Our reservations are for January 2nd – January 9th. I knew that we would want to drive straight to Disney on January 1st (because we are CRAZY) and after pricing rates for one night at Disney hotels (ouch! They are high because it’s a holiday), I decided to book us a hotel room off site. And I did a really good job!
I got us a one bedroom suite at the Holiday Inn at Orange Lake for just $79. I went through Booking.com, but because I am such a savvy shopper I checked to see if I could get cash back from Shop at Home. And I could! They gave me $7 back for booking my reservation. Woo hoo!
We left Birmingham just before 5 am Saturday morning and arrived to Disney World at 3:45 pm cst. So it was 11 hours in the car with the 2 kids. It was ‘fun’. Emily threw up and Jacob got a nosebleed. Luckily neither one got it on their clothes or the vehicle.
By the time we got here we were too exhausted to do anything. Plus I wanted to make sure the kids were well rested so we checked into our hotel, took baths and we were in bed by 7:45 pm est.
This hotel is really nice and huge. We have a really nice room that was really easy to get too. We are about 3-4 miles from the gates of Disney and there is everything on this road. I saw a Target, a mall, a ton of restaurants. This would not be a bad place to stay if you didn’t want to stay onsite at Disney.
Check out our room:
That’s a great room for that price! And it looks really clean. May be something to look into for our next trip – if I can pry my self from staying on property!
The room looks great. When we went to Disneyland in November we stayed at the Cortona Inn. It was only about $75 for the night, had been recently renovated and included breakfast and parking. I love deals on rooms because you shouldnt have to pay an arm and a leg to sleep!
I checked this place out as we are going in March, it is a timeshare. Were you hassled at all while there??
All that for $79?! Good job!
Wow! What a huge room for a great price!
We stayed at Orange Lake the last two years. It is an awesome place. We stayed in November and got a 3 bedroom condo with a jacuzzi for only around $112. The best part is that you have access to all their huge pools and Super Target is not very far away! :)
Nice hotel room…even nicer is the price!
WOW! That is a very nice room for $79! We stayed in a similarly priced room when we went to Gatlinburg and it was not-so-nice. I kept saying to myself “at least it was cheap….at least it was cheap…” LOL!
I am so sorry, but I laughed histerically when I read that your daughter threw a up and your son had a bloody nose…only because its happened to me…I’m with you…hahahahaha
When we went several years ago we stayed at a suite at the Days Inn. It was great because the kids were with us but had thier own bed in the living room and we could eat breakfast and late night snacks from the kitchen. They had the pool and hot tub on site and resturants close by. Was not that long a drive over to Disney. I would love to go once and stay onsite but these hotels are a nice alternative.
I want to take my daughters to Disney World at least once. We live in California.
This will push me to start saving!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks nice.. Just read the post though about Ft. Wilderness how awesome!! Enjoy your trip!
Hope you have the best time at Disney! We were in Orlando last week & took our kiddos to the huge McD’s on I Drive, plus Ripley’s, The Titanic Experience & Pirates Dinner Adventure. We also hit Downtown Disney one day – I loved being there even though it was cold – 30’s down there last week!! Enjoy your trip, I can’t wait to see more pics of your Disney vacation!!
~ Aimee
What a sweet hotel room. What a great deal.
That’s a good price for that room! I didn’t know about booking.com…will have to keep that in mind. My husband says we will never drive – he’s the spender – trying to convert him!
Oh, poor kids. So much excitement can take it’s toll on little ones I guess. Good thing you went to bed early and had a good night’s rest. Now you are ready for lots of fun!
What a great idea to stay off site the first night. We always stay onsite from day 1 because we fly down, but are thinking of planning a BIG trip for when my daughter turns 21 in 2012 so with more people we might not fly. I’ll have to remember to come back here and see where you stayed.
thats super nice! great deal!
That is a great room. We stayed in a one bedroom suite at LaQuinta in Stockbridge, Georgia last year and the room was much more expensive and even though it was a suite it did not have a table and chairs. Now one question for everyone…how can I convince my “travel hating” husband that Disney would make a wonderful vacation for us? Kristin, I hope you have a great trip and give Emily some medication for motion sickness before leaving for your journey home. Have a safe trip….and Happy New Year!!!!
Kristin, Glad to see that you and your beautiful family made it to DW safely. You and your family had such a wonderful start to your day today (loved that pic). Even though I live in Central FL, I don’t get to go to DW that often. With every post I read about your trip, it makes me want to go to DW real soon, like tomorrow.
Had to laugh… our disney trip last January started out with our littlest one throwing up! Hope you have a wonderful time. Our first trip to Disney last year we stayed at the Seralago and there were five of us, it was a nice clean hotel and the price was great, it was under $75 per night. they had a shuttle, although we prefered to use our own vehicle.
I can’t wait to start planning our next trip.
This looks really nice. I wish I was there!!!
Very nice! I agree with others, a Disney vaction sounds so good right now!
Great room! I’m glad you made it safe!
Wow! You are soooooooo making me want to go on a vacation! Neat room!
wow!!! that place looks awesome!
We are staying at Orange Lake when we go in June. That is a great price. We may look into that to book extra days, the 5 nights we have was thru a vacation package.
That room looks great for just $79…..good job!
