Where to stay Friday night before checking into BCV?

[treloarf]

My friend & I have a long weekend planned at the BCV for Sat/Sun/Mon - 5/3-5/6, but can't get a good airfare rate for early Sat. morning. So we were thinking of flying in Fri. night. We will not have a rental car, so need to stay on property. In checking the resort prices, WOW! Unless they run specials in May, DVC looks all the better.

Does anyone have any suggestions or I guess its one of the value resorts.!!!

 

[luvindisneyworld]

hi, we always stay at a value resort our first night before check-in it always is the cheapest way for us to go and we love the value resorts.i dont see the purpose in spending alot of money on a room the first night,that just means extra spending money.so my vote is for value.
misty

 

[Desperado]

My suggestion is to check out this website for specials at the Swan or Dolphin resort. We've stayed there for $129 per night thanks to DIS. And then it's a short walk over to the BCV, and you'll be able to check out the food and amenity offerings your neighbors have and that are avaialble to you just a short walk from BCV.

Dolphin or swan is definitely the way to go in my book, unless you rent e few extra points and add a night to your stay. No need to switch resorts. By the way, I believe Disney will transfer your luggage from Dolphin/Swan to BCVs.

 

[jimmytammy]

We have stayed at All Star Sports twice before DVC purchase. Its clean, a good foodcourt with lots of choices, the bus service is great there, in fact the busses usually pickup at sports before going to music and movies. AP or DC both usually offer good rates.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Just a suggestion.....It may be cheaper to get a 1 day rental car and stay off site, than to stay on site. This would also cover the cost of transportation from the airport.

Good luck.....

 

[Granny]

I agree with Maistre Gracey that I wouldn't restrict myself to on-site for this one night. Most of the off-site hotels have shuttles to WDW, so for one day it shouldn't be a big deal.

The biggest advantage to staying on-site for that one night would be the bell services. You just call them and they'll take the stuff from one room to your BCV room.

Good luck.

 

[Gillian]

There probably will be specials for that time. There usually are. You can watch the resorts board or mousesavers to find out when they are released. Codes for march & april were recently made available. May can't be far behind!

The special rates at the swan/dolphin are for teachers, nurses & (state, local, fed) government employees. It's worth calling the hotel to see if you qualify for anything. They also have good Entertainment card & annual passholder deals. You can check on the dreamsres website for availability with different discounts
https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/dreamsres/index.htm

It looks like all of the discounts are available for 5/2.

 

[ripleysmom]

I would stay onsite. Just the ease of switching hotels would make it worth the money to me.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I agree about staying on-site and recommend the ASSports. That's primarily because I had the same situation as you-staying at BCV Sat, Sun, and Monday, but needed to fly in on Friday nite. I also considered whether to stay on or off site, but am so glad I took ASSports for $55 per nite (that's with tax). I had a separate little overnite bag for Friday nite, then on Saturday morning I dropped my luggage with bell services, hopped a bus to AK; at the end of my touring, I hopped a bus to BC, checked in, called bell services there, and a very nice CM brought up my luggage. Couldn't have been easier!

 

[JoEllen]

We always arrive so late the first day from the the West Coast that we decided to stay the first night at ASMO last month for $65 DC rate. This worked out real well for a few reasons. Our 13 yr old DD has a greater appreciation of DVC rooms now! ASMO was clean but so small and several lights in room were out as well as other minor flaws. And we checked into the BWV early (for the first time) and got all our requests for our room met. I would still shoose to stay on site because it's so easy to switch resorts with the bell service.

 

[Dancind]

We have had several trips recently (and upcoming) that got us into MCO at 9:30 pm or later. A good option for us has been to get a priceline hotel near the airport, 3 star hotels for $50 or less. We usually get a car, but they all have shuttles. We also do this when we have an early departing flight so we don't have to deal with traffic when we need to get to the airport at 6 am! Most of these are places where you just crash for the night (usually the Renaissance), but on our next trip our first night is at the Sheraton Suite hotel by the airport. Pretty nice, but we won't be there long! On a Mom-daughter trip last August, we got in at 11 pm. I got a room at the Hyatt at the airport that night for an internet rate of $99. Diana

 

[Jimbo]

The one time this happened to us, we stayed at the Hyatt that's right IN the airport. It was really late - 10:00 PM seems to be about right - So I had DW check us in while I went to get the luggage. I got up to the checkin desk just about the time she finished, and we all went to our room. We were in the room probably 15 minutes after we deplaned, maybe less.

I don't remember what it cost, but the convenience made it worth it. Unless it cost a real lot.

 

[rbuzzotta]

We have used Priceline.com for just this type of situation.

I put in that I want to stay at DTD resort and have gotten the Hilton, Grosvenor and Marriott (not DTD). The price I got them for was between 50-75 a night.

We had a rental car so I didn't need Bell Services to move our bags. I heard they do though.

 

[colleen costello]

We have a similar plan, and I recommend Riverside. It's "on sale" right now and it's a lovely resort. There is a code discount -- can't recall the 3 letters -- you can find it Orlandotripplanner.com under the "alerts" section. Anyway, I love Riverside, and the reason I think it's great for a one night add-on is that you can actually get a room where you park just outside the door. The Alligator Bayou section has buildings that open right onto the parking lot, so getting in and out will be easy.

Last summer we added on a night at Coronado Springs, and while we loved the resort, the trips back and forth to the car were too much. We kept needing more stuff and sending my poor dh back for more! At Riverside you can get a room where the car is really close. Plus the resort has a nice restaurant, good food court, and lots of swimming pools! It's beautiful AND convenient for a single night.

See you at WDW!

 

[Pa@okw95]

We stay at the Hilton the night before we check in, it is right across the street from DD. It is a great place with two pools, nice restaurants, etc. It runs about $150 to $200 a night. I recommend it for an inexpensive night with a great location.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I nearly always stay as a paying guest on the Friday and Saturday when I first arrive, and save my points. Right now, Caribbean, Port Orleans, etc. are $89 per night, and for Feb. and March it jumps up to $119 per night. These are still great rates. After spring break there should be more sales on hotels, I found the rates on mousesavers.com. If you have an annual passport, you could get even better rates for May. Last summer I got Animal Kingdom Lodge for $127 per night, and it was wonderful. I got Beach Club at Christmas for $187 per night, so these sources should be good for you to check.

 

[treloarf]

Just checked today - it looks like USair added another flight & and the early morning flight is now down to $215 from $669. I still think I might wait for it to go even lower.

 

[colleen costello]

I just booked at Riverside for $119 plus taxes, which came to $133. Very reaonable as opposed to an extra night in our 2-bedroom at OKW, which was over 70 points on a Saturday night. We can spend a night before my parents arrive to join us for 8 nights at OKW. I used the BRH code with no problem. I also bet I am the only person who specifically asked for a room "right by the parking lot!" That will make moving to OKW easy.