1st time for WDW, have some????

[hannah03]

Is it REALLY any BETTER to stay off site and eat off site? I know it might be CHEAPER, but...This will be our 1st trip to WDW and we will only have 4 days in the park as it is. I feel like we might be pressed for more time if we stay off site. We will be driving from Oklahoma since my husband WILL NOT fly and we will have our 2 yr old and 11 yr old.
Any opinions welcomed!! Please I am left planning this alone and I'm really confused! I'm leaning toward a MYWP plus DINING, but would like to know the real BENEFITS first!!

TIA

 

[luv2nascar]

the magic offsite is just not there for us. If I had to stay off site or not go yes I would stay offsite. But staying onsite is great. You really do not need a car. Much quicker and easier to get to parks and back again. We have only been once in 2000 for 2 weeks (1 week onsite and 1 week offsite for universal and other things). We are heading back in June 2005 and staying on site.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[brivers222]

I have camped on-site, stayed in a hotel off-site and stayed in hotels On-site. I must say you are immensed in the magic of disney the second you pass throught the welcome gates. When you stay off-site, sometimes cheaper, you are not around disney 100% and frankly the quality and attention to detail is just not there.

Now as for eating off-site. Before our last trip I was all about saving dough and eating at a cheaper place. However, after eating at Pizza Hut outside of Disney my wife got a wicked bout of food poisoning and we were out of commision for 2 days of our 10 day trip. I ended up having to make 3am trips to walmart for a whole bunch of items.

That may be a limited a case but for me that is enough to say I will eat onsite all the time now.

When you stay on-site you are in Disney WOrld all the time, the magic is all around so even though you are only having 4 park days it will feel like much more. You are just a short (sometime long) bus ride to the parks.

BTW we drive 21 hours from Michigan (my DW doesn't like to fly). Even though you don't need a car if you stay onsite, it sure came in handy when my wife got sick to be able to go out and get items w/o paying the "HOTEL PRICES" or waiting for a towncar to pick me up.

 

[Disney_1derland]

I vote stay on-site, stay at a Value and skip the dining plan. I'm still up in the air on the dining plan. It's a LOT of food and I feel like I spend the entire time eating. Especially during hot weather it is rare that I want to eat that much. We enjoy our sit down meals at lunch to save money. We split entrees to save money. We had lunch at the Plaza pavilion last week and the kids meal with two small hamburgers would have been enough to feed both me and my daughter. The adult meal to split would have been enough for me and my dh. You can really save money that way and still have room for dessert

Now, if you really like extravagant eating, then the dining plan is worth it, I just know that for us personally we spend less when we do without it. We eat breakfast in the room (cereal bars, pastries or whatnot) and lunch and dinner out. In our 4 day trip dd and I spent less than $30 a day on food (one day we only spent $18 the whole day because we shared meals!)except for the days where we did character meals which were right around $50 a day.

Read the menus at the places you plan to eat and total up what it will cost your family to eat in a typical day, then see if the dining plan is really worth it to you.

 

[EthansMom]

Personally, I prefer to stay on-site, especially with kids.

I once stayed and ate off-site at the urging of family members whom we were meeting up with on the trip. By the time you spend 30-45 minutes getting to the place you wanted to eat and then wait 45 min. for a table, you're talking about over an hour missing from your vacation.

Also, the dining plan has never proven a great savings for my family. We don't drink sodas, eat appetizers, or order dessert with every meal. Also, we like to eat 3 meals a day. On the dining plan, my family would feel overfull after eating all of the food from our dining plan meals and then start to get peckish at the time of the third meal. So, I budget my own money for dining and just pay as we go.

One hint, if you go with staying on-site, ask about AAA rates -- the AAA rate will often make it worthwhile to get a AAA membership, if you don't already have one.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Is it REALLY any BETTER to stay off site and eat off site? I know it might be CHEAPER, but...This will be our 1st trip to WDW and we will only have 4 days in the park as it is. I feel like we might be pressed for more time if we stay off site.

You are wise to think of this ahead of time. Four days will fly by, the last thing you want to do is waste any time outside of WDW when there's so much to see and do inside! Friends of ours just came back from their first trip. They stayed outside because they got a "good deal". She reported when she returned they couldn't wait to go back again but they will definitely stay on site in the future.

Remember: time and money are directly related when it comes to WDW. You can't save one without spending the other. It may cost a bit more to stay onsite (though not necessarily) but IMO it's worth it.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

If you can, I would definitely stay on-site. Maybe in one of the values. I think the MYW dining is really worth it. Plus I think the fact of having your big meals pre-paid is one less thing to worry about on vacation.

