Originally Posted By tashajilek Im sure i will try Uni again, it's just so hard to want to go back when both resorts have really left me never wanting to go back.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Express Pass pricing varies by time of year and day of week. During January weekdays you can get a 2-park Express Pass for $31.99.
Originally Posted By WDWdreamin I'm totally the opposite. I can't imagine staying off (WDW) site. DH and I LOVED staying at Port Orleans and with the 30% off, didn't mind the price at all. I'm staying at Pop for my upcoming solo trip, and excited about it. On the other hand, after seeing AKL, I wouldn't be willing to stay there, dinner once was enough for us. We'll see how I feel about the other Deluxes when I visit them this trip, but I can't imagine spending that kind of money on a hotel room. Yesterday I learned that if I want to go to Epcot from my convention hotel next Friday I'll have to pay $27-$32 for a taxi, each way. And don't ask me what I'm being forced to pay there per night! For now, I'd rather use the buses and stay at a moderate with my DH. Maybe if we go to WDW enough times, we will move off-site. Back on topic, I really hope that crowds are manageable at IoA when I go. I am expecting them to be okay mid-January.
Originally Posted By tashajilek I really do understand that you can get a front of the line pass for much cheaper non peak times. If they want more money then just raise the damn admission prices for everyone so others can have the exact same experience. After being at WDW seeing all the buses and masses of people having rented a car was the best choice we made. It was nice being able to go somewhere else for dinner and actually get a decent cup of coffee for under $4. I would stay at a deluxe only if i could part with the money.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb As a Premier AP keep your eyes open for a deal on resorts before it expires. When we had them I got a screamin deal on Port Oreans Riverside. It was a really wonderful experience. I'm not sure I would bother with a deluxe unless I can use my exchange points at a DVC, but I would absolutely stay at a moderate again.
Originally Posted By DlandDug We've stayed DVC on property at WDW. HATE the buses, but found the experience otherwise just fine. I cannot imagine staying on property at Uni, simply on the basis that after the second day, I'd be bored.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom WDW is a massive property. I stayed off property once ( at a time share property on Turkey Lake ) and it took forever to travel to and from the parks. Never again! It easily takes 20 minutes to travel from most Disney resorts to the various Disney parks, longer if your staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have better things to do than to spend my vacation driving to/ from my hotel room and WDW or Universal. I would gladly stay at any Disney resort with no exception than staying off property. Being the sauve professional WDW expert I am..... I know where to stay on property at a non-Disney hotel if I want a bargain. Not every hotel on property is Disney owned and operated. I always strongly encourage folks to check out the hotels in Downtown Disney or the Swan and Dolphin. Bargains can always be had!
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Another thing I should point out also is that many people enjoy staying at the various Disney resorts because they want a truly immersive Disney vacation including immersive Disney accomidations and restaurants/ food courts. Your not going to find that staying off property. I think Disney has done an incredible job at creating accomidations on property for every price point. Heck, you can get a tent site for $35 a night if you want to rough it up.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Every park in Orlando saw large crowds over the holidays. According to articles here in Atlanta the MK stopped allowing guests to enter on two ocassions during the week of Christmas. Disney said they allowed entery to anyone staying on property even when the parks reached capacity. They only prevented guests staying offsite entery into the parks when the parks reached capacity.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I cannot imagine staying on property at Uni, simply on the basis that after the second day, I'd be bored. >>> My solution: don't stay more than 2 nights at Uni. Stay 2 nights there and enjoy the on-site amenities with front-of-the-line, early entry, as well as having everything at both parks and CityWalk within walking distance of your hotel room. Then move on to WDW for the rest of your vacation. If I ever do a traditional Orlando vacation again, that's how I'll be doing it.
Originally Posted By tashajilek I can see the appeal to staying on property and it wasn't for me. I saw how crazy the crowds were and the huge crowds waiting for all the transportation. We got to most parks early and got great parking spots without needing a tram and we were able to leave very quickly. We got sick of the crowds and liked that we could leave the property and have a nice affordable meal somewhere else. We were very lucky with the parks. We were never turned away and always arrived before the parks reached capacity. One night we went from Epcot to MK around 8pm and besides Mainstreet the crowds were pretty light. Thanks for the advice Deb! i don't think we will be back to Florida in around 2 years or so. This year will be Disneyland and Hawaii only.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb Well, if you ever go for the Premier pass again don't forget to look into those resort discounts . When we booked at POR it was only $300 more for our 9 day trip to stay there than at a value, totally worth it for us because it was so hot that trip that we spent more time at the resort and in the pool than we usually do when in The World.
Originally Posted By tashajilek ^^^ I actually called Disney and asked if there were any specials and for that time of year it was a big fat NO. We will have a Premier again someday only because we can't keep away from DL and have to visit at least twice a year. I really wanted our first time at WDW to have stayed at POR or the CBR. We still had fun though
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I think I booked our June 2010 trip in mid to late March, maybe early April. They didn't have much lead time on that discount, I guess they only list things like that if a normally busy season isn't booking like they expect. We also went very early June before the main Summer crowds hit. I'm glad the Disney World portion of the trip was fun for you guys. You really don't need to stay on property to have a great time. I've been to The World 10 times over the last 30 years, only 4 of those trips were on property.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I can see the appeal to staying on property and it wasn't for me. I saw how crazy the crowds were and the huge crowds waiting for all the transportation. We got to most parks early and got great parking spots without needing a tram and we were able to leave very quickly. We got sick of the crowds and liked that we could leave the property and have a nice affordable meal somewhere else. >>> Not meaning to beat a dead horse, or convince you that you must stay on-site, but you have a false dilemma in your reasoning above. Just because you stay on-site doesn't mean you must use Disney transportation: in fact, they make it easy to use your own (rental) car as not only do you get free self parking at your resort, but you also have free parking at all theme parks and other resorts.
Originally Posted By tashajilek ^^^ I know i could still use a rental car for sure. Like i said i would rather have more trip elsewhere then one expensive trip staying on WDW property. I would really like to stay at POR one day if i can get a price that i feel is good value for us. I would not stay at a value resort because i can get a nicer room for much less money. The room we just had was very big with a fridge, nice flat screen and no resort fee's. We had a waffle house and starbucks near by which was a huge plus LOL. Thanks Deb! we had a pretty good time We really liked Epcot and DAK the most. WDW is really a big beautiful place but, we still love our little Disneyland the best.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I knew I liked you Tasha. I agree. The only reason for me to go to WDW is epcot and DAK, but Disneyland is still the best imho.
Originally Posted By tashajilek My husband and i detest the Studios even though they have attractions we love. Out of all the parks the Studios handled the crowds the worst and they would over estimate the waiting times by almost double. A cast member told me RR coaster was half of the wait time posted. Why would they do that??? I guess i should to a TR Dave. The only things i hate about TR is it's hard for me to remember everything we did in what order.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I would love to read it. It does not need to be a blow by blow account. Impressions and highlights are sufficient.
