another on-site off site question

[disneyderns]

Planning a trip to WDW at the end of March- never gone during spring break season so I'm a bit nervous. We are going back and forth about staying on site or off site...do you think because crowd levels will most likely be quite high that it would be better to stay on the grounds and do the whole disney transportation thing or would it be better to be off site and have to drive in each day.

We have done both on and off site stays. Our plan is to stay a week and do Disney the whole time.


I'm sure this has been asked to death - but I'd love to hear the reasons why you answered the way you did. Thanks in advance!

 

[rteetz]

Planning a trip to WDW at the end of March- never gone during spring break season so I'm a bit nervous. We are going back and forth about staying on site or off site...do you think because crowd levels will most likely be quite high that it would be better to stay on the grounds and do the whole disney transportation thing or would it be better to be off site and have to drive in each day.

We have done both on and off site stays. Our plan is to stay a week and do Disney the whole time.

I'm sure this has been asked to death - but I'd love to hear the reasons why you answered the way you did. Thanks in advance!

I've never stayed off site in all of my trips and I've never had a problem. I have gone during spring break time and crowds at disney resorts are higher than usual but not to high where I would stay some where else. It's really up to you and how you want to approach this. We never drive we fly in and always use disney transportation and fly out. A lot of people say they have problems with transportation at disney but I never have had any so. That's just my opinion but main thing is dont stress to much and have fun on your vacation.

 

[Sue M]

We much prefer the on site experience of staying inside wdw. We stayed off site our first trip, and decided we wanted to stay on site for future trips. It is a different experience, and just depends on which you prefer.
We also use WDW transportation. I don't want to be driving around, it's less stressful for me to let Disney do the driving. I've never gone at peak times, but haven't had problems with it.

 

[fabulousfive]

We always stay onsite & never think twice! To make it easy, I will list out our reasons:

1) Love living in the Disney bubble & experiencing the magic the entire time!

2) So easy & convenient to just jump on the monorail (we stay on a monorail resort) & head to the parks.

3) Nice not to have to drive anywhere -- dealing with traffic, directions, parking. We love Disney transportation on the Magical Express to and from the airport too!

4) A big part of our trip is enjoying the Disney Dining Plan. We love the character meals & most likely wouldn't do nearly as many meals without the plan.

5) Just so relaxing & makes it feel like you've truly escaped from the world.

Good luck with your choice!

 

[fabulousfive]

I now see that a big part of your question has to do with crowd levels. We always go during low season, so I can only guess. But I think onsite would just feel less crazy than trying to battle the parking lot and the hassle of getting in everyday if crowds are high. Wouldn't it be nice to already be on property?

 

[snowwite]

We've done both and when money was tight we did a split trip. For example we used Holiday Inn points and stayed off site for a few days then stayed at ASMU for a few days. We have split on site with a few days in value then a few in a deluxe. We got AAA rate off season at AKL and were supposed to have parking lot view but got a free upgrade to Savannah. We have traded RCI points and got a free week at Liki Tiki. The closest off site we had was World Quest which was a 3 bed/2bath condo for price of one night at WDW. It is about a mile away but with traffic I would factor in 20-30 mins travel time. We park at one of the parks, DTD or TTC and use WDW transport all day if we stay off site. If we stay on site we dont bother with a car. My DD is now a CM so we can get a discount but onsite is still so pricey we dont always use it. There are more dining options on a budget as well as having a kitchen and laundry if you rent a condo. Since DD has been living there she has been taking us to local places for meals. Sweet tomatoes is at Crossroads. It can save you a bundle and the food is good and cheap. If you are going during peak you may want to book onsite for at least half the trip especially if you want to make use of the extra magic hours. Personally we avoid the park with extra magic hours as they get really crowded or we just got for the first hour then hop to another park. I think splitting the trip makes the best of both worlds unless you are only planning a short break.

 

[shalom]

do you think because crowd levels will most likely be quite high that it would be better to stay on the grounds and do the whole disney transportation thing or would it be better to be off site and have to drive in each day.

The answer you're mostly going to get here is, "onsite!" The answer you would get on the "Orlando Hotels" board is slightly less predictable.

My question is, who is going and how independent are they? Off site is usually a better deal with groups large enough they'd need to rent two rooms onsite. If it's two adults traveling with two or three little ones, and if Disney's running a special, it may cost less onsite than off, or the difference might be very slight.

Also, if you have teenagers or multiple adults who can travel by themselves, or if someone wants to go home with the littles for an afternoon break while someone else wants to stay in the parks all day, then onsite transportation is a huge benefit. Only Bonnet Creek offers anything like Disney transportation, IMHO.

The Orlando Hotels board would probably give you a better grasp of how ugly the traffic can get during peak times; we always go offseason so can't help you there. Going early always makes it easier, onsite or off, of course.

 

[maxiesmom]

I have no problem staying off site, but I wouldn't do it during a very busy time of the year. Extra Magic Hours are worth their weight in gold when the parks are full, that is one perk you don't want to have to do without!

Also, if your group might split up, staying on site makes that much easier to handle. If you drive in and split up only one group can use the car, the rest of the family will have to use taxis to get around.

 

[darkwing818]

I have no problem staying off site, but I wouldn't do it during a very busy time of the year. Extra Magic Hours are worth their weight in gold when the parks are full, that is one perk you don't want to have to do without!

Also, if your group might split up, staying on site makes that much easier to handle. If you drive in and split up only one group can use the car, the rest of the family will have to use taxis to get around.

Stayed off site a few years back, we don't do it any more, just not worth the hassle & inconvenience of driving back & forth, especially at night. For us this is especially true when doing just WDW.