[wdwspider]

What Disney perks do you get staying in a DTD resort (magic hour, refillable mugs, transportation)?

Are they cheaper, more expensive?

What perks do you not get?

How are the room sizes and ammenities compared to true Disney resorts?

Can you feel like you are at Disney 24/7 in a DTD resort?

What's the best and the worst of the DTD resorts?

[15 mins to wdw]

while I answer what I can for you:

(magic hour, refillable mugs, transportation)?

yes you will get to use the extra magic hour
not sure on the mugs
transportation, well yes they have bus transportation service however while they just went out and bought brand new busses about a month and a half ago there drivers are not the best, these brand new busses are already banged up, I rode one of there buses to go pick up a rental car and I can tell you I have no clue how that guy got a bus drivers license. these busses are not disney busses and therfore you don't get droped off in the same area you get droped off in the bus parking lot. most parks the lot is not in all that bad of a location however at the MK its at the TTC and that means you have to take a monorail or ferry boat over to the MK. if you choose to stay there I recomend a car to get to the parks.

[wdwspider]

I was afraid of that, to me... one of the biggest perks of a Disney Resort is the transportation. But, still... one trip in a DTD resort may be fun and a little different.

[llama]

I've always been curious about the DD resorts. This year we have one night in between our stay at OKW and the cruise. I have booked a room at the Royal Plaza for a special rate of $69.00 which I got through Mousesavers.

[Captgoodguy]

MouseSavers gives some good reviews for a couple of the DTD Hotels. I have stayed at 2 different places.

Bus transportation - Nothing like what Disney has to offer. Very infrequent. You wait and wait to be picked up. You also have to stand in the middle of the parking lot where your bus parks to be picked up. I definitely vote against this method. Rent a cheap car if you really want to stay in that area.

You do get the additional hour, but if you are a seasoned park goer, you know to avoid that park because everybody else is there that day. Go for the extra hour, but leave for another park after that.

I have stayed at the Best Western which was OK, but it's not the Disney quality. It was a very short stay and the rate was $49 so I went with it. I might do it again for just a couple of nights, but I prefer the Disney hotels if it's within your budget.

I have stayed at the Hilton which is the best of the seven and very nice. The only benefit for this is that it's right across the street from DTD. You can walk easily, but the cost can be more than staying at POR which I prefer.

There are no mugs for drinks.

[wdwspider]

Are the DTD rooms bigger?

Do they have mini-fridges already?

So is Disney transportation restricted only to Disney resort guests or do the Swan and Dolphin use it as well?


;) Yes, I know the EE rules of the game.

[Cheryl]

We stayed at the Wyndham Palace Resort & Spa when we went almost 2 years ago & it was great. It wasn't the Disney magic but it was a fun stay none the less. They did have a character breakfast one day when we were there that the kids loved because the place was empty so they had them to themselves. We never used the transportation because we always rent a car so I can't comment on that end. The pool wis nice, the rooms were great (we had a one bedroom suite), the restaurant was fine and we were right across the street from DTD.

[15 mins to wdw]

well I work in transportation so thats about all the info I can offer,

So is Disney transportation restricted only to Disney resort guests or do the Swan and Dolphin use it as well?

well the short answer would be no. the swan and dolphin do have disney transport contracted to them, including busses and boats. however at this time they are the only two non disney hotels that use disney transport.

as for the restriction to disney resort guest:

any one can take park to park transportation, (ex: epcot to the ak) however busses from park to hotel are for disney guest however if you have a legit reason you can use it to, a example would be going to look around. however that said there are almost no disney bus drivers that will check for resort id, except after midnight at pleasure island then they are required to. the reason being is people can be very drunk leaving there and often get on the wrong bus, so if they check ID they can make sure they are going to the correct location, I don't know what they do if you don't have id.

also it should be noted there is no dtd to park transportation, you would have to go to a hotel and transfer to use this option.

[twwintn]

:) I am planning on staying at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Downtown Disney when I go in April, 2004.
(I was planning to go in October, 2003, but my Dad suffered a massive stroke :nooo: the night before we were to depart)

I know it will not be the same atmosphere as a normal Disney resort :wow: but all the rooms are suites with minifridge, microwave, wetbar, and coffee maker....and TWO TV's (so my two kids do not have to fight about what they want to watch, when we are in the room!!!) There is also a black and white TV in the bathroom. This room is 640 square feet in size!
I stayed in the ALL STAR Movies in 1999, and it was too small and claustrophohic :nooo: for me. My wife and I can stay in the bedroom, and my kids can stay in the living room for only $139/night a Mousesavers.com rate. A suite of this size at Disney is over $400/night!!!!:madmad

All of the unofficial websites recommend this hotel, so I am kind of going on their recommendations...Mousesavers.com, allearsnet.com (Deb's website), etc.

