How inconvenient is offsite - really?

[Sunshine25]

You can still totally get A&E and 7DMT while offsite. We did it with 6 of us. Just keep checking and book singles with overlapping times (or within 5 to 10 mins of overlapping).
We have done 2 yrs onsite and 2 offsite both all with 4 kids ages 7 and under. Drove down from PA. Offsite is the way to go for us. If we are a family of 4 maybe onsite would make more sense but we like the space. Regal Palms is further away but we LOVE it there now.

We LOVE it there too!

 

[ericstac]

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone!

I think it came down to the fact that I really want to stay at Bonnet Creek, but my husband really wants to stay onsite. So it came down to what I feel like I would regret more - would I regret not staying onsite or not staying offsite. DH said he couldn't imagine regretting not staying offsite for our first trip together, I wasn't so sure, lol.

But in the end I was able to get a good discount through a travel agent for a 6 night stay at POFQ for Memorial Day week. When I calculated EVERYTHING (taking into account groceries, extra gas, and parking offsite and onsite meals) it was just going to cost us about $280 more to stay onsite, mainly due to not having a kitchen and having to eat all of our meals onsite (although with a car I could still go some places offsite). So I decided that if we're staying onsite, we'll just try to find a way to do more outside of our room as much as possible. I told DH if staying in one room together annoyed me, we'd stay offsite for the next trip. But for the difference in price, I figured it would be nice to try onsite instead, even though I'd have no problem staying offsite. And POFQ has always been my first choice of places to stay onsite, I really think we'll enjoy it. I'm going to miss not trying out WBC, but maybe for another trip!

We love the Port Orleans and having your own car is going to be great. We always drive to WDW and we have pretty much deleted the disney buses from our lives lol.. we either drive or take a taxi. the buses just add undesirable stress to a wonderful vacation.

 

[tkct]

Twice the size of the room for Half the price.....It is extremely easy to get the parks from Offsite....

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I stay offsite all the time (AP holder). The FP+ thing can be mega annoying, but I have generally been able to get what I want. At less than 30 days this trip just by cancellation checking I have gotten a SDMT, Christmas parade, and could have had A&E if I wanted it as I saw it available. I'm going december 20-22. Usually, it's even easier. You just have to be willing to check. Also, I have gotten everything from the dessert party, to BOG, to pre park opening breakfast, to CRT at a few weeks out. It's really not a problem if you are willing to put in the time to check cancellations. I have never felt any less magic than when onsite. Just a lot more money in my wallet! haha We usually stay in a 1 bedroom deluxe villa at Westgate Town Center and love it there.

 

[minerva78]

I was surprised to see my thread was back on the first page, lol.

We had originally cancelled the Disney trip, but my husband really wants to go for a Star Wars Weekend, so it's back on for May 24 - 30. And I've also changed my mind about where to stay. After debating for a week about the different options, and even after getting a PIN from Disney, we decided to stay offsite at the Embassy Suites LBV South.

I have read a lot of good things about this hotel, and I love Embassy Suites in general. Someone had mentioned that even though it's a bit further away, it's pretty quick to get to the parks. I like the idea of having a bedroom and a living room, so I have somewhere to exist at night after my girls and husband are asleep. I like having a fridge and microwave in the room. I like the idea of staying at a place similar to a deluxe resort but at a much lower price. And I especially love the breakfast and evening reception that is included. I think DH really wanted to stay onsite in a resort hotel, I really wanted to stay offsite in a condo, and I realized this would be a good compromise, a nice hotel with a lot of room. And we're still going to eat at several places on property, but saving about $600 total over staying onsite, even with the discount. So I'm excited about staying here! Anyone who has stayed here before feel free to add your experiences.

 

[MarcJ55]

For those who want to stretch their travel budget, I would strongly recommend off-site. For us, it was a decision that either meant we go to Orlando or go elsewhere. I think we made the right decision.

There were 5 of us, and we snagged a 2bedroom, full kitchen unit for around $100/night. We rented a car, but ported over our own insurance and said no to extras, so it was only like $15/day (can't remember exactly). We used the car to go to grocery stores and saved a bundle. The local Walmart has a huge souvenir section that alone almost paid for the rental.

We were about 5 or 10 minutes from the parks. Had to pay for parking of course. Getting to the parks was no problem and we arrived very early so parking was a breeze.

We enjoyed going back to our hotel in the afternoon to avoid crowds, play in the pool and nap (me). Then we'd head back to the parks. I didn't find it inconvenient at all.

I actually enjoyed the feeling of independence staying off-site and having a set of wheels to take me where I wanted to go.

I've never stayed on site, so maybe I don't know what I'm missing :????

 

[BigredNole]

This is my first time staying offsite. We will be at WBC on Sunday. I have weighed all the pros and cons of staying offsite. Everything that I have identified that I cannot do by staying onsite are:

1. Extra Magic Hours (1 hour in the morning or 3 hours at night at 1 park per day).
2. Use Stormalong Bay at Beach Club.

Everything else on WDW property is open to non-resort guests. You can participate in all activities at the resorts. Yes, it is slightly rule bending jumping in the pool. If I am paying $20 for a Lapu Lapu at the pool bar and my daughter wants to jump in, they are not going to say anything.

