First time going to Disney World without staying on site (not my first visit to the World)

[KBLovedDisney]

Hey all! We are going in September and I was not able to book anything on site that was in our price range. However, we got a good deal for the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, that is right across from Disney Springs. Has anyone stayed there and what was your experience? How was the travel from the hotel to the parks? Did you use the shuttle from the hotel or can you go to the parks from Disney Springs? Let me know!

Thanks!

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I have not stayed in a DS area offsite hotel but I did research some of them and the transportation is the main reason I decided not to stay.
I'd suggest using uber/lyft vs the shuttle.
And no you cannot go from DS to the parks.
You'd have to go from DS to a Disney resort and then to a park. Waste of time IMO.

 

[Cherry tree Lane]

Hi,
We stayed at the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace., so different one but right across Disney Springs also. We loved it! Yes, you can take shuttle from Disney Springs, but mind you, the bus stop is at the other end from where the hotels are, so quite a walk. Bus was at the hotel often. We had our car and we were 6, so for us, it was easier to just drive to the parks and pay parking (one parking fee only per day). It came down cheaper than taking an Uber because we were park hopping (and coming back to hotel at lunch time).

 

[Worldlover71]

There are no buses from DS to the parks because people would park there for free instead of paying the fee at the parks. Therefore, your options are
1. Hotel shuttle (included in your hotel stay)
2. Rideshare
3. Driving (you have to pay for parking at the parks and you are already paying a parking fee at the hotel)
4. Long walk to the DS bus stop, take bus to a hotel near the park you want to go to and walk to the park (would not work for AK).

Personally, I would try the shuttle bus. Rideshares and parking can get expensive if you are there for more than a day or two and the last option is too much trouble and is very time consuming. If you find the shuttle too infrequent/inconvenient, you can always switch to another option.

 

[Rob562]

Our most recent trip was pre-pandemic in December 2019. We stayed in the Best Western Disney Springs just down the street from the Hilton. During the week, we used the hotel shuttle about 75% of the time, mostly to MK (drops you off at TTC) and Epcot.

Notable exception was our first day to Studios because this was still during the opening weeks of Rise and you had to get to the park before opening to get a Boarding Pass. Our second day to Studios we were going to call an Uber but we walked out of the hotel to find a hotel shuttle waiting.

We also took an Uber to the MK (by way of the TTC) on our arrival day because our early-morning flight had been delayed 6 hours and we just wanted to get moving to salvage what we could of the day.

Just make sure to double-check the pickup times both at the hotel and at the parks. They run on set schedules rather than the more frequent and crowd-based circulation of the Disney buses.

-Rob