Does your family stay on-site or off-site when you travel to Walt Disney World?

[Puffy2]

Only onsite.
It makes a big difference.

 

[rangerxenos]

I always stayed offsite until a few years ago, as I'm a numbers person and I couldn't see the additional expense. A couple of years back I traveled with friends who stayed onsite. I've never gone back to offsite, there are so many perks to staying on property, they've turned me over to the Dark side, LOL!

 

[Astylla]

I grew up in Florida so all our trips back then we're day trips so we stayed in Lake Buena Vista or Kissimmee.

Now as an adult married couple we are doing our first WDW trip together and staying at POP. We try to always stay on site at Disneyland too but feel it's even more important given the layout of WDW resort.

 

[mrzrich]

I'm not sure why you only asked this question on the "disney resorts" forum. Obviously most of the people hanging out here stay on site. If you go over to the "Orlando Hotels and Attractions" forum your results will skew the other way.

I usually stay on site. I love the convenience of parking my car and never seeing it again untill I am ready to go home.

But I have stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. When traveling with a large group, Bonnet a Creek is the way to go. You can get a 2 bedroom which sleeps 8 for $100 to $150 a night. Full kitchen, washer/dryer, separate dining and living rooms and a balcony.
The pools are better then any on property with the pirate themed pool,lazy rivers,water slides, multiple hot tubs.
Mini golf, ice cream socials and more.

I am staying at WBC over 4th of July with my sister in law and her family. We are not going to the parks, just enjoying the resort.

 

[eliza61]

I'm not sure why you only asked this question on the "disney resorts" forum. Obviously most of the people hanging out here stay on site. If you go over to the "Orlando Hotels and Attractions" forum your results will skew the other way.

I usually stay on site. I love the convenience of parking my car and never seeing it again untill I am ready to go home.

But I have stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. When traveling with a large group, Bonnet a Creek is the way to go. You can get a 2 bedroom which sleeps 8 for $100 to $150 a night. Full kitchen, washer/dryer, separate dining and living rooms and a balcony.
The pools are better then any on property with the pirate themed pool,lazy rivers,water slides, multiple hot tubs.
Mini golf, ice cream socials and more.

I am staying at WBC over 4th of July with my sister in law and her family. We are not going to the parks, just enjoying the resort.

That's why they are not objective. if you go right now on the budget board there is the same thread and the answers are totally the opposite. lol
they well tell how that "bubble" is the coma people fall in when they realize how overpriced Disney resorts are. LOL.

Does someone posting the on/offsite question here think they are going to get a balanced reply.

That's like going to a NRA convention and asking what they think about gun restrictions

 

[suzimar57]

Always on-site (that first trip off-site in '81 doesn't "count" in my mind!)

If I had my way, it would ALWAYS be at CR (tower room, high floor, MK view)

But finances dictate otherwise....

 

[unwritten01]

When my DH and I married and our family grew to 6 we certainly considered it but have ended up just downgrading from WL to the values (ASM and POP this December) - in the end the kids and us could not pass up simply being there! Free Dining doesn't hurt either .

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

On site mostly. Everyone in the family likes to sleep until noon except me so staying onsite allows us the freedom we like to move around. Just hop on a disney bus and go.

If we stayed off site, I would be wasting alot of hours waiting for everyone and being very frustrated.

I did stay offsite for my short solo 3 night trip in December 2014. It was ok since I had a car but I missed the evening EMH that I normally go to.

 

[kjs1976]

We stayed off property in the early 90's for our first two family trips. With traffic each morning, it took almost an hour to get there and go back to the hotel each night. I remember HATING that part of the trip. But again, we didn't know any better and the value resorts weren't built until I was in high school. We also stayed off property in '10 at my parents timeshare. Great place, but with a Disney-focused trip, the driving back and forth was a nightmare. We were literally 4 miles from DTD and it took a half an hour to get on property most mornings due to all the traffic lights. I needed a vacation after that vacation!

Now, with that being said, I know there are so many nicer resorts compared to Disney in terms of quality and amenities. When we are in the early stages of planning a trip or find a last minute deal on airfare, we always consider off site first. We found a great deal on airfare in April one year and took a quick 4 day trip. We stayed at the Double Tree Suites in DTD, spent one day at the beach and the other full day at the pool and DTD. We had breakfast one day at Ohana's also. The rooms were suites, so that was nice, but the pool was nothing special.

