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No car-where to stay as close to Disney as possible?
- Thread starter P&F&C
- Start date
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
I think people need some more specifics about your budget and why you want to be "as close to Disney as possible"...
If by "close to Disney," you mean close to the parks, and if you are looking to save money, why not stay on-property in a value resort, or at Fort Wilderness Campground (if you are driving and have a camper/tent)?
Otherwise, if you want to be off-property, I would suggest one of the Disney Springs hotels. The "Mousesavers" website has a discussion of them, and sometimes offers discount codes.
In attempting to balance amenities and value, my family of four has traditionally preferred: (1) staying on-property at a moderate resort, during a free dining or room discount promotion; or (2) renting DVC points for a standard villa in one of the least expensive DVC resorts.
If by "close to Disney," you mean close to the parks, and if you are looking to save money, why not stay on-property in a value resort, or at Fort Wilderness Campground (if you are driving and have a camper/tent)?
Otherwise, if you want to be off-property, I would suggest one of the Disney Springs hotels. The "Mousesavers" website has a discussion of them, and sometimes offers discount codes.
In attempting to balance amenities and value, my family of four has traditionally preferred: (1) staying on-property at a moderate resort, during a free dining or room discount promotion; or (2) renting DVC points for a standard villa in one of the least expensive DVC resorts.
rob0519
Well-Known Member
As Weather Lady said, there's really not much to go on here. A lot depends on your budget, length of stay and what you want to do on the trip.
If you have no car, then staying at a value resort may be the best option for you with regards to transportation. You can get a bus to any of the parks, water parks and Disney Springs.
If you stay at a Disney Springs hotel, they may or may not have transportation to any of the parks and their may not be any scheduled runs in the middle of the day. You could of course walk to a bus stop at Disney Springs, take a bus to one of the resorts and then transfer to a bus for the parks, but that would eat up hours of valuable time.
Technically, the Swan and Dolphin are not Disney properties, but have some bus service, plus easy access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, but are more expensive.
We've never rented points so I have no opinion on the villa resorts option.
If you have no car, then staying at a value resort may be the best option for you with regards to transportation. You can get a bus to any of the parks, water parks and Disney Springs.
If you stay at a Disney Springs hotel, they may or may not have transportation to any of the parks and their may not be any scheduled runs in the middle of the day. You could of course walk to a bus stop at Disney Springs, take a bus to one of the resorts and then transfer to a bus for the parks, but that would eat up hours of valuable time.
Technically, the Swan and Dolphin are not Disney properties, but have some bus service, plus easy access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, but are more expensive.
We've never rented points so I have no opinion on the villa resorts option.
Sorry-more info on the travelling party
Either 2 or 3 adults:
Me(late 40's)
dd & possibly d.s.
The potential trip is end of sept/beg oct 2016
When I say close to Disney-yes; I do indeed mean the wonderful world of the 4 main Walt Disney parks.
I like being onsite with free dining-(what's not to like?!)
And clearly emh & other onsite benefits..
Offsite may be cheaper; need to offset pros & cons...
What I was essentially wondering was-
Would you choose to stay offsite without a car for the facilities in the villa/condo/resort?
Or would you feel isolated?
Or possibly pay more in a value (essentially just a room) to be onsite?
For safety,security,transport etc..
I quite like the idea of renting dvc points-how far in advance are they usually booked
Am I too late to even consider this option?
Either 2 or 3 adults:
Me(late 40's)
dd & possibly d.s.
The potential trip is end of sept/beg oct 2016
When I say close to Disney-yes; I do indeed mean the wonderful world of the 4 main Walt Disney parks.
I like being onsite with free dining-(what's not to like?!)
And clearly emh & other onsite benefits..
Offsite may be cheaper; need to offset pros & cons...
What I was essentially wondering was-
Would you choose to stay offsite without a car for the facilities in the villa/condo/resort?
Or would you feel isolated?
Or possibly pay more in a value (essentially just a room) to be onsite?
For safety,security,transport etc..
I quite like the idea of renting dvc points-how far in advance are they usually booked
Am I too late to even consider this option?
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
DVC owners can begin booking at their home resorts at 11 months out, and other DVC resorts at 7 months out. Checking with a reputable re-seller like dvcrentalstore or David's Vacation Rentals will give you an idea of whether there is availability for the kind of rental you want, at the resort(s) that interest you. If you decide to rent DVC points, you'll want to bone up on the pros (great savings) and cons (non-refundable, so you'll need separate vacation insurance to protect your investment, and you won't be eligible for any room/dining offers during your dates).
SAV
Well-Known Member
Off-site without a car is not the best situation. The places that do have shuttles from their hotels to the parks, most have limited shuttle service. So you are on their schedule and not on yours. Also, you would need to pay for transportation from the airport to your hotel. So you need to factor that in to the overall price. If that is OK with you, then off-site is an option. If not, then you really need to get on-site at a value or rent a car.
As for renting the car, use the discount codes from mousesavers.com and book one that fits your budget...then keep on checking the rates as you get closer. Don't just check one company, check multiple ones. Car rental reservations are easy to book one and cancel a previous one without penalty.
We're doing an impromptu trip down to Orlando(no parks) and driving to the beach. I got my car for a week for $210 and booked it within 2 weeks of arrival. The price does shoot up once you get within a week, though. It's sitting at $350 for the exact same car now.
