Best place to stay off property?

[jiminycricket]

My DH and I have been talking about driving down to Disney at the end of this month. I've started looking into rates on property but it's considered peak season so I don't think I'll be getting any good deals. It has been years since I even thought about staying off property, but am entertaining the thought now. Anyone have any suggestions on where to stay?

[DissyLove]

Welcome, Jiminy. I have stayed in the Staybridge Suites off property. Includes bus service, free breakfast, and a kitchen in the room...

[disneydame2004]

The Hotel Royal Plaza on Hotel Blvd (technically on property but not a Disney hotel) has just reopened after an extensive repair/remodel. They have some grand-reopening discounts (like 25%). Check mousesavers.com for the details: http://www.mousesavers.com/royalplaza.html

[Conceited Ape]

Unless I can work some real magic beforehand, I usually just end up at a little place called the Knights Inn Maingate. The rooms are pretty sparse, but since I'm only there to shower and catch the recommended daily allowance of vitamin ZZZ, I never particularly cared. The rates are pretty cheap; I've heard tell they're some of the fairest on I-4. Last time I was there, they did have a courtesy shuttle that picked up in the morning and dropped off at night. As a bonus, there's a Perkins' right next door (try to get there before 10PM, though--in the late night hours, it's like walking into the bar in Star Wars).

Be advised; if you're looking for upscale, this is not the place.

[jarmitc2032]

I stayed at a Best Western on International Drive in Orlando. The rates seem to be good and you get a free bus ride to the disney theme parks.
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/selectHotel.do

[trickster]

Ann and I have always stayed in Kissimmee.

There are plenty of shops and places to eat here in an evening - if you are not eating in one of the parks.

The Radisson Resort Orlando Celebration (formerly Parkway) is a great hotel and provides free transport to WDW.

We have also stayed at the Amerihost Hotel which again was a good hotel with free transport to WDW.

[babyrn7119]

Having stayed at the Polynesian and Days Inn Maingate on my last two trips, I really wanted to find a condo, villa, house that I could afford for the 5 members of my family. After some searching, I went with Villa Direct and had a condo with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths for 8 days for 983.00. I booked 5 months in advance and was extremely impressed at the condo. The only exceptions were--no shuttle service to the parks--unless I wanted to pay 10 a person one way and no wireless internet service to send pics back home to relatives. All in all, it's an awesome place to lay your head.

[ky71]

My family stayed in 2005 at Days Inn Maingate,Kissimmee. Although sparse it was perfect to sleep in, had a suitable laundry(family of five here!)a pool with pool bar and a shuttle to Disney and other places. Worst part was the shuttle was shared with a heap of other hotels and ours was one of the first pick ups therefore the longest ride to get an excited family to see Mickey. Clean and neat with friendly staff and lots of local places to eat/shop.
In 2006 we stayed at All Stars and were unimpressed with unfriendly staff, hoards of unruly teenagers and bus wait times. There was no real Disney feel to the place and we ended up hiring a car anyway to avoid the teenagers on the buses.
Recommend you stay in Kissimmee or go up to a moderate Disney resort.
Have fun!