Hotels

[Lily]

I am booking my trip to WDW tomorrow and I just cant decide which hotel to stay in (outside of WDW) My husband likes the Holiday Inn Nickeodian hotel, its alot to pay since we will spend half the time away from the hotel. Has anyone stayed here? Where did you all stay? Pleeaaassse help me out. We are going the end of April (3adults&2children)
Thanks sooo much

[DissyLove]

Hi, I have not stayed at the Nick hotel, I think it just opened. I usually stay on property at Disney if I am travelling specifically to WDW. If you are going to Universal though, it may be a bit of a drive. If you are going to Disney, I would suggest trying a disney hotel. The value catagory of Disney can run about $80 or so a night, but they are smaller rooms. If you need something larger, consider a suite off property. There are lots to choose from with varying rates.

I'd visit sites like www.mousesavers.com or www.allearsnet.com to get more rate and room info for off site or on-they may have info on the hotel you mentioned.

Good luck with your travels!

[disneydame2004]

to the boards, Lily!

I second DissyLove's suggestions about staying on property, but if a Disney hotel is not what you are looking for, you might consider the Doubletree Guest Suites on Hotel Plaza Blvd. They are on Disney property but don't have all the perks as staying in a Disney-owned resort. The suites are large, and have a bedroom w/2 double beds and a sleeper sofa for the kids. The Hotel Plaza Blvd resorts share a shuttlebus system to all the parks, and they are convenient to Downtown Disney Marketplace (long walk). They also have great chocolate chip cookies.

You can find out more about the Doubletree as well as the other Hotel Plaza Blvd. resorts here:
http://www.downtowndisneyhotels.com/

Good Luck!

[DisneyonaDime]

If you are looking for something that is off property, I would recommend renting a house. Looking at the numbers in your group (5), you are needing either a suite room or two rooms.

On our last 3 trips we have rented a home for under $80 a night. We stayed in either a 3 or 4 bedroom, private home that had at least one livingroom, a full kitchen, dining room, and a private screened-in pool!

Go to eBay and see what is available. Put in key words such as Disney House, Disney Home, or Disney Villa. Sort by the highest price and all of the rental homes come to the top.

We have never been disappointed with the newer homes we get and with the service. Most of the homes are listed with a service for about twice as much as the owners list the house on eBay. If you rent through the booking service a home could cost around $1,200 a week. The owner of the house might get a small portion of the $1,200. Most of the owners are allowed to rent it out themselves at a huge discount and pay the booking service to clean and maintain the house. It doesn't matter who you book through, you still get the same great service and house.

The only disclosure I would throw in is to make sure that you get a house that is no more than 5 miles from the parks. Some can be 10 or more miles away. I haven't looked on eBay, but it could also be hard to find something this time of year. You never know, though, you could be able to land a great last-minute deal.