Thread for People staying off site

[mdb78]

We usually stay offsite (Wyndham grand at bonnet creek or at a condo rental- depending how long our stay is). We did one day in March when friends visited. After that, decided to buy the magic bands for our next trip (which was 2 weeks ago) since it was a pain for us digging out the tickets whenever we had fp.

 

[mmkenn]

Thanks so much for starting this thread! We are staying off property for the first time and I am stressing about a few things, but particularly the new Fast Pass system. We stayed on property last year and were able to get FPs for most things we wanted, but worried now that this will be a problem. We have Magic Bands we can use, but have heard that we can only book 30 days out now. Is this correct? Thanks in advance!

 

[Monykalyn]

Until upcoming trip have always stayed offsite: in-laws deeded us a timeshare week 22 years ago as a wedding gift so why pay when we can stay for basically an exchange fee? We have stayed at nearly all the Marriott resorts around Orlando. And it is wonderful having separate bedrooms,2 bathrooms, kitchen, washer/dryer in the condo, multiple pools to choose from etc.

We bought magic bands last year simply for the ease of ride photos (have to scan the card after every ride that offers that option vs automatically captured with MB) and being easy for FP and entry. Strictly speaking-no, you don't NEED them but they are nice-especially with multiple/younger kids.

We always rent a car-it is a DH thing-he drives all the time for work so driving is no big deal-and we lived there for 6 months (many years ago!) for our CP so the roads are familiar (even if they are much busier!! with many more restaurants and shops). We are renting a car this time as well. We passed long lines of people lined up for resort busses on way to our car-the kids could sack out in back seat in comfort-most condos in area aren't more than 20 minutes door to door.

There is no way I could justify paying Disney resort prices and taking off for a day to go to the beach (like we did last year).

No-we didn't feel we "missed the Disney bubble"-we had comfy beds for all of us and a good nights sleep was very important to us-but it will be nice to compare that with our upcoming trip; frankly I am a bit worried about all 5 of us in one room, one bathroom etc, but looking forward to the ability to split up and do different things if we want especially with the kids older.

I am looking forward to comparing onsite/offsite - doing both in June: onsite 6 days, week offsite at Marriott Sabal Palms(only 1 Disney day planned that week-planning on hitting other Orlando attractions)

 

[Monykalyn]

Thanks so much for starting this thread! We are staying off property for the first time and I am stressing about a few things, but particularly the new Fast Pass system. We stayed on property last year and were able to get FPs for most things we wanted, but worried now that this will be a problem. We have Magic Bands we can use, but have heard that we can only book 30 days out now. Is this correct? Thanks in advance!

Yes-30 days one at a time-bit of a pain really. I had no problems getting what I wanted 3 weeks out last year for late June-including A&E and SDMT-for 5 people. The times may not be what you want exactly at first but usually you can play with them and eventually get what works best for you.

 

[mshanson3121]

We're staying off-site as well. Largely due to cost - it's saving us over $2000 when you factor in the ability to be able to buy groceries and make meals, and the savings includes 3 ADR. But we also did not relish the idea of spending a weeK or more sharing a single room with the kids. No thank you. Disney or not, we plan on relaxing. So instead, we got a house in Glenbrook with a large private pool and games room lol. To me that sounds far more magical! We're driving so we don't need to rent a car. We are limiting afternoon breaks due to driving back and forth, but we would have anyways since the idea of transitioning my kids to the park, then back and forth a few times isn't all that appealing.

 

[momof2n2]

We're staying off-site as well. Largely due to cost - it's saving us over $2000 when you factor in the ability to be able to buy groceries and make meals, and the savings includes 3 ADR. But we also did not relish the idea of spending a weeK or more sharing a single room with the kids. No thank you. Disney or not, we plan on relaxing. So instead, we got a house in Glenbrook with a large private pool and games room lol. To me that sounds far more magical! We're driving so we don't need to rent a car. We are limiting afternoon breaks due to driving back and forth, but we would have anyways since the idea of transitioning my kids to the park, then back and forth a few times isn't all that appealing.

