Disney Springs Hotels and EMH etc- change your plans?

[hsmamato2]

This got me thinking....would anyone here change to a Disney springs hotel now that they have almost the same privileges as onsite,considering the major price difference? Does anyone else think it's going to make EMH times more crowded,thus diminishing the experience for onsite hotel guests? I just feel like it's an an oddball move, since they're now offering some of the "perks" that were previously advertised as "onsite guests Special perks".....I'm not lying, I like onsite stays a lot- but now...what are those high high nightly prices for? (FWIW,I don;t do a lot of EMH no matter where we stay) Is the big draw for the big prices the Disney buses now? How are they selling rooms at $400 per night and offering nothing extra beyond what you can get offsite now other than a bus ride? And how does this impact availability for FP+? I think that's a big one.... Not that I like the park down the road better, but their Fp system works much better b/c of the limited number of guests using it. What does FP mean if everyone has one? I'm not being snarky at all, these questions popped into my mind as soon as I heard the news. I mean even onsite,many guests prefer Uber or car rentals over the buses already. What's going to keep us all paying high prices onsite?

 

[AngiTN]

Nope. We don't, and never plan to, rent a car. I'm not dealing with planning off site transportation. So we'll never move off site unless we drive. And there's less than 0% chance of that

ETA - In comment to Uber/Lyft. We do use them, sometimes more often than others. But, they are there as a backup when the buses won't suit for whatever reason (and there are many for us) but I do not ever want to be in a spot where I have to rely on them all the time just to go to/from WDW. I realize once on property we can use the buses just like now but that's not the problem, it's the getting there that's the issue.

 

[kitkat4622]

Nope. We don't, and never plan to, rent a car. I'm not dealing with planning off site transportation. So we'll never move off site unless we drive. And there's less than 0% chance of that

This is us as well. I will pay more to stay on site..and avoid the hassles of getting to the parks.

 

[DisneyGuy]

While I do think this will cause more trouble when it comes to getting fast passes for the really popular rides and a little more crowds for EMH, I still would chose to stay in site.

My reasoning is that the Disney Springs resorts are still too far from the parks - we typically stay at the Epcot resorts and love the convenience of walking to Epcot and DHS - that's what we pay for.

It would be nice to get more perks as on site guests now that there isn't much left, but location alone warrants the price tag.

 

[AngiTN]

While I do think this will cause more trouble when it comes to getting fast passes for the really popular rides and a little more crowds for EMH, I still would chose to stay in site.

My reasoning is that the Disney Springs resorts are still too far from the parks - we typically stay at the Epcot resorts and love the convenience of walking to Epcot and DHS - that's what we pay for.

It would be nice to get more perks as on site guests now that there isn't much left, but location alone warrants the price tag.

I'm not sure how much of an impact it will even give to FP.
I have often booked trips less than 30 days out, most always less than 60 days out, and always get all the FP we want.
FoP is about the only one that is hard to get. Every other ride, even for our trip this weekend for NYE, has had all the FP we want, as long as we are not picky with times.

 

[DisneyGuy]

I'm not sure how much of an impact it will even give to FP.
I have often booked trips less than 30 days out, most always less than 60 days out, and always get all the FP we want.
FoP is about the only one that is hard to get. Every other ride, even for our trip this weekend for NYE, has had all the FP we want, as long as we are not picky with times.

I've actually never had any trouble getting fast passes before even for FEA or FOP, but I know some others have...at least here on Disboards. I just consider myself lucky it's never been a problem but we're also not picky with times either.

Really, the only resorts that aren't Disney that we would consider are the Swan & Dolphin because of their location but they already get the Fast Pass benefit....and the last few years their rates haven't been anything special during the dates we wanted to go.

It will be interesting to see how this works out.

 

[cdnusagurl]

I looked at changing to a Disney Springs resort but the price difference was negligible when I finished pricing everything out. Resort fees, parking fees, and finding a way to the hotel from the airport made staying offsite at Disney Springs only about $100 cheaper than the deal we got with POFQ thanks to Disney suddenly jacking up the prices at those hotels. The only exception was the Best Western, and since I can't get over the aesthetic of those rooms, that just wasn't going to happen. The only way I'd change is if I was still staying at a value resort just because all those hotels are nicer than what Disney has to offer at the value rooms price point.

 

[Hopefully]

Not for us. I now need an ECV to get around the parks. The accessibility of the Disney buses in invaluable

 

[KrazeeK120]

I would consider it. We don’t like the Disney buses, so we drive to any park we can’t walk/boat/monorail to (depending on where we are staying). We also drive to Florida from our home in Central IL, so we don’t have to figure out the airport scenario.

I’ve always wanted to stay at the Poly and I got a 25% discount for our October trip. After talking with DH, we are going to keep what we’ve booked. We’ve already budgeted for it anyway. But we would consider the DS hotels on future trips. I’m not 100% sure that we would switch, but it’s worth a price comparison at least.

 

[MommyinHonduras]

I looked at changing to a Disney Springs resort but the price difference was negligible when I finished pricing everything out. Resort fees, parking fees, and finding a way to the hotel from the airport made staying offsite at Disney Springs only about $100 cheaper than the deal we got with POFQ thanks to Disney suddenly jacking up the prices at those hotels. The only exception was the Best Western, and since I can't get over the aesthetic of those rooms, that just wasn't going to happen. The only way I'd change is if I was still staying at a value resort just because all those hotels are nicer than what Disney has to offer at the value rooms price point.

