After careful consideration, multiple threads and a few phone calls, we have finally made some choices as to where we will be staying during our honeymoon.

We will be at WDW for about three weeks in early August and have decided to split our time between Disney Resorts and off-property hotels. The off-property accomodations are still not finalized, but we booked nine nights (in the middle of the trip) and the Coronodo Springs and the last five nights at the Wilderness Lodge. We were hoping to do more of our time at WL, but cost made us rethink this.

So the question now is - how does this sound? The main things we were looking for in our Disney accomodations was the Disney magic (of course), a romantic/relaxing locale and a nice pool. Transportation also factored high on the list, as we hope to avoid renting a car. Do our choices seem to fit the bill for what we are looking for? Would you have picked another moderate over the Coronodo? Any particular rooms or sections of the hotels that you would recommend we request (or avoid, for that matter)? Any other advice or helpful tips?

Can you tell that we are DW newbies and could use all the help and reassurance we can get? :)

After careful consideration, multiple threads and a few phone calls, we have finally made some choices as to where we will be staying during our honeymoon.

We will be at WDW for about three weeks in early August and have decided to split our time between Disney Resorts and off-property hotels. The off-property accomodations are still not finalized, but we booked nine nights (in the middle of the trip) and the Coronodo Springs and the last five nights at the Wilderness Lodge. We were hoping to do more of our time at WL, but cost made us rethink this.

So the question now is - how does this sound? The main things we were looking for in our Disney accomodations was the Disney magic (of course), a romantic/relaxing locale and a nice pool. Transportation also factored high on the list, as we hope to avoid renting a car. Do our choices seem to fit the bill for what we are looking for? Would you have picked another moderate over the Coronodo? Any particular rooms or sections of the hotels that you would recommend we request (or avoid, for that matter)? Any other advice or helpful tips?

Can you tell that we are DW newbies and could use all the help and reassurance we can get? :)

For the time you are staying off-property, you should rent a car. Even if the hotel offers shuttle service, the schedule may not suit your schedule, and it would not be very convenient. If you are flying in, and not starting your trip on-property, you will also need transportation from the airport, to your first hotel, because you could not use Magical Express. Also, because your trip is so long, you may want to explore some other places off-property, which you could do with the rental. If you really want to go totally rental car free, and because you are willing to change hotels a couple of times, you have the option of moving up on-property, from a value, to a moderate, and ending at a deluxe. Disney will move your luggage for you. Coronado Springs is a nice hotel, not all that romantic (it's a convention hotel), but it does have nice amenities, for a moderate. The pool area is neat. The WL is very nice, and very romantic, and you will love it. One option, to extend your stay at nicer places, on Disney property,is to consider renting DVC points from an owner, and staying at a studio at one of the villas attached to a hotel(WL, Beach Club, Boardwalk, or Animal Kingdom Lodge), or at a dedicated DVC resort(Old Key West or Saratoga Springs). A studio is a larger hotel room, with a kitchenette. If you stay on rented points, the cost would be similar to staying at a moderate hotel (no hotel tax), and you can get simple groceries delivered, to have breakfast in your room. If you stay at a villa at a hotel, you can use all the hotel amenities and Disney transportation. OKW and SS are large resorts, with a large pool and quiet pools. If you rent points, however, you are contracting directly with the DVC owner, and depend on them to make the reservation for you. I did this once, before we bought into the DVC ourselves, and the transaction went very well. I know you were not thinking about this option, but if you are trying to stay for a long time, it's a consideration. I think the rental car issue is key, if you want to stay off-property and explore other places while you are there. If you really don't want to drive at all, I would consider staying several days at a value resort, on-property.

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside on our honeymoon in 1993 (Then it was called Dixie Landings) It is in my opinion the most romantic of the moderates. In the evening they have carriage rides, boat transportation to downtown disney, beautifully landscaped grounds and you can either stay in a southern mansion style building (think gone with the wind) or bayou rooms that are more secluded. As for the deluxe hotels, they are all kind of romantic in their own way! Congratulations!& cheers to a happy life together!

Have you considered the value resorts? If you shop for a bargain, you can get them for just about what you'd pay for off property hotels. And with your entire stay on property, you can take advantage of the free Magical Express transport to and from the airport. I agree that you absolutely need a car if you're staying off property. The bus schedules for most off property resorts are just too infrequent and unreliable.

I think that 3 weeks is a really long time to be without a car-- and it's going to be harder during your off property stay.

Cabs and shuttles add up quickly, I'd price it out.

I love CS, but it can be loud and crowded-- it is a convention center-- Did you look into POR or POFQ?

No matter what you decide, 3 weeks sounds like a fabulous honeymoon!!

I agree with the others - you NEED a car for your offsite time. As for Coronado, it's a convention hotel but it IS very romantic. Walking around the lake at sunset, sunrise, or at night is very pretty & romantic. I'd request a room in the Ranchos section. It's the furthest away, but I think it's prettiest, and it's away from the hub of the convention stuff. The pool is great, and they have the longest water slide of any moderate, and the jacuzzi seats 22 people (it's huge).

