Budget resort options for a family holiday to Orlando

Over the next few days I’m going to focus on Orlando (as that is my favourite place to go!). I understand different people have different budgets, so I’m going to choose different options for different wallets. All will be based on a family of 4, but I can tailor make these holidays to suit any family, whether you are a family of 5, 6 or even if you are a multigenerational family looking for that once in a lifetime trip to Orlando. They will be based on 2 weeks, but again if you wanted 10 days, or 3 weeks, I can do that too.

So let’s get started with the budget trip, staying offsite.

Firstly, this is as cheap as it gets. You can get a perfectly good, clean hotel for a bargain price if you stay offsite. You won’t be immersed in the Disney or Universal bubble, but if that doesn’t bother you then why not! You will be more limited with transport, but on the plus side you will be in an area with restaurants, shops, and bars all around you, plus I would highly recommend Uber whilst in Orlando. And of course there is the I-Trolley, which costs barely anything and goes up and down International Drive on a regular basis.

So here are my top 3 offsite budget resorts: 1. Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando – this is a 3 star resort and is basically half way between the Universal and Disney theme parks. It is clean, basic, has a pool and a restaurant and is the perfect place to rest your head. 2. Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista – another 3 star, this is close to the Disney parks and to shopping and restaurants, and has similar facilities to the above, and is a similar price too. 3. Avanti International Resort – my final 3 star choice, in between Disney and Universal parks. It has a great pool, jacuzzi, restaurants, games room, laundry facilities, parking, and is in a great location.

Next up is the budget Universal resort hotels, known as Value resorts here. These are more expensive than budget offsite hotels, but you get perks by staying here, such as free transportation to the Universal parks, early entry and great facilities. Here are all of the value Universal resort hotels you can choose from: 1. First up is the brand new Endless Summer resorts, which consist of Surfside Inn (which opened in 2019) and Dockside in (which was due to open in 2020). These are bright, colourful, and are the furthest resorts from the Universal parks. But these are great for larger families because as well as the standard rooms sleeping 4, you can get 2 bedroom suites as well so are perfect for families of up to 6. This is a 3 star resort. 2. Next up you have Cabana Bay, which is themed to the 50’s and 60’s. It is quite a large resort but it has some amazing pools and even a lazy river! There’s even a bowling alley and plenty of eating options too. Again you have family rooms sleeping up to 6 and standard rooms here sleeping up to 4. This resort is really close to Volcano Bay, Universal’s own waterpark. 3. The Aventura is the next one on my list, and is also relatively new. Families are welcome here but I would say this is where you might want to stay if you are on an adults only holiday, you have a beautiful rooftop bar, pool, restaurant, and it is within walking distance again of Volcano Bay. Rooms here can accommodate up to 5 people.

Finally are the budget Disney resorts, also called Value. You definitely get more perks by staying onsite at Disney as there are just so many Disney parks now when you factor in Disney Springs and the water parks too, and when you have access to the Disney Transportation which usually runs like clockwork, plus if you have children, it really is a no brainer that if you can afford to stay onsite at Disney, you really should! So here goes: 1. The All-Star Resorts – these are the cheapest of the Value resorts, and consist of the All-Star Sports, All-Star Music, and All-Star Movies. They are hugely themed, larger than life, in your face Disney! Great for young kids, they will all love it here! They are quite large resorts, are the furthest away from the parks, but all have great themed pools (and several of them), food courts, and plenty of buses to take you to the parks. They all have laundry facilities, games rooms, gift shops, basically everything you need on a Disney holiday. All rooms here are standard and sleep 4. 2. Pop Century Resort – this is the next up in terms of price, and is the smallest of the Value resorts. The theming here is in terms of decades, so you might have a room in the 70’s section, where you have the Hippy Dippy pool, or you might have a room in the 90’s section, where you have a computer shaped pool. It is very well themed, again with larger than life theming and again kids will love it here. It has a great food court and access to the Disney buses, it also has the same facilities as the All-Star resorts. 3. Art of Animation – this would be my choice out of the Value resorts. Standard Little Mermaid rooms are beautiful and sleep 4. If you are a larger family they also have larger suites for up to 6, and are themed to either The Lion King, Cars, and Finding Nemo. There is a fantastic food court here as well as some great pools. The new plus of staying at this resort is that you now have access to the Skyliner gondola system so for this resort, you have more transport options other than just the buses.

Those are all of my favourite budget resort options for a holiday to Orlando.