We are staying at two rooms at POP. I am concerned about the size so have been looking for the past few months at the DS hotels. HI because of the kids eat free and Doubletree because of the space and free continental breakfast. With these new changes I have spend this past week looking at them all. I can not beat the prices at POP for just the 2 rooms, and that is BEFORE resort fees and adding in airport transport. Unless some great deals come up to actually save money. I DO NOT want to rent a car so these are the only options that could change that. We are at $250 a night for 2 rooms with tax. I can not imagine beating that without renting a car and going for a condo or something. We are a family of 7.

 

[HopperFan]

I stay onsite and offsite, makes no difference to me. Booked a week in January onsite and week in April offsite. Still narrowing other dates and have no preference on where I stay in terms of off/on.

I have a car, have an AP, so driving costs nothing and actually gets us to our hotels faster. I stay at Disney Springs now SO I would like stay more just for EMH if they were good our trip. What it will boil down to is price, and DS hotels have parking and resort fees you have to factor. But the rooms I get at DS are way better than Disney rooms, especially if I go with Doubletree and get a suite ... even with parking is usually less than a moderate. Buena Vista Palace has suites as well as an impressive new pool area that would beat out most moderates. I love B resort, it has it's own eclectic theme, nice amenities, big rooms many with sofabeds, family rooms and love the pool rooms with private patios. Holiday Inn gets GREAT reviews. The options are very varied.

I think it will appeal more to folks who already stay offsite but will now look at Disney Springs for the perks. I honestly don't think it will drive hard core Disney resort guests there. This could be a wise move for Disney if that is how it pans out ... now if they truly offer it to Good Neighbor Hotels as it was predicted by said "breaking news site" then I think it will be a large impact to the parks.

 

[buzznina]

OP - Since we always drive to WDW and the EMH/FP were keys to staying onsite, we will definitely start looking and comparing DS area hotels for upcoming trips. Before this, we had never wanted or even looked at staying off-site, but with the resort prices always raising and the perks and discounts keep getting smaller, we will look at other options. But for us to stay off-site the savings will have to be very good, before we would consider an off-site hotel. Also, as hopperfan mentioned, that some of the DS hotels have nicer/bigger rooms, so something else to consider too.

 

[dansdad]

It won't change anything for us as we prefer the WDW resorts even without the extras. We've had 4, week long resort only stays which we thoroughly enjoyed. And I know we're weird, but we actually like and look forward to the whole WDW transportation system. Using it is like another attraction to us, yes even the buses.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm considering it. Not for March when I'm traveling with my teens and the "all inclusive" feel of the DxDDP and Disney transportation is essential, but for our still-tentative adults-only trip in late 2018/early 2019. I don't know if that's the way we'll ultimately go but since a Disney deluxe is probably not going to be in the budget, I'm definitely going to be looking at the EMH-eligible offsite hotels as a way of potentially getting a better balance between price and amenities.

 

[GTApex]

It won't change anything for us as we prefer the WDW resorts even without the extras. We've had 4, week long resort only stays which we thoroughly enjoyed. And I know we're weird, but we actually like and look forward to the whole WDW transportation system. Using it is like another attraction to us, yes even the buses.

I’m with you... boats are more fun than busses, but I’m looking forward to the skyliner.

 

[DreadBaroness]

Not for this trip, it's already paid for. But for our next trip, you bet I will be crunching numbers.
We drive, so we do not depend on Disney transportation. We do enjoy using the Dinning plan, but I'd be willing to forgo that for a upgrade in hotel or a significant savings.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I wouldn't say it's changed my plans for our next trip, but it has opened up more options for us. We really enjoyed the DS area when we stayed last time so it is appealing to me.

My ticker says "Deluxe" trip, but I am having a really hard time justifying the cost such a trip. We can afford it, but I'm cheap I like having the options of the hotels by DS too to consider.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Also... We didn't have an issue driving ourselves to the parks last year. We just hoped right on the highway and were at any of the parks within 10-15 minutes. Much better than waiting for the buses IMO. The parking fees were irritating, but the convenience of having our own vehicle offset that a little.

 

[hsmamato2]

interesting views..... I hadn't even checked any DS hotels prices since this started.... I know you have to factor in a car,etc and other fees- but I hadn't checked on price increases! I wonder how different they'll look now(if they raise them) and that adds another layer for those people used to staying at a DS hotel to save some money,and losing that (if prices change a lot).... Myself? I enjoy being onsite, but I have to get a 'value' out of it, Since the prices are higher than standard anyway, I myself will be checking all the options for our next trip now- I know Doubletree was a great bargain for a group of 6 last time I looked!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

interesting views..... I hadn't even checked any DS hotels prices since this started.... I know you have to factor in a car,etc and other fees- but I hadn't checked on price increases! I wonder how different they'll look now(if they raise them) and that adds another layer for those people used to staying at a DS hotel to save some money,and losing that (if prices change a lot).... Myself? I enjoy being onsite, but I have to get a 'value' out of it, Since the prices are higher than standard anyway, I myself will be checking all the options for our next trip now- I know Doubletree was a great bargain for a group of 6 last time I looked!

I feel the same way. I enjoy being onsite but we need a deal to make it a good value for us since we need two rooms. We have stayed offsite once before and had a great experience and felt we definitely got “bang for our buck” with the condo we booked. We are planning a surprise summer trip; and since it will be a couple days shorter than our usual trips we are considering DS hotels if Disney doesn’t offer an attractive summer deal. Summer rates are higher than when we usually go so I’m open to whatever ends up being the best deal. I definitely see us taking advantage of morning EMH for this trip. We always get the Mousesavers emails where they offer deals that include discounts and waived resort fees and parking fees for the DS hotels. We are crossing our fingers for a summer deal on two Disney moderate rooms though, so we’ll see.... .