Where should I stay the first night?

[mermaidwannabe]

We don't fly in until 6:00pm and I don't want to waste $ by staying at the BC that night so we're checking in the next morning. Where should we (hubbie and 3 girls) stay the first night if I only want to pay @ $80-$90?

 

[colleen costello]

Thta price range gets you a Value resort at full rate or a Moderate at discount rate. We usually do one night at a Mod before heading to our DVC room.

Check Mousesavers.com for your travel dates. Great bargains!

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Thanks Colleen!

 

[Jungle Skipper]

Definately check out the Values...I like the All Star Music...but would love to try POP as well.

Good luck...let us know what you decide.

Jungle Josh

 

[RNMOM]

We have tried staying off site 3 different times at 3 different, highly rated hotels and hated them all. I would also vote for the value or mod at WDW.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Before staying at DVC I have stayed at All Star Movie & Sports, but the last few trips we tried the Pop and I believe that is where we will stay from now on. It is so close to EPCOT and the Boardwalk area...

 

[tci1212]

We usually end up in Disney a day early so we get a room at the Country Inn and suites in DTD. We spend the evening shopping and go out to dinner and then the kids go to the pool. The next morning we head over to our Cabin in FW. We got the room for 49.00 in August. That was a special internet rate.

 

[Terk-1]

I'd recommend staying either at the Movies or Pop Century. Check out Mousesavers.com for some discount codes.

 

[TN Traveler]

Mermaid.......Can I make a suggestion? When DH and 3 DDs ages 4, 8 and 12, went 5/30-6/4 we drove in from Nashville (14 hrs!) and arrived in Orlando around 4 pm. We had decided we'd save some $$ and get a cheaper room in the attempt to save money. We ended up staying at The Executive Inn on Irlo Bronson Drive. We paid $59 + tax for a small room w/2 double beds. We did not order a rollaway b/c it was an extra $10. 4 yr old usually ends up crawling in bed w/us during the night anyway! Altho the room was ok and the pool and garden area was pretty nice, the A/C didn't work very well and only had a fan to circulate the air. Hubby was able to get the a/c to work but it cut off during the night so woke up about 5 am hot, sweaty and very grumpy. By the time we took showers, got dressed and headed out to Disney and check in, it was well after 12 before we made it to the Parks. The old saying of hindsight being 20/20 is so true. If we were to do it over again, we'd go ahead and pay for the extra night and just stay at the resort playing in the pool or run over to MK for the Fireworks. This way we could have been in the Parks much earlier Sunday morning.
My understanding is w/5 in your family the Value properties will not allow more than 4 in their rooms. Might try to see if you can get an extra night at your hotel--this way you won't have to unpack, pack, move, unpack......... We stayed at POR and loved it.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

If I get a better rate than $329 (rack rate right now), maybe I will do that. I would MUCH rather just check into the BC than deal with waiting for early check-in the next morning. Plus, you're right...that would be a whole day at the park the next day instead of a half day. I will really give that some thought. Thanks for the advice!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lucysdad]

Four years ago I had the same idea that you have now. We were going on the Wonder land/sea package and were already buying an extra day at the POLY, so I thought we should stay at the All Stars the first night since we were getting in so late. It was a big mistake. First of all, we were tired, very tired, and had to stand in a loooong line at registration behind numerous kids from a soccer tournament who had lost their keys, etc. There was only one window open to serve guests. There were no bell services and I had to go hunting to find a cart to put our luggage on to take it to our room. The All Star Sports is a big resort and our room was a long hike from the registration building. When we finally got to the room, it was small and stuffy. There wasn't even a fan in the bathroom! We managed to get through the night and the next morning we had to take two buses to get over to the POLY. Although the hotel will transport your luggage, it won't transport you. Then we had to go through the whole registration process again. When we were finally settled, we had wasted most of the first afternoon of our trip and we had a very sour start to the holiday. I would do it again if it meant the difference between going to the World and not going. But, otherwise, I'd stay at my chosen hotel and get my holiday started off right and on time. Have a wonderful stay whatever you choose.
Lucy's Mom

 

[goin2disneyagain]

we usually do the 1st night at a value and then move to something else the next day.

 

[zipDdoodah]

We always seem to get into MCO in the evenings too, and we usually stay at the Hyatt MCO. That way we don't have to worry about transportation issues. It's right IN the airport, so it's really convenient, and then the next morning we get up and take our transfer (we've done both Mears and Limo) right to Disney. I think this takes all of the confusion out of the whole thing. It's simple and a pretty nice hotel. Hyatt has always taken good care of us.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

Well, I emailed my travel agent to go ahead and add that extra day , but I probably will only keep it if I get a good rate for the time I'm going. Thanks for the info...some of those stories sounded...not so fun!

 

[yecats]

Just my humble opinion but I wouldn't check in at one of the values for your first night since as stated above, longer lines with families trying to check-in and not to mention that you can only have 4 to a room. Last vacation in November, I bid on Priceline for resort category in WDW vicinity. DTD Wyndham and Hilton usually always pickup the bids in the $60 to $70 range per night. I won the DTD Wyndham for $72 to start off my stay. Checkin went pretty quick, I had a nice room and went shopping across the street at DTD. Next morning I woke up at 7:00 p.m., ate breakfast and checked out by 8:00 a.m. Got a cab ($12) to PORS, left bags with bell services and was in AK by 8:45. I didn't waste any part of my day. I came back to the room around 3:00, did a bit of unpacking and rested, then off to MK for evening. I finished unpacking that night and woke up a little bit later the next morning.

Just a small hint which you may also already do, you may want to just pack everyone's night clothes/clothes for next day in one bag instead of having to search through all the different bags for the items. Makes the next morning go by a lot faster.

 

[lyncruiser]

I second ZipDdooDah's recommendation. We always arrive in the evening and get a room at the Hyatt. It's a nice hotel. We get our bags and go up the escalator. Check in is usually no more than 5 minutes. We drop our bags in our room, have a nice dinner at one of their restaurants, hang out by the pool, watch the airplanes taking off and then get a good night's sleep. Next morning, we have breakfast, get our car, drive to our WDW resort, check in and start the fun. I would not try to check in at a value resort for one night. Too much time and effort for too little reward in my opinion.