Looking for reccomendations for a 1-2 night stay with teenager

[zKatze]

The Background: I'm heading to Disney during March Break with my 17 year old daughter. This is part of a larger trip to visit family down in Tampa. The last time she was at a Disney park was when she was 9yr old (she has visited the former DTD with her grandparents as a younger teen, but neither of us has really explored Disney Springs).

The Plan: Our plan is to come up to Orlando (with a car) for two days mid-week; beyond that is still evolving. On the table at the moment is dinner and a movie at AMC Dine-in theatre and the end of a non-park day exploring the Disney Resort property. We may or may not go to Epcot for a day. We also plan on exploring the Disney Boardwalk (either on it's own as park of a non-park day or at night after a day at Epcot).

The Questoin: Looking for recommendations of where to stay. Let's say I have roughly $400 that I am willing to pay for accomodations (waiting for late winter discounts to be released). The options I see are:

Option 1: Two nights on Disney property (Value or Moderate on discount)
Option 2: One night on Dinsey property (Moderate +) and one night off-site
Option 3: One night on Disney property (this means either a very early drive to Orlando for rope drop at the park or a very late drive home after a very long day -- not my favourite option, but the former is more appealing than the latter)

adding
Option4: 2 nights in an on-property, but not Disney run ("Official Walt Disney World Hotel") in the Disney Springs Area (includes parking, wifi, and Disney Bus Service) for about $140/nt

I'd like to stay at something nicer than the values. Especially since parks are not the focus of our trip. This is more of a relax and enjoy the ammenities" type trip. I got spoiled on my last trip by renting points, unfortunately two nights isn't enough to rent or we'd be staying at SSR.

 

[Shellyb84]

I vote for Option 1: Moderate

CSR is our favorite and with the construction going on it's a good price for a mod. The construction won't be affecting the dining options or the pool so if it were me, I would not let that deter me from staying there. The grounds are absolutely beautiful, it has a really nice pool and the bus service has always been great.

 

[melissapealo]

I suggest 2 nights at either POR or POFQ, both would give you boat access to Disney Springs. Another option may be the swan or dolphin if you can get a good price. That would put you close to the boardwalk as well as Epcot. You could walk to both. I think both nights at the same place would be easier given the shortness of the trip.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

I vote option 1 moderate. Spring break might be crazy at a value.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I suggest 2 nights at either POR or POFQ, both would give you boat access to Disney Springs. Another option may be the swan or dolphin if you can get a good price. That would put you close to the boardwalk as well as Epcot. You could walk to both. I think both nights at the same place would be easier given the shortness of the trip.

I agree with this. I would try for POR or POFQ with a room-only discount (if it becomes available for your dates) or price out Swan/Dolphin (Dolphin is typically cheaper) on the Swan/Dolphin website (or call them directly). If you are a SPG (Starwood loyatly program - it's free) or AAA member, you can typically get a better discount. Make sure to factor in their parking costs into your overall room rate.

 

[zKatze]

Thanks for all your input. =) Definitely looking for a little less of the crazy we might find at a value resort during Spring/March break (our dates might be a bit early for Spring Break). We are looking at being at Disney for March 13-15.

I really wanted to stay at POR this past winter with my seven year old, but the DVC points rental were more economical. I'm going to have to crunch the numbers again and see. I think POR and POFQ are just outside my budget for two nights, even if they are discounted.

I did check Swan and Dolphin their website and the rates for our dates were comparative to a deluxe resort cash reservation. I miss being able to travel with my kids during value season, but she can't miss school this year.

 

[Haley R]

I vote 2 nights in a Moderate if you can swing that. If not, I vote 1 night Moderate and 1 night offsite, but the benefits of staying on-site are worth it to me for the extra $. We absolutely love POFQ. We were there last year during that exact same time and it wasn't busy at all at French Quarter. We loved how small that resort is and there is a certain charm to it with the brick on the roads and the river right there.

I will say that when we went this year we booked on Undercover Tourist and our Animal Kingdom Lodge stay was less than $300/night in March. That was hard to pass up! I would try looking on their website and don't be afraid to move your days around. When we moved our stay by one day the price changed drastically. (we did a split stay in AKL and POR)

 

[zKatze]

We're still discussing our options...would like thoughts on a 4th possibility...It's not a sure thing, but based on some historical data, let's say we could book an "on Disney property, not operated by Disney hotel" in the Disney Springs area for ~$140/nt including parking & wifi AND the hotel either participates in the Disney resort bussing system or has transportation to the Parks. Technically it's off-site, but not really off-site since it's on Disney property. We'd forfeit the 60 day advance fastpass booking, but it'd be within our budget (at almost 1/2 the cost of staying at POR). Is there anything else we'd lose by doing this? We'd still be able to visit the boardwalk and Disney Springs and any of the other resorts that we'd want to explore, righ?

If we were to have breakfast at the boardwalk before going to Epcot, would we still be able to enter from the International Gateway? Or is that for resort guests only?

 

[gingerfeathers]

We're still discussing our options...would like thoughts on a 4th possibility...It's not a sure thing, but based on some historical data, let's say we could book an "on Disney property, not operated by Disney hotel" in the Disney Springs area for ~$140/nt including parking & wifi AND the hotel either participates in the Disney resort bussing system or has transportation to the Parks. Technically it's off-site, but not really off-site since it's on Disney property. We'd forfeit the 60 day advance fastpass booking, but it'd be within our budget (at almost 1/2 the cost of staying at POR). Is there anything else we'd lose by doing this? We'd still be able to visit the boardwalk and Disney Springs and any of the other resorts that we'd want to explore, righ?

If we were to have breakfast at the boardwalk before going to Epcot, would we still be able to enter from the International Gateway? Or is that for resort guests only?

Yes, you would still be able to visit any of the resorts, and yes, anyone can enter Epcot from the International Gateway. Sounds like that's a great option!

 

[Disnsyncey]

I would say 1 for sure, I wouldn't want to have to switch resorts in the middle of a short stay and I sure wouldn't want to be go go go for 48 hours involving all of that driving....