Benefits/Non benefits staying on site

[Mills]

I kinda thought that staying onsite would be alot closer to the parks, from what Ive heard thats not neccesarily true?

What are the benefits/non benefits of staying on site opposied to INT drive?

 

[Lisa1976]

I love staying on site and keeping the disney theme going throughout the holiday.

The benefits for staying on site are that you can do the extra magic hours at each park, free transportation from your hotel to the parks, any purchases made can be shipped back to your resort so that you don't have to carry them around with you all day.

I have stayed on and off site and definately prefer the ease of staying on site, however we do have a hire car so we can go off exploring on various days.

Im sure there will be others to give you their views too

 

[gilld]

All the above plus you can charge back to your room. There are very few hotels closer. It's just so Disney - whichever Resort you stay at and the service is excellent, particularly at the De Luxe Resorts.

 

[stemikger]

It all comes down to something other places can't give you, it's called Disney Magic. I've stayed off-site and on-site and trust me, staying on-site is the only way to go. If you are a Disney person, then the experience of staying on-site is the best.

 

[Strommie]

We have always stayed in the I-Drive area, and are staying onsite for the first time in December. I am really looking forward to seeing whether we prefer it

 

[wayneg]

As always its personal choice, We love Disney, think doing Disney cruise is the best hoilday in the world. But when it comes to hotel we prefer off site.
I will have only stayed at allstars Movies, maybe better resorts would be more enjoyable but I wont pay that kind of money for a hotel.
Main things I want from a hotel is free wirless internet, coffee making facilities and a fridge in room, All this was extra in Disney. The extras add up to what I pay off site for everything included. Next week going to Courtyard by Marriott LBV £25/night for 25 nights, Disney wanted £70+ extras. About £1,500 more, I can think of better things to spend the money on(another trip).
We don't use transport or extra hours so all we got extra was Disney decor.
Best advise is try for yourself, do offsite one trip onsite another trip, you decide.
Also prefer staying down on 192 IDrive is way too busy for us.

 

[indigoxtreme]

Transportation is a very good reason to stay onsite. All moderates and deluxes provide refrigerators in the rooms for free. The Disney Magic is another good reason. There are not really any other hotels closer to the parks with the exception of DTD hotels and these are not Disney owned so you do not get the extras. Extras include EMH (extra magic hours), Disney transportation, Dining plan, charging to your room, etc. We stayed offsite when our now grown children were young and I can tell you it is a hastle to drive to the parking lots and then the trams and then to the parks.

I enjoy going to Disney Resorts and letting them do the driving.

 

[brer rabbit 28]

If you decide to stay offsite then 192 is much closer to Disney,5 or 10 minutes drive.
I drive is better if you plan to do more universal and sea world.
We have always stayed on 192 or lake buena vista,but this time we are at all star movies-can't wait!

 

[AndRu]

Benefits of staying on site ... EMH, er ... free car parking ... er ...

Cons of staying on site: Increased cost both in terms of accomodation and eating. Too much Disney as you can have too much of the same thing. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy visiting Disney parks (except Epcot) but after a day I've had enough and am quite happy to leave. Personally, to stay on site would be a "sugar" overdose.

 

[Goofyish]

Some of the benefits of staying on-site can't really be measured in monetry or materialistic terms. Things like the atmosphere, the CMs, the service, security and general Disney resort experience can only be perceived as benefits if you appreciate what Walt Disney World Magic is all about - I guess some people don't

We always get a great 'home from home' feeling while staying on-site that we never get staying off-site.

It's a misconception that while staying in a Disney resort you get 'Mickey Mouse' shoved in your face 24/7 - this is not true. In the rooms and public spaces in most resorts there is very little 'Disney sugar overdose'. There is great decor to match the individual resort theme, great service, very friendly and helpful cast members, great pools, nice clean food courts and at the moderates and deluxes some very nice places to eat.

Other benefits:

• Free transportation to all the parks, water parks and Downtown Disney either by bus, boat or monorail (depending on which resort you are in).
• You get to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours (morning and at night).
• Free parking have already been mentioned.
• Being close to the parks also mean that you can leave the parks at mid-day for a siesta/swim at your resort and then return to the parks in the evening without having to negotiate the roads outside of WDW.
• You can also charge purchases to your room using your room key at nearly every shop and food outlet in the parks (apart from some of the smaller snack carts) - so you don't need to cary credit cards or loads of cash.
• You can arrange for purchases in the parks or DTD shops to be sent direct to your resort so you don't need to cary bags around with you.
• Some resorts are within walking distance of MK, Epcot and MGM.
• Magic Express transfers.
• Dining Plans
• Refillable Mugs to use in the resort food courts - for around $12 you get free drinks for the length of your stay.

I guess the downside is the extra cost - but you can always get discounts like AA or AP. Or, do a split stay - some time on I-Drive then some time on-site to get the best of both

 

[carolfoy]

sending stuff back to resort last year was a major plus for me - I get so fed up lugging my purchases around on rides.
I loved the ASMo last year and considered going to pop or POFQ this year but we had such a good time last year we're staying put.

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

Some of the benefits of staying on-site can't really be measured in monetry or materialistic terms. Things like the atmosphere, the CMs, the service, security and general Disney resort experience can only be perceived as benefits if you appreciate what Walt Disney World Magic is all about - I guess some people don't

We always get a great 'home from home' feeling while staying on-site that we never get staying off-site.

