Walt Disney World

The Lake Buena Vista area in Orlando, Florida, is only about one mile from Walt Disney world, but it has some great hotels which are cheaper than most of the properties on the Disney World grounds. We discovered the area recently after failing to book early enough for hotels in Disney World, which were all sold out. Luckily, we were really happy with the Holiday Inn Lake Buena Vista!

In addition to the price (we paid about $80/night), one of the great things about this hotel is that there’s a really efficient shuttle that takes you to the Disney World resorts. There’s a great pool in the back which we were able to use, a fitness center and even a movie theater geared toward families called the Castle Movie Theater! I had to smile when I learned about the KidSuites they have here – they’re basically kid-friendly rooms that can sleep up to four kids, and they have a playroom. I could imagine parents saying “No, we’re not actually staying IN Disney World – but this is even better, you get to have a playroom in your room!” Kids under twelve eat free, too at Maxine’s Kitchen, which serves breakfast and dinner.

Oh and self-parking is free! This was fabulous because we hated the thought of paying for the outrageous rates at Disneyland. I can’t wait to go back. We didn’t spend near enough time in Epcot Center, and with all the money we saved by staying at the Holiday Inn Lake Buena Vista, we’ll still have time to splurge on lunch in the park!

Epcot Center

Photo Credits: gbrunett, c.d. harrison