Disney Trip Planning

[faithhope]

Is there any Disney Sunshine Rewards things I should know??

Is there a SR travel agent?? I think there is a place to get Disney gift cards at a discount??

We usually stay at the wilderness cabins, but there aren't room discounts right now... so I might be looking for another hotel at Disney World... I think the most important thing to me is transportation. I don't want to walk far to a bus, boat or monorail... and I don't want to wait too long... I don't ask for much :-) HOTEL RECOMMENDATIONS??

Disney Express?? Was thinking of using the bus from the airport to Disney...how is that??

Car Rental? anyone done car rental at Disney...want to rent a car at the end of our Disney part of our vacation.

Thanks for any help you can give me. I'm so EXCITED!!!

[mdapiggy]

Hi Faith

When are you going? Yes you can get discounted Disney gift cards at Target if you have the Target red Card you save 5% every little bit helps. For a moderate hotel I like the Coronado Springs don't really know about the buses as we always get a car. My husband has rented cars at Disney both at the Car Rental Center and at the Swan the are both easy and very nice.

[faithhope]

We are going in May. Thanks for the reply. it is a relief that renting a car will be easy.

[arob414]

We are going in May. Thanks for the reply. it is a relief that renting a car will be easy.

We are going in May, also. 45 days! Yeah, we are excited. My youngest graduates from HS on the 20th and we are leaving the 21st. This is potentially our last big family trip because I will have two in college, for a couple years. My oldest is majoring in animation and her dream job is with Disney. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she will be able to get an apprenticeship. The younger one wants to do the Disney College Program. We are Disney geeks. LOL

[SunshineGirl]

We're going in May as well! But not until the end of the month. (boo!) We have DVC though so I don't know much about hotel prices. We often rent a car but it's in part because 1) we get groceries for the room, and 2) we usually combine the trip with going somewhere else like a cruise or my mom's house in Tampa. So this time we will rent a car in Tampa and then drive it over. We've just used Budget the last couple of times because we haven't needed to return the car ON Disney property. We actually used Uber last time instead of the Magic Express because they wanted us to get up a lot earlier in the morning than what we wanted to drag the kids out of bed!!

[OhMari]

If you are going to use the Car Care Center, you need to call them, so they can pick you up with a Shuttle. There is no other transportation to the Car Care Center.

If you are using Disney Express, you need to let Disney know you are using their service. They will send you a booklet with tags for your luggage and a certificate to let them know you will be riding the Disney Express. Once you land in Orlando, you just need to go down to the B side, bus terminal and walk over to the Disney Express area. Get in line and they will scan your bracelet or your booklet. They bus ride is about 30 minutes. You may be the first one off or the last Most busses carry passengers form 3-4 different resorts.

[faithhope]

Thank you so much for replying. I'm feeling better about using express...just one way from airport to Disney...and then renting a car, so we can go to Tampa after Disney to see family.

We usually stay in the Wilderness cabins which is great when we fly into tampa and put Disney in the middle of our trip, as we can get groceries and the kitchen in the cabin is useful. Since we are doing something different this time, by flying into Orlando (great flight prices)... it means the rest will be different..

I'm thinking of staying in Port Orleans - Riverside... they have regular rooms and Royal Guest Rooms... the Royal Guest rooms are more expensive...and the only difference I can see is the theme. We are doing a quick 3 day trip and won't be in the hotel much, so I'd rather spend money on food instead of hotel... is there something I'm missing?? is the Royal Guest room better in another way??

Anyone have anything good or bad to say about Port Orleans - Riverside??

Thanks again for responding with all your helpful info. I'll report when I get back.

[PSL1013]

Not much to add because we are also DVC, so know nothing about hotels and we always rent a car at the airport with Alamo. We are also going the end of May...leaving 22nd. :)

[SCard]

Thank you so much for replying. I'm feeling better about using express...just one way from airport to Disney...and then renting a car, so we can go to Tampa after Disney to see family.

We usually stay in the Wilderness cabins which is great when we fly into tampa and put Disney in the middle of our trip, as we can get groceries and the kitchen in the cabin is useful. Since we are doing something different this time, by flying into Orlando (great flight prices)... it means the rest will be different..

I'm thinking of staying in Port Orleans - Riverside... they have regular rooms and Royal Guest Rooms... the Royal Guest rooms are more expensive...and the only difference I can see is the theme. We are doing a quick 3 day trip and won't be in the hotel much, so I'd rather spend money on food instead of hotel... is there something I'm missing?? is the Royal Guest room better in another way??

Anyone have anything good or bad to say about Port Orleans - Riverside??

Thanks again for responding with all your helpful info. I'll report when I get back.


a lot of good information here:
http://www.portorleans.org/
Have not stayed at POR, but were at Port Orleans French Quarter and the few times we shared buses with POR there were a ton of bus stops there. If you have a car and are driving to the parks, that would not be an issue. We walked over to POR and it is a beautiful resort.

[mmm611]

SCard, would you happen to have a similar website for the value resorts? Sorry, not trying to hijack this thread!

[SCard]

SCard, would you happen to have a similar website for the value resorts? Sorry, not trying to hijack this thread!

not as good as the Port Orleans site, but I found this one for Pop Century; planning a trip this fall staying at Pop.

http://www.popcenturysite.com/

[faithhope]

to mmm611 - I liked the hotel comparisons at mousesavers http://www.mousesavers.com/best-values-at-the-walt-disney-world-resort-hotels/

It helped me compare hotels to narrow it down to two... and then I discussed the pros and cons with the family.
Sunshine Rewards also has undercover tourist that gives discounts on some tickets and hotels... and they also have some good info on each of the hotels for comparisons.

I also looked at reviews at trip advisor.

[faithhope]

I booked us into the Port Orleans Riverside, and got tickets. We are also getting picked up by Disney Express at the airport.
Now to work on Restaurant and Fast Pass choices :banana::banana:
and the rental car.

[mmm611]

Thanks SCard and Faithhope! As a single person, I have a little more flexibility here. My parents have their own ideas and I have mine, which do not necessarily mesh. I have about a year and a half yet, so I am exploring my options. I am currently looking into doing my own thing (flying vs. driving) and was able to answer a few of my questions with the links.

[gpp2001]

You will enjoy Port Orleans - Riverside. It's probably my favorite Moderate. It's very beautiful. And you can take a boat to Downtown Disney.

[faithhope]

The magic bands and luggage tags came today!!! starting to get real!