It's a misconception that while staying in a Disney resort you get 'Mickey Mouse' shoved in your face 24/7 - this is not true. In the rooms and public spaces in most resorts there is very little 'Disney sugar overdose'. There is great decor to match the individual resort theme, great service, very friendly and helpful cast members, great pools, nice clean food courts and at the moderates and deluxes some very nice places to eat.

Other benefits:

• Free transportation to all the parks, water parks and Downtown Disney either by bus, boat or monorail (depending on which resort you are in).
• You get to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours (morning and at night).
• Free parking have already been mentioned.
• Being close to the parks also mean that you can leave the parks at mid-day for a siesta/swim at your resort and then return to the parks in the evening without having to negotiate the roads outside of WDW.
• You can also charge purchases to your room using your room key at nearly every shop and food outlet in the parks (apart from some of the smaller snack carts) - so you don't need to cary credit cards or loads of cash.
• You can arrange for purchases in the parks or DTD shops to be sent direct to your resort so you don't need to cary bags around with you.
• Some resorts are within walking distance of MK, Epcot and MGM.
• Magic Express transfers.
• Dining Plans
• Refillable Mugs to use in the resort food courts - for around $12 you get free drinks for the length of your stay.

I guess the downside is the extra cost - but you can always get discounts like AA or AP. Or, do a split stay - some time on I-Drive then some time on-site to get the best of both

Yep! Yep! Yep! Yep! Yep! etc etc.

With regards to one of the costs - eating - when we stayed at the AS Movies in 2001 (DW, DD and myself) the total food bill for 2 weeks came to over £1,300. When we stayed on I Drive in 2003 the food bill for 2 weeks came to £950. This year we took out the Disney Dining Plan and our food bill came to £924 - and we ate well, er.. very well, er.. in fact over indulged!

 

[Strommie]

sending stuff back to resort last year was a major plus for me - I get so fed up lugging my purchases around on rides.
I loved the ASMo last year and considered going to pop or POFQ this year but we had such a good time last year we're staying put.

Sending stuff back to the resort is one thing I am really looking forward to

 

[jns]

Some of the benefits of staying on-site can't really be measured in monetry or materialistic terms. Things like the atmosphere, the CMs, the service, security and general Disney resort experience can only be perceived as benefits if you appreciate what Walt Disney World Magic is all about - I guess some people don't

We always get a great 'home from home' feeling while staying on-site that we never get staying off-site.

It's a misconception that while staying in a Disney resort you get 'Mickey Mouse' shoved in your face 24/7 - this is not true. In the rooms and public spaces in most resorts there is very little 'Disney sugar overdose'. There is great decor to match the individual resort theme, great service, very friendly and helpful cast members, great pools, nice clean food courts and at the moderates and deluxes some very nice places to eat.

Totally agree
and some times you can get really good deals on rooms
one year we decided to go down the coast for the week but when I went to price Disney was cheaper , this was last minute

 

[carolfoy]

Sending stuff back to the resort is one thing I am really looking forward to

and if its damaged or not what you thought you'd bought they will exchange it for you but it does take a couple of days to come back.

 

[lorapinky]

I love staying onsite as you get the disney magic everywhere and it just makes any disney holiday I feel complete

 

[Shooby doo]

Question first..why are you "lugging" your purchases with you on the rides?? Unless things have changed in the last 2 years (which could be a possibility!) you just ask for them to be sent to the front of the park & pick them up from package pick-up on leaving!
Can't really comment on on-site 'cos never done it,although came very close to booking CSR this time but to me the benifits would be: it's a Disney hotel! Transportation - save on car parking as we always have a car,EMH & I'm also assumming that the service is a notch above what you would expect off-site.
Against: for about £400 less than CSR myself & DW have a totally seperate bedroom with the biggest bed in the world! fully fitted kitchen,dishwasher,lounge area with fold down double bed for DS,2 TV's.We are literally on WDW 's doorstep at LBV,great selection of restaurants all within 5 mins.Free buffet breakfast.....
As I've mentioned on previous posts,space is a big thing for us,& to get that sort of space we are probably looking at a log cabin at Wilderness Lodge & the cost of that we could go to WDW twice!!
SD

 

[Miffy2003]

I have done offsite villa, offsite hotels and onsite hotels and villas over the last few years.

They all have pros and cons but my absolute favourite thing to do is to stay onsite for many of the reasons above.

It is slightly more expensive than offsite but often not that much. Last time I compared a WDW value onsite to a 3 star (equivalent) offsite it was only an extra £10 per room per night. As I got free parking at the parks ($7 a day at the time) it really ended up not being much more expensive at all

When I have to pay a huge sum of money for flights regardless of where I stay, a few extra pounds on the room per night just isn't worth worrying about.

 

[isla bonita]

Every ones vacations differently. There are many options for all people. I think until you try it your self only then do you what is best.

If I were you I would split my stay to see what feels right for your group. If you should ever go back which I am sure you will then you will know what will really make your vacation special.

I have stayed in all of the options that are offered and they all can truelly give you a great vacation.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Firstly the villas are so nice and have a pool you do not wish to leave ot go to the park, or you do to late and the parks are full.

On site the amgic the service the characters, being close to the parks, the Monorail trains, Extra magic hours, no drivng back with sleepy kids, all of it.