Advantages Of On-Site Stay

[wee-haggis]

Nicely said ...C.Ann.

I have to agree with just about everything you said from the use of the car to go to other "non" Disney locations to....... the quietness and peacefulness of an off-site location.
I've experienced both and I have to say that my spending money at the parks (which is where 90% of our time will be spent....not the hotel!)is almost double what it would have been had I spent the extra money on an on-site hotel.
I can't speak for everyone but, when the 4 of us wake up early in the morning....we can't wait to get going to one of the parks and enjoy every minute of it!
We usually return to have a swim and get cleaned up before going back again to another WDW location till closing time.
Perhaps other folk spend more time at the hotels than we do and they would therefore get "more out of" the amenities on offer but as C.Ann says....the magic is at the parks...not the Hotels.
Just my humble opinion.

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by Mjasp
C.Ann...Well give us the name of this place. Is this the place with brightly colored cabins?

Yes - it's the pastel colored cabins.. Tropical Palms Fun Resort.. They have studios as well as the 2-bedroom cottages and according to the time of year you go their rates vary.. We were there last September and friends of ours were just there last month and absolutely loved it..

It's SUCH a relaxing atmosphere.. My son-in-law is STILL raving about it and believe me, he is NOT easy to please!

 

[AZKathy]

I think the best is DISNEY MAGIC right now.

I was not happy with EE going away only for getting Fantasyland done at MK; did not use it any where else, but that was a big plus for us with little kids. I have not taken advantage of the Character Caravan, yet.

Our last trip in May was very disappointing with the loss of e-ride nights for the entire month. We plan our time at MK with an evening at e-ride night for the big rides. It was a big loss for our family, although I know a lot of others don't miss it.

Transportation is nice, but if we get a rental car during our stay, we use the car for different needs such as going to other resorts easier.

Being a member of DVC, we don't have to pay too much attention to the costs of rooms compared to outside WDW. When I did check, I thought the prices were kind of high; we went off site for a weekend and stayed in Kissimmee in a nice off site for a few nights. (That weekend I did miss that wonderful DISNEY MAGIC!!! )

 

[new_yawka]

Having done both off-site and onsite many times (and having never come away with less than a smile on my face), I am enjoying this discussion.

What I believe I am taking from this (which is not dissimilar to my thoughts previously), is that there are great off-site options, which can add there own twist on a magical vacation and that Disney on-site resorts provide many with a feeling that they are getting an "all-in-one" vacation experience.

Having done (and enjoyed) both, I would suggest that it simply speeks to the wonderful variety of experiences available in a vacation experience in the greater WDW area. Clearly there is no answer (but some individuals will have answers for themselves), if there were an answer neither Disney nor offsite resorts would continue to be built, but alas, both have significant benefits and appeal to different vacation styles.

Although I am unlikely to stay at an off-site hotel any time soon (my parents now own a home in the area), I believe people will get the most out of Orlando by trying each. Having been immersed in the Disney vacation experience my whole life, it is hard to step back...but I guess one interesting question would be:

"If you are only going to visit the Kissimmee/St.Cloud area once, where should you stay to have the most fulfilling vacation experience?" Once again, maybe there isn't one answer, and I cannot possible answer it, except from my biased "disneyitis" laden position, but it is curious...

 

[MJames41]

I think it all depends on what you are looking for. For me, unless I'm doing something other than Disney, then I will always do everything I can to stay on site, especially if my kids are with me.

I have two teenagers, and when we stay on site, I don't have to worry about them as much if they decide they want to stay longer at a park than I do, or if they want to stay in the room for whatever reason. This happened on our last trip, my son was feeling great and wanted to lay down for a bit. We set meeting spots for each hour, in case he wanted to join us later and he went and stayed in the room til he felt better. He joined us about an hour before the park closed - just in time for E-Ride night. Would not be able to do that off site.

E-Ride night itself (if they have any when you are there) is worth it. That you can't do staying anywhere else.

If I was going to visit other attractions, then staying off site would hold more appeal, especially at some of the nicer ones (I like the idea of that cottage). But I don't really want to go anywhere else, so I'm happy on-site.

 

[buzz2400]

I don't think it is worth staying onsite anymore. We just came back from All Star Music. Because of the shorter hours, we did not have the time to come back midday and rest. We stayed at the parks until closing and then came back to the hotel and went to sleep. I think my son went in the pool twice (we went for a week). We stayed at a Hampton Inn the first night for half the price and got free breakfast. If they don't give back EE I will not stay onsite. I was "sick" every night thinking about how I was paying about $100 for the room and not using the facilities. My feeling is that the "magic" is very slowly disappearing.

 

[denisem]

I voted "other".

For myself (been on-site and off)...I'm now a rental home convert. You get much more for your money. (Private pool with no ducky doo-doo, for one )

However....I've had the good fortune of visiting WDW enough to be comfortable driving the area. Prefer having my own car. We have dinner at various WDW resorts each trip to get a "glimpse" of their theming/offerings/"magic".

OTOH, I totally recommend on-site to newbies to WDW (or after a long respite), and those seeking a driving-free vacation or total immersion into Disney.

Denise < ---- actually visited 10 days in July and didn't go to one park...but confesses we're thinking of relocating, so we concentrated on that

 

[DeeP]

the magic is at the parks...not the Hotels

There is plenty of magic at the hotels!!!! Just walk around the Poly at night with the tiki torches lit and the ability to watch the MK fireworks from the beach, or walk around the Epcot resorts at night and see the light reflecting off the water, the Friendship boats pulling in, the entertainment on the boardwalk, or go sit in the GF and listen to the piano player while you are relaxing with a nice drink, etc., etc. Believe me there most certainly is a lot of magic at the Disney hotels. I have stayed off site 2x in so many trips to WDW I can't even count them and I would never stay offsite again. It is simply not the same vacation when you stay off site.

