Doubletree Suites Disney Springs

[Kate Alan]

My friend may be able to get us a good deal at the Doubletree Suites in Disney Springs that would even undercut a rate at the value resorts on property. I haven't stayed in a non-Disney hotel in ages - can anyone with experience at this resort answer the following:

- They list themselves as an "official WDW hotel" - I see no mention of Extra Magic Hours or Fastpasses, however, and I'm assuming that those staying there don't get to take advantage of EMH. Also assuming that FP selection would be 30 days, not 60. Is that correct?

- While they offer transportation to the parks, I know it is likely slower/less frequent than regular WDW buses. Does anyone have experience with using their transportation? Would we be better off walking to use the buses at Disney Springs, or simply cabbing/Ubering everywhere? We will not have a car.

 

[Rob562]

My friend may be able to get us a good deal at the Doubletree Suites in Disney Springs that would even undercut a rate at the value resorts on property. I haven't stayed in a non-Disney hotel in ages - can anyone with experience at this resort answer the following:

- They list themselves as an "official WDW hotel" - I see no mention of Extra Magic Hours or Fastpasses, however, and I'm assuming that those staying there don't get to take advantage of EMH. Also assuming that FP selection would be 30 days, not 60. Is that correct?

- While they offer transportation to the parks, I know it is likely slower/less frequent than regular WDW buses. Does anyone have experience with using their transportation? Would we be better off walking to use the buses at Disney Springs, or simply cabbing/Ubering everywhere? We will not have a car.

I can answer based on my experience at the B Resort next door to the Doubletree a couple years ago. As far as I know things are still the same.

From an EMH and FP+ standpoint, you will be considered an off-site guest.

For the buses, the hotels are separated into two groups (A and B) based on which side of Hotel Plaza Blvd they're on. Each group runs two bus routes to the theme parks. One goes first to the TTC (for access to the MK) and then it continues on to AK. The second goes to Epcot and then the Studios. Transit time is great for Epcot, not too bad for MK (with having to monorail/ferry from TTC to MK), so-so for Studios, and horrible to AK. (It's long enough to get to TTC, and then to drive allll the way to AK takes forever)

Buses to the parks run every half hour. I think they start their run at the first hotel on the loop on the hour and half-hour.
Buses *home* from the parks depart every 30 minutes, but they leave at pre-scheduled times and are not necessarily on the hour and half-hour. Ask for the schedule. If you should happen to miss your bus (which happened to us at Studios by about 90 seconds), you can wait for the next bus for the *other* loop, take it to the Best Western and walk across the street to Doubletree.

Disney Springs does not have buses to the parks at all (though they have buses from parks to DS starting late afternoon).

There was also a bus from the Hotel Plaza Blvd hotels to what was then Downtown Disney, but it was a single bus that made the loop to all 7 hotels continuously. Don't recall if it was only in the evenings or not.

Your best bet will probably be a combination of the free bus sometimes and Uber at other times.

-Rob

 

[Kate Alan]

I can answer based on my experience at the B Resort next door to the Doubletree a couple years ago. As far as I know things are still the same.

From an EMH and FP+ standpoint, you will be considered an off-site guest.

For the buses, the hotels are separated into two groups (A and B) based on which side of Hotel Plaza Blvd they're on. Each group runs two bus routes to the theme parks. One goes first to the TTC (for access to the MK) and then it continues on to AK. The second goes to Epcot and then the Studios. Transit time is great for Epcot, not too bad for MK (with having to monorail/ferry from TTC to MK), so-so for Studios, and horrible to AK. (It's long enough to get to TTC, and then to drive allll the way to AK takes forever)

Buses to the parks run every half hour. I think they start their run at the first hotel on the loop on the hour and half-hour.
Buses *home* from the parks depart every 30 minutes, but they leave at pre-scheduled times and are not necessarily on the hour and half-hour. Ask for the schedule. If you should happen to miss your bus (which happened to us at Studios by about 90 seconds), you can wait for the next bus for the *other* loop, take it to the Best Western and walk across the street to Doubletree.

