WHERE DO YOU STAY 1st NIGHT?

[3lilprincesses]

ok experts. i need some help. we've only been to DW once, and stayed onsite. we are going for a week in january and staying onsite again. we are going to DW sunday to sunday but plan on flying down saturday and picking up a rental car. would like to stay somewhere inexpensive, but clean for that first night before checking in at our DW resort. any suggestions? someone mentioned the Howard Johnson's Maingate, but i know nothing about it or any other offsite places. ANY advice would be helpful. TIA!!

 

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

we do this every trip, since we're from south fla we always like to drive up the night before our trip 'begins' so that the next day we have allllllllll day to play!

we usually stay at the super 8 (or motel 6) right outside disney in kissimmee, its about 10 min drive to the magic kingdom resorts...

i did a search, here's the info:
SUPER 8 MOTEL - KISSIMMEE/ORLANDO AREA, FL
5875 W. Irlo Bronson Highway * I-4 Exit 64 A/FL Tpke. Exit 244 R, Kissimmee, FL 34746, US
Phone: 407-396-8883 * Fax: 407-396-8907

 

[Minniemom97]

We've stayed at a Hampton Inn on I-4 (sorry I don't know which one). They are usually always clean & nice and you get a continental breakfast.

 

[TheNerdyMinnie]

There are a number of restaurants nearby the super 8. Bennigans & Dennys are located just outside the lobby entrance. A continental breakfast is served.
Also, if you're a AAA member you get an added discount. The hotel is safe and clean. Although no where near the greatness of a disney resort, it sure makes you appreciate and enjoy your stay at wdw so much more

 

[dialane]

We flew in late last November for a stay at BWI. We stayed the first night at Pop Century, got up and had breakfast at the food court and then moved to BWI. It turned out to be a real treat for my grandson who loved Pop with all the huge characters. We got a really good AP discount on the room about $59, if I remember correctly and I don't think you'll find anything less expensive offsite. Disney makes it so easy to move from one resort to another and once you are there - well, you're really THERE!

 

[3lilprincesses]

i thought about POP. we stayed there our last night of our last trip. but we will be renting a car at the airport, so transportation won't be an issue. we are staying at GF and will return the car when we check in there on sunday, which we did on our last trip without any trouble. my oldest DD didn't like the crowds at Pop's food court, so somewhere that serves a continental breakfast would be good. and also there are no refrigerators at POP and we would like to go to a grocery store. 2 youngest DD's need their chocolate milk fix every morning, and they can only have soy, so we bring our own.

thank you all for the suggestions. i'll start looking into some places!

 

[ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

super 8 also comes with a fridge

i dont know why im trying to sell super 8 to you :lol

 

[3lilprincesses]

super 8 also comes with a fridge

i dont know why im trying to sell super 8 to you :lol

can anyone say "KICKBACK"?? LOL

thank you for the info on the super 8. i found their website. now i'm just gonna go over it with hubby and see if he has a preference.

thanks again!!

 

[golfgal]

We are staying at the Grosvenor the first night, got a good rate on this site ($79/night). Originally we thought about staying farther away for less money, but then our flight ended up coming in a lot earlier then planned (12:30 pm), so this way we can walk over to DTD and probably hop on a monorail and resort hop without taking away time when we are at the parks.

 

[java]

Glad you posted this because I want to do the same and am having no luck. I thought a trip to dtd would be fun that first late night we get there for a brief bit of fun for the kids. I will check out grovsenors. I looked also on the offsite board and found some recommendations. Keep the hotels coming,

 

[Connears]

We are DVC members and if we arrive on sat. or fri we have been very successful with priceline. We got Courtyard (now Holiday Inn) at DTD for $40.00. I just bid the $40 and picked DTD area. It worked out great because all we did was check-in and hit DTD for the night with a movie and dinner at Planet Hollywood. Room was fine for one night and they are all good neighbor hotels.
Connears

 

[Iansmom]

We do this every time we travel to WDW. Last time we stayed at 'Country Inn & Suites' at 12191 South Apopka Vineland Road. It's just outside of the DTD area. (http://www.countryinns.com/hoteldir...ference.do?locationUni=506&dno=05110505120510 )
We had a kids' suite with bunk beds and nintendo. My son could go up to the front desk anytime he wanted to exchange a game. He LOVED it. There was also a Sizzler within walking distance.

