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Where have you stayed "on grounds" at Disney World?

F

Flysure1

Active Member
I am probably going to end up back there sometime in spring 2014---I did not think I would ever go back. Grandaughter wants to go.
What is a good on-grounds place to stay--I don't need to eat with mickey or Minnie---just get the hour head start in the morning and not drive hours at night going to a hotel.
 
Honestly, I wouldn't stay on the grounds again. Not that it was a bad experience just that it costs way more than necessary. The added perks simply weren't worth it to us. We started renting houses instead and had much better times and saved a fortune.

Hit a park for a while, head back to the house for a swim (we always got a house with a private built-in pool). Head back out to the/another park for the night. Did I mention we could then eat most it not all our meals at the house? Yeah, big saver that way. Doing it this way we always could do more parks and spend a longer time down there. Not too mention waste the cash doing other fun stuff we might not otherwise have had the budget for.

The only time I would ever again consider staying at a park property would be if I was taking a first timer, very young child who was Disney nuts. When we took my daughter for the first time she was like 4.5 and she was SO into everything Disney the magic of the place blew her away. If it's not that kind of experience you are looking for...

Just my 2 cents
 
Re: Where have you stayed "on grounds" at Disney World?

I agree. Staying on grounds really isn't worth it. I always stay at hotel with a full kitchen. That way we can stock the fridge and cook meals. We usually go to the parks early in the morning then leave from noon to 3 or 4 for lunch at the hotel and hit the pool. Then go back later. There are a lot of hotels that are only 5 or 10 minutes out of the parks.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Staying on site is for the oversea's tourist that save 5 years to come over and don't care about the cost as long as they can hit the outlet stores and fill the shopping list for the ones back home. IMO. Nothing wrong with that, but it can be done cheaper by checking outside the Mouse House.
 
I am probably the biggest disney freak the fix has. I've been 12 times in my 37 years. My son is 6 and has been 7. Our next trip is October. Then wife and I are going back in February so she can run the princess half marathon.

IOW, if I spent a small fraction of our disney budget on my mustang I'd have another car to drive. :rant

ANYWAY, our family obsession aside, I've stayed both on and off property, and have recommendations either way.

There is a lot to think about. The main thing to think about is will a single hotel room suffice, or will you need a suite. There are plenty of affordable resorts on-property, but when you start needing multiple room suites, you really start ramping up costs.

I've stayed both on and off and they have their plusses and minuses. I love staying on property because I'm a disnophile and it makes me happy. I like the proximity, and I like the cast members (aka, employees...but with a different name). I like that if I want I can book dining, AND if you luck out and your trip coincides with their free dining promotions, you can save a bundle on this. The WDW transportation is good, and if you choose to drive your own car, you can park almost anywhere on property for free YES that includes the parks, and going to visit other on-property resorts.

But to be frank, I just LIKE being on property. The resorts often have a lot of really interesting things to do, and packed event calendars for things right in the resort that can keep the kids entertained.

But off property is FOR SURE cheaper, and there are a lot of hotels that are really close, and if you brought your own car (or have a rental) you just have to pay to park. I've found shuttles to the park from most hotels SUUUUUUCK.

OK so places I have stayed, other recommendations I have:
1)Beach Club - Wife and I stayed here a couple years ago without the kids (yes, that obsessed) and LOOOOOOOVED it. Big beautiful hotel, awesome service, great pool area, lots of things to do and see, and walking distance to Epcot's rear entrance. All other parks use bus. They have multi room "Villas" if you need, but be warned, this is a very expensive hotel. Depending on when you stay, a Studio room can be between 350 and 600 a night.

2) Caribbean Beach - We stayed here with the kids a couple years ago and while the pool area was nice, we were pretty disappointed with the rooms. Just a basic old room, big sprawling hotel. I put this as my worst disney stay. (BTW, even the bad trips are pretty damn good, IMHO). I would say there are better places to go. Busses to everywhere. 150-250 a night, depending on travel dates.

