Off-site resorts around Disney

[Hockey6657]

What are the pros and Cons of Off-site resorts around Disney?

 

[CanadianChickie]

Have only stayed off site so cannot compare to onsite. We personally are done with Disney and the crowds by late afternoon and need to get away. Liked being able to eat breakfast in a condo, pack a lunch. Have a late afternoon swim and then go out for dinner.

Con is do need a rental car (cost), but we preferred being in control, being able to go where and when we want.

 

[spiceycat]

well I stay both on and off site - if I did not join DVC when I did - my on site shares would be Pop Century - but with DVC can stay in BLT - and see the MK fireworks from my studio. that to me is great - staying offsite only see them from the MK (which I hate - far too many people) some offsite places can see them.

Bonnet Creek (wyndham) - is a condo between CBR and world drive - it is not onsite - but you can see the fireworks from both MK and Epcot,

 

[Lilliputian]

We only stay offsite if we're getting more out of it somehow. For us, that means renting a house with it's own pool and game room, not to mention washer and dryer and full kitchen. We wouldn't stay offsite for a regular, Holiday Inn-type hotel. I'd consider something like the Four Seasons with awesome service at some stages of life, but with a big family with young children and food allergies that make a kitchen nice, it's not where we are right now.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

I've never stayed on site, but we have stayed in a 2BR at Wyndham Bonnet Creek twice. We stay on my folks' points or ours, so it's definitely cheaper, and we like having more room to spread out. We use the full kitchen, the bubble tub, and some of the WBC amenities like the two lazy rivers, the pools, and the movie rentals (almost as cheap as RedBox, but walking distance). We don't mind the drive in, and it's great not to be on buses on the time.

You do have to pay to park when you are off site, but that's the same for any theme park. You can't do the dining plan or use EMH, but we probably wouldn't use those even if we were onsite.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Pros: separate living and sleeping areas, in-suite washer and dryer, a screened balcony from which to enjoy your morning coffee (or an evening nightcap), multiple TV's, full kitchens with dishwashers, separate beds for everyone, multiple bathrooms (some with jacuzzi tubs), the ability to easily grab a healthy breakfast before heading out to the parks, way more recreational amenities (onsite mini golf, surrey bikes, multiple pools, etc.), and a HUGE savings (getting three times the space and twice the amenities at half the cost of a Disney property).

Cons: no EMH, no "free" transportation to and from the airport, no ability to add the dining plan (not a con in my book, but apparently still is for some), and you have to drive to the parks and pay for parking (again, not a con in my book...we didn't enjoy Disney buses).

We have stayed both onsite (our first trip) and offsite (every trip since), and quite honestly......the "perks" of onsite don't come anywhere near to justifying the exorbitant costs of Disney resorts. For us, staying in a tiny room with one bathroom and one TV is not a vacation. Give me space, give me fine finishings, give me all the amenities of home and then some, and a big ol' savings to boot . The financial savings is more than enough to pay for a rental car, parking and gas, and still hundreds (sometimes, even thousands) ahead. And the sanity savings? Priceless .

 

[Portugal1000]

The best thing about offsite is the extra space. We stay in a 2 bedroom at Wyndham Bonnet Creek which we think is fantastic. I couldn't bear for the three of us to all have to be in the same room. We like to come back and relax. My husband likes to watch the news before bed so would be a problem if only one room. I know you dont go on holiday to watch tv but we are always away for three weeks so there has to be some downtime. We have stayed at SSR three times so have something to compare Bonnet Creek to and we think BC is far superior and a third of the price. We also love that the pools are closer together than SSR and you can just walk round the resort even in the August sun.
Also love going to the offsite restaurants. Makes me sad to see how the Disney restaurants have gotten worse over the years. Last time we stayed in SSR on free dining plan, I lost count of the number of times we commented that we were glad we were paying OOP. We do love the signature restaurants though, especially CG and FF but at $50 for a steak, I just cant justify it when I can go down the road to Longhornes.
Alot of people love the EMH but we never once used these when staying on site. Always avoided parks that had them which has worked well for us.
We hired a car even when we had transport but this would be a big plus if you didn't drive I guess as Disney Transport alot more regular than offsite hotel shuttles.
I really have never missed the Disney Bubble since staying off site. WBC is closer to some of the parks than Disney resorts.

 

[Sephora]

Pros: separate living and sleeping areas, in-suite washer and dryer, a screened balcony from which to enjoy your morning coffee (or an evening nightcap), multiple TV's, full kitchens with dishwashers, separate beds for everyone, multiple bathrooms (some with jacuzzi tubs), the ability to easily grab a healthy breakfast before heading out to the parks, way more recreational amenities (onsite mini golf, surrey bikes, multiple pools, etc.), and a HUGE savings (getting three times the space and twice the amenities at half the cost of a Disney property).

Cons: no EMH, no "free" transportation to and from the airport, no ability to add the dining plan (not a con in my book, but apparently still is for some), and you have to drive to the parks and pay for parking (again, not a con in my book...we didn't enjoy Disney buses).

We have stayed both onsite (our first trip) and offsite (every trip since), and quite honestly......the "perks" of onsite don't come anywhere near to justifying the exorbitant costs of Disney resorts. For us, staying in a tiny room with one bathroom and one TV is not a vacation. Give me space, give me fine finishings, give me all the amenities of home and then some, and a big ol' savings to boot . The financial savings is more than enough to pay for a rental car, parking and gas, and still hundreds (sometimes, even thousands) ahead. And the sanity savings? Priceless .

THIS THIS THIS...nailed it. While onsite does have perks...we prefer resort type offsite.

