Which hotel should I choose?

[showar]

Hello! I'm a newbie and we are planning our first trip to WDW for late September. I was able to get in on the great email deal (the one that requires a pin #), for our family of 3 (dh, myself, and 4 yo dd) for $1101.59. That includes 5 days at a value resort, dining plan, and upgrades to 6 day park hopper. I will have lots of questions but for now I'm trying to focus on the hotel before I send in a payment. If we do a Value resort then I would probably choose the All Star Movie because my dd would be thrilled with the dalmation themed building but I am considering an upgade to a moderate hotel ($300 more). The reason I would consider an upgrade is for the refrigerator in the room and the on site restaurant.

Anyhow, here are a few questions:

Is the hotel upgrade worth it?
Should I purchase the insurance?
If we go with a moderate hotel, which would be the best?
Which WDW guide would you recommend for planning our days?
What is the closest beach to Orlando?
How bad is the drive from the DFW area to Orlando?

I have really enjoyed reading this site but it is also very overwhelming!

Sandra

 

[Leigha]

You have lots of questions but luckily this IS the place for answers!! We've stayed at all types of resorts at WDW so picking one is hard for me. You have to decide if the extra $300 is worth it. Yes, the rooms are a bit bigger but if you're ever going to go budget, when your child is small is the time! Also I think they love the themed hotels with their really large, fun designs everywhere! Have you checked on ASM? I think it might be hard to book. Maybe it's easier now with Pop becoming so popular. You can always use a styrofoam cooler as a substitute for a frig. Even renting a frig would be cheaper than $300. Book your hotel first so you're sure to get your deal then get the WDW planning DVD and look at the hotels to make a final decision. You can always change your hotel! I like the Passporter for planning and organization but nothing beats the Unofficial Guide for planning your days! Overstock.com has both cheap! I don't think most people purchase insurance. Depending on who you made your reservation with, it should be easy enough to cancel within the allowed period of time. I would just change my dates instead of totally cancelling if at all possible though. I probably like the Riverside resort best for a moderate but I liked all of them. We Disney's Vero Beach resort!! It's hard for us to go anywhere else. You just get used to the Disney standards that they have for their hotels and nothing else will do! Plus they have a great children's program. Hope that helps!!

 

[canwegosoon]

Hello! I'm a newbie and we are planning our first trip to WDW for late September. I was able to get in on the great email deal (the one that requires a pin #), for our family of 3 (dh, myself, and 4 yo dd) for $1101.59. That includes 5 days at a value resort, dining plan, and upgrades to 6 day park hopper. I will have lots of questions but for now I'm trying to focus on the hotel before I send in a payment. If we do a Value resort then I would probably choose the All Star Movie because my dd would be thrilled with the dalmation themed building but I am considering an upgade to a moderate hotel ($300 more). The reason I would consider an upgrade is for the refrigerator in the room and the on site restaurant.

Anyhow, here are a few questions:

Is the hotel upgrade worth it?
Should I purchase the insurance?
If we go with a moderate hotel, which would be the best?
Which WDW guide would you recommend for planning our days?
What is the closest beach to Orlando?
How bad is the drive from the DFW area to Orlando?

I have really enjoyed reading this site but it is also very overwhelming!

Sandra

1) IMHO it depends on your budget, but we had a fantastic time at POR.
2)Poss: For me it depends on wether we are traveling during a hurricane season, but if there is any remote chance that you might be cancelling the trip (and if you lose the money and are upset about recovering it) then I would say yes get it.
3)Personal choice I would look at www.allearsnet.com or the disboards home page...We love POR.
4)Anything the Librabry has!!!
5)There's a beach in Orlando????
6)www.fuelcostcalculator.com/TripGasPrice.aspx But I don't know.
You might also get more help postine the resort question on the resorts board, the driving question on transportation board, and the beaches question in the Orlando Area board.

Good Luck.

