PLEASE HELP!!!!! Confused on or off I

[OzzieDisneyTragic]

hey guys, back again wow I have traveled to over 20 countries but none of that has been as confusing as trying to do Disney and not have a heart attack with the pricing.

We're getting to the point that we need to start making choices. I need to know honest opinions and pro and con about staying on or off Disney properties, the exchange rate doesn't help either we're coming from Australia and I am having a hard time with the fact that a "value" rooms is over $180 a night AUD there just that two of us as this is our very very belated honeymoon ( planning sep 17) That said we are planning Disney as the beginning of a longer trip in USA and still need money for the rest of it. We were looking at POR as it's our honeymoon but we don't think we can justify that amount of money as we hope to be at Disney around a week, we were looking at maybe 5 night at say pop and then 2 at POR what do people think about resort hopping.? Are the pro stay on Disney worth the money? Also when looking at prices on Disney website it excul tax what is tax amt please?

Sorry about the war and peace leagth post please all help is sooooo very welcome. I'm totally going around in circles trying to make this work
Also doing it your self vs travel agent? Thoughts

 

[NonnaT]

Hi! I can only answer from my American perspective...
Given a choice, I always stay at WDW. Long story short, it really is cheaper, unless you're staying at some not so safe no tell motel, and plan on eating McDonald's for a,week.
Hear me out...
By staying at a Disney resort you get free transportation from the airport andfree transport in the parks,
If you stay at Pop, (imho the best of the values) There is an awesome food court, with a ton of choices at reasonable prices. Not sure how big your appetites are, but much of the lunches and dinners are shareable.
While in the parks, the same is true of CS meals, we could have shared our Tusker House lunch 3 ways! Once in the parks, it's almost impossible to leave to go somewhere else to eat anyway.
Many, many people do split stays, starting at 1 resort and switching to another. if that's what your budget will handle go for it. personally I HATE moving after I'm settled, but that's just me.
Also just because you are at a Value doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the other resorts amenities. No you cannot pool hop, but you CAN go to the evening movie at another resort. You can go have adult beverages at the Poly and watch the MK fireworks from the beach. You can go to FW and sing a long with Chip and Dale. You can take a romantic Surrey ride at POR, or go watch YeeHa Bob at the RiverRoost! (not to be missed!)
And, if you're renting a car, free parking
($20 a day saved)
Just my 2 cents!
I hope you have a beautiful honeymoon!

 

[Nemo14]

This site has a travel agency called Kingdom Konsultants as one of its sponsors. They can help you plan your trip, and find any special deals available,at no cost to you. I highly recommend that you talk to any of their representatives. I'll tag them for you - @Kingdom Konsultant

 

[OzzieDisneyTragic]

This site has a travel agency called Kingdom Konsultants as one of its sponsors. They can help you plan your trip, and find any special deals available,at no cost to you. I highly recommend that you talk to any of their representatives. I'll tag them for you - @Kingdom Konsultant

Ta for that but not sure they work with an oz traveller

 

[OzzieDisneyTragic]

Hi! I can only answer from my American perspective...
Given a choice, I always stay at WDW. Long story short, it really is cheaper,
Thank you for your response I did t think about parking I be told not to do dining unless I get free but add the same amt to a gift card and use that to pay for meals any thoughts on that

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

planning sep 17

Will the Free Dining offers not be available to you for next year ? That'll save you some $$

what do people think about resort hopping.?

We've only done it once - To be honest, I'd rather stay put as @NonnaT says. You arrive, you unpack, you enjoy Disney, you re-pack, you move resort, you unpack, you enjoy Disney, you re-pack, you go home - a real time waster in my opinion

Are the pro stay on Disney worth the money?

Absolutely. Dining at 180 days (for all guests) Fast Pass at 60 days (resort guests only), package delivery to your resort, charging facilities to your room, Extra Magic Hours in the parks (morning and evening), transportation back to your resort (at times convenient to you - not when your resort says), also means you can drink with your evening meal

By staying at a Disney resort you get free transportation from the airport

Orlando International - not Sanford

Ta for that but not sure they work with an oz traveller

A Travel Agent can/will/should be able to book for anyone - I'm sure there are several US airlines that fly to Oz ?

