Convince us to stay off property....

[Scuttle]

We are jones'ing for a trip to the World, and trying to make it all come together in late January 2013. We have been DVC members, but with the change in the economy, we are no longer

I am noticing that we could double our trip if we didn't stay onsite. But this is a completely foreign venture for us!!

We have our favorite onsite restaurants, and I was trying to price out eating at those places only, but then trying to save money by cooking at a rental or suite hotel. Obviously this would mean carrying in our lunches and snacks. This would mean no dining plan - which is another substantial savings - yet also foreign. (We have some pretty complicated food intolerances and allergies and LOVE Disney's amazing accommodations, so we aren't opposed to eating on property - just trying to stay longer by not staying on site and saving money somewhere.)

Then comes the question about the cost of parking.

This all still has to be cheaper than the all inclusive price we just got for the "Dine, Play, Stay" cardmember deal.

I am convinced, but now I have to convince my other half that it really is OK not to stay onsite?!!! HELP!!

 

[cara76]

We stayed offsite once between gas, parking and food we could have stayed on site with the dining plan. I don't think anyone could convince me to stay off site again, sorry. I know a lot of people do and love it, we just aren't those people.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Check out Wyndham bonnet creek. It's actually on Disney property right next to CBR. They offer two bedroom condos. There is a huge thread about it on here under Orlando attractions or something.

You can also go to vacationupgrades.com for more information. I'm an onsite person but we are going to try this for our next visit. I refuse to stay outside of the Disney gates.

 

[torinsmom]

I love off site because I like to have some room to get away from the family for a bit. I also love each person being able to decide when to go to bed, vs. having to turn of the lights and tv at the same time in a hotel room. I like having more than one bathroom and love having a full size kitchen, and (gasp!) even a washer/dryer. We go in summer and sometimes change clothes in the middle of the day. I also love driving to the parks--having my own car, AC and music and not having to wait for the buses is priceless to me and so worth the $14/day parking fee.

We just rented a 5 bedroom pool home for 7 nights next June for $700. I guess $800 if you add in daily parking. We will eat at least breakfast and lunch in the house(take a break mid day).

 

[ricktib]

• $ vs. $$$$
• easy access to grocery, drug store, etc.
• many of the same wdw tv channels
• it's often better to avoid the emh parks anyway

 

[crusoe2]

You might look into Windsor Hills condo rentals from vacationcentralflorida.com. We've rented from them 3 times now and been pretty satisfied. We've tried the 2 and 3 bedroom condos and one of the townhouses. Personally I didn't care for the townhouse as much as I'd thought I would. But that's mainly because I didn't care for dealing with everything being spread out over 2 floors. I just checked their website and a 3 bedroom condo for the week of Jan 19-26 was about $598. That's all taxes and fees and such for 7 nights. And what you see in the pictures on their website is a pretty accurate depiction of what you get. Windsor Hills is gated with 24 hour security and a nice community pool, playground, and some onsite recreation.

All that said, I prefer onsite. But if my budget says it's offsite or we don't go, we go with Windsor Hills. Location is great - easy drive to the parks and plenty of grocery stores and restaurants close by. And it isn't hard to find accommodations there that save you enough to more than make up for the cost of gas and parking.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

We stayed at the world quest resort. It was really nice, only a short drive to the parks and downtown Disney. Our 3 bdrm suite was huge, it must have been at least 1400 square feet! We paid just over one hundred per night. Disney just can't compete with that.

 

[kalc12345]

We have stayed on property a lot...everything from Saratoga Springs Resort to Pop. Last year we tried staying at Bonnet Creek and LOVED it!!!!!!!!! It is the only place we stay at now.

Bonnet Creek is on Disney property so you are close to everything. You can also get a fireworks view room and watch the Epcot fireworks each night. And you just can't beat the price!! We always rent for a wonderful lady on VRBO. We get a 2 bedroom and normally pay around $65 a night.

I love having a kitchen (we deal with food allergies too) and the washer and dryer comes in handy as well. What I love the most is having more room. I love my kids but it is nice to have some quiet time at night after they go to bed.

