? Where to stay on Disney

[Amanda Martin]

I'm planning my first trip to DW for 8/29-9/5 this year with my 12 and 13 year old children. I'm on a budget and was originally planning to stay at an All Star Resort. I found; however that because I am a nurse, I can get a discount at the Swan or Dolphin for the same dates. The cost is $129/ nt. Still, $40 more than All Star. What I am wondering is if it is worth the cost difference and if it's possible there may be other discounts available if I wait. Also wondering if there are "value" restaurants at the Dolphin or Swan or nearby. THanks, whoever can help me decide!

 

[iluvcountry]

PROS

It is a short walk to the Boardwalk and Yacht and Beach Club.

It has "heavenly" beds....

From some rooms you can see some of the Illuminations fireworks.

CONS

It is more expensive than All Stars.

There are mostly expensive restaurants there.

You have to walk over to the Dolphin (if you are at the Swan) to get to most of the restaurants.

TIPS

I suggest staying at the Swan (unless you choose All Stars of course) if you like smaller places. It is not as crowded as the Dolphin too. Beds are bigger at the Swan also.

Hope I helped you out a little!

 

[DLBDS]

If you can afford it....buy an AP (Annual Pass). You can save a bundle with AP discounts. You have to watch for them though but the $$ advantages are huge. Also, as an AP holder you can get the DDE (Disney's Dining Experience) for $60 and save 20% off your total dining bills (including alcoholic beverages!). Only one of you needs to have the AP. Your children will be covered also! You also get free parking. Check these links for more information and a full description of benefits....

http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dde.htm
http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/apass.htm

Good Luck! I hope you have a great time!!

 

[byoung]

Kids might like the AS better.

 

[snowbirdguy]

I would think or for me anyways, as long as I have a bed to sleep in and a place to shower, what more do you need. And after all the walking at the parks all day you might be able to sleep in a rock pile, lol. And I to think the kids would enjoy the all stars mopre with the different themes for each. Just my 2 cents. What ever you decide I am sure you will have fun.

 

[canwegosoon]

HI...fellow Upstate NY'er...
-Swan/Dolphin are nicer hotels if that is important to you
-There are other discounts you could consider...with the swan/dolphin have you also looked into Starwood points?
-for the Values (or any WDW hotel) there is always a AAA discount
You should watch the Code and Rates board for discount codes...there probably will be one for your time....so book with AAA and check the cancellation policy(or use wwwdreamsunlimited.com to watch for you)
-Also your dates are almost always part of the SWA July sale(usually around the 1-4th)
-Finally I would suggest one of the Moderates if you get a code (over the value...if you are really concerned with the budget...they are nice-and have a little more room)
-Also since your vacation is during hurricane season I would highly recommed insurance...www.insuremytrip.com

-I would probably not do the dining plan since you will be paying for 4 adults...you could save money by booking your own and doing more Counter service restaurants.

The AP advice really depends(you have to do the numbers and see about a AP discount last year- and will you be doing another trip with in a year- the DDE discount is great if the numbers look close and you like to do table service)...on a short trip you might not get a value out of it (esp. if you already have AAA)..so please check.

Finally sign up for the newsletter at www.mousesavers.com
I hope you have a great trip
Terri

 

[Sherri]

I myself with a 13 and 14 year old would go with the least expensive option and use the extra money for extra unexpected things that you may see and want. I say as long as you are on Disney property you will have fun. $40.00 more a day can cut into your budget or add to your budget. I would rather stay at the less expensive place which would still be beautiful and fun and all the perks of Disney and use the $40.00 more to indulge yourselves with other things. Thats just my personal opinion.
I have stayed at the Boardwalk and the Caribean beach resort. I can honestly say I had just as much fun at the CBR then at the BW.
My kids had a blast at both places as well.
Have a great trip whatever you decide.

 

[spokanemom]

I just want to say "thank you" to you all. I have been lurking (that just sounds creepy) for about 6 weeks now and the information that you all share is just great. Anyway... this question is just what started to crop up in my planning. Am I really going to be happy at POP?

I ONLY have 340 Days 5 Hrs 15 Mins 52 Secs to go (not that I am counting) but you can never have too much time to plan your Disney trips. I have not been to WDW for about 10 years and my family will all be going for the first time. I have only stayed off site and so this will be my first on site stay. Since I have nothing to compare to, do you think that we will be happy at POP? There will be 4 of us, DH, DS10, and DS12. If I can find a fairly good deal I certainly would not mind coughing up the additional funds to upgrade to another resort, but should I?

