1960 Broadway, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830,
Rates: start at $295 a night for a studio, $400 for a one-bedroom villa and $555 for a two-bedroom in the value season weekday. Wi-Fi not included; parking is free.
Stay here if you: want plenty of space and to cook your own meals.
It’s close to: the entrance to the whole Disney complex, which means getting off-property is a breeze, with minimal traffic hassles, for that trip into Orlando. It’s also a five-minute ferry ride or 15-minute walk to Downtown Disney.
The rooms are: perfect for families and groups. The two-bedroom unit fit seven of us, with a king bed in one bedroom, a pullout sofa and two queens in the other room, as well as a fully stocked kitchen (except a big stockpot and colander for pasta; thank heavens my sister thought to bring them) and a jetted bathtub in one of the two bathrooms. The washer and dryer were convenient, too, and one bedroom had a large walk-in closet with tons of storage space. The small balcony and small living room offered extra places to eat, which was helpful because our only complaint was that the dining area was teeny-tiny. There’s a TV with, of course, all the Disney channels you could ask for, and also a DVD player (they rent DVDs, in case you didn’t bring any), which isn’t a bad idea if your kids come back all overstimulated and the pool isn’t enough to wind them back down.
They put all of the money into: making the property look like an 1800s-era equestrian-themed Saratoga Springs, N.Y., getaway, only with an updated swimming pool, tennis, basketball and shuffleboard courts, fitness center and spa, as well as a deli-style cafe and convenience store. Like the rest of Disney, everything is clean, clean, clean.
The bottom line: With its nice paved paths around a pretty lake for walking or jogging, the always-packed pool with its waterfalls and slide, convenient access to Downtown Disney and tons of parking, this is one of the most desirable places to stay. When we wanted to eat at a restaurant instead of at the unit, we just popped over to Downtown Disney (my all-Irish family highly recommends the Raglan Road Irish Pub, by the way). The downside would be that if you’re tied to driving from Colorado to the theme parks, it’s a good jaunt from most of them, especially Magic Kingdom, but with planning, we never had that much trouble getting there (Magic Kingdom was the longest ride, at about a half hour; Epcot seemed to have the fewest buses running, and so we waited about 20 minutes). On the other hand, if you’re flying out, the free Magical Express airport shuttle stops here first and last, so you don’t have the long waits that people staying at other Disney hotels do. Kyle Wagner
