My co-worker is booked for her 1st ever trip to WDW on May 4-12th. There are a guaranteed 8 people going (6 adults, 2 children) with the possibility of 2 additional adults....making 10 in total
Is there an existing thread that discusses the Pros/Cons of staying on or off site?
With 8 they could get 2 adjoing rooms @ a Value resort, but with 10 people what are their otions for staying on site? Price is be a major consideration in that the condos they have looked at are less expensive than staying on-site.
I think they'll be closer to the "magic" by staying on-site - especially with this being their 1st trip.
Hi DisneyRookie2007
I'll chime in with my $0.02. First off we're fans of staying on-site. We've stayed on site 4 times now and really really enjoy the experience. When I go on vacation I like to worry as little as possible about the logistics. I don't want to have to worrry about driving, directions, cooking, finding restaurants, exhausted kids, etc... It's a vacation and you should be having a ton of fun or a ton of relaxation time. Doing on-ste Disney takes a lot of those things that you would have to worry about being off-site away.
I think Disney does a good job of trying to do a lot of that stuff for you. It starts when you first get on the plane where you and your luggage are just transported to your resort, no worries of car rentals, maps, directions, limos. Things are taken care for you from the start.
There is a lot to be said in being able to get up early and go to the parks before the off-site guests are allowed in, having a ton of fun, and then when the kids start to get tired head back to the resort for an afternoon swim, nap, whatever. Then to be able to head over to the Boardwalk or back to the parks for dinner and night time fun is really awesome. This you do not do off-site. You come in with and when the cattle do, stay later because you know you won't be returning, leave when you kids are exhausted and fight your way back through the parking lot traffic to your offsite hotel/condo. If you have to take an off-site hotel shuttle, well, be careful, some are ok and some are really bad. There's nothing like waiting 30 minutes or an hour or even longer if you are not on thier schedule. We experienced this with our last trip being a spit stay with the Gaylord Palms resort. A great resort but bad shuttles.
We really enjoy the theming of the Disney restauraunts and resorts. You really do feel like you are transported to some other place. Just for an example AKL, now THAT is an experience. You are truly transported to Africa, with the sweet smell of brush fires in the distance as you walk up from the parking lot, the grasses, the animals, increadible theming of African artifacts, dark woods, hidden Mickey's, etc, etc, etc... This you do NOT get from a condo.
On our last trip we stayed at the WDW Dolphin. On a couple of our nights we had dinner in and toured some of the other resorts. Wow, that was a lot of fun and a really neat experience and definitely something that we could and would not do staying off site.
At night we also walked to Epcot and hung out on the Boardwalk and enjoyed the shops, watched the entertainers walking around doing magic, cool feats with swords, etc, etc for for kids and kids at heart. Heading over to Beaches and Cream (at the BC) is really fun especially if you or you see a family order the "Kitchen Sink" for desert. A really fun 1950's malt shop with the best milkshakes and hamburgers. THese are just a couple of examples and there are hundreds.
What Disney does or staying on-site at Disney does is give you an experience, a truely emersive show. It's so much more than just going to an amusement park for the day. That's really the true magic of staying on-site.
For sure you can save some money being off-site but really you are missing a lot, really a lot. I think that's why a lot of people on this board keep saying that when they go to WDW they truly get away from the rest of the world. You feel apart of a special community inside. It is so true as there is so much to experience that you don't get to see being off-site.
For your first trip, stay on-site. You will love it. If you can fit it into your budget try a moderate or deluxe resort (or the WDW Swan/Dolphin especially if one of you is a nurse or government worker).
A.