Hi All, I’m planning a summer 2018 visit for myself, husband and two daughters 10&7. We stayed at AoA in 2016 and did the meal plan but this time we want to keep a smaller budget. I’m considering one of the good neigbor hotels with free breakfast and probably a 2 bedroom suite, definitely separate area/room for girls to sleep.
Can anyone suggest somewhere they’ve stayed? We’d like to be as close as possible to MK. I’d also like to confirm that the restaurant bookings and fast pass+ is all the same as if we stay on property.
Also, the “Good Neighbor” designation for certain hotels near WDW is a bit of a marketing come-on. You really do not get much in the way of benefits over other off-site hotels - for example, ADRs are at 180 days (no +10) and FPP are at 30 days, just like all the other hotels.
We have previously stayed off site on two occasions, both times staying at Floridays Orlando Hotel Deals near Disney | Specials at Floridays Resort Orlando. Great resort, large condominium/apartment type accommodations, restaurant (never used), nice theme pool and quiet pool areas. They’re located within 10-15 minutes of WDW (they provide transportation to the parks but we never used it). The rates per night are a fraction of the cost of staying on-site at WDW for much larger accommodations. As previously mentioned you won’t get the ability of 180 days +10 restaurant bookings or 60 days FP+ bookings.
Nothing compares to staying “in the bubble” but when money is a factor and you’ve got to get your Disney fix, this is a really nice place.
We just got back from an 8-night stay at Orange Lake Resort. We had a 2-br villa with kitchen, washer/dryer, whirlpool tub, screened balcony and pond/forest/sunrise view. We even discovered we could see MK fireworks from our room one night! I booked it based on the write-up in the Unofficial Guide and it was fabulous.
Our family of 7 had plenty of space to spread out and relax. The washer/dryer is an absolute blessing when your party of 7 comes back soaking wet, which happened at least half the days of our trip.
Free parking. Low resort fee ($8/nt). Several different pools and activities are on site and the entire resort is beautifully landscaped. It borders Animal Kingdom Lodge property and there is a Publix (grocery), Target, and many restaurants right outside the gates.
You will need a rental car, but for us even with the minivan rental we still saved $900 by booking offsite at Orange Lake over a DVC points rental or 2 standard rooms at WDW.
Friendly staff. Delicious breakfast buffet (extra charge, but cheaper if you add it when booking.)
The only drawback to me was that with such a large (luscious) resort, it took time to drive from our room in the way back section to get out to the main road. So drives to the parks were more like 18 minutes than the 11 I expected.
With your family size a 1-br villa could also work, if you were trying to squeeze the budget and didn’t mind using the sleeper sofa every night for the girls. I don’t know how much the price difference is though and if it would even be worth it. It’s really nice to have their own bedroom for their baggage and souvenirs/toys. Less clutter in the living room means mom and dad feel more relaxed.