Very first Disney trip - need Hotel help!

[phieaglefan]

First of all, I've been reading this forum for a week or so. You all are full of great info. My daughter and I (age 14) are making our very first trip to Disney World. Hubby and 2 other teens have no desire to go, so we have a 2 1/2 day stopover on a trip to visit family up north. (July 8 - 11 - pretty crowded, huh?) Here's my question. I see alot of posts about the advantages of staying on property vs. off, but what about the Downtown Disney hotels. If I stay at one of them and have a park hopper pass, can I use the Monorail to get from the Magic Kingdom to Epcot? Or must I rely on my hotel to get me from one park to the other? What about the Swan or Dolphin with this question?

If I stay on property, it will either be one of the All Stars or maybe Coronado Springs if I splurge. How much more convenient would the All Star Resorts be than the Downtown Disney resorts. Would the Swan or Dolphin be more convenient?

I read somewhere that if I buy an ultimate park hopper pass, but wait til I get there to buy it, I can drop my departure day and only run it through the end of my last full day. Is this correct? Can I buy that also from the DTD hotels?

Since I'm not traveling til July, should I wait to make my reservations? I saw there were some discounts that run til July 3. If I wait, will additional discounts possibly be announced? Or is it risky to wait and possibly not get to stay where I want?

Sorry about all the questions, but your help is truly appreciated. Looking forward to my first Disney experience!
Heidi

 

[Buzz2001]

Welcome to the DIS! You can take a look at my Coronado Springs website. Great photos and info. If you can use a code, Coronado is a great resort.

Good luck deciding!

 

[becka]

Wow, lots of questions but I will try to do my best to answer at least a few of them.

I see alot of posts about the advantages of staying on property vs. off, but what about the Downtown Disney hotels. If I stay at one of them and have a park hopper pass, can I use the Monorail to get from the Magic Kingdom to Epcot? Or must I rely on my hotel to get me from one park to the other? What about the Swan or Dolphin with this question?

Staying on property vs. off property is really a personal decision. I find that I enjoy my vacation so much more if I am immersed in WDW 24 hours a day. However, for some spending more money to stay on-property takes away from that good feeling. This is the board if you want to learn about resorts on-property but if you are intersted in the DD hotels or other Orlando hotels there is a special board here on the DIS for more into.

Your park hopper pass allows you full access to all of the transportation at WDW. It does not matter where you stay. As long as your have a pass you will be allowed to use the monorail, boats and busses to your heart's content.

If I stay on property, it will either be one of the All Stars or maybe Coronado Springs if I splurge. How much more convenient would the All Star Resorts be than the Downtown Disney resorts. Would the Swan or Dolphin be more convenient?

I don't know much about the park transportation from the DD hotels. I have stayed at All Star Movies and we thought the bus transportation was pretty good there. The resort is nice as well.

Coronado Springs is one of my favorite resorts. It is beautiful and there are more amenities here than the All Stars. Also, the bus transportation at CSR in my opinion is the best of property.

The Swan/Dolphin have amazing access to Epcot/MGM. You can walk to both parks or take a nice boat ride. The S/D location cannot be beat because you have so many other great resorts and dining locations right at your door. With that said the Swan itself has not even come close to my favorite resort. It was nice enough but certainly not my favorite resort (I actually even prefer CSR over Swan) but I know that lots of people love it and they have great deals.

I read somewhere that if I buy an ultimate park hopper pass, but wait til I get there to buy it, I can drop my departure day and only run it through the end of my last full day. Is this correct? Can I buy that also from the DTD hotels?

If you buy the UPHP pass at your resort my understanding is that they will let you drop off the first or last day but not both. I don't think the UPHP passes are available at the DTD hotels but I might be wrong about that.

Since I'm not traveling til July, should I wait to make my reservations? I saw there were some discounts that run til July 3. If I wait, will additional discounts possibly be announced? Or is it risky to wait and possibly not get to stay where I want?

I would make reservations ASAP to make sure you get the resort you want. You might even have some trouble now if you want All Star Movies but if you keep calling back every morning you will probably be able to get what you want. As for the discounts I would go ahead and make a reservation now at a place you know you can afford and then if any discounts come out later just call and change your reservation.

I hope some of this helped you out.

 

[KellyJ]

Don't forget to check mousesavers.com for discount codes. Also Dreams Unlimited sometimes has great deals at the DD hotels as well as Swan/Dolphin. Look for a link on the homepage here at the DIS. There may be codes out now for your time period.

Swan and Dolphin are remarkably convenient to Epcot and the Studios. We haven't stayed there yet (we will in October) but we have visited and eaten there. They're fantastic. For a short stay, convenience goes a long way! I've heard that the buses from the DD hotels only run at certain times rather than every 20 minutes or so like the onsite hotels. I don't speak from experience though as we've never used the DD hotels so I could very well be wrong. Also, at least at the Magic Kingdom, I think the DD hotel buses drop you off at the Ticket and Transportation Center rather than at the front gates of the Magic Kingdom like the onsite hotel buses do.

No matter what you decide, have a BLAST!! Your hubby and teens will be sorry they missed out on all your fun!

Kelly

 

[WDW2000]

Personally, I would only stay at one of the DD resorts as a last resort. My first choice would be the Swan/Dolphin which is smack in the middle of all the excitement of DisneyWorld. The boat transportation to the parks, the countless resorts and entertainment options within walking distance. You can get incredible rates at the S/D with AAA (50% off rack rate) or an Annual Pass. If you can't swing the S/D resorts then I would choose a moderate resort before resorting to staying at a Downtown Disney resort. The Swan & Dolphin are INCREDIBLE resorts with the best pool anywhere in Disney and the best location in all of WDW and the best rates of any deluxe resort!!!

