Offsite Disney Resorts, What are your recommended ones regarding excellent transportation to parks?

[jamioday001]

I post this in transportation because this is one of the most important factors for our family. We love the parks and stay for most hours of the day!
We have always stayed onsite, but due to the size of our family (7), we would love to explore less expensive options with more space offsite.

What are your highest recommended offsite hotels, that have transportation that rivals onsite?

We're fine with not being onsite, if the transportation is equally ideal.

We will not have a car.

Also, I love to book fast passes to plan our day so would prefer an off site resort that allows 60 days advance fast passes, if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Carriemel]

It's not equally ideal. A lot of the offsite transportation drops off at only one park, and you'd need to take Disney internal transportation to your ultimate destination.

If you want to stay offsite but have the early fast passes, you'll probably have to stay somewhere on Hotel Plaza Blvd (not terribly inexpensive)...or in the Bonnet Creek area (again, not inexpensive). These properties, unlike those absolutely offsite, will offer transportation directly to each park.

 

[bigbabyblues]

One thing to consider is how you will get to the hotel from the airport. That won't be cheap for 7 people. We are offsite people, but the only place I would stay offsite without a car would be one of the Disney Springs hotels. You might find more info on the "Orlando Hotels and Attractions" board regarding which of those hotels would be best.

 

[JimMIA]

With 7 in your party, I think I would look at something with at least 3 bedrooms, and I agree the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board is the place to start.

Also agree with the above statement that offsite resort buses are not going to compare with Disney buses. People have complaints about the Disney buses, but there is no comparison offsite. Plus some of the resorts (Wyndham Bonnet Creek, for example) charge for the bus service.

That said, you might well be able to find a place with rates attractive enough for you to rent a van and pay the daily parking fee at Disney parks. If so, that opens up the whole world of offsite dining, which is better and less expensive than onsite in my experience.

Long story short -- you need to look at the WHOLE picture, not just parts of the puzzle.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

The girl who cuts my hair said she would never take a non-Disney resort bus to the parks ever again. Long waits in the rain. Buses not coming when they should was her experience. Yes getting transportation from/to the airport is going to be very pricey. Without your own transportation you will have to eat meals at Disney or your hotel and for 7 people that can be very costly. You figure a hotdog meal at Disney will cost you $12.00 with no drink which will be another $3. $15 just for a hotdog as an example of what you can expect to pay. Times 7 people and you have just spent $105 to feed 7 people hotdogs.

 

[starry_solo]

Get a car if you want to stay offsite

 

[Antaniasmom]

We always stay offsite but we have only stayed at 1 hotel with WDW buses. We highly recommend LBV Best Western. The buses were great and they had multiple buses to take you to all 4 parks, locations were listed on front of the bus. We did have 1 occasion where bus was late but all in all we could not complain. Plus, it is within walking distance to Disney Springs and you couldn't beat that! We did however drive down so we did have a vehicle if we wanted to eat elsewhere but we took the buses to the parks.

 

[Euby]

Another thing to consider with off-site transportation is that some only run one or two shuttles to the parks in the morning and then no transportation again until park closing. So if you wanted a mid-day break back at your resort, you'd be stuck.

Do some number crunching and you may find that renting a car may be your best (off-site stay) option.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Another thing to consider with off-site transportation is that some only run one or two shuttles to the parks in the morning and then no transportation again until park closing. So if you wanted a mid-day break back at your resort, you'd be stuck.

Do some number crunching and you may find that renting a car may be your best (off-site stay) option.

A rental car is the best option

 

[Euby]

This person posted the same question on another board. The OP stated no one drives so they can't rent a car and their plan is to take a city bus to Disney which will be cheap but take them 2 hr to get there. OP also stated they already booked at the Clarion Inn with a travel agent and can not cancel.

OK thanks! I was just replying to what was mentioned in this post. Didn't look at the other one.

 

[Meglen]

Rental car . With 7 even Uber/Lyft is out. You need to rent a van. If you want easy transportation stay on property. For the savings of staying off property and having much more space having to drive yourself around is the draw back.

 

[rangerxenos]

Another thing to consider with off-site transportation is that some only run one or two shuttles to the parks in the morning and then no transportation again until park closing. So if you wanted a mid-day break back at your resort, you'd be stuck.

Do some number crunching and you may find that renting a car may be your best (off-site stay) option.

Yes! We stayed at Bonnet Creek in May for part of our stay, and the shuttle service was a nightmare. They had shuttles that you had to pay for, then they had a limited number, so once they were booked for the day you were SOL.

Much better to rent a vehicle if you're staying offsite.

 

[Darcy03231]

We're a family of 6 and stay off-site if everyone is traveling. We tried to do the hotels with shuttles and it was a nightmare. We ended up renting a minivan our second day there.

We now rent vacation homes and a minivan. Even with parking it comes out much less expensive than staying on-property.

 

[starry_solo]

You could look at LBV Best Western as another poster said. They seem to have shuttles running every half hour. But with the large family, you will need 2 rooms.

Now, another poster said the OP has posted that they booked at the Clarion and cannot cancel. I'm not sure why one couldn't cancel and pay the penalty of one night's stay in exchange for a closer hotel with better shuttle service. But if that's the case, you will need to look into Uber/Lyft and get two of them since there are 7 of you. Split up with one adult per group.

 

[Miffy]

For all that people complain about it, there's no off-site bus/shuttle service that comes close to comparing to onsite WDW transportation. OP, you should really consider renting a car. If none of you drive, that's another story. In that case, look at Value resorts onsite and watch for discounts.

If you must stay off-site and a car is out of the question, then factor into your budget Uber/Lyft costs. You'd probably need 2 cars since there are 7 of you. So this isn't going to be cheap either. Your best bet staying off-site is the Disney Springs resort area, however, these are not cheap hotels even if some are somewhat less expensive than onsite WDW hotels.

 

[joelkfla]

Shelly F - Ohio said:


This person posted the same question on another board. The OP stated no one drives so they can't rent a car and their plan is to take a city bus to Disney which will be cheap but take them 2 hr to get there. OP also stated they already booked at the Clarion Inn with a travel agent and can not cancel.

If they booked at Clarion LBV on Palm Pkwy., it's not 2 hours. It's about 75 minutes via Lynx 50 to TTC and monorail to MK or Epcot; about 90 minutes to AK & DHS walking from TTC to Poly for bus.

That's if they coordinate their arrival at the bus stop with the published schedule. If they leave at a random time, there can be up to 30 minutes wait for the bus.

Bus fare for 7 is $14; RideGuru estimate for 2 UberXs to DAK is $28.

 

[kaytieeldr]

What are your highest recommended offsite hotels, that have transportation that rivals onsite?

We're fine with not being onsite, if the transportation is equally ideal.

We will not have a car.

Also, I love to book fast passes to plan our day so would prefer an off site resort that allows 60 days advance fast passes, if possible.

https://wdwprepschool.com/disney-world-resorts/offsite/"The hotels located in Disney Springs plus Shades of Green, The Four Seasons, Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, Waldorf Astoria and the Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts all offer some of the perks you find for onsite guests."

ll have 60 day Fastpass. I think all have EMH. Transportation varies, but I know with Disney Springs it's frequent and scheduled. The other properties might be less frequent, but much better than most options.

 

[maxiesmom]

I would only consider the Disney Springs hotels to stay in off site if I didn't have a car. No way would I rely on the other resort's bus systems. They are too limited. And as was mentioned before have bus stops out in the middle of the parking lots with no cover.