Bad idea to stay at Disney springs hotels with no car?

HopperFan · Oct 24, 2016

maxiesmom said:
I'm surprised you are finding the Disney Springs hotels cheaper than the Disney values on site. Whenever I price them out, a Disney value is always cheaper.

It really depends on when you are going and what specials you can find. I have stayed at B Resort (a number of times), Buena Vista Palace and Doubletree (with breakfast) including any fees for less than what the values were offering. With Buena Vista and Doubletree I also got Hilton points.

elaine amj · Oct 28, 2016

Pumpkin1172 said:
thank you writer guy for that info posted above. I had planned a trip for myself and the dd. We were gifted with a cruise from Miami from a family member, but as you can imagine, we need to keep costs down as we are paying over 1,500 for flights alone. We wanted to make it worth our while since it takes time and money to take a trip like this, we decided to take the dd to Disney since we could never afford to do it when she was little. So We are trying to do what we can...but on a budget. AS much as we would have loved to stay onsite...it wasn't an option for us. I'm glad to know that there is good shuttle service in Disney Springs. That was worrying me, even though I read in the description of the hotels in the area that they had shuttle services, people didn't have many great things to say about them.

Pumpkin1172 said:
To make the trip as cheap as possible ( as I'm a Canadian, our really low dollar as in it costs me 135.00 Canadian to get 100.00 American, and flights costing a small fortune ) I'm taking advantage of the airmiles I have collected, mostly from grocery shopping No onsite hotels were offered through airmiles. I'm trying to do this trip as budget friendly as I can. I almost have enough miles for another trip of hotels for Disney World. It is a huge investment for us to travel to the U.S right now. So that is why I'm planning on staying as close to Disney as I can. Some day, hopefully we can afford to stay onsite. But for now, I will enjoy staying offsite, enjoying 10 days of beautiful warm weather instead of cold and snowy weather

I completely, totally understand. That said - do consider the costs of traveling to/from the airport to your Disney Springs hotel and any other transportation considerations. Sometimes, your free night still works out better and sometimes, a Disney value works out better. The cheapest option for me to travel from the airport is Uber - which is $25 each way. If you take a cab (it used to be hard to get an uber from the airport - not sure if it is different now), its about $50+tip each way.

My first Disney trip, I had planned to stay at a cheap Quality Inn near Disney that I could get with my points. After I calculated the cost of transportation to/from the airport, a Disney value actually worked out cheaper than my free hotel! Of course, my calculations were affected by the fact that it was only a weekend trip AND it was the off-season and Value hotels were a great deal. When I was there this past March, it worked out cheaper to move offsite and we stayed one night (with points) at the Holiday Inn Disney Springs. It was a nice room and we really liked having a microwave! The walk to Disney Springs wasn't too bad (I did it by myself - very pleasant, but quite lengthy) but at night, we were so tired that we cheated and took an uber back to the hotel rather than dealing with the shuttle transportation/walking. Thinking about it, we also cheated earlier in the day as we got our uber driver to wait while we dumped our bags with the bell desk and then drive us the couple of minutes back to Disney Springs. It only ended up costing us an extra $2-3.

By the way, did you use your airmiles to get Disney park tickets? That's how I justified my last Disney trip - redeemed my airmiles for 3 day base tickets

Its awesome as I find the tickets the absolute most expensive part of a Disney trip (and the hardest to get discounts on).

Pumpkin1172 · Oct 28, 2016

elaine amj said:
By the way, did you use your airmiles to get Disney park tickets? That's how I justified my last Disney trip - redeemed my airmiles for 3 day base tickets Its awesome as I find the tickets the absolute most expensive part of a Disney trip (and the hardest to get discounts on).

This is our first time at either Disney. The hotel I booked has a shuttle that goes from the airport to the hotel. Either that or we will use an Uber. So I will see how it works for the DD and I staying offsite. My goal is to collect enough airmiles to purchase the hotels, and probably 2 of 4 base tickets. Now I just have to decide if our next trip will be a 25 anniversary trip with just the hubby and I somewhere warm, or do I just say...we can do that another time, and we do a holiday with the 2DS who are teenagers now. Or can I budget and save and collect enough miles so we can do two trips!!!! But that take lots on my part. I guess time will tell.

elaine amj · Oct 28, 2016

Pumpkin1172 said:
This is our first time at either Disney. The hotel I booked has a shuttle that goes from the airport to the hotel. Either that or we will use an Uber. So I will see how it works for the DD and I staying offsite. My goal is to collect enough airmiles to purchase the hotels, and probably 2 of 4 base tickets. Now I just have to decide if our next trip will be a 25 anniversary trip with just the hubby and I somewhere warm, or do I just say...we can do that another time, and we do a holiday with the 2DS who are teenagers now. Or can I budget and save and collect enough miles so we can do two trips!!!! But that take lots on my part. I guess time will tell.