We've always stayed offsite. First in hotels, but now rental homes since 2003. We LOVE Glenbrook. Love the location.
We've never taken breaks. If I'm paying $X/day for park access I'm not leaving. It diminishes the return on my investment.

All that said, we've not been since FP+ started. We cancelled our WDW days last year over it and did BG/SW/Aq instead. (Was a blast.) Heading down next May and have reserved a campsite for our party of 10. $77/night and will cover our MBs and parking. It ends up roughly $25/pp to rent the site. (It helps justify the cost as we are a family of 8 and my mom & sister come, too.)

Edited to clarify the campsite is NOT where we are staying. We are renting in either Glenbrook or Champions Gate ( our other favorite).

 

[Disneyliscious]

Off site stayer here too. When I was a kid my parents would stay at a Daytona Beach hotel and we'd drive to Disney. When I became an adult I decided to stay in Orlando near the parks and accidentally came across VRBO. Have never looked back. I have always rented a private home and never paid more than $100 per night. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full size in ground pool and hot tub. It was great. Everyone had their own space. For our upcoming trip I've rented a 3BR, 2BA condo in Windsor Hills right next to the pool. First time doing a condo but the bf wanted access to a gym. We won't have a lot of down time this trip so a private pool won't be an issue but we will still have the freedom of everyone having their own space. And, I got it for $89 per night. You can't even stay in a hotel for that.

Some people dont like the idea of cooking while on vacation because they say it makes it not like a vacation. For me, it makes it more of a vacation. I'm not preparing 5 course meals when Im staying off site. We're doing chili dogs, pizza, burgers, or maybe grilling out for an evening. Can feed a family of 5 a meal for $20 if you do something like chili dogs versus $150 for a sit down meal in the parks (or even $75 for a quick service). So we mix it up. We do some nice ADR's and offset it by eating cheaper meals at the condo too. It balances out and saves a TON of money over having to buy food in the parks all the time.

If we're in a hotel room and I want to nap, everyone else has to whisper. At a condo or private home I can go to my own bedroom and everyone else can do whatever. Its a win - win.

The only thing I am considering doing differently this time is spending our first night at the campgrounds so we can get magic bands and FP+ at 60 days for our trip. I'm still researching if your FP+ is tied to the length of your tickets or if its for your Disney stay alone. But if us staying on site for one night means we can book our FP+ 60 days in advance (versus 30 for all other off site guests) then yeah, we'll be doing that this time around. This is our first trip since FP+ was implemented.

 

[maggiew]

The only thing I am considering doing differently this time is spending our first night at the campgrounds so we can get magic bands and FP+ at 60 days for our trip. I'm still researching if your FP+ is tied to the length of your tickets or if its for your Disney stay alone. But if us staying on site for one night means we can book our FP+ 60 days in advance (versus 30 for all other off site guests) then yeah, we'll be doing that this time around. This is our first trip since FP+ was implemented.

You can book FP+ for the length of stay of your tickets, not the length of stay of your resort reservation.

You can book your check-in and check-out day at 60 days from check-in. But after that, you book at 60 days from each of the remaining days of your ticket - one day at a time.

Maggie

 

[momof2n2]

Off site stayer here too. When I was a kid my parents would stay at a Daytona Beach hotel and we'd drive to Disney. When I became an adult I decided to stay in Orlando near the parks and accidentally came across VRBO. Have never looked back. I have always rented a private home and never paid more than $100 per night. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full size in ground pool and hot tub. It was great. Everyone had their own space. For our upcoming trip I've rented a 3BR, 2BA condo in Windsor Hills right next to the pool. First time doing a condo but the bf wanted access to a gym. We won't have a lot of down time this trip so a private pool won't be an issue but we will still have the freedom of everyone having their own space. And, I got it for $89 per night. You can't even stay in a hotel for that.

