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?

In general, deciding how long to stay at Disney depends on how far away from Disney you live and how long you have for vacation. For example:

• DisneyDiva lives in Georgia (surprise surprise, she doesn't live in Orlando), therefore if she were going to Disney World (in Orlando for those of you new to Disney planning) a 3 day vacation is possible if she flies and only plans to visit 2-3 of the 6 parks.
• Alternately, 4-7 days is more practical if driving (2 days driving, 2-5 days at the parks). Again, this would not allow full exploration of all 6 parks.
• To drive to Orlando from Georgia and visit all of the parks, would require a 7-10 day vacation window - something that isn't practical in most cases or in this economy, as it is not as affordable as a shorter holiday.

DisneyDiva's Key Tip#2: Just because money is tight, doesn't mean you can't have a Disney holiday...it just means you have to pick and choose when you go and may need to shorten your trip!

Considering the current economy, the first thing I advise is to try and vacation during the value seasons (click here for the Disney Seasons chart). However, while the value seasons for the Disney 'value resports' and many other 'affordable', motel-style accomodations around the Disney parks is in the fall (September through early December), value season for some Disney deluxe resorts (and other more 'pricy' resorts/hotels in the area) goes from July through September. This means that if you plan carefully, you could upgrade your accomodation to a deluxe resort, by reducing other expenses.

Working out how long to stay at Disney can be tricky, especially when you are juggling work and school schedules. As a teacher who likes to avoid Disney during the crazy summer months, I prefer to take two shorter (3-4) day trips a year. The 3-4 day vacation works great as it is long enough to allow me to relax and see the things I really want to see, while allowing me to take advantage of the cheaper accomodation rates in fall and early spring.

However, if I were travelling to Disney World from Colorado, the more expensive transportation costs would probably reduce any savings I might gain from only going for 3-4 days. So in this case I would shoot for a 5-9 day holiday.

When working out how long to stay, you also need to consider your own circumstances. For instance, if this is a first trip to Disney with kids, you may need to miss some more adult aspects of the parks (like Epcot's World Showcase), in favor of more 'kid-friendly' experiences (like spending more time in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom). Remember that while there are 6 parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon) you don't NEED to see everything at all of them in one single trip. To manage that feat, even in the lower seasons, would take upwards of 10 days!

For a 3-4 day trip, I suggest working to hit 2-3 parks and cover everything you want to do at them. In 5-6 days it is possible to see most everything at 4 parks. I have tried to cram 5 parks into 5 days and can say honestly that I was MISERABLE by the end of day two, thanks to rushing from one site/ride to the next without taking the time to really appreciate or enjoy anything. This is especially true if you have small children - remember they will need to rest, as will you. There is no point to trying to cram too much into too little time, you will go away frustrated and tired, rather than rest, relaxed and happy.

In the end, when planning a Disney vacation on a tight budget, how long you stay is directly related to your budget, what season you are travelling in (and consequently how expensive accomodation is) AND lastly, whether you are staying on site or off. Where you stay is a key part of the planning puzzle.

Next article....Balancing Cost versus Comfort - The Accomodation Puzzle