As for renting the car, use the discount codes from mousesavers.com and book one that fits your budget...then keep on checking the rates as you get closer. Don't just check one company, check multiple ones. Car rental reservations are easy to book one and cancel a previous one without penalty.
We're doing an impromptu trip down to Orlando(no parks) and driving to the beach. I got my car for a week for $210 and booked it within 2 weeks of arrival. The price does shoot up once you get within a week, though. It's sitting at $350 for the exact same car now.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
I would check the renting points route first, a 1 bedroom at OKW. I've never rented points, but I did look into it. Onsite would of course be great for all of the reasons you mentioned.
If not, it depends what's important to you. If you want space, privacy, and comfort with your room, but want to stay in a certain budget- choose an offsite condo and rent a car. There are a TON of awesome deals renting at MCO. I got one for a week in September 2015 for $160.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
You will very easily eat up any savings you have staying offsite by not having a car. If you stay at a resort that offers transportation to/from WDW, then it's not as bad, but you will then be tied to their schedule, with may only be buses on the hour, or at certain times of the day. If you rent a house/villa you could easily end up dropping $30-50 each day minimum for Uber/Lyft/Taxi rides to the parks. In that case, just rent a car. Cheapest option will almost definitely be off site lodging with a car rental.
If for whatever reason you cannot rent a car, then I would stay onsite. Yes, it will cost you more in the room, but may very well be completely offset by not having to pay for Uber/taxi. If you are worried about prices, then stay at a value. DVC point rentals don't really start to be competitive price wise until you do at least a moderate, but usually a deluxe level.
I would make your decision shortly, as you are almost running into the 60/30 day windows for FP+ booking. Or have already depending on your dates.
If for whatever reason you cannot rent a car, then I would stay onsite. Yes, it will cost you more in the room, but may very well be completely offset by not having to pay for Uber/taxi. If you are worried about prices, then stay at a value. DVC point rentals don't really start to be competitive price wise until you do at least a moderate, but usually a deluxe level.
I would make your decision shortly, as you are almost running into the 60/30 day windows for FP+ booking. Or have already depending on your dates.
AndrewsJ
Well-Known Member
As an owner I can tell you that finding a DVC rental for this Oct will be next to impossible.
I just checked and September has more availability than October. October has random single days a scattered about but usually not more than 2 consecutive days together. When you decide on exact dates I don't mind checking availability for you if you'd like. That way you could go to one of the rental companies kind of knowing what to ask for.
Last edited:
Andrew-alternative dates are Nov9 thru Nov 17...
Original dates between Sept 30 thru Oct 21
I appreciate you taking the time to check for me.
AndrewsJ
Well-Known Member
What size room would you need. If I'm reading correctly you'll have 2 or possibly 3 adults. Is that correct? If so you'll either need a studio or 1 bedroom. I'll check those for you and get back to you.
I suppose it depends on both price & availability.
A 1 bed is clearly nicer and I'm a saddo and like laundry too-whereas studios obviously lack those facilities.
We are definitely looking at the November dates now & not sept/October as originally planned...
CaptainAmerica
Well-Known Member
DVC rentals are also nowhere near the most economical option. They're a great option compared to paying cash for an on-site villa, but if budget concerns are going to push the OP off property, even the rental route is going to come with serious sticker shock.
JohnD
Well-Known Member
I second Disney Springs. Technically on-site but hotels really considered off-site. Resorts have their own bus service but you could walk to the DS bus stop which is part of the WDW transportation system. To get to a park, take the bus to the closest resort then transfer to a park bus. Just announced, return service from the parks will now go directly to DS after 4pm.
My choices for resort-park transfer are:
MK: Grand Floridian. Transfer to monorail
AK: Animal Kingdom Lodge. AK bus
HS or Epcot: Pop Century. Transfer to whichever bus
lukacseven
Well-Known Member
My company has a perk where you can stay at one of their resort houses, which is about 3 miles from WDW property. I'm staying there over the summer and not planning on renting a car. Is it better to take an Uber/Lyft to Disney Springs and a bus to the parks form there? or take the car service straight to the park? What happens if I try to take the car service to a resort and use the buses from there? I haven't stayed off-property in over 25 years, but recently had success taking Lyft between resorts and to Universal. My chief concern is car traffic when trying to arrive at park opening. Are the car services awarded special privileges since they are just dropping off?
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Buses won't run from DS to the parks, just the post 4PM park -> DS buses. Using Lyft/Uber doesn't get any special status for drop off. I suspect if you have a competent driver they may end up in the taxi lane, but no way to know for sure. Yeah, you could take Lyft/Uber to a resort and then bus it, but why? Once you pay for the daily Lyft/Uber, and then tack on the hassle/time of waiting for a bus, you might just do better to rent a car.
lukacseven
Well-Known Member
I don't want to rent a car and have to deal with driving/parking. What I'm trying to avoid is taking an Uber/Lyft and waiting in the long lines of traffic to get into the parks. If the drivers can by-pass such lines similar to the WDW buses and drop off near the entrance, then - problem solved. When we were there in January, we talked to a few people who said they drove and it took them over an hour to get into the park, between the road construction everywhere and the volume of people entering the park lots. If it was that bad in January, there's no way I'm dealing with it in July.