Onsite or Timeshare?

[lifesgr8]

Last time we came to WDW we used our timeshare to stay at BCV. It was awesome. I am planning a last minute trip for January.

I am assuming that nothing is going to beat our BCV visit other than maybe a different villa?!

I am debating staying offsite using the timeshare or using the room only discount to stay at a value. There are 7 of us (2 parents, 5 kids) So we would have to pay for 2 rooms, at the value resorts. The cost of the villa out of pocket is way more than I want to pay. If I stay offsite I will have the issue of renting a car/gas and trying to find my way around.

I realize this is a heated question but, any input? Pay for 2 rooms at the value and not use timeshare/rent car etc. OR use timeshare & have rental car expense... not room expense.

And if I look on Disney.com for my room only discount....how do I know if it is at a discounted rate? I also am a Disney visa card holder and AAA member are there room only discounts for them that would make this decision easier?

 

[Marthasor]

Last time we came to WDW we used our timeshare to stay at BCV. It was awesome. I am planning a last minute trip for January.

I am assuming that nothing is going to beat our BCV visit other than maybe a different villa?!

I am debating staying offsite using the timeshare or using the room only discount to stay at a value. There are 7 of us (2 parents, 5 kids) So we would have to pay for 2 rooms, at the value resorts. The cost of the villa out of pocket is way more than I want to pay. If I stay offsite I will have the issue of renting a car/gas and trying to find my way around.

I realize this is a heated question but, any input? Pay for 2 rooms at the value and not use timeshare/rent car etc. OR use timeshare & have rental car expense... not room expense.

And if I look on Disney.com for my room only discount....how do I know if it is at a discounted rate? I also am a Disney visa card holder and AAA member are there room only discounts for them that would make this decision easier?

How old are the children? If you have one under age 3, you could get a suite at AoA or ASMu. Just a thought.

To make sure you are getting the discounted rate, go to the WDW site and click packages at the top of the page, then click special offers. On the special offers page, under Rooms, you will see the room only discount. Click on that and do your room search from that page. When your Price quote comes up, it should say January-March Room Offer on it indicating you are getting that discount.

You can always call Disney and ask for the discount. If you want to check AAA room-only discounts, you have to call Disney. You can't do that online. There are no Disney Visa discount offers currently.

Staying value vs. offsite with a family of 7 would be a toss up for me as well! Have you considered renting DVC points? Might bring the cost down on the Villa.

 

[CanadianGuy]

January currently has a special the STAY-PLAY-DINE offer which can be booked by clicking here.

The Stay Play Dine offer gives you a smallish room discount and the Quick Service dining option for free at a value. At a moderate, you get the full dining plan.

Be sure to run the numbers to figure what works best for you. Car rental would likely have to be a minivan so those are typically around $300 a week in January. (Alamo)

Also, when staying offsite remember you lose EMH privileges... and any other 'on-site' benefits that might be valuable to you.

 

[Marthasor]

January currently has a special the STAY-PLAY-DINE offer which can be booked by clicking here.

The Stay Play Dine offer gives you a smallish room discount and the Quick Service dining option for free at a value. At a moderate, you get the full dining plan.

The Stay/Play/Dine offer is an overall discount when booking a room/ticket/dining package. According to Disney, you can "save up to $600" with this offer. It is not a free dining promotion. I think Disney created a lot of confusion with this offer. So many of us are used to the free dining promotions they have released in years past. Unfortunately, the dining included in this offer is not free - just discounted.

If you aren't considering a dining plan, the room-only discount will probably be your best bet, but it doesn't hurt to run the numbers on both offers to see what is the best option for your family. I ran the numbers on both for a trip in Feb. and came out WAY ahead with the room-only discount with tickets AND dining included - it really just depends on your dates, family configuration etc.

The room-only discount can be booked through this link: http://bookwdw.reservations.disney....mo&promotionCode=fy13q2room&market=fy13q2room

If this is all confusing, you can always call Disney and ask them to run the numbers on both offers for you. Or call an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner (Dreams Unlimited, Magical Vacations Travel, Small World Vacations, etc.)

