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

[okilydokily]

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?

Bonnet Creek is not in walking distance to any park. You either drive or use their transportation to the parks. Unless I am reading your post wrong.

 

[Megsmachine]

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?

Although it is technically on Disney property, you are not near the monorail, and not close enough for any walkway. I think you are thinking of a Disney resort.

 

[OFF2NVRLAND]

I would say for my family the pros beat the cons. Staying off site in a condo is so much of a cost saver for us. We travel with my family of 4 plus my parents and 3 teenage siblings. Staying on site we would need 3 rooms, or pay the huge tab on a villa. If we did that it would limit how often we could go back and souvenir/travel money. We also save a huge amount by eating breakfast in the room. I know some feel like cooking on vacation isn't a vacation, but I would rather cook a simple breakfast in the room and have that money to spend somewhere else. It's always something quick and easy and then load the dishwasher.
We also get to sleep longer because there are more bathrooms to get ready in. Everyone gets their own bed and there is so much space instead of cramped in a value or moderate. Plus my boys love pirate ship pool with a slide. Washing clothes is a life saver too. I honestly don't see us ever staying on site.

 

[okilydokily]

While I love Disney resorts, I am not a fan of their rooms and layouts. I think everything feels cramped, even the treehouse villa's were not as nice as I expected. I am also a big fan of driving on property, but I have an AP, so I don't pay for parking.

You do lose some "magic" by not staying onsite. But I think there are more pros offsite for what I want. I got a 2 bed 2 bath 1200 sq ft condo with several pools and many activities for less than a value resort per night. No parking cost for me, and it was a time share, so no added resort fees and taxes like some other places off site. I like the kitchen and laundry, and having the added room was wonderful. It was a lot more relaxing to me. But to each their own.

 

[Alesia]

You can get a 3 bedroom/3 bathroom house for less than $100 per night. There is nothing onsite that comes close to that - it's less than the cost of a single value resort room. The idea that having to pay for parking or magic bands creates some hardship is ridiculous.

 

[mshanson3121]

You can get a 3 bedroom/3 bathroom house for less than $100 per night. There is nothing onsite that comes close to that - it's less than the cost of a single value resort room. The idea that having to pay for parking or magic bands creates some hardship is ridiculous.

Yes, our house was 4 bedrooms, 2 bath, games room, private 24' pool, and her most expensive price is $119 a night. We got an even better deal than that. The other thing too, is if you're traveling with other families, you get to share the cost. So if you were to split that house two ways, you're only spend $60 a night.

 

[reverie1729]

A lot of my 'pros' for staying offsite have already been mentioned (cheaper, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, etc). Another huge factor in choosing offsite for us is simply our family make up... we have a 15 year old daughter and an 8 year old son. Sticking the two of them together in a single hotel room for an entire week would be an absolute nightmare. Trust me, we barely survive the 1 night hotel stay on the drive down and the drive back home. Plus no one wants to have to share a bed with my son... I mean unless you enjoy being startled awake in the middle of the night by a punch to the face or a kick to the gut. That kid is all over the place when he sleeps! Plus sharing the bathroom with a teenage daughter... we only have 1 bathroom at home and the only way that works is because everyone has a different time to be at school or work every morning. If we all have to be ready at the same time it would take forever taking turns with 1 bathroom. I also take a really long time to get ready, so I wake up about 30 to 45 minutes before everyone else. If we were all in 1 room I would probably end up waking everyone up and having cranky kids.

 

[kerplop]

We've stayed off-site once now and it will likely always be off-site from now on. We did get a great deal for $450 for a week last time we went, but on the whole the prices per-night are not much different than a Value. That said, what you get is not comparable. There are only 3 adults that go, but having an extra room for my mother as a married couple is awesome. We also stay in nice condos with big jacuzzi tubs, full kitchens, and better pools and resort amenities than a Value would offer us. We are not EMH people (we avoid entirely), we always rented a car anyway, and we go at a time where the parks close early anyway so we end up eating dinner off-site more often than not. If we want Magic Bands, we can get them ourselves and if I stayed on-site, I'd probably buy a fancy one anyway. For us, it's a no-brainer. But it's not for everyone. If you like EMH crowds, rely on ME, and Disney transportation it won't work for you. That's okay, you have to make that decision for your family yourself.

