Advice needed: Offsite vs. AoA vs. Pop vs AS Music

[studiojmm]

So headed to Disney for 7 nights right after Labor Day (though we have some flexibility). I've never stayed on site (visited twice as a kid and once as an adult). I'm hesitant to do so and would love some advice based on our style of visiting . . . .

Last time we were there was in January (3 of us). We stayed offsite at an aging resort about a 15-20 min drive from the park entrances (much longer on marathon morning, but whatever). It had more amenities than your average motel but it was showing it's age. It was cheap, offered free breakfast, and more than met our needs. We got everywhere by Uber. We attempted the resort shuttle a couple times but it took at least an hour ON the bus before it got to either MK or Universal because of all the stops it made. We ate about 1 meal a day in the parks and otherwise ate a good breakfast at the resort and packed in snacks. (We are vegetarians, so that complicates things a little.) I have no problem with carrying a bag full of healthy snacks and dealing with the security check for that. What we liked about the hotel: quiet, close to grocery store, breakfast, hot tub. We also liked that we had a bedroom and sitting room in the resort so if someone stayed up late or got up early it wasn't an issue for the others. We did a few late starts (either doing their onsite mini golf swimming after breakfast) or early nights, but didn't go back to the resort at all during the day (kid has stamina). We did use the resort hot tub and/or pool almost every night, usually after 9 or even 10 pm.

So, this time the kid wants to stay on property (just 2 of us this time, she will be just shy of 10 and adult ticket cut off) and is in love with the theming at AoA. She would also LOVE the drawing class at AoA (I haven't told her about it) and is dying to try the Nemo pool (I haven't told her about the underwater music).

My concerns about AoA: $400 more than staying off site, loud because so many people, long walks, long waits for busses, questionable WIFI, not great food options for vegetarians and less convenient for food in the room (both less convenient shopping and no microwave, etc), and that we aren't going to spend THAT much time at the hotel anyway.

The kid also likes the look of All Star Music and Pop Century. Pop Century mostly has the benefit to me of walking over to AoA and doing the drawing class. Other than the 60 day FastPass+ window, I'm not convinced staying on site has benefits to us beyond theming.

Again, we are likely to do a couple late start days (arriving at parks at noon-ish) and a no-parks during the day on a Halloween party night (hopefully), so we do need to be comfortable in the room. I've warned her that if we stay on site, we might need to make some choices about other extra-cost things. We are tentatively doing breakfast at Cinderella's Castle and the Wonderland Tea Party, for example. She can be astoundingly reasonable so that might be sufficient and it's not like we're not visiting DISNEY.

We have two offsite options identified: one with a full kitchen but no breakfast, one with breakfast but only microwave/fridge/coffee in the room. Both have decent looking pools, hot tubs, fitness rooms, etc. and pretty good reviews. Kitchen one is very near a grocery. Non kitchen one is close to park entrances. Neither is within the Disney bubble, obviously. The combination of hotel + uber/airport transport is about what we save by staying offsite compared to AS Music.

We are not going to rent a car regardless of where we stay. Uber was just fine and was about the cost of parking in the resorts. We never waited for more than 15 min or so for our ride, usually less unless it was at park closing. I figure time to/from park/hotel is a wash when comparing off-site with Uber to onsite with Disney busses. We will spend a bit more on food if we stay onsite and I'm not inclined to pay extra for transportation too, so we'd be using Disney buses and Magic Express if we stay onsite.

So for AS Music, it's not really a question of cost, but of value (which is super subjective). For AoA (or even POP), the cost is more to stay on site. It comes down to how much the kid LOVES the theming and how much I'm willing to accommodate/pay for that. So thoughts? Specifically . . . .

• How much does the 60 day Fastpass+ booking window benefit us for early September? The only thing we couldn't get that we wanted between New Years and Marathon weekend was Frozen Ever After and, since the kid doesn't really care, do I care about FastPass+ windows? She opted to skip the attraction rather than do standby. We'll make the same choice this time - ride if we get FP or short wait, skip if not.

• For the resorts, how is WIFI? I'll probably try to get a couple hours of work done over the course of the trip (I run my own business, so sometimes it's less stressful not to let some things wait and just stay on top of them). I won't need to video conference or anything, but will need reliable email and web browsing. I know I'd be more comfortable working offsite (couches), but I'll live with motel setting if the WIFI is decent.

• How busy are the pools? How awesome or overrated are AoA pools compared to AS Music or POP? I'm assuming I won't be super sad not to have a hot tub in September because it will be plenty warm enough to want to swim in the main pool even after dark, yes? We both swam even in January, though we only did the hot tub on the 42 degree night (that was actually a kind of busy hot tub night since a bunch of hearty guests from Wisconsin checked in and they too were not deterred by the air temp). Though on some nights when the kid swam and I soaked, she'd go back and forth between the two.

Anything else I'm failing to consider?

 

[kmv]

After reading this I think you already want to stay off-site.