 

[rlilly79]

I have rented a condo off site, 4 beds 3 baths 5 mins from Disney from a website called homeaway.com for the dates dec 26 - jan 5 and only paid $650! vs the several thousand to accommodate my family on Disney property. Sure there are perks such as free parking meal plans and so on but no matter how you calculated it, it never came close to the savings of staying off property. So guess if it is finances, i say off property, convince on property!

 

[eliza61]

We are jones'ing for a trip to the World, and trying to make it all come together in late January 2013. We have been DVC members, but with the change in the economy, we are no longer

I am noticing that we could double our trip if we didn't stay onsite. But this is a completely foreign venture for us!!

We have our favorite onsite restaurants, and I was trying to price out eating at those places only, but then trying to save money by cooking at a rental or suite hotel. Obviously this would mean carrying in our lunches and snacks. This would mean no dining plan - which is another substantial savings - yet also foreign. (We have some pretty complicated food intolerances and allergies and LOVE Disney's amazing accommodations, so we aren't opposed to eating on property - just trying to stay longer by not staying on site and saving money somewhere.)

Then comes the question about the cost of parking.

This all still has to be cheaper than the all inclusive price we just got for the "Dine, Play, Stay" cardmember deal.

I am convinced, but now I have to convince my other half that it really is OK not to stay onsite?!!! HELP!!

It is more than ok, it can be absolutely fabulous.

Sorry as far as "dollar, value" hands down offsite is way better and lately I've hated wdw restuarants so it's no big loss for me if I eat at other places.

Now this is just my family scenerio.

We stay deluxe. usually bc resort. 435 per night x's 7 night. 3k. easy. I stayed at the waldorf astoria for 1/2 that price. sorry but no way is parking gonna cost me 1000 bucks lol.
No matter if I'm on site or offsite, I rent a car (200 bucks/week) so disney transportation is not perk.

I find onsite is more an emotional thing for me. I do like the music, themeing, EMH etc but dollar for dollar I'm finding better value offsite.

and I have had just as "magical" vacations.

It will be fine

 

[Scuttle]

Bonnet Creek is on Disney property so you are close to everything. You can also get a fireworks view room and watch the Epcot fireworks each night. And you just can't beat the price!! We always rent for a wonderful lady on VRBO. We get a 2 bedroom and normally pay around $65 a night.

Ok, you had me at hello (or $65 a night), BUT I can't get that rate when I try it on their website. I mean, I can't even get it under $200 a night.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[kalc12345]

Ok, you had me at hello (or $65 a night), BUT I can't get that rate when I try it on their website. I mean, I can't even get it under $200 a night.

What am I doing wrong?

Don't go through their website their prices are NOT good. I will PM you some info on the lady I use. Also we always go in off-season so the rates are a lot cheaper then.

 

[cyndik1111]

We only stay onsite when we are going for a few days. If we are going to be there for a week or more, off-site is the way to go for us.

Once I stopped drinking the kool-aid and tried offsite, I became a believer!

We do Windsor Hills. LOVE having tons of room to spread out, love having washer and dryer, love having full kitchen, and love the resort pool.

As for rental car and driving....the rental minivan cost $225/week, parking is $14/day and $50 for gas. We get to the parks much quicker than the buses, no overtired kids crying on the bus, no stroller wheel stuck in the back of my leg cause the bus is so crowded, and no waiting for the bus at the end of the night.

We don't love disney food (or their prices) so we are happy to have a car and go to Subway, Panera, Olive Garden, etc. We always use coupons and save $$.

I know there are dye hard WDW fans who will only stay onsite (look for a Kool-aid mustache), but we aren't one of them. And that is just fine with me. If everyone saw the beauty of staying offsite, the prices would rise and the supply would go down.

So thank you to all who stay on site! You make our family trip more affordable!

 

[ICF]

We love off - sote. We have a week at Windor Hills that is running us about $550 next year.

http://www.vacationcentralflorida.com/townhouse2526maneshaw.html -- this is the townhouse that we'll have.

Windsor Hills is a great community and you can be to 3 of the 4 parks in about 10 mins (or less to AK).

I don't get the attraction to on - site. I'd rather have 3 BR/Full kitchen and my own pool vs be stuck in a 1 room hotel. Give me room to stetch out and let people have their own space if desired.

