HELP!! DSIL wants to stay off site

jjarman

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Just got a call from DSIL. Now, I love her to death and she is my best friend but...Her neighbor is going to WDW this weekend for a week and they are staying in a 4 bedroom condo that she says is about 4 miles from WDW. It supposedly has free transportation on the hour. It is much cheaper and she is wanting us to all go (DB family and the neighbors and me) next year and rent this condo. It would be about $600 cheaper for each family but I have always stayed on site and am so spoiled. I went over all the possible problems, unreliable transportation, taking much longer in traffic, not being in the disney magic 24/7, etc. I think I have about convinced her to keep our scheduled trip in 2 years and stay at POP. Honestly even with the savings I don't think I will have the money saved up in a year and she did admit she probably won't either. Please tell me your experiences staying off site. I am really concerned about the time it would take from the front door of the condo to the turnstile of the park. I just think it would waste a lot of time because of traffic, busses/vans not being on time, etc.
 
We have stayed off site twice. And while I will admit you get the Disney feel 24/7 on-site, I have to admit staying off-site was well worth the savings. Both times we stayed at a "suite" hotel. Homewood suites on one stay and Hawthorn suites the next. We rented a car or had our own so the bus situation wasn't an issue. I booked on-line 10 months in advance through a discount web site and got a 500.00 dollar savings each time. NOt to mention.. the free breakfast and the afternoon managers reception that one of the hotels offered( I believe we only participated twice in this). Staying off-site wasn't that bad. TOo be honest one of the hotels was a 7 minute drive to WDW and we feel we got to the parks quicker than staying on-site:confused3 Now honestly I would rather stay on property if funds allow, but better off-site than not at all;)
 
what condo is she staying at?

don't know any that comes every hour to WDW.

generally it is 3 times in the morning - only going to the parks

generally it is 4 times in the evening - only going back to the parks.

so every hour is not normal.

if you need to get back to your hotel and the bus hasn't started to go back - then too bad you need a taxi.

most of the buses leave before the night time shows. so if you stay to see them you will need a taxi.

always suggest if you are staying offsite - just rent a car. It will save you money - more park time - in the end.
 
what condo is she staying at?

don't know any that comes every hour to WDW.

generally it is 3 times in the morning - only going to the parks

generally it is 4 times in the evening - only going back to the parks.

so every hour is not normal.

if you need to get back to your hotel and the bus hasn't started to go back - then too bad you need a taxi.

most of the buses leave before the night time shows. so if you stay to see them you will need a taxi.

always suggest if you are staying offsite - just rent a car. It will save you money - more park time - in the end.


I was very afraid of this. They are going this weekend and will get a report when they return. They have a 3 year old and so may not want to stay late at night. Our plan was to get there early, go back to room mid afternoon for a rest and back to the parks in the early evening. Doesn't sound like this would be very feasible in this situation.
 


I once stayed off site when my husband had a conference. The resort advertised free WDW transpo and was very close by. I had an 11 month with me.

I misunderstood the timetable to WDW and missed a bus by 1 minute. I had to wait 1 hour for the next bus. I also discovered that there was no way back to the hotel in the middle of the day and had to spend all day at the park with a tired baby.

I am not anti staying off site. But, if you do, definitely rent a car. And, consider your touring style. We really prefer on-site now, because we don't want to spend the money that we are saving staying off-site on a rental car, and we prefer to be able to go back to the hotel for a few hours midday. If you are close and have a car, this is possible. But, the further out that you get, the less convenient that becomes.
 
When I was younger and went to Disney quite a bit, we stayed off site except for the first 2 trips we stayed at the Poly. My parents bought a timeshare condo right outside of Disney so we always stayed there. A few years ago, my parents sold their condo to my DH and I, so we decided to use it last June. I convinced my DH to stay at POR for a couple of nights before we had to check into our condo just so I can get Disney magic 24/7. When we finally made it to our condo, we decided that staying offsite was not for us. We loved not having to worry about our car plus it is just a whole different world outside of Disney that for now on when we return to WDW we are definately going to be staying on property and then use our condo to trade to other places.
 
We've stayed offsite the past two years and with a rental car, have found it quite enjoyable. We have exchanged our timeshare and had two bedroom accomodations, with a fold out couch in the living room, kitchen, dining area, and patio. And the jacuzzi after a long park day is heavenly! There have been lounge socials, kids parties, and morning breakfasts offered. There is a spa onsite, and tennis/golf lessons. The pools have been wonderful. We have even grilled some nights. The security has always been reliable. We enjoy a larger space. We usually pay $200 for the week, $125 for the rental car. Our biggest expense is the park tickets.

We tend to arrive at the parks late (not morning people) and stay all day. We stayed within 5 miles of the park and were at the parking lots within minutes. (I was shocked to learn we had to allow 40 minutes for travelling from Pop). We only have to offset the price of parking. We usually eat once in the park.

But we don't have a Disney-exclusive vacation. We eat offsite, go shopping, spend a day a Kennedy Space Center, and take a night time casino cruise. We load up on groceries our first night, for snacks and breakfast.

If money is an issue, I recommend staying offsite, especially for a large group. Just do your homework about where to stay, keep looking for bargain rental cars, and have a new adventure seeing the Orlando outside of Disney property!
 


yea you find a nice condo rental - skyauction sales at end and beginning of year - for a week stay are pretty wonderful.

Magikitty - when you exchange you need to count your maintence fees at your resort too. If this is getaway, last call, extra vacation you don't.

you can find some deals on rental cars - but mostly last minute. even found a few that were cheaper to rent from rental car place directly than thru priceline. Especially for a week's stay.

if you decide to go with offsite - visit the Transportation board and ask for help for the rental car.

you can definitely get a rental car for less than $600 - probably less than $200.

if you want to stay at night to see the fireworks - a rental car is the way to go.
 