Or post your specs on here (dates, ages of children, ticket and dining options desired) and I'm sure many people will run the numbers for you!

 

[lifesgr8]

How old are the children? If you have one under age 3, you could get a suite at AoA or ASMu. Just a thought.

To make sure you are getting the discounted rate, go to the WDW site and click packages at the top of the page, then click special offers. On the special offers page, under Rooms, you will see the room only discount. Click on that and do your room search from that page. When your Price quote comes up, it should say January-March Room Offer on it indicating you are getting that discount.

You can always call Disney and ask for the discount. If you want to check AAA room-only discounts, you have to call Disney. You can't do that online. There are no Disney Visa discount offers currently.

Staying value vs. offsite with a family of 7 would be a toss up for me as well! Have you considered renting DVC points? Might bring the cost down on the Villa.

my oldest is 17 youngest is 4. I thought about doing the AoA and getting a family suite but, then I thought that I would not be able to get all of us on the bus to and from the airport because they send the vouchers for each person?

Renting points wont bring the villa down very much would it?

 

[Bonniec]

You will have to crunch numbers to see which is cheaper when it comes to the dining plan or not.

If you need space and money is an issue and you dont want the dining plan, stay off site.

We stayed in a 4 bedroom presidential at Bonnet Creek (on site but not Disney owned) for $185 a night that I got off ebay. (Be careful with ebay. The person/company I bought from had 100% positive feedback.)

We had a full kitchen, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 hot tubs, and washer/dryer. It was pretty incredible.

 

[lifesgr8]

I called Disney, their cheapest S/D/P was around $6000. I have $2000 disney points to use from my Disney visa card. Last time we did the dining plan it was nice that the kids could just use their room key and go get what they wanted but, we really had too much food. And we used the yes program to purchase our tickets. Unless it was free, I'm not sure I would want it again. I would prefer to use my points in the park as we need them. We are going with a family who is staying at the Vistana Villages Resort and they are renting a car. I looked up renting a car and I figured on a rough search it would be about $400 plus gas, and the frustration of getting around.
And paying for parking everyday and possibly even at the resort
Plus, if I use our timeshare through ii there is an exchange fee I need to pay which will be $348
Our kids are 17,16,12,7,4

So far, I gather the most affordable option is to stay at a value resort in 2 rooms. I have not called Disney for a quote on AAA discounts or ask for a discount

 

[Marthasor]

What are your dates?

 

[Sue M]

I would pick staying on site for ease of transportation, airport service, etc. plus if some need or want to go back to resort for a break, they can do so, without everyone having to leave. And you'd have to rent car seats too. Lugging all that luggage from airport, ugh. With DME, your luggage gets taken care of, you can request extra luggage tags.

 

[lifesgr8]

I never thought of renting car seats?!

Our dates are January 15- January 22

As far as lugging our luggage....our flight gets in at 10:05 pm so we will be lugging it atleast to the bus service. I would need a ticket for each person to get on magic express to our hotel right? Thats what I remember from last time. Even with 7 of us we share hotel rooms all the time (if i get one with 2 beds and a pull out sofa) so I know we would be comfortable in the family suite of AoA, since I wont be combining a package. But, I know Disney counts every person.

 

[robinb]

If you ask people on the Resorts board if you should stay onsite, most of them will say "yes". Ask the same question over on the Orlando board and you will get a different answer.

I think the biggest question is if your older kids will hang out with you or if they are free to roam. Onsite is better for them since they can go back and forth themselves and not have to wait for the "family bus" to leave. If they are going to hang out with you anyway, I would strongly consider staying at Vistana with your friends. Add the $350 transfer fee to your $500 transportation you're at $850 v/s $1400 for a room only at a Value resort. Plus, you will have a full kitchen and laundry at Vistana. Your crew of 8 will save a bundle on breakfast alone.

FTR, yes Disney counts every person. Even though you will be comfortable in a Value suite, you will exceed the maximum number of people in the room.