 

[Metro West]

Staying onsite is definately the way to go if possible. However, you WILL get spoiled and will want to stay onsite on all future trips as well. Believe me..My family stayed at the Contemporary the first five trips to WDW and I really got spoiled..until I had to start paying the bill! And then it was Motel 6 and the like for me.

 

[Mad4Dizne]

IMHO, staying on-site for 1st trip and short trips is a must!!! That way you are in the Magic right from the get go. You can take a break from driving everywhere, if you wish and use Disney Transportation everywhere...and the rates for the value resorts can be really good!!! (We enjoyed AS Music--have heard alot of great things about POP).

Whatever you decide, have a Great Trip!!!!
Flo

 

[jstbcuz]

Hi neighbor (Im from KS). We have always drove on vacation, whether it be to Yellowstone, MT Rushmore, Tennessee, Pennsylvania. Last year was our first time to WDW and we flew. We stayed onsite and took advantage of the transportation offered by Disney. I think you will be in the car long enough going and coming. Take some time off and let them take you there and not worry. It was one of our most relaxing vacations and we decided it was because we did not have all the driving.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[eeyoresmountainpals]

We have stayed both on and off the property and I would definitely vote for staying on-site. The money you may say in an off-site hotel isn't worth the time of traveling back and forth to that hotel. And like so many others have already said, staying on-site you feel that Disney magic from the moment you arrive.

Many off-site hotels offer free transportation to and from the parks but before you jump in thinking that's the same as what Disney hotels offer, make sure it's unlimited transportation and that it isn't scheduled and/or shared transportation. Many off-site hotels offer the transportation but only at certain times. That doesn't help you out much if you want to leave the parks at 2:00 and the bus doesn't come until 4:00! Disney buses circulate conitinuously. Also, many off-site hotels "share" their transportation with several other hotels, i.e. one bus for several hotels going to and from all of the parks. This can be very time consuming if you get on the bus and then have to go to all of the other parks and maybe two or three other hotels! And lastly, many of the hotels that offer transportation don't even have buses, they use vans. If you get a family like ours (three adults and three kids) in front of you there's a good chance there might not be enough room for your family and you'll have to wait for another van to come by! Driving yourself is an option since you'll have your own car but you'll have to pay for parking each day (about $7) so factor that into the amount you're "saving" by staying off-site. You lose so much time staying off-site that it really isn't worth the $$$ difference, especially now with the value and moderate resorts that Disney has.

As far as food goes, we don't do the dining plan simply because it doesn't look right for our family. However, we have found that you can eat very econmically at the parks and at most of the hotels. Disney is very generous with portions and there is nothing at all wrong with sharing meals. Disney seems to be used to this. Sometimes we do some sharing, sometimes we don't. Even if we aren't sharing we can still eat without paying a fortune. If you're not already familiar with it, there is a site called All Ears Net. It has all the menus and prices for all the retaurants in the parks and the hotels. Spend some time looking over the menus and you'll see you can eat at some places for the same price as off-site restaurants. The link for All Ears Net (for the menus) is:

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

Good luck with your decision and hope you have a wonderful time!!!

 

[MazdaUK]

Has to be onsite! We stayed onsite for 2 weeks, and for that length of time did find it necessary to eat offsite not just for economy but also variety, but if we'd only been there 4 days then I honestly can't see a problem staying onsite the whole time - there's a huge range of stuff available in different price ranges. Having said that, we tended to only eat 2 meals a day and keep going the rest of the time on fruit, dry cereal/breakfast bars etc., and generally only one meal would be the full sit-down. Its therefore worth (I think) staying in a moderate (so as to get the free fridge) and stocking up on milk, Pringles etc. at the supermarket on the way so as not to waste precious Disney time once you're there We bought just 2 refillable mugs between the 4 of us (they are very big for those used to British helpings ) so morning and evening tea and coffee were taken care of plus sodas by the pool (its really not worth bothering with the tiny coffee makers in the room - you use each mug at least 4 times it pays for itself - shame beer isn't included ). Also, staying onsite means you can maximise your available hours using extra magic hours, and if you get tired you can hop back to your hotel for a swim and a rest then return to the park later. Or you could go to a different hotel for lunch and then just have light snack for supper in the park.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

You will definitely get more room for your dollar if you stay offsite. If you compare the room you get for the rate that you pay, Disney's rooms are much smaller and have fewer ammenities. You might also find that some offsite hotels are closer to the Magic Kingdom than the AllStars. Plus, with the shared transportation between all of the AllStar resorts, it can actually take longer to get to some of the parks from there than from an offsite resort that you drive from yourself.