So you would need to purchase 2 more tickets? Or do you mean 4 day base tickets?

Good luck with the airmiles collecting! I just started about 1-2 years ago with airmiles to get the tickets for my Disneyland trip. Its been an interesting system to work with (I have been churning miles/points for the last 6-7 years). I've been enjoying the Rexall promos the most although the bulk of my points are earned through credit card bonuses.

Pumpkin1172 · Oct 28, 2016

elaine amj said:
So you would need to purchase 2 more tickets? Or do you mean 4 day base tickets?

Good luck with the airmiles collecting! I just started about 1-2 years ago with airmiles to get the tickets for my Disneyland trip. Its been an interesting system to work with (I have been churning miles/points for the last 6-7 years). I've been enjoying the Rexall promos the most although the bulk of my points are earned through credit card bonuses.

I would probably have to purchase 2 more tickets to get into the parks. I will have to see how many miles I can collect. Most of mine are done just with the airmiles card. No credit card. We have a rewards card that I collect points and we rack up quite a few points for flights. It takes a lot of points to get enough for 4 of us to fly around

But I will keep plugging away. It seems when I have a goal I want to get to, I do much better at working at my budget and saving money. I just find it hard as we are a very active outdoorsy family. We do lots of quadding, boating and shooting. So that takes up a good chunk of our money. So anything I can save it used towards holidays. Hoping to finally do a big trip with the boys in the next couple years. Now that I seem to have a better grasp of how to collect airmiles, we might be able to do it faster

elaine amj · Oct 28, 2016

Honestly, I would suggest considering using your airmiles towards the Disney tickets and staying onsite instead. When is your trip? If it is during free dining season, nothing (not even a free hotel) beats a family of 4 onsite at a value with free quick service dining.

Worth crunching the numbers to see which will give you more bang for your buck anyway. The collecting airmiles stuff gets addicting! Good luck with your trip - I love Disney math

pampam · Nov 3, 2016

At one time, Disney busses had 3 stops- Marketplace , Pleasure Island, and the stop over at Cirque du Soliel. Is the new Disney bus area at the Pleasure island stop area behind Planet Hollywood?

writerguyfl · Nov 3, 2016

pampam said:
At one time, Disney busses had 3 stops- Marketplace , Pleasure Island, and the stop over at Cirque du Soliel. Is the new Disney bus area at the Pleasure island stop area behind Planet Hollywood?

Correct. This map shows the original three stops. A is the Marketplace, B is near Planet Hollywood, and C is past the Cirque du Soleil theatre. Disney resort buses only use stop B now.

Sue M · Nov 5, 2016

maxiesmom said:
I'm surprised you are finding the Disney Springs hotels cheaper than the Disney values on site. Whenever I price them out, a Disney value is always cheaper.

For the price of a value, I got a huge 1 bdrm suite at DTD Doubletree and free breakfast buffet thrown in with a discount from Mousesavers.

maxiesmom · Nov 5, 2016

Sue M said:
For the price of a value, I got a huge 1 bdrm suite at DTD Doubletree and free breakfast buffet thrown in with a discount from Mousesavers.

And lose out on DME, booking FP+ at 60 days out, booking your ADRs all at once, on free parking at the parks, on sending packages back to your resort.

There are perks to both on and off site, no question. But going strictly dollar for dollar a value will stack up with most if not all of the Disney springs resorts.

Sue M · Nov 5, 2016

maxiesmom said:
And lose out on DME, booking FP+ at 60 days out, booking your ADRs all at once, on free parking at the parks, on sending packages back to your resort.

There are perks to both on and off site, no question. But going strictly dollar for dollar a value will stack up with most if not all of the Disney springs resorts.

That trip I decided to arrive a couple of days early since I was already in Lauderdale and was driving up to Wdw, so didn't need DME on arrival. I get Mousesavers hot deal emails and thought I'd take advantage of that one. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the Doubletree suites. So much space, and kitchenette. For a fraction of the cost of an AllStar family suite and so much more space. Free breakfast too. I didn't need free parking, I had an AP. And FP+ didn't exist lol! For me it worked. And ESP for a family over 4 that needs more space IMO it's still the best value.
I still prefer Wdw resort, but if I wanted to save some $ I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

maxiesmom · Nov 5, 2016

Value is different than cost. I was strictly commenting on the cost of a value being similar to the cost of the Disney Springs resorts. As many times as I have looked at the Disney Springs resorts, the cost is usually the same or more than a value, and for me, they are not worth their price.

writerguyfl · Nov 5, 2016

maxiesmom said:
There are perks to both on and off site, no question. But going strictly dollar for dollar a value will stack up with most if not all of the Disney springs resorts.

Personally, I don't compare Disney's Value Resorts to most of the Disney Springs Hotels. I think the more accurate match is with Disney's Moderate Resorts. That comparison is based on room size, quality of room furnishing, on-site amenities, and service levels.