 

[vicb]

phieaglefan, Welcome to the DIS! It is a wonderful source of info for sure! Like someone else already mentioned, be sure to look at mousesavers.com too.

I would strongly urge you to do 2 things:

Stay on WDW property and Make a reservation very soon, don't wait. Many people make ressies a year in advance!

I too would urge you to look at S/D as an alternative to the DTD hotels. I have not stayed there (have stayed Poly, CR and BWI) but the location is great! They appear to be very nice hotels and from there you can walk to MGM, Epcot and BW. THere is also boat and bus transport from there. When you stay in the Epcot area you really feel a part of the magic 24 hrs. a day!

As for AS or CSR I would say if you can afford a moderate go for it! My sister stayed at both ASM and CBR (Carribean Beach resort) this past winter and said the CBR was way better in every way.

Good luck on your trip. First time planning can be pretty overwhelming for sure!

 

[finnie48]

The Swan -
Hi Phieaghlefan and welcome! I'm a giant fan, but will try to help anyway. We will be at the Swan July 4-11. We have never stayed there but we think the area is the best in the World, having stayed at the BWI twice. Park and dining choices are great. The wife is a teacher, so the rate is $129 plus fee and tax. Nurses and government employees are also entitled to this rate, and there are other discounts available at the Swan/Dolphin. We will also have a 14 year old boy from Norway with us, if that might be of international interest to your daughter. Have a great trip!! It is fun to plan! Bob and Peg

 

[thinkerbell]

I'm with everyone else on the thread. I would definitely stay on-site if possible. If you ask on the Orlando hotels board you might get a different answer. Anyway, we are staying our first night at the Hilton DTD.The rest of our stay is on-site. I've never stayed there but have researched it and others say it is a nice hotel and its buses are separate from the other DTD buses most of the time. That would be a plus for me since it doesn't normally pick up at other hotels. Also, people are getting great deals off of Priceline-$60 I believe. We didn't do our research before hand and we are paying $75. Oh well, at least it is only one night. Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[Kallison]

My choice would be Swan/Dolphin for a quick trip (anything under a week is a quick trip for us). You don't want to waste precious Disney hours waiting for a bus in the hot sun. My 2nd choice would be the Contemporary in a wing room (they sometimes have good rates) love it for the quick monorial access. If you are a teacher, nurse of govt. employee you can receive a Swan/Dolphin discount. I would book now and have the code applied later. If you use Dreams Unlimited on this website they will book the room and check for the best discount at no cost to you. They are a great resource for making Priority Seating reservations. You and DD should try for at least one character meal. Have fun. I think a trip with just one child will be very special.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

DH and I were planning to stay at a DD hotel but then changed to POR at the advice I got on these threads.

I am SOOO glad we switched. We would have still had a good time, but i didn't realize how much a part of the trip the resort would be. Even though we weren't there much, the convenience of being at a Disney resort if worth. It does add to the "magic" to be immersed in Disney for your entire stay. I know that sounds funny (it sounded funny to me before my trip) but it is sooo true.

Plus, you want conveneience for a short stay. Disney transportation, even if its just buses, is awesome.

 

[DemoBri1]

I will echo everyone else's sentiments here by stating that you should definitely look to stay on-site. As several others have stated, the S/D (Epcot/Boardwalk area) is a definite possibility for you to save on some transportation time.

From S/D you can:

- walk/boat to Epcot
- walk/boat to DS
- walk/boat to Epcot and monorail up to MK (I know I will get a response for that since it takes a bit to get to MK that way, but it is an alternative)
- you have a choice of many eating establishments in the Boardwalk area, plus you have the Boardwalk entertainment as well.

With the DTD hotels you are kind of at the eastern periphery of WDW, and while DTD is more geared towards the "clubbing" crowd, you can get some good entertainment on the Boardwalk.

Just my $.02

Brian

 

[Luv2Roam]

If S/D is an option, for a short trip that would be well worthwhile.

 

[erinch]

I don't think anybody mentioned it in this thread, but if you read the Swan/Dolphin Hotwire thread you'll find out how to get the Swan for 81/per night

 

[phieaglefan]

Wow! Thanks everyone for your time spent in replying. I really appreciate it. What a great board. I'm not used to having this much great advice when planning up my travel (I'm obsessive about my research and planning - or at least everyone else tells me I am!) After reading all of your responses, much deep thought (read: sleepless nights), and endless discussions and picture viewing with my daughter, I decided to make a reservation at the Swan for our stay. I got the 139 rate - by the way, I called and the cheapest AAA rate I could get on the phone was 170 something. I looked at the hotwire thread, but the Swan is not showing up for my dates. At least not yet. I think the clincher was reading that you could walk to the boardwalk - that's just my daughter's style. Finnie48 - we'll be at the same hotel during the same time on our trip. We should get the kids together. E-mail me at phieaglefan@cox.net sometime before the trip. Maybe we can meet! Now I'm getting excited. Thanks again everyone!

 

[vicb]

Good Choice! I think you and your daughter (DD is Dis board slang) will have a great time in that area. Be sure to catch some of the evening entertainment on the BW. Also, right across the street (easy walk) from the S/D is Fantasia mini-golf, could be fun if you have the time.

Now hop over to the resturant board for great tips on where to eat!

 

[nuthut]

I would try a DVC at rental OKW, VWL, BWV or BCV. Save at least 50% off any rate Disney offers. Send me a PM for more info.
Jerry