Downtown Disney Hotels?

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Kristen K.'s picture
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Downtown Disney Hotels?

Has anyone stayed at any of the Downtown Disney Hotels lately? I stayed there frequently as a child, but I haven't been over in the Hotel Circle for years.

Can you still get a great rate by staying there, or is it just as easy to stay at a Disney Hotel these days?

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Yes i have visited Downtown Disney Hotels . No nowadays rates are increased. But facilities are improved as compared with the previous one.
We can enjoy 81 holes of championship golf and a complimentary shuttles to all Disney Theme Parks, and Disney Water Parks. Your vacation to Disney will be very interesting and entertaining.

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This past weekend I stayed at the DoubleTree for 2 nights. I feel it is one of the better Downtown Disney hotels/resorts. Like anywhere though some Downtown Disney hotls/resorts are good while others need refurbishment or improvement. It all depends what you are looking for in your accommodations.

For me the cheapest cost per night was the DoubleTree at 88/nt.

I have stayed at almost all the Downtown Disney resorts, let me know if you have a specific question,

Kristen K.'s picture
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$88 is a great price, are they usually in that range?

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Kristen K. wrote:
$88 is a great price, are they usually in that range?

I believe so. If you Google 'Orlando Good Neighbor Hotels' you can find some amazing deals on hotels that are close to Disney. When we would visit we would always stay at the Baymont Inn & Suites in Kissimmee. It was only about 5mins from AK!

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What is the transportation like from these hotels? (the Downtown Disney ones). Does it work out to be just as convenient, or is it a bit of a pain?

We've thought about staying in the Doubletree instead, but didn't want to be frustrated getting anywhere.

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Kristen K. wrote:
$88 is a great price, are they usually in that range?

Like on property Disney resorts the Downtown Disney hotels/resorts prices depend on the time of year. I always search google for promotional codes or deals. 88 a night is the cheapest I have stayed at the DoubleTree for though. I used a Hilton Honors protional code I found; type "MVP Hilton" into google and it should come up. All you need to book is a Hilton Honors rewards number. It is free to join. The best deal price that came up before the code was about $110/nt.

The code I used could also work at the Hilton at Downtown Disney or the Hilton at Bonnet Creeek. I have stayed at both properties and they are very nice. The Hilton at Downrown Disney is right across the street from the Market Place entrance. I stayed at the Bonnet Creek Hilton for free for 2 nights when they first opened by becoming 1 of the first 90 Facebook fans!

Another thing to point out that is sometimes overlooked or not stated clearly when booking a hotel/resort is the fees. Some of the Downtown Disney hotels charge a resort fee and a parking fee. Some just charge a parking free. Be sure to add that into your per night price when comparing properties. On-property Disney hotels/resorts do not charge a resort fee or parking fee.

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finngirl wrote:
What is the transportation like from these hotels? (the Downtown Disney ones). Does it work out to be just as convenient, or is it a bit of a pain?

We've thought about staying in the Doubletree instead, but didn't want to be frustrated getting anywhere.

Staying on property is always much more convient because Disney transportation runs approximately every 20 mins from the resorts to the parks and Downtown Disney. The Downtown Disney busses run every hours to 2 hours I believe. I also think they stop at all 7 of the Downtown Disney hotels. I am not certain as I have never personally taken them. I usually take a bus from Downtown Disney or drive to my destination.

However if you are not in a rush and do not mind a little walking. If I am staying at a Downtown Disney hotel I will walk to the Marketplace entrance and take a Disney bus to a resort (usually one close to the park I want to go to). Then I will take the bus from that resort to the park. It should be noted you can walk from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom antis cuts out the time waiting for a 2nd bus once you arrive from Downtown Disney. You can also walk (or take a boat) to Epcot and Hollywold Studios from the Swan and Dolphin, Boardwalk, Beach Club, and the Yact Club. Again this makes for only 1 bus ride from Downtowm Disney to a resort rather then 2 bus rides.

The key to all of this is knowing where you are going.

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Ucf_Grad wrote:
finngirl wrote:
What is the transportation like from these hotels? (the Downtown Disney ones). Does it work out to be just as convenient, or is it a bit of a pain?

We've thought about staying in the Doubletree instead, but didn't want to be frustrated getting anywhere.

Staying on property is always much more convient because Disney transportation runs approximately every 20 mins from the resorts to the parks and Downtown Disney. The Downtown Disney busses run every hours to 2 hours I believe.

eek eek WHAT!?!?
Seriously? The bus service to the hotel circle used to be just as good as at the Disney owned hotel. Well, that blows that out of the water.

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I'm staying at the Hilton for 4 days next week so I will let you know how that goes....I had stayed at the Grovesnor before and it was nice.

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ChipnDaleFan wrote:
I'm staying at the Hilton for 4 days next week so I will let you know how that goes....I had stayed at the Grovesnor before and it was nice.

So, how was it, ChipnDaleFan??

This is one of the hotels that says they are are a WDW Good Neighbor Hotel, and say that they participate in the Disney bus system. Did it work well? I know this was a while ago, but we're thinking of heading that route this time, so I'm curious.

Thanks, in advance!

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We have stayed at the Downtown Disney hotels in the past and found the buses to be on a pretty regular service, time wise. We never waited more than 20 minutes for a bus to come through our hotel. Our next trip in August we are staying at the Best Western there and got a package with airfare for 7 nights that was right around $1,200.00 for my wife and I.

I just did a quick search on their website for the dates we are going in August, just for the hotel and it was $732.62 for 7 nights at the Best Western. All taxes and fees included.

We have stayed at this hotel many times and the rooms that we had were all updated and very clean. The lobby area is nice, though not over the top Disney. So if that is something you are looking for, this would not be the place. Overall, I have always been pleased with all the Downtown Disney area hotels in the past.

We're hardly at the hotel for more than sleeping, showering and a few night caps at the bar. So all of these resorts fit our needs to a 'T'.

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We have not stayed at one of the Downtown Disney Hotels there AT Downtown Disney, but we did just stay at the Wyndham Grand Orlando Bonnet Creek resort in January for 3 nights. We were so lost without Disney Transportation. They have about 6 departures a day to each park. We ended up driving to the parks for those few days. It was just too confusing to try to make ADR's and change them according to that bus schedule.

While we were not thrilled with CBR, we SOOOOOOO welcomed being back at a Disney resort for the final 5 nights of our trip. It just makes our trip so much easier and so much more stress free.

We really like going to a bus stop and knowing that a bus should be by shortly. We are huge fans of Disney Transportation.

But, if you are looking at price and deals, it was a pretty good deal at the Wyndham Grand Orlando. They wanted to sell us a timeshare (of course) and offered us the 4 day 3 night deal for $199. I kept saying no until they came down to $99 for 4 days and 3 nights. We had to sit through their 120 minute sales pitch, that was easy enough. We are Wyndham Rewards members, so they call us periodically and offer to sell us a timeshare. We ended up with a $100 certificate to use toward a 1 night stay at a Wyndham resort and a $75 Visa gift card just for listening.

The resort is beautiful, but it is not Disney.

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