Walt Disney World Accommodation

[NM]

Just a quick note on Universal NM.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and in particular the Forbidden Journey ride were thought by our entire family to be unmissable ( best ride at any park ever).
Universal itself isn't quite as busy as WDW and very worthwhile to spend a day or two at IMO.

Thanks PF. Will keep those in mind, though 10yo has not yet been introduced to the wonders of HP.

 

[straitman]

Another very good accommodation option is Orange Lake Country Club which is a times share resort and also an IHG property.

A little OT but worth including is that there are many and varied ways to buy Disney and Universal tickets. Some are a little dodgy (or at least sound like they are) and others are very good. In the past we have found Orlando Attractions to be one of the best and they are certainly reputable. They offer UK packages that are available to Oz residents and that is what we used previously. We are not there until January so have not committed either way yet.

Also worth have a look at Mouse Savers.

If going to Medieval Times or Arabian Nights or the like it is worth a Google search for discount codes as there are some very good deals to be had that way.

Last time we went we used NetFlights for car rental as they were very much cheaper and all inclusive. We haven't booked for January yet but a Chrysler Voyager is showing at about $US50 per day while we are there.

 

[Kef]

NM, We have done it several times in the last few years. We have stayed at Disney Resorts and also Hotels around WDW.

I highly recommend staying in a WDW Moderate resort, which are closer to WDW than the WDW Value resorts. The Moderate hotels, we have stayed in Coronado Springs and Disneys Port Orleans French Quarter resort. The benefits as you mentioned transfers on the Disney bus, which your 10yr old we love. The Disney resort shuttles and also the new Fastpass + band now when you stay at a Disney resort. you can pre book your
fast pass rides up to 60days prior to arrival and 30 days if your not staying on resort...

Also what we did we pre-ordered from an online grocer in Orlando and had our groceries delivered along with water bottles for our stay of 8 days. We also bought a cheap microwave and left it in the room, (a generous tip for housekeeping).

Chain owned properties are ok and can be better value and more luxurious, but when you factor in things like Extra Magic Hours in the mornings or late closing, the chain hotel shuttles don't always cater for this, we found out the hard way last year. We stayed off property and the hotel shuttle from WDW did not extend its hours for guests who stayed late at Magic Kingdom special late night closing. Also the shuttles run by hotel chains don't have the extended routing to various Parks. For eg., they will drop off you off at Magic Kingdom Transport Centre and from there you have to work out the best way you are going to say for eg., Epcot for the day Keep this in mind and if you are going in Orlando summer, think of the humidity and heat. Its a killer and after half a day you just want to jump on a Disney bus and go cool down in your room go for a swim, and then go back for the evening. Easy and you don't have to think..
Happy to answer any more questions you might have. I was brief but could have written an essay. We are veterans of WDW..

Trying to remember the on-line grocer we used they are very popular over there and do this all time. Our groceries were waiting for us at concierge when we checked in, you tell them approx. when you are arriving and they get your groceries to you around the same time you are checking in. Just remembered so here is a link https://www.gardengrocer.com/

 

[Kef]

I will also add that we didn't eat all our meals in our room. We had breakfast and dinner in the room, lunch we ate in the park we were visiting on the day. We did the usual character dining with the princesses and the one I liked the most was at the Cotemporary Hotel -Mickeys breakfast, and had a few special dinners in some wonderful restaurants in WDW.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We stayed at the Grand Floridian in 2012 for 6 nights and we loved it - we wanted to be on the monorail and I did find it fantastic to be able to use it. we had to still use the bus to get to attractions not on the monorail, such as Animal Kingdom and the nightlife. we had a car as well, but didn't use it that much - went to Universal studios and yes Miss FM (who was just short of 21 at the time) was enraptured with the Harry Potter bit. unfortunately I was ill on that day so couldn't cope with the long queues so missed out. We just loved the Grand Floridian, but it is a big property, so would recommend staying in the Main building. We did so and were glad we did - you can see the fireworks from Magic Kingdom from the pool area or the dock and also the light show on the lake which was another bonus and as others have said staying at a Disney resort gives you extra magic hours. looking forward to having grand children so we will have a excuse to go back It is a little pricey, so maybe not what the OP is looking for but it was worth it to be on the monorail!

 

[Pushka]

We visited Grand Floridian and the kids stayed in the children's club while we went to dinner there. It was very, ah, Grand.