Let me say we have done both and I prefer, 100%, staying on-site. The buses have never taken me an hour either waiting or riding and they are free. (Did you factor in the cost of Uber verse free shuttle service?). Pop is usually the same price as the All-Stars so you may want to wait until fall promotions come out. I would easily stay at Pop. There is a huge food court, theme is great and the plus of staying on sit is awesome.

FP+ At 60 days you can pretty much get whatever you want at whatever times you want them. I have not stayed off-site since they switched to FP+ so I'm not positive how easy this is at 30 days.

I have never had an issue with WIFI on-site

Pools- Some are crazy busy sometimes, other times I have been the only one in the pool. At Pop my family went swimming at 3pm one day in the piano pool and we were the only ones in it.

 

[wagner1225]

We stayed ar AOA last trip and really enjoyed it, and that is saying we have stayed at many, many Disney resorts + Campground, you can't beat the theming , there are lots of kids, because thats whats its about, we were all adults, but the last trip was one our better ones, we did have a suite, buses were not a problem..

 

[Disneyland1084]

Though I haven't been to WDW yet, a few months ago I wasn't sure if I should stay on site or off. I started a thread here and 99 percent of the people who responded suggested I stay on site, and that's what I'll be doing in June.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Would you consider a split stay? Perhaps 3 or 4 nights onsite and the rest offsite? That way your DD gets to experience the theming, you can get your 60 day FP+ window, but you'll also have a less expensive, more comfortable offsite resort to go to as well? We stayed in AoA the year it opened and it was so uncomfortable (we stayed in a suite). The bedding was really uncomfortable, it was very loud and very chaotic. My DS was quite taken with the theming initially, but that wore off very quickly. If you don't want to do a split stay, perhaps visit AoA for a meal, walk around the resort and do the drawing class but keep your offsite resort stay. Honestly, I would rather stay offsite in a bigger more comfortable room than stay at AoA again.

 

[Branflakes]

•On site always whenever possible/manageable. Transportation, proximity,overall convienience.
•I have celiacs, and I don't eat meat and I have never had issues anywhere on WDW property finding something to snack or for a meal that fits my dietary requirements and personal choices.
And speaking of food, I'd seriously consider skipping CRT. It's just sooooo over rated in every way. It's overpriced and underwhelming. Doing Akershus, is imo, a duplication of effort sans the actual castle. Pick one or the other, like Akershus. Then maybe a different character breakfast.
•The wifi is always good. My husband loves Disney wifi. He has a very demanding job, and has to have solid wifi, if the need arises for work while we are at WDW. Also, even if it's not work related, he will b-itch and complain about wifi not being up to par. And Disney def is.
•Pools are huge at Disney, and even in the heat of summer, peak travel, the pools always seem enjoyable to us. So AFTER Labor Day will be really nice.
•Fastpasses. We are more fly by the seat of our pants Disney vacationers. We use fast passes for the rides that we want to ride that have the longest waits. Minimal planning, we like to just do what we want without being to attached to a specific agenda. But that's what works for us.
Either way, get those top fast passes at the very least.
Have a great trip!

 

[piglet1979]

We have stayed at All Star Music once. It was nice. It was labor day week and we went with free dining. It din't seem to busy. I only ever stayed off site once when I was a kid. I would much rather stay on site and be in the bubble. You can have food delivered to your resort so not being close to the grocery store may not be an issue.

 

[katmatry]

As long as the difference in cost is affordable, I would stay at AoA.
Just the other night we were sitting around the kitchen table discussing resorts. We have been many times and have stayed on property (value - deluxe) and off property. The one thing I said to my kids is that we would have stayed at AoA when they were little if it had been open. My daughter loved Ariel, she used to sing all the songs from The Little Mermaid and comb her hair with a fork.
You said a couple of times that your daughter LOVES the theme. Her joy would be worth every penny.

 

[JennyDrake]

While I am a meat producer, I do not eat meat that doesn't come from my farm. I've not had issues at ANY of the values finding a nice variety of things to eat. As you can see from my signature, I've had numerous stays at each of the values except AoA--I detested that resort. YMMV.....
I've a few stays off site and in short, never again.

 

[KSR0330]

We've stayed both on and off site. I'll never stay off site again! It's so much more convenient staying on site. When we stayed off site, it felt like we "left Disney" every day. Staying on site makes it much more magical for us!

 

[studiojmm]

We are now leaning toward staying at Pop Century. The kid is actually very, very compelled by the nostalgia theming (asked if she could bring a special outfit for each of the decades . . . um, sure) and she thinks she'll be satisfied enough by going to see the Nemo pool and decor across the lake.

I found something about there being microwaves and toasters for guest use in the food court. Does that mean Disney doesn't care if we bring our own food down to warm up and eat? That would be awesome because the kid won't eat eggs and cold veggie burgers are just not yummy. Our day goes a lot better if she gets protein in the morning. https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...entury-resort-disney-world-first-time-315875/ Can I also assume that we can easily get hot water in the dining hall? I imagine we'll buy some stuff in the food court, but access to hot water and simple cooking/warming up would help a lot with us getting healthy breakfasts and preparing snacks/lunches for the day.

