Renting house Offsite...Pros/Cons???

[courtneybeth]

Disney dining reservations at the 180 day mark, for me at least, is a pain with the time difference. I'll gladly pay to stay onsite if I can just wake up once at 3am to book all of my dining and head back to sleep. To do that 6-9 days in a row is a deal breaker for me.

#firstworldproblem

 

[melliemelo]

We always stay at Windsor Hills. I'm spoiled for condos / townhouses and the space. I paid $118/night for a townhouse with a small pool for our last trip. It's only 4 of us, but it's so nice that each person has a quiet room to rest or watch TV in. Two bathrooms. A washer/dryer so you don't have to over pack. We pick up a few groceries and have our coffee and an easy breakfast before we head out to the parks. Driving doesn't bother us. It takes us about 15 minutes to get to the parking lots. Once we left our car at AK and took a bus to our dining reservation at 1900 Park Fare. After dinner, getting back to our car took an hour! We waited and waited for the right bus to come along. Then it had several stops. I'd rather just get in my own car and go where I need to instead of being on someone else's schedule.

 

[Megsmachine]

We have been staying off property. We have 5 kids and Disney has priced us out, for us to stay on property. We can stay at Fort Wilderness but dragging the camper for 1 week isn't worth it. If we were to stay again for 2 weeks, we would probably do that. We are going in May for a week and staying at bonnet creek in a 2 bedroom, kitchen, washer, dryer, 6 pools, 9 hot tubs, 2 lazy rivers and on Disney property. No Disney perks. Our budget is $4200 for everything. Gas there, all travel expenses, tickets, food, meals at 6 TS restaurants at Disney, spending money everything. I just priced it if we stayed on Disney Property in a 2 bedroom at OKW with the 25% discount. Just the room and 5 day tickets (4 day price) $6331. That is not gas to drive there, no food ect. NOTHING except for the room and tickets. It would cost approx. $8000 if we were to include everything we are doing that is in our budget for the BOnnet Creek week.

Those are the perks! If we had the money we might stay on Disney property but when we start running the numbers, we question if it's worth it. And we love Bonnet Creek.

 

[Tomh]

OP . . .. I am SO glad you started this thread. We are looking at staying offsite for the first time this coming summer, and have been struggling with some of these very same questions. What are the pros / cons, and is it worth the extra money to stay onsite.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

We are in a 7 bedroom 5 bath house inside Emerald Island right now.. $160 a night...yep well worth staying off site

 

[PatsGirl]

Correct me if I'm wrong but we considered Wyndham Bonnet Creek (although we didn't stay there) because it afforded the flexibility of easy access to MK (via walkway) and EPCOT (via monorail), which would let family members come and go as they please. You could also easily use the bus transportation to resort restaurants and Disney Springs. So the only driving might be to/from the airport, HS, and AK, is this right?

 

[tlmadden73]

I did this back in October 2014 and thought I wouldn't like it, but it wasn't that bad!
We split a house with two other families .. we had like 12 people in the house and that was part of the fun. But my family of three were on our own (we didn't have same itinerary as the other families) . .so it worked out.

1) The cost per night was pretty darn cheap compared to a value resort. Plus you save a lot of money by stocking up the kitchen and having a breakfast at the house before you leave and having storage for snacks/coffee, etc. A house has a much larger fridge. No need to hit the hotel quick-service every morning.

2) I was concerned about getting into the parks, but if you get there early enough, parking isn't a problem. We got there early enough that we didn't even have to take a tram from our parking spot. Plus, the house was so close, that driving to the park was just as fast (if not faster) when you count the time waiting for a bus, and the bus ride into the parks.

3) Parking Cost. It stinks, but when you think about the savings from staying offsite, it more than made up for it. I found it more relaxing walking to the car then trying to wait and cram into a bus after a busy day.

4) Hopping. I found it a lot easier to hop since I didn't have to wait for buses. We left AK trying to get to DHS for the last "Frozen" show (starting in an hour from when we were leaving AK) and easily made it .. simply because we had our own car.

5) Off-day .. we could relax and sleep in and hang out in the attached pool to the house without worrying about "getting everyone going" .. My family even still went to Downtown Disney and had dinner at Ohana that night with no issues.

6) Fast Passes at 30 days .. wasn't an issue as my son was 2 and we weren't planning on going on the "big" popular rides.

