or at the TTC. Besides, we LOVE the Skyliner.

-

 

[HopperFan]

I have heard the Swan & Dolphin fees are included with Costco packages.

Last I heard Swan & Dolphin do not use Disney Transportation but have their own buses. And at Magic Kingdom they do not go to the park but rather the TTC. No different than offsite hotels.

https://swandolphin.com/more/transportation/

The Disney Springs bus transport does not start to & from the theme parks until later in the day (10:30 a.m. ?)… and the Disney Springs Hotel bus transport (my experience ) required making reservations and also fee because of guest capacity . They also drop off & pick up at the Ticket& Transportation Center Which requires a transfer, and more time wasted.
Try to budget for POP Century value resorts . You will have better transportation options and enjoy your stay and actually have fun.

OP needs to contact individual hotels since COVID has slightly changed bus system.

But bolded is not accurate.

Buses start early enough to get you to Early Entry.

This was just posted on another thread from Hilton and verified with phone call.



The buses have always been fairly regular compared to any offsite.

As far as I know the buses have NEVER charged a FEE. Just glancing at a few of their pages they all say free or complimentary.

I've not known of any Disney Springs hotel shuttles that need a reservation but best to call hotel, COVID changed some things.

I do agree with posters that off property - Disney Springs is on property -

 

[Upatnoon]

Howdy! Planning a trip to Disney (and maybe The Other Side) for fall 2023 (late September or early October) for myself and my person. We don’t drive; we moved to a major city so we wouldn’t have to. The off site hotels are ridiculously tempting, because this is a budget-lite trip… but adding in Ubers/shuttles and the time sunk for transportation… is it really a value/savings? Thoughts?

PS: wasn’t sure if this should go in the Disney resort forum or this one.. sorry!

It depends.
How much is the off-site hotel?
How much is a Disney value hotel or Disney Springs hotel?
Do you spend all day at the parks or do you want mid-day breaks?
Do you care about early-entry?

If the offsite hotel is $125 and the onsite hotel is $250, it's a different story than $125 vs. $150.

 

[smwisc]

As far as I know the buses have NEVER charged a FEE. Just glancing at a few of their pages they all say free or complimentary.

I've not known of any Disney Springs hotel shuttles that need a reservation but best to call hotel, COVID changed some things.

The Wyndham LBV shuttle did "require" a reservation when I stayed there last month. It was made online, super easy, free with a code they gave at check-in. You picked your time to the parks, and they had you then pick a time to come back, but said you could come back on any bus without needing to change the reservation. And then both time when I actually took the bus, they didn't so much as glance at my phone, never mind scan the QR code. I think the reservation is mostly so they have some idea of capacity and whether they can combine parks on one bus or not.

 

[HopperFan]

The Wyndham LBV shuttle did "require" a reservation when I stayed there last month. It was made online, super easy, free with a code they gave at check-in. You picked your time to the parks, and they had you then pick a time to come back, but said you could come back on any bus without needing to change the reservation. And then both time when I actually took the bus, they didn't so much as glance at my phone, never mind scan the QR code. I think the reservation is mostly so they have some idea of capacity and whether they can combine parks on one bus or not.

Good information. This is why I say always check every hotel you stay at non-Disney about shuttles.

The Disney Springs bus system (which was good) is not back sadly and each hotel is directing their service. But I still think what they offer is better than most.

 

[bbsearchlight]

I just got back from a week at DisneyWorld where we stayed offsite at the Hyatt Place Lake Buena Vista. Using Hyatt points it cost us 6500 points per night. (You can transfer points from chase Ultimate Rewards into Hyatt.)

The biggest issue with offsite hotels is it is very difficult to know until you get there whether the rooms are clean, etc.

However, it is definitely worth it to take ubers over Disney buses as it is so much more convenient. You can sometimes wait 20 to 25 minutes for a Disney bus and you may not even get a seat!

Here was my uber costs:

Hotel to Epcot: $12.12

Epcot to Hotel (after harmonious) : $12.75

Hotel to Hollywood Studios: $10.54

Hollywood Studios to Hotel: $11.02

Hotel to Magic Kingdom: $11

Magic Kingdom to Hotel (after fireworks): $12.62

Hotel to airport: $26.16


These costs were last week (8/14/22 - 8/18/22). We didn't wait more than 5 minutes for any of the ubers.

As you can see, the Uber costs are very reasonable. Just realize that at Magic kingdom, you can't take an Uber to the front gate, they drop you in the parking lot and you need to take the tram/monorail. At the other parks you get almost to the front.

Advantages of off disney: Many hotels give free breakfast, much more convenient taking uber over disney buses, room was double the size of equivalent room at All Star Sports (I am comparing the All star hotel to the Hyatt which I would say are on par with each other.)

Advantages of Disney hotel: Probably has better pools (is that important to you?), less work in planning, staying in the Disney bubble.

