hilton question

[sydneymouse]

My sister wants us to stay with them at the Hilton in Downtown Disney...she can get it through her timeshare. Has anyone stayed there before? Can you still get the dining plan & use the bus services? We are leary because we are use to staying on the monorail and aren't sure we'll like it.

[Grim Grinning Marathon Runner]

I don't believe you can add dining, but it may be possible. Unlikely, but possible. And the Disney busses do NOT run to the Hilton DTD.

That being said, I've stayed there once and was REALLY impressed. It's a beautiful resort, and comparable to a deluxe in setup and amenities. Decor and location aside, I'd compare it to the Contemporary any day.

You do have some options though. You are definitely in walking distance to the DTD marketplace. You could walk to DTD and wait on a bus to the resort that is nearest to the park you want to visit, then walk from that resort to the park. Or you could drive to the parks from the hotel. Or, the hotel does have a bus that they share with some other DTD resorts, but they aren't the official Disney busses. I couldn't speak to how those busses work because I drove or used the DTD option.

I loved my stay at the Hilton, and would gladly do it again.

[TammiMcMan]

Can you still get the dining plan & use the bus services?

No, you can only purchase packages through the official Disney resorts. The only thing that the Hilton does participate in, is the extra magic hours (the only hotel in Downtown Disney that does). As the previous poster mentioned, they utilize their own bus service and it's run on a schedule, not a continuous rotation like the Disney buses.

[Patricia]

The buses pick up every half hour and you are dropped in the same park parking lot as the cars. Some routes share parks (2 stops) and park only as close as they can get you to the gate. That seemed to work fine in the mornings and we always did this.. but getting back was not as easy and they still stop at other parks and resorts. We only made that return trip mistake once and from then on took the bus back to SSR and walked to our DTD resort (we were right across from SSR).

Or you could do exactly as Grim Grinning did and use DTD buses to resorts closest to parks.

There are no Disney perks other than the Extra Magic Hours but the other amenities of the Hilton are right in line with Disney Deluxe.

[CleveRocks]

The Disney Dining Plan is available ONLY as part of a package reservation at a Disney owned-and-operated resort. And since Hilton is not a Disney o-and-o, you can't buy the DDP if staying there. It's not iffy, it's not a slim chance, it's a totally zero percent chance.