1) why stay off property vs on property
The big perks of staying onsite are driving, EMH, and getting the dining plan. We'd drive either way, and the Extra Magic Hours don't excite us much because you have to either get up earlier or stay later to take advantage of them, and they usually put you in the busiest park.
We'd probably like them better if we Park Hopped, but we're too lazy.
I'm not overly enthused about the
DDP because I hate being tied down to ADRs, and I think it's likely too much food. The kids aren't enthused about the dining plans because it's
not enough food -- they love SeaWorld's plan because they can nosh all day.
Maybe we'd like the Disney plan better if we could trade in the meals for bunches of snack credits.
The big perk of staying offsite, at least for us, is you get a lot more space for a lot less money. We also value the full kitchen -- even if we never use it otherwise, we much prefer having a quiet breakfast in the unit. Having a full kitchen and a nice dining room makes our day start out right.
Depending on where you stay, you can also get a much quieter unit than the average onsite noise level. Pretty much all the onsite hotels have a pretty high energy level, and part of that is just noise -- kids loudly having a good time, music everywhere you go, parties at the pool with lifeguards on the loudspeaker, boathorns or buses reving up in the morning that you can hear from some rooms, etc.
Some people find that kind of thing energizing and all part of the Disney Magic. Other people find it outright annoying either from the git go (bus noises) or within a few days as they get more tired and worn (boathorns, happy kids). There are plenty of places to stay offsite that are pretty high energy, but if you're looking for quiet, it's easier to find offsite.
For me, most of the "Disney magic" is the theming, and while that excites me enough I'd love to stay onsite sometime, it would be on a trip where we're onsite for a while, then we'd move somewhere quiet to recover.
please excuse my ignorance, but what's the difference between townhouse and condo?
I don't know if it's the official difference, but around here a townhome may be attached on either side, but you never have anyone above you and you always have direct access to the street and sometimes even an assigned parking space right by the unit. And that's the definition used in the TS systems we've used (all two of them with townhomes
).
Condos, OTOH, are like apartments in that you may be above someone and have someone above you, your door may open into a common corridor and you may have to walk a fair way to get to your car, etc.
