Convince us to stay off property....

[DisneyFansInLINY]

See, I've stayed onsite 2x but never off site, but after this trip I am definitely considering it for next time. You guys say disney busses are great, but I just got back from an 8 night trip and only once, ONCE did I get to my destination in less than 1 hour. ONCE! We had two morning dining reservations and waited for a bus that never showed. It was so bad, people were hopping in taxis so they didn't miss their ADRs. Transferring from our home resort to another resort was never less than 1 hour 15 minutes. Instead of it being relaxing, I was constantly stressed. I think I only made our ADRs on time once, because we left 90 minutes before our reservation, which was at 4:30 pm. And I didn't go at peak times, neither opening or closing as my girls were asleep by 7pm. It seemed I always just missed a bus or boat no matter where I went. And of course, I have learned never take the monorail if you have an ADR anywhere. In case anyone is wondering, the September trip was at POR.

I am definitely thinking of trying Bonnet Creek next time. They have a bus schedule. My kids are not able to wake up too much earlier or stay out late so EMH doesn't appeal to me at this age, and it would be nice to have a kitchen, as lots of the food was blah. I don't cook at home, so cooking on vacation wouldn't be bad for me. And the ability to put my kids to bed and close the
door would be very nice. $300 for a week at bonnet creek v. $300 a night at AoA suite for a door is night and day.

That is why DH hates the buses and will only stay at an Epcot walking distance resort or Bay Lake Tower. He does not like to drive on vacation because he drives so much for work.

 

[Granny square]

We only use the buses for the mk, and when we are going our own ways.

But I get not wanting to drive. It just isn't what they want to do. My husband is fine with it.

We've stayed at about a dozen different condos and 7 different disney resorts. Our current favorite is akv and we will enjoy our week there in two studios. The next week we will love spreading out into our two bedrooms at silver ale where we've never stayed. It is all good in our book!

 

[surfgirl]

We are jones'ing for a trip to the World, and trying to make it all come together in late January 2013. We have been DVC members, but with the change in the economy, we are no longer

I am noticing that we could double our trip if we didn't stay onsite. But this is a completely foreign venture for us!!

We have our favorite onsite restaurants, and I was trying to price out eating at those places only, but then trying to save money by cooking at a rental or suite hotel. Obviously this would mean carrying in our lunches and snacks. This would mean no dining plan - which is another substantial savings - yet also foreign. (We have some pretty complicated food intolerances and allergies and LOVE Disney's amazing accommodations, so we aren't opