Tropicana Inn and Suites
To visit Disneyland I stayed at the Tropicana Inn and Suites, a non-Disney hotel across the road from the theme parks. I chose Tropicana primarily based on price and proximity to Disneyland. It definitely delivered on proximity - I think only the Grand Californian (for about 4 times the price) would have been noticeably closer.
The official check-in time was listed as 4pm and the room obviously wasn't available when I arrived before 10am, but it was easy to leave my bags with the front desk. If I had a US phone number they could have texted me when a room was ready, but they instead suggested I return around 2pm. I did and they had a room available for me.
My room (and I imagine most rooms) looked out on to the carpark. The room itself was a typical motel-style room and had nothing fancy in terms of theming, but it was clean. There was not much noise from surrounding rooms, but I could hear people going past outside (mainly around park opening and closing).
The hotel doesn't have a restaurant but it does have convenience store on site, which sold quite a large range of snacks, drinks and breakfast foods. Prices were more expensive than a supermarket would have been, but I think a little cheaper than inside the parks (examples: yoghurt parfait $4, 14oz milk $2.95, 20oz lemonade $2.60 + tax, banana $1). It was also a short walk to McDonalds.
I felt pretty safe at the hotel and walking back and forth from the parks until a homeless man was stabbed at a nearby bus stop. But around park opening and closing there were always plenty of people around so it wasn't too scary.
Pop Century
For the bulk of my time in Disney World I stayed at Pop Century. I did online check-in and selected the direct to room option. I requested close to transportation and lake view. I received an email with my room number just before my DME bus left the airport. It took me a while to find my room using the map included in the email - one advantage of going to the check-in desk would be that they give you more detailed instructions on the location of your room.
My room was very close to transportation (only a couple of minutes walk to the buses and less than 5 to the food court) but was not the lake view I had requested - I had a view of the carpark instead. Being close to the buses was more important to me though, so I didn't bother checking if any lake view rooms were available.
On my first night I went down to the lake and was able to get a decent view of some of the fireworks from Illuminations at Epcot and the Frozen fireworks at Hollywood Studios. I could hear the Illuminations music very faintly but could not hear the Frozen music even though those fireworks seemed closer.
Art of Animation
For my last few days at Disney World I shared a family suite at Art of Animation with my brother and my sister-in-law. We stayed in the Lion King section. Like at Pop Century, I selected the direct to room option at online check-in, but we hadn't received a text or email by the time we arrived at the hotel so had to check-in at the front desk instead.
Also like at Pop Century, I'd requested close to transportation and lake view. The room did look towards the lake but because it was on the ground floor the view of the lake was mostly blocked by trees. It wasn't as close to the buses as the Pop Century room, but it wasn't too bad.
The resort and room were a little more themed than at the other value resorts. The family suite cost a little bit more than getting two rooms at another value resort and was overall about the same size, but had more living space and less sleeping space. We didn't really get to take advantage of the extra living space because we didn't spend a lot of time in the room, but I think it would be really nice for a slightly slower paced trip.
My brother and sister-in-law slept in the bedroom and I slept in the fancy murphy bed that pulled down on top of the table. It was just as comfortable as a regular bed. The bathroom off the living room had a door to the sink area and then another door to the toilet/bath area, which was nicer than the setup at Pop Century where the sinks were only separated from the room by a curtain. The bathroom off the bedroom was just one room and had a proper shower rather than a shower/tub combination, which was nice. The only thing I didn't like about the bathrooms is that the exhaust fans were controlled be sensors that couldn't not be overridden.
Another advantage of the family suites is that they have a kitchenette area with a sink, microwave and coffee maker. I didn't make use of much except the coffee maker, but it would have made it easier to eat in the room on a longer stay. Overall I'd definitely try to stay in an Art of Animation suite again if I was travelling with a few people.
One of the unique offerings at Art of Animation is drawing classes. They are similar to the Animation Academy classes at Disneyland (and that used to be at Hollywood Studios). One thing that I liked though is that we were given paper that had the name of the character and the initial guide lines printed on them. Having the guide lines really helped me because I didn't have to worry about getting the initial circle at the right size and location. I drew Ariel. The classes are held a few times each day and are on the entertainment schedule that you receive at check-in.
Animal Kingdom Lodge
For a while in the planning process I considered staying here but eventually went with Art of Animation for half the price and instead just went for a visit. In the end I'm glad I made that decision. I enjoyed the architecture, seeing the animals from the viewing areas and doing a culinary tour, but I spent so little time in my hotel rooms that it would not have been worth the extra money to actually stay here.
I used Disney buses to travel between Pop Century and Animal Kingdom Lodge (with a transfer at Animal Kingdom) - it took about 45 minutes each way.
Cabana Bay Beach Resort
This is the relatively new value resort at Universal Orlando. It is generally similar to the Disney World value resorts, with retro theming. One difference was that the whole hotel is connected by internal corridors, but it still has a bit of a motel feel to it. Cabana Bay offers family suites, but unlike Art of Animation they only have one bathroom, so we went for two connecting rooms instead.
It is possible to walk from Cabana Bay to the parks, but I always took the shuttle bus (which was pretty quick because the distance was so small). The bus drop-off is at the far end of CityWalk, so I don't think it's quite as convenient as the boat access from the more expensive hotels, but it was generally a quick trip overall.
Like at Disney World, I spent most of my time in the parks so I didn't have time to check out the amenities at the hotel. Apparently it has a pool that is a bit of a step up from the Disney World value hotels, as well as a bowling alley.
Cabana Bay was very reasonably priced, conveniently located and allowed us early entry into the Universal parks. It didn't blow me away, but I'd definitely consider staying here again the next time I go to Universal.
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