I had my camera (and the film roll) stolen from the public ladies there so not great memories. The kids, being young uns, preferred a more casual atmosphere.

 

[cove]

We stayed at Wilderness Lodge and staying inside the overall park was very handy with the buses to everywhere the big lake and the ferry.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We visited Grand Floridian and the kids stayed in the children's club while we went to dinner there. It was very, ah, Grand.

I had my camera (and the film roll) stolen from the public ladies there so not great memories. The kids, being young uns, preferred a more casual atmosphere.

That was unfortunate . Yes travelling with the youngest one over 20 means other accommodation is now open to us! The pools there were really nice for the younger brigade with a slide and movies at night. We enjoyed the orchestra playing in the lounge downstairs as well. Lots of young kids staying there when we were there and it seemed quite child tolerant.

 

[ReLoad]

We stayed at Wilderness Lodge and staying inside the overall park was very handy with the buses to everywhere the big lake and the ferry.

We too stayed at the wilderness lodge and loved it, the boat ride to the magic kingdom was great too.

We are heading back to MCO later this year and for the first time are not staying on WDW property, given it's only going to be 2 or 3 days out of the whole trip we are basing ourself at Sheraton Vistana resort villas. (using up a stack up spg points) and we will be day tripping out of there.

The whole 2 bedroom self contained thing is just way too expensive at WDW.

It will be our kids first ever thanksgiving day parade at WDW so should be a treat.

 

[cove]

I just noticed topcashback.co.uk offer a 4.2% rebate on Walt Disney World Florida together with some other stuff.

 

[mrsjon01]

I was going to suggest moussavers as well, lots of great info there. I think it really depends on what your priorities are. If you don't really want to rent a car, then staying at a Disney property is a great idea as it's the most convenient for sure. There are lots of other resorts that offer free transportation to the parks, so it's worth a look to see what kind of deals are being offered. MCO is a bit like Vegas in that there is constant tourism and the hotel rates can be extremely cheap.
I know lots of people who take their kids to Orlando Resort & Hotel - Nickelodeon Suites Resort and love it. I've not been there but I've heard really good things. Also agree that VRBO/Homeaway is an excellent resource if you're looking for a way to save money by cooking your own meals. The food at Disney itself is expensive and pretty much cough, with some exceptions. We stayed at Animal Kingdom and the fine dining restaurant there was quite good, but expensive.
Another tip for MCO is that if you decide to go to Universal, you can stay at one of their on-site resorts and have a sort of "fast pass" access that allows you to skip the lines. This is NOT for the Cabana Bay, their value resort. What we would do quite often is stay one night at the Portofino Bay (my favorite of the 3 deluxe properties). We'd arrive at around 10:00 am and check in, and sometimes our room would be ready. If not, they would hold the luggage but give us our passes so we could go to the park. We'd spend the following day the park as well while they held our luggage, all the while getting the benefit of the Universal Express to skip the lines.
I think you could definitely allocate one overnight at Universal along with your Disney stay if you wanted, and it would not be that expensive (see above). Hope that is helpful.

 

[NM]

I highly recommend staying in a WDW Moderate resort, which are closer to WDW than the WDW Value resorts.

I assume its really just the time on a bus between the accommodation and the parks, which would not appear to much more than 5 mins extra judging by the map I have seen. And all depends on which park is being visited. With an extra $90 per might, and we are looking at 9 nights, I am not sure I can justify the extra $$$ for the moderate accommodation unless there are additional benefits that make the extra cost a better value proposition. Are there any other reasons, beside slightly reduced times on the Disney Transport buses, that help justify the additional cost of Moderate level accommodation over Value level accommodation?

With mu initial numbers, it looks like Value accommodation with a 1-2 day car rental (can collect Avis cars from Hilton at Down Town Disney) is looking like best option by a significant amount.

I also like the idea of on-line grocery delivery. But believe the Disney Value Accommodation (and likely Moderate) doe not provide a fridge in the room - though you can rent one from them!

 

[cjd600]

I know lots of people who take their kids to Orlando Resort & Hotel - Nickelodeon Suites Resort and love it.

We are booked here for 4 nights in Sept.
In a Dora suite.
Miss 3 and Miss 5 are ecstatic.

 

[mrsjon01]

We are booked here for 4 nights in Sept.
In a Dora suite.
Miss 3 and Miss 5 are ecstatic.

That's great! Hope you have a blast.