What is the absolute cheapest place in Disney to stay at?

[historymystery]

Okay everyone I need to know if you are traveling with four kids (3-9) and three adults (I am one of them). What would you sugest.

Where should we stay?
How long so we can see everything?
How much wioll it total in money?
How much extra money should we bring?

I am trying to get out cheap but we want to stay on Disney property. Please if there are any offers any time of the year that get cheap p-lease inform me. I would really love to know this information. Thank you.:animwink:

 

[SpongeScott]

Get adjoining rooms at one of the All Star resorts. With 7 people, you have to have two rooms. And with Disney, there is no "cheap." Just fun!!

 

[historymystery]

How much would that cost and how long should we stay so we can see everything and how much extra money should we take with us.

And thanks.

 

[TURKEY]

Staying at the all-stars during value season would be the cheapest. Check mousesavers.com for discount codes that will make it even cheaper. You're probally looking at $125-150 per night (for two rooms).

You might be able to get something off property on 192 for cheaper than that. But with that you have to add in extra travel time.


I think it would take at least 4 days of parks to see everything with 4 kids of that age. That probally means at least 5 nights.

With that many people, I'd guess at least $100+ a day in food. Then if you want to buy any souvineers. Plus cost of tickets.

I'd say a minimum budget of $2000.

 

[BigAL]

Cheap

I have not seen this cheap this year but the All Stars last year offered a rate of $49 for annual passholders and I believe some of the codes on Mousesavers were that cheap. Last summer I stayed at the Days Inn on 192 for $29 a night. Not the nicest place but it worked for me.

 

[celticdog]

This past fall (2002) Disney was offer a fall fantasy package at the Allstars for only $55 per night.

 

[historymystery]

Do the resorts charge by number of people or rooms?

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Sort of both. There is an extra charge for a 3rd adult in the rooms (something like $15), but with a mom/dad/kids situation think of it in terms of rooms.

You will need to make it clear when you book that you need adjoining rooms because you have 4 children.

The value and mod hotels have 2 double beds in them. If your kids can sleep together, you should be fine.

Youi haven't mentioned your travel dates, but the time of year you go makes a HUGE difference in the hotel rates on-site.

Disney has 4 "seasons"
Value--Jan 1 - President's Day, Fall & winter, excluding October, Thanksgiving and Christmas

Regular -- roughly the summer & October

Peak -- President's Day -- Easter

Holiday -- Christmas & New Year's

(This is a general idea--too lazy to look up specific dates)

Rack (Disney's undiscounted) rates
For the All Stars:

Value $77
Regular $99
Peak $109
Holiday $114

The difference is huge.

(there are also lots of discount codes available. mousesavers.com is a good place to start. Make note of the dates--the specials expire several months before you would make your trip)

IMHO, your absolute best tip to reduce the cost of your resort is to go in value season. There are some things to consider:
kids are in school (that is a family decision you must make)
park hours are shorter (but crowds are smaller)
high probability of closures due to rehabs
weather can be an issue--it is often colder than you'd like in Florida in January, and fall is hurricane season

 

[Maria]

I would say that the All Stars are your best bet. You can get one of those great rates they have for about $50-60usd, depending on when you are going. The biggest advantage is the transportation included. The rooms are just okay.

If you get one of those real cheap rates in the hotels around Lake Buenavista and near Hotel Plaza Blvd. which in my opinion are your best choice off propeerty, you will have to add a van to accomodate all your party and be able to go to the parks when all of you are ready. Some of those hotels offer free tranportation to the parks, but the buses run on certain times of the day only, so you will have to adjust to those times or pay for a cab that in Orlando is very expensive.

If you have the Disney free transportation from your hotel (staying on property), it runs continuosly, so if half of your party is ready, they can start the day or end the day earlier, you get the idea. Carry walkie talkies... they could be useful.