I'd also rather drive myself vs hope I can get on a bus and then on top of that possibly not even being able to sit down. I can drive myself, crank the AC and be back to my townhouse long before most of those people off the bus.

Unless years from now my wife and I have the $$'s to go by ourselves and stay at one of the deluxe locations, we'll be off-site people

 

[MrsPete]

I've done both, and the most important thing to realize is that they are very different vacations:

On site:

You can go-go-go to the parks, come back for a mid-day rest, and I am certain that you get more "value" for your ticket. That is, when you're more conveniently located to the parks, you are going to spend more time in the parks and will do more in the parks. (Note: I'm assuming long summer hours.) You never have to walk across a long, hot parking lot and get into a scorching hot car. Unlike me, the bus drivers never get lost. If you're talking about an older family, you're not forced to share transportation -- you can take different busses to different places. After an on site trip, you will go home tired, but having done quite a bit.

Off site:

You have more space, which leads to more family time and relaxation. But the trade-off is that driving on the busy, unfamiliar roads is not fun, and a mid-day return to an off-site space takes much longer than a bus ride to an on site hotel -- and it's very likely that once you get back to your hotel, you'll say, "You know, I'd just as soon hang out here at the pool as go back for the fireworks". You can find less expensive meals, but you'll "pay" the difference in parking, gas, and time. After an off site trip, you'll go home having relaxed more, but you won't have done as much Disney stuff.

Personally, I prefer on site. I see no point in paying for a larger space -- not when our intention is to be out of the room as much as possible. Instead, I'd rather have the convenience of being steps away from everything and having convenient transportation included in the cost. In contrast, when we do a week at the beach and our plan is to sleep in, cook big meals together, play board games, and walk on the beach -- then I am very willing to pay for everyone to have a bedroom, etc.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Don't go through their website their prices are NOT good. I will PM you some info on the lady I use. Also we always go in off-season so the rates are a lot cheaper then.

Pm me too if you can. The best I have found is $120 a night.

 

[Tooth Fairy]

We used to stay onsite when the kids were young. When they hit the pre teen and teenage years it was becoming a real challenge. They took 2 friends when 17 and we booked Bonnet Creek 3 bedroom. Its GREAT!! We could see all the park fireworks from our balcony and master bedroom. To have the extra space was great and the kid s liked the resort amenities...will stay there again!!!

 

[charliesmom86]

Pm me too if you can. The best I have found is $120 a night.

Me as well. I only find about $120 a night as well.

 

[kirstenb1]

I could be easily convinced. We've owned DVC since 1993. At the time what sold me was the kitchen/washer/dryer. Also, I didn't even realize there were similar accomodations offsite. I don't even know if the internet existed back then!!

If it were my decision only, I'd sell our DVC in a heartbeat, and stay at Windsor Hills or the like for every trip. I value kitchen/washer/dryer, not necessarily staying onsite. My family would kill me, so we'll keep doing DVC. But I love eating breakfast in our room, eating counter service for lunch, and cooking something simple back at the villa for dinner, or going offsite to a local restaurant. I'm not at WDW to dine, I'm there to ride rides and see shows.

I love everyone having his own bedroom/bathroom. When we stay at a hotel anywhere, I always book a suite. I just can't handle 4 of us in one room.

 

[mhsjax]

We love off - sote. We have a week at Windor Hills that is running us about $550 next year.

http://www.vacationcentralflorida.com/townhouse2526maneshaw.html -- this is the townhouse that we'll have.

Windsor Hills is a great community and you can be to 3 of the 4 parks in about 10 mins (or less to AK).

I don't get the attraction to on - site. I'd rather have 3 BR/Full kitchen and my own pool vs be stuck in a 1 room hotel. Give me room to stetch out and let people have their own space if desired.

I'd also rather drive myself vs hope I can get on a bus and then on top of that possibly not even being able to sit down. I can drive myself, crank the AC and be back to my townhouse long before most of those people off the bus.

Unless years from now my wife and I have the $$'s to go by ourselves and stay at one of the deluxe locations, we'll be off-site people

I get that some people like to stay off site so they can stretch out and have more bedrooms, but you do realize that just because you stay onsite doesn't mean you have to take a bus. We stay onsite, I won't stay off site and we refuse to take a bus.