Considerations for staying off site ??

[four@home]

I'd like to plan a trip for our family to WD. I heard of the free Dining extended into Sept 08 and thought that might be a great way to save. We have a family of 2 adults and 4 children, so we would have to stay in 2 rooms at Disney. We were considering Pop Century. We'd be driving down so I'd have the van to drive to other parks.....
still the cost is a lot.
I'm wondering what types of expenses do I need to consider if staying off site?
Obviously, 1. parking expenses each day
2. traveling back and forth
3. cost of food, as the free dining wouldn't be available.

Looking for more information and costs to consider !
Thanks
Kim

 

[sympatico]

Tickets if they're included in the Disney price but not the off site price.
If you're staying somewhere with a full kitchen like a house or whatever the food cost especially for breakfast could be fairly low. You would also have washer and dryer for laundry. The travel back and forth won't amount to a lot if you stay fairly close like in the Formosa Gardens area.
Let us know what you figure the difference in price will be when you get it figured out.

 

[davinakb]

• IIRC parking is $11. (By the by, we always drive, just find it faster to get from park to park, or to resorts or DTD. YMMV.) Gas is gas... depends on how far away you will stay.
• Park tickets: 2 adults, 4 kids x number of days = $; one of the biggest expenses
• Food: this can save $ if you don't overbuy. Just get the breakfast stuff, bottled water and snacks (that you will take to the parks) and plan the rest around your WDW dining, what meals you know you'll eat at the parks or resorts.
• Place: there are condos and such all around WDW that could be very affordable for your family. Start looking, getting prices to help you compare to save. For example, last February we stayed in a 4 BR/3.5 BA townhouse for less than $100/night for a week.

I'd say get a quote for your trip, 2 rooms etc. (or a DVC or suite), MYW tickets, DDP (free or otherwise) and work backwards. That may help you do the math. Of course on property also has the convenience of transportation, tickets, DDP all at once so that is something else to consider. FWIW.

 

[twinsplusone]

We are a family of five and for us, staying offsite is significantly less expensive than onsite. This is even after figuring in the cost of the rental car, parking, gas etc.

We love the thought of eating breakfast "at home", having the extra space, and the kids are thrilled with their own pool.

Once you make your decision, the planning is fun.

Of course I'm obsessed with this board. There is so much good information here. Thank you everyone.

 

[crazelion]

Off site have a lot wonderful restaurants to eat at to. Plus if pick up the little coupons booklets around visitors centers and hotels lobby's. They often have buy one get free coupons in them.

There is many hotel that offer free breakfast to off sit one meal have buy instead three.

In my case I only buy snack like popcorn or ice cream to hold me until dinner.

 

[crusoe2]

As others have stated, you can easily get some very nice & roomy offsite accommodations for about $100 a nite (maybe less). I would suggest checking out www.fourseasonstraveltime.net - we booked thru this agent and we're getting an excellent deal on a 3 bedroom condo at Cypress Pointe. It is very close to the parks and there are many nice restaurants in the vicinity. We're paying just under $700 for the week and that includes tax. Tracy, the owner of Four Seasons Travel, posts here on the Dis and she is a joy to work with - very helpful and always very prompt. I highly recommend her.
You should also sign up at www.mousesavers.com to receive their newsletter. It usually has a link to a discount ticket broker that gives mousesavers folks a little extra discount. The savings on your park tickets could very well be enough to cover your gas and parking expense. We're saving about $76 on 6 day parkhoppers for 4 people. As you're crunching those numbers, don't forget that if any of your kids are age 10 or over you will have to pay the adult price for their park ticket.
Also, something to consider with the dining plan is whether you really want to do that many sit-down meals. They can use up a lot of park time and many people have said it was more food than they really needed. An issue that my family has run into is that, after looking at the menus, we discovered that many of the restaurants we'd thought we would like to try just really didn't serve anything that sounded appealing to us. So you might want to look at menus - they are available in the Dining section of the Dis and on www.allearsnet.com. These will give you prices as well and don't forget to figure out how much the tips will be as that is no longer covered by the DDP.
I would crunch the numbers and figure out how much it would cost to stay offsite and pay for your own meals as opposed to paying $200 or so a night for two very small rooms onsite and paying full price for tickets. Then look at what you would be giving up either way. For instance, if offsite comes out cheaper, you would basically be giving up the option to split up by using Disney buses to take the tired folks back to the resort while other members of the family stay in the parks and play awhile longer and you would be giving up the Extra Magic Hour privilege (which lots of folks skip anyway - the EMH parks tend to be really crowded). If onsite w/free dining turns out to be the cheaper deal for you, you're giving up roomier accommodations w/a full kitchen, more bathrooms, more televisions, and your own washer & dryer at your disposal anytime. You just have to decide which one is worth the savings to you. Hope this was helpful and not too confusing.

 

[jjjmranch]

I think the biggest benefit of staying off-site is the room you have in the hotel/condo versus on-site. My DH is a loud snorer and there's no place to escape if you're in a value or moderate on-site. It's worth my sanity and sleep to be able to move to another room. Another benefit is the kids get their own room and we don't have to sit in the dark waiting for them to fall asleep!

 

[TwinmomPlusOne]

We are a family of five and for us, staying offsite is significantly less expensive than onsite. This is even after figuring in the cost of the rental car, parking, gas etc.

We love the thought of eating breakfast "at home", having the extra space, and the kids are thrilled with their own pool.

Once you make your decision, the planning is fun.

Of course I'm obsessed with this board. There is so much good information here. Thank you everyone.

I had to do a double take to see if I had written that one and forgot about it