Going to Florida, need help finding hotel!

[Boose]

Hey everyone. My family and I are planning a trip to florida. Well be hitting up these parks in order of importance:

 

Busch Gardens

Disney World

Gatorland

Epcot

Sea World

Adventure Islands

Universal Orlando

 

I want to help my mom choose a place to stay. Every Disney resort is unhealthily expensive. We just want a nice place to stay in the middle of all these parks, that wont hurt our wallets. We have a timeshare with RCI if that helps. Post the places you've stayed, and the pros and cons of it. Thank you VERY VERY much!

 

P.S. If you need any more info on our plans, post or message me!

[robbalvey]

It's hard to answer the poll because I'm not sure what you guys are into. If you want a park with just thrill rides, Busch Gardens, if you want a park the whole family can enjoy, Disney World, if you want a mix of both, Universal.

 

As for where to stay there are all kinds of "value" hotels all over Orlando, but I would reccomend staying on property at either Disney or Universal. There are some nice perks that come along with it.

 

I'm also going to move this thread to the main forum because since Elissa and I usually end up staying on WDW property in Orlando, if you aren't interested in that, some of our other readers might be able to help share their experiences.

 

--Robb

[Boose]

The poll was just a fun extra, just to see what other people liked the most because i've never been to the east cost.

 

As for hotels, I guess im just asking for a list of hotels you have all stayed at and the pros and cons of your experiences. We love any and all coasters.

[robbalvey]

WDW hotels we have stayed at -

 

The Boardwalk - Nothing but awesome here! This is my favorite WDW hotel. Close to my favorite park, Epcot, and you can walk to either Epcot or MGM. And it's theme is roller coasters - how can you not like it?

 

Yacht Club/Beach Club - It's slightly nicer than Boardwalk, but it's a bit more "stuffy" IMO, for the price I'd rather stay at Boardwalk

 

Animal Kingdom Lodge - Only really nice if you can get a Savannah view and it's out of the way.

 

Wilderness Lodge - While it's not on the monorail line you get a lot of the same benefits of being near Magic Kingdom, but if you're someone who needs to have the monorail line it might not be for you.

 

Grand Floridian - Was really too stuffy for me. Not my style.

 

The Swan - I'm not sure what I didn't like about this hotel, I just didn't really care much for it.

 

Port Orleans - Really nice for a moderate. Felt it was a good value for money.

 

Universal Hotels we've stayed at -

 

Royal Pacific - very nice! Better than I expected it to be. Not sure if Universal still does the unlimited express for hotel guests but this was a great added bonus!

 

Hope this helps!

 

--Robb

[Speeddeamon128]

I recommend Disney. Besides Busch Gardens most of your parks are in or near Orlando & Tampa is about 2 hours west of Orlando & if you are just going for credits you can get BGA done in a few hours so it is not worth staying that far away from Orlando. Plus if you stay at a Disney Resort you can get Extra Magic Hours so you can hit the Disney parks at night & the other parks during the day.

 

I don't really remember or pay attention to hotels. I stayed at Disney's All-Star resort during my Senior Class trip in June & it was decent, nothing fancy. My favorite hotel in Florida is the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal. It is an incredible hotel & it is in walking distance to both Universal parks. Most of the time when I visit Florida I just find a cheap Holiday Inn or something simular that is close driving distance to the parks.

[SharkTums]

^Busch Gardens is only about 65 minutes from any of the resort areas of 'Orlando'.

 

As for where to stay. Any of the large chain hotels are fine if you're looking for something cheaper than the Disney or Universal Hotels.

 

There are also a ton of condo's or houses you can rent as well.

[Mr. Starr]

There are also a ton of condo's or houses you can rent as well.

 

Definite recommendation! When my family went to Orlando, we rented a house for a week and loved it. We got week long passes to USO and IOA and were able to go to the parks all day, or just for a couple of hours and then go relax at the house. Just remember to check what type of necessities you'll need before you leave, as some houses don't have dish soap, towels, shampoo, etc.

[frozenflames]

I would say to stay either directly in or around the immediate WDW area. Not only do you have the most extensive collection of accomodations, you're in a pretty centralized location, so it shouldn't really take more than 20 minutes or so to travel to any given park (barring Busch Gardens, that is).

 

I've only stayed on property at WDW at the Port Orleans, but from what I remember (I was very very young when I stayed there), it was very pleasant.