Everyone comments that the transportation is the weakest point, but I plan on having a rental car. However all of the recent commentaries say the Disney transportation system has gotten worse from cost cutting since 9/11. :devil
I will have a park hopper pass so I can use the Disney transportation as well. However, when I was at the ALL STAR MOVIES the transportation was always so crowded at peak times (closing, etc.) So I plan on using my car at those times.
I'll report on my experience at the Doubletree when I return.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[15 mins to wdw]

Originally posted by twwintn
:) Everyone comments that the transportation is the weakest point, but I plan on having a rental car. However all of the recent commentaries say the Disney transportation system has gotten worse from cost cutting since 9/11. :devil
I will have a park hopper pass so I can use the Disney transportation as well. However, when I was at the ALL STAR MOVIES the transportation was always so crowded at peak times (closing, etc.) So I plan on using my car at those times.
I'll report on my experience at the Doubletree when I return.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

yup your right disney transport has gotten worse but the drivers are safe and go through regular training, the response times aren't any worse than dtd busses. the other thing is disney will not run a unsafe bus. however disney also has not been able to find a good quality mass transit bus with the exception of the RTS (older busses with steps to enter) the nova's (newer busses no steps to get in and wide doors) are horrible frequent breakdowns and major design flaws with the bus. disney was testing a vanhool fliexible bus a while ago not sure what happend with that. however disney has been buying used RTS at goverment auctions sending them out and having them completely redone (new engines, transmissions, new interiors and wheelchair lift removed from the front and put at the rear door, and any other repairs required) disney transport is still one of the few safe bus companies down here.

[gcbdad]

Originally posted by twwintn
:) I am planning on staying at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Downtown Disney when I go in April, 2004.

I know it will not be the same atmosphere as a normal Disney resort :wow: but all the rooms are suites with minifridge, microwave, wetbar, and coffee maker....and TWO TV's (so my two kids do not have to fight about what they want to watch, when we are in the room!!!) There is also a black and white TV in the bathroom. This room is 640 square feet in size!
I stayed in the ALL STAR Movies in 1999, and it was too small and claustrophohic :nooo: for me. My wife and I can stay in the bedroom, and my kids can stay in the living room for only $139/night a Mousesavers.com rate. A suite of this size at Disney is over $400/night!!!!:madmad

All of the unofficial websites recommend this hotel, so I am kind of going on their recommendations...Mousesavers.com, allearsnet.com (Deb's website), etc.

I am researching a 4 day trip now and have looked into the DTD hotels as well. I have not stayed there yet but they look nice. If transportation is the only issue, I will okay since we are coming from Tampa and wil have our van.

[twwintn]

Thanks 15 mins to wdw :D

I always found the Disney bus drivers to be pleasant, and most importantly, safe drivers. :)

It is just too bad that there are not enough buses for the peak closing times....it is freaking chaos! and ruins the fun day at the MK or Epcot.

However, the bus drivers can't help this, it is because Disney management doesn't provide enough buses! :devil

[jeannej]

I stayed at the Wyndam Palace in November for the Florida PTA Convention. I really enjoyed the hotel. It was beautiful, clean, housekeeping was prompt and throrough (sp) and my friends and I walked to DTD. I would definaitely stay there again.

jeannej

[ajbdk5]

We stayed at the Grosvenor in 1999.

Plusses: We could walk to Downtown Disney(very close) and we had a spectacular view of it from our room.

We could catch the Disney buses from there--we used our park hoppers for i.d.

They used to have a character breakfast there (Goofy and Pluto) which we tried and it was terrific.

Nice gift shop and counter service, HOWEVER.......

We called no less than 6 times before we FINALLy got a crib delivered. (which had already been noted when I made the res.)

!!There were live ducks and duck poop in the swimming pool!:nooo:!!

We seemed to be the only American guests at this hotel...it seemed that none of the other guests spoke any English at all, and they were very pushy when it came to getting a seat on the bus!:nervous
My DH and I actually stood holding babies on the bus rides!:hmmm

Just speaking from experience, hope I didn't offend....

[15 mins to wdw]

Originally posted by twwintn
Thanks 15 mins to wdw :D

I always found the Disney bus drivers to be pleasant, and most importantly, safe drivers. :)

It is just too bad that there are not enough buses for the peak closing times....it is freaking chaos! and ruins the fun day at the MK or Epcot.

However, the bus drivers can't help this, it is because Disney management doesn't provide enough buses! :devil

well I'm not sure I'd make that comment about disney management. disney has about 230 busses in there fleet and this week I'm willing to bet 97% are running thats a great number for any fleet. now to put that 230 busses into perspective thats roughly the number of busses LYNX transportation has to cover 3 counties down here in central flordia. to buy more busses and hire more drivers isn't as easy as putting a add in the paper and going to the dealer and buying off the lot. most first time bus drivers quit in the first 90 days, when the realize how hard of a job it is then you through them in disney, most people down here don't drive in disney on a regular basis and if your not use to it in a car you don't want to do it in a bus. without getting into this in real depth let me say disney does a very good job clearing the crowds at night, also if they plan on large crowds like this week often times they will rent busses and drivers from other companies such as mears to help out.