Holiday Inn Maingate East.. have you stayed there?

[tinkjeanie]

My two children and I had ressies at All Stars in November, but my brother and his family have decided to come along for their first Disney trip! Since they have three children, we have to look at off site to keep within budget. I am looking at Holiday Inn Maingate East 5678 Irlo Bronson Hwy. and would love to have your opinion on this hotel.
It seems to be fairly close to Disney... thanks for any feedback you can offer
. 136 days until I am back in our Dizzy World!

 

[candyht]

I stayed at the Holiday Inn ME a few years ago before I had kids. It's about a 10 minute drive to Disney. It's a nice hotel. Very close to everything. The hotel room has a refrigerator and microwave. There's a Publix supermarket very close by. The hotel is geared towards families. I think the rate I paid was about $50 a night.

 

[cdntowdw]

tinkjeanie - we are also from Canada and will be heading to the World Nov. 3 - 17. I have made ressies at this hotel for Nov. 3 - 7. I have been reading these boards for about 6 months now, and haven't come across anything negative yet. We chose this hotel because they honour the USAirways vouchers we got when cashing in some airmiles. I've checked out their web-site etc. I figure we won't be there to do much else besides sleep and maybe take a dip in the pool and soak our tired feet in the hot tub.
Will we maybe see you there?

 

[tinkjeanie]

Another Canadian at Dizzy World! yay! I am not the only one that goes... even with the exchange (as my relatives all tell me)

I sure like the price of this hotel.... where are you staying after this?

Thanks for your input by the way.

 

[RAC]

My family and I have stayed there in the 1 bedroom suite. It was very nice and pretty close to everything.
Have a great trip! RAC

 

[cdntowdw]

tankjeanie - I know what you mean by the exchange - almost bad enough to scare us away - but not quite.

I didn't realize when we planned this holiday that it included "Jersey Week" and from the postings I've read - it scared me. We had originally planned one week Orlando, then one week Daytona Beach Shores. My husband and I love the ocean and beach. We have two sons who will be 7 and 10 the week after we return and they love the beach too.

I made some changes and it looks like this now -
Nov. 3 -7 at HIMGE - Monday and Tuesday WDW
Nov. 8 - 13 - Daytona
Nov. 14 - 17 - All Star Movies. Thurs & Fri. WDW -including 2 EE and E-night - Sat brunch Boma late flight home at 5pm, (packing in all the Disney we can)

Three days on-site is all we can afford but I really don't want to miss this experience with my boys. We have asked for the Toy Story building.

I figure the week off in between our Disney days will give our feet - etc. a chance to rest.

We're planning lots of side trips while at Daytona, including Port Canaveral to see the cruise ships (our next vacation) Blue Springs State Park to see the Manatee, St. Augustine, and I have passes to shuttle launches if they happen during our stay. Also big air show in Daytona on the 10th on the beach front. All my boys like to keep busy.

Might we run into you at WDW? (sorry so long, you know how excited we all get about planning and sharing)

 

[Shuttle Fan]

We stayed there last September, twice during our stay. The first few days we were in a room right at the back of the building, which was quite spacious but a bit dated.

The second week we checked in we asked for an upgraded room and were given a pool view at the front of the building. This room had been recently decorated, new furniture etc., but was quite a bit smaller.

Both rooms had hairdryer, iron/ironing board, fridge and microwave.

It's great for kids. Theres a magic show in a theatre near the pool at night, and a balloon modelling man in reception quite frequently making balloon animals for the kids. There's also an arcade.

There are two swimming pools and spas between the blocks of rooms.

 

[dzneprincess]

My family stayed there about a year and a half ago. It wasnt anything great, but it was what we needed and in our budget. Beds to sleep in, a fridge and a microwave, and a heated pool at night. Complimentary shuttle to the parks, and abt 10 min from prk. We pd 45 a nght thru AAA in october. I wouldnt pay much more than that however.