 

I've stayed at a number of other places, including a condo, and an Economy Suites, that were very nice, and really close to the parks. But I would definitely recommend to NOT stay at the AmeriSuites Lake Buena Vista (if it even still exists), because it was an utter dump with rude staff members.

[RctInfinity]

Not sure if Universal still does the unlimited express for hotel guests but this was a great added bonus!

 

Yup, they still do that! It's a REALLY great value, especially since your hotel key will get you into the Express lines in both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (except Rockit at Universal).

[adeuce02]

Disney does have the extra magic hours that comes along with staying at the resorts.

[nay]

I almost always stay on Disney property when I go to Orlando, and I definitely recommend doing so if you plan on spending time at the WDW parks. Pop Century is my favorite of the resorts in the value price category. It's not as fancy as the moderate and deluxe resorts, but the theming is fun, it's clean and easy to get around.

 

A few years back, a bunch of us stayed at the Buena Vista Suites, pretty close to Disney, and it was decent. I would stay there again if I couldn't stay at WDW.

[SLY]

Don't want to hijack your thread too much, because I'm interested too.

 

I'm planning a large Florida coaster trip in March and I'm curious how feasible it's going to be to do the Orlando area coasters within 2 days? I would hope to get a park hopper pass for Disney and do all 3 in one day.

 

Is this feasible?

 

If I get WDW in one day, will I be able to do Universal and Sea World the next day? If I can do those large parks within 2 days, I would plan to hit the other 2 small parks early the next morning before heading down to Tampa.

[doom1001]

In your poll do you mean Islands of Adventure in Universal or Adventure Island which is the waterpark next to Busch Gardens in Tampa?If I have to pick one assuming you mean Islands of Adventure then I have to go with Disney,can't really pick the other ones over Disney even though they have better coasters.

[Em-Z]

^^ I can't see how you could do all 4 Disney parks in a day. That would be really insane if you want to ride anything besides the roller coasters, and even then it would be very hard depending on lines. If you want to ride any other rides, enjoy the atmosphere, and not have a totally crazy schedule, you should stay longer.

 

As for hotels, I stayed at the Disney hotel Port Orleans Riverside which is a moderate resort, and it was really nice. It wasn't deluxe but it had everything we needed and the rooms were pretty spacious and it was a very good price. I would recommend Disney hotels for all the benefits they offer.

[robbalvey]

Don't want to hijack your thread too much, because I'm interested too.

 

I'm planning a large Florida coaster trip in March and I'm curious how feasible it's going to be to do the Orlando area coasters within 2 days? I would hope to get a park hopper pass for Disney and do all 3 in one day.

 

Is this feasible?

 

If I get WDW in one day, will I be able to do Universal and Sea World the next day? If I can do those large parks within 2 days, I would plan to hit the other 2 small parks early the next morning before heading down to Tampa.

If ALL you are doing is running in and getting the coaster credits, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

If you expect to "see the parks" there is no way this can be done in that short amount of time.

 

It would take you nearly a half a day alone to walk around Epcot.

 

Again, if you're just doing a credit run, you can do Sea World and Universal in a day. I would go to Sea World for opening and then go to Universal and get the express pass.

 

If you're going to Tampa, I wouldn't hit parks in the morning and then go, because lines could get long in the afternoon at Busch Gardens (unless they are still offering Quick Queue, then I'd reccomend that.)

 

Again, it's all feasble if you're just running in to ride each coaster once, and THAT'S IT! To actually be able to "see the parks", especially if this is your first Florida visit, you'll need a day at each park to see everything.

 

--Robb "Doesn't sound like that large of a trip if you're trying to hit 7 of the biggest parks in the world in 3 days!" Alvey

[SLY]

Thanks. I've been to Disney and Epcot twice, but it's been a few years. Have the Space Mountain and Big Thunder credits.

 

I thoroughly enjoy spending time exploring parks, especially the ones I've never been to...but I'm also fortunate to have a work related fully expense paid trip to Tampa and I would love to take advantage of hitting everything I can!

[moinab]

We prefer to stay offsite when we go to WDW, because we never make use of the Extra Magic Hours, and we get free parking with annual passes.

 

Keep in mind, parking adds $14-$15 per day for all these parks, if you don't have annual passes that include parking and you're not staying onsite.

 

Having said that, though, we always priceline our hotels. We're not too particular about where we stay, and usually have good luck with priceline. Our favorite place to stay (that we've nabbed repeatedly, through priceline,) is the Country Inn and Suites Calypso Cay.