 

[quagmire0]

Offsite:
- much more space for much less cost. You can easily find a 3 or 4 bedroom condo 10-15mins away for the same cost as a disney value resort hotel room.
- Windsor Hills, where we've stayed, is QUIET. You are allowed to easily escape the hustle and bustle of the crowds. They also have a clubhouse, pool, theatre, playground, etc. I'm sure there are other resorts with similar amenities, too.
- I don't consider driving and having to park as being inconvenient. Parking isn't that expensive and is good for the entire day. We've traveled twice with younger kids and I consider it a luxury to be able to leave the parks and crowds at lunchtime and give everyone a break back at the condo. You don't have to wait on public trans and you can come and go as you please.
- You can save a bunch of money on meals. If you wanted to, you can very easily do all breakfasts and lunches at your condo. You make a quick grocery run when you get there and you're set for the week. You can also have dinners delivered from the various restaurants in the area.
- Many condos include 'extras' like strollers, pack 'n plays, ponchos, video games, etc.

The biggest bonuses for onsite would be the EMH and the bigger window for reserving dining and fastpasses. But I can't honestly say that those bonuses would outweigh everything you get offsite. I think onsite is great on occasion, when you have some extra discretionary income to blow off - or for couples who don't need a ton of space.

 

[Disneyaddictz]

i started out off property, one day we stayed on property and we were sold! Everything was better and more conviently for our family, we loved never leaving Disney property and really escaping the everyday life of cooking, cleaning, driving, radio, news channel etc... Just recently i had an opportunity to take our girls for a 4 day trip super last minute and in a effort to convince my husband i could do a affordable last minute trip i decided to stay off property by taking the bookit.com mystery room at DTD. Let me say, the hotel wasn't all that bad (Wyndham Lake Buena Vista) but the experience for us just wasn't the same, the rooms weren't the same quality and we just missed the customer service and I HATED that we didn't get to take the bus to MK but had to transfer from Ticket and transportation no EMH, no charging to the room. I will never leave property again... this is totally what our family likes, every family is different, i have a lot of friends who ask me to help them with their trips, First thing i ask is what do you want from your trips, what kind of evenings do you want, do you want to have luxury of home??? me my answer is NO! No! No!

 

[Sarahbelle341]

I have done both and enjoyed both. I think if you have a lot of people, travelling with extended family and want more privacy than a standard hotel room then you might enjoy offsite more. If you hate cooking and driving on vacation then onsite might fit your needs better. For my family we drive down so we have a car either way. We aren't going to grocery shop or cook on vacation so a kitchen isn't a selling feature. And since we drive down so we have luggage space a washer and dryer is a selling point either. If we are doing only Disney then I want the all inclusive cruise type of feeling and we stay onsite, do EMH, get a dining plan etc. If we are exploring other parts of Orlando then I like offsite perks (hotels with free breakfasts, more space, cheaper off site restaurants etc)

 

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

On and offsite both have pros and cons. I stayed onsite only once (Port Orleans Riverside) and all my other times were offsite by using my RCI time share to stay at area resort. Staying onsite offers great convenience (although I agree with Gina that the bus service was at times more of a hassle than it was worth) and perks (EMH, dining plan, transportation, etc.), and the resorts are typically going to be at least a little nicer than the offsite resorts. But all this comes at a price.

To me, I don't find it worth the extra expense to stay onsite. I'm driving from New Orleans, so I already have a car. Driving to & from the parks and paying for parking ($25? a day) isn't a big deal to me. I put a premium on having the space to stretch out in a 2 bedroom/2 bath condo. And to compare the prices for a 2 bedroom/2 bath condo offsite vs at one of the onsite resorts is like comparing apples and elephants.

Bottom line to me is that it's all about what your personal preferences are, how many people you are traveling with, budget, etc etc etc.

 

[100AcreWood]

Offsite Good:
For us it's about space. It's tough to be on top of each other in a hotel room. We have 3 kids and at the end of the night I feel like we sleep better not being all in the same room.
Also, we can visit more often. A week in Windsor Hills is around $500 for a 3 bedroom condo.
I get car sick so the Disney buses aren't fun for me.
We can eat breakfast in the condo and have our own snacks at night, drinks, etc. During my Disney stays we would always return back to the room and wish we had a drink or something to eat before bed (especially the kids). I love having a kitchen!

Offsite Bad:
I miss being able to send anything we buy back to the room. That was pretty awesome. But not worth the extra money.
Having to park at downtown disney. What a nightmare!

 

[Sarahbelle341]

There are some nice restaurants and really nice kid friendly resorts in the Oralndo area. A private pool would be a perk for us or a jacuzzi tub and those things are so much more affordable off site. Free breakfast is nice feature in a lot of hotels too. Timeshares/condos etc are nice if you have a larger group.

 

[NorthshoreTigerFan]

Sarahbelle, you made a good point about the size of your group. I found that once the size of my family grew from 4 to 5 (and sometimes my mother-in-law joins us which brings the size of the party to 6), that changed the logistics of how to get a room. Finding a room that sleeps 5 is very rare (Port Orleans Riverside does, but I couldn't find another one), but we were really cramped with all of us in one room with very little space to sit or relax.

 

[quagmire0]

The condos are all about space and saving money. If you have especially younger kids who need to nap or sleep alone, then the condo is invaluable. On our two trips so far, we've had a child that was in that 1-2 yo range. Being able to come back to the condo, have that kid take a nap while the others wind down and cool off is great. Makes the rest of the day much more pleasant and allows the kids to stay up later without melting down. We still get a ton of park time and ride everything we want to. Having the ability to make meals, especially breakfast and lunch, can save you a ton of money and let you enjoy more dinners out if you want. The driving is minimal, to me. 10-15 mins each way and parking isn't that difficult. I also like having the freedom to come and go as we please and head to offsite attractions or restaurants to save more money.