Staying on property v. off property

[CapeCodTenor]

A little background so everyone knows where I'm coming from. The last time I was in the World was in 2001, and a lots changed. I also worked for the Mouse then so I didn't have to pay to get in the parks and I got up to 50% off of my hotel rooms. I'm on taking my family to Disney World in a couple of years (daughter's now 2, almost 3), so because of my previous trips being partly on the mouse, I'm planning like I've never been before. So please forgive me for asking what could be considered stupid questions.

I'm planning on doing a lot of research, which I love doing when it comes to trips, but I like to get opinions from people, which kind of a starting off point for me. So having said that, which do people prefer, staying on-property or off-property? Are there benefits to staying on v off, or off v on? With ticket prices being what they are, I assume that package deals are the way to go. I'll start off there and ask more questions as I do my research and get responses.

Thanks in advance
CCT

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Okay.

First: Are you flying, or driving?
When you stay on-site if you fly, you won't need a car. So you save the price of a rental car.

Second: What kind of epic nap schedule does your almost-3 year old need? Proximity from park to nap can be a big thing at that age.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Okay.

First: Are you flying, or driving?
When you stay on-site if you fly, you won't need a car. So you save the price of a rental car.

Second: What kind of epic nap schedule does your almost-3 year old need? Proximity from park to nap can be a big thing at that age.

We'll be flying, and there use to be a bus service that took you from the airport to the property, unless that's changed. And my daughter can go without a nap, but we prefer to take one. If she does then it's usually early to mid-afternoon.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

We'll be flying, and there use to be a bus service that took you from the airport to the property, unless that's changed. And my daughter can go without a nap, but we prefer to take one. If she does then it's usually early to mid-afternoon.

Yep!

Magic Express will pick up your bags, and take you and yours to your resort from MCO, and take you back on return day.

In your case, unless you have highly particular needs or want a self-catering accommodation, I'd say you probably are a good case for staying on site. The cost difference off-site gets eaten up by rental car charges and daily parking fees ($20/day) at Disney. Being able to hop Disney transport from your park to your hotel for some pool-nap-chill time in the afternoon is great with a little, and then you can turn back around a few hours later to return to the park or go to Disney Springs.

 

[dawgfan]

I would suggest for the age of your kid to stay on site. I have done both and done both multiple times. I know the savings that can be had when staying off site. I also know that you are so immersed while on site that it make a difference in the experience. Off site, while saving some cash, has never been the best experience a Disney vacation has to offer. It seems to serve a purpose rather than being as enjoyable as on site. On top of that, consider the experience of the child here. Your daughter will be much more amazed and in the Disney moment while on site at almost any resort than she would be at an off site location. Art of Animation, Pop Century, or the All Stars would be great choices due to the theme they have and they are affordable. On top of that you get the use of the bus system and other pluses that make the off site experience less appealing when you look at details. Save the off site stays for later years when you have shorter stays and the kid/ kids are a bit older. That is how it has evolved for us. My kids fell deeply in love with WDW as have I. My oldest went into the Disney College Program. She wants to work for Disney one day. The youngest is a senior in high school. We have been so many times that off site stays, while not our absolute favorite way to go, have become something we use to fill in the gaps for our long trips. We hit DTD and may not even go to a park. If we hit a park or two it is a pain to get the transportation issue done.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

As PPs said, I also vote for onsite. It is always so convenient having the busses, or other transportation options at some resorts, be able to bring you anywhere on property. Also, there is just something wonderful when you stay at a Disney resort, you are always immersed in the magic.

 

[Sue M]

We are on site people. Our first trip we stayed off site at The Marriott Courtyard on Palm Parkway. While close to DTD, and had fairly good shuttle, there was no way to get back for mid day break unless you rented a car. Which we didn't. We vowed then we'd stay on site (while looking longingly at the wdw busses).

I'm not a park commando, and like mid day breaks, and don't want to rent a car so for now onsite works for us.