Some people dont like the idea of cooking while on vacation because they say it makes it not like a vacation. For me, it makes it more of a vacation. I'm not preparing 5 course meals when Im staying off site. We're doing chili dogs, pizza, burgers, or maybe grilling out for an evening. Can feed a family of 5 a meal for $20 if you do something like chili dogs versus $150 for a sit down meal in the parks (or even $75 for a quick service). So we mix it up. We do some nice ADR's and offset it by eating cheaper meals at the condo too. It balances out and saves a TON of money over having to buy food in the parks all the time.

If we're in a hotel room and I want to nap, everyone else has to whisper. At a condo or private home I can go to my own bedroom and everyone else can do whatever. Its a win - win.

The only thing I am considering doing differently this time is spending our first night at the campgrounds so we can get magic bands and FP+ at 60 days for our trip. I'm still researching if your FP+ is tied to the length of your tickets or if its for your Disney stay alone. But if us staying on site for one night means we can book our FP+ 60 days in advance (versus 30 for all other off site guests) then yeah, we'll be doing that this time around. This is our first trip since FP+ was implemented.

Once for a short trip we stayed in a townhouse at Windsor Hills. The location rocked. Have a blast.

 

[robinb]

I have stayed both onsite and offsite. In fact, I'm considering staying offsite on my next trip.

I have a couple of suggestions for rope drop. At DHS rope drop often occurs before the scheduled opening time. I believe it's done to cut down on the Toy Story Mania stampede. So, plan on getting to DHS earlier and you'll be through the gates and on a ride before the official start time. At the MK when Disney resorts have morning EMH rope drop starts at the Ticket and Transportation Center. People queue up there and wait for the ferry since the express monorail does not open for rope drop. Choose to stand behind a gate closest to the ferry as possible. THe CMs will open the gates from the crowd's left to right and if you're waiting at the wrong end you probably won't be on the first ferry and may have to wait for a few of them before you can load.

 

[Squidgyness]

It's been a while since we went and stayed offsite (and it will be a long while till I'm back at Disney, if at all) but I thought I would chime in with my sparse thoughts even if they are somewhat out of date.

RE: Transportation, the taxi's that we took never ever charged for parking or anything of that ilk, sounds like they might be ones to avoid imo. I remember taking at least one taxt to the AK where we got dropped off not far from the entrance just after rope drop and we were not charged any extra, just the fare. We found it was best to take the scheduled shuttle from our hotel to a park (WDW, UNI, SeaWorld) and then get a taxi back when we had suitably exhausted ourselves We just couldn't put a price on a private, air conned vehicle driven for us so all we had to do was sit back and relax in some plush seats! Always found the drivers nicer in Florida than here too, but that's another topic entirely.

With regards to park strategy, really the only disadvantage is if you cant get up early enough for rope drop, though I cant speak for FP+ as I have never and likely will not ever want to use it.

Finally (and perhaps OT strictly speaking) I agree with the PP's extolling the virtues of rooms offsite. We got a 1 br suite with sofa bed (my own bed as a kid was something that I would have gladly traded any amount of Disney theming for. If your kids ever express disappointment or hope to stay onsite, I'd try and get them to think about the possibility of getting a suite and everyone having their own bed!) for less than a tiny room at Disney and the trade offs aren't that bad all things considered with regards to park strategies. That being said my next trip to Florida (far in the future) will likely be onsite... at Uni. That express pass is an entirely different matter all together.

I do hope this thread stays open, it's quite rare to see offsite focused tips on this board frankly.

 

[SandiKB]

We're hoping on going January 2016 and staying off site. Hubby racks up rewards points, so free is the only way to make it work lol. This will be the kids first time staying offsite, but its been so long since we've been they'll probably be happy staying in the van, as long as they're at Disney! I plan to take advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel some mornings and cook some dinners.