Our next trip 10 months later was at a Value resort. I love just being in the "Disney Bubble". It definitely was convenient not having to drive around ever .. especially when touring with a big group all together. Getting 9 people on a bus is easier than getting 9 people (and kids) into and out of two separate cars. But even the Disney Transportation takes a while .. especially going to/from the MK to the value resorts.
It was super nice though to get the 60 days fast pass and the 180 days dinner reservations. (Especially at Be Our Guest).

I'd do both. I am not sure I have a preference. It just depends on what type of vacation we want (do we wanna just hit the parks and enjoy a full day there with no hopping .. or do we want to hit a lot of restaurants and resorts?).

 

[mshanson3121]

We are renting house next trip 3 mil snfrom Disney. We have only stayed onsite every other trip. House was cheaper and we will have pool/kitchen/gameroom. Anyone else ever done this? What are your experiences?

Did it. Loved it. DH has already said he would prefer to never travel any other way again. I always laugh, people always talk about having to pay for parking when you're staying off-site, I find that so funny. When you're saving hundreds and hundreds (or into the thousands) of dollars by staying off site, no offense, but having to spend $120 for 6 days of parking really isn't a reason to stay on site! I *get* that it's something people may not factor in, but I think a lot of die-hard "on-siters" greatly underestimate just how much money you can save.

For us, there was no Disney perk that was worth the immense savings we had. For that matter, there are ways around the FP+ booking anyways. Nor, do we personally feel the need to be immersed in Disney decor 24/7. For us, we far preferred having the freedom, flexbility, space and our own private pool that the off-site rental allowed us, things that just were not available with staying on site. Driving to/from the park was no problem at all, and honestly, wasn't much (if any) slower than having to rely on Disney transportation (depending on where you're staying of course), and we still did mid-day breaks as well.

And for the record, I am not opposed to on-site, and if I were doing a short trip (a few days only), then I would consider staying on site, and maybe sometime we'll look at a split stay, with doing a couple nights on site and the rest off. But overall, the savings off off-site are typically substantial, and again, I loved being able to go out and swim under the stars at night in our own private pool while the children were sleeping in their bedrooms. I loved being able to just lounge around in my pjs as I ate my own breakfast by the pool. I loved on off-days, not being confined to a single hotel room, but instead having the luxury of a whole house, a pool we could literally just jump into whenever we wanted etc...

 

[mshanson3121]

Our house is in Windsor Hills I believe. Is it Close to the parks?

Yes it is, very.

 

[mshanson3121]

As stated by PP, it is not the same as staying on-site at a Disney Resort.. IMHO the cons outweigh the pros.. Staying off-site means no EMH, no WDW transportation, no DME, no DDP, no early access to FP+, no MagicBands, and extra time spent doing household shores (ex. cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.) which IMO can defeat the purpose of being on vacation..

You can get MBs staying off site no problem. And most rental sites offer house cleaning services.

 

[MrKnight]

You can get MBs staying off site no problem. And most rental sites offer house cleaning services.

What I am referring to with the MBs is that on-site resort guests get them for free and in addition to MDE it is also linked to their Resort account for purchasing privileges at the parks. Otherwise, if you would like one and are staying off-site you would have to purchase one and also will not have access to the early booking window for FP+..

 

[mshanson3121]

What I am referring to with the MBs is that on-site resort guests get them for free and in addition to MDE it is also linked to their Resort account for purchasing privileges at the parks. Otherwise, if you would like one and are staying off-site you would have to purchase one and also will not have access to the early booking window for FP+..

Yes, well you only said MBs, which is pretty misleading, since yes you can get them, and they will link to everything just like your on-site one will. And $18 isn't that big of an expense when you're saving a vast amount of money. But again, there are ways around all that anyways. Stay on site for one night. $130 value room will get you 2 days of free parking ($40 value), MBs for everyone (assuming 4 people, $72 value), shopping perks and your 60 day FP+ booking. Easy peasy.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

We have been staying off property. We have 5 kids and Disney has priced us out, for us to stay on property. We can stay at Fort Wilderness but dragging the camper for 1 week isn't worth it. If we were to stay again for 2 weeks, we would probably do that. We are going in May for a week and staying at bonnet creek in a 2 bedroom, kitchen, washer, dryer, 6 pools, 9 hot tubs, 2 lazy rivers and on Disney property. No Disney perks. Our budget is $4200 for everything. Gas there, all travel expenses, tickets, food, meals at 6 TS restaurants at Disney, spending money everything. I just priced it if we stayed on Disney Property in a 2 bedroom at OKW with the 25% discount. Just the room and 5 day tickets (4 day price) $6331. That is not gas to drive there, no food ect. NOTHING except for the room and tickets. It would cost approx. $8000 if we were to include everything we are doing that is in our budget for the BOnnet Creek week.

