Desperate...going to Disney in Oct and cannot decide where to stay

[2boys2disney]

This is the first time w/ our children (who will turn 4 while we are there), and it's going to be a budget trip. We are looking for a suite...just something CLEAN, and w/ a separate room from the bdrm, fridge, not a million miles away from Disney, and $100 or less/night. Know of anything??

Anyone stayed at Royale Parc Suites (part of quality inn) in Kissimmee? They seem to have a great pkg including breakfast, internet, free shuttle....so my hold up is that it seems to get mixed reviews (i guess everything pretty much does). Having not been there myself and not knowing this hotel, I'm a little leery.

Please help!
TIA

 

[DisneyJoe]

Free shuttles from offsite hotels make me nervous....

 

[2boys2disney]

can you elaborate? does it make you nervous about the kind of hotel it is? on their site www.royaleparcsuites.com it shows a charter type bus. i spoke w/ someone at the hotel who verified this and they have three times in the am and three times in the pm that they shuttle...

 

[DisneyJoe]

can you elaborate? does it make you nervous about the kind of hotel it is? on their site www.royaleparcsuites.com it shows a charter type bus. i spoke w/ someone at the hotel who verified this and they have three times in the am and three times in the pm that they shuttle...

I can't speak to the hotel, I've never stayed there - and I'll let someone else who has used off-site shuttles comment on how effective they are vs. Disney's onsite buses, which is all I know.

From their site: "We offer a variety of morning departures and late afternoon/evening returns from all the parks."

Can you stay and see the fireworks at night? Does the shuttle pick up after that? What if you miss it?

 

[jacstangler]

Disney has lots of discounts going on. They have a family suite I believe at POP. See if you can get that for under a hundred. I am not sure if you can but try. There are closer nice places that you can get for under $100 and probably get breakfast. Tray one of the travel agents lilke
Dreams Unlimited. It doesn't cost you anything to try.

John

 

[Master Yoda]

I can't speak for that particular shuttle but I have taken several others and the only word that can describe them is horrible. Most run at best once an hour and I do not know of any of any the go any farther that the ticket and transportation center. That means you will have to use Disney transportation for your final destination. When all is said and done you will be looking at an hour plus to take the shuttle from your resort to a park. If you miss that last shuttle you are basically stuck taking a cab back to your resort.

Under $100 a night for a suite is a pretty tall order. You are either going to need spend a bit more or make concessions on location, quality, etc. Disney does have a very limited number of suites at their value resorts and the rack rate on these for October is around $230/night. You can however get a standard room at one of Disney's value resorts for around $75 during the month of October.

 

[elisatonks]

Off proporty shuttles can be a pain, some only run one or twice a day. You may also find it cheaper to rent a villa and hire a car and drive in, this would give you more flexibility. Indian Wells and Linfields are both close to Disney.

 

[davidpw97]

There's a brand new Homewood Suites about a mile outside the Hotel Plaza Blvd entrance. They have full kitchens, living room areas and seperate bedrooms with 2 queen beds. I've actually been looking at them myself for a possible December trip. The rate is a little more that what you want, 101.15 for seniors, about 107.10 for AAA, but you get a free breakfast and they also do an evening meal a few days a week.

http://homewoodsuites1.hilton.com/e.../en/hw/&xch=459910434,0ASON0LWIZW24CSGBIU2VCQ

 

[sueuk]

I have friends and family who've relied on free shuttles - on 7 trips between them they never saw DTD or any of the night shows. Every evening they were back on I Drive for dinner time - so ate there all the time. The bonus was the I Drive trolley which took them to other attractions on / near I Drive. It depends what you are planning to do / see in WDW.

 

[2boys2disney]

Thank you all. I found your information very helpful! While I still haven't committed, I plan to in the next couple of days. We are looking at Residence Inn LBV, or now the Homewood Suites LBV. Homewood got some bad reviews (trip advisor) but it looks like the hotel opened late and didn't really take care of it's people who had reservations...not sure.

Thanks again!!

 

[Master Yoda]

Thank you all. I found your information very helpful! While I still haven't committed, I plan to in the next couple of days. We are looking at Residence Inn LBV, or now the Homewood Suites LBV. Homewood got some bad reviews (trip advisor) but it looks like the hotel opened late and didn't really take care of it's people who had reservations...not sure.

Thanks again!!

When it comes to hotel reviews you kind of have to take them with a grain of salt. Most people will not think to write a review of a positive stay but quite a few will give a negative review to every web site that they can find. Also some people seem to try and compare their stay at a motel 6 to then stay in the presidential suite at the 4 seasons in Miami. You will find reviews of $30 a night hotels where people complain about no free breakfast and an unthemed pool. Those reviews should be disregarded entirely. What I try to do is sort the reviews from worst to best and look for a common trend in the bad ones. When 20 people post rational reviews reporting the exact same problem there is a pretty good chance that it is accurate.

 

[Krabinz]

Krabinz

http://holidayvillas.com/

We've used Holiday Villas. In October there are some for $89 a night...2 bedroom 2 bath with laundry.

