Part of the decision process for "when" to visit WDW is the place you and your family will call home for the duration of your vacation. WHERE will you stay? When my children were young our traveling party was 4, so obviously our costs were greater.
1. You have to eat, but you do have control of the restaurants you eat at.
2. With kids, you also have to allow for souvenirs but that is easily limited (yeah right...).
3. Getting to WDW is a function of where you live, for me, being from NJ, its always cheaper to fly and I just can't handle 21 hours on Interstate 95!
More airline tickets, more food, more souvenirs.....More MONEY! So where you stay during your trip is a very important decision.
A moment about off-site stays.........
I've been to Orlando on vacation a handful of times compared to many Disney-phials. I have stayed at a off-site hotel. From an expense perspective it was huge, but I felt like I was missing something. I'm enamored with the Disney experience, the complete Disney experience, so being away from Disney property just didn't feel right.
Somehow visiting EPCOT just wasn't the same when it was time to leave the park and we had to trudge out to the parking lot................ to get into the car................ battle the traffic...........to travel the 5 miles back to our hotel. Compare that to our last visit, where we stayed at EPCOT through Illuminations and then "walked" back through the International Gateway to our room at the Yacht Club................Not even a fair comparison IMHO! Please remember this is how I personally feel about where I stay, it won't work for everyone.
In this post I specifically discuss on-site accommodation selection. I'd be very interested in the opinions of those who stay off-site during their vacations. So, please forward those opinions to me at [email protected] and I'll post that info in a later blog post.
1. You have to eat, but you do have control of the restaurants you eat at.
2. With kids, you also have to allow for souvenirs but that is easily limited (yeah right...).
3. Getting to WDW is a function of where you live, for me, being from NJ, its always cheaper to fly and I just can't handle 21 hours on Interstate 95!
More airline tickets, more food, more souvenirs.....More MONEY! So where you stay during your trip is a very important decision.
A moment about off-site stays.........
I've been to Orlando on vacation a handful of times compared to many Disney-phials. I have stayed at a off-site hotel. From an expense perspective it was huge, but I felt like I was missing something. I'm enamored with the Disney experience, the complete Disney experience, so being away from Disney property just didn't feel right.
Somehow visiting EPCOT just wasn't the same when it was time to leave the park and we had to trudge out to the parking lot................ to get into the car................ battle the traffic...........to travel the 5 miles back to our hotel. Compare that to our last visit, where we stayed at EPCOT through Illuminations and then "walked" back through the International Gateway to our room at the Yacht Club................Not even a fair comparison IMHO! Please remember this is how I personally feel about where I stay, it won't work for everyone.
In this post I specifically discuss on-site accommodation selection. I'd be very interested in the opinions of those who stay off-site during their vacations. So, please forward those opinions to me at [email protected] and I'll post that info in a later blog post.
Selecting an on-site resort
Now back to our show..................
So you have an idea of "when" you want to visit WDW, now it's time to select where you'll be staying. Here are several questions I ask myself at this time (in no particular order):
Now back to our show..................
So you have an idea of "when" you want to visit WDW, now it's time to select where you'll be staying. Here are several questions I ask myself at this time (in no particular order):
- What would be my "dream" on-site property to stay at?
- What theme park in WDW do I want to be near?
- What resort season am I looking at?
- Do I plan on renting a car?
- How many are in my traveling party?
What would be my "dream" on-site property?
As far as this question goes, we all have our dream resort.............my current dream site is the Polynesian! For my fiancé and I with both of us being over 50, any Deluxe resort is a "dream resort". Our May trip was at the Yacht Club, a Deluxe resorts. The Poly is the dream because of its access to the Monorail which gives us easy access to both the Magic Kingdome and EPCOT, our two favorite parks.
What theme park do you want to be near?
Each of us has a favorite park.........for Donna and I we equally enjoy both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. If we make ADR's (Advance Dining Reservations) they tend to be located in either of those parks. Again, the Deluxe resorts tend to give more choices for access to both of these parks. Our stay at the Yacht Club gave us easy access to EPCOT which we used to access restaurants in that park and the Magic Kingdom. What I'm getting at is where do you plan to visit and dine while on your vacation. While it's not a hard and fast rule, when I'm planning I do have a general idea about where I'd like to setup my ADR's. We always do the Goofy Breakfast at the Beach Club and we like the restaurants found at the 3 resorts on the MK Monorail line. So for me.............access to the monorail is important............and fun too! Now when I get into the details of my planning you'll see this access could be viewed as "interesting".
