Booked off-site for Pixelmania

And I got a pretty good deal - a bundle with hotel and car for 8 days/7 nights for $520 including taxes and fees.

When staying off-site, I often book through Hotels.com, even though I'm not claymation and my name is not Smart. There are good deals to be found on Hotels.com, if one know where and how to look for them (in 2009 I snagged a 24-hour sale at the Best Western Lakeside, on US 192 at the end of Sherberth Road, for $35.70 per night).

This year I decided to try a technique I have not used previously - bundling. Using Hotels.com's bundling feature, I shopped for hotel+car and found multiple options.

The option I chose included:

* Standard 2-queen bed guest room at the Country Inn and Suites on SR 535, just north of the Crossroads shopping center
* Mid-size car from Thrifty at MCO (which is now in-terminal)
* Sales tax, hotel tax, and applicable rental car fees

The total of $520 works out to be about $65 per day for both hotel and car; it's roughly the equivalent of getting the hotel for $60 a night before tax and getting a free rental car thrown in.

I have not stayed at this particular property before, but I am familiar with the Country Inn and Suites brand, and I know the neighborhood, having stayed in a couple of other hotels in the vicinity over the years. The location is convenient for access to WDW, the nearby outlets, and the back way (Turkey Lake Rd) up to Universal, and it has plenty of dining and shopping options nearby.