Last minute resort help!!

[swanwed6206]

We have been to DW over 20 times in the last 15 years and have never stayed off property. We were married at the Swan in 2006 (any guesses on the date?), and we are DVC members usually staying at BWV. We love the area and proximity to Epcot and DHS.

We had planned to go to Nashville in October (19-28 ish) but it looks like we might be canceling that trip. DW and I will both still have that week off from work, so I couldn’t resist thinking about our favorite place! I checked availability across DVC and of course nothing. Checked Swan/dolphin- nothing.

Started thinking about the Waldorf Astoria, which we have stayed at in NYC and loved it, and they have availability that is very affordable.

We are very hesistant to stay off property simply because of the transportation. Does anyone have any experience staying at this resort and how was the transportation to parks, DS, etc? How far away is everything?

Also- any other ideas? I haven’t checked availability for any hotel rooms and not opposed to staying anywhere on property (lux, mod, Val), but feel like they might not be available.

Any insight would be helpful!!

 

[Christine]

You might get better responses on the Orlando and other area Attractions Forum here on this site. That's where all the off-site posters talk.

I've never stayed there so I can't comment. Also, if you want to do your homework, you might be able to snag a good rate on a Disney resort through Hotwire or Priceline's opaque (hidden) reservations. It does take a little studying to figure that out but there's a lot of help for that here and on other sites.
Edited to add: You can also get a pretty good rate for the Waldorf Astoria through the hidden booking on Priceline/Hotwire.

 

[cutigerlady]

If you book through Costco they do have rooms available at the Dolphin for those dates. You would have to buy at least one 3 day park ticket to get the package.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We stayed at the Waldorf a few years ago. It's lovely - the rooms are comfortable and quite spacious. The restaurants are also very good. The transportation was not good, however, but we simply circumvented that by taking taxis everywhere (this was pre-lyft/uber). It was very convenient. If you aren't opposed to taking cabs/uber/lyft, transportation becomes less of an issue. If you do go this route, make sure, when going to MK, you ask to be dropped off at CR (so you can walk to MK) or GF (so you can take the monorail). If you simply ask to go to MK, the cab/uber/lyft will take you to the TTC.

The only downside of the Waldorf is you are definitely out of the Disney bubble. If that doesn't bother you, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there. The Waldorf is in the Bonnet Creek area which is right in the thick of things in Disney (though not on Disney property). It's very close to Caribbean Beach and about 2 miles from EP. If you search for it on Google Maps, you'll see how close it is to everything.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

For a short notice trip you might be able to get a deal renting a dedicated DVC reservation. David's Vacation Rentals posts a list of them available at: https://www.dvcrequest.com/available-reservations.asp You might actually get a bit of a deal, and get to try a different DVC resort.

 

[CalifLynn]

Stayed at Bonnet Creek Hilton last Dec, which is basically attached to Waldorf and shares buses...we loved the resort but transportation could have been better. Spent lots of time on buses, using Uber helped.

 

[partigus]

Uber