What resort season will I be staying?
As I previously discussed in my post on " When…………the question that can dictate most everything about your WDW trip!" when I go to WDW will almost always dictate "where" I stay on-site. This comes down to a financial decision. If we've got our heart set on a particular deluxe resort we'll plan our stay around a "value" season. If our stay timeframe is the primary function point (like planning for the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival or Disney Marathon Weekend) we'll adjust our resort selection to meet the financial implications of the event taking place. For our Sept 2014 trip our resort decision dictated the time frame (season) we selected for our visit.
Do I plan on renting a car?
To be upfront, if I'm staying onsite I'm not really considering renting a car.
First because I'm 99% sure I'm utilizing the "Disney Magical Express" bus service. This is an outstanding service that will pick you up at Orlando International Airport when you arrive and will drop you off at the same airport for your return home. Read more here regarding DME https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/magical-express/
Second, for Donna and I if we're onsite we're only doing Disney. This is a personal choice but we feel if we're spending the money for Disney that's what we're doing. Orlando has several other high profile theme parks (Universal, SeaWorld) to enjoy but for us, if they're part of our itinerary we've set up a plan that includes a different hotel location. That plan usually involves a less expensive room near the location which does involve us having a rental car to get back and forth.
Finally, for us the fun of Disney is the joy of moving around the parks. You see we make that a part of our trip. How are we going to get to one ADR from our resort? How do we hop from park to park on a particular day. Having a car takes away that planning and yes.........fun! So "NO CAR FOR US!"
How many in my travel party?
The number of people who are in our travel party is important for several reasons. Cost is the biggest. The more folks who we're paying for means more funds are required for airline tickets, restaurant costs, etc. When I took my family on our first WDW trip we had 4 in the party which meant 4 round trip airline tickets. 4 for dinner each night. 4 Park-hopper tickets for the duration of our stay. That all adds up!
On some level I believe that Disney, as a corporation, does appreciate these costs (at some level) and this is the thought process behind the different levels of resorts. When planning a for a resort you can get 3 days at a "value" resort for 1 day at a "deluxe" resort. This gives a "family" an opportunity to enjoy what WDW has to offer without going into bankruptcy to do so (purely my opinion, you may feel different). the same can be said regarding the different levels of dining at both parks and resorts.
In the end it's all about enjoying what WDW has to offer, and to me, being onsite is the best way to maximize that joy. There are many ways to decide where to stay but I'll always say "stay onsite" whenever possible.........it adds to the MAGIC!!
As far as this question goes, we all have our dream resort.............my current dream site is the Polynesian! For my fiancé and I with both of us being over 50, any Deluxe resort is a "dream resort". Our May trip was at the Yacht Club, a Deluxe resorts. The Poly is the dream because of its access to the Monorail which gives us easy access to both the Magic Kingdome and EPCOT, our two favorite parks.
What theme park do you want to be near?
Each of us has a favorite park.........for Donna and I we equally enjoy both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. If we make ADR's (Advance Dining Reservations) they tend to be located in either of those parks. Again, the Deluxe resorts tend to give more choices for access to both of these parks. Our stay at the Yacht Club gave us easy access to EPCOT which we used to access restaurants in that park and the Magic Kingdom. What I'm getting at is where do you plan to visit and dine while on your vacation. While it's not a hard and fast rule, when I'm planning I do have a general idea about where I'd like to setup my ADR's. We always do the Goofy Breakfast at the Beach Club and we like the restaurants found at the 3 resorts on the MK Monorail line. So for me.............access to the monorail is important............and fun too! Now when I get into the details of my planning you'll see this access could be viewed as "interesting".
What resort season will I be staying?
As I previously discussed in my post on " When…………the question that can dictate most everything about your WDW trip!" when I go to WDW will almost always dictate "where" I stay on-site. This comes down to a financial decision. If we've got our heart set on a particular deluxe resort we'll plan our stay around a "value" season. If our stay timeframe is the primary function point (like planning for the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival or Disney Marathon Weekend) we'll adjust our resort selection to meet the financial implications of the event taking place. For our Sept 2014 trip our resort decision dictated the time frame (season) we selected for our visit.
Do I plan on renting a car?
To be upfront, if I'm staying onsite I'm not really considering renting a car.