[Philrad71]

When are you going?

 

We are going to Florida from January 8th-22nd and will be staying the 1st week at the Orange Lake Resort in Kissimmee, which I believe is for both rentals and RCI members. We have swapped out our normal RCI time share to stay here, so I will be able to tell you more about it when I return.

 

The website shows the resort is packed with plenty of things to do (four golf courses, a water park w/lazy river, Putt-Putt, spas, etc) so we are going to take one non-park day and just spend it at the resort enjoying the amenities (weather pending, of course).

 

Look for a full trip report/review when I return at the end of January!

[timfreeman]

If you are going to WDW, Universal, & SeaWorld, and want to stay offsite, I'd recommend staying centrally like Hotel Plaza Blvd. It's right beside Downtown Disney and central to all the sites. All hotels in the area offer shuttles if you don't want to pay for parking everyday. I'd recommend the Hilton It's expensive but nice and literally right across the street from DD. There's also a DoubleTree within a half mile of DD. Think there are others, but those are the only two I've visited. Orange Lake is a very nice high end deal if that's your speed.

 

Onsite Disney: Been to quite a few, depends on what you are looking for. Just a hotel room to sleep? Any resort will do. I'd recommend Pop Century as it seems to have more buses. For moderate, our favorite is Caribbean Beach. Don't stay often in the Deluxe, but Polynesian and Boardwalk fit our style.

 

Onsite/Universal: Royal Pacific is our favorite with great theming. The Express Passes are worth at least 1 day stay, which actually gives you 2 days Express (day you checkin and the day you check out). I would have recommended the DoubleTree until they started charging for parking. We'd stay there and walk back and forth to the parks. Our favorite now is Homewood Suites. It's across the street from Wet and Wild. Again, all hotels offer shuttles, but we normally pay to park for the convenience.

[robosto]

So Boose, best tip for finding hotels in Orlando, Priceline is your Friend!! last time we were in Orlando, we got the Hilton garden inn right across the street from sea wold (very centrally located) for $33.00 a night. Pretty good for a 3-3.5 star hotel. The time before that was at the Wyndham Orlando Resort (on I-drive 3 miles north of sea world, 2 miles from universal) for $26.00 a night.

 

See, the great thing about Orlando is that there are so many hotels needing bodies in beds, and that is good for you to name your own price, just be patient with your bidding.

 

one day though, ill stop being cheap, and stay on site at Disney to get the full experience.....for one night at least...then go back to being cheap

 

Scott

[monsterfan99]

This hotel recommendation is going to come out of left field but the Super 8 on W. Irlo Bronson right by Old Town/Fun Spot (It's HUGE) is amazing for 35 bucks a night with tax during the summer. The rooms were remodeled 2 years ago, the place is clean and the staff is great. The staff even called in a tech guy at 3 am with when their routers crashed.

 

The same trip we spent 2 nights towards the end at All Star Sports and will never go back. If you plan well with a good touring plan (Unoffical Guide to WDW being the pick of the litter) you will be fine without extra magic hours at WDW. The only negative is the $15 parking fees unless someone in your party has an Annual Pass.

[edh]

Having worked at the Boardwalk, that is personally one of my favorite hotels on the Disney property. I have stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Polynesian. Boardwalk is close to Epcot/Hollywood Studios, while the Polynesian is close to MK.

 

I have also stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Universal. That is a great hotel and is probably one of the top ones I have stayed in.

 

If price is an issue, this is probably my top choice for hotels. We got a 2BR suite, and had 4 double beds and a pull out couch all for $100 a night. It has free shuttles to the parks (didnt use, since I parked at the Boardwalk to meet up with my friend who got us into the parks for free) And they also have a free breakfast and a managers reception with free beer and wine. It is also right next to Old Town, which is a great place to go at night. Do the Slingshot ride if you can. http://www.qualityinn.com/hotel-kissimmee-florida-FL261?sid=7bKFi.7Hgvhg8Zkg.2&sarea=5725&sname=Kissimmee&sstate=FL&scountry=US&sradius=40.22&slat=28.291669845581055&slon=-81.40779876708984&schain=Q&exp=&scity=Kissimmee&sort=&type=&map=n&nroom=1&nadult1=1&nchild1=0&nadult2=1&nchild2=0&nadult3=1&nchild3=0&nadult4=1&nchild4=0&nadult5=1&nchild5=0