hotel recommendation for Disney World trip?? (Orlando, Holiday: condos, hotels, vacation)

[Positiveone]

Hi,

We're thinking about making a trip to Disney World with the kids for the first time. Their ages are 5 and 4. We don't want to spend a lot on a hotel and I believe the ones on Disney property could be pretty pricey. Although I heard the "All Star" or "Pop Century" are "value resorts". But has anyone stayed there? What did you think of it? Then I heard about the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort which is about 1 mile from the disney parks. I think it's in Lake Buena Vista. It sounds pretty good and reasonable in price and kids eat free, which is a major plus. But I'm not sure how the area is or or the hotel itself?

Also has anyone ever paid in advance for a "basic meal plan"?? Exactly what is it and is it really "worth it"?? A travel agent recommended it if you're staying on disney property.

Thanks for your input.

[Prettygyrl777]

I've stayed at the Caribe Royale Resort and Buena Vista Suites (they're located about 5 miles from Disney- located on World Center Drive). They are actually a great value considering the location and what you get for the money. Both hotels are on a joined property (owned by the same company).

The suites that I stayed in had 2 queen beds and the living room had a pull out couch. Not sure if you want a separate room (completely) from the kids but you can ask about having joined rooms if you want.

Caribe Royale has a bit more to offer than Buena Vista but both are very similar. I'm not sure what the advantage is to staying a Disney resort (unless its one of the really NICE ones) because many of the non-Disney value resorts have specials deals with Disney, Universal and some of the other parks. You just have to ask the hotel if they are offering discounted tickets, shuttle service, or any other deals.

I live in Florida so I didnt use a travel agent- I booked the hotel online and just searched for the lowest rate. I'm not familiar with any other hotels in the area but those are the two that I've been to.

[Prettygyrl777]

Oh I should add that I booked the Buena Vista hotel queen suite for $99 per night on an internet special-- I booked through the website.

[cmj_fla]

I have stayed at on of the value resorts (All Star Music) and we had an amazing time. If you plan on going to the parks then staying at one of their hotels is amazing because you get to use their transportation and even get into some parks an hour early. There is also a restaurant onsite and the pools are clean and heated. For the price I highly recommend it. Good luck!

[THASPECIAL]

Originally Posted by Positiveone

Hi,

We're thinking about making a trip to Disney World with the kids for the first time. Their ages are 5 and 4. We don't want to spend a lot on a hotel and I believe the ones on Disney property could be pretty pricey. Although I heard the "All Star" or "Pop Century" are "value resorts". But has anyone stayed there? What did you think of it? Then I heard about the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort which is about 1 mile from the disney parks. I think it's in Lake Buena Vista. It sounds pretty good and reasonable in price and kids eat free, which is a major plus. But I'm not sure how the area is or or the hotel itself?

Also has anyone ever paid in advance for a "basic meal plan"?? Exactly what is it and is it really "worth it"?? A travel agent recommended it if you're staying on disney property.

Thanks for your input.

The Holiday Inn Sunspree is a 7 story building with a low price feel to the rooms....the arcade is nice and the lobby....but its kind of like any other low priced place you will find out in Orlando...there really isnt anything special about the Sunspree.....I would personally pick Holiday Inn Express instead ....it is in Lake Buena Vista too off of Palm Parkway....It is right next door to the plaza where i work.....in that plaza there is a pool hall, 2 bars, a Tiki Lounge, Hooters, Kobe Japanesse steak house, The Cuttery station resturant, The Crab House Resturant, Cici's pizza, and a couple other food places....you can basically walk to Olive Garden or Denny's resturants from the Holiday Inn Express hotel....and there are lots of other places to eat all in the area....plus there is a minature golf place down the road about a quarter mile called Pirates Cove....Good luck

[Lilybeans]

I've stayed at the All Star sports. Great for kids, fun place. Typical Disney quality-very nice.

[Lilybeans]

BTW-skip any meal plan. It locks you in and there is food available everywhere.

[Dee2e]

The All Star Resorts are nice, convenient, and if you get a good deal (there are many now) they include early entry to parks, tickets, and meal plans.

The other Disney resorts are lovely too, the difference is the price and size. The bigger the room, the higher the price.

Check online, the deals that my friends have been getting with the meal plans and tickets have been unbelievable!

Your challenge in a Disney resort is that most of the low end resorts are booked up already. Good luck!

Another alternative, there are many private condos, townhomes, homes with heated pools for rent by the week or night. There are many vacation rental by owner sites to check out. I use a particular one but can't post the link due to the board rules but if you pm me I'll give it to you. I've rented placed like this in many areas. In fact, we spend 9 nights on the Princeville Resort in Kauai for $654 for the entire stay, including taxes. We had a kitchenette which was great for breakfast and snacks. One night we were tired and cooked in! It was a great deal.

Enjoy your vacation!

[Pigsty333]

BTW-skip any meal plan. It locks you in and there is food available everywhere.

You need to look at the entire dining experience. The dining plan is a great one because you can use it for the character meals, full sit down meals at all the restaurants etc. You are really not locked in, you get over 250 restaurants to choose from in Disney. Everyone thinks Disney is so small - and what a mistake that is.

With the dining plan - if you don't use the entire plan there are other things they allow you to do. What you need to do is weigh your options: If you stay outside - how many of those meals are you going to do outside. Are you going to leave the park and go eat at Denny's, Mickey Ds, Olive Garden. That will cut a lot into your time in the parks and anything else you might want to do.

If you are on your dining plan and staying at their resort - you can either call up in advance up to 180 days, make reservations for any meals, character meals, etc. The meals inside Disney are not cheap - a character meal can run you $59 per adult and $29 per child, so the meal plan will allow you to do this and all your other meals and snacks.

You have to research it and figure out how much convenience you want.

[doom1001]

If you're going for the first time stick with the All-Stars or POP,that way you're in Disney property the whole trip and you can take Disney transportation without ever using your car.There are however hundreds of hotels all over the Orlando tourist areas where you could stay on a future trip,but for the first one I would stay at Disney.Since when i go I usually stay off-site with a couple Disney hotels sprinkled in I don't know much about the meal plan that you're talking about but I believe it's called the Disney Dining Plan where it's basically a package, hotel,park tickets and the dining which includes a table service meal with appetizer,entree,dessert and beverage with tip included,a counter service entree with dessert and drink and a snack per day for the length of your stay.I've never done this and I think it's $39 a day per person in addition of your hotel,park ticket package so I don't know how much the savings are,what i do know is that it's very popular as you basically just show your hotel keys when you go eat and only need cash for anything else not included in the plan.Also remember by staying on-site you get Extra magic hours at the park as one park is open daily for 1 hour extra in the morning for Disney hotel guests and another park in the evening for 3 hours for hotel guests,so staying on-site you get these perks that off-site doesn't.Also check as I don't know if the dining plan is available all the time!!