As I did in October 2005 when I joined after deciding to go to Italy(finally), I turn to the forums for help-My wife, mother-in-law %26amp; two 15 year old daughters want to go to Orlando for a week in early 2008 %26amp; visit Disney %26amp; Universal. On a prior trip, we stayed at the Polynesian Resort but my wife says it crimps plans for Universal. Please advise opinions as to:1)staying offsite for entire stay %26amp; commuting or 2)stay half on-site at Disney %26amp; half Universal-please include names of recommended hotels. Thank you to all-your help with Italy made it a trip I will never forget.
';Outside'; hotel in Orlando or on-site???
Hmmm...since you loved Italy, you would probably enjoy Portofino Bay hotel at Universal Studios. A nice plus is that staying at a Universal Hotel gives you front-of-the-line privileges on the most popular rides. You could all stay in one room because Universal allows up to 5 people in a room.
Then stay at one of the Disney resorts during that part of the trip. Maybe rent one of the multi-bedroom villas.
Or, stay at a condo at Windsor Hills the whole time. We rented a three bedroom unit that was quite nice and very reasonably priced. The pool was lovely. Of course, there aren%26#39;t any on-site restaurants but I%26#39;m sure the 15 year olds will be so grateful that you%26#39;re taking them to Orlando that they%26#39;ll be happy to use the full kitchen to cook for you all. Okay - so maybe not. We rented from this owner: http://www.tonylopes.com/wh.htm and had no complaints. We found him through www.windsorhillsrent.com
';Outside'; hotel in Orlando or on-site???
Have a look at Floridays resort - plenty of reviews on here. We%26#39;re booked to go there in July so haven%26#39;t been yet ourselves but you could look at a 3 bedroom condo, that way the 3 generations in your family can have a bit of their own space if need be! It%26#39;s not a %26#39;resort%26#39; in the same way as the Polynesian with restaurants etc. but it appears to be really centrally located, good quality accommodation with a good pool.
hi we stop at the holiday inn international drive its 200yards walk to wet an wild,5mins universal, 20mins disney world on bus .its in a fab location.we have stayed ther twice we go again 6 oct to 3 nov.they do free bus to disney and universal,seaworld if you dont want to drive. we neva drive its more relaxing.they also do adapted rooms with walk in shower,microwave,fridge,iron,hairdryer,tea coffee,towels pound pool,food is lovely,ponderosus is just across road, pizza hut next door,mcdonalds up road, u name its all in walking distance.hope i have helped you angie.i highly recomend this hotel.i shopped around for best price virgin undercut them all.i always travel with them.
oh i forgot they do 5 in room.i have 5 in my family.angie
I would say stay 1/2 on Disney resort and 1/2 near Universal. The parks are huge and tiring. You don%26#39;t want a long , crowded commute when your are hot and very tired.
Depends exactly what you like, exactly how you intend to spend your time, how much space you want and your budget.
You are only going for a week? I am quite a big fan of villas/condos - you get a LOT more space for your money: good, especially with 5 adults in the groups (ok, 15 year olds are not adults, but they are probably ';adult sized';). But with only a week, you probably want to maximise your time at the parks?
Off-site will also give you better value for money, but if you want to maximise your park/Disney experience (if there for only a week), then I would go on-site. Maybe 5 days Disney/2 days Universal or 4 and 3 (depending on your preferences).
For Universal, there are only 3 on-site choices, I believe. Royal Pacific (cheapest and maybe also the closest to Universal - you would need to check that...), Hard Rock Hotel (trendiest) and Portifino (sort of the quietest, furthest from the parks, but their flagship).
I wouldn%26#39;t go 5 in a room - unless you are unlike most other families, you will end up wanting to kill each other after a couple of days AND imagine the time taken to queue for the bathroom (4 women and one bathroom!). You want two or three rooms.
At Disney, you are best to either choose a hotel on the monorail (contemporary, poly, Grand Floridian) or an Epcot area hotel. Personally I love the Epcot Area hotels - BEAUTIFUL setting and you are walking/boat distance from Epcot and MGM (can take buses to MK and AK). Hotel-wise you have Yacht Club, Beach Club and Boardwalk in this area, but don%26#39;t forget the Swan and Dolphin - slightly less ';Disney';, but still great theming, great hotels and generally work out cheaper than the true Disney hotels... Also both Boardwalk and Beach Club have ';villas'; (well one/two bedroom condos to rent) - this might work out better for the five of you (one two bedroom condo with two bathrooms and it%26#39;s own living room and kitchen....). They are expensive through Disney, but you could look at renting direct through a Disney Vacation Club Owner - look here for details www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=29
Those are a few ideas anyway :-)
Goodluck
UCC
Gosh, I just don%26#39;t understand why anyone would stay off Disney property for a one week stay.
Heres why I stay on site:
-we%26#39;re closer to all the parks, less transportation time
-free disney transportation to all the parks, waterparks, and downtown disney
-extra magic hours!!!!!!!
-Disney%26#39;s magical express
-Disney%26#39;s Dining Plan!!!!!!!
If someone was going to spend 2 or 3 weeks in Orlando, i could understand wanting a villa/condo accomodation, but since you only have one week to fit everything in, you are going to end up having lunch and dinner in the parks anyways, so a kitchen isn%26#39;t that useful.
I know that transportation from Disney to Universal can be a hassle. It would probably be easier to just rent a car for a day or two to get there. You could also fit in some shopping while you have the car.
No, a week in Orlando can be done off-site - it just depends what type of holiday you want.
We did 4 days in a villa at Reunion last October and are back for a week at Reunion this September. But we are laid back and don%26#39;t feel the need to ';do everything';. We have been to Orlando a few times before and do ';bits and pieces'; at the parks, spend a bit of time shopping and playing mini-golf, quite a bit of time by our private pool and some very nice meals out.
As Rob%26#39;s points go:
- the villa we stay at is 20 minutes ';door to door'; (villa front door to entering into a Disney park through the turnstyles).
- when we go to Orlando we always rent a car (even when staying ons-ite) - hate buses...
- we have never needed ';extra magic hours'; - we tend to ';dip'; into them parks and don%26#39;t spend all day there.
- we have a hire car so Disney Magic Express not an issue
- never been tempted by Disney Dining Plan - we eat off-site too much (normally only lunch in the parks). We tend to eat breakfast in the villa and dinner normally in an off-site restaurant.
It is very much ';horses for courses'; (even if you are there for a short time). If we were ';full-on Disney'; then on-site is great, but we aren%26#39;t.. :-)
UCC
I agree with mumofthree1962. We stayed in holiday inn on our last stay in 2001 and would highly reccommend it. As well as finding it very convenient for all the parks it also has loads of restaurants and shops to choose from. Ripleys, wonderworks and minigolf also.
Forgot to mention we%26#39;re going back in august, staying in holiday inn again.
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