Any advantage to staying on site anymore?

[theparsons]

A few months ago it was obviously an advantage to stay on site so that you can get the FP+.....now that this is open to AP and even off site guests, is there any reason that you should stay onsite to make the FP+ experience different?

We have AP...prefer to stay offsite for the cost savings.....and back many months ago when the MB wasn't available unless you stayed on site, we were going to stay a couple nights onsite and get those perks, and then move offsite. Now that our trip is rapidly approaching, I'm thinking about NOT staying onsite. We got our FP+ because we have APs, our MB's have arrived....so tell me what reasons are there for us to stay onsite? I just want to be sure I'm not missing something before I cancel our hotel reservations.

Thanks!

 

[Itinkso]

Just a few that aren't too major:
Fp+ for BoG lunch, EMH, and bus transportation/free parking.

 

[minmate]

It comes down to what you consider a benefit. Here's some potential onsite perks:
DME if you are flying in

Free parking if you have a car

WDW transportation & bypassing TTC when using it to go to MK

60 day (vs. 30 day) FP+ Booking Window

WDW themed resorts & staying "inside the bubble" of magic

Ability to buy refillable resort mugs

EMH morning and evening hours

Easier to take midday breaks at your hotel (depends on distance of offsite hotel you are considering)


OTOH, potential offsite perks:
Larger room/nicer resort for cost (depends on what you choose)

Cheaper lodging

If you have a car, more flexibility to cut costs by eating/shopping off-site

Getting outside the bubble is a perk to some

Some have complimentary breakfast

Potentially closer to other Orlando attractions

 

[Aliceacc]

For us, it's:

- transportation, both from MCO and within WDW. No need for a car.

- the incredible convenience of being so close to the parks. We can walk to Epcot or DHS from the Yacht Club. More importantly, at the end of a long day we can walk back. Our afternoon breaks are easy to manage as well!

- the meal plan. I know that not everyone loves it, but we absolutely do!

- EMH. We always get parkhoppers, so early morning EMH are great!! Then, after an afternoon swim, we hop to a park with lower crowds.

- We haven't hit our 60 day FP+ window yet, but you KNOW I'll be on the phone as soon as I can on that day!

-The Disney bubble. From the moment we step into the DME line, until we step back onto the plane a week later, we're enveloped in Disney.

It's not right for everyone, but works so well for us.

 

[Donut23]

Mugs?

Disney transportation? The squeeze-on busses?

Naaaaaa...


Save your $$$$$

Stay at a better resort for half the price off property and go TWICE as often!

;-)

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think the big difference is whether you have a car or not. If someone doesn't want to rent a car, then onsite is the obvious choice and the onsite perks are significant. If you have a car and drive to the parks anyway, you don't feel like you are getting as many perks for staying onsite. JMO

 

[bigskip]

Mugs?

Disney transportation? The squeeze-on busses?

Naaaaaa...


Save your $$$$$

Stay at a better resort for half the price off property and go TWICE as often!

;-)

Do we have to give a reason, i prefer to stay on site, don't ask me to justify why, i just do.

 

[chrismb22]

It works for me and my family and I am a boat ride from the magic kingdom.

Also, I would rather go every three years and stay at a deluxe than every year and stay offsite. That's just what my family prefers. That's not a waste of money to me. That's how I vacation.

 

[katt789]

For me the huge advantage of onsite is not having to deal with a car! Free shuttle to & from airport &. To & from the parks plus emh makes it worth t!

 

[glocon]

While we prefer to drive ourselves, some do not have a vehicle so need the Disney transportation option. We have never partook of the meal plan, always choosing the discount for room only since that was always the bigger savings for us.
Although some stay as far away as possible from EM hours parks, we have done the early hours a couple of times and found the hours pre opening wonderfully uncrowded (although not long after opening the park was a mad house).

For us, the draw is the incredibly themed resorts. We have only stayed at POR, AKL and BC, but each was just better then the next, and we would stay at any one of them again. I'm not sure that you can get anything similar outside WDW. We do like to take time to enjoy the resort we are staying at, spending entire days to explore our chosen resort, and coming back to swim or eat at the resort mid-day.

We have stayed both onsite and off, and staying onsite just makes an already magical trip that much more magical.

We have actually had shorter trips to WDW in order to afford a trip at an on site resort, (AKL and BC- because it was that important to me to stay at those "dream" resorts) instead of a longer trip at a different resort.

So I guess it just depends on what is important to you and your family.

To us, it's not so much that there are actual perks other than the great resorts themselves.