Thanks! It was really nice. :)
Looks like you did good! We like to stay offsite for a variety or reasons and I will keep this in mind for an upcoming trip!
I also hate the pricing of the Disney hotels. One question – since you are off site, do you have to drive to the park and pay to park there or does this Holiday Inn have a shuttle to Disney? I’d love to stay off site if I could but have to take everything into consideration. I’ve always stayed in the Music All Stars rooms in the past.
What Disney hotel are you staying at? I’m so jealous! This was supposed to be the year we go down there for Christmas, but since my hubby has a new job, we couldn’t make it. Trying to plan a trip down in the next few months to see Disney and visit my parents. I can’t wait! I think I’m more excited than my 30-year-old daughter!
Nice room at a great price. Quite the deal. Will definitely look at that place for our next trip. Thanks.
Nice! Great job on the room! I can’t believe the deal you scored! Is it raining in Disney today? I’m in Tallahassee and the weather is rainy and gross. :( I hope it’s sunny for you in Orlando!!!
Thanks for the info on that hotel-we always stay off site the first day too! we drive from just north of Birmingham nd I find that is one way to save omney becfuase wealso drive straight in! I am going to make a note of this one! have fun!
What a nice room! Thanks for the tip of money back — I would never have thought to check on that with a hotel room! You rock!
Awesome looking room! Most people, I know you are one Kristin, like the dining at Disney. However, my parents raised me to get a suite like that and find a Wal-Mart in town when you get there to fill the fridge with for the week. That was always her way of saving money. :)
Wow what a nice room! Glad you guys had a good drive!
Do you know the difference in cost between this hotel and the resort hotels? For those of us who have not been to DW, since you stay at a resort hotel for your trip, what are the benefits of staying at the resort rather than off site?
That looks like a great room especially for that price!
That is such a big room for that price. I will have to write that down in my book to keep for future reference especially with what is all around it.
That room looks really nice! I’m going to have to remember Target, especially right by Disney. Sounds like that is right up my alley !! :)
What a comfy way to spend your first night in Florida. My excitement would be in explosive mode, between Disney, Target and outlet malls…..
Wow that is a very nice room.
just curious – how many people can you fit in the suite? We usually stay off site because we are a family of 5, and Disney does not work with you when you have 5 in your party. They will not let you put an extra kid in your room with a roll away, so all the lowest price onsite hotels are OUT for the family of 5. Friends told me that they sent their kids to the food court at check in and then used an air mattress for the 3rd kid, and I would love to know if anyone else has tried that!
We went last year. There were 5 adults and 2 children in our party. We got a 2 room suite with no problems.
http://www.vacationbythemouse.com is a wonderful site to find houses & condos to rent while vacationing at Disney. We have used them many times over the years. We went at Thanksgiving & was able to rent a 4 bedroom/3 bathroom home for $79 per night. We love to stay on property, but when having more than four or five people in a party a vacation home is the way we go.
Thats a big room…love the kitchen space
wow this looks super nice!!! have a great day!
That room looks awesome! We are going back to Disney in Sept 2011 and booked Pop Century but I might check this one out. I didn’t realize you could get a kitchen in your room for such a low cost!! Thanks for all you do and have a magical time :)
Nice room, great price and deal..GOOD job~Love it ;)
It sounds like you all are off to a great start!
Great price on such a spacious room. There are so many hotels off site it is hard to know which one to book.
My 9yr old son use to throw up the whole car trip. I started giving him motion sickness pills from wal -mart and he has not gotten sick one time in the car since. They work great.
Wow, I have to admit you did do an awesome job with booking the hotel room. It looks really nice and comfortable with an afforable rate! I’m going to follow your booking tactics next time with my Disney trip. Thanks a bunch!
The room looks great! I bet you’ll wish that you had that much room at Disney. Although, you are like us and spend very little time in the room! LOL. Does this hotel offer a shuttle to Disney Parks? Just curious because that would make a big difference. Parking is so expensive at Disney if you are off property.
Glenda
can you image what that room would cost if it were on property at disney? ouch.
Wow, Niiiiiiiiiiice! It looks pretty roomy, gotta love that since the Dis hotel rooms are usually pretty cramped. Great choice!
Wow! Great looking place! I also wonder how staying off-site would compare to low season w/special rates like free dining, etc. I just didn’t think you could beat $200/day for tix, food and room. But maybe it’s worth checking into for the next trip!
Wow Kristin! You did a great job on that! $79?! I expected a lot less than that
I was thinking the same thing, MM. We live in Central Florida, and usually, for a room at that price, close to the theme parks, the rooms are tiny – and shall I say, less than fresh, lol. I’m gonna have to look this place up! =)
Wow, that’s an incredible rate for such a huge room (well huge compared to where I’ve stayed). I wonder what the cost comparison would be if you went on this same vacation buy stayed in this hotel the whole time compared to where you are now?
WOW! I just might look at staying there! Our first trip we are staying on site but our second trip I am going budget all the way!
That target is awesome! So is the walmart in that area. You can get super cheap disney souvenirs from both walmart and target. As for things to do in orlando besides disney… There is an awesome outlet mall off of international dr. There is a victorias secret outlet that always has $10.00 bras… A childrens place outlet a bass pro shop outlet and soo much more.