Spiceycat--we have a membership with a company that as timeshare holders we can also rent at other sites. Yes, we do have to pay maintenance fees--about $650. We then split our stay into two weeks, our timeshare is a double, is comes out to less than $50/day. This, of course, is considering that we have already paid off our timeshare. The company also allows us to rent without exchanging our weeks, and frequently the Orlando area is between 200-400 for the week.

OP--have you looked on the other board about offsite hotels? There's a lot of great info over there that may help you in your decisions.
 
Just got a call from DSIL. Now, I love her to death and she is my best friend but...Her neighbor is going to WDW this weekend for a week and they are staying in a 4 bedroom condo that she says is about 4 miles from WDW. It supposedly has free transportation on the hour. It is much cheaper and she is wanting us to all go (DB family and the neighbors and me) next year and rent this condo. It would be about $600 cheaper for each family but I have always stayed on site and am so spoiled. I went over all the possible problems, unreliable transportation, taking much longer in traffic, not being in the disney magic 24/7, etc. I think I have about convinced her to keep our scheduled trip in 2 years and stay at POP. Honestly even with the savings I don't think I will have the money saved up in a year and she did admit she probably won't either. Please tell me your experiences staying off site. I am really concerned about the time it would take from the front door of the condo to the turnstile of the park. I just think it would waste a lot of time because of traffic, busses/vans not being on time, etc.

I think my biggest concern would be sharing space with my DB's neighbors, regardless of whether it's onsite or off. How well do you know them? Staying w/ family isn't always easy. Staying w/ people I don't know well, isn't something I'd be willing to do. Just something to consider. :)
 
I have stayed offsite before and hated every minute of it.....you just lose the Disney Magic each night......If I can't stay on-site I will stay home!!
 
After 22 trips on-site since 2000 we are making our 2nd off-site stay. I’m very familiar with the area, so driving is no problem. We have several restaurants we like off-site and will spend a few days at US in addition to WDW parks.

The timeshare we will be staying at is a 2BR with all the amenities, within 15 minutes of Epcot parking. Right now, because of AP we will not pay for parking and don’t need WDW tickets. The total cost of 1 week for 2 including timeshare, airfare, park (US) tickets, and car rental will be less than $1,000 and is already paid. Since we will eat many dinners off-site and have breakfast provided, meals will not be too bad either.

We often stay at SoG & FW, along with other Disney Value & Deluxe Resorts, and the phrase immersed in Disney Magic 24/7 is a little over used and over rated. Enjoy your off-site stay.
 
We've rented a vacation home the last 2 years for spring break (a family trip with 13 of us), but it was just a trip to Orlando.....not Disney-oriented :scared1: :scared1:. With that said, it was great having everybody together in one big house, but I wouldn't stay offsite if Disney was my main focus. Sure....you can save alot of money staying offsite.....but you don't get the Disney "magic" by doing so, IMO. By staying onsite, you are surrounded by Disney 24/7 and nothing can beat that :cool1: :cool1:.
 
Another factor in our stay is my brother. He has some health issues and would need to be able to go back to a room/condo at will. I discussed this with DSIL and she totally agrees with me now that it would be best to wait an extra year and stay on site. I told her to go online here and other places to ask questions and see what I am talking about but she accepts my opinion. She agrees that all my arguments for staying onsite are so logical that she can't find a reason not to stay onsite.

As for staying with their neighbors, they are actually my neighbors too. We live in the same small subdivision. They are nice people and I would have no problem sharing a vacation with them but it would be better to do it at POP.:goodvibes
 
Boncho, I was talking about going from resort to resort, sorry I didn't clarify that. I have breakfast ressies at Boma, and I was told when I made my ADRs that it would take about 40 minutes from Pop to Blizzard Beach, then switch buses to go to AKL.

OP, if you need to consider going back often from the parks to your room, then I think you made the right decision to stay onsite. Have a good time planning and have a great trip--wherever you decide to stay!
 
Where were you going? There is no bus ride to any park more than 15 minutes, unless you count the airport, I guess.:confused3

Actually, if you factor in the wait time for buses, 40 minutes is a pretty good average. That's why the Monorail and Epcot Resorts can charge such a high premium, because of their location and/or transportation.
 
Another factor in our stay is my brother. He has some health issues and would need to be able to go back to a room/condo at will. I discussed this with DSIL and she totally agrees with me now that it would be best to wait an extra year and stay on site. I told her to go online here and other places to ask questions and see what I am talking about but she accepts my opinion. She agrees that all my arguments for staying onsite are so logical that she can't find a reason not to stay onsite.

As for staying with their neighbors, they are actually my neighbors too. We live in the same small subdivision. They are nice people and I would have no problem sharing a vacation with them but it would be better to do it at POP.:goodvibes

:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:
 
Boncho, I was talking about going from resort to resort, sorry I didn't clarify that. I have breakfast ressies at Boma, and I was told when I made my ADRs that it would take about 40 minutes from Pop to Blizzard Beach, then switch buses to go to AKL.

Yes, that can take quite a while.:thumbsup2
 
Another factor in our stay is my brother. He has some health issues and would need to be able to go back to a room/condo at will.

if this is a majority problem he might need to be at BWV. then if you are at Epcot or studios he could get back easily.

not so easily from MK or AK.

you can rent points from a DVC member - just only stay Sun-thurs (leave Fri) - don't want to stay fri or sat much too expensive.

go to the DVC rental/trade board on this site for much information - other words read the FAQ FIRST.
 

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