Missing parades and shows is easy - that part of Disney has never had appeal for me. I've sat for only a few worthwhile shows. And managed to skip nearly every parade until my kids came along (they like parades - I don't, but we do things we don't enjoy for our kids).
I think it really depends on what appeals to you. Soaking in the Disney atmosphere can be done at any of the
DVC resorts. Warm weather for a getaway from Minnesota or Michigan? - a DVC room is nicer than renting a unit in St. Pete. Restaurant dining? - the best is in the hotels anyway. Kids seem to have grown gills? The resort pool offers more chance to swim than anyplace in the parks (except, of course, the water parks). 99 holes of golf (which I know excites no one but us golfers, but to golfers, its a pretty darn exciting thing). But you aren't getting the attractions, or the shows, or the parades unless you venture into the parks.
And how long you go for. If you go for three days to get away from the rat race at work - want to sleep late, maybe catch Cirque or spend an evening at PI, play golf - that's an entire vacation. I can't imagine going for two weeks and avoiding the parks - seems like I'd need to go in the parks to do
something if I were there that long. And how often you go. Some of the people on this board have been going a couple times a year for ten or more years.
Years ago we stayed at the CBR. We were sitting in the hot tub one night and started talking to another couple. They were fairly local (within an hour or two drive) and were staying there for a long weekend. They had no intention of going into the parks - they used the Disney resorts as a nice getaway - and with some regularity - and seldom did the parks. My husband and I often book a weekend (leaving the kids with grandma) at a local hotel - I suppose if I lived in Tampa, that hotel would be at Disney - either DVC or a resort hotel.