 

[DisneyCAL]

The house we had was great lots of space, but a pool is just a pool. And you don't get the same 180 day and 60days perks as onsite. When we rented a house, that wasn't an thing but our latest trip we stayed onsite and those perks were worth I would say. Not to mention, the pools, albeit public, are just so much better then some small backyard pool. Just a word of advice, don't stock up on too many groceries. We had great intentions with all the food we bought but we ate in the parks and then didn't feel like making things at night, a ton of food wasted.

 

[starjazz]

There are several condo/townhome complexes that have great pools - slides, features, etc.

And, while I agree that we're not saving anything on dinner - (who wants to cook a meal?), we save another fortune on breakfasts and lunches. Throwing some sandwiches, chips, drinks and fruit in our packs is no biggie, and we had donuts, cereal, toast, etc. for breakfast every day. Between 9 people, it was probably another couple hundred per day saved. To be honest, the savings between on-site vs off-site can literally creep up into the $600-800 PER DAY range. Stay a week, and you're looking at $5000. That's enough to do a whole second trip!! So, for us, on-site is something we'll do once every 5+ years for VERY special occasions.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

No cons for me. We've stayed at Windsor Hills 3 times, each in a six bedroom pool home that was cheaper than the moderate hotel we had quoted, and thats even paying for parking at WDW. We've also stayed onsite once. Most of the time it was quicker for us to get to the parks using our car from Windsor Hills than it was to wait at the bus stop and take transportation from the hotel. At the hotel, we found ourselves sitting in the bathroom so our kids would fall asleep. In the house, they had their own rooms and we could sit in the hot tub while they were sleeping. Now one is a teenager and not really impressed at the idea of sharing a bed with her sister. EMH were never really a draw for us. We found the parks were open long enough and honestly, 9pm was late enough for our kids.

 

[serrotak]

10 of us will be staying in a 5 bedroom 3000sf house for less than $200 a night. That is ridiculously cheap. I didn't do the math, but we have stood on site at POFQ and POR and this will save us tons of money. I enjoy staying on site and will do it again in the future.

 

[keepswimming76]

We did a house rental on our last trip 5 bedrooms, 4 baths and it had a pool. It was $1000 for eight nights. That was split between two families. I loved it because we were able to spend time with family from out of town and not feel crowded. The kids had their own room. But the best part was having our own private pool to relax in during down times. Plus a hot tub. It was great. We did two parks each day and took a break in between. The downside was having to wake up a bit earlier to drive - although our drive to parks was only 10-15 minutes. For bigger groups, I say go for a house.

All that being said, an on-site trips is also worth it. We are doing 9 night split stay in deluxe resorts so we can be "in" the magic the entire time. But it's just our immediate family of four.

 

[mshanson3121]

The house we had was great lots of space, but a pool is just a pool. And you don't get the same 180 day and 60days perks as onsite. When we rented a house, that wasn't an thing but our latest trip we stayed onsite and those perks were worth I would say. Not to mention, the pools, albeit public, are just so much better then some small backyard pool. Just a word of advice, don't stock up on too many groceries. We had great intentions with all the food we bought but we ate in the parks and then didn't feel like making things at night, a ton of food wasted.

To each their own. I far preferred having a private 24' pool, than having to use a public pool that you have to walk/drive to. Being able to lounge in privacy, go in/out whenever you want, multiple times at your convenience, being able to take all the pool toys we want in the pool etc... Plus, for my young non-swimmers, for them to be able to have a quieter, calmer pool to practice in - soooo much better.

I definitely agree with don't buy too much food - though not because you'll eat more in the parks. We ate almost all our meals at the house. But, if you're going during warm season, we found the heat really sapped our appetite in a way we had not anticipated.

 

[goofyernmost]

This. You have to add $20/day (parking) to the offsite cost to have a meaningful comparison. And the cost of the rental car if you normally rely only on Disney transportation.

