Art of Animation vs. staying offsite

[suzanparle]

This will be the third trip to Disney world with our kids-ages 5 and 7. We will have our car, would like to eat breakfast at chef mickey's one time, dinner at TRex, and lunch with the princesses at Ashkerus. The rest of our dining doesn't really matter. My burning question is... should we stay on site (would have to do value) at the Art of Animation (would have to stay in an Ariel room-which looks so far from the AoA bus stop) or... venture out to an off property site. I found a cute townhome at Windsor Hills with LOTS of space, themed kids room, and small splash pool for the same price (or a tad less) than a value resort. We are going in July when there are typically no or little specials at Disney.. thanks!

 

[Newsies]

Personally, I'd pick AoA over anything. It's such a fun resort and the food court is superb. It sounds like you plan on using your car on vacation- if this is the case, then I don't think being too far from the bus stop will be a major issue for you. I would advise you to stay at the resort with Disney Transportation for DTD, however- if you want to make your T-REX reservation without leaving 4 hours early, you'll want to be on the bus. The driving and parking situation to DTD is hellacious. I hope you have a great trip

 

[dissupermom]

if you're looking strictly at price, stay on-site. if the price is equal, or a tad cheaper, any savings you may have will be negated by having to pay $17/day for parking if you stay off-site.

 

[BeerMe]

AoA is an awesome place to stay. Having said that, we pretty much stay offsite now. If you've never stayed onsite, I'd pick AoA this time.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Just a personal preference, we would never stay off property....we want to be pampered and immersed in Disney every minute of every day...

We never use a car, even when we drive to WDW, it sits in the lot...we make all our park and dining trips just fine using Disney transportation...

As for accommodations, we don't care for the values... the appeal is not there and the in your face is too much...we prefer moderates but really enjoy deluxe and don't mind spending the extra...plus if you're driving, no parking fee (17.00) a day which adds up plus the hassle of fighting traffic, parking lots and construction...

We've done 52 trips so far, all on property and when are children we're still with us, resort rooms were adequate for what we wanted... most daylight hours were spent in a park or at the pool... Resort room was basically used to sleep and bathe....

 

[ken2]

AoA is awesome.Have not stayed there,but have walked from across the bridge PoP.It is very neat.Like walking into a tv playing Nemo!We always arrive a day early and stay at the Marriot near the Downtown Disney enterance.Being a platinum member we always get a free upgrade to a suite and extra points for returning!Then early the next morning we check into the Disney resort for our stay.I couldnt imagine staying anywhere else.

 

[Marthasor]

The offsite space sounds much more appealing, however, the drawbacks will be the onsite perks you won't have access to. You will not have the 180 + 10 day perk to make dining reservations, so you will have to check at the 180 day mark everyday to see if you can get the Chef Mickey's and Akershus reservations you want - might be tricky that time of year. (T-Rex will be easy - just call the restaurant directly, do not book through Disney).

The other drawback will be the inability to book your FP+ at 60 days prior. If you want to meet A&E and ride 7DMT. This may be tricky, but even people staying onsite are having trouble snagging these reservations.

Personally, I would prefer the space. I'm not a big AoA fan. But if getting those hard-to-get dining and FP+ reservations are more important, you may want to consider staying onsite.

 

[mrsmomo]

There are two sides to every coin.... From an adult standpoint it can be more appealing to stay in a townhouse with all of that space. However with the parking fee of $17 it may not actually be cheaper.

From a kids point of view especially smaller children my experience shows they love the theming and oversized Disneyness of on site!!

When they get older they prefer the space to lol

 

[wdwfan1]

Stay on property. Easy to get home if the kids are tired.

 

[kathy884]

How long are you staying? Everyone is different, but a hotel/suite for me is fun for about four nights. For longer than that I love my condo, townhouse, or house with kitchen, laundry facilities, more space, patio/balcony.

 

[goofyintoronto]

You will not have the 180 + 10 day perk to make dining reservations, so you will have to check at the 180 day mark everyday to see if you can get the Chef Mickey's and Akershus reservations you want - might be tricky that time of year. (T-Rex will be easy - just call the restaurant directly, do not book through Disney).

The other drawback will be the inability to book your FP+ at 60 days prior. If you want to meet A&E and ride 7DMT. This may be tricky, but even people staying onsite are having trouble snagging these reservations.

In addition to the above, like others have said, parking will be $17/day for OFF-SITE guests, PLUS you wont be able to take advantage of the extra magic hours. I'd stay onsite for sure. I love AoA!

 

[Donnainnj]

I would choose Windsor Hills. We have stayed all over including all levels at Disney. The regular value rooms just don't work for us. The full beds do not cut it. Some of the Disney themed condos at Windsor Hills are just as fun as Disney's themed rooms, and the space is great. If you go with Windsor Hills make sure you know the shortcut to get to the parks through Sherberth Road. Another thing to consider is you need a car offsite. We rent or bring one every trip so that doesn't matter when we decide where we are staying.
Donna

 

[Amirah95]

3 perspectives...

It wasn't even about the price with my DH...he had me ask around here (I think over a year ago) what people thought about the Little Mermaid section of AOA and AOA in general. He voted against it because the bus stops are too far away, it's a trek to breakfast at Landscapes, the soda machine is too far away and it's a trek to parking. He said at the end of June that was too much when we'll have to deal with all of that at the parks.

I'm a theme person so I would love to stay in a LM room, also physically fit so I'd actually run to the clubhouse and back for everyone (in all of that heat) and I don't drink soda so AOA would be perfect for me.

DD7...when she gets tired and sleepy and cranky after a long day she is not trying to get out of the car or bus and walk a while to get to our room in the heat.

 

[keysersoze981]

I would personally always stay on Disney property instead of off site. Too many perks and amenities to do otherwise.

 

[CowboyCO]

If the space is important stay offsite. However, the perks of free parking (now about $15 a day) and extra magic hours are too valuable for us to pass up. Plus, we enjoy the Disney immersion.

 

[gzmtlock]

We've stayed on and off site, multiple times for both. And greatly enjoyed both. They are different experiences.

A couple things not previously mentioned:

Staying off-site can be cheaper food-wise. Even if you don't cook "full meals," anything you do at the condo is bound to be cheaper than paying for an equivalent meal on site. I know many folks manage to do multiple small meals out of WDW hotel rooms. Too crowded in the room for our enjoyment. I love having a full kitchen.

Every time off site, my kids/grandkids LOVE the private pool. And the space to play in the condo without being on top of one another.

You say this is your third trip - have you stayed on or off site before? I would recommend doing whatever you haven't done before. Both have their advantages, and both their disadvantages. You won't know which you prefer until you try both!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I stayed offsite twice and have since stayed onsite twice. I would only ever stay onsite now. Too many perks.

The biggest perk for us is not having to drive! I drive to work everyday and shuttle my kids around all of the time. Not driving for a week or more is pure luxury to me.

 

[HopperFan]

We stay on and off site. Each trip has different needs and parameters. Sometimes it's about money, sometimes it's space etc.

July = crowded. The question I would ask is will you take full advantage of the Extra Magic Hours? If you will get there early for that hour and more important stay late in the cooler air for the extra two hours .......... then onsite can make a big difference!