Which Off-Site Hotels

[1Grumpy9]

Can you still use ME?

My friends and I are still trying to get our trip planned on a budget. There could be either 3 or 4 people going.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Lewisc]

None Free DME is limited to Disney operated hotels. DME isn't even offered to guests of non-Disney operated hotels on Disney property (Swan, Dolphin, SoG, DTD hotels).

Offsite guests really need a rental car. Offsite shuttles have a limited schedule and aren't always free.

Many offsite hotels charge resort fees and/or charge for guest parking. You'll also have to pay to park in the theme parks.

Crunch the numbers. A Disney value hotel might be less expensive then the total cost of an offsite hotel....once you include the cost of a rental car, gas, tolls, Disney parking fee and any resort/parking fee at whatever offsite property you book.

 

[Brian Noble]

Agreed. If you are flying in to MCO, it is very hard to beat a Value room with free transportation for bottom-line price.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

Crunch the numbers. A Disney value hotel might be less expensive then the total cost of an offsite hotel....once you include the cost of a rental car, gas, tolls, Disney parking fee and any resort/parking fee at whatever offsite property you book.

Exactly... sounds like you may be better off staying at one of the Disney Value Resorts... like Pop or All stars

 

[Bellamouse]

Not hard to beat at all. Easy to beat, IMO.

We are staying at EI, 3BR/2.5BA condo. Sharing the cost with another couple so the total for DH and I is $245 for 7 nights! That's $35 a night, including tax and fees.

I always rent cars through Priceline - we got a mid sized car for $203 for 7 days. Splitting that with the other couple is $100 for 7 days. Even with parking at $12 a day (again, splitting with the other couple, so really only $6 a day), the value resorts cannot even come close. Those prices include tax and everything.

We will have tons of space, great coffee, freedom to go wherever, whenever we want, 2 hot tubs to choose from, and save a bundle.

 

[Brian Noble]

Sharing the cost with another couple

...something that may not be an option for a lot of people. What's more, if the two of you split a single Value room, and skipped the rental car/parking, I bet you'd come out pretty close to the same total price. By my reckoning, the total nightly cost for both couples, added together, is about $115 per night. You can almost certainly get a Value resort with a room-only discount for less.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a big fan of staying offsite. But, if *price* is your only objective, *and* you have to fly in, I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense to look past the Value resorts with whatever the prevailing discount might be.

 

[Bellamouse]

...something that may not be an option for a lot of people. What's more, if the two of you split a single Value room, and skipped the rental car/parking, I bet you'd come out pretty close to the same total price. By my reckoning, the total nightly cost for both couples, added together, is about $115 per night. You can almost certainly get a Value resort with a room-only discount for less.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a big fan of staying offsite. But, if *price* is your only objective, *and* you have to fly in, I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense to look past the Value resorts with whatever the prevailing discount might be.

They said they were going with friends. So I assumed they could have the same option of splitting as we do.

There is NOT A CHANCE IN HECK I would EVER, EVER, share a single room with one bathroom with my friends, and especially not for a whole week!! (Nor do I think they would want to share with us!!) The only thing that makes this work is there is private space for all of us. They have their own room and bath, we have our own room and bath. Why in the world would I want to pay the same price for substandard arrangements? That makes no sense whatsoever. The only way to "match" the arrangement would be to get two hotel rooms and the cost of two hotel rooms would never come close to the $62 a night (all inclusive, including gas for the car and tax) we are spending at the condo. We are also saving because we can do our own coffee and breakfast in the condo. No Starbucks anywhere on Disney property!

Also, we do not consider using Disney transportation a plus. Waiting for (often very crowded) busses and stopping a bunch of times along the way is not a plus for us. That's a big downer. We love to be free to go and do wherever and whenever we like.

 

[Brian Noble]

There is NOT A CHANCE IN HECK I would EVER, EVER, share a single room with one bathroom with my friends

Well, sure. I wouldn't either. Heck, I wouldn't stay in a single hotel room with just my wife unless I was really hard pressed---I'm an early bird, and she's a night owl, and the living room is necessary for us. But that wasn't the OP's question. It sounded like they wanted cheapest bottom-line price.

 

[Bellamouse]

Well, sure. I wouldn't either. Heck, I wouldn't stay in a single hotel room with just my wife unless I was really hard pressed---I'm an early bird, and she's a night owl, and the living room is necessary for us. But that wasn't the OP's question. It sounded like they wanted cheapest bottom-line price.

What good is a cheap vacation you would NEVER take??? I think they meant cheapest FEASIBLE option.....

 

[Brian Noble]

I wasn't aware that our preferences were universal and absolutely everyone shared them. Good to know.