Options for hotel night before vacation starts?

[Blast822]

Hi - We have 12 people going together for August 10th - 16th this year. My DS turns 13 that week :party:. We have three rooms at POR with Dining plan, because of trundle beds for my family (DH, DS and DD (10)). We also have my friend, her sister, and her DD's, age 9 and 5 (first time). We also have my aunt, and her two grandkids (age 17 and 13) with granddaughter's boyfriend. We decided on POR because it gives everyone flexibility without renting a car.

My questions is my family and friend's family are flying in on August 9th, and I don't want to pay for Dining plan for that evening, so what to do? We will probably be getting in early evening, and we are seriously thinking of getting a towncar service for a grocery stop for drinks because it's so hot in August. Any ideas on what to do the night we get in with the least amount of hassle?

[Tigerinvestigator]

On many of our trips, we arrive a day ahead of schedule (combination of driving too fast and leaving early because of the excitement) and we use to get a cheap hotel on International Drive. The last few years we realized we could be spending one more day at WDW even if we didn't go to the parks. Now we usually call Pop or one of the value resorts for our first night and let the kids swim and sometimes go to DTD. Last year we were staying at the AKL and arrived a day early. On the way down I called AKL to see if our room would be ready a day early and it was not available. They then made a reservation at the Beach Club for one night at the same price we were paying at the AKL. The guy was really good at his job and very accomodating, but I don't know that just anyone would have done that for us. We let the kids swim in Stormalong bay and even added an 8th day onto our park hopper tix and went to EMH at Epcot. Anyway back on topic... I would suggest getting a room at Disney and adding an extra day of magic at WDW even if you don't leave the resort!:thumbsup: Remember it is very easy to switch resorts, so any resort will do!

[Blast822]

Thanks for the info. How easy is it to switch resorts? Does Disney handle the luggage for you?

[Taja]

Budget permitting, you might want to consider staying at POR the first night. Just make a separate room-only ressie for that night and have it linked to your other ressie. And ask if you can retain the same room. You might physically have to check out and back in the next morning--in fact you probably will, since you would be switching from room only to package--but you would already be at your destination and unpacked! :)

I haven't switched resorts, but it seems to be pretty easy. I'm sure someone with experience will be along with the answer.

[Sweezy]

id reccommend (pretty highly) the embassy suites lake buena vista. weve stayed there multiple times for extra night situations and its always a nice deal, as well as a good location. also depending on budget, i would reccommend the jw marriott or ritz carlton in the sea world area (they occupy the same resort complex and its a great setup) or, for the highest convenience, the hyatt in the orlando airport. any of these options would be great, but i think the embassy lake buena vista would provide the highest comfort to price to convenience ratio.

[AwPhooey]

Budget permitting, you might want to consider staying at POR the first night. Just make a separate room-only ressie for that night and have it linked to your other ressie. And ask if you can retain the same room. You might physically have to check out and back in the next morning--in fact you probably will, since you would be switching from room only to package--but you would already be at your destination and unpacked! :)

I haven't switched resorts, but it seems to be pretty easy. I'm sure someone with experience will be along with the answer.

I agree with Taja. If you can afford it, go with a room only reservation at POR. Doing this means you won't have to change resorts and, if you're lucky, you may not even have to change rooms.

Last trip, I got in to WDW a night before my family, so I stayed at Pop Century. It worked out pretty well because my family picked me up and we went to POR and checked in together.

If you're all arriving at the same time, however, staying at a different hotel the night before isn't the best option because checking out, traveling to the next hotel, checking in, etc. can take quite a chunk out of your day.

[Checkers]

:mickey:We have the same situation in Oct. My DH & I are arriving on 10/10 and our reservation (and the remainder of our family isn't arriving until the next day) at OKW is 10/11-10/18. We haven't decided what to do but know that we will probably stay onsite with a room-only reservation. We will be staying at POFQ at the end of this month and if we like it will probably just reserve a room for there. We want to use ME so staying offsite is not an option. I am not sure how it will affect the DP if you stay at POR and have your reservation linked, you may end up having to pay an extra day for the DP but I am not sure. Perhaps someone else will have that answer. Have fun!

[NJGIRL]

We are arriving around 11:00 at night in October and we decided to stay right inside the airport. There is a Hyatt Hotel there. You don't even have to get your luggage :cool:, they deliver it right to your room.

[katzctkpt]

We stay at the Holiday Inn Express Lake Buena Vista exit 68 off of I-4. Next morning got up back on I-4 and the next exit took us to POR.

[wendy*darling]

Since you are not going to have a car- carefully consider HOW you are going to get to the off site hotel from the airport, and then to POR on the next day. If you have to pay for a town car service for 2 trips- you might want to save that money and just get a room-only night at any WDW resort.

The BEST option, convenience wise, is certainly to stay at POR.
But if you want to try a different resort, it's not hard to switch resorts. Disney will move your luggage. You do have to go to the new resort to check in and get your key cards for your package- and you can do that in the morning even if your room is not ready.

Another thing to consider is your grocery stop. You can still do that on your way to WDW from the airport, but if you are choosing a value resort for the first night, be aware that you will have to rent a fridge for the room if you buy things that need to be kept cold. Value rooms do not come with a fridge. POR will have one in the room for no charge. Bell services will move your groceries to another resort along with your luggage, and they can keep groceries cold for you.

[Tigerinvestigator]

Thanks for the info. How easy is it to switch resorts? Does Disney handle the luggage for you?

It is so simple to switch resorts if you are staying at a Disney owned resort. Simply have your bags packed and hit the bell services button on your phone and tell them which resort you are switching to and how many total bags you have. They usually tell us to leave them just inside the door, but sometimes they send someone up to get them immediately. Then head to the parks stopping at check-out to let them know what you are doing. Then go to the parks and return to your new hotel in the early afternoon to check in. Touch bell services on your phone from your new room and they will bring your bags. We have done this many many times and have never once had a problem or taken more than few minutes out of our day!:thumbsup:

[Blast822]

You guys are great!!! Thanks so much for the info. Now it depends on what time our flight gets in. If I can get the nonstop that gets in at 6:00, I am definitely going to try to get a night at POR. I though I would have to pay for the meal plan that one night, and I didn't want to do that. There's a flight that gets in at 10:00 if I can't get the 6:00 flight, then I am going to get a night at the airport hotel. Thanks again for all the info!!