Question for frequent WDW visitors...

So if you are a frequent visitor to WDW and don't live in the immediate area....where have you found is the best place to stay that is inexpensive but still nice?

Thanks!

On property, we love Pop Century! It is a Disney Value resort. We also love both Port Orleans resorts and Coronado Springs in the moderate category. I don't know anything about resorts off property, but I'm sure someone else will be able to help with that. Have fun planning!

I'm a huge fan of Pop Century.
I ask for a room away from the pool, (No Kids here, and want easier access to the parking lots.) and we always rent a car so we can maximize our time.

We like the Hilton in Downtown Disney. It's a bit more than a value resort but it's a bit less hectic. We also look for great deals on property. Sometimes they have last minute deals. Literally made a great deal on the Yacht Club as we were driving down.

When I went to WDW I rented a townhome 10 minutes from Disney. I paid $660 for 10 nights in a gated community for a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with an enclosed patio and jacuzzi. It was fabulous!

I would say it depends on how many are going. We have stayed on property to renting homes close by $695 week, Jacuzzi tub and pool. Also, check ebay, type in florida rentals or Disney rentals, you can sometimes get a good deal on a Disney DVC rental there.

yeh, i guess you have to decide if your just doing disney things and then you dont need a car because you can use their transportation system. If you do rent a car you have more options, but you have to factor in $14 a day (ithink) parking ontop of rental. With that being said i liked orbit one condos. It is literally 3 minutes south of animal kingdom, off property (google earth it) Full litchen, masterbedrm/bath with jacuzzi. second bedrm 2 twin beds. pull out in livingroom. washer dryer (handy now with the extra luggage fees) clean, gated, 2 pools, bbcourt, little put put, tennis, game room, 2 pools, small water slide..yada yada. You can walk to the mini mart and dennys and it was really safe for the kids, not to big a property, about 2 blocks squared...i could see them from the screen porch. If you have a stroller no elevators so ask for a 1st floor. Cost!!! it was about $90 a night. very happy PM if ya want

depending on season POP century runs good prices.

there are some cheap places on 192 but can be kind of scary even for an ogre like me.

the Comfort inn on universal Blvd is decent,, closer to Universal but not a far drive.

Unless there is only 2 people in the room I wouldn't stay at a Value resort. The beds are tiny and you'll be tripping over each other. If you have a car, you might want to try VRBO.com and rent a vacation home or condo. Emerald Island is 10 minutes away and it's a gated community. Also, try some of the Holiday Inn's on 192 or in the Lake Buena Vista area as they have frequent specials and if you stay at a Holiday Inn Express it includes breakfast. We've stayed at the one on Palm Parkway a few times and its quite nice. Just remember if you don't have an annual pass you'll have to pay for parking every day at the parks unless you stay on property, but you might get a rate so low somewhere else it doesn't matter.
Good luck!

We almost always stay at POP, coupled with free dining promos (dining credits are a must as we have to go to princess dining experiences) it is not bad at all. The shuttles are painful though. We don't rent a car, but it is nice to have one.

I've stayed on property several times and at the Dolphin once. One of the things is if you have CM family or friend, don't be afraid to ask help in reserving a room depending on season you can get up to 50% discount on rooms. Do you plan on flying, if so definitely go for the online deals for hotels, I think some of them have added the Disney Hotels for their sites. For my honeymoon, we got the Dolphin for three nights for $150 with our air-fare, which we loved as they extra-magic hours too. That said, they're not included the magical express pickup from the air port and in the if you plan on renting a car, there is an additional $15 per day which we didn't find out till check-in.

I'll throw in another vote for POP Century...

I live close enough to Disney that I dont have to lodge, but sometimes do anyway. From my experience (used my annual pass 60 times last year, looks like we must be trying to break that record this year), if you are going to lodge because you have traveled, most of the time it is cheaper to use the cheaper disney resorts (like Pop Century) than to use an off site resort. This is espicially true of you can coordinate with a time that is offering free or cheap dining plans.

The cost of transportation, parking, etc, should be factored into staying at another resort. Don't forget, gas isn't cheap, and you are going to spend almost 10 - 15$ in gas a day if you park hop.

I would never stay anywhere but on Disney property. I did off property once and it cured me completely. It was a terrible experience. Nothing can beat the Disney bus system and if I'm going on the cheap I stay at one of the value resorts, but my usually haunts are Coronado Springs or the Yacht club.