 

[Marthasor]

Unfortunately, because of the ages of your children, a family suite is not an option

I ran some numbers for you using the room-only discount for your dates:

2 Standard View Rooms at ASMU: $1200 total

2 Standard View Rooms at CBR: $1,968

2-bedroom Villa at OKW or SSR: $3,268

Hope this helps!

 

[DisneyDollface]

I would look into renting DVC points.

 

[haPevraftr]

You should check out the We looove Bonnet Creek thread. It might be what you are looking for. You can get a price quote for a villa from Vacation Upgrades or Vacation Strategy.

 

[manateesmom]

You should check out the We looove Bonnet Creek thread. It might be what you are looking for. You can get a price quote for a villa from Vacation Upgrades or Vacation Strategy.

Absolutely. Also, people do sell certain weeks or points on ebay, it's worth checking out. You can get 2-bedroom condos at Bonnet Creek for the current discounted room-only rate for a single room at a moderate resort. I'm really tempted for our fall vacation, when in-laws will be joining us - splitting the cost of a 2-bedroom condo would be far less than staying onsite, even with car rental.

 

[lifesgr8]

Im seriously thinking value. I keep going back and forth in my mind. We are park commandos, so we are not in the room much. We stay together as a family, even though some of the kids are older. I love how nice the villas are but, I just cant make myself spend that much if Im not able to use my timeshare to rent it. (even renting points is $$$) Since I got airfare so late and this wasnt planned there just wasnt the availability that I had last time we visited the world. The thought of renting a car and paying for parking everywhere....not to mention getting around by ourselves... just does not seem worth the trouble?!

Im going to have to go over to the value resort threads and start researching, I guess?!

Is getting around horrible while in a rental car or just something that you know once youve done it? Is there no shuttle provided other than Disney when you stay on site?

 

[bigbabyblues]

We like the value resorts just fine. If you are staying onsite, you won't have to pay to park a rental car anywhere on Disney property unless you use a valet service somewhere. If you don't want to rent a car, you can use Disney transportation to get where you want togo on property but you would have to make other arrangements if you want to go offsite. There are usually a few cabs waiting near the check in area of the resorts, or the front desk will call one for you. We always drive to WDW and have our car, but we use the buses to and from the parks.

 

[robinb]

The thought of renting a car and paying for parking everywhere....not to mention getting around by ourselves... just does not seem worth the trouble?!

Im going to have to go over to the value resort threads and start researching, I guess?!

Is getting around horrible while in a rental car or just something that you know once youve done it? Is there no shuttle provided other than Disney when you stay on site?

We almost always rent a car. Paying for parking will be a PITB @ $14 per day, no doubt. But, Vistana is pretty close to WDW and only about 15-20 minute drive.

This is your second trip in a year. Do you think you may be booking another trip before mid Jan 2013? It may be worth your while to purchase at least one Annual Pass for (1) discounts on your next trip and (2) free parking for this trip and (3) maybe even the Tables in Wonderland restaurant discount card for both trips (if you are booking Table Service meals).

 

[lifesgr8]

We almost always rent a car. Paying for parking will be a PITB @ $14 per day, no doubt. But, Vistana is pretty close to WDW and only about 15-20 minute drive.

This is your second trip in a year. Do you think you may be booking another trip before mid Jan 2013? It may be worth your while to purchase at least one Annual Pass for (1) discounts on your next trip and (2) free parking for this trip and (3) maybe even the Tables in Wonderland restaurant discount card for both trips (if you are booking Table Service meals).

Interesting thought season passes I have not thought about factoring that in we would have to get a season pass for Disneyland/world because we will be going to DL

 

[melissac]

my oldest is 17 youngest is 4. I thought about doing the AoA and getting a family suite but, then I thought that I would not be able to get all of us on the bus to and from the airport because they send the vouchers for each person?

Renting points wont bring the villa down very much would it?

I have never rented points but have rented out points. Depending on where you want to stay renting points can be much cheaper. Example: 2 BR SSR for a week(sat-sat) in January would be about 2,200. Seems like a lot but 2 rooms during the same time at a value would be about 1,800. More but depending on your budget maybe much better.