We stayed in the hotel for a week whilst we 'did' Disney. Our family of four arrived late at night after a 12 hour journey and at that point, you are very sensitive to the check in experience. The lady, despite coming to the end of a long shift (with a dash of red hair if I remember) was friendly and had a great attitude - this experience was consistent with the number of staff we engaged with over the week.
We took many buses (we did all six Disney parks, three of them twice) every day and we never had any problems. If there was no one waiting, you knew you might be waiting a bit but at no time was it excessive and they were fairly regular. Not so much for the water parks, but Typhoon Lagoon is very close so easy to Uber.
The hotel was pretty nice inside (not 5 star luxury but solid 4 star) - it doesn't have some of the amenities like a games room etc of some 4 star hotels, but when you are out at the parks it doesn't matter. The pool is also just ok, but it was always quiet - I can't imagine its the main reason why people choose the hotel, albeit its fine to chill out for an afternoon.
The two big positives for this hotel (in addition to the free buses) is the suites - which...We stayed in the hotel for a week whilst we 'did' Disney. Our family of four arrived late at night after a 12 hour journey and at that point, you are very sensitive to the check in experience. The lady, despite coming to the end of a long shift (with a dash of red hair if I remember) was friendly and had a great attitude - this experience was consistent with the number of staff we engaged with over the week.
We took many buses (we did all six Disney parks, three of them twice) every day and we never had any problems. If there was no one waiting, you knew you might be waiting a bit but at no time was it excessive and they were fairly regular. Not so much for the water parks, but Typhoon Lagoon is very close so easy to Uber.
The hotel was pretty nice inside (not 5 star luxury but solid 4 star) - it doesn't have some of the amenities like a games room etc of some 4 star hotels, but when you are out at the parks it doesn't matter. The pool is also just ok, but it was always quiet - I can't imagine its the main reason why people choose the hotel, albeit its fine to chill out for an afternoon.
The two big positives for this hotel (in addition to the free buses) is the suites - which are large and comfy - perfect for our family of four as parents and both kids had a double bed (one being a sofa bed). There is also a nice little shop which is good to take some snacks to the parks. The other MAJOR benefit is access to fast passes 60 days in advance. We spent 5 days in the non water parks and hardly queued at all - we got fast passes for all the main rides in the sweet 10-2pm slot, which meant we could get far more after. You also get access to extra hours, although the parks were still busy in the evening ones anyway - the 60 day booking period was the key thing. For instance, we got an Avatar FP no problem - there was a 3 hour 'normal stand by' queue at the time. The hotel is also close to Disney Springs (there is a coach but you can also walk). Wifi was free and generally pretty good in our room.
So, the Hotel is not the Ritz, but its nice, well run, friendly staff and the extras in relation to the fast passes, buses and suites means its an easy five stars.
Oh - if you are going to Disney, my tip of the day is if you turn up for a lunch or dinner booking and they are running late - don't accept the 'come back in 30min' - say you are starving and you are not happy and you have to go and find a fast food place - they gave us a free meal at any such establishment in the park. The couple in front got a later slot and a free bottle of water.More
Show less