3) Fort Wilderness Cabins. If you need a suite, this are pretty cool. A cabin with a parking pad, grill, bedroom, small (but full service) kitchen, and a living room that had a murphy bed. You're allowed to sleep up to 6 in the cabins, but we and another family went together and slept 7 (two of them were 6) and aside from sharing the single bathroom, I think it worked out pretty well. LOVED this resort. You can rent a golf cart or bikes for the duration of your stay to get around on the grounds of the resort (Which is HUGE, and includes the camping and RV parking areas). VERY quiet resort, and the entertainment for the kids is great, with a movie every night, campfire sing along, marshmallow roasting, etc. It was great. Boat gets you to Magic Kingdom, Busses to all other resorts. Also has an internal bus system for those who don't rent golf carts (We didn't. The buses were fine.) $289-$455 a night (Pricy, but you're paying for the extra sleeping space)

Here are the places I have not stayed at, but would recommend looking at.
1) Art of Animation resort. BRAND new. Wife and I toured the grounds and were BLOWN away. This is their value resort (Cheapest types of resorts) and everyone is raving about this place. The food court was my Son's favorite place to eat the entire time we went last time (We toured the resort and then ate breakfast there...resort hopping is a fun past-time, btw, for obsessed nuts like us.). All Travel by Bus. They have Little Mermaid "Studio rooms" AND 1 Bedroom, 1 living room "Family Suites" themed as either "Cars", "Lion King" or "Finding Nemo." cost is 100-191 a night for the Little Mermaid, 252-425 for the Suites. Note: The next 2 trips I have planned BOTH of them we're staying here.

2) Coronado Springs. This is a "Moderate" resort (one step up from value) But I have been reading reviews that this place is a huge bang-for-the-buck value. Like staying at Deluxe but paying Moderate prices. I haven't stayed here, or ever even stepped foot on the grounds, but the review I heard was SUPER exciting. price is 169-290 or so for the standard room.


OK off property here are my recommends:
1) Caribe Royale. LOVE this place. Nice place to stay, price is on point, resort is very close to WDW, and the rooms are all suites, including a 2 bedroom super suite where we stayed once which was like staying in an apartment but paying $250 a night. LOVED it. The Regular Suite I've rented for just north of 100 a night, and it was a beautiful room.

2)DoubleTree On Property. This hotel is ON property, but is NOT owned or operated by Disney. It does use Disney Bus transportation, but if you stay here you will NOT get free parking at the resorts like if you stay at a real disney resort. They also run the busses less often and your bus is lowest priority (Meaning when everyone is mad-rushing to leave the parks, there will be fewer busses) The rooms are suites, and the resort *IS* on property, so not a long drive to the parks. The place is fine, not great, but a decent place to rest your head. I think I've seen rates as low as $100 here. I think we paid $125 last time we stayed here.

We also stayed at the "Nick Hotel" in the past. Our young son loved it. Older daughter (15 at the time) thought it was "ghetto" compared to Disney quality.She's a snob though. :p My wife and I weren't blown away by this hotel, but I know other friends who loved the place.

For the two upcoming trips I'm doing something I've never done...used a Disney Authorized Travel Agent. I've actually really liked the experience. She knows all sorts of secrets, and the BIG win for me is that when/if disney releases discounts you WOULD have been eligible for, she can rebook your trip with those new savings. Every discount that disney puts out, they recheck all their clients to see if they can take advantage. IF you're at all interested let me know and I'll pass my agent along. Or you can just google for disney approved travel agents. They're all great from what I've heard.

Anyway, good luck, and enjoy the trip! I am a giant child with a credit card and poor impulse control, so Disney is amazing for me, but I "get" that for a lot of adults it's hell on earth :)
 
Re: Where have you stayed "on grounds" at Disney World?

We just went in May for 7 days. We stayed at Disney's Old Key West through David's Vacation Club.

http://www.dvcrequest.com/

There was a bus stop right outside our villa, but we found it easier to drive to each park.
 
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