WillCAD

Um... sorry, but there is a fatal flaw in that recommendation.

There are no Disney buses that run from Downtown Disney to the theme parks. The buses from Downtown Disney only run to the Disney resorts.

This was done about 10 years ago, because locals were parking at Downtown Disney for free and taking the buses to the theme parks. This used up a lot of parking at DTD, loaded up the buses, and caused Disney to lose revenue on the parking fees, so they stopped running buses from DTD to the theme parks.

I am not one of those people who refuses to stay at a non-Disney hotel when I'm in Orlando. About half of my trips have been at Disney resorts, and the rest off-site at various hotels, condos, and even staying with friends (nothing beats free accommodations!) But for those who have never been to WDW, staying on-site has a lot of advantages, if you can afford the pricetag.

Staying on-site is also advantageous to those who are planning short trips, since it minimizes travel time from hotel to park, and to those who don't want to rent a car, since you can use the on-site transportation to get pretty much anywhere.

When I don't stay on-site, I like to use Hotels.com to shop for a room. I've gotten some pretty good rates from that site, and they also do some really good bundle deals with hotel and car that can save you a lot of money over booking separately.

ExitRowOrElse

And the monorail will take you from the resorts (i.e. The Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian) to the parks. $99/night for a room at the Hilton vs $300+/night at a comparable Disney accommodation is a no brainer for those of us who are not made of money.

WillCAD

Im not made of money either, but the money I save by staying at a $59 or $69 a night hotel vs a $99 a night hotel just about pays for my rental car.

I also value the 2 hours a day that your plan would cost in transportation to the parks, more than I value the monetary savings.

Using your plan:
Walk to DTD - about 10 Mins
Wait for bus to Contemporary Grand Floridian - O-20 Mins
Bus ride to Contemporary Grand Floridian (last monorail stop before MK) -15 Mins
Wait for Resorts monorail - O-15 Mins
Monorail to MK - 5 Mins
- - - - - - - -- -
Total travel time each way - 30 to 65 Mins

Travel time to the other parks will be even longer, by 10-15 Mins, due to longer bus travel times from the closest resort to the destination park.

To be dear, I am NOT advocating staying in a Disney deluxe-level resort. I'm just saying
there are better and cheaper ways to reduce accommodation costs than staying at a DTD hotel without a car.

* Note: for those who don't know, the WDW Monorail runs in a circular loop that stops at the Magic Kingdom park, 3 resorts (out of 22) and the MK parking lot's Transportation and Ticket Center. There is also a second line that runs from the TTC to Epcot with no other stops. All other WDW resorts are connected to the Various parks by bus, or by boat in some cases.

Swiss Tony

WillCAD - I see what you're saying, but that does seem to be absolute worst case scenario stuff.

It's a good few years since I stayed at the Hilton, but as I recall there was a bus from Hotel Blvd that went to Epcot then the Transport & Ticket Centre across from the Magic Kingdom every half hour.

So, if you're going to Epcot, take this bus. 15 mins wait and 10 mins journey time, especially if you cross the street from the Hilton as the bus runs in a counter-clockwise loop round all the hotels there.

To get to the Magic Kingdom, walk to DTD, take the bus to the Contemporary then walk 5 mins to the front gate of Disney (saving 25 mins off your estimate). If a bus for the Polynesian or Grand Floridian comes in first (I think they share???) grab that then take the monorail.

If you stay off site and drive you need to account for $15/day parking.

WillCAD

If there is a direct bus from the hotel to Epcot and/or TTC, that certainly speeds things up. But you said that the bus runs every half hour, so the wait time can be 0-30 minutes, it won't always be 15.

Let's look at those times, then:

To Epcot:
Wait for bus - 0-30 mins
Travel time to Epcot - 15-20 minutes (depending on traffic and how many signals you get caught in on Buena Vista Drive)
------------------------------------
Total: 15-50 minutes. Average probably in the middle, say 30 minutes.

To Magic Kingdom:
Wait for bus - 0-30 mins
Travel time to Epcot - 15-20 minutes (depending on traffic and how many signals you get caught in on Buena Vista Drive)
Stop at Epcot for load/unload - 10 mins
Travel time to TTC (non-Disney buses all go to TTC, none go directly to MK) - 10 mins
Wait for Express monorail - 0-15 mins
Travel time to MK - 10 mins
-----------------------------------
Total: 45-95 mins. Average somewhere in the middle, say 60-70 mins.

Your option is quicker, but not always viable. You can walk to DTD, take the bus to Contemporary, and walk to MK. But this only works if you don't want to be at MK for park opening, because the resort buses to DTD don't start running till about 9am, as the DTD shops don't open till 9:30 or 10am. The only thing open at DTD before 9:30 is Earl of Sandwich, which opens at 8:30.

Walk to DTD - about 10 Mins
Wait for bus to Contemporary - O-20 Mins
Bus ride to Contemporary -15 Mins
Walk to MK - 5 Mins
- - - - - - - -- -
Total travel time each way - 30 to 35 Mins

Of course, that still leaves you with the previously discussed options when going to DHS or AK - walk to DTD, take a bus to a resort, transfer to a bus to the park.

To DHS:
Walk to DTD - about 10 Mins
Wait for bus to an Epcot resort - O-20 Mins
Bus ride to an Epcot resort -10 Mins
Walk to DHS - 20 Mins
- - - - - - - -- -
Total: 40 to 60 Mins. Average somewhere in the middle, say about 50 mins.

