Originally Posted By dshyates Yes they DO charge hotel guests for parking. But to save on parking at the parks they offer complimentart shuttles to all the parks and it runs on a 1/2 hr basis. But it is my guess that each shuttle bus stops at DtD then Typhoon Lagoon, then DHS, Epcot, MK, DAK then back to the hotel to start the whole loop again. So no matter where you are going, it will be a long bus ride either before or after your park experience. It may be faster to get off at DtD and hope on a bus going directly to the park of your choice.
Originally Posted By MinnieSummer You can no longer get busses at DtD to a park for this very reason. To many people from the DtD resorts were using the busses. Now they only go to resorts. However, it seems to me that when I stayed at BVP they had busses for each park, but each bus went to all of the DtD resorts. The Hilton is the only resort that participates in EMH and considerring when you are going that might be essential. Unfortunately, the resort fees charged by many of the DtD resorts are crazy. The BVP has fees but doesn't charge for parking. I think it and the Regal Sun are the only ones that don't -- or at least didn't when I stayed there.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I'd strongly advise you give serious consideration to Priceline.com's 'name your own price' bidding service ... there are some INCREDIBLE deals that can be had in Orlando these days (spent 11 days at the new Hilton near Sea World/Convention Center in December for $53 a night ... and it easily blew away most Disney deluxes in terms of room, service and amenities). Some folks are afraid of PL because you can't pick your hotel, but if you bid smartly, you can limit the choices and really wind up with a steal. Check out BiddingForTravel.com and BetterBidding.com sites for examples of what folks have been getting and advice. You can cut your lodging costs by huge amount.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad Oh well, gave up. Bagged the trip. Maybe another time. Just seemed that I was trying to force a vacation at a time that probably wasn't going to be what we are used to and we were going to have to pay so much more for it. Had a family meeting and even my kids were OK with not going.
Originally Posted By dshyates In 2008, we wanted to go to WDW but because of financial issues it wasn't an option, but we still wanted a theme park vacation so we came to Orlando stayed at Orange Lake Resort (which is now owned by Holiday Inn) and did Universal and SeaWorld on the Flex Pass. We did hit DtD and Cirque but other than that we didn't go onto Disney Property. I was afraid that we would really regret not going to WDW but we had a ball and really enjoyed ourselves. I have found that the Universal Resort Orlando is a great place to base a vacation around at a substantially lower cost than WDW. Ever since then WDW has been the side trip instead of the other way around. And I think your family may feel the same since your kids are getting into their teen years.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad They definitely want to do IOA, so I'm thinking you are probably right. My oldest has my Disney ferver so it will always be a part of our trips. Thanks for your help.
