Help Me Decide between these Resort Options!

#1

Hello!

I just joined touring plans and excited to use this site! My little family of 3 will be going to Disney World March 27th - April 5th (Flying from California). I am having the hardest time trying to decide on a resort plan for this trip (We have only been to Disney World 1x before and stayed 2 nights at Pop Century just for the benefits.) We do have several timeshare options off site such as Hilton and Marriot (with nothing out of pocket). However, For this trip I am just really thinking the convenience would be awesome to stay on-site for the majority of the time we are there. Please help me decide and yes, the cost does have an effect on what we choose.

1st Option:
27th - 31st Stay at Hilton Parc Soleil Timeshare
31st-5th Stay at Disney Swan
6 Day Park Passes
Total cost is $2880
Pros: Swan is Right in the middle of everything. Excited to Ride the Boats and be able to walk to the Boardwalk. Also, Got The Parc Soleil for 1/2 the points as normal.
Cons: No Package Deal to put a deposit down , No Magic Express, Bus to MK is not good

2nd Option
27th-31st stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort (Water View) will request the Aruba Area (Tried to book through the 1st but it’s not available)
31st-2 - Disney Swan
2nd-5th - A Marriott or Hilton Timeshare Resort off property
Includes 6 Day Disney tickets
Total Cost $3483
Pros- Package Deal with extras, Magic Express Bus, Skyliner convenience if we get Aruba
Cons- Close to $500 more, need to move hotels 3x, Possibly don’t get the room area we request,

3rd Option
Just stay off Property in our timeshares and drive in everyday
6 Day Tickets $1734
FREE besides a $350 rental car and WDW Parking fee
Total Cost About $2234 but not convenient
Pros - Saves close to 1k
Cons - Not convenient, won’t have a chance at rope drop if we drive in

4th Option
27th-31st stay at Carribean Beach Resort
31st-5th - Off-site Hilton or Marriott Timeshare (basically no extra chage)
Includes 6 Days Disney Tickets
Total is $3005

Also - I put in a request through RCI for a DVC resort (Probably the Saratoga Springs if we get anything). If the request comes through we will stay there for the majority. Its very possible this won’t happen though.

If we do the 1st Option its about $1137 more than just staying off property.

Please Help!! Or, if you have any other ideas I’ve been racking my brain for several days.

Thanks!!

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#2

There are ways to get around this at MK, HS, EP. Book a restaurant reservation (A & C) at a nearby resort and walk to the park from there. The earliest Disney transportation has been arriving later than the first walkers to rope drop. People can even get a mobile order at Contempo for MK.

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#3

I’d do your rental points offer if you get that or Option 1. I also love that area so I’m biased. Being able to walk to two parks is HUGE! And it’s pretty. Lots of dining options.

Edit: Is Uber/Lyft an option to get to the parks while you’re at Hilton?

#4

Yes, we plan on doing the Lyft to the contemporary and doing a reservation there.

#5

Hi Jenny!
We will definitely take the DVC rental if it comes available. Also, We will have a rental car while off-site.

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#6

Ok. You can definitely rope drop while staying off-site. But this will change later in the year when Disney starts their new early entry system for resort guests only. So this is definitely a great time to stay off property.

#7

First of all, the likelihood of you getting SSR on points is probably higher than you think (especially given COVID), so don’t count that out. But if not, Option 1 is the one that stuck out to me as best:

  • Option 2 is more expensive AND you have to switch twice (which is a pro only if you want to try more resorts)
  • Option 3 is cheaper but it sounds like ~$1K might be worth it to you for the Disney magic this time
  • Option 4 is fine but honestly you’ll enjoy Swan more than CBR due to location and quality, plus less $$
  • You can get around the Bus to MK problem at Swan by walking to YC or BWI and take the Disney bus, which stops right by the MK entrance
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#8

Option 1. Just left the Dolphin yesterday, have stayed there and the Swan several times. The beds are great, as are the restaurants between the 2 properties. You cannot beat the convenience of walking to 2 parks for the price (in comparison with cost of Boardwalk, Beach Club, or Yacht Club). Also the boats are timely if you don’t want to walk.
I would avoid the bus situation to MK (since you actually go to the TTC now), and take a Lyft to the Contemporary resort on your MK morning. We ate breakfast at the Wave and then walked over. You can also walk over to the Boardwalk or Yacht and take their buses on your MK day, though Lyft is faster.
Definitely option 1 for me.

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#9

Welcome! I just wrote and deleted a couple paragraph response telling you to save the money and stay offsite. But honestly for my family we really really love the bubble. Have you looked into Caribbean Beach standard view? We never pay extra for the view. I’ve never stayed at Swan either so can’t help you there. But I think the memories of some time at Caribbean beach and riding the skyliner are worth a little extra money. We enjoyed Caribbean beach. We were in Jamaica also close to a skyliner station.

#10

Agree with most of what others said. If it’s a choice between not going at all, and #3, then #3. But with all those options on the table, I think #1 gets you the best overall vacation for the money. I would definitely schedule all HS and EP days during the Swan stay and focus more on MK and AK from offsite.

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#11

Also as of the last time this site updated (twice daily) there are many rooms Available for your dates at SS:

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image.png1227Ă—303 13.9 KB

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#12

Thank you so much for your input. This is kinda what I was thinking. I know it’s a possibility for a DVC given covid…luckily any reservations I book will be cancelable in case we do get a match!

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#13

Thank you for the input and your experience. We are more than likely going to go with option #1 unless we get the DVC property.

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#14

Thank you for your input! Yes, I have tried all different scenarios at several different resorts. The issue is that the Caribbean Beach resort is limited in their rooms and availability for their deals they have going on right now. When I looked the other day, you couldn’t book more than 3 days there and April was only available. I would definitely choose a std. view but it wasn’t available. I was lucky enough to get the water view at a reasonable rate (Pretty sure someone just cancelled). Another resort we had on hold was Coronado Springs Grand Destino Tower which was only 3K in a standard view room for $3020 (with 6 day tickets) and only $2584 if we went with 5 days tickets from 3/27-3/31. I thought this was a great deal. However, I read many comments that even though people loved the resort it was too far and you should have a car. That kinda defeats my purpose of staying on property :slight_smile:

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#15

Thank you so much for your input! This is what I was thinking too. We would ultimately like to spend $3500 or less but of course I love a good bargain. :slight_smile: (I don’t think the word bargain is in Disney’s vocabulary though haha)

#16

That gives me some hope! Thanks

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#17

Can’t you just walk to whichever of the Disney hotels is nearest (YC?) and take the MK bus from there?

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#18

Yes you can. Which is why I said this in the same post:

I would just avoid taking the MK bus from the Dolphin/Swan, and there are several ways to go about that. Personally, we have a rental and then we just park at the Contemporary for the day.

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#19

@Cgerres In the MO resort hopping trip report, they reported a very nosey gate guard asking to see their order on MDE and if they were going to the park that day? To me it implied he was trying to determine if they were trying to get free parking for the day.

#20

I just stayed at Coronado and it’s really not that far at all and the busses were very regular for all the parks and not a long drive to AK, DHS and EPC. I think MK is the only one that’s really far away and I didn’t visit that park as I just went for a three day weekend but if you were staying at a MK resort you’d have the same thing with going to AK. I wouldn’t throw out Coronado Springs if it’s a good deal as I found the bus system to be the opposite of what I read which could just be covid level crowds but there were often back to back busses and they came about every 15 min. And It’s a gorgeous resort.

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