Disney Springs does not have buses to the parks at all (though they have buses from parks to DS starting late afternoon).

There was also a bus from the Hotel Plaza Blvd hotels to what was then Downtown Disney, but it was a single bus that made the loop to all 7 hotels continuously. Don't recall if it was only in the evenings or not.

Your best bet will probably be a combination of the free bus sometimes and Uber at other times.

-Rob

Basically what I figured...thanks very much for the info. Definitely helps!

 

[homerdance]

Basically what I figured...thanks very much for the info. Definitely helps!

Another thing to note, if you are going during "peak" times, the hotel blvd hotels are allowed to enter the park even during phased closings.
And you are considered "a WDW guest" for many other activities, such as golf. At one time the Hilton used to take part of the EHM, but they no longer do.

I have stayed in that area a few times (Grosvenor, now the Wyndham), and while it is cheaper, and the transportation to the parks is decent, they don't offer ME, so a car is required if you fly, and many now charge a resort fee/parking fee that makes staying there appear cheaper, but after you figure what is "extra" the price is not cheaper. If you stay a certain length, most of the fees can be waived, we simply asked the hotel manager to waive the fees and they were our last trip there,they weren't disclosed during our booking process, which is no longer the case, but the manager said for guests staying over 5 days the will waive generally. We are park warriors, so the majority of the time we spend is not in our hotel/at our resort, so these worked well for us at the time. The proximity to DTD (DS) was a big plus, but we hadn't been there while DTD was being transformed to DS since it was kind of a mess in the area (or since). You also have to pay for parking at the parks if you drive, unless you have an AP.

My thoughts are if you are going to spend from open to close at the parks, or avoid the parks totally for a day, the DTD hotels work good on a budget, if you can find a good rate (just make sure you add all fees!), these hotels are good. If you want to go back to the hotel mid day, this isn't for you, the savings is easily wasted in time spent. If you are open to staying off property, and want a little extra space, you may want to look into renting a timeshare suite at the Bonnet Creek area.

 

[Kate Alan]

Another thing to note, if you are going during "peak" times, the hotel blvd hotels are allowed to enter the park even during phased closings.
And you are considered "a WDW guest" for many other activities, such as golf. At one time the Hilton used to take part of the EHM, but they no longer do.

I have stayed in that area a few times (Grosvenor, now the Wyndham), and while it is cheaper, and the transportation to the parks is decent, they don't offer ME, so a car is required if you fly, and many now charge a resort fee/parking fee that makes staying there appear cheaper, but after you figure what is "extra" the price is not cheaper. If you stay a certain length, most of the fees can be waived, we simply asked the hotel manager to waive the fees and they were our last trip there,they weren't disclosed during our booking process, which is no longer the case, but the manager said for guests staying over 5 days the will waive generally. We are park warriors, so the majority of the time we spend is not in our hotel/at our resort, so these worked well for us at the time. The proximity to DTD (DS) was a big plus, but we hadn't been there while DTD was being transformed to DS since it was kind of a mess in the area (or since). You also have to pay for parking at the parks if you drive, unless you have an AP.

My thoughts are if you are going to spend from open to close at the parks, or avoid the parks totally for a day, the DTD hotels work good on a budget, if you can find a good rate (just make sure you add all fees!), these hotels are good. If you want to go back to the hotel mid day, this isn't for you, the savings is easily wasted in time spent. If you are open to staying off property, and want a little extra space, you may want to look into renting a timeshare suite at the Bonnet Creek area.

We tend to be park warriors as well, so there are no plans to go back to the room midday, especially staying out in the Disney Springs area. While I have an AP, we weren't planning on renting a car, as it would be one more cost, and from my experience even if we wound up Ubering to the parks daily, we still wouldn't incur the full cost of the rental. Definitely good information to have, thank you.

 

[daisyduckie]

Don't forget to add in the cost of getting to/from the resort. No magical express.