Those are the perks! If we had the money we might stay on Disney property but when we start running the numbers, we question if it's worth it. And we love Bonnet Creek.

Have you considered renting points though a site like David's Vacation Club Rentals? I don't know the exact week you are going in May, but their website has a 2 bedroom at OKW for $3,178. Then, you'd also have the luxury of booking FP+ at 60 days and all dining at 180 days.

 

[starjazz]

Given that staying off site saves literally hundreds of dollars per night, I get a chuckle when the on-site fans cite the $12.99 magic bands as a good reason to stay on site.

For us, the ONLY reason to stay on site is if you want to be enclosed in the bubble. If you just want everything Disney from the minute you wake up, until the minute you go to bed, and don't want to believe in the outside world (which I totally understand, btw), then maybe its worth spending 3-5 times the amount. And I mean that in all seriousness.

We've done it. We'll do it again. But we go every year, so MOST times we stay off site and spend the several hundred dollars per day we save on other things.

 

[starjazz]

Have you considered renting points though a site like David's Vacation Club Rentals? I don't know the exact week you are going in May, but their website has a 2 bedroom at OKW for $3,178. Then, you'd also have the luxury of booking FP+ at 60 days and all dining at 180 days.

Dining is at 180 either way.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Dining is at 180 either way.

If you are staying on property, you get to book up to 10 days at the 180 mark. I thought that off property you could book at 180 days exactly. So, if you were staying for a week, you would have to get up 180 days before Sunday, then the next day to book for Monday, and the next to book for Tuesday, etc. whereas on site guests just get up 180 days before Sunday and book the whole trip. Am I mistaken on that?

 

[starjazz]

If you are staying on property, you get to book up to 10 days at the 180 mark. I thought that off property you could book at 180 days exactly. So, if you were staying for a week, you would have to get up 180 days before Sunday, then the next day to book for Monday, and the next to book for Tuesday, etc. whereas on site guests just get up 180 days before Sunday and book the whole trip. Am I mistaken on that?

No, that sounds right to me. I think that's correct.

 

[mshanson3121]

If you are staying on property, you get to book up to 10 days at the 180 mark. I thought that off property you could book at 180 days exactly. So, if you were staying for a week, you would have to get up 180 days before Sunday, then the next day to book for Monday, and the next to book for Tuesday, etc. whereas on site guests just get up 180 days before Sunday and book the whole trip. Am I mistaken on that?

No, that's right. That said - I had 0 problem booking dining for off-site during the busy season leading up to 4th July. And I sure as heck didn't get up at 3 am to book ANYTHING, either. At about 170 days out we were able to book a perfect combo of 5:00 BBB at the castle with a 6:50 CRT.

 

[dashofsunshine]

We stay off site every trip. We go almost every year. I have never had a single issue getting ADR's or fast passes, and we always go during spring break or F&G. We always get everything we want, no issues. People talk all the time about, "oh, if the parks are at capacity, you'll be turned away as an offsite guest!" 10+ years of off site trips during peak spring season - it's never happened.

We travel a lot (to places besides WDW), and the savings from staying offsite are just too astronomical to pass up. Even with paying for parking! Saved money=more vacations. Or, more souvenirs/fancy food/fun OOP experiences on your current trip!

 

[tink9702]

Pros:
great for larger family groups
extra bedrooms and bathrooms with a much cheaper price tag than what you'd find on-site for the same amount of space
eating breakfast in pjs sitting by the pool (off-site house)
multiple bathrooms to make showering and getting ready easier
having a car to be able to do other things off Disney property - Universal, Gatorland, Legoland, shopping etc.
having a car with peace and quiet and all getting a seat when you leave the parks
laundry at night

Cons:
more cooking/dishes involved than being on-site (doesn't have to be, but we don't like to waste $ on going out to breakfast when we can eat there)
30 day FP+ if you want hard to get FP+
not as immersive in Disney as staying on-site
many places don't have water slides, playgrounds etc. (some do though)

We'll do either depending on what type of trip we want. If we are going with lots of people and want to spend time with them off-site is better IMHO. If it's just my family & we are basically only doing Disney then on-site is better. We don't mind the driving or parking at all and don't use EMH so that's also not an issue for us.