A Look at the Flamingo Crossings Hotels Near Disney World
Flamingo Crossings is an area found at the intersection of State Road 429 and Western Way, just outside the western border of Walt Disney World. The shopping, dining, and hotel complex was announced way back in 2007, but the great recession put the project into hibernation. Now that it is finally awakening, the SpringHill Suites and TownPlace Suites (both operated by Marriott) are the first structures at Flamingo Crossings.
Currently, route 429 and Western Way are underutilized motorways so, with a car, it is relatively easy to get from Flamingo Crossings to anywhere on Disney property.
| Park/Area | Distance | Time Without Trafic |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Kingdom | 7.8 miles | 14 minutes |
| Epcot | 6.3 miles | 10 minutes |
| Disney’s Hollywood Studios | 5.1 miles | 9 minutes |
| Disney’s Animal Kingdom | 5.0 miles | 8 minutes |
| Disney Springs | 6.8 miles | 14 minutes |
I stayed at The SpringHill Suites February 18-20, 2016 and we may have been the first people to spend the night in our room. Being a brand new property everything was fresh and clean, but it being a new property also meant that not everything is completely finished. For instance, not all the rooms are available yet, and there are still construction people around working on their punch list. The restaurant will not be seating guests for a few months. This applies for the TownPlace Suites as well, since the two hotels share the soon to come restaurant as well as the pool and fitness center.
Generally, the two hotels have very similar lobbies and common areas, although they use different color schemes. Both hotels offer full complimentary breakfast. While I was there, I also got to see a two bedroom suite TownPlace Suites. While the SpringHill Suites’ rooms have a microwave and a mini-refrigerator, TownPlace Suites’ rooms have a full kitchen and dining area. Regarding flexibility, SpringHill Suites only have two room options: King Bed Studio or Two Queen Bed Studio. TownPlace has a King Bed Studio, Two Queen Bed Studio, One Bedroom Suite, and Two Bedroom Suite. All rooms have a full-size sofa bed.
| TownPlace Suites | SpringHill Suites | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Queen Beds Studio |
King Bed Studio |
1 Bedroom Suite |
2 Bedroom Suite |
2 Queen Beds Studio |
King Bed Studio |
|
| Room Size (sq.ft.) | 386 | 272 | 434 | 624 | 410 | 327 |
| Max occupancy | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Number TVs | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Regular Rate (6/7/2016) | $139 | $129 | $149 | $179 | $129 | $119 |
Being suite hotels the rooms are larger than your typical hotel room. Marriott offers discounts for pre-payment, AAA, and others. For comparison, below is a table with Disney’s hotel categories and their price and sizes.
| CATEGORY | CHEAPEST RACK RATE | Room Size (sq.ft.) | BED SIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| VALUE | $110 | 260-277 | Double |
| VALUE SUITE | $320 | 565 | Double |
| MODERATE | $203 | 314 | Queen |
| DELUXE | $366 | 344-440 | Queen |
| DELUXE VILLA | $393 | 344-2,349 | Queen or King |
The Flamingo Crossings hotels do not qualify for any of the Disney onsite perks and there are currently no shuttles to the parks. To further the separation, there is absolutely nothing in walking distance to the two Marriott hotels. The closest restaurant, gas station, and grocery store require driving south to the next exit on 429 to 192. Hopefully with Marriott being the pioneers of Flamingo Crossings more business will be popping up soon. Once the I-4 construction is in full steam Flamingo Crossings and Western Way is going to be a very attractive alternative.
You May Also Like...
-
We all know that the NBA is coming to play at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports and in…
-
Today, the Walt Disney World Resort shared that a number of their hotels will be delayed in reopening. The reopening dates…
-
According to WDWMagic, Guests will soon be able to see some of their favorite Disney characters at their Walt Disney World…
-
Following recent closures due to coronavirus, some of the Walt Disney World Resort area hotels are slated to reopen this July.…
Hi, any wider pictures of the pool area at the new SpringHill Suites / TownePlace Suites at Flamingo Crossings? If not, I still want to thank you for posting the photos as I have not been able to find many other pictures of the pool at the new hotels.
Sorry, I did not get a wider picture. I should have taken one from the hotel room. The pool is kind of a “V” shape. The bottom of the “V” has a zero entry. The inner part of the “V” forms a peninsula with lounges and palm trees. A room key is needed to enter or exit the pool area.
I believe there was talk of a $5 per person shuttle to the TTC, I’m not sure if that has started yet or not. Uber is a great option for these hotels as well. It’s rather cheap and with many CMs moonlighting as drivers there’s almost always one on or near property.
A drug store (I can’t remember if it was a CVS or a Walgreens) is under construction directly across the street from these hotels. Ground clearing is currently taking place for it so it should be opened by end of the year or so.
Just a reminder (as you sort-of noted) that you need to essentially add $20/night to these rates, since there are no shuttles (which, if they do eventually start, can have wonky schedules) you’ll need to pay to park at the parks.
Even given that, I can see some attractiveness for families. For me, as a single, I find just staying at Pop and enjoying the on-site perks pretty much justifies any cost differences I can find with off-site hotels. Given my enjoyment of alcohol, having a bus home is pretty ideal, anyway.
So the maximum occupancy in the suites is 5? So frustrating… We are a family of 6 which isn’t that uncommon and it is hard to find a place to stay without getting 2 rooms or paying a crazy amount at Disney.
The maximum occupancy was my only disappointment with the hotels. The sofa beds are small, and would not sleep two adults comfortably.
I feel your pain. We are a family of 6 as well, which pretty much prices us out of onsite. Even 2 value rooms feels tight for us now that the kids are all teens. I usually end up with a 3 bedroom vacation condo or townhome for around $100 a night, $200 for holiday season. I have had good experiences with VRBO. FYI I have stayed at various Springhill Suites with my family many times. I reserve for 5; no one asks or checks. This only works if your kids are small enough to share the sofabed. They used to have more of a sectional type thing that I could put sheets on for one child even when the bed was pulled out. More problematic for us is 1 bathroom for 6 people. We can manage for couple of days, but not for a week’s vacation. We are WAY more comfortable with 3 bed/3 bath condo, even though I would prefer to be on property.
I am also surprised that a “suites” location doesn’t sleep any more than 5. Our family of six has stayed at other Townplace properties that do have the ability to sleep six in a 2 bedroom room. I noticed that the bedrooms only have queens, when other properties usually have two doubles in the bedrooms and a queen size sleeper sofa.
Not sure why Marriott wouldn’t court larger families – the onsite lodging opportunities for large families are sparse and/or expensive, and would seem like a good niche for a suites hotel to go after in a mrket with so many competitors.