 

[OzzieDisneyTragic]

Will the Free Dining offers not be available to you for next year ? That'll save you some $$

Not sure if we'd be able to wait until they release it too book but was hoping for it

 

[OzzieDisneyTragic]

We've only done it once - To be honest, I'd rather stay put as @NonnaT says. You arrive, you unpack, you enjoy Disney, you re-pack, you move resort, you unpack, you enjoy Disney, you re-pack, you go home - a real time waster in my opinion

Were not really worried about that as were not "unpackers" as it were other then a few good things all clothing would stay in the suit case anyway. But thanks for your thoughts,
My main concern is how hard is it to change resorts

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

If you are going to be at Disney for a week I would not change resorts. It is a minor hassle to change resorts, not complicated, but a hassle in the fact that you will have to pack up and have the luggage transferred by bell services, and then have bell services deliver to the new resort.

Anyway, if honestly if you plan to spend most of your time in the parks go with a value resort. I have stayed in all types of Disney resorts from value, moderate, and deluxe. If you are trying to save money because you are planning to travel elsewhere too the value should work for you. My rooms at the value have always been clean and worked well for 2 adults in the room. They have basic pools that have plenty of room to relax at, and the theming of the resorts have been fun. The buses have been as efficient at the values as they were at the mod's and deluxes I've stayed at.

Even if you plan to rent a car for another part of your trip to the USA using Magical Express to go to a Disney resort and Disney transport at the Disney resort will might save you a money for a week that you won't have to pay for that car. As when you are done at Disney you can take the Magical Express back to the airport to get a rental car (if that would be cheapest) otherwise there are some Alamo car rental desks at Disney.

If you use a online travel agent for booking your Disney vacation, if better deals pop up they will rebook you. In my experience they emailed me right away when a better deal popped up, I didn't have to watch for it at all. They can even take care of dining reservations and fast passes if you want them too. I have used Kingdom Konsultants and they were good to work with. I have used another online agency that was really good too.

 

[Minnie Mum]

Another vote for staying onsite. Don't be put off by the Value label. They are "value" rated only in comparison to the other Disney resort categories. They still rate higher than offsite "value" motels. (By the same token, Disney deluxe resorts compare quite poorly to offsite deluxe hotels) A lot of that extra price tag is location, location, location.

We always stay on site. And don't have to be concerned over the cost of rental cars, gas, parking fees, and resort fees ( which are an added extra charge at many offsite hotels). While some offsite hotels offer shuttles, some charge for them, and IMO, the schedules aren't good.

I never use a TA for Disney vacations, preferring to have control if all of my reservations. But if you choose to use one, ONLY use one who is a Disney vacation specialist who is an expert in all aspects of WDW vacation planning. I would advise that you book your air and travel insurance separately.

A good TA would be able to adjust your WDW reservations at a later date if a discount is offered. September discounts usually include free dining OR a room only discount. If you think that free dining would be of benefit, my advice would be to book a vacation package at the value resort of your choice for 5 days, but opt for tickets that span your whole trip. If free dining comes out, your TA can rebook your package (note that free dining requires you to have park hopper tickets, an added expense. Also, free dining for value resort guests is only CS. If you want the dining plan that includes TS restaurants, that also would be an extra expense). Then you can book your 2 days at a moderate resort as a room only reservation and pay OOP for your meals. You would hopefully get a room only discount on this reservation at a later date.

Because split stays are really just 2 separate reservations, what you DONT want to do is to have 2 vacation packages. Doing this would require 2 separate sets of tickets, which would be very expensive. Don't believe me? Compare the price of a 7 day ticket to the sum of a 5 day + a 2 day ticket!

Hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[Chernaboggles]

I'm usually Captain Off-Property, but I'm going to make an exception for you: unless you're already very comfortable driving a car on American roads, stay on property. Even if you're planning to rent a car and do a driving tour around the USA as part of your larger trip, the area around Disney World is not a good place to start practicing. There's a lot of traffic, a lot of tourists, and frequent heavy rain. It's fine if you have time to get used to it, but if you're only there 5 days and want to spend most of your time at the parks, it will be much easier and less stressful to let Disney do the driving.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

So here's how it goes....

If you're looking at one of the "Stars" and POR for a few nights .....you can't really go wrong. Usually you're looking at about $110-$170 on room rates respectively (or should be). If you are flying in, then staying on Disney property negates the need for a rental car. If you want a decent (but not fancy...let's say equivalent) off property location, say an Embassy Suites, Hampton, Courtyard (Apples to Apples here), you might save $20-$40 a night, but then you probably want to get yourself a rental and not rely on any I-drive hotel type shuttle. Plus you are cabbing it to and fro the airport and now have the "magical" parking fee of about $20 a day for the parks to consider. You'll be a wash and create a lot of unnecessary drama.

Congratulations...and Enjoy your Honeymoon.

 

[OzzieDisneyTragic]

So here's how it goes....