We are driving down so we have our own transportation. We have APs for free parking at the parks. If we wanted to, we could take a bus to CBR, hop a cab or walk to WBC.

Downside of WBC:
Only I will have to deal with the Timeshare Crooks. All discussions end when we discuss the cost to purchase 120,000 points and the maintenance fees. When they tell me it is ~$1000 for the maintenance fees and $20,000 for the points, I ask them to explain why it only cost me $500 to book the trip through one of their members already? All sales discussions end at that moment.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We stayed at summer Bay this last trip all the way down 192 almost to where it ends. Wasn't bad at all. For MK--we did have to allow an hour to ensure making the opening show, but otherwise 20-30 minutes was sufficient for us. I know that seems like a lot, but it wasn't bad at all.

We had a week for a steal if a price and the burden of being off site really was not a burden at all.

If the choice is off site or not going at all, I would stay off site. And we are on site "snobs" who own DVC.

 

[Fratthouse]

We stayed offsite for the first time last July and LOVED it. We travel very similar to you - rope drop, stay in parks until mid-afternoon, go back to resort and rest in the evening. Here's my thoughts:

1 - FP+ should have availability at 30 days for everything besides Mine Train and A&E. If you're not interested in those 2 things, you shouldn't have a problem. You might need to stagger your times a bit (there might not be 4 available for toy story on a particular day, but you could get 2 from 1:00 - 2:00 and 2 from 1:10 - 2:10, so all four of you could ride from 1:10 - 2:00, if that makes sense).

2 - ADRs should mostly be available. It depends on the time of year that your going (free dining in the fall is one of the more difficult times to get ADRs even though it's lower crowd-wise). You might have to stalk the sight for Ohana, but other than that you shouldn't have a problem. And booking 180+10 doesn't guarantee Ohana either. When I went last November, Ohana was booked up at 180+10 for some crazy reason. So in my experience, 180+10 doesn't necessarily help all that much.

3 - We actually found certain things about being off-site that we preferred. I don't know how WBC is, but at our resort, it was MUCH QUICKER to get to our car from our room than at the Disney Resorts. We actually were able to get to / from the parks in about the same amount of time as from AKL because the walk to our car was SO MUCH shorter. We found that we enjoyed leaving the property a little bit and unwinding in our quiet resort condo. After all day of being in the crowds and Disney craziness, it was nice to come back to a quiet space with out all the "Disney". I know that sounds crazy, and a lot of people will disagree with me. But sometimes I feel like I get overstimulated at WDW. Going back to a peaceful resort room left me feeling more refreshed and ready to hit the parks the next day. That's just me

Hope you enjoy your stay - whatever you decide!

 

[Spanky]

BigRedNole-you cannot walk from CBR to WBC. High fence and deep ditch in the way.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Everything else on WDW property is open to non-resort guests. You can participate in all activities at the resorts. Yes, it is slightly rule bending jumping in the pool. If I am paying $20 for a Lapu Lapu at the pool bar and my daughter wants to jump in, they are not going to say anything.

No, it is not slight rule breaking.

It is blatant rule breaking. And those of us staying at Beach Club, and paying the higher rate would appreciate you following the rules.

And yes, they will say something.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I was surprised to see my thread was back on the first page, lol.

We had originally cancelled the Disney trip, but my husband really wants to go for a Star Wars Weekend, so it's back on for May 24 - 30. And I've also changed my mind about where to stay. After debating for a week about the different options, and even after getting a PIN from Disney, we decided to stay offsite at the Embassy Suites LBV South.

I have read a lot of good things about this hotel, and I love Embassy Suites in general. Someone had mentioned that even though it's a bit further away, it's pretty quick to get to the parks. I like the idea of having a bedroom and a living room, so I have somewhere to exist at night after my girls and husband are asleep. I like having a fridge and microwave in the room. I like the idea of staying at a place similar to a deluxe resort but at a much lower price. And I especially love the breakfast and evening reception that is included. I think DH really wanted to stay onsite in a resort hotel, I really wanted to stay offsite in a condo, and I realized this would be a good compromise, a nice hotel with a lot of room. And we're still going to eat at several places on property, but saving about $600 total over staying onsite, even with the discount. So I'm excited about staying here! Anyone who has stayed here before feel free to add your experiences.

That's great. I agree, lots of advantages to a hotel setting. There are a lot of nice hotels offsite too, even though most of the chat on here tends to be about renting condos and houses.

 

[Tink3815]

No, it is not slight rule breaking.

It is blatant rule breaking. And those of us staying at Beach Club, and paying the higher rate would appreciate you following the rules.