(Even if there is a free dining promotion in the fall, I'm not sure we'd take it. We've already got tickets, so we'd have to buy 2 more days, which is more than we want and makes savings nil).

 

[DJFan88]

I agree with your new decision. A kid may be agreeable because what's in their nature, but deep down, I think she will be thrilled and remember you did this for her.
As an FYI: If you have the Disney app on your phone, you can get and change FPs when you're there. I had 1 Frozen FP booked last trip in busy August. But when waiting in lines, on busses, etc., would periodically check, and ended up riding it 3 times on FPs that week. For 2, you may be able to find something, as people switch FPs all the time, with the app.

 

[kwdw]

You can use the microwaves and toasters for your own food in the food court. I've definitely seen the family with the bag of bagels and tub of cream cheese in the food court using the toaster in the morning. I really haven't seen folks prepping TOO much stuff in the food courts - but I also rarely visit them myself. I bring my own coffeemaker when staying at a value - and that's all I need to make me happy in the morning. For protein in the morning - I get the already hard-boiled eggs you can buy from the supermarket. I also tend to eat sandwiches for breakfast when at Disney - again - buying lunch meat, cheese, bread, etc at the grocery store. You can store that stuff in frig in the room. Or - maybe I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast. I actually love breakfast in the room at Disney - its a calm way to start the morning. I've also heated water in my coffee maker to make instant oatmeal.

I never eat lunch in the room and I don't take lunch to the parks. I'm out and about at this time and I'm not going to carry stuff. I do occasionally pack some snacks - goldfish, fruit snacks, piece of fruit, some nuts - but I am very anti-carrying things. To be cheap - after a decent breakfast in the room - I might eat a junk food snack around noon - ice cream bar, popcorn, a pastry, stuff like that - and then eat an early dinner - maybe 4-5 pm. And then if I need more food before bed - there will be stuff in room to eat.

I think Pop is a great choice - it's cheaper than AoA - yet on property and I think a 10 year old will love looking around the resort - especially if you have never stayed on property.

On property stays and off-site stays feel VERY, VERY different. I've done both as a solo adult - and unless the trip is about more than Disney in the first place (so - a day or two at Disney is an add-on to a longer trip to Florida for other reasons) - I won't stay off-site again. It was actually a tad cheaper - but the free breakfast at the hotel was CHAOS compared to a Disney food court, the hotel pool was overcrowded and smaller, and driving back to the hotel at night even the few miles I was off-site just sucked.

 

[willmccready]

We stayed in the LM rooms at AOA last year and loved it. The theming at the hotel was great, you felt like you were still in the park. I thought the food was pretty good for a quick service, and pools were great. We paid less than 150 a night in April there last year which I thought was reasonable. Worth it to stay in the Disney bubble.

 

[Planogirl]

We continue to stay off-site and also on-site. It depends on pricing and what's available. On-site is more convenient usually but there are lovely off-site resorts with frankly better amenities too.

We did enjoy Pop for the most part. The only issue was the rock hard beds and the room being small but you might feel differently. However I will not stay at the All stars again. It was noisy and crowded and it's just not for us. We haven't stayed at AoA but it's as cute as can be. It's an easy walk from Pop.

 

[studiojmm]

Thanks for all the feedback and perspectives. It's really helpful.

For me the decision is about our overall happiness and food is a huge part of that for us. As vegetarians that don't eat a lot of carbohydrates with a kid who won't eat even vegetarian kid's menu staples like pizza or mac & cheese (entirely her preference), we need vegetarian proteins (mostly legumes) and lots of vegetables. So, we do better on a partial packed-meal plan and I personally have no qualms with lugging around a backpack with a fair amount of stuff in it. It takes a little planning, but it's worth it when the kid doesn't carb crash mid-morning or under eat and then spend the afternoon cranky. Last trip, we combined our packed meals (mostly snacking on the go) with a sit down meal (mostly character buffets) for either lunch or dinner and breakfast in the hotel (even then we supplemented my daughter's breakfast with a soy-sausage so she wasn't only eating cereal/muffins/waffle for breakfast).

A lot of the tips you'll read about traveling with kids has to do with keeping meals and sleep schedules stable so their moods can be too. With us, we found the kid pretty flexible on the sleep schedule as long as we feed her right.

I'm not too worried about staying in the bubble - in fact, I kind of like the break - but since my daughter LOVES theming and, once Uber costs are accounted, for the price is pretty comparable for the budget resorts, I'm inclined to stay on site if I can work out the rest of the lifestyle details. (I'll miss the hot tub from the offsite place, but the rest seems doable).

Now the only wrinkle is that my mom and dad might join us for all or part of the trip and, if so, we may be starting over again with the accommodations plan.