Are the extra hours enough reason to stay on property?

[Jacklynn]

We were originally going to be staying at either the Pop or All Star Sports, we would need two rooms, it is my husband and I and my parents. For our dates it is about $803 per couple without tax for the hotel room (not tickets of course). But I recently just found an off property house that has two master suites and a private screened in pool with a hot tub. There is also a kitchen and washer and drier, and a grill. All for $99/night. I assume they are so much cheaper because they know they are in major competition with the on property resorts.

WELL needless to say it would be much cheaper as it would be only like $700 plus tax for the four of us instead of each couple paying $800 plus tax. I have stayed on property before (CBR and CSR). Also we were wanting to drive to the coast one day for the beach, and I dk if I would want to do that if we were at the resort. The house says is only a little over 2 miles away from one of Disney's main gates (or so it says, I guess you can see the fireworks from the subdivision or something)

What I am wondering is, the only real reason why I would rather stay on property is because of the extra hours you can get. Is it worth it to stay there just for that? do the benefits of staying at the resort make the price worth it? Keep in mind we would need to stay at the value resort.

Lastly, does anyone know how much parking is at the parks?

Sorry this is so long!! Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[spiceycat]

parking is now $11 per car.

that say - decide what theme park - MK is good one - that you have to have the DME evening hours (not morning that is only an hour).

then book your offsite and for that one night stay at Pop or All star.

that say if you are flying then DME is great!!! if you are driving staying offsite might be a better choice for your group.

 

[tjmw2727]

If EMH is truly the only reason then the offisite home may be right for you on this trip.

For us there are more reasons, DME and not having to rent a car, ease of returning to the resort for a mid day break, package delivery and the other activities at the resorts like water mice, restaurants and such. Plus you could split up if you wanted to go out in the evening or stay at the park longer than your parents.

For us we wouldn't use the grill or laundry and my kids would prefer a pool with "friends. HOwever in your case it sounds like you may be relaxing with your parents and visiting the parks as well. If your not planning to leave the parks for a mid day break, if you don't see a time where you will want to split up and especially if your not visiting a park every day then the offsite sounds like a great deal for you this time.

In your case I would do a pro/con list and decide that way.

TJ

 

[Jacklynn]

If we were to drive and pay the $11 parking, do you get like a mirror hanging thing (haha for lack of a name for them) for the day, or is it like, once you drive in you are there until you want to leave? I'm not sure that we will leave, but what if we wanted to hop over to another park? do the monorails go from park to park?

--- we will be borrowing my uncles car for the week so we wouldn't be paying to rent a car.

 

[Praying Colonel]

If I'm reading your numbers right, it'll cost you $803 per couple to stay on site, and $350 per couple to stay in a vacation home (if you take the $77 you pay for parking and divide it among the 2 couples, $389 per couple).

For me, it's a no-brainer. I'd stay offsite. You do get the "immersive" experience if you stay onsite, but IMHO it's not worth $414, especially when you consider that you'll have advantages to staying in your vacation home that you won't have onsite, either.

Would EMH change my mind? Definitely not. In fact, our family avoids EMH's because they draw the crowds, and we prefer to avoid them. We tried morning EMH's on our trip in late August, and they just weren't for us. Others disagree and love them. YMMV.

The only thing that might make staying onsite worthwhile is if you like the DDP. You can only do DDP if you stay onsite. Again, you have to decide if that's worth $414 to you. Given the changes they're making to the 08 DDP (removing the appetizer and the tip), it's definitely not worth $414 to our family.

If we were to drive and pay the $11 parking, do you get like a mirror hanging thing (haha for lack of a name for them) for the day, or is it like, once you drive in you are there until you want to leave?

Once you pay for the day, you're good. You don't have to pay to reenter or to go to another park.

 

[G8r4evr]

The last time we tried to take advantage of EMH at MK, the lines were far worst than they had been earlier that day....That was on 8/27/06.

 

[mousetravel]

We have stayed off site but we are staying ON SITE next time. We ALWAYS get lost or go the wrong direction on International Drive. How can that highway be so difficult?!! (or maybe it's just me)

 

[alldiz]

Extra hours is the LAST reason I stay onsite.
If that is your only reason I think you will be better offsite for
your reasons stated...