If you don´t find a good rate for the All Stars when you are going, check with the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort and get a van... don´t rely on transportation from the hotels. The hotel is very near to the parks and it´s excellent for kids. There is (or used to be) a 7Eleven next door, gas station, Wendy´s, IHOP, etc., so meals can be cheap and you won´t have to eat that much at the parks where it can get real expensive. A good big breakfast can save you from an expensive lunch, and then you can snack a little until dinner time out of the park. I think the Holiday Inn (or the other off property hotels) also has a kitchenette, so when you put it in a balance, it could get a bit less expensive than staying at the All Stars. I haven´t checked, I´m just thinking about it right now. :animwink:

Good luck with your decision!

 

[no2apprentice]

Another option that I have seen people post from time to time is renting one of the time share condo's in the area. There are many websites that have these available, but some of the one's I've looked at require you to pay up front. This means you're committed once you've booked..."no turning back now." The plus side is that you might be able to find a two-bedroom condo with a sofa sleeper for $500 to $600 a week (6 nights). Some of them advertise they can sleep like 8 to 10 people. This means you can save some money on meals, if you get your own food and eat breakfast or maybe a late dinner a few days at the condo.

The down side is getting your own transportation to/from the parks. For some people, the bus/monorail service for resort guests is as good as gold. For people with limited budgets, the savings of staying off-property (especially if you drive to Orlando) outweigh the convenience. It all depends on your priorties and budget.

Of course, you didn't say how you were arriving. If you're driving in, a time share or off site hotel may work for your group. If you're flying in, staying on property will solve a lot of headaches.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

There are some really good discounts out there right now. I posted them under this forum. Please check out the savings.

Pam

 

[wiskband]

4 kids 3 adults here too!!!!!!

just got back last month with 3 adults 4 kids..... and we stayed guess where.. ther All Star! we had 2 ajoining rooms. and it was cheap. we paid 50.00 per room a night for 7 nights. with that savings i paid for my dads room! although i have never stayed off property i know i never will. staying on site is the best casue you never leave disney when you get back to your hotel. and although the hotels have shuttels the disney transportation is worht the stay ESPECIALLY with four kids. they do not charge per person if you getting hotel only and not a package. anyway trustme it cheaper to buy ala cart. if we go for seven days we dont need 7 day passes because we will be arriving and leaving two of those 7 days so get 5 day passes. and spend a day at fort wilderness camp or downtoen disney. anyway good luck

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Let me reiterate what wiskbank just said.

Depending upon your travel arrangements, going to the parks on the first and last day can be a waste of money. (My very rough calculations are that you will save $60 per adult and $50 per child by going with 5-day instead of 7-day park hoppers) So your best bet is the hoppers and not the Ultimate Park Hopper (the pass formerly known as "Length of Stay")

There are plenty of non-park Disney things to do those days.

One of my favorite Day 1 things is to ride both monorail lines--around the Lagoon, then transfer to the Epcot monorail and ride it. Really gets you in the mood. Then have dinner at a monorail hotel--Chef Mickey's or 'Ohana would be my choices, with the slighter nod to Mickey's because of the character interaction and your still pretty young children. This is a good time to gauge how they will react to a 5 foot tall Duck!

If weather allows, take time for a swim, get orientated at the hotel, and off to bed.

Last day--big breakfast. Perhaps 1900 Park Faire, 'Ohana, or Cape May--all with characters and all at hotels. Downtown Disney if the gang will tolerate shopping (although good luck getting them out of "Oonce Upon a Toy" or the Lego store). If time allows, you can still get in a swim, even after you have checked out of the hotel--there are changing areas by the pools.

 

[Maria]

As children, my dad took us a few times to Disney. We never did any character breakfast -that I remember- and we still had a blast. We didn´t stay on property either and we still loved it. I´m sure that my dad spent a lot of money on those trips even without taking us there. (It was usually Miami and Orlando and somewhere else in the way). I think you can have a blast and make lots of memories even with a very low budget, the shopping and the Disney meals are "extras" for me. :animwink:

 

[diegorivera2]

And the added bonus to staying on property is the Extra Magic Hour and the use of (as mentioned earlier) Disney transportation.

