where to stay if you do not drive

[sharonmitchell]

where is the best place to stay on orlando if you do not drive
we want to visit wdw in feb 2005 i am going to book with virgin but i am having a lot of trouble knowing where to stay it is a minefield. i have 3 children and wanted to get a kidsuite for them
but all the hotels with these in have limited transport has anyone been to wdw and not driven could you please help



thanks





been to dlp 3 times
stayed in
davy crocket ranch 1997
hotel seq lodge christmas 2001
disneyland hotel jan2004

[Mazzy]

We always stay on-site as we don't hire a car, we prefer not to drive, and the on-site transportation is brilliant!

Port Orleans Riverside is a lovely Disney Resort and I believe you can get a rollaway bed for the 3rd child. Staying on-site means you can just pop back to your room when the kids get tired, they can have a nap or splash in the pool, and then just hop on the bus back to the parks later on.

Virgin Holidays do have some free child places on offer until September I think it is, we managed to get our youngest child a free place for next April, which made the Port Orleans price come down to just £64 a night, which is a great price for an on-site hotel.

HTH :D

[gala]

As Mazzy says, and I agree, it is best to go for an on site hotel. The Disney hotels are wonderful, even at the budget end. If that choice doesnt suit your budget, why not split your holiday between an I Drive hotel and Disney. That will cut down not only on hotel costs but also on taxis to US/IoA , Sea World and the attractions in the I Drive area.
I love splitting my hols like that.

Margaret

[Boomdocker]

Hi Sharon,

Pretty much the same as Mazzy really. We have always stayed on site and used the bus service. I would recommend staying on site but I have no knowledge of kid suites i'm afraid. I am sure someone else will be able to help you.

[uklad23]

It all depends on your budget. We won't be driving on our next visit so have opted to stay on I-Drive at hotel which is nice and has transport to the parks. That way we save money on the hotel (and get a bigger room for our money that we would at a WDW value resort) and eating out (I-drive is cheaper than WDW for food) plus we can vary what we do more than we could if we stayed at onsite. If you have a big budget then stay onsite you can always get taxi's around. As for Kidsuites you need to look at hotels like the Holiday Inn that offer these I belive in 2005 the HI Nickelodeon should be open check out www.nickhotel.com which might suit you.

[Big_Mark]

We've stayed twice at the All Star Movies in Feb for 3 weeks without a car.

The Disney transport is fantastic, don't believe comments in books etc.
At the front of the hotels are 6 or 7 bus stops, each going to a different park eg.MK,AK,MGM,BLIZZARD BEACH. Just stand at the stop and wait for the bus, the longest we've waited was about 15mins. The bus takes you straight to the park or Down town Disney. The bus drops you of outside the park gates.
When you're ready to leave go to the bus stop for your hotel, each hotel has a bus stop number eg No12, the hotel bus stop is the same No at each park.
If it gets busy or there are a lot of people the driver radios over for another bus to come along.
It does get busy after fireworks or when the parks close.

We also used the Disney buses to Downtown Disney, catch a cab from here to the Premium Outlet Mall ($8) for shopping. You can use the I-RIDE trolley bus from here,
http://www.iridetrolley.com/
these buses at $2 a day unlimited use takes you to Seaworld and up International Drive.
From the Premium Outlet Mall you can catch a LYNX bus to the Florida Mall for a better shopping experience,
http://www.golynx.com/.
You can also use the LYNX from Seaworld to the Disney Transportation Centre and get a Disney Bus from here.

From the front of ASM you can also catch a Mears bus to the Universal parks Kennedy space centre and Seaworld. You can arrange the Mears buses by phoning them from the hotel and pay as you get on or you could arrange tickets with Virgin at the welcome meeting.

The public transport is great and don't worry about not having a car.

Also from Downtowm Disney you can walk to the Crossroads where there are restaurants and a supermarket. It takes about 15mins walking, its exactly 1 mile.
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22197&highlight=CROSSROADS

TRY OUR TRIP REPORT BELOW.

[Big_Mark]

If you e-mail the I-RIDE people they will post you an info pack with maps and prices to the uk, it takes about 7 days.

[Freedy]

we are going to stay at Disney without a car, so this information is a great help to us.
Thanks
Freedy