Thought I'd throw it out there - doing research.
Looking to visit Disney/Sea World for a couple of days. Would like a referral to a nice hotel with free shuttle svcs and a nice pool possibly with water slides. Kissimmee, Orlando or surrounding area ok. Saw some also offer kids eat free and "babysitting" or night time kids programs.
Update: Don't want to do Disney properties/prices.
Figured you all are a much better resource than just aimlessly going through the travel websites.
Thanks Mamas!
I don't think there are many places that offer FREE shuttle (maybe I'm wrong) that's why most people pay the extra to stay on Disney Property. I was in Florida a couple years ago and I stayed at Orange Lake Resort, great pools/waterpark/slides, very big property and you have access to all properties and pools. But you have to pay for shuttles.
Did u consider staying on Disney property? There's shuttle service, pools and a great meal plan they offer for the entire family that you can use on the premises and inside the theme parks.
We stayed at the Hyatt Grand Cypress. There is a shuttle that runs a couple times in the morning and I think once or twice late afternoon to MOST of the Disney parks - Sea World being one. If they don't, you can always take the shuttle to downtown Disney and then a bus from there. They also have free strollers to use during your stay and an awesome pool area - with two water slides and three hot tubs. They also have bike riding, canoes, those water things w/the big wheels you can pedal (I forget what they're called), an arcade and golfing. It's a GREAT place to stay - I would definitely recommend it. Check out their website: www.grandhyattcypress.com.
check out website called mousesavers dot com. They have a lot of good resources.
just wanted to clear up that Sea World is not a Disney park
The on site disney hotels all have what you are asking for.
They don't do kids eat free but the portions are big enough to split between 2 people , not all of them have baby sitting some of them do.
Check out www.allears.net
Keep in mind that if you stay at an offsite resort/hotel, their shuttles to Disney are not always convenient. Especially if you have kids, and all the gear that go with them. I stayed at the Marriott World Resort several years ago (it was a trip with friends, no kids) and we took a shuttle to Sea World. It ran twice in the morning and twice at closing. And it was a general shuttle, so we stopped at about 5 or 6 other hotels before even getting to the park. It took us almost an hour and a half to get there in the morning. The closing shuttles were not convenient so we ended up just taking a cab.
Look into the disney all star resorts. They are reasonable and they all hae great pools with slides. We stayed there on our first trip the room wasn't large but it was nice. They ammenties were all great. Pool, lobby,restaurant, disney perks. Good luck have fun!
We went about a year ago and stayed in a Comfort Suites. I cannot remember the address/location. I know we were very close to Animal Kingdom because we could see one of the rides from the pool area. It was a fabulous hotel. Had a nice pool, rooms with mini fridge and microwave. (Just enough room for storing snacks for the parks.) It offered shuttles to all the parks. Although, when they offer these shuttles they only go at certain times to certain parks. So, say that we wanted to go early in the morning to Epcot. We would have to take the shuttle that left at the time that was offered but it was maybe going to a different Disney park. Then we would have to take a Disney shuttle/ monorail to the park that we wanted to see. The same for going home. We would have to allow time to make it to the correct shuttle to get back to our hotel. That was the only complaint. It also had a continental B-fast. It was actually really nice because EVERY day they had hot items (biscuits/gravy, eggs, sausage, etc...) AND they had Mickey Mouse Waffle Makers. That was one of the fun memories that my kids remember, every day I would make them their own Mickey Mouse waffles for breakfast!
The shuttles are the only complaint I had about staying "off site". (They offer shuttles that go to all the parks that leave every 10 minutes.) If you will be needing to go back to hotel during naptime, etc then this will need to be taken into consideration. I would request to see a copy of the times/locations for the shuttles before booking the hotel. When we booked with the hotel they made it sound like they were constantly leaving/returning, when in reality it was only a few times in the morning and a few times returning. Also, one of the nights we stayed after hours for trick or treating, we had to take a taxi home because the latest shuttle left at like 8pm or something.
Sorry this is so long, I wanted to be thorough! Have fun on your vacation. We had a blast and CANNOT wait to go back!
Whatever you do, please check the bedbug registry. They are going around there now too.
I second the Grand Cypress. We have stayed in the villas not the hotel and it was really nice. The villas are more of a golf resort area but still kid friendly. Actually we are thinking of staying there again this summer. The prices are really good right now.
