Where to stay in March

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Thu, 01/04/2018 - 01:08

CEB NYC

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Where to stay in March

Hi all,

Happy New Year! I could use your wisdom. My mom and I are taking a short trip to Disney in March (fly in the evening of the 4th, parks on the 5th and 6th, fly home in the morning on the 7th). I have never planned a last minute trip before. It looks like Port Orleans French Quarter is sold out, which was our first choice. I see Riverside has some princess rooms or the Swan/Dolphin is an option for around the same price (though we'd need to pay for transportation to/from the airport). We are going to get a park hopper to hit all four parks in two days, and I snagged a lunch Be Our Guest reservation for Monday. A few questions:
Any recommendations on hotels (in the moderate range) for two adults with no car?
Anyone know the cancellation policy for Disney hotels (in case of bad weather)?
Do you recommend that I buy our two day hopper ticket directly from the Disney website?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Chrissy

Thu, 01/04/2018 - 02:24

Kristen K.

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CEB NYC wrote:

Hi all, A few questions:
Any recommendations on hotels (in the moderate range) for two adults with no car?

I don't see a problem with PO Riverside, the Royal Rooms are pretty neat.

CEB NYC wrote:

Anyone know the cancellation policy for Disney hotels (in case of bad weather)?

Someone else can answer this better than I can. Maybe one of our resident TAs

CEB NYC wrote:

Do you recommend that I buy our two day hopper ticket directly from the Disney website?

I would.

CEB NYC wrote:

Thanks in advance for your help!

No problem! Let us know what you decide.

Thu, 01/04/2018 - 17:59

CEB NYC

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Thanks, Kristen! Just as an FYI for others, I chatted with a Disney rep today who said there is no penalty for hotel cancellations made five days or more in advance (for room only bookings). I appreciate your help.

Fri, 01/05/2018 - 01:44

CEB NYC

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my mom and i decided to try Pop Century since it's just the two of us and a short trip. It was eligible for the room only discount offer and the price was affordable (by Disney standards). Fingers crossed we like it! Our past trips have been at the Contemporary and Port Orleans. We're excited to see the Flower and Garden show for the first time.

Fri, 01/05/2018 - 14:23

Kristen K.

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CEB NYC wrote:

We're excited to see the Flower and Garden show for the first time.

I Loooove Flower and Garden Festival. The specialty gardens are amazing, and I think it's actually become better than Food & Wine Festival for me.

Sat, 01/06/2018 - 00:21

JoAnn C

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CEB NYC wrote:

my mom and i decided to try Pop Century since it's just the two of us and a short trip. It was eligible for the room only discount offer and the price was affordable (by Disney standards). Fingers crossed we like it!

Pop is an awesome resort.

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Sat, 01/06/2018 - 13:15

CEB NYC

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Thanks guys, you're making me even more excited! With how cold it is in Chicago, it's nice to be planning a FL vacation. I've also been dreaming of the Joffrey's donuts:) Everything is now booked, including fast passes. We'll have a number of firsts: flower and garden show, just me and my mom, Pop resort. Should be lots of fun.

Wed, 01/10/2018 - 10:44

buzz2001

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Coronado Springs is a great choice.

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Wed, 01/10/2018 - 15:05

Kristen K.

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buzz2001 wrote:

Coronado Springs is a great choice.

What!? You don't say. I would have never guessed that from you.
How's the construction over there right now? I know that can sometimes keep people from booking. Is it localized or all over the place?

Mon, 01/15/2018 - 19:22

drwadadli

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I just did some looking for the dates you are traveling and if you haven't booked your room yet, there is still availability at Coronado Springs, Cabins at Fort Wilderness and Caribbean Beach Resort. I personally haven't stayed at any of those so I have no opinions to give you. I hear good things about Pop Century but haven't tried it either.

As far as your tickets, for tickets under 3 days (hopper or no hopper) you are typically best to buy them directly through Disney. Any discounts you might get typically don't start until staying 3+ days. My wife and I went for a long weekend last year for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts and again for Epcot Food & Wine Festival. For both trips, we wanted 2-Day Basic park tickets. I did a lot of research and it was cheapest to get the tickets directly through Disney and we went ahead and waited and got our tickets when we checked into the resort. There are some "discount" ticket venues that offer 2-day tickets but they are the same price as through Disney so you aren't saving anything. Because of that, that is why we just waited in bought them on-site.

My wife loves the Flower & Garden Festival (after the Food & wine Festival). We even attended some of the garden demos. You will enjoy it.

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Sat, 01/20/2018 - 17:57

CEB NYC

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Thanks for the additional information! My research found the same thing, no discounts unless the tickets were 3 days+, so I'm glad to hear I didn't miss anything. We are booked for Pop Century for three nights and have a two-day park hopper pass. So far our plans are:

Sunday
Arrive around 7, take Magic Express to hotel (have done online check in and put in some room requests; we'll see what we get)

Monday
Morning at Animal Kingdom (safari and animal trails - want to see the baby tigers and baby hippo)
Lunch at Be Our Guest
Afternoon in Magic Kingdom (fast passes for Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, It's a Small World; will do others, too)
Evening at Epcot

Tuesday
Morning at Epcot (Royal Tea Garden Tour)
Afternoon at Hollywood Studios (fast passes for Tower of Terror and Toy Story)
Evening at Epcot

Wednesday
Tragical Express in the morning back to the airport

It's goingto be a whirlwind! You all are making me even more excited to see the Flower and Garden Festival!

Sun, 01/21/2018 - 16:06