I mean now that Magical Express is leaving, and there is no more fastpass..
I'm shocked at all the options. For Mid-March, i'm seeing the following:
Grande Villas Resort - 78
Club Wyndham Cypress Palms - 87
Home2 Suites by Hilton - 99
SpringHill Suites by Marriot - 99
Compared to say..
Coronado - 290
Swan - 335
Art of Animation -296
Pop Century - 249
If we fly in and simply take a uber from the airport, and don't rent a car.. I guess these are my questions..
1. is it a pain to get rides to the parks daily?
2. is there something I'm missing as to why I'd want to pay 100-200 more a night just to be a tiny bit closer?
Any advice is appreciated!
Uber cost: $12-15 one way, depends on if you need a big car or not, so if you go to the parks one time each day, extra travelling is around $25-$30, and you don't have to wait for buses. I did that last May, uber/lyft is available for about 10 min pleasant wait (I waited in the air condition hotel lobby, with phone that shows where my driver was, instead of outside in the hot sun wondering about the bus). However, at park closing, the prices surge up to $20 one way and the wait may also be longer. Even then, it's at most $40 per day. Besides park closings, uber/lyft is easy to get. Some don't speak English, but none are unpleasant.
You can download uber/lyft apps right now and check the availability and pricing of getting rides at different times from different hotels to the parks. Just change your starting position to the hotel. Of course, you have to be careful that right now it's slow in WDW, and next March demand might increase.
Be very careful about the pricing offsite. Some of them, like the Grande Villas, have a huge service fee of around $45 per day. Some require nonrefundable deposits. But others don't. They often offer breakfast, which can both save money and be very convenient, saving time in the morning.
Drawbacks of staying at a cheap offsite hotel, in my recent experience:
1. The hotels and the surroundings look inferior to a Disney hotel. Things are not as fixed up perfectly, plants aren't as properly trimmed, lobby not as big and impressive. Outside the hotel is just regular Orlando, not the Disney bubble. You might see a homeless guy, or potholes on the road, or ugly billboards, or a rundown gas station with a dirty parking lot. Nothing dangerous, just the true Orlando which doesn't look one bit better than my home town.
2. The pools are smaller, without lifeguards. That's true even with Swan/Dolphin (the without lifeguards part).
There are also advantages:
1. Using uber/lyft is much more convenient than waiting for buses. Plus comfortable, it's a private ride, after all. (Note, sometimes if you can't a ride on lyft, try uber, or vice versa. You can have one app short on rides while the other has one waiting, or one app has surge charge but the other doesn't.)
2. Around my offsite hotel in Old Town, within walking distance, were a whole bunch of discount Disney stores, restaurants and other tourist trap stuff. I found some really good, interesting, cheap local food there, and cheap water. I also bought a few authentic Disney shirts that cost half of what they charge in MK. There was also a full size grocery store that was 10 minutes walk.
In short, the Disney hotel is like the beautiful woman who is easy on the eyes but requires high maintenance. The offsite hotel (or its surroundings) is like the homely girl who is a good cook and can make a small income go a long way.
After my last offsite experience (also my first), I decided to never stay offsite again. I stayed at several to check them out, and some, like Hilton Bonnet Creek and Dolphin, weren't even cheap, and they looked beautiful too. My conclusion was that even for hundreds of dollars more per night, it's worth it staying in the Disney Bubble because it's magical. None of the offsite hotels are magical enough -- they just aren't. If I want to see potholes or untrimmed plants or cheap stores, I can just stay home. If money is tight or the paid fastpass cost is giving you a heart attack, I'd rather not go as often. So, unless it's a once in a lifetime trip where offsite is all you can afford, a person should always stay in the Disney Bubble in WDW. It's the best place in the world, and you can't find it anywhere else. Besides, the park tickets are so horrendously expensive that the hotel costs isn't that big of a deal in comparison. (Think of it that way).
