Where to stay?

[bowies]

I can’t believe I’m making this post, but seems as if we’re going to plan a 2020 WDW trip after all - but we are looking at a long weekend (Thurs-Sun) instead of a week and going in fall/early winter instead of spring.

I think we are going to go the renting points route this time and see how that goes for us. I have a few strategies in the mix and want to see what others’ thoughts are. If flights remain constant for our preferred airline/days (and historically they have), we can get into Orlando at 9 am and leave Orlando at 7:30 pm, giving us 4 days in the parks if we choose to do so. We have no interest in AK this trip.

Strategy 1:
Stay at a monorail resort (preferably Poly) for ease of transportation and food options (Ohana and Kona). We could do a second MK day on the day we leave. We’d most likely do 3 park days with arrival day being a relax day. Parks would be MK, Epcot, MK.

Strategy 2:
Stay at a resort near Epcot/HS and go hard on 3 park days, with HS reserved for departure day. HS is not a must for us. Parks would be MK, Epcot, HS.

Strategy 3:
Stay at AKL because of its food options. Departure day would be a relax day. Our favorite food in all of WDW is at AKL and I like the idea of eating a couple of dinners there. Transportation is a big drawback though. Parks would be more up in the air - may or may not swap an MK day for HS.

Anything else I should be keeping in mind? There are 4 of us, kids will be 6 and 4.

[TamiTaylor]

Is Galaxy’s edge and the new Star Wars rides of any interest to you guys. I believe your H is into Star Wars right?

I would pick either the monorail loop or Epcot because proximity to transportation and dining.

[Wines Not Whines]

If you want to spend most of your time at MK and Epcot, I’d go with #1. If you want to focus on Epcot and HS, I’d go with #2. I’ve never stayed at AKL because the location is the least convenient, and I’m all about convenience. I like to stay near Epcot and get park hopper tickets so we can have dinner at Epcot more than once, but that’s not everyone’s preference.

[bowies]

Jan 10, 2020 13:35:51 GMT -5 TamiTaylor said:

Is Galaxy’s edge and the new Star Wars rides of any interest to you guys. I believe your H is into Star Wars right?

I would pick either the monorail loop or Epcot because proximity to transportation and dining.

He’s surprisingly pretty meh about Galaxy’s Edge. I think he knows he wouldn’t enjoy it unless he was there for a few hours by himself (or the kids were older/more patient).

[taratru]

Staying at a monorail resort has been my all-time favorite option. It's just *so* convenient, especially if you aren't planning any AK visits. You can always uber out to AKL for dinner if you want to.

[curbsideprophet]

I don’t think I would stay at AKL if you have no plans to go to AK.

If you are getting in that early and leaving that late I would probably try to go to parks every day. Even if it was for a few hours. What will you do on arrival day until your room is ready? DVC rooms are often not available until 4 (or later).

I would try to go to HS but I would not save it for the last day if anyone in the group is going to attempt ROTR.

[jaycee]

1.

If HS isn't a must, I would avoid it due to the Star Wars craziness and the messed up tier system.

[starryfish]

I would #1