WL is also nice - although in my opinion the rooms aren't any nicer than a moderate. The public areas are the gorgeous part of the hotel. You might consider Animal Kingdom Lodge if you can get that for the same price as WL. If so, go with savannah view - you'll enjoy a very nice room and see the animals from your balcony.

Have a great trip!

what about mosquitoes

I agree with the others - you NEED a car for your offsite time. As for Coronado, it's a convention hotel but it IS very romantic. Walking around the lake at sunset, sunrise, or at night is very pretty & romantic. I'd request a room in the Ranchos section. It's the furthest away, but I think it's prettiest, and it's away from the hub of the convention stuff. The pool is great, and they have the longest water slide of any moderate, and the jacuzzi seats 22 people (it's huge).

WL is also nice - although in my opinion the rooms aren't any nicer than a moderate. The public areas are the gorgeous part of the hotel. You might consider Animal Kingdom Lodge if you can get that for the same price as WL. If so, go with savannah view - you'll enjoy a very nice room and see the animals from your balcony.

Have a great trip!

We loved our Ranchos 7B room, we looked out over the quiet pool. I thought it was very romantic. A bit of walk to El Centero, but very pretty. We loved CS.

Thanks for all your feedback guys.

We have our rooms booked, and are perusing the Unofficial Guide for input as to what building/rooms to request at both places.

As for a car, I think that will be a decision we make when we get down there. As of now we're hoping to not have to rent one, but will base that decision on how we fell when we get there. We plan on doing mainly the Disney parks, as well SeaWorld and Universal, but everything else is close enough to do by cab or shuttle. I guess we'll play this decision by ear.

Next big decision will be dining reservations in a few months, so I'll be checking back in for some more feedback in a while! For now, any more recommendations are great. Thanks!

Another thing to take into consideration, is bed size. I think most moderates and values are doubles. Which might or might be romantic for the honeymoon. :fez: Also with the values there are a lot more groups of kids staying there, so it might be noisy.

Next big decision will be dining reservations in a few months, so I'll be checking back in for some more feedback in a while!

In case you're not aware, Disney now allows dining to be booked 180 days in advance. Due to the popularity of the Disney Dining Plan, some restaurants like the Coral Reef and the California Grill book up all the prime times on that first day of booking. So I strongly suggest you make your call on the morning 180 days out, to make sure you get the times and restaurants that you want.

I'm still trying to get over the fact that you are staying for 3 weeks! I think my jaw dropped and hit the keyboard...oops! LOL!

Even if you rent a car for one week, that may help a little...

But, it just sounds sooooooooo lovely! That will be one looooooooong trip report! :fez:

In case you're not aware, Disney now allows dining to be booked 180 days in advance.

It's good that you brought this up, because it reminded me of a question that I have. As you know, we are spending the first nine nights of our vacation off-property, followed by the remainder at Disney resorts. I know that when you stay at a Disney resort you can make your dining reservations 180 days in advance, and you can also book for ten consecutive days at one time. So does this mean that for the time we are at an off-property hotel I will have to call each day for nine days to make all of the necessary reservations?

We still have some time before we have to make our dining reservations, but I'm finding this part to be quite difficult. There's just so many places to choose from! We've ordered Birnbaum's Guide to Dining to help out in that area, but it's a little tough to decide this far in advance which park we are going to want be in each day. This involves SO much more planning than DL!!


I'm still trying to get over the fact that you are staying for 3 weeks! I think my jaw dropped and hit the keyboard...oops! LOL!

I wish there was a blushing smiley. :) I know that it's a REALLY long time to be going for and we've been debating if we should shorten it a bit. I've been to WDW once, but I was very young, so this is essentially both of our first trips to Florida. We want to be able to do as much as we possibly can and we know that this is going to be our only trip to WDW for a very long time so we want to make the most of it! It is a little overwhelming though, trying to plan and keep the budget balanced!

As you know, we are spending the first nine nights of our vacation off-property, followed by the remainder at Disney resorts. I know that when you stay at a Disney resort you can make your dining reservations 180 days in advance, and you can also book for ten consecutive days at one time. So does this mean that for the time we are at an off-property hotel I will have to call each day for nine days to make all of the necessary reservations?

Yes, this is correct. When day 1 of your off-property stay is exactly 180 days out, make your first call. You'll have to call each day for 9 days to book that day's dining. Then on the first day of your ON-property stay, you can call and book the next 10 days. You have to actually have the hotel booked before you can take advantage of this. I usually don't book my hotel till maybe 2 or 3 months out, so I have to do the call every day thing. It's really a pain, but it's so worth it to dine where and when you want.

As far as planning it all out, what I usually do is make up a general plan of what park I'm going to be in on which day (based on park hours, fireworks, etc.), and then let the dining follow from that plan. I know some people say that it's impossible to say that far in advance what you'll be hungry for at any given time. But I've had no trouble being in the mood for seafood if I'm scheduled to eat at the Coral Reef that night!