If I did decide on off site, I'd look at the DTD hotels. You have to get your own airport transportation (I'd book a car service) but they do have a good park bus service, running every 30 min continuously. And walking distance to DTD. One trip we decided to come a day early, before our POR package. Got a great deal at the DTD Doubletree. Room discount and free breakfast with a discount on mousesavers.com. All rooms are 1 bdrm large suites. Very nice.

As for if you get better deal with booking package or not is debatable. You'd have to price it out as a package vs room only (with a discount of course) and buying tickets from Undercover Tourist. Unless you're looking for free dining which may or may not be a good deal for you depending on which resort level you pick, it's prob a bit cheaper to go with room only and tickets with UT.
Mousesavers.com has a chart of historical discounts so you can look at your dates and see what discounts were offered.

My fav research places are WDW The Unofficial Guide book, they also have a web site: Touring Plans.com
And a great free web site is Easy Wdw.

Happy planning!

 

[Hi Pluto]

Even with a toddler that doesn't "need a nap", you will find that the sensory overload of Disney will require that you plan for lots of downtime. You don't want any Disney meltdowns. And renting a stroller in the park was a welcome treat even for my 5-year-old at the time. Plan to go back to the resort and have some swim time, chill time (there are some activities around the resort) and nap time (for the grown-ups too).

And I agree with PP that staying at a resort with big theming like AoA would be delightful! We stayed at All-star Music the first time we took DS and he loved it!

~Cari~

 

[kmb584]

We stay both on- and offsite, and while I enjoy both, offsite has the slight advantage for me. Regardless of our choice, we drive to the parks as I find having a car at the ready is much more convenient at night. As others have said, if going the offsite route you will either need to rent a vehicle or be at the whim of the resort shuttle to Disney (if they have one; most do but at odd times). In 2 weeks, we'll be spending 10 nights in a 2-bedroom unit at the Sheraton Vistana Resort. Total cost for the entire stay is a bit under $1,500. In contrast, I have a 2-bedrom villa booked at Bay Lake Tower for 9 nights next June and it's costing me $11,815. That's a massive price difference and the reason why I alternate our on and offsite stays.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It has been my experience living through two toddlers that even if your kid is great normally, doesn't need a nap, an adventurous eater, whatever... The moment you do something like WDW, everything changes and you will be dealing with a changeling of a child.

My friends say that the same, so I am fairly sure this is normal and not a side effect of my little angels being total ****s.

 

[havoc315]

The best deals are usually the room- discounts. The standard packages don't save anything. The special discount packages usually save, but the room discounts are better.

To me, it's 3 options:
Stay on site in a deluxe.
On site in a mod/value
Off sits.

I break it up that way, because the advantages are very different:

On site deluxe: biggest advantage untouched by offsite, location. From the monorail resorts, you are a fast monorail ride from the Magic Kingdom gate. Plus easy access to the restaurants and activities at the other monorail resorts.
From the Epcot resorts, a 5 minute walk to Epcot, and easy access to the Boardwalk.

On site mod/value: They don't really have the location advantage. They aren't really closer than some offsite locations. Advantages for all on-site: Disney takes care of you the moment you get off the plane at the airport. They take your bags. They bus you to your hotel. They provide transportation to all the parks. You are surrounded by Disney theming 24/7. Disney level service. You get extra magic hours. You can book FP+ 60 months in advance instead of 30.

Off site: Better value in regards to getting a higher quality hotel at a lower price. You can get a luxury off site for the price of a mod on site. You won't get EMH, but there are good strategic ways to tour the parks without EMH. Some people like taking a break of 24/7 Disney. You won't be able to rely on Disney transportation, but some of the area hotels still provide shuttles plus some people prefer to have a rental car anyway. It frees you up to do things off property. Including avoiding paying Disney inflated prices for all meals.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Thanks for responding, everyone. This is certainly something to think about. I didn't know you could get good room rates separately. That's good to know. Mousesavers.com use to have room discount codes. Do they still have those? I'm going to have so much fun planning this trip.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Most room discounts are released less than 6 months before travel dates.

