We stayed offsite for our first trips to Disney World until last year because we really thought that staying on property was just something that was out of our budget. As much as we planned to cook meals at the condo and save money on food and room, etc, it actually ended up costing us more. I don't cook and after a day at the park my husband wasn't too keen on cooking either so we either ate at the parks or in restaurants more than we planned. When we add that to the cost of driving 40+ miles to the parks each day and paying parking and the time spent being shuttled from the parking lots to the parks... let's just say the resorts really made a difference for us. Having said that, if I hadn't been eligible for
free dining I wouldn't have purchased a dining plan at all and would have just budgeted meals and done a lot of sharing and bringing our own snacks.