WHERE TO STAY,WHAT TO DO,HELP!! About This Page:

[littleman]

Hi guys, I have read many of your posts and all of you guys seem to be so helpful so here I am needing some of that Help! My husband and I are going to take our children down around Dec. 29th; staying for about 6 nights. Our dilemma is this: we have a chance to stay at the Swan/Dolphin for a pretty decent price for the first 3 nights then thought about changing to an off-site resort for the rest of the time. Is this going to be crazy for us and how nice is the Swan and Dolphin? We thought it would be great to be right there at Epcot and MGM for New Year's Eve , but wondered how long it will take us to take the transp. provided to the MK. Also, our other thought of was just to stay at The Vistana Lake Buena Vista and that way we would have a full kitchen, but is it going to be a pain getting to everything or as fun? And I am not going to be in the mood to cook very much so didn't know if it would really save us much $$ anyway. I think we have decided to drive ; should only take us around 9 hours from what I hear, but thought about the train as well. Help please! Thanks to all!!!

san

[Dave Marx]

The Swan and Dolphin are very nice deluxe resorts, with an excellent location. Vistana also has a good reputation. You will have more living space at Vistana, and it's reasonably close to WDW property. There's no reason you couldn't switch resorts partway through your stay, but you may be at a disadvantage if you stay at Vistana the entire time (more about that later).

The Swan and Dolphin share transportation routes with Disney's BoardWalk, Yacht Club and Beach Club - you get the same level of service as those Deluxe Disney resorts. It will take about 15 minutes to get to MK by bus and buses run every 20 minutes or less. At this busy time of the year Disney Transportation is a big advantage, as traffic and parking is much worse than usual.

For New Year's Eve I strongly recommend staying on property (Swan/Dolphin in this case). Last New Year's Eve they had to close all access roads to WDW property, and the main roads were at a total standstill by 8:00 AM. The parking lots at MK and Epcot closed before 10:00 AM. After then, only Disney Transportation was allowed access to the parks, and only guests at Disney resorts (that includes Swan/Dolphin) were guaranteed entry to the parks. If you stay at the Swan or Dolphin you'll have boat service to the parks you're most interested in, and you can even walk - no traffic hassles at all.

After New Years Day the crowds disappear, so a move over to Vistana could work out very well for you. The drive to the Disney parks will be about 10 - 15 minutes in most cases once the traffic is gone.

Another factor in your decision is whether you drive or take the train. If you do take the train and stay on property you won't need a rental car - use a shuttle or town car service to get to WDW from the Kissimmee train station. While off-property resorts often provide free shuttle buses, the service is not nearly as extensive as it is for Disney resorts.

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Co-Author, PassPorter Walt Disney World 2000
http://www.passporter.com/wdw/

[LauraBelle V. Hime]

Dave summed it up nicely, but I just wanted to say WELCOME to the PassPorter Boards!

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Take care-
Laura
"When you wish..........


laura