Arriving night before our reservation

[AuntBJ]

We decided on a whim to take a budget trip to WDW and called and made reservations at ASMU 3/3 thru 3/8 (after finding discount code for SC residents on mousesavers.com.) Since we are driving down, I thought we would stay a couple of hours outside Orlando and drive the rest of the way Sunday AM. I have since realized we will arrive in Orlando Saturday afternoon. Should I call CRO back and try to extend my reservation, try to get another room for one night or stay off-site? I have also considered trying hotwire.com. I looked and they are showing a "four star" room for $68/room for the night. Anyone know how these star rankings really compare?

BTW, I have room-only res, so I don't have to worry about losing a day with a length of stay pass if I stay at a WDW resort.

 

[Drake]

Aunt BJ, we also are arriving in Orlando the evening before and have decided to stay in a hotel near the airport. We used hotwire to book a room at a 4 star hotel for 41.00/nite plus tax! It ends up that it's the Marriott Airport Hotel! We are staying at AKL in Disney and didn't want to spend 200.00/nite just to sleep.......so, decided to find the best hotel we could at the lowest price.
I've used hotwire last year on a trip to Arizona. We choose a 4 star hotel for only 37.00/nite. It ended up being a wonderful luxury hotel!!! This is why I decided to use it for the first nite we arrive in Orlando.
Good luck with what ever you decide. If you go with hotwire let us know what hotel it turns out to be!

 

[JulesMom]

We have stayed off site our first night of arrival many times. We usually stay at Comfort Inn-Lake Buena Vista. It is just your basic hotel, but it's cheap & clean.

Check on the homepage here. Pete is able to get some good deals. You should be able to find a room close to WDW for $30/night. One time in Spetmeber, we paid $24 with tax at Comfort Inn!

 

[grumpyny]

I guess it depends on how much you are paying for ASMU. If it is under 100$, I would recommend call CRO and adding a night to the beginning of your stay. If you are going to get there in the afternoon, you could check in, go to Downtown Disney, and get some dinner. That way you would not have to use any days on your park hopper, if that is what you have. If you do this, you are already set at your hotel for the rest of the vacation. If CRO claims to not have availability, keep trying. Call first thing in the morning and throughout the day. If you have a Disney club card, they have a toll-free number. Something will probably open up.

 

[Disneydenise]

I heard that Monday morning is a great time to get hard to secure ressies. They dump the files of unpaid ressies that have expired over the weekend.