 

[Jessica14]

We went off season, so the buses were great and uncrowded. We also use morning EMH which had been a huge advantage for us. Not dealing with the TTC is great as is saving the parking fee if we drive. Part of the fun is trying new places to eat, so having free dining or the meal plan as an option is a big deal to us as well. And, count me as just liking being part of the bubble!

 

[lizabu]

When I was at Epcot there was a CM that was talking about FP+ and it's availability to off site guests. He was saying that it was always part of the plan that FP+ be available to everyone. He was saying the advantage to staying at the resorts is the resorts themselves. He said one day you will have to be staying at a resort to be there. Basically scanning your MB to prove you are staying there to access the grounds. We all know to take this stuff with a grain of salt but there may be something to it. Disney may very well believe their resorts stand on their own and the theming and the service and the magic are enough of an advantage to staying on site.

 

[ericasatx]

Not needing a car is one of the big things for us. Our children are 4, 8, & 11. If 1-2 are tired, I can take them back to the room while Dad stays in the park with the other. Last trip we went with my sister and her children and we left the park in a different configuration every single day. My husband while it can take more time likes using Disney transportation from the moment we land until our departing flight takes off.

We also like the Disney Bubble

 

[CNYDisneyFan]

I like the idea of free parking at the parks. Also, I'm a huge shopper and the idea of having my goodies sent to the hotel for free so I don't have to lug everything all day is another major perk for me. I also love the EMH advantage.

 

[Wendybird55]

I totally understand how when you have an AP you want to get in as many tips as you can...so if staying offsite helps you do that why not?

We prefer onsite mostly for convenience of location...we fly down and prefer the convenience of ME from airport and internal transportation. Plus we tend to go when parks aren't open as late and afternoon breaks are nice and maybe it's just psychological, but it seems more of a hassle to take an afternoon break if you're staying offsite. Plus being a big Disney fan, I enjoy a "total" Disney experience.

We have APs and try to fit in additional trips if we can. One way we do it is by staying a value resort for shorter trips and renting DVC points.

But since you've stayed offsite before you probably have all your logistics worked out. If that's what you enjoy, that's what you should do especially if it means you can get an extra trip or two in during a year.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We drive and prefer the cost savings of offsite. Not interested in mealplans or waiting on buses, nor the "bubble" as we spend very little time outside the parks anyway.


But, I would love to have access to EMH.

 

[JimmyV]

All these "pros and cons" highlight (to me anyway), why staying at the Swan/Dolphin, or Bonnet Creek, or, soon, the Four Seasons is such a benefit. For example, at the S/D, you are still inside the bubble, still get to use Disney Transportation, still get to use EMH, but pay Moderate prices (and with a good discount, Value Prices) for Deluxe hotels. The only thing you lose is the +10 on the ADRs and the Magical Express transportation to/from the airport. At Bonnet Creek, you lose a few more of these perks, but the size of the rooms and price can get even better. Since Bonnet Creek has its own transportation arrangements, you don't really "miss" the Disney buses. And the dining options at these hotels is a step up from what Disney offers. With options ranging from the S/D, Hilton, Wyndham, Waldorf Astoria and the Four Seasons, it is hard for me to imagine ever staying "off property" ever again, and, frankly, it is becoming harder and harder to justify staying at a WDW Resort except for a couple of days as part of a split stay if I want to be at a monorail resort for a little while.

 

[PSUGuy]

All the obvious points have probably been covered but in addition, if you stay at an Epcot resort there's entertainment on the 'boards most (all?) nights and you can walk to 2 of the 4 WDW parks.

Bill From PA

 

[POOHsie]

FP+ was never a reason why we stayed on-site. That's only a temporary perk as OP mentioned. We used to be Florida residents and we always stayed off-site. It was about the budget, and at the time, Disney didn't have the moderates and values they have now. When Dixie Landings first opened we tried it. The proximity to the parks and the wonderful Disney theming were what hooked us. We've never stayed off-site since, except stays at the Dolphin and Swan. Many places advertise that they're 10 minutes from WDW. On a slow day they might be 10 minutes to the edge of Disney property, then it's more time to reach the theme park lots and get the tram to the park gates. That makes it time-consuming to take a mid-day break back at the resort. Off-site also has the problem of where to eat and the time you have to spend to get there. Disney solved many issues with their own affordable, close-in resorts.

 

[ShaggyB]

Its the disney bubble.

If thats worth your money, then stay on site... if not.... dont. Its that simple. The perks are minimal and dont really add up to the value of staying off site.

That being said, I prefer on site for the theme and the Disney Bubble. I dont want to leave the magic, nor do I feel the value gained is worth the loss of those 2 things. (Yes that means im putting near $1000 into those things)