 

[raddisneyfan]

That other site you mentioned still keeps up to date on codes for rooms, and has tips for everything else as well. As far as onsite vs offsite, the only benefit I see is to save money. You can get really good deals offsite with sometime better and bigger accommodations. Granted you have to rent a car--although you can get good deals on this as well. Some offsite hotels are even closer to some parks than some of the Disney properties since Disney is so spread out. However, things to watch out for offsite are resort fees, parking fees, then like others have indicated, you have to pay to park at Disney. Some offsites don't have any of these added fees, but you'd have to check around. All that said though, I agree with pp's that if you have a young one and you definitely intend to nap during the day, then Disney hotel with Disney transportation is the way to go. And, I agree with you, planning is a big part of the fun. Enjoy the year of research!

 

[kmorlock]

Our first trip DS was 4, we didn't know much about WDW at all. We did a Monday through Friday trip at BLT studio. We paid a lot compared to alternatives but, we also had the advantage of walking to/from MK which is priceless with a small child/stroller. Renting DVC points and going to BLT, or even Poly DVC might help the price. A Contemporary Garden Wing room is spacious and provides the same close proximity in a lower price range. Wilderness lodge is a lovely alternative but, will be under major construction over the next 2 years.

At the end of our shorter vacation, I felt like it was just the right size for our family at that time. We missed weekend crowds, went at a cheaper time, early February, etc. and we're close enough to walk back and forth easily from MK where we spent most of the trip.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

We have stayed off property and we have stayed on property. When we stayed off property it felt a lot like work trying to get my kid up and out the door early enough to beat out the traffic to get into the parks. I am not 1 for traffic and even when we were only staying a couple of miles away from the parks it always seemed to take 30 minutes to get anywhere in the orlando area (none of the traffic lights are synced in Orlando, at least thats what it seemed to us). Grant it we were able to stay at some really nice time share hotels for probably a 1/4 of the Disney resort prices and they were really nice 2 bedroom ones as well. So in my mind it was worth it to be able to stay in such nice hotels. When I had my 2nd son we were planning a trip to Disney when he would only be 8 months old. We decided it would probably be a lot of work staying off site with an infant so we made the plunge and decided to start at the top of Disney's hotels and we stayed at the Contemporary. We gave up our nice 2 bedroom hotels for a regular hotel room for a higher price, but honestly the convenience of it was worth every penny in our mind. It was so easy to be a monorail ride away and my hubby was able to get my baby back to the hotel for breaks and it was super easy. We had such an awesome vacation that when we got back from our vacation we missed it so much we decided to start planning our trip back to the world. Which was this year and we actually got to stay at The Grand Floridian this year which was super amazing! Again it was an amazing trip! I'm sad that we won't be going back next year bc we need to buy a new horse trailer so can't afford to go to Disney and get a new horse trailer, lol. Anyways we are planning to return in 2017 and we are hoping to stay at the Poly in 2017. My hubby is even considering buying into DVC in the near future bc my kids are still young and we love it so much. Anyways all this being said I know staying on site at Disney is a lot more money than staying off site but I think its worth every penny to have that convenience.

 

[SA mom]

We've done both. You can get a lot more room for your money off property. The key for us is EMH, especially in the morning. We love that early hour. We started staying at the Swan on points. We get EMH and a super comfy bed but we don't spend much on lodging (just the resort fee and parking).

 

[magicmomms]

With a toddler we have done both on site and off- go with on site for this age. It is worth a bump in price. We rented DVC points to stay in a delux resort and it only cost a wee bit more than staying at a value resort through disney. If you don't want to rent DVC points from someone, paying OOP for a value resort would still be worth it. Being able to go back to the room quickly made the trip enjoyable, compared to the 45 min drive/parking that was stressful.

 

[magicmomms]

A package deal was not cheaper for us. If we had used the Disney Dining Plan we would have wasted money due to our eating patterns. These are things you'll want to look into for your family.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Wow! Thanks for all the responses, everyone, I do appreciate it. Like previous posters have mentioned, it might be worth it the first time staying on site. It'll most likely be a value resort for us, which is fine, but that's all we need. When I've gone in the past I've always stayed at the Port Orleans, which is my favorite.