Anyone with offsite experience during the holidays?

[gabriellyn]

I posted this on the Orlando Hotels board but also would like the Budget Board opinion, since it is budget-related - as in, trying to spend less in Disney. Here's what I posted:

Hi y'all. We are planning a trip at the end of the year. We have traveled to WDW during this time but we stayed on site. This time there will be six of us and I just cannot justify the cost of a Deluxe Villa. My options are either offsite or booking two rooms at a Value. I am leaning toward off-site this time as the prices are so much better but I am worried about the crowds, driving, parking, etc. during the holidays.

ETA: We are inviting my DD's BFF and we are not asking for a financial contribution, other than spending money. We will be covering her tickets and meals and accommodations. I should also add that if we stay offsite we can add a few days to the itinerary. An onsite stay means only 4 nights.

Does anyone have any experience with off-site hotels during this time frame? Pros and cons of your experience would be great if you can provide them.

Thanks in advance for your help with this!

 

[collegejunkie]

my family owns with sheraton at vistana villages, so we stay off site and we go every christmas for 2 weeks. it's really fine - just make sure you have a car. you will end up paying for parking, but you will still end up spending less. it's a bit of a hassle if people want to go back to the room and others don't, but other than that, it's good! just make sure you work in enough time to get to and from the parks.

 

[crazelion]

I know I went during the July 4th holiday and stay offi site and it was great. Got a bigger room and free breakfast.

I like having more options for dinner to. I like buffets so I can nibble on everything plus have something that kids will eat that they choose from. I refuse pay over 29.99 at WDW buffet that just crazy.

But I am person that go WDW will not make ADRs because i look at the menus for table service and nothing appeals to me and the kids. We most stick counter service meals.

Just remember it holiday and be crowd have fun.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you are going between Christmas and New Years and are driving from off-property be sure you are at the Parks first thing in the morning. The very first stage in Capacity Closing involve not allowing cars to enter the Parking Lots.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We go around Fourth of July, every other year, and stay offsite. It really isn't too bad. We try to counter-plan, so we're not where the crowds are worst, we get there first thing, and we schedule sleep-in days, every third or fourth day. It works out really well for us. We've never done Christmas, so I can't compare. I would say that having a game plan, and maybe investing in touringplans.com would be a lifesaver.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

We are a rope drop family and sometimes stay off site. Our typical peak season visits include Weds-Sun for Thanksgiving and about Dec 17-22 for Christmas. We did not have any capacity issues. Note that we have never been from the Dec 23rd to Jan 1st.

 

[laurafergie]

We were at a VERY nice house in Windsor Hills over Christmas - Dec 18-28th. We were there at rope drop and used the Sherbeth (sp?) Rd back entrance and never had a problem with traffic or parking. At HS, were were right behind handicapped parking, which is literally right out side the entrance!

The crowds were as you can expect for that time of the year. Busy. But again, get there at rope drop, plan well, use the fast passes and you will be fine. We also avoided the EMH parks. We did everything and had a blast.

The pros were we had our own pool, even though it was cold - but the little kids didn't care! We had a few large game things in the garage. The older kids liked that. We had a TV in every room it seemed like. We had free WIFI. We had lots of room and everyone had their own space. We had our own kitchen, and ate breakfast and supper mostly in, which for my crew saves a ton of money. We had our own washer and dryer - so we only had to bring half the clothes. Also, I wanted to be able to set up and have Santa come for Christmas, which was really important to me.

I was able to get a 6 bedroom house in Windsor Hills (my parents were with us too) for $250 a night inclusive. (taxes, security, pool heat) It was beautiful house! (nicer than the one I live in LOL) There are tons of amenities in Windsor Hills too, though I admit we didn't use them, as we stayed in the parks for most of the day.

We used Blue Sky Villas, which I found through the Windsor Hills rent website. The one where you put in your requirements and the owners contact you. The agent, Jennie, was AWESOME and I would not hesitate to rent from her again. They have several properties in Windsor Hills.

Driving to the parks every day and not using the buses is also a pro to me - though my DH thinks that is a con. Mainly because everyone had to be on the same page about coming and going or they had to pay extra parking. My parents drove separate because they never knew what they were doing.

Cons were that we were not on Disney property. I did miss it. I really missed not being immersed in Disney all the time. Another was the $14 extra a day parking, but even with that budgeted in, we came out ahead. And that's it for cons, that's really all I can think of.

If I could stay EXTRA days if I stayed off site, I would do it in a heart beat. It will be fine. Do it, you won't regret it.

 

[gabriellyn]

You guys rock!!! Thanks for all the tips! We have actually stayed at a Windsor Hills condo for a pre-Disney trip and enjoyed it immensely so we are looking into that again.

Thank you all for the specific information regarding crowds and parking and such - I really appreciate it!

I am looking forward to a different way of doing Disney - thanks again!

 

[Kay1]

We rent a house or condo every year at Christmas. We stay a week starting Christmas day. It's always wonderful and we never have any trouble. I will say though, we're always at the parks before ten o'clock.

I hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[gabriellyn]

We rent a house or condo every year at Christmas. We stay a week starting Christmas day. It's always wonderful and we never have any trouble. I will say though, we're always at the parks before ten o'clock.

I hope you have a wonderful trip.

That is kinda what I am worried about. I like to wake up and get out early, but the family, eh, not so much... It's not impossible, but sometimes a challenge. A PP suggested some sleep-in days, which is a great idea I intend to incorporate to help off-set some of the early mornings.

Thanks again!

 

[collegejunkie]

getting to the parks early isn't necessary for getting what you want done. we did that for the last 2 years and then this last trip in december we decided we wanted to sleep in after an unusually hard semester for all of us. we got to the parks at around 1 or 2 each day and still got fastpasses for most/all the rides we wanted and if you're smart, you won't wait on line for anything too long.

 

[gabriellyn]

getting to the parks early isn't necessary for getting what you want done. we did that for the last 2 years and then this last trip in december we decided we wanted to sleep in after an unusually hard semester for all of us. we got to the parks at around 1 or 2 each day and still got fastpasses for most/all the rides we wanted and if you're smart, you won't wait on line for anything too long.

Wow - how did you do this? How many rides did you get to do? That sounds amazing. When did you go?