Planning a Disney vacation on a budget may seem daunting. There are lots of pieces you have to sort out and it takes time to make all of the pieces fit. One of the pieces that is helpful to sort out early in the planning process is where to stay.

The issue of where to stay can be somewhat tricky, particularly when you are trying to get the most vacation you can for your money. At the heart of the 'where to stay' issue is the question of cost versus comfort.

Let's talk cost....

When planning my honeymoon, I was trying to save as much money as possible because we were (at the time) travelling to the US from Australia. As fulltime postgraduate students we had very little money to work with, and I was trying to get the most honeymoon I could for my dollar. At this stage in my planning it seemed that cost was the key thing.

So, at first I hit the web looking for the absolute cheapest hotel/motel I could find that had a free shuttle to the parks. I found many possibilities and actually booked on. However, then I got curious and decided to see what reviewers had to say about my chosen hotel on both travelocity and hotels.com. As it turns out, all of the reviewers said the same basic thing - crime riddled, bug infested dive with a drug problem. ACK! Definitely NOT where I wanted to spend my honeymoon!!

DisneyDiva Tip #1: NEVER equate CHEAP with COMFORTABLE!

While there are a number of cheap (cheap being under $70 in my book) hotels/motels out there that are comfortable, the vast majority in my experience, are not. In many cases, the old saying 'you get what you pay for' unfortunately rings true. The cheapest motels are (if you are lucky) one step above a pay by the hour dive. Frequently they have shoddy cleanliness, uncomfortable beds, and are less than desirable from a safety perspective. All in all, not the sort of place you'd like to have your family stay.

On the other hand, some people say "I'm only going to be at the hotel/motel to sleep...so the rest doesn't really matter." As for me...I want to stay somewhere that is at the very least clean and safe -- those are my two deal breakers. The price may be 'right' in a money-sense, but if my personal safety or that of my family is compromised, then the savings are just not worth it.

So, what is a budget traveller to do? Here are my top 3 suggestions:

Use frequent flyer or other loyalty program points.
I am a loyalty club member for a major (upper end) hotel chain and a major airline. I earn points for BOTH programs at the same time when I buy either plane tickets or rooms with these companies. As a result, I earn a decent amount of points. These points are being saved for cheap accomodation on my next Disney World trip. Granted, I can't use them to stay at Disney World resorts, but there are MANY hotels in the immediate Disney World vicinity that are affiliates of the up-market chains. These hotels are comfortable, offer good ammenities AND will honor my points - saving me money on accomodation.

Take advantage of any discount programs you qualify for.
I am a teacher/government employee. Some hotels around the Disney area offer discounts for teachers, military personnel, government employees and various other professions. It never hurts to call a hotel and ask what sort of discounts they have available. For those of you in the AARP age group - make SURE you ask if your hotel offers an AARP discount. In many cases you may get a better rate with that discount than with a AAA discount! AND, some hotels will even let you double up on discounts. So you may be able to get BOTH your AARP or military discount AND the AAA discount!

Order a new Disney Vacation Planning DVD EVERY YEAR!!
Why is this important? Because Disney often sends people who order the DVD a discount code good for rooms, full packages, dining, tickets and other perks. In particular, the room discount codes range from 20 - 40% OFF the standard rate. With that sort of discount, staying on site at Disney World becomes possible, even for those of us on seriously restricted budgets. Just think - staying at a Value Disney resort during the Value Season is roughly $82 a night. With the 20% discount that drops the rate to $65.60!! That is a price that will rival most off-site motels and offers you better perks (more about staying on-site in coming articles).

So, remember... the first step in deciding where to stay is deciding what your 'deal-breakers' are in terms of cost versus comfort.

Next article: The Off-site/On-site Debate: Which Reigns Supreme?