That would work and one will find that even adding in $20.00 per day for parking it's still enormously less expensive. I, through my personal need, require a car anyway. If I drive there I have one automatically, if not I always rent one, even the one time I stayed onsite. So that is an expense either way for me.

However, if you are going to add stuff on then in all fairness you must subtract the difference in what it cost to eat your meals. The restaurants are plentiful and varied, the prices are massively lower then onsite. The ability to go to a supermarket and buy food at the same prices as none tourists and have what you like at even less money is just another bonus.

I usually go solo so all I get is a hotel room offsite and still save a bundle with much more comfort then comparable accommodations onsite. In 2008 I rented a 6 bedroom villa just a mile away from Disney's Main Gate off Rte. 192. There were eleven of us and the savings were huge. It was big enough that the 11 of us didn't bump into each other when we were in the house. There were TV's in every room, computer, game room, enclosed pool and jacuzzi, full kitchen and laundry room. I even decided to rent two additional cars (besides my own that I had driven down there) and it still was less expensive then onsite with comparable luxury. (In fact, there really isn't comparable luxury onsite.)

I honestly have never been able to find a "Pro" for staying onsite.

 

[Megsmachine]

Tried quoting the person that quoted me, I must have done it wrong. Anyway, $3000+ for renting points with Davids as opposed to paying $700 for a 2 bedroom deluxe ay Bonnet Creek, is just too much of a difference. We would rather save the $2300+. I love staying on property and we did enjoy being inside the Disney bubble, but not for $2300+. We no longer find it worth it. Now that we stay off property for far less we really have been able to relax. I have never had a problem getting reservations to the restaurants we want either. We just decided to go in May a month ago. I got every reservation we wanted at the times we wanted even.

 

[Alesia]

Tried quoting the person that quoted me, I must have done it wrong.

You just need to hit "reply" in the lower right hand corner of their post.

 

[mrzrich]

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

I think you are over hyping the benefit of 180+ 10. I don't think a person in their sound mind would get up at 3 AM for 10 days. Its simply not necessary.

First of all, most Disney visitors are not members of the DIS. Many don't start thinking about dining reservations 180 days in advance. I'd venture to guess that most restaurants have the majority of their tables still available at day 170. Of all of your ADR's chances are you have one maybe 2 that MIGHT require waking at 3AM on day 180. The rest can be made anytime in the following days using the app or website.

 

[mrzrich]

Tried quoting the person that quoted me, I must have done it wrong. Anyway, $3000+ for renting points with Davids as opposed to paying $700 for a 2 bedroom deluxe ay Bonnet Creek, is just too much of a difference. We would rather save the $2300+. I love staying on property and we did enjoy being inside the Disney bubble, but not for $2300+. We no longer find it worth it. Now that we stay off property for far less we really have been able to relax. I have never had a problem getting reservations to the restaurants we want either. We just decided to go in May a month ago. I got every reservation we wanted at the times we wanted even.

Me too just planned a May trip last week. Had my choice of BOG times for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

 

[OFF2NVRLAND]

Tried quoting the person that quoted me, I must have done it wrong. Anyway, $3000+ for renting points with Davids as opposed to paying $700 for a 2 bedroom deluxe ay Bonnet Creek, is just too much of a difference. We would rather save the $2300+. I love staying on property and we did enjoy being inside the Disney bubble, but not for $2300+. We no longer find it worth it. Now that we stay off property for far less we really have been able to relax. I have never had a problem getting reservations to the restaurants we want either. We just decided to go in May a month ago. I got every reservation we wanted at the times we wanted even.

Same here, and we have stayed at Bonnet Creek and loved it! We have now started staying at Lake Buena Vista Resort. It is not as nice and updated as BC in my opinion, but it was bigger and less expensive. It also had a pirate ship pool too.
Fast Pass and dining reservations are not a good enough incentive for me to stay on site. I was worried about dining reservations for my May trip, but it worked out fine. I got a lunch reservation for 10 at BOG, which is what I wanted. When the time comes for FPs I'll just take what I can get.