One night early. Where to stay off-site?

We are going to be arriving via car one night early. We want to stay as close to the magic as possible but still be off-site. Clean, safe and cheap are my only requirements. We will be staying at the Grand Flo when we get to WDW and it would have cost $433 to add one night. Any suggestions?

We always drive to WDW and run into the same situation...not wanting to spend big $$ for the first night since we're not sure exactly when we'll arrive.

I did a lot of checking, but still keep coming back to the Value resorts. For a first night, in an area that you KNOW is clean & safe, they're perfect. And, it's let us experience the values first hand. I know you said you wanted off property, but for $80-$120 (depending on time of year, day of the week, etc.) you can't beat it...and you're on property and can take advantage of being a resort guest.

For example, on our May 2008 trip, we arrived on Saturday afternoon and checked into Pop Century. We went to our room, changed clothes, and went to Downtown Disney, then to the Beach Club/Boardwalk area for dinner. It really works out great, and is a fantastic way to begin your vacation and get you even more in the Disney spirit. :party:

We have actually done that same thing before but they are so big and the lines so long at the check-in that it took us about an hour and a half to get to the room and we swore we'd never do that again.

We do the value resorts (and have missed out on the long lines that plagued you). But since you have ruled that out based on your bad experience, why not give the Gaylord Palms a try...you can often get a good rate there (since they are an intercot sponsor)...and the resort is very nice. DW stayed there earlier this year on business and thought it was on a par with some of the nicer hotels we've stayed at in florida through the years.

If it were me, I'd book a night at one of the values.....we've stayed off site the first night our last two trips and I said never again!

Actually gaylord palms is pretty nice for the money- check out the link to the site-

I have wondered about the Gaylord but was concerned about how long it would take to check in there since it is so big.

We are staying for a night at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. It is about a mile from DTD and we have a king sized room with kitcheette for $72.00. We have also stayed at the Sheraton Safrari Suites but they were a little more about $129.

We enjoyed the Country Inn and Suites at Calypso Cay, about 3 mis from WDW. Comp. Cont. Breakfast (I believe it included fresh waffles). Great pools with slides and other features, even a free minigolf (small) onsite.

If you've got kids, this is a great set up because you can put them to bed and still stay up in the living area of the suite. Not all rooms are suites, though, so if this is important, be sure to request. It is also not (or wasn't last time we were there) completely smoke free, but we had no problems with our non-smoking room.

You can google Country Inn Calypso Cay and that should take you right to it. We've stayed here a couple of times when we've gotten in the night before, had breakfast and then headed over to WDW for our vacation to start.

I am also coming in a day before my package starts at the Polynesian and we booked the All Star Movies for that night at $74 including tax. I felt it was worth the extra $15-$20 to stay there instead of an outside hotel that may or may not be clean.

Well it depends on how really cheap you are. We always drive down and when we are arriving really late, after 9pm, I have booked a really cheap offsite hotel by using expedia or travelocity. There are lots of them right outside WDW on 192, only 5 minutes drive. Last trip we (family of 4) slept and showered for $39.00 (tax included), with a pretty good continental breakfast included. It was clean, but certainly not fancy in any way. In the morning we went straight to our WDW resort, checked in at 8:00am (there's no check-in line then), left our bags and spent the entire day at the parks. And we were staying in a value anyway, so that tells you how cheap we are! We really have scrimp and save for every WDW trip we take, or we wouldn't be able to go.
And if you do stay off-site, it will make the GF feel even more grand and luxurious. And at $433 per night, it better be!

I've never been to the Orlando area (or Disney World obviously), but I used to work for the Gaylord Texan. All of the Gaylords are very nice resorts and check-in lines usually aren't much of an issue. Plus it looks like they're offering some pretty good deals on rooms right now. We are planning a trip in April and the only reason we aren't staying at the Palms is because we want the full Disney Experience, so we're staying at WL.

I did photos for the newly renovated Radisson Lake Buena Vista that just opened Feb 14. Might as well be a new hotel- new owners took it down to the bare skeleton. Right across the street from DTD, and pretty reasonably priced. Tell them Stan sent you. :D

The Gaylord Palms is a wonderful place. If you can get in there at a decent price, you won't be disappointed, except perhaps when you have to leave for the GF! :jaw:

we usually arrive a day before we are to check in @ our resort and have always stayed in the DTD area on Hotel Plaza Blvd. They're very reasonable, we go to DTD that evening for a light supper and some shopping, and it allows us to check in early the next AM @our resort. We have a small overnight bag for our stay so we don't have to unpack ALL our things. (and we can use the bag for our souveniers). The next AM (@ 7:30-8AM), we check our luggage @ our resort, (specify what area and/or room we prefer...yes we know what room # we want and the earlier we check in, the more likely we are to get it, and there are no waiting lines to check in. Then we head on over to MK. When we return, usually around lunch or after, our room is ready and our things are there.:thumbsup:

My family loves Embassy Suites Lake Buena Vista.

I second the nomination for the Country Inn & Suites on Calypso Cay Way. We stayed there TWO nights before we checked into the Polynesian - just last month. The rooms were great, the pools were wonderful and the breakfast buffet was better than the breakfast spread we had at the Poly's Concierge Lounge.

We got the room for around $89/night thru Hotels.com.

I would definitely stay there again.

Have fun!

I'm sure someone will say "uggh Super 8" but before I moved to the area I stayed a few times at the Super 8
5875 W Irlo Bronson Hwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746 US

The rooms were always clean and a quick look shows prices for one night of $50-55 (55-63 including tax).