ABout a 10-15 minute drive to the parks...very convenient and close off #192 near Poinciana.

Lucaya Village more pricey for 3BR and 2 bath...but VERY NICE.

 

[DrummerAlly]

Disney has lots of discounts going on. They have a family suite I believe at POP. See if you can get that for under a hundred. I am not sure if you can but try. There are closer nice places that you can get for under $100 and probably get breakfast. Tray one of the travel agents lilke
Dreams Unlimited. It doesn't cost you anything to try.

John

Just to be clear, the family suites are at All Star Music, not Pop Century.

 

[Jessica618]

I know the Radisson Worldgate has family suites and is 1 mile from MK...I got a deal for a regular room in November for 43 bucks a night.

 

[majorrfb]

This is the first time w/ our children (who will turn 4 while we are there), and it's going to be a budget trip. We are looking for a suite...just something CLEAN, and w/ a separate room from the bdrm, fridge, not a million miles away from Disney, and $100 or less/night. Know of anything??

Anyone stayed at Royale Parc Suites (part of quality inn) in Kissimmee? They seem to have a great pkg including breakfast, internet, free shuttle....so my hold up is that it seems to get mixed reviews (i guess everything pretty much does). Having not been there myself and not knowing this hotel, I'm a little leery.

Please help!
TIA

Stay at the Hawthorne Suites in Lake Buena Vista. Located a stone's throw from DTD and a great location for all the Theme Parks in the Orlando area. Plus Hawthorne offers a free buffet breakfast daily cocktail hours with free wine, beer, soda and some nights a mini picnic. We stay there almost every trip.:sohappy:

 

[slappy magoo]

Disney has lots of discounts going on. They have a family suite I believe at POP. See if you can get that for under a hundred. I am not sure if you can but try. There are closer nice places that you can get for under $100 and probably get breakfast. Tray one of the travel agents lilke
Dreams Unlimited. It doesn't cost you anything to try.

John

As has been said, the value suites are at All-Star Music, not Pop, but no biggie. October rack rates seem to be 230, so even with a ridiculous discount (like the 40% annual passholders occasionally get), you're still looking at a rate of over $130 a night (but you DO get Disney transportation, not to mention Disney's Magical Express to and from the airport if you're flying in). No worries over offsite transportation and their limited dropoff and pick up times. No need for cabs or a rental car. Just a thought.

Here's another, though it's not everyone's cup of tea, for a budget like yours, I'd at least ponder it. Members of the Disney Vacation Club are known to rent the use of their membership (their "DVC points") when they either need money or know they're not going away in any given year. Most people seem to rent their points for 9 or 10 dollars a point, though less than that is not uncommon. A studio in Old Key West for a week in October would be 82 points, and 87 points for a standard view studio in the Boardwalk. 108 points would get you a Savannah view at AKL! Granted these "studios" are glorified standard-sized hotel rooms with a kitchenette. OKW would get you two queen sized beds, the others would get you a queen and a sleeper sofa. But it also gets you on property. Just sayin' :shrug:

But if your heart's set on a suite, I went over to allears.net. They have a promotional rate going with the Double Tree Guest Suites, which they say: "The DoubleTree Guest Suites, located in the Downtown Disney Resort Area, is the only all-suite hotel inside Walt Disney World." 10/4 thru 10/21 $99

Here's the FAW for the hotel http://allears.net/acc/faq_dtree.htm It's technically ON WDW property, so it's sure not a million miles away And they specify CONTINUOUS shuttle transportation to the Disney parks. My definition of "continuous" may differ from theirs, but if it's more than the 2 or 3 trips in the morning and the 2 or 3 trips at night most offsite resorts offer, snap it up. There may be other offsite resorts closer to some of the parks (depending on the resorts and parks in question), but that may be your best bet. And at 99 a night, it's in your budget

 

[SAV]

If you have or want to spring for and "entertainment book", you can get into a 1 bedroom suite at the Courtyard by Marriot at Vista Place for $60 a night. They do offer a shuttle and it goes to each park, not the TTA. It is a little closer to the parks than the Residence Inn LBV.

I haven't used the shuttle, but I saw alot of people getting on it.

I have stayed there twice and will stay again.

 

[njDizFan]

Another option is going to Ebay and try to rent someone's time share. I know you can get a great 2 bedroom suite from somebody for under $700 for the week. I am an owner at Sheraton Vistana and it is absolutely beautiful. With the economy so poor there are many people willing to sell their week to make up for their annual maintence fees.

 

[MousDad]

Try looking into these:

http://www.windsorhillsrent.com/

Pros: Space, Clean, Very Close, Low Price

Cons: Have to deal with owner directly, no "magic", some but not a lot of amenities, no service

We stayed in a 2BR in June for less than $100 a night.

 

[heartodisney]

With ALL the great advice..if you cannot get "shuttle" service and you do stay offsite, just park your car at Downtown Disney and ride a shuttle to the park to save on parking fees, and GOOD LUCK!