But for us, the magic of being on property, the magical express, and the convenience always brings us back. I always find great deals and go at off times, also, so that could make a difference if were could only travel during peak times. Also, we have one DD so size of the room and having a kitchen to make meals cheaper for a larger family, isn't needed. Plus, when I vacation, I vacation! No cooking for me other than pouring cereal into a bowl for breakfast or grabbing fruit for a snack!

 

[Trinity88]

We've only ever stayed off-site. But will be staying onsite twice this year. lol For us, off site was necessary because when the kids were little they wouldn't sleep with someone else in the room. So we needed separate bedrooms. Now that they're getting older, we feel everyone is ready to do onsite.

So I can't compare the two, but offsite isn't as bad as everyone seems to think. We enjoyed having our own pool, a kitchen, lots of space to spread out, etc. But we don't spend all our time in the parks, the kids just can't handle it. So having a nice big house to come back to has been great for us. Can't wait for our first onsite trips though!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

So I can't compare the two, but offsite isn't as bad as everyone seems to think. We enjoyed having our own pool, a kitchen, lots of space to spread out, etc.

My guess is that many of the people who swear by onsite have never tried both options. I think you get much more unbiased feedback when you pose the question to those who have given both scenarios a fair chance. In either case, you don't know what you are missing until you try it.

 

[Flight]

We have stayed both on and off site. I do not recall staying off site detracting from the vacation experience. That said, we have stayed at some crummy hotels that were not Disney.

 

[Plutopia]

This is a sensitive topic in my house. In fact, we are dealing with this very issue right now. We used to always stay on-site BUT my husband wanted to save money and have better accommodations so we started staying off-site. We are planning a trip this Summer and when my husband said to book the off-site hotel, I handed him a paper with the pros and cons of staying off-site. The main points on the list were: Pros - Roomier accommodations, less crowds, feels more like a "vacation" and it's cheaper. Cons - Transportation to the parks takes up a lot of time, doesn't feel like "Disney" (No theming, no mouse ears, business convention goers, etc.) and not really "kid-friendly."

 

[mrzrich]

This is a sensitive topic in my house. In fact, we are dealing with this very issue right now. We used to always stay on-site BUT my husband wanted to save money and have better accommodations so we started staying off-site. We are planning a trip this Summer and when my husband said to book the off-site hotel, I handed him a paper with the pros and cons of staying off-site. The main points on the list were: Pros - Roomier accommodations, less crowds, feels more like a "vacation" and it's cheaper. Cons - Transportation to the parks takes up a lot of time, doesn't feel like "Disney" (No theming, no mouse ears, business convention goers, etc.) and not really "kid-friendly."

Plutopia, seriously come over to the Orlando Board and read the We love Bonnet Creek Thread. Look at the rooms, the pools, and the prices that people are getting over there. Do you know where Bonnet Creek is? It's on property for all intense and purposes, on a slice of land that Walt wasn't able to buy, smack between CBR and Typhoon Lagoon. Its closer to some of the parks than a few of the Disney resorts.

I never got the doesn't feel like "Disney" thing when it comes to a hotel room. I usually see this complaint when I reccomend that people look into the Swan /Dolphin with an amazing location and deluxe accomodations for the cost of a moderate.(with certain discounts) The fact that there is a hidden Mickey on the bedspread does not make me want to spend an extra $200 a night.

 

[Wendy5055]

Always onsite now...I've actually stayed offsite a few times. Once at a friends family house and we just went to MK...then at a hotel in the Downtown Disney area and once in a weird location by a gate...it was horrible! We even tried to go to Wet n Wild...we left and never looked back. ALL trips to Disney will be onsite. I've stayed in all categories and would never care as long as it's a Disney Resort.

 

[Smbmoyers]

If we're driving 17 hours to get there then yes, were staying onsite at shades of green. Although even if we had to pay for a onsite hotel we'd be staying at pop onsite. For us we just love the magic that Disney brings. 3ven if were at sog were only a short walk to the Polly to utilize transportation

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I stay wherever suits the needs of my family budget wise and convenience for each trip. Sometimes it is onsite sometimes it is offsite. All have been great vacations.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Always on site............

 

[Sarahbelle341]

It depends on the makeup of our traveling party and if we are doing things other than Disney. If we are doing just Disney then onsite with the dining plan is our top choice. If we are doing other things in the Orlando area then off site is more affordable and makes more sense.

 

[Minniesgal]

We stayed offsite when the kids were little and we wanted to cook our own food and parents wanted a separate bedroom for all separate bedtimes. Now they are older we eat out a lot more and we can manage with smaller space as we all go to bed at the same time we stay onsite.