When I factored in the cost of ubers, I figure I probably saved around $10 - $15 a night, but I also got free breakfast and way more convenient transportation to the park.

(Another thing to be wary of is if you have small kids you will need to bring your own car seats if taking uber.)

Please feel free to ask if you want more information. I have been to DisneyWorld over 20 times in the last 25 years, and we have stayed at Disney value hotels every year up until this year.

 

[hsmamato2]

I like the springs area hotels, on that main road a lot. Easy walking to get on property, and the shuttles we took to a park were just fine.

 

[kevtlas]

Have you considered renting DVC points from a member? September/October are normally on the lower side for points per night, so it’s possible you’d be able to book a studio villa at one of the deluxe resorts for the same or close to the same price as an off site hotel.

 

[leebee]

We stayed at the Hilton Orlando LBV in Dec. 2019, so pre-covid, and had a rental car but didn't use it much. We took the hotel shuttle bus to a park in the morning (they ran every 30mins) and then used Disney transportation for the rest of the day, including from whatever park we were in to get back to Disney Springs in the evening. We like being able to have dinner or drinks at DS at the end of the day, and our hotel was about a 7min walk from Earl of Sandwich (basically had to go across the street on the footbridge and then to our room). We used a mousesavers discount code which gave us free parking and a discount on the daily resort fee. Ah yes, resort fees. I think it was about $25 a night, so less with our discount, but it included 2 coffees and 2 bottles of water, per person per day, from the hotel lobby-store place. It was fine, they were brewing Starbucks and did a good job of it so we were happy to get the free coffee and water bottles. Overall, we'd definitely do a Disney Springs hotel again. We are Hilton and Marriott rewards members, so sometimes can get a great deal on a room, or even free nights if we have enough points saved up.

I think what you should consider is the comparative costs of the hotel rooms, and whether or not you are committed to a tight time schedule (and if that were the case, I'd rent a car or use Uber; never trust Disney transportation to get you anywhere in a timely manner). Offsite hotel rooms are bigger than Disney rooms, for sure, if that matters to you (it does to us, we like to relax in the room and appreciate the extra space, sometimes even a sofa or chaise lounge, microwave/coffee maker/fridge in room, etc.- and bathrooms where you don't have to wrap yourself around the toilet to be able to close the door!). Even if we don't save a whole ton of money staying offsite (and the DS hotels don't really feel like you are offsite), we always find the transportation options equal to those of the onsite hotels, and we absolutely love having a nicer, bigger, more comfortable room.

 

[aggiedog]

This is a several month old thread, but we went last month and stayed off site for the first time. I have to say that transportation wise, it was fine. We Ubered everywhere, and the cost was not bad (about 30% of what renting a car for that time period would be, not to mention no parking fees.) My beef with staying off site is that ILL's go to onsite guests first, but you still have to get up to get G+ by 7:00am. Does that make paying for onsite hotels worth it? Probably not, given the huge cost differential. We stayed at the Sheraton Vistana, and had a 2 bedroom suite. A quick search says a one bedroom unit is $197/night, during spring break, which is FAR, FAR less than anything WDW has per night for that size at the same time.

 

[lakeshow]

For anyone else with a similar question to the one posted in this thread, here's my perspective as another city person who (thankfully) does not need to rely on a car to get around. If you're looking to stay on property and are on a bit of a budget, I highly recommend looking into Swan or Dolphin. Sometimes you'll find great deals online at one or both of these hotels. If my memory is right, I booked our room for around $260 or so per night in November 2021. They're typically listed around $300 or more, but I happened to wait a couple months out from the trip to finalize lodging and got a nice deal.

Some key highlights from our stay at Swan:
-Epcot is a super quick walk. Maybe not even 10 minutes!
-Hollywood Studios was a 20 minute walk along a creek.
-It's something like a 10 minute walk over to the Disney bus stop at the Boardwalk Resort. From there, you can grab buses to Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom
-The Disney Boardwalk itself was as little as 2-3 minutes away on foot and was a great area to explore while not in the parks (shops, food, bars, etc).
-Early park admission was CLUTCH. This might be the biggest reason to stay on property.

From my perspective, it was nice to stay on property the whole time and disconnect from the "outside" world.

 

[GinnyB23]

Howdy! Planning a trip to Disney (and maybe The Other Side) for fall 2023 (late September or early October) for myself and my person. We don’t drive; we moved to a major city so we wouldn’t have to. The off site hotels are ridiculously tempting, because this is a budget-lite trip… but adding in Ubers/shuttles and the time sunk for transportation… is it really a value/savings? Thoughts?

PS: wasn’t sure if this should go in the Disney resort forum or this one.. sorry!

I think you need to draw a line down the center of a paper and put on-site and off-site at the top. Then list all of the pluses and minuses for each - keeping your budget in mind. I love to stay on site, but without a car - it did limit more of our meals to on-site, more expensive options. Think about what you want most out of the vacation. How many days will you be at the resorts? vs staying somewhere local that offers other options of things to do.