I have a colleague who visits yearly and stays each time at the All Star Resort complex and loves it. (A family of four.)

It's probably your best bet all the way around.

 

[Ellen Ripley]

Originally posted by Maria
As children, my dad took us a few times to Disney. We never did any character breakfast -that I remember- and we still had a blast. We didn´t stay on property either and we still loved it. I´m sure that my dad spent a lot of money on those trips even without taking us there. (It was usually Miami and Orlando and somewhere else in the way). I think you can have a blast and make lots of memories even with a very low budget, the shopping and the Disney meals are "extras" for me. :animwink:

i agree with maria...although i'd love to someday stay on site, staying off site can be just as fun and a good way to save money...when i was little we never stayed on site, but still managed to experience character breakfasts at the contemporary...since you will only have one vehicle (if you drive there or rent a van), instead of leaving the park for a afternoon rest (which so many people seem to do), your party can just people watch for a few hours or have an ice cream sundae at main street until you get your second wind. staying off site is a great alternative for budget minded people.

 

[BigNorm]

Originally posted by sandjhooker
Get adjoining rooms at one of the All Star resorts. With 7 people, you have to have two rooms. And with Disney, there is no "cheap." Just fun!!

I agree definately the All-Star Resorts would be your best bet.

 

[Dwarful]

OK I have to disagree with Maria on this one. I would recommend staying at All Stars. We went in May/June of 2002 stayed 10 days had 5 kids with us... we stayed at All Star Movies Dalmation Bldg. #1.paid $50 a night per room. Even the oldest (boys 12 & 14) thought it was really cool. The theme of the pools, hotels, etc. Fun just to walk around the entire place. But w/Dalmation bld. we were close to pools, laundry, busses etc at no upgrade prices.

Why wouldn't I stay off site w/kids?
Transportation..so much easier not to have to load up, drive to the parks, pay for parking, park your car, catch a monorail, boat etc. This also saves you a great deal of time! So you can then use the
Early entry..take full advantage of this feature!
parcel delivery..w/that many kids you need your hands free!
The fun theme! friendly atmosphere!

We also packed along extra snacks like granola bars, fruit snacks, dry cereal, any non perishable that you like..to snack on in the rooms for snacks or b'fast!

 

[Maria]

Hey Dwarful, I recommended staying at the All Stars as the first option! I even mentionned that I recommend to do it if they could get a rent like yours!

I was just saying in a later post, that for me, a character breakfast and doing too much Disney shopping, are "extras" for me, because what I care for are the parks. Characters will be there, so if I were a kid, I´d be really content and more than happy to be able to enter the parks and spend the day there. I don´t think I would need anything else.

:animwink:

 

[Dwarful]

Oh sorry Maria...I guess I still have too much eggnog in me to think clearly!
I do agree with you on that character meal breakfast. This past trip was the first we got into at Cinderellas breakfast, now the kids did absolutely love it (the girls esp.) BUT they have enjoyed the previous trips where we didn't do that breakfast.

HOWEVER, I am a mom that packs an entire extra bag full of snacks for in the room, in the backpack, etc. I would much rather have extra money for other things. We also typically would eat one really nice meal per day, usually a very late lunch as lunches tend to be cheaper at sit down meals.

We are also very into the parks. So we were highly disappointed that we didn't have the EE option or Eride nights. But when those things are going on when we are there we take full advantage of them. For us its so much fun to do all the things we cant do at home.

On our last day at WDW we didn't have tickets left for any of the parks. So we slept in, checked our bags, caught a bus to MK, then rode the monorail one complete circle with the kids riding w/the driver and getting thier "monorail license." Thats still a big deal to our girls..they show those licenses w/great pride! So, there are "cheaper" things to do on days when you dont have a full day..(arrival/departure) or want to pay a full days fare for partial day. (ok its past my bedtime am I making any sense?)