where to stay???

[lynndeeloonurse]

We have a friend that works for disney. She has a sister that just got through training for reservations for disney. Our friend says she can get rooms for around $50 a night through her sister. Does anyone here have any relatives/friends that work for disney? Can they get you a discount on ANY type room at disney? I hate asking her all these questions because I do not want her to think thats all we want from her. If we could stay at any disney property, where should we stay? I have been to epinion dot com and read all the reviews there and am still confused to where we would like to stay if in fact we can get say a 1 or 2 bedroom villa for $50/night I wouldn't mind even paying $100/night. Please, if you have any info about all/any of the above let me know. There will be me, my husband, our son 13, daughter 10, and daughter 8. We would like some where that has a beach. Which home away from homes have a beach? Any info will be greatly apprciated!

 

[robinb]

{snip} am still confused to where we would like to stay if in fact we can get say a 1 or 2 bedroom villa for $50/night I wouldn't mind even paying $100/night. Please, if you have any info about all/any of the above let me know. There will be me, my husband, our son 13, daughter 10, and daughter 8. We would like some where that has a beach. Which home away from homes have a beach?

With 5 people you would need either a 2BR at most DVC resorts or you could squeeze into a 1BR over at Animal Kingdom Villas. The only DVC resort which has a Beach is the Beach Club Villas. Old Key West has a beach-y theme, but no real beach to speak of. Port Orleans French Quarter could also accommodate you, as would most of the Deluxe resorts.

 

[Darkside]

First of all the cast member has to stay with you in order to get a discount. The discount varies by time of year and volume at the resort. The more people there are the less of a discount you get and in some cases none at all. Generally speaking the discount is 50%, meaning you can get a value resort for about $50, not a DVC resort, which would be closer to $150, which is about 50% off of the normal price. One last thing to note that if you get free cast member passes, cast members can't use the fast pass system. Hope that helps.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

First of all the cast member has to stay with you in order to get a discount. The discount varies by time of year and volume at the resort. The more people there are the less of a discount you get and in some cases none at all. Generally speaking the discount is 50%, meaning you can get a value resort for about $50, not a DVC resort, which would be closer to $150, which is about 50% off of the normal price. One last thing to note that if you get free cast member passes, cast members can't use the fast pass system. Hope that helps.

Glad you posted, because a Disney employee is not going to get a DVC 1 bdrm for $50 per night. You're connection with your friend who has a sister who works for Disney might be able to get you into a Disney hotel while staying with her for $50 per night. Forget about getting your own accomodations at a DVC resort for $50 a night.

 

[Granny]

The only DVC resort which has a Beach is the Beach Club Villas.

Just as a clarification, VWL has a very nice beach.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Actually, there are only two resorts that have a real beach, and that would be HHI and VB... REAL beaches. Just fact.

HHI

VB

Sorry, I don't have a pic of the actual beach at HHI, but believe me, you can see beach for miles at HHI...

 

[robinb]

Just as a clarification, VWL has a very nice beach.

Oopsie!

 

[crisi]

Only VB has an accessible beach for SWIMMING - you cannot swim at any of the lakes at WDW. And HH's beach isn't immediately adjacent to the resort (from my understanding - I haven't been there).

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

First of all the cast member has to stay with you in order to get a discount.

This is untrue. My cousin is a CM and used to use her discount for us before we bought DVC. A CM CAN get you a room. If they are NOT staying with you, then the discount is either 10%, 25%, or 40% off of the rack rate. It is like AP discounts, there are only so many CM discount rooms available at each level, so once they are booked, they are gone. The CM has to book it for you through their portal and it is booked as room only, no packages are available. The deposit is one night's stay and they will have to pay that when they book the room, so you would have to give them your CC# or send them the money. The CM will also have to present themselves to the resort front desk within 5 days of your check in and show their CM ID to the resort. If they do not do that, you will have to pay full rack rate on check in.

There may be discounted rooms at the DVC resorts. That is how we fell in love with SSR. The only place on property that had the 40% discount still available one year was SSR 1BR, so my cousin booked us there and we absolutely loved it.

As far as $50 or $100?? Not going to happen with a DVC resort, even for a studio. With the CM discount, for a rate of $50 or $100 it would be a moderate or a value resort. THe best rate you could get on say a 2BR villa at OKW during value season would be somewhere around $400+ a night with tax, and that would be only if the 40% was available.

There are better discounts if the CM stays in the room with you, but since this is not someone you know well, I doubt that is an option for you.

And FYI- for the Cruise line, CMs can get discounts for up to 3 staterooms, I believe. However, for those the CM MUST stay in 1 of the rooms, no exceptions.

Just wondering, if your friend works for Disney too, why can't SHE get you the discount as opposed to her sister?? My cousin works at one of the resorts, and was previously in attractions and retail. CM discounts are not limited to reservation CMs. Your friend should be entitled to the same benefit, as far as room discounts are concerned.