With a Disney resort, you're also paying for pixie dust and customer service. The value that one places on those two things varies from one individual to the next. I prefer to stay onsite but I've also been in a few offsite hotels as well, with mixed reviews. I know that if something goes wrong at a Disney resort, they will make it right. I cannot same the same for some offsite resorts. I got the impression at some offsite locations that they figured you weren't going to be coming back anyway so why try to make you a happy customer. What they didn't know was that upon returning home, I let 69,000 of my best friends know not to head there for their Orlando vacations.

If you decide to go offsite, research the resort well before you book. Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.com and ask questions on the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Southern4sure]

The Value resort Pop Century does not share bus services with the other value resorts. Im not sure about the time factor, but I recommend Pop Century.

 

[prncess674]

Is your family used to staying in "Deluxe" resorts? (Think full service Hilton, Westin, Marriott) or are you a Hampton Inn, Courtyard type of family? You mention you are only going to be in the parks for four days. What is your budget? is staying onsite even in your budget? Since you will already have your own car staying off site might not be a horrible thing. I realize that some will disagree but I need to get away sometimes from all things Disney. I get tired of $3 cokes and $10 hamburgers. Too much WDW can be overwhelming to kids.

 

[tazdeb]

I have been to Disney over 20 times. I've camped there, stayed at the GF,YC,BW and all of the moderates. We,ve also stayed offsite at HIFS, Gaylord Palms, Hyatt etc.... THERE IS MAGIC OFFSITE....However, you only have one "FIRST" trip to WDW. I say since you have a car stay onsite. That way you can expierience the Disney magic but if it overwhelms you or if the prices drive you crazy, you can drive offsite and eat at Pizza hut, Applebee's etc.... If you stay only offsite for many years,then stay onsite and find out its so much better, you'll be mad for staying offsite all those years. By staying onsite your first time you will expierience the MAGIC memories that will last a lifetime. Then the next time......the magic of saving money and staying LONGER might over take you. Then stay off site and compare........JMHO........TAZ

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It appears from the OP's countdown she will be going in Value season. If so, then it isn't necessarily more expensive to stay onsite, some good deals can be had: values at $55/night; mods at $79/night using codes; or if she wants to add MYW dining she could book a package using AAA and get a discount on the whole thing (even though technically she'd be paying rack rate). We did it this way on our last trip and it came out to about the same as the room only using a code and we didn't have to worry about going offsite for anything.

For four of us we paid $1721.00 for six nights at Pop Century which included MYW base tickets and MYW dining (as well as a few freebies from AAA including preferred parking at the parks) and for us it was a good deal. We used the buses to go most places and spent virtually no extra money on food. We never went offsite and instead had more time for EMH and fun in the parks. Best of all we had no worries about where we were going to eat or how much it was going to cost us.

To me it was a great deal and I encourage the OP to check it out too.

 

[marylou]

Our first trip I wasn't sure I was going to get a 2nd so we stayed onsite and did the parks commando style. Not a wasted moment in the day.
Our second trip we stayed off site at a house that was "5 min" from WDW. Nice house but we are directionally challenged and could never seem to make it there or back in 5 min. Especially since there was construction. It was nice to be able to make some meals but I was not able to take any down time during the day or take advantage of EMH like with the 1st trip. E nights were great!! We are going to camp next year when we go so will have the best of both worlds. And you can rent RVs down there which we are pondering rather than driving it down from Canada

My vote is stay on site!!

 

[disneymac]

We've stayed off site and on site - I can honestly say that IMO there is nothing like staying in a Disney resort! We stayed at All Star Music and loved it. Using their transportation, the EMH, the customer service... can't be beat. We also didn't see any big savings in staying offsite, but there are so many things that factor into that - I'd recommend talking to a travel agent to find out exact $$$, if that's your biggest concern. Whatever you decide you will have a wonderful trip because you're going to WDW!! Have fun.

 

[Grand Canyon]

I think it's really true - you are going to spend time or money.
If you're only going for four days and it's your first trip I say "Go onsite". Our AAA only offers 1 day and 4 day passes and we buy annuals but all the advice on the AAA is great. You do need to ask for the Diamond pass but it's well worth it! We have a Diamond pass - which we will pass on to others when our vacation is over in June. We are a family of five and always drive to Florida. One time we flew and rented a car and hated the limitations. Enjoy!