Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [30]
Exit 62, which leads to U.S. 192, has similar chains represented but the rates are about $20 less per night. Why? The hotels are, in general, older and a bit farther off I-4 than the hotels of Exit 68. The whole area is a little less spiffy but still safe and still close to Disney property.
International Drive is farther out, about 20 minutes from the Disney theme parks. This area has representatives from every chain restaurant and hotel you’ve ever heard of, as well as entertainment options like malls and miniature golf. International Drive is the conduit that runs between SeaWorld and Universal Orlando, so it’s a smart central location if you’re planning to visit those parks as well as Disney. Note that the more upscale end of International Drive is near SeaWorld and the convention center, to the south. As you head north toward Universal Studios, it gets a little shabbier, although it’s still a safe and family-centric area.
How to Get the Best Deals on Off-Site Hotels
Orlando has more hotel rooms than any other U.S. city besides Las Vegas, so there are plenty of beds out there for the taking. Here are a few tips to make sure you’re getting the most for your money.
The Orlando Magicard is free and offers 20% to 30% discounts on area hotels, as well as restaurants and non-Disney attractions. You can download a card by visiting www.visitorlando.com/discounts-and-tickets.
List of Quick-Guide Tables | View a Larger Image
Try calling both the hotel chain’s 800 number and the direct line to the particular hotel. You may be quoted different rates.
If you especially like a particular hotel chain, you can simply call their 800 number and ask for the hotel nearest Disney World. This eliminates the element of surprise, because one Hampton Inn looks pretty much like another. Big chains have multiple Orlando locations, so stress that you’d like to be as close as possible to the Disney gates, preferably near Exit 62 or 68. Proximity to Disney raises the rate about 20%, but location is important; if you end up in a hotel near the airport or downtown, that means a major daily commute, and Orlando traffic can be brutal.
Finally, six little words can save you major bucks. When talking to a reservation clerk always ask, “Do you have any discounts available?” Remember that the reservation clerk works for the hotel, so if he can sell you a room at $95 a night there’s no incentive for him to tell you how you can drop the rate to $79. But if you specifically inquire about discounts, he has to tell you.
Things to Ask When Booking a Room at an Off-Site Hotel
There’s a wide range of amenities and perks among the hundreds of hotels in the Orlando area. To make sure you’re getting top value for your dollar, take nothing for granted. Some $250-a-night hotels charge you for breakfast; some $75 ones do not. Some hotels count 12-year-olds as adults, others consider 19-year-olds to be children. Some relatively inexpensive hotels have kids’ clubs; some larger and more costly ones are geared to convention and business travelers and don’t even have an arcade. The moral is, always ask.
The following questions should help you ferret out the best deal.
Time-Saving Tip
Many off-site hotels claim to run shuttles to the theme parks, but beware. Relying on off-site transportation can sometimes make for a long commute. The worst situations are when two or three hotels share a shuttle and you have to make stops at all of them. Even if a resort has its own shuttle, it may make stops at all of the major parks on each run, meaning commutes of up to an hour just to get from your hotel to the theme park of your choice. A lengthy bus ride is maddening in the morning when the kids are eager to get to the rides, and at night, when you’re all exhausted, it can be disastrous.
A mother of three has this story: “We loved our resort along Highway 192 (Exit 62); very nice, with good amenities. But the