We will be there for 11 nights, have to get our money's worth you know. I don't plan to be at the resort too much, we want to see the "world". Any advice from you all that have been there would be greatly appreciated.

 

[HappyLawyer]

if you plan to stay on property, and unless you have some little ones, you will not speand mcuh time in your room, if this is your first trip you may want to consider staying at a value resort, and plan on something different for your next trip, trust us, you'll be back

 

[snowy76]

Tough, tough choice.
Why not a split stay?

 

[Amanda Martin]

If I wanted to start my stay at All Star and continue at Swan...will I still qualify for Magical express for pick up at the airport to All Star? And can I take the transportation from All Star to the transportation center with our suitcases to move over to Swan?

 

[snowy76]

Amanda, I am pretty sure you can still use ME to get to the All Stars -- someone else who knows more about it may be able to back this up, or correct me if need be. I think there may be an issue using ME on the way back to the airport at the end of the trip.

When transferring from one resort to another, you do not need to move your own luggage. Bell services will take care of that for you!

 

[snowy76]

Uh oh... just read on another thread that bell services may NOT be able to do this since the S/D are not Disney owned. I would recommend calling the All Stars resort directly and asking them...

 

[deekyd]

Amanda, I am pretty sure you can still use ME to get to the All Stars -- someone else who knows more about it may be able to back this up, or correct me if need be. I think there may be an issue using ME on the way back to the airport at the end of the trip.

When transferring from one resort to another, you do not need to move your own luggage. Bell services will take care of that for you!

Snowy, you are correct, you can ME to get to the All Stars..........we'll be doing that in............23 days!!!!..........not sure about the way back or if y ou do a split with S&D though!

 

[Unregistered]

Thanks everyone for your help! I think I am going to split my stay, start at the All Star and end at Swan. Will take ME in and taxi out. I called All Star and they will arrange for my bags to transfer to Swan. Whew, glad I finally made that decision....Now, on to figuring out how we'll conquer the parks! The kids really want to do Blizzard Beach. Is it possible to do that for the bulk of the day and still start on Epcot in late afternoon/early evening? I was thinking about doing it on a day Epcot has extra evening hours. Is that usually more than one hour? Thanks again!

 

[Disney Crazy Debbie]

The evening EMH are usually 3 hours from close of park. It is the morning EMH that is only an hour. If you do the waterparks first you will be ready for a break around lunch time, but if you do the EMH you have to register before the extended hours begin and the main visitors (non-resort visitors) have to leave.

 

[Jaxs27]

We stayed at the All Star movies resort last year and we loved it. It was really nice for the price.

 

[dash]

I enjoy staying at Pop almost as much as the S/D (although I prefer the D over the S). The primary reason why I might prefer the S/D is the location (walking distance to Epcot and the Boardwalk. I enjoy Pop's food court more than the Buffeteria. I've never stayed at All Star, but I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Amanda Martin]

I made a decision to split my stay! We will be arriving late on the first day so I figured it makes more sense to stay at a less expensive hotel. So, going to stay at the All Star the first three nights and Dolphin the last four. I'm very excited about it! Now, trying to sort out how/when to hit the parks! We really wanted to try a waterpark (Blizzard Beach, I think) but there's not a lot of time....I wondered if we could do Blizzard Beach until mid afternoon, and then Epcot World Showcase in the evening. How much time does it take to tour the World Showcase? THanks for your help!

 

[rlovew]

The time to tour the WS depends on the shows and shopping you want to do, if you want to see all the movies and shows and do lots of shopping plan on it taking awhile but if you just want to choose a few of the best shows (with your girls ages I highly reccomend the World Showcase Players and Chinese acrobats) and save the pocketbook then you can spend about 20 minutes per pavallion and get the flavor of the arcitecture and see the sights at each.

Blizard Beach is a great water park for the age of your girls as long as they like thrills, the slides are higher and faster. Also you have to walk up between 6-12 stories to ride down most of them. If you arrive when the park opens you can easily try each slide and ride your favorites a couple of times in about 4 hours. I would definately suggest some down time after BB before heading to Epcot which is one of the parks with the most walking. But if you do this when you are at the Swan you can start right at the WS and not have to walk through FW.