This year, we're getting into town a little earlier than usual, so we are going to be staying at the Fairfield Inn off International Blvd. because DH wants to go to a 'well seasoned' Tony Roma's. Our Fairfield is within walking distance of Tony Roma's and Ripley's Believe-it-or-Not. Haven't tried this one yet, but I'll let you know how it in about three weeks.

 

[JudyS]

If it were me, I'd probably use Priceline or Hotwire to get a good rate on a hotel the night before. Check out http://www.betterbidding.com/ or www.biddingfortravel.com

 

[deefranco]

We are going there in Sept and doing the same thing ( arrrivning 2 days early). I also don't know where we will stay yet. We aren't planning on renting a car, so how do we get to a hotel and then from that hotel to our disney hotel?? No one has mentioned this yet. I know there are great hotels to choose from, but have to figure out the transportation aspect of it. Can anyone tell me how they got around?? Thanks.

 

[mkymouse4ever]

If at all possible I try to stay the entire time at the resort. So that you can wake up that am in your room and your ready to go. Yes its a chance you might get a bad location, coming in late, etc .. . . . , so leave the possibility that you might change rooms the next day any way, but I have had to do this even when we have checked in before 3pm, too.

I usually try to "pick up extra shift's at work" thinking ok this midnite shift will be the day we check in. ( Or, garage sale, for day you check in. Or baby sitting $$$ for day you check in.) In an abundance of OT at work, I've even rented the room the day we leave, so you don' t worry about getting late check out, and you have the room and pool all day till your late flight! Makes doing the mandatory OT at work a little easier when I think which day I am working on paying off.

Have a great time! mky

 

[jenr812]

We're staying at Howard Johnson's Eastgate. I got the rate thru the boards here - $53 including everything. I asked here at the boards for opinions and was told it's clean and nice. They have a pool too and the kids eat free program. They were a bit cheaper than HoJo's WESTgate for some reason. Also, depending on when you'll be there, the rate may be $15 cheaper. We'll be there the first week of July, so it's peak rate. The discount code is KISS. HTH

 

[bevon]

Hi, we got a room at Sierra Suites which is right outside DTD across the street from Hotel Blvd. I remember it being back behind all of the restaurants. It was very clean and it had a refrigerator. This was several years ago, but I remember it being a reasonable price. Have fun!

 

[3lilprincesses]

thank you everyone for all the tips. i'm gonna let hubby look at the priceline stuff since i have no idea what to do!! i really appreciate all of the suggestions!!

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Back when we did Length of Stay passes, we would stay off-site the first night. With PAPs, we now can stay on-site for a very reasonable price. In fact, I would say that for the little bit of savings (next to none if we're traveling at a busy time) it's not worth the extra headache of getting to the parks the first day. Since we are always tired from traveling, we enjoy waking up at Disney instead of being faced with another move. In the grand scheme of things, the saving just isn't worth it for us.

 

[3lilprincesses]

we will have a rental car so it won't be a headache to move from a hotel to our resort. we are staying 7 nights at GF and to be honest with you, i can't see paying for an 8th night there just so we can wake up at Disney. we won't have much time that first day anyway, and i would rather not arrive there with tired, cranky children. our last trip we were at my dads for several days before we went to DW (he lives in tampa, but that won't be an option this trip). we loved arriving at the GF first thing in the morning, and having a full day there. that is what we want for this trip as well. it's really not all about the savings i guess. actually, we do this for most trips we take. when we drive to the beach, we stop about 2 hours away and stay at a hotel for the night. when we drive to long island, we stop a couple of hours away for the night. etc. for our girls, it really adds to the excitement! to each his own i suppose.

thanks again for the suggestions.