To AK:
Walk to DTD - about 10 Mins
Wait for bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge - O-20 Mins
Bus ride to AKL -15 Mins
Wait for bus to AK - 0-20 mins
Bus ride to AK - 5 Mins
- - - - - - - -- -
Total: - 30 to 70 Mins. Average somewhere in the middle, say about 40-45 mins

These options are all completely doable. I've know lots of people who stay at the DTD hotels without cars and use these options. They simply take up so much time - time which I'm willing to pay more money to recoup on my vacations despite my own very limited budgets.

NOTE: In all of these travel estimates, I'm leaving out an important variable - load times. Disney buses, boats, and monorails spend a minimum of 5 minutes at every stop for loading and unloading, and I've seen them sit for as much as 15 minutes while loading and unloading multiple passengers in scooters and wheelchairs. Also, when taking a resort bus, sometimes the bus makes multiple stops, such as those to the Epcot resorts or those to the All-Star Resorts. Two of the Disney moderate resorts, Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach, have multiple INTERNAL stops, making them the worst choice for a transfer point from DTD to a park.

All of these variables are why I always rent a car, even if I'm staying on-site at a Disney resort. The thought of wasting up to an hour or more per day sitting around waiting for buses is just infuriating to me. And yes, I have done it; I have taken two on-site trips over the years with no car, one a 4-day weekender at All-Star Music and one an 8-day full-length stay at Pop Century. I got everywhere I wanted to go, but the wasted time made me miserable.

Mary2e

Willcad - I think you missed Ft. Wilderness.

THAT is the worst place to abuse the system to save the parking fee.

In all cases, you have to take some form of transportation to FW's main bus stop and, and if you're coming to from the MK, take an internal bus to the main bus stop after you get off the boat, and THEN wait for a bus to take you to DD.

I have to tell you, I caught one loser doing this when he asked me if the boat I was on went to Ft. Wilderness and if he could get to DD from there.

I smiled and said yes It probably took the poor sucker and his family another hour to get back to his car.

WillCAD

Or longer. Those internal busses at FW can be mighty, mighty slow when they're crowded after park closing, because they make so many stops.

Mary2e

Which is why I got such pleasure letting the guy know he could get to DD using the FW boat from the MK

flyingill

Value resorts $200 at Xmas, 8 nights are $1800 for just room (no disney dining plan either)

WillCAD

Not really. That's worst-case, and you can certainly do better, right up to Christmas week.

Here are the rack rates (undiscounted) at the WDW Value resorts for the 2013 holiday season. Rates listed are for Standard/Preferred rooms, before tax. Tax rate is 12.5% for all WDW resorts except the All-Star resorts, which are in a different county and are taxed at 13% (WDW is mostly in Orange County but the southern portion spills into Osceola County, which has a 1/2% higher sales tax rate).

Movies and Sports:
Nov 30 – Dec 12
Weekday $98/$114
Weekend $118/$134
Dec 13 – Dec 19
Weekday $135/$151
Weekend $165/$181
Dec 20-31
$176/$192

Music:
Nov 30 – Dec 12
Weekday $98/$114
Weekend $118/$134
Dec 13 – Dec 19
Weekday $135/$151
Weekend $165/$181
Dec 20-31
$169/$184

Pop Century (rates listed are Standard/Preffered/Std Pool View/Pref'd Pool View):
Nov 30 – Dec 12
Weekday $108/$123/$113/$128
Weekend $128/$143/$133/$148
Dec 13 – Dec 19
Weekday $145/$160/$150/$165
Weekend $175/$190/$180/$195
Dec 20-31
$186/$201/$191/$206

Art of Animation (rates are listed Standard/Family Suite):
Nov 30 – Dec 12
Weekday $113/$269
Weekend $133/$304
Dec 13 – Dec 19
Weekday $150/$359
Weekend $180/$414
Dec 20-31
$191/$433

However, there is a Fall Savings Offer available for nights from 11/30-12/23 that will save you 15% off the rack rates at the Value level resorts, 20% off Moderates, and 30% off Deluxes. Any part of your stay before 12/23 would be at the discounted rate, any nights after 12/23 would be at the rack rate.

All of this information comes from MouseSavers.com

happymommy

I think the PP was referring to the Hilton across from DTD. It has a bus system to all the theme parks, which is included in the resort fee.

Matter of fact, I would recommend looking at any of the DTD hotels. Their transportation is as good as any of the Disney resorts (for bus transport, except for AKL which had really quick buses).

Good luck!

Ancien Maestro

I would recommend VRBO and Homeaway, both dot com.

I stayed Christmas break 2 and a half years ago in a 2,100 sq ft condo overlooking lake cay at Vista Cay resort for $100 per night plus tax and a cleaning fee. Granite counters and 2 baths. I would rate this 5 star in terms of condos and the trip advisor review was 5 out of 5.

Just did Floridays this past spring break direct from owner and paid $115 per night plus taxes including cleanings. 3 bedroom 1,600 sq ft, granite kitchen and baths. Both resorts include wifi. Floridays was rated the #1 resort and hotel in the Orlando area on trip advisor when I booked.

The rates I paid was total for the room regardless how many were staying in the room. Both accommodations sleep up to 8. Its nice to have 3 bedrooms going. Alas, I'm doing suites at Hyatt from now on.. We like the full service aspect and as Diamond we get lounge or breakfast at the Hyatt properties which is a great bonus.