And yes, they will say something.

totally agree with Mary, if someone one wants to save money by not staying onsite, don't expect to be able to use the perks that the onsite guests have paid extra for

In my opinion you lose a lot of the Disney feeling when not staying onsite. The area around Disney is a tourist trap to me.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

For those who want to stretch their travel budget, I would strongly recommend off-site. For us, it was a decision that either meant we go to Orlando or go elsewhere. I think we made the right decision. There were 5 of us, and we snagged a 2bedroom, full kitchen unit for around $100/night. We rented a car, but ported over our own insurance and said no to extras, so it was only like $15/day (can't remember exactly). We used the car to go to grocery stores and saved a bundle. The local Walmart has a huge souvenir section that alone almost paid for the rental. We were about 5 or 10 minutes from the parks. Had to pay for parking of course. Getting to the parks was no problem and we arrived very early so parking was a breeze. We enjoyed going back to our hotel in the afternoon to avoid crowds, play in the pool and nap (me). Then we'd head back to the parks. I didn't find it inconvenient at all. I actually enjoyed the feeling of independence staying off-site and having a set of wheels to take me where I wanted to go. I've never stayed on site, so maybe I don't know what I'm missing :????

It sounds wonderful and I don't think you missed anything.

 

[robinb]

Everything else on WDW property is open to non-resort guests. You can participate in all activities at the resorts. Yes, it is slightly rule bending jumping in the pool. If I am paying $20 for a Lapu Lapu at the pool bar and my daughter wants to jump in, they are not going to say anything.

Just so you know, the pool at the Beach Club is gated and you can't access the pool from Hurricane Hannah's as there is a fence. Your DD would need a BC coded Magic Band to gain access to the pool area. You *might* get away with is somewhere else but that is a very busy time at WDW and the pool CMs are pretty careful about who is allowed access. I go every year over Christmas week and I have witnessed people being asked for their KTTW at Boardwalk. I suspect it's even easier to spot non-resort guests with the advent of MBs.

The good news is that I have heard that WBC has a really great pool which is probably better than the vast majority of Disney pools .

 

[Brian Noble]

The good news is that I have heard that WBC has a really great pool which is probably better than the vast majority of Disney pools

They are. I think WBC's pool complex is every bit as nice as Stormalong Bay---and in some ways better, though that's partly because I don't have kids young enough to appreciate the sand play area at SAB. The lazy rivers at Bonnet blow the "river" at SAB away.

 

[LegoMom3]

....

Everything else on WDW property is open to non-resort guests. You can participate in all activities at the resorts. Yes, it is slightly rule bending jumping in the pool. If I am paying $20 for a Lapu Lapu at the pool bar and my daughter wants to jump in, they are not going to say anything.

.....

Sorry but for those legitimately paying $350 or more per night for the BC and all its amenities, dropping $20 on your Lapu Lapu doesn't get you anything besides the drink itself.

.

 

[disneysteve]

I haven't read everyone's responses but here's my 2 cents. See my sig for my onsite/offsite experiences. We greatly PREFER staying offsite. Yes, it is cheaper, but it is also so much nicer, calmer, quieter, and we are able to get a lot more space and amenities that don't exist onsite at any price.

As for convenience, it takes no longer to get from many offsite properties to the parks than it does to get to the parks from Disney's own hotels. One place we stayed offsite several times was less than a 5-minute drive from Animal Kingdom. You'd wait longer than that for a bus if you were staying onsite. Where we typically stay (Windsor Palms) is about 10 minutes away. We have no trouble taking a break mid-day and going back later.

EMH is something that doesn't interest us. 9am is plenty early enough to get into the parks . We make sure to never go to the EMH park since it is always more crowded, so we don't feel we're missing anything there.

As someone else said, virtually everything onsite is open to offsite guests anyway so we just don't see the appeal of staying onsite. I've done it several times over the years. It's fine. But I'm much more comfortable offsite. The family suites at AoA are nice, but not at 3 times the price of better places offsite.

 

[patman]

I would stay onsite if the kids are stroller age. Any other time the amount of money you save on a per day basis allows you to stay longer and stretch out the amount of time.

You will save so much time never mind money by not eating in restaurants 3 meals a day. Breakfast in your room, while your still in PJs, no trucking back to the hotel room for bathroom use, A snack for mid-morning at the parks then while everyone is having lunch take advantage of decreased lines. A nice of site lunch or a pool break, each kid has thier own bed for a nap. Dinner then the parks at nite.

Even kids can get too much disney sensory overload. The extra TV and bathroom in the off site resort will be very welcome to the adults.

I hat riding buses with 50 kids- adults- strollers- backpacks etc.

The time it takes me to get in my car from Indian Ridge to the TTC is no greater than the time it takes to leave from the onsite hotel room. (non monorail resorts)

 

[disneysteve]

I would stay onsite if the kids are stroller age.

I hat riding buses with 50 kids- adults- strollers- backpacks etc.

You seem to be contradicting yourself. You hate riding buses with kids and strollers but are recommending onsite with stroller-age kids.

Personally, I would strongly recommend offsite with little ones. It is much easier to get around with your own car. Plus it's a lot safer since your kids are buckled up in car seats, not sitting on your lap on a bus (see yesterday's bus accident as an example of why this is a bad idea). I've personally seen more than one kid get hurt on a Disney bus when they fell off the seat when the bus made a sharp turn or stopped suddenly. No thanks.