For me the magic I feel "inside the world" is priceless.
Have a great trip.....a trip to the beach is always fun
Kerri

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

My personal opinion is I like staying onsite no matter what. Nothing beats the transportation for one thing. Stayed at a DTD Disney Hotel last June for first part of our trip, their transpotation had much to be desired. Another consideration (and more to your EMH concerns) should be how crowded and hot it's going to be when you're there. We were there last June when it was miserable hot and evening EMH couldn't be beat. It was so much nicer, less crowded and cooler at 11pm than it was at 11 am the same day, after one of those afternoon rain showers too Just something to consider, it was in the 90's during the day

 

[Sophie_2003]

We stay on property for the transportation, but not the hours. Morning ones are good, but you can get just as much done if you go to the non-early hours park at 9am. we went to the evening hours at MK last Monday and the place was absolutely packed!

 

[Vijoge]

Gotta say it would be worth it to us to pay the extra $400 and stay on-site. Not for EMH, just because we love being at WDW 24 hours a day. We easily stayed on-site for 11 days without venturing off property. It was great. We stayed off-site once and didn't like it much. Other people, of course, have much different thoughts on this subject.

 

[maxiesmom]

If you are not going during a crazy busy time of year, I wouldn't worry about missing out on the EMHs. We have found them to be very very busy!

You can find some great off site places that are very close to Disney property.

 

[Evi]

If the extra magic hours are your only reason then maybe not. Personally I never use the morning magic hours I only use evening. But when I stay onsite I do it for so many other reasons.

-Free hotel parking
-Free Park parking
-Free park transportation
-love having my credit card attached to room card and being able to buy stuff at park and not lugg it around but find it in my room later.
-xtra magic hours
-close proximity to parks

Im sure I could thinmk of more but honestly its late for me

 

[Taja]

We stay onsite because our bodies are on different schedules! *LOL* One person can take the rental car (for trips when we rent), the other takes WDW transportation (usually me). We can go together or individually, as we choose, and don't have to be joined at the hip--or vehicle! Usually one of us is up and going well before the other; and one is up significantly later than the other.

We spend most of our holiday together, but my friend likes to shop; I don't. I tolerate it for an hour or two, but then have to do something else. I thoroughly enjoy the AC; doesn't like it. She'll take the car off site for the evening, and I'll enjoy the time at the AC.

Evening EMH has worked great for us at MK; a bit less so at EPCOT and DHS, although we do enjoy wandering around WS after IllumiNations. Fewer attractions that interest us at the latter two, but we save those that we like for EMH and do the outdoor attractions that are not available in the evening during the day.

It really just depends on what works best for you and your family/group!

 

[wzuppe]

Do you need a car rental too! If so, make sure you include that in your cost to stay off-site

 

[ScottNBecky]

YES!!!! Especially the AM hours. You can get so much done in the first hour, expecially at MK. Others will say the parks get too crowded, but in our experience (all during the peak seasons) this method has worked!!!

 

[CheshireVal]

I definitely think so!

The morning hours are especially handy. You can get the "big rides" out of the way before the park opens to the public, and then your day can be sort of leisurely from then on out.

 

[ElizabethB]

You could consider doing both -- get one All Star Resort room and put the four of you in it so you get all benefits. Then, actually stay off-site where you have lots of room. You'll not pay anything for parking during your stay, you can do EMH and, you can drive to All Stars to park and take the buses to the parks if you want.

 

[Jrabbit910]

I have stayed on and off site... I much prefer on site... BUT it really depends on your schedule & what you plan to do on this vacation. If you plan on being at WDW every day then I would just stay on site... if you are planning to do other things/attractions & so on... stay off. You said that your uncle is giving you his car, thats great so need for extra money there...Also, there are some great homes that can be rented and some others that arent. Do you know if this place is reputable & do you know of anyone that stayed there before? As nice as the home sounds some can be as bad as a two room motel.
Also, food offsite is going to be less then on. You can also pack food for the home and save on eating expenses.
There are alot of options to weigh out and I hope that whichever you choose its magical .

 

[rie'smom]

It depends on when you're planning your trip. If it's during a busy time, stay offsite because EMHs are insane.

We've stayed offsite and really, really liked it. We were in an Emerald Island house-5 minutes from AK. All of the reasons that have been posted:
-Free hotel parking -no problem with a house
-Free Park parking
-Free park transportation-your transportation is free -monorail and busses
-charging to the room-don't like this option
-extra magic hours-9 times out of 10 it's not worth it
-package delivery=- anything you buy can be sent to the front of the parks and you pick it up at the end of the day, so you don't have to haul stuff around all day.