If you're looking at one of the "Stars" and POR for a few nights .....you can't really go wrong. Usually you're looking at about $110-$170 on room

Congratulations...and Enjoy your Honeymoon.

Thanks for you reply we're looking at at 5-6 nights at Pop have you stayed there and thoughts? And then 2 nights at POR. Have you ever swap hotels any advice

 

[Figgy1]

As others have said see id free dining is available on your side of the pond. If not check out the Swan and Dolphin it a bit fancier than a value and you can walk or boat to Epcot and DHS, there's buses to MK and Animal Kingdom. I haven't stayed there but I did walk around both a few weeks ago. They're beautiful, easy to get to and have some excellent dining choices. It's just me but given a choice I'd go with one of them over PO. JMHO

 

[OzzieDisneyTragic]

As others have said see id free dining is available on your side of the pond. If not check out the Swan and Dolphin it a bit fancier than a value JMHO

We looked at the swan and dolphin abit out of our price point but did look nice

 

[potzie]

So here's how it goes....

If you're looking at one of the "Stars" and POR for a few nights .....you can't really go wrong. Usually you're looking at about $110-$170 on room rates respectively (or should be). If you are flying in, then staying on Disney property negates the need for a rental car. If you want a decent (but not fancy...let's say equivalent) off property location, say an Embassy Suites, Hampton, Courtyard (Apples to Apples here), you might save $20-$40 a night, but then you probably want to get yourself a rental and not rely on any I-drive hotel type shuttle. Plus you are cabbing it to and fro the airport and now have the "magical" parking fee of about $20 a day for the parks to consider. You'll be a wash and create a lot of unnecessary drama.

Congratulations...and Enjoy your Honeymoon.

I beg to differ on your description of an apples to apples comparison being the Courtyard by Marriott. Other than the locations of the Values being on property, the rooms are small and very basic, the beds are small, the outdoor hallways are loud. While a Courtyard is offsite, they are often quieter, cheaper, better rooms, better mattresses. The Values are really nothing more than a basic motel with themeing. How many people would go on vacation to other parts of the country and stay in those rooms and find them acceptable? Especially at those rates.

We've done onsite and offsite. While I prefer offsite as I can have more space for the same money, since it is their Honeymoon and just the 2 of them I would encourage them to book a Moderate if they can swing it and hope for the free dining. That will help them offset some of the additional cost with the fact they can eat "for free" during their stay. Since it is only 2 of them it might even be better to take the room discount and pay for dining. You would have to do the math on which is better.

 

[crazgurl]

From a Canadian perspective, anything in the US is going to cost you. The exchange for us is currently hovering around 35% so I definitely feel you on the cost! We chose to make our stay at the All Star hotel and got a rate of $135 Canadian per night (back to school sale). We made this decision because we will save on renting a car as many have said, as we can use Disney transportation. We also save on the motor coach to/from the airport with the magical express. For us, there was also the value added of extra magic hours at the parks where we feel we can get more done with our time and time is money! As we see it, we are spending $$$ and want to get as much as possible for it, and that's something more you can get. We've also been talking about eating kids meals at the quick service restaurants whenever we aren't very hungry and then saving some $$ for snacks or treats. Hope this helps

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Thanks for you reply we're looking at at 5-6 nights at Pop have you stayed there and thoughts? And then 2 nights at POR. Have you ever swap hotels any advice

I've stayed at both. POP will be a bit more crowded, but you'll be fine. POR is great. Be sure you catch a drink with Yehaa Bob if he's performing at the River Roost. You'll have the convenience of the boat to Disney Springs which is a big plus. I've never swapped hotels mid-trip but those I know whom have done it say it is painless.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I beg to differ on your description of an apples to apples comparison being the Courtyard by Marriott.

The analogy is based on how they position the brand. Courtyard is a pretty much a value for Marriott (you could make an argument that it is a "tweener"), with an actual Marriott being a moderate, and JW and Ritz being deluxe. I do understand where you are coming from though. There are quite a few off property hotels where you get a great bang for your buck. Vistana Village and Hilton Orlando come to mind.

 

[OzzieDisneyTragic]

I've stayed at both. POP will be a bit more crowded, but you'll be fine. POR is great. Be sure you catch a drink with Yehaa Bob if he's performing at the River Roost. You'll have the convenience of the boat to Disney Springs which is a big plus. I've never swapped hotels mid-trip but those I know whom have done it say it is painless.[/QUOTE
Thanks for you comment, we expected that of pop. We were hoping POR for the whole time but it was going to make us have to shorten our trip so we decided that the extra days were a better idea