What off site accommodation at WDW have you stayed in?

[BecBennett]

I'd prefer to stay onsite but I want to stay somewhere that is walking distance to something (any Park or DTD) and my brother in law and sister in law might be coming with us and don't have the funds to stay at a delux, so I'm going to look into other cheaper options.

My sister and a few wedding guests stayed at some of the offsite hotels across the road from DTD, so I'm thinking one of those would suit, but I'd like to hear some other reviews too

 

[PrincessInOz]

Many years ago, I stayed at the Grand Villas Resort. I was after a 3 bedroom place as my parents were travelling with us and this place fit the brief. I even got the 3-bedroom place for about $85 per night through an on-line special.


My brother stayed at Lake Buena Vista Resort Village and Spa in 2010. It's right next door to the LBV Factory Stores. He got a 2-bedroom place for about $125 per night. We were staying on-site and did visit them twice. The pool was nice, the rooms were decent enough and the shopping was good enough. It is walking distance from the Resort to the Factory Stores.


None of these are within walking distance of Disney.


I know a number of Aussies have stayed in the Windsor Hills area and rented a house. I've also gone looking in that direction as well; but have always stayed on-site instead.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Apart from Swan or Dolphin, I don't think there is anything within walking distance of a park.
As you mentioned, there are the DTD hotels, but sorry I don't know anything about them.

Have they considered a Value or Moderate. The extra it might cost over a off-site option would be saved by not needing a rental car. Or perhaps they could consider DVC points rental?

Sorry I can't be of more help.

 

[ssour]

What time of year are you going? Offsite guests only get access to FastPass+ reservations 30 days out as opposed to 60. Could you stay value or moderate and split the cost of a rental car that would fit you all (assuming it's the buses you're trying to avoid)? I don't really spend that much time at Downtown Disney so don't really see the benefit of staying close by there but if you're planning on dining there each day that might work. I'd be sure to check the shuttle/transport info before booking anything. Some of those hotels have a limited shuttle service.

 

[DVCAustralia]

As a DVC member my off-site days are less but not totally over.

I stayed at the Hilton Downtown Disney a few years ago on a cheap deal through Hilton timeshare, and whilst it was okay and had early/late entry access I could not really recommend it over Disney onsite.
I stayed at the Marriott Lakeshore Reserve through another timeshare special last year and found it great, but you do need a car rental and it takes time to get back and forth.

I strongly recommend checking DVC point rental, it is a win/win option for DVC owner and renter and gets you access to the best properties on-site.
Value is an option but you are paying alot for low quality or even more for better low quality at the new ones.

 

[PinkCupcakes]

We are staying at the Doubletree Suites at DTD in Oct/Nov. Never stayed there before (or been to WDW for that matter!), but wanted something with two rooms and not too expensive. We are not confident with driving so are happy to take the shuttle.

I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[BecBennett]

The onsite options for walking distance are Boardwalk, Beach Club and Grand Floridian. Offsite options are the hotels directly across from DTD. So I think one of those offsite hotels is what we'll be staying at if the inlaws join us.

What time of year are you going? Offsite guests only get access to FastPass+ reservations 30 days out as opposed to 60. Could you stay value or moderate and split the cost of a rental car that would fit you all (assuming it's the buses you're trying to avoid)? I don't really spend that much time at Downtown Disney so don't really see the benefit of staying close by there but if you're planning on dining there each day that might work. I'd be sure to check the shuttle/transport info before booking anything. Some of those hotels have a limited shuttle service.

We're going Feb/March. We're going to get a rental car anyway, but I want to stay somewhere that's walking distance to somewhere so I don't always have to worry about either waiting for a bus or finding parking.

As a DVC member my off-site days are less but not totally over.

I stayed at the Hilton Downtown Disney a few years ago on a cheap deal through Hilton timeshare, and whilst it was okay and had early/late entry access I could not really recommend it over Disney onsite.
I stayed at the Marriott Lakeshore Reserve through another timeshare special last year and found it great, but you do need a car rental and it takes time to get back and forth.

I strongly recommend checking DVC point rental, it is a win/win option for DVC owner and renter and gets you access to the best properties on-site.
Value is an option but you are paying alot for low quality or even more for better low quality at the new ones.

It was DVC rental that I was looking into. If it's just us then that's probably what we'll do. I'm thinking a 1 bedroom at Boardwalk. However with the inlaws and their limited funds DVC isn't the cheapest option, I know the offsite hotels aren't the same quality as Disney owned ones, but for the convenience I'd forgo it.

We are staying at the Doubletree Suites at DTD in Oct/Nov. Never stayed there before (or been to WDW for that matter!), but wanted something with two rooms and not too expensive. We are not confident with driving so are happy to take the shuttle.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Definitely let me know how it goes! I will have probably booked something by then, but it's never too late to change plans.

 

[Kiwifan]

We stayed at the Buena Vista Palace hotel in 2012. It is right over the road from Downtown Disney. As we didn't have a car I wanted to stay somewhere close to Disney that gave us options for shopping etc. It is on route for the local bus to go to The Florida Mall. ($2 each way). Walking distance to the Crossroads shopping centre with Ihop, subway, McDonald's, a supermarket, cheap souvenir shops etc. It is by an entrance to WDW resort so it's a great photo op.

We found it so handy to walk to DTD for something to eat. 5 minutes max & we were at the Earl of Sandwich (a yummy cheap option specially for breakfast).

We were upgraded to a fireworks view room. The room was a lot larger than a moderate resort room for less money. But it of course it didn't have the Disney theme. It was just my 17 year old daughter & myself so that wasn't important to us. We ended up booking through our travel agent as she was able to get us a special deal that was way cheaper than the hotels best on line rate. (From my experience it is well worth doing your research online then checking with a travel agent to see if they can get a better rate).

 

[ssour]

The onsite options for walking distance are Boardwalk, Beach Club and Grand Floridian.

Just so you're aware you can't walk from the Grand Floridian to MK, only the Contemporary has a walking path. The GF path just stops at the lagoon they never built a bridge over it!

 

[BecBennett]

Thanks!

I had forgotten about the contemporary.

 

[BecBennett]

Just to update - the inlaws aren't coming, so it's back to DVC rental Now just to hurry and finalise dates so I can book it before it books out!

 

[Tashinwdw]

Just to update - the inlaws aren't coming, so it's back to DVC rental Now just to hurry and finalise dates so I can book it before it books out!

Which one are you most excited about, the inlaws not coming or being able to book DVC now the fun part of picking a resort, they are all so lovely in their own way, we found it hard to choose, thats why we are staying in three different ones, and there are still so many others I want to try.

Staying onsite always wins for me, but then again, if I had no other choice then one across from DTD would be me next option.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Just to update - the inlaws aren't coming, so it's back to DVC rental Now just to hurry and finalise dates so I can book it before it books out!

Yay! For the DVC that is, not the lack of inlaws. Or maybe that is also a yay?

So what are your top choices?

 

[PrincessInOz]

YAY for being back to staying on-site.

As to whether it's a YAY or AWW for the in-laws, I'll leave that one well alone.