The only property that I consider a match to Disney's Value Resorts is the Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista. They both have small, exterior entry rooms. Disney easily wins in that match up.

Sue M · Nov 5, 2016

writerguyfl said:
Personally, I don't compare Disney's Value Resorts to most of the Disney Springs Hotels. I think the more accurate match is with Disney's Moderate Resorts. That comparison is based on room size, quality of room furnishing, on-site amenities, and service levels.

The only property that I consider a match to Disney's Value Resorts is the Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista. They both have small, exterior entry rooms. Disney easily wins in that match up.

Quite true. Wdw value rooms are tiny, and less ammenities. At DS the room size is at least at the moderate level, they all have coffee pots, and both shampoo & conditioner. Doubletree is light years above a Wdw value family suite with nice furnishings, and huge space. And the Crabtree & Evelyn toilettries were so nice. For a fraction of the cost. And that free daily breakfast was a bonus.

But I get what Maxiesmom is saying. Value is subjective, it depends on what your priorities are. Myself, I do love the WDW resorts, but was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked Doubletree.

danygirl · Nov 5, 2016

we have stayed at the Best Western several times - the pool is minimal, but there is a disney store on site, little convenience store in the lobby, pizza available, and a restaurant. The prices is ALWAYS lower than a Disney Value and you walk right out the front door to catch the bus. RIGHT OUT THE FRONT DOOR. The Best Western is the first stop on the route, so you always get a seat. You can get to both Epcot and The Magic Kingdom from the transportation center, we have never viewed the bus dropping off there as negative The only bus trouble we ever had was on new years eve - there were just too many folks for the bus.

We also like that the BW is closest to the other stores and restaurants - you can easily walk off site
Disney Springs is a reasonable walk.

Stayed in the BV Palace one time - the pool was better, and the walk to Disney Springs was shorter, but they charged more and the rooms there were sooo run down.

kaytieeldr · Nov 7, 2016

Spanky said:
From looking at a map it might be better for him to cross the street to Sarasota Springs and take their bus to Disney Hollywood Studio and then take the boat to Yacht club. I know the bus to Yacht Club has
moved from where it use to be to much farther over in the Disney Soring complex. Not sure which option would be the shorter walk.

writerguyfl said:

Here's map showing the approximate walking paths to the Congress Park bus stop at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort

Click to expand...

But even then, once you get to Saratoga Springs, you still need to transfer to a Yacht Club bus at a theme park. Über time-consuming.

Pumpkin1172 said:
This is our first time at either Disney. The hotel I booked has a shuttle that goes from the airport to the hotel.

The hotel in Orlando?

SunniKC · Nov 7, 2016

We stayed at the hotel that is now the Wyndham Garden but that was 7 years ago. Transportation was fine going to parks but not coming back, we ended up driving after the first day and paying for parking. It was convenient to Disney Springs -- took us less than 5 minutes to walk from the hotel property to the Marketplace entrance. Cost was our deciding factor that trip---we started out looking to stay on property but found the Wyndham for just under $800 for 9 nights over Christmas (we checked out on the 29th). We couldn't come close to that on property at that time....even values were twice that.

kydisneyfans · Nov 15, 2016

Just saw this thread. We stayed at Animal Kingdom and rented a car from the B Hotel. The idea was to take Disney transport to DS and then walk to the B. It took quite a bit of time and would have been a nightmare in rain, heat, or at night, especially with young kids.

We have stayed both on and offsite many times. If taking the resort shuttle to the parks, I would say that should be OK. If the plan is to walk to DS to hit the bus, I wouldn't do it. Personally we have a car if anywhere offsite, regardless of how close the hotel is to the parks.

Figuring in all costs, we have found Magical Express and Value resort costs to come out cheaper. We have a half million Hilton points, but staying onsite is still a better option. We won't rent again while onsite, I'll use a grocery delivery service instead. Walmart prices were insane.

writerguyfl · Nov 19, 2016

maxiesmom said:
I'm surprised you are finding the Disney Springs hotels cheaper than the Disney values on site. Whenever I price them out, a Disney value is always cheaper.

As HopperFan noted earlier in this thread, part of getting a good discount just depends on your dates of travel. But, here's a good example of what can happen if you get lucky. I priced out a 5-night stay and found the following:

Cheapest Disney Value Resort via the Disney World Website: $137/night
Best Public Rate at the Holiday Inn Disney Springs: $132/night
Holiday Inn Disney Spring via Link on the Disney Springs Hotels Marketing Website: $97/night

Link to the Disney Springs Hotels Marketing Website: http://disneyspringshotels.com

Spanky · Nov 20, 2016

Just be sure when comparing prices that all charges are included.
Resort fee, parking fee for Disney Spring hotels while Disney presently includes these items in the room price.

Bad idea to stay at Disney springs hotels with no car?

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