Hotels in Orlando-what do u think?

[Elizanessie]

For me (44 then) son (16 then)-dont drive.

 

Fairfield Inn +studios near Universal -

planning 3 nights there ...want two days for Universal Studios..get cont break incl-$89 per night then.....

Orlando World Centre Marriott Resort-

2 nights there using Marriott rewards-shuttles to Disney for Epcot etc.

 

As I have Marriott reward points thought it would be better to use them in "dearer" hotel....does this sound good idea folks.

 

A wee question though-how would we get from first hotel to second.....anyone know if there would be a shuttle for guests.

 

Liz

[cali-croozer]

I didn't understand you're comment about using the reward points so my reply may or may not be of help to you....

 

If I were you, I would stay on site at Disneyworld. It looks like you are there for only a couple of days so getting around on their transportation system just can't be beat. I would try to stay at a moderate hotel (the budget ones - All Star, etc) aren't worth the money, in my opinion. We stayed at the Coronado Springs Hotel. Beautiful grounds. If you want to research WDW deals, check mousesavers.com. I used a discount code I found on that website that saved us $30 a night compared to the AAA discount. There might also be a package deal for when you're visiting.

 

If you are going to stay at the Marriott, just be sure to find out what their shuttle service actually is. WDW transportation is continuous. Some hotels offer only scheduled or sporadic service.

 

If you don't have luck getting information on this website about transportation from hotel 1 to hotel 2, contact the hotels. I have found that they can be very helpful in these matters.

[cruisinsly]

I moved from the Orlando area about 8 months ago (before my son was born). We lived about 2 minutes from the Fairfield that you are asking about. It is a nice hotel. If you are going to look at staying at Disney World, you might also want to look at staying onsite at Universal. The Royal Pacific is a very nice hotel (A little better than one of the moderates at Disney in my own opinion). They have packages through Universalorlando.com (the travel company that is owned and operated by Universal Studios) that might be a good price for you as well. Plus, Universal has more thrill rides and roller coasters that your 16 yr old might like. Universal also has packages with area hotels that are right across the street from Universal too that are not quite as expensive. I am not sure if the Fairfield is one of them. If you have any questions, please let me know.

[Elizanessie]

cruisinsly

 

Originally I had planned just having our 5 nights at the Fairfield(Vineland Rd) then heading off to PC.......but then I spotted the Marriott Orlando World Centre Resort and thought WOW....but of course the prices are wow also.

That was when I thought....well I have the Marriott Reward points so may aswell use them for there.

 

Thought that as the Fairfield was near Universal that would be fine and the price is good! And being a Marriott it should be nice.....hopefully.

 

Then the World Centre one is near Disney so that would be handy also. We will only do the MGM and Epcot at Disney. And unfortunately we are not good on rollercoasters so that is why we picked MGM etc.

 

I have read somewhere that there is a really big McDonalds in Orlando....we love McD's.....any idea where it is? We try to visit one in every country we go to.

 

We want to enjoy our first visit to Orlando but we are also watching the dollars as this is pre cruise hence the reason for using Marriott reward points etc.

 

Any tips you can give on making the dollars go further would be appreciated :D Someone mentioned doing a Timeshare visit and getting freebies. :D

 

Liz

[cruisinsly]

Hi Liz!

The McDonalds that you are referring to is at the corner of Sand Lake Rd and International Dr. This McDonalds is just a few miles from Universal. Universal and Disney are about 10 miles apart from one another. If you are strickly going to MGM and Epcot, then you might want to stay closer to Disney since they are Disney theme parks. There is a Fairfield Inn that is just minutes away from Disney. It is the Fairfield Inn Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Marriott Village. I have stayed at this hotel before. It was nice. Not like the World Center, but it was nice and clean and had that comp breakfast. Why spend all that money on a hotel where you are not going to be there very much? They also have transportation to Disney, Universal and Sea World. I dont know if it is comp transportation. Most likely it is since just about all places offer it. I am not sure how you would make it to McDonalds though. Probably would have to catch a taxi.

 

Regarding the time share visit. I personally wouldnt want to take several hours out of my day to go and sit in a convention type atmosphere. Just my personal opinion. That is just a decision that you will have to weigh the pros and cons. Once piece of advice I would give though is not to buy your theme park tickets from the people who sell them for all theme parks at gas stations, etc. I use to work behind the scenes at one of the theme parks mentioned. We had a big problem with people getting these theme park tickets by other means than buying them. Once they had them, they would sell them at a ridiculous low price in exchange for whatever it was that they wanted you to attend at the time. Once a theme park knows that there are tickets that were not purchased legitimately, they void the ticket. We had people being turned away at the front gates because their tickets had been void. I would hate to see you spend money on tickets, only to find out that they might be voided. This didnt happen with all of the vendors, just a few. But you can never be too safe. I would suggest buying your tickets right at the front gates of the theme parks. Multi day tickets are going to give you the better deal.

 

Other than that, I really cant think of any other money saving tips. Hard to think right now anyway, my 7 month old just woke up. I would definately look at the Fairfield Inn at Lake Buena Vista. (FYI- Lake Buena Vista is the name of the "town" that Disney is in.)