bigger family groups onsite or offsite?

[tinkertaylor05]

Hi everyone,

We had an amazing first visit to WDW last year thanks to all the tips we gathered, we were able to enjoy star wars weekend and loved SSR. Now we're planning to go again but as a larger family group, I'm determined to convert them all to disney addicts our group will be up to 7 with the youngest being 11 and eldest 69. Can anyone please share their experiences of onsite vs offsite as a largish group? Many thanks

 

[dixonsontour]

Never been as a larger group but even as one family I appreciate staying onsite as we can come and go easily separately using the onsite transport.
Villas at OKW or SSR may suit.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

I love going to WDW and staying offsite or on. If you are onsite it would be easier for your group to split up and arrange to meet at one of the parks or resort hotels later, as you could all use the buses.

If offsite and you only have 1 car then your plans may be less flexible, but you will have more room to spread out (unless you hire a 2br at a DVC resort). I have been to Disneyland Paris with a large group with large age differences and it worked well making plans to meet for lunch, or at a certain time in one of the parks

 

[Portugal1000]

We have been to Orlando every year since 2005 with a mixture of off and on site but now fully converted to offsite always staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek which in my opinion can't be beaten. Other families have come twice in last three years. Once my brothers and another time my best friend. Off site works well as you generally get a lot more room for you dollar so you could stay together in one villa/apartment. Personally would never do that as like to have our own space but more than happy to be in the same block. This year there are 15 of us going including my brothers family of 8 so we will all get 3 two bedrooms at Bonnet creek. The rooms there are really big. There also a lot going on at the resort so we can have fun together on non park days. We will have to get three cars and
one will be a 7 seater. That way we can still all do our own thing.
I do all the organising but haven't had to organise Fast Pass plus for a big group yet so that will be interesting.

 

[tinkertaylor05]

Thank you for the replies ..... I think this is going to require extreme planning mode and a spreadsheet to mull it all over

 

[NatalieMT]

I've done a couple of group trips, stayed onsite with a group of 15 at AS Sports and that worked out well in all honesty, did a group of 6 stayed offsite in a private villa and disliked it, really wouldn't do that again for a number of reasons and going in August group of 8 staying onsite again at AKL.

Offsite issues - having to get two cars, trying to navigate, everything taking way longer than it should have done, parking fees/having to get from park to car park, not just being able to 'pop to x park for the evening', no free dining (although obviously this doesn't always apply!), not being able to 'do your own thing' I felt we were tied together a bit more due to sharing cars and sometimes you just don't want that, plus things got a bit tense. Not my favourite trip! The plus points were having our own pool and going to more offsite restaurants but you can do that anyway.

Onsite - just soooo easy, transport all laid on, no problems getting to/from airport, find it easier for advanced planning/coordinating multiple people, safe location (we took 8 kids on the one trip but at the hotel they could walk around on their own and we weren't worried about their safety at 13-16 years of age), front desk/staff for any issues - when we had a problem in our villa we kept having to call for maintenance people then that usually involved a wait, better atmosphere I felt.

Obviously every family is different but after our one trip offsite I have vowed that we won't be doing that again for the forseeable. I just prefer onsite and genuinely it works better for us - I know a lot of people say better savings are to be had offsite but honestly I don't think our trip came out much cheaper (although splitting a villa more ways might!) and I just felt the saving wasn't worth our slight lack of enjoyment.

 

[maclondon]

We are a group of 6 - 3 adults 3 kids - We ended up with two rooms - it worked out cheaper than going with a suite and we got a deluxe / free dining for less than value suite!!

That said we are only doing 5 nights onsite - then 9 in a four bedroom villa - and taking things very easy.

Its one family with an extended family member coming along too.

We will be unlikely to split up much. and if we do it will be when mooching.

 

[tinkerpea]

I adore love get so excited haha about on site, and I stayed offsite as a child for my first at least 16 trips! And really enjoyed every trip as I didn't know what I was missing right Up until I was 19.
Then I took my own kids at 21 doing onsite and as I said fell head over heels in love, I've now done on site 7 times
Having said that, with prices rising I'm.actually planning on giving bonnet creek a go.
Prices are getting more and more,and if it means I can go versus not then you can bet bonnet creek will get my money