Orlando Hotels - So Confused; Please Help!

Why stay in a hotel when you can rent a timeshare for a really reasonable price. We have stayed many times at Vistana. It is about 10 minutes drive to the Disney properties. You get two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, full kitchen and screened porch type thing. Plus washer/dryer, etc. We have been renting from timeshare properties for many, many years and could not go back to hotel type stays. If you want you can cook, etc. They always have tons of pools, bikes, etc. It's so much more comfortable and really no more money, even less most times.

Pop Century is great and a value hotel. You can get a frig. I think it is $10. I think you need to see Magic Kingdom at night just once. It is so awesome. Just have kid nap in the afternoon When are you going?

If you book with Disney, you fly in, get off plane, get on their Disney Magic Bus. They handle luggage. Same going home. You can book hotel, tickets and meal,plan thru Disney. The packages tend to be a bit more because they put in a pin, picture, etc. if you stay on property no car is needed. If you want to go to Seaworld just arrange thru the concierge desk. Not sure of cost but nothi g outrageous. We have done it a few times. For us staying off property, renting a car, dealing with the parking, then getting on the tram
Just did not seem like it was worth the aggravation. We did it once. Never again. So much easier on property.

Go to Allears.net. Gives you all the information you ever wanted for Disney World. Have fun.

Have made many trips to Orlando with the kids. Have you considered renting a condo? There are MANY available on the "Disney corridor" and it works super! VRBO is a wonderful resource for this. There are also many homes you can rent that have small pools right in the screened in patio! Also very cool, but does require special attention with a little one. Have you been watching the weather in Orlando? A heated pool may not be necessary. Also you may not be aware, but all of the Disney parks allow you to pay for parking for the day and come and go as you like. So if your little one is getting crabby - read tired! - might be time to head out. Take a rest, get some healthy food, and relax. You can always go back to the park after your break. With the exception of Animal Kingdom, the parks at night are spectacular! We often did that when the kids were little. Broke my heart to see families with screaming children late in the day, when it was such an easy fix. IMHO. Would be happy to offer my travel expetise if you would care to email me at ____@____.com you have a fabulous time in Fla!

Updated

t

Personally I love LaQuinta hotels. Was just in Orlando in Nov & stayed near Universal studios.

They have quite a few in the area, no bad reviews on any of them. Free continental breakfast (incl make your own waffles!) & the price is right.

We ended up getting an upgrade to the junior suite, you could prolly book that just as a guarantee, for maybe less than $100 /night.

T.

we have stayed at Port Orleans riverside which is so beautiful! We have also stayed at Coronado springs. I prefer PO over coronado but probably because at PO we were closer to the main stuff. Both have 1 AMAZING large pool with waterslides and smaller satellite pools throughout the property. we LOVE staying on property. it is so convenient. We also stayed at Animal Kingdom lodge which was completely incredible and Yatch and Beach which was beautiful too.

We loved Coronado Springs resort and it is moderately priced. Great heated main pool with a cool slide. We also like Port Orleans French Quarter but the pool is no where near as nice and the food court is much better at Coronado Springs.

At PO we went to the satellite pool because it was right outside our door. The main pool was nice but far from our room:)

we stayed at the Doubletree near Downtown Disney. Had a suite with fridge. and nice pool. If you are military, they have a military discount.

I am sure all the hotels around here have heated pools (they do turn off the heaters in March, but you don’t need them after that), microwaves and small fridges. It can become overwhelming because there are so many.

There are a lot of nice hotels on Rt 192 west of the main gate. This would be in Kissimmee and west of World Dr (Disney's main entrance). Do searches on Expedia or one of those sites and look at places that are listed "main gate west". It is a nice area and only 5 minutes to Disney's entrance.

Actually with a small child I liked staying in Disney. We stay at the Carribean Beach Resort. It has a fridge. Taking the busses back are just a joy and using their strollers that you can just leave at the park and pick up the next day.

I have been to Disney at least 6 or 7 times. The last time I went, I took one of my kids and me !

We had the best time !!!
I did a value trip !

I booked a room at Pop Century and used the Disney Express bus so I did NOT have to rent a car !! Parking and walking to the parks is a task in itself !! I brought a variety of healthy, organic chips and crackers in my suitcase. I bought yogurt and hummus (for dipping) right at Pop Century to leave in the frig ! Pop Century has a great food area. You can order breakfast, hot foods or buy separate food items to take back to the room w/ you.

I called Disney direct and had them plan the entire trip for me on the phone. It took 30 minutes for the staff member to book my plane, the room, the meal plan and the Disney Express Bus. The Disney bus picked us up at the airport, we used the buses to get to and from the parks...and the bus brought us back to the airport. Your luggage is delivered right to your room, too.

Ask for a room near a pool. Pop Century has a few pools. I LOVE the biggest pool toward the back of the property. It's huge !!

The first time you go to Disney...It is overwhelming !

Have you looked into the house rentals out there ... many of them are reasonably priced and better than a hotel.

I didnt know if you had already made your arrangements, but I just got this link for reduced rates at the Disney hotels. Thought you might like to check it out
http://bookwdw.reservations.disney.go.com
Disney has been one of our favorite family vacations for years and we go often. The nighttime fireworks shows are special. For young children I would go to the Magic Kingdom. If you stay at the Disney Resorts, you can take a break in the middle of the day to swim or nap, and then go back to the park to see the fireworks. Sometimes they also have a nighttime water parade that is fun to watch as well. Have fun on your trip!