eating and travel to outside at Disney All Star

[Midnight]

hey there,

I'm deciding at the moment between a hotel in Kissimee with a car hire, or for staying inside the grounds at one of the All-Star resorts, as they both have some obvious advantages and disadvantages.

The obvious advantage with staying outside and having a car is flexibility and can get up in the morning, and drive to say a Sizzler, Ponderosa etc for breakfast before venturing off.

Upside of staying at the disney resort is a) getting the extra hour before the opening, and 3 hours after closing at the main parks, and b) no faffing about at airport trying to sort out whatever nightmares there will be with Dollar Rent A Car or Alamo (I used to work for a credit card fraud department so I remember quite a few complaint/hassles that people would have - tho they were just classic whingers in my boosk :D)....Both holidays work out costing pretty much the same price

I have no pride and say I like my food :D I'm not a big fattybuster but I could do with losing a few pounds or more ;) The thought of having to have brekkys at the disney complex seems a bit offputting. What is their cost compared to say a Sizzler, where it is basically all you can eat.....they have much a selection or is it junk food all the way at the disney complex?

my next question.....
obviously the first half of the holiday will mainly be taken up at the disney resorts - their shuttles or monorails would be fine for that...ok so its a bit of a queue at times but I'll live.....but come week 2, I'll be wanting to visit primarily, Universal Studios, Discovery Cove, and maybe as far as Busch Gardens......do they operate coaches or anything to get you OUT of the disney complex? (or could you for example pop over to where the people from outside disney get off their buses and take that free bus back to their I Drive equivalent place :) *sneaky way*, or would it be a taxi ride each time I'd like to do that...and again...the costs?

finally.....
which these Extra Magic Hours.....must they be bought especially with the deal of ticket you buy...or if I buy any ticket from any tour op or website for say the ultimate 14day tickets....because I have my wrist band or whatever am I automatically allowed the early entrance etc? and is it an extra hour before and 3hrs after EVERY day with being a disney hotel resident or just on selected days?

cheers,
Tuck

[rusty30]

I would split your weeks. Do one week offsite with a car and one week on without.

Personally, I cant live without a car and we will have one for our full 3 weeks onsite. There are too many attractions that we like offsite, not to mention the restaurants :D. Transport offsite means faffing around with the number 50 Lynx bus or paying a fortune for cabs.

Disney food is much more expensive than your average Sizzler fest! Not sure how the food courts come out, but a sit down breakfast at Boma for example is around $16!

We always manage the parks within their normal operating times and with 2 little kids, dont tend to be there late, so the EMHs arent a big incentive for us. If you are "park hounds" that like to pack in a lot of hours then maybe you should go with the onsite option, but for me, a car would win hands down!

Good luck deciding!

[Midnight]

I'm not actually going with any children, even tho the hotel is kinda kid oriented that doesn't bother me - to be honest, I just regard the hotel as somewhere to kip for the night, then get out of there first thing in the morning and get out to where the fun is.

yeah I kind of like all the higher thrill rides myself...for my girlfriend she has never been to the US so it'll be a whole new experience for her (so if I get a car then hopefully not ruined by my cussing and swearing and 4hr shortcuts)

As to the splitting weeks, I think it works out more expensive (tho I may call them and check just in case) and budget at the moment is pretty tight, just decided we need a break (first in umpteen years) to catch up etc

I'm still undecided, I keep plumping back and forth between idea of liking to drive, but then not having the hassle of returning cars, the queuing up to get it at airport etc etc.

As for the extra few hours....kinda the reason I like the idea, isn't so much as visiting each ride 50x over while theres no queues - but if I was going to do a 3week holiday (which I nearly did decide on) I would've gotten a bit homesick, but at the same time, nowadays (96 I was last there myself as a teen with parents) with the new Universal 2nd theme park there, and really for Kim to see the "full" disney parks they tend to say you need a day and a half, then that extra few hours would give us some good catchup, so we can relax for the last few days at something else such as the beachs etc.

Seeing as the cost is virtually the same for me for either option (the one in Kissimee is the Ramada btw), in some ways I'm tempted to go for the disney option....I can have my "breakfast" trips out when I take those last few trips out for universal etc on the 2nd half of the trip.

has anyone who stayed at the disney hotels tried the breakfast? varied? expensive? mind to be honest I can't remember how much a sizzler would typically cost per person once you include tips etc

Actually on that note, would there be service charges expected at disney hotels, cleaners etc..or do they add that onto bills auto like some restaurants have a habit of doing?