 

[Daisimae]

The first trip I ever took to WDW without family, I booked a room off-site. There were not value or moderate resorts then and I didn't want to spend $$ on the others. We booked a room at a US 192 hotel. When we got there we found it was a dump and we were stuck there for at least one night! When we left Sea World that first day, I ended up driving up and down US 192 looking for a decent room that we could afford. We actually went into the hotels and inspected the rooms, to see if it was decent before we made a reservation for the following night.

The next year CBR opened and since I had family who always stayed on-site and told me that the rooms were consistent. I booked there and was very happy with the room and housekeeping. So I wouldn't stay anywhere else but on-site.

The next benefit I got hooked on was the transportation. I was accustomed to traveling with a bunch of girlfriends who were curious about WDW and wanted to go, but, were not full-fledged Disney nuts like I am. Usually, they didn't like to get up early, didn't want to stay late and wanted to go back to the room to watch TV or nap. I didn't want to do any of these things and having WDW transportation meant that we didn't have to rent a car and pay extra for two drivers, or argue about who was going to drive. It also meant that we could go our own way and meet up with each other when we wanted too. Making the trip more enjoyabe for all of us.

When DH and I first went to WDW two years ago. I didn't know how he would like it. I knew that we wanted to go to US/IOA and Sea World and I knew the likelyhood of that happening while we we on Disney property was almost nil. I had planned to go to US on other trips and always took the easy way out of not leaving Disney property. This trip we split the stay and stayed off-site first, then went to POFQ. It worked out well.

Now that there are reasonably priced, close hotels in DD that have transportation to Disney I would stay in one of them for my whole trip. Courtyard is a preference of mine, because of the quality of hotels I found in other cities. When we go anywhere else, I always look for a Courtyard or Fairfield Inn. In my experience they have been consitent. Transportation to the parks is more imporant than ever becauase we don't like to rent cars and I need to use a scooter in the parks. The busses keep DH from having to lift the scooter and gives me independence since I can't lift the scooter at all.

Also I've still found that although DH likes WDW, he still prefers to go in earlier than I do. So he can leav and go back to the room and I can stay in the parks. That would not be possible unless we stay on-site. So now we spend the first few days off-site, doing full days at the other parks, using Mears to get to them with the scooter. Then we move to Disney were we can slow down and still enjoy ourselves. Sinve we fet groceries during out TTC stop, we aren't held hostage by the cost of food, for every meal, on-site either. It's the best of both worlds.

Daisimae

 

[Lisa P.]

Buzz & Denisem expressed similar opinions to mine. Overall, for most purposes, I prefer very nice offsite resorts. For the same money as a Disney Value motel, we get much, much better accommodations offsite. I don't like the All Stars much (tacky, noisy, crowded, student groups, no hot tub or shade at the pool, turbo-toilets, strangers peering into your only window, which doesn't open, as far from MK or AK as an offsite hotel). And I cannot stand seedy, unsafe-feeling, rundown, offsite strip motels. Comparing those to a nice offsite or onsite hotel is a true disservice to anyone reading. There are specific situations that lend themselves to staying in a Disney hotel:

--- no car for driving or hate to drive
--- special need for frequent returns to the room (medical, infant, etc.)
--- need to split up with travel group regularly (tho a taxicab is possible)
--- very short trip (maximum convenience) or solo traveler
--- special trip with a special hotel theme desired
--- money is not a concern
--- strongly desire room charge privileges or e-night, when available
--- don't mind missing all the nice area restaurants outside Disney, USF/IOA, Sea World, Florida beaches, other attractions & mini-golf, shopping outlets, reasonably priced grocery/pharmacy/gift shops, etc.

EE, most e-nights & room delivery are no longer offered (just resort gift shop delivery, with limitations). Park-front package pick-up and home shipping are available to everyone. Major credit cards are accepted wherever room charges are taken. Driving is as fast from nearby offsite as from onsite hotels.

With shortened park hours, a nicely landscaped resort pool area with hot tubs and poolside food service, other resort activities for the kids, a spacious 2BR/2bath suite and easy access to nearby (lower priced) mini-golf and entertainment are all more useful & appreciated than they used to be. Together, these things add "magic" and enjoyment to our family trips. We can't get all that for under $700 per week onsite. LOL! So for us, offsite usually wins.

 

[wee-haggis]

LisaP...its looks like we are in the minority (at least according to the poll.......but then again,I would guess that the thousands of folk who use off-site hotels would most likely not be on this message board in the first place).

I think I can sumarize by saying that whatever you prefer,nobody will change your way of thinking.I have tried both and if you are somewhat limited to the $ you have available at your disposal,then I think off-site is the only way to go.
We are compromising this year by going to both, so I will be eager to report back as to whether the extra $ spent on AKL was worth it.....mmmmmm
I think I can safely say that AKL will definately be superior to the other CILBV hotel we are going to ....but the question is......
Is it 4 times better (ie:accomodation is 4 times more expensive).
LisaP also brought up some other good points including the fact that there is a multitude of other activities and locations to visit in and around Orlando that would require a car but it seems that the majority of on-site patrons choose not to hire one.
This is JMO ...but to me ,the magic is walking down MSUSA,meeting all the characters around WDW,watching the kids faces light up during the fireworks or Spectromagic,the rides and attractions ...etc,etc.
I would calculate that (other than sleeping) we are probably only at the hotel for 5% of our waking hours and for us....that just does'nt justify the extra costs of most WDW resorts........
As fantastic as they obviously are!