First because I'm 99% sure I'm utilizing the "Disney Magical Express" bus service. This is an outstanding service that will pick you up at Orlando International Airport when you arrive and will drop you off at the same airport for your return home. Read more here regarding DME https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/magical-express/
Second, for Donna and I if we're onsite we're only doing Disney. This is a personal choice but we feel if we're spending the money for Disney that's what we're doing. Orlando has several other high profile theme parks (Universal, SeaWorld) to enjoy but for us, if they're part of our itinerary we've set up a plan that includes a different hotel location. That plan usually involves a less expensive room near the location which does involve us having a rental car to get back and forth.
Finally, for us the fun of Disney is the joy of moving around the parks. You see we make that a part of our trip. How are we going to get to one ADR from our resort? How do we hop from park to park on a particular day. Having a car takes away that planning and yes.........fun! So "NO CAR FOR US!"
How many in my travel party?
The number of people who are in our travel party is important for several reasons. Cost is the biggest. The more folks who we're paying for means more funds are required for airline tickets, restaurant costs, etc. When I took my family on our first WDW trip we had 4 in the party which meant 4 round trip airline tickets. 4 for dinner each night. 4 Park-hopper tickets for the duration of our stay. That all adds up!
On some level I believe that Disney, as a corporation, does appreciate these costs (at some level) and this is the thought process behind the different levels of resorts. When planning a for a resort you can get 3 days at a "value" resort for 1 day at a "deluxe" resort. This gives a "family" an opportunity to enjoy what WDW has to offer without going into bankruptcy to do so (purely my opinion, you may feel different). the same can be said regarding the different levels of dining at both parks and resorts.
In the end it's all about enjoying what WDW has to offer, and to me, being onsite is the best way to maximize that joy. There are many ways to decide where to stay but I'll always say "stay onsite" whenever possible.........it adds to the MAGIC!!
So what about my decision
So for our Sept 2014 trip Donna and I answer the above questions like this:
So for our Sept 2014 trip Donna and I answer the above questions like this:
- What would be my "dream" on-site property to stay at?
Dream site = Poly. Cost just didn't cover it given all that needed to be done during the year. The coming of our new grandchild is very important.
- What theme park in WDW do I want to be near?
We're looking to be near the Magic Kingdom for this trip. Reason being is we're looking at 2 ADR's at the Contemporary this trip and looking forward to dinner at "Be our Guest"
and Mickey's Scary Halloween Party.
- What resort season am I looking at?
Because of other commitments we were always looking at the "Value" season to keep costs low. Also looking to have access to "all" attractions. On our May 2013 trip we never did get on "Soar'in" or "Test Track" because it was just to busy. We're hoping our September time the crowds will be lighter (more on that in a later post)
- Do I plan on renting a car?
Not needed..........nuff said!
- How many are in my traveling party?
It will just be Donna and I. Only 2 airline tickets (still an expense given current prices). Only need 2 Park-Hopper passes for the time frame we'll be there.
The envelope please.....................we chose the Wilderness Lodge!
Now, you ask........why the WL? I'll explain.
Given its just the 2 of us Donna and I prefer the Deluxe resorts and their amenities and prime locations. We're older and we say...........why not! Now you'll say the WL isn't on the Monorail...........and you're correct, it's not. However, It does have access to boats to both the MK and the Contemporary Hotel. We'll use the boat to the Contemporary for several ADR's and to access the Monorail on EPCOT day. Seems a bit of a stretch to some but to us it's all part of the fun. Much of our plan for this trip involves access to the MK, the Contemporary, and EPCOT...........so if not the Poly.........we chose the Wilderness Lodge!
Again this is my personal opinion.........you may think otherwise...............tell me about your thoughts?
Now, you ask........why the WL? I'll explain.
Given its just the 2 of us Donna and I prefer the Deluxe resorts and their amenities and prime locations. We're older and we say...........why not! Now you'll say the WL isn't on the Monorail...........and you're correct, it's not. However, It does have access to boats to both the MK and the Contemporary Hotel. We'll use the boat to the Contemporary for several ADR's and to access the Monorail on EPCOT day. Seems a bit of a stretch to some but to us it's all part of the fun. Much of our plan for this trip involves access to the MK, the Contemporary, and EPCOT...........so if not the Poly.........we chose the Wilderness Lodge!
Again this is my personal opinion.........you may think otherwise...............tell me about your thoughts?