When is the best time to go? hotel v villa??

[djkr2004]

We (2 Adults and 2 children) are thinking of going to WDW in 2008 and liked the idea of going in June

Obviously out of the school holidays and the weather should be ok

We bought a book on florida and it states it is not the best time to go

When would you recommend??

Also do have you any views on Hotels v Villas, a friend at work has a place out there (4 bed and 3.5 bathrooms two masters have en-suites) which we have been offered for £500 a week, we were thinking of going with another family so we though the £1000 for the 2 weeks split seemed ok and then maybe get a fly-drive

anyone have views on this?

Hope someone can help as we really want to go but having not been we are not really sure where to start

Cheers
Dal

 

[KayleeUK]

There are a couple of threads on here about Hotel V Villa, have a little search and see what you find. Everyones families are different so you need to do what is right for yours

We have been Apr/May/Oct/Nov and I would say our favourite time to go is just around the end of October when there is lots going on. The Food and Wine Festival, Halloween andstart of the Christmas decorations etc.

It might be worth looking at some to the trip reports for the times of year you fancy to get some idea's

Oh and by the way Welcome to the UK DIS

 

[AndRu]

Regarding accomodation you'll get loads of opinions on this that will fall into three major camps.

a) Those that like to be 'close to the magic' and stay in onsite hotels either at Disney or Universal.
b) An offsite hotel somewhere like International Drive or Kissimmee
c) Those that like the 'home-from-home' feeling (or rather better feeling) a villa gives.

Ultimately, it's your families choice and all people here can do is advise. Each method has it's pros and cons.

An onsite hotel stay (usually) means your group will be in one room with one bathroom. It's also likely that you won't be able to cook in your own room so you'd have to eat in restaurants and food courts everyday - I know from speaking to others that some rooms don't even have tea & coffee facilities! There are plusses in that you are close to the parks and attractions but do you really want to be immerssed in Disney 24/7? You can add in dining options and get into the parks earlier and stay later (on some days) than the public but staying onsite is likely to cost a lot more.

Offsite hotels are cheaper but you've still got the space and meal issues. Whilst a cramped hotel room and eating out all the time might appeal to some it's certainly not my idea of fun.

Personally, I'd opt for the villa option over a hotel every time. Most have their own pool, you can kick back and relax on sofas instead of sitting on beds, you can put your kids to bed in seperate rooms, you can cook what you want so if your kids just want beans on toast that's all you have to cook. Our children are 11, 9 and 7 and we'd hate having to sleep in the same room as them. It's difficult in our house in the UK sharing two bathrooms but to be shoe-horned into a hotel room woith one would drive us insane.

Of course, staying in a villa means you will need a car but driving in America is easy. Seriously, it's not as scary as some people make it out to be. Then again, America has been built around the car and using one will give you the freedom to go and enjoy more of what Orlando and Florida has to offer over and above that of a theme park.

Others will no doubt disagree and say that onsite hotels, restaurants and transport is the bees knees.

Good luck on making your own decision!

 

[ely3857]

Which guide book have you got?

If your not too bothered about taking the kids out of school then I would avoid June. The weather would still be very hot and all the American schools are out then which would make it very crowded.

Out of school holidays I would go Sept/Oct time.

A villa is great and splitting it with another family is a great way to keep costs down but can you live with this other family for two weeks?

Happy planning



Jodie

 

[wayneg]

As AndRu has said its a personal choice for your accomodation.
We have done Disney Allstars movies and it was OK but felt dissapointed for what we had paid very basic.
Done villa, not our idea of a holiday doing the "home for home" thing, don't want to be making beds, tidying up, making meals.
Our fav option is hotel, Best Western Lakeside, Coutyard by marriott LBV, Homewood Suites by Hilton etc.
They have everything for us, most have coffee facilities, free Wireless internet, safe, fridge etc. and never paid more than £25 a night incl tax which means we can afford to go upto 3 times a year, on top of our holidays to Europe, and like this next trip stay for 25 nights without costing a fortune.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Ideally many of us would not choose the summer months to go as it is hot and humid with the parks also busy too.