 

[tbelfonti]

Is the hotel upgrade worth it? Personally, I would do it, but that's us. If the $300 isn't going to kill your budget, go for it. Otherwise, a value resort will be perfect since you don't spend a lot of time in the rooms
Should I purchase the insurance? I've had to cancel vacations before. First time was because my grandmother was dying from cancer. Almost had to cancel this one we just returned from. My DD (10 months) was in the hospital and I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to travel. I called Disney and the CM told me they would waive the cancellation fees if we had to cancel considering the circumstances. I don't know if that's Disney's official policy or if they were just throwing some Disney magic my way. We will always get insurance going forward because we have a child who has some health issues that can land her in the hospital at any time. Ok, I just went on a tangent ... sorry :lol:
If we go with a moderate hotel, which would be the best? Our personal favorite is Coronado Springs.
Which WDW guide would you recommend for planning our days? I swear by Passporter

 

[EthansMom]

I've heard a lot of complaints about the Value Resorts being noisy and having a lot of high-school age kids (since the different high school groups get reasonable prices staying at the Values). Plus, DH thinks the decor looks rather gaudy. So we stay at the Moderates.

I've stayed at POR and POFQ. Both are lovely, but we prefer POFQ because it is smaller and DS3.5 loves the pool! Only downside is that POFQ doesn't have a sit-down restaurant -- we have to walk 10 min. away to POR for a sit down breakfast at Boatwright and head to Boatwrights or DTD for a sit-down dinner.

I don't get trip insurance, but then I've never booked a package before either. Check the terms of the insurance to see what they are exactly.

Check your library for planning books. Also, the info here on DIS, at http://www.mousesavers.com (lots of help with savings info), http://www.allearsnet.com (lots of planning info), and http://www.wdwig.com.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[VSL]

ASMo is great
Besides, you'll probably find that you're not in the hotel long enough to appreciate a moderate if you'll only be there for five days - you'll be enjoying the parks instead!

 

[HaleyB]

Is the hotel upgrade worth it? Depends on many things, for me, no, because we spend all day in the parks. The rooms at the values are nice enough for us.

Should I purchase the insurance? Most people think this is a waste of money.

If we go with a moderate hotel, which would be the best? I don't stay at moderates, so I am not sure. We do value for park days and switch to deluxe for a few days of R&R on our trips.

Which WDW guide would you recommend for planning our days? The Unofficial Guide to WDW, but make sure you get the MOST current book. I also highly recommend www.tourguidemike.com for planning your days. It is a pay to view site, I like the touring plans more than the ones the UG has but both work well to help you avoid lines.

What is the closest beach to Orlando? I don't think there is one too close, who needs a beach when you have Disney?

How bad is the drive from the DFW area to Orlando? We found it to be an easy drive from Austin. We had a snafu they day we left and got a really late start (like 11 am) and still made it to our "half way" point (priceline hotel) before dinner time. We arrived in Orlando in time for a late dinner the next day. So it works out to one easy day and one longer but still not too bad day on the road.



Have a great time!

 

[CheapMom]

ASMO is my favorite on-site resort- and I have stayed at vals, mods, and deluxes. I love it because the icons make my kids so happy and because we save enough money that we can can have a little more spending freedom on our trip.
So- I vote for keeping your ressie as is- you can request a fridge- I am not sure of the cost but I have heard sometimes they don't charge at all.

I wouldn't purchase insurance.

I wouldn't use a guide- I would go to the park hours section of this board to plan each day- Look at the character dining page - http://www.wdwinfo.com/Just_for_kids/character_dining.cfm Also check out the PS calculator http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/pscalc/dispsreport.html you can figure out when to call for ressies.
I would plan a general guideline for each day like which park, which table service or character meal- but other than that I wouldn't plan anything. I am a big believer in letting the magic happen-
A rigid schedule or overplanning inhibits magic moments. JMO.
Have fun- you are going to love it!

 

[swilphil]

I'd say $300 is definitely worth the upgrade. I would pick POR or POFQ. Look at the allears site to see which you would like best. The Unofficial Guide is the best guidebook.