who is throwing their money away by staying on property.
Most of our extended family and friends prefer staying off property because they just think staying on property is too expensive (in their defense, most have more than 2 children and Disney does not have a ton of affordable options for families of 5 or more who are not DVC members). Instead, they prefer renting a home or condo off-site.
Part of this, in my experience, not only boils down to family size and budget but also vacation style. Most of our extended family and friends' Orlando vacations not only include Disney, but also, Universal, Sea World, the beach, etc. (the way they see it, if you're going to spend a lot of money flying your family to Florida, might as well pack in as much as possible). In contrast, we pretty much just do Disney (and go at a much slower pace overall).
Specifically, we view WDW as a resort that just happens to include theme parks and, along those lines, typically only spend mornings (and sometimes early afternoons and evenings) in the parks, while spending most of the afternoon at our resort (e.g., at the pool, etc.), followed by a nice, table service dinner. For our family, this provides a nice balance of entertainment and relaxation (and we enjoy the detached-from-reality feel that the Disney bubble provides).
When we tell most of our friends and relatives about our WDW vacation style, they think we're too focused on Disney, unncessarly spending too much time and money there, while missing out on everything else central Florida has to offer. While I understand their perspective, I've done Orlando vacations their way and personally don't find that style to be nearly as enjoyable or relaxing (the first time I finally bit the bullet and decided to stay on property, I was amazed how much more enjoyable and relaxing the vacation was and, since then, have never gone back).
That being said, I've pretty much given up on trying to "convert" any of them to our style because the minute I even suggest staying on property, their eyes either glaze over in disinterest or I get a lecture on how much money I'm wasting.
Most of our extended family and friends prefer staying off property because they just think staying on property is too expensive (in their defense, most have more than 2 children and Disney does not have a ton of affordable options for families of 5 or more who are not DVC members). Instead, they prefer renting a home or condo off-site.
Part of this, in my experience, not only boils down to family size and budget but also vacation style. Most of our extended family and friends' Orlando vacations not only include Disney, but also, Universal, Sea World, the beach, etc. (the way they see it, if you're going to spend a lot of money flying your family to Florida, might as well pack in as much as possible). In contrast, we pretty much just do Disney (and go at a much slower pace overall).
Specifically, we view WDW as a resort that just happens to include theme parks and, along those lines, typically only spend mornings (and sometimes early afternoons and evenings) in the parks, while spending most of the afternoon at our resort (e.g., at the pool, etc.), followed by a nice, table service dinner. For our family, this provides a nice balance of entertainment and relaxation (and we enjoy the detached-from-reality feel that the Disney bubble provides).
When we tell most of our friends and relatives about our WDW vacation style, they think we're too focused on Disney, unncessarly spending too much time and money there, while missing out on everything else central Florida has to offer. While I understand their perspective, I've done Orlando vacations their way and personally don't find that style to be nearly as enjoyable or relaxing (the first time I finally bit the bullet and decided to stay on property, I was amazed how much more enjoyable and relaxing the vacation was and, since then, have never gone back).
That being said, I've pretty much given up on trying to "convert" any of them to our style because the minute I even suggest staying on property, their eyes either glaze over in disinterest or I get a lecture on how much money I'm wasting.
I guess we're just creatures of habit in my family.