 

[Austintatious]

In terms of theme parks, we save so much money staying and eating offsite that we can add back in a rental car and annual passes to Universal and experience the best of both worlds. I know some people are adamantly opposed to driving while they are on vacation, preferring instead to wait for and use the buses but we enjoy the efficiency and greater flexibility provided by having a car available.

 

[mshanson3121]

OTE="momof2n2, post: 53715134, member: 159160"]We've always stayed offsite. First in hotels, but now rental homes since 2003. We LOVE Glenbrook. Love the location.
We've never taken breaks. If I'm paying $X/day for park access I'm not leaving. It diminishes the return on my investment.

All that said, we've not been since FP+ started. We cancelled our WDW days last year over it and did BG/SW/Aq instead. (Was a blast.) Heading down next May and have reserved a campsite for our party of 10. $77/night and will cover our MBs and parking. It ends up roughly $25/pp to rent the site. (It helps justify the cost as we are a family of 8 and my mom & sister come, too.)

Edited to clarify the campsite is NOT where we are staying. We are renting in either Glenbrook or Champions Gate ( our other favorite).[/QUOTE]

Great to hear about Glenbrook. Can I ask how long it takes driving time to get to the MK. parking lot?

 

[mesaboy2]

Most offsite/onsite implications of FP (30 or 60 days, all at once or day-at-a-time) can be found in the green link in my signature.

 

[momof2n2]

OTE="momof2n2, post: 53715134, member: 159160"]We've always stayed offsite. First in hotels, but now rental homes since 2003. We LOVE Glenbrook. Love the location.
We've never taken breaks. If I'm paying $X/day for park access I'm not leaving. It diminishes the return on my investment.

All that said, we've not been since FP+ started. We cancelled our WDW days last year over it and did BG/SW/Aq instead. (Was a blast.) Heading down next May and have reserved a campsite for our party of 10. $77/night and will cover our MBs and parking. It ends up roughly $25/pp to rent the site. (It helps justify the cost as we are a family of 8 and my mom & sister come, too.)

Edited to clarify the campsite is NOT where we are staying. We are renting in either Glenbrook or Champions Gate ( our other favorite).

Great to hear about Glenbrook. Can I ask how long it takes driving time to get to the MK. parking lot?[/QUOTE]

We always left early b/c we like parking close enough to not need trams & definitely do rope drop. The actual drive was 15-20 mins from driveway to parking spot. It's very comfortable.

Driving home takes longer. Harder to get out and the WDW highway labyrinth never ceases to confuse us even after tons of visits.

With GPS being what it is now the "secret" way into WDW is less secret. But going to AK was by far the fastest. Peek on maps. I'm on my phone now or I'd show what I mean.

 

[drgamera]

We're actually considering the crazy idea of a "throwaway" tent camping reservation at Fort Wilderness just for the cheaper MagicBands. Two days free parking plus four MagicBands plus a campsite we won't use (plus Extra Magic Hours we might not use, plus we're too late for earlier FastPass or ADRs to matter) for $84.38, versus two days paid parking plus four MagicBands for $88.91.

 

[Cyrano]

Folks please restrict your discussions to park planning.

Regarding throwaway rooms there is a thread for that
Discussions about off-site hotels, reward points should be post on Orlando Hotels and Attractions board

 

[larryz]

I'm glad this is a separate thread!

I also like the idea of this thread!

Like Cyrano said, you'd both LOVE this board that already has lots of discussions about how to integrate staying off site with visiting WDW. Click on the link to go over and have a look!

 

[dioxide45]

Glad this thread has come up. We are looking at a family reunion trip to Orlando and haven't been to Disney since 2009. It seems so much has changed. FP+ 60 days 30 days. It makes my head spin. Even though we have been to Disney more than a dozen times, it feels like we would be visiting for the first time.

We have a lot to learn it seems, but have a while to do it because this will be for 2018. Shoot, they are likely to change all the rules again before then.

I am a regular poster over on the "Offsite" forum. It is a lot of help but is really more about places to stay and eat. It will be good to follow this thread to learn how to plan park days when staying off site.