June comes into that category so for a 1st time visit it would not be the best time to go - however if you have no alternatives then with good planning you can have a great holiday.
If you are able to I would consider either late April or October personally where you should get a good balance of fairly low crowds and nice weather without being too hot.

Naturally during the school holiday periods it becomes busier and more expensive too so that may affect your decision.

As far as accomodation goes with the size of your party a villa would be my choice, especially as we prefer one anyway.
The freedom, privacy and extra room just cannot be beat, plus if you pick the right location you will be close to all the attractions and within easy reach of supermarkets and restaurants too - a car is essential though as you have to drive everywhere as nothing is within walking distance.

I agree with AndRu's comments....

You can get good deals on hotels but if there are 2 families going you would surely need the extra space and having the privacy/cooking facilities etc is a big plus.
To be blunt given the number in your party a villa for me is the obvious choice.

 

[UKDEB]

If you can go during the first two weeks, June is actually a very good time to choose. The US schools don't break for summer until mid-June and the weather should be gloriously sunny and hot without being totally over-bearing. From mid-June, there will be a sharp increase in crowd levels.

We've stayed in villas, offsite hotels and onsite (at both Disney and Universal). Your plan of a villa stay with another family makes very good sense financially. Your share of the cost will be £500 for two weeks. £35 per night for a family of 4 is a no-brainer, IMHO. The standard of accommodation you'll experience will be far higher than any hotel you'd get for that price, you'll have much more space, your own pool and cooking and laundry facilities. If your children are young, you can put them to bed and then the adults can relax by the pool or chill in front of the TV. When our girls were children, we found one hotel room very restrictive. During our first trip when they were very young, they were often too tired to eat out during the evenings meaning we found ourselves having bed picnics (fun once, maybe, but not repeatedly over a two-week stay). They were in bed relatively early, so dh and I were tied to the hotel room with just a (reduced volume) TV for company. We also stayed in an offsite hotel during our second trip, four years later. It was a brand-new 4 star hotel, but we visited friends staying in a villa and wondered what on earth we'd been thinking about. There we were, crammed into one room, whilst they had an average of two rooms each and their own pool.

The cheapest onsite hotels are the All Star resorts and Pop Century - you'd pay around £55-£60 per night per room and none of them are close to any of the parks meaning you'd either need a car or to take the Disney buses. Only the deluxe resorts are within easy access of the parks and you're looking at upwards of £130 per night.

 

[gilld]

I can see both sides but what no-one seems to have considered is actually having TWO ROOMS at an hotel.

Our 3 children, now all grown up have NEVER shared a room with us, we just accepted that we'd have two rooms - in fact once when we took my Mother as well, we had three rooms at POFQ. Two rooms = two bathrooms - an essential, but for us staying in an hotel is so much more relaxing. I don't go on holiday to cook, not even make a coffee. I don't want to make beds, clean toilets etc. And our children liked having a communal pool so that there were lots of other children to play with.

I'm not saying I'm right, any more than anyone else is - just something else to consider.

 

[AndRu]

Do you get a discount for booking two rooms? I can understand why some might not want to cook but even without kids eating out all the time could become tiresome and expensive. Besides, I've not found a good curry in Orlando yet ... I have to make at least one during our stay to keep my taste buds alive!

Two weeks without Afghani Lamb is two weeks too many!

 

[KayleeUK]

Great point Gill.

Also there are the new All Star's Family Suites to consider http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_asuites.htm

Eating out maybe 'tiresome and expensive' but hey you are on holiday!

Make the right choice for 'your' family.

 

[gilld]

Do you get a discount for booking two rooms? I can understand why some might not want to cook but even without kids eating out all the time could become tiresome and expensive. Besides, I've not found a good curry in Orlando yet ... I have to make at least one during our stay to keep my taste buds alive!

Two weeks without Afghani Lamb is two weeks too many!

No, we didn't ever get a discount for having 2/3 rooms and we were spending a LOT of money, we just accepted it - but we didn't go as often.

In 1992 when we first went, we stayed at a really grim hotel on I Drive and even then it cost us over £3,000 without passes and spending money - the year we went at Christmas and took my Mum as well, we saved really hard for over a year for the £12,000 it cost.

I guess the moral is you pay your money and take your choice.

 

[AndRu]

That's a swiz - I would've thought you'd get a discount by booking more than one room.

 

[Kevin Stringer]

That's a swiz - I would've thought you'd get a discount by booking more than one room.

Why would Disney give a discount?
On-site rooms run to a very high level of occupancy. Disney have no need (or reason) to discount multiple rooms. They will just as easily fill them with 2 seperate bookings.

Obviously there are some periods where attendance is down. It is at these times that you are likely to able to book using Annual Pass discounts etc.

Kev

 

[Goofyish]

We love the atmosphere and security of staying on-site. We have never found sharing a room with the kids a problem.

Eating out in the parks or resort foodcourt has never been tiresome with so many choices available, and with careful budgetting shouldn't be that expensive - especially with the Dining Plans, or DDE card discounts.

I also agree with Gild - we do not really want to be cooking, cleaning, making beds etc. while on vacation

The rooms are more basic than you would get for the same money off-site, but with the themeing, transport, facilities and general Disney magic atmosphere they are well worth it

If you do fancy staying on-site then you could always do a split stay - one week on-site and then a week in a villa. That way you get to sample both so you will know what you prefer for your future trips (there will be some ).

On-site also suits us as I don't like driving in Florida, so with the Disney transport we get everywhere we want to get to in WDW for free.
If we want to go off-site shopping etc. we use a towncar or cab.

Comes down to what you want for your family and how you want to spend your vacation

Another vote for October as the time to go - lowish crowds and not too hot or wet! Also halloween is a big deal in the US and there are special events and decoration in the parks

 

[Boo Boo Too]

Also there are the new All Star's Family Suites to consider http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_asuites.htm

These seem like a good "on-site option" for a family of four/five... more space and freedom. Although at $200/£100+ a night, that is £1400+ for accomodation for a family of 4 for two weeks. That is quite a lot more than the £500 it would cost to share a villa with another family for two weeks...

As gilld says, two hotel rooms is a great option two (although can be rather expensive)

Some families (I think Frances is one) are very happy to share their hotel room between 2 adults and 3 kids (although her kids are really quite young). I am not sure that I would.

As others have said, comes down to personal taste/preferences and budget... The villa sounds like a good deal. If you want to try on-site, you could always split your stay: maybe 4 days on-site (being crowded for a few days isn't bad) then move to a villa for 10 days (for more space and freedom) or somehting similar...

Boo

 

[AndRu]

Why would Disney give a discount?
On-site rooms run to a very high level of occupancy. Disney have no need (or reason) to discount multiple rooms. They will just as easily fill them with 2 seperate bookings.

Simply because the longer you book a villa for the more discount you get and I've always negotiated a discount on multiple hotel rooms in the UK.

I would've thought that Disney / other resorts might have done the same kind of thing with multiple rooms. Obviously not. Oh well, that's even more reason to stay off site!

 

[Miffy2003]

We far prefer to stay onsite for a number of the reasons given above:

The excellent Disney transport means we don't have to drive (unless we chose to)
I like the privelges it gives me along the lines of Extra Magic Hours, Package Delivery to resort etc
I am getting a free shuttle from Orlando Airport to my Disney resort, meaning DH can relax on the plane and have a drink
The resorts are simply magical for children and adults

I'm sure there are other reasons too.

Villas have the great advantage of offering a lot more space and of course most have their own pool!

I am doing a mixture of both on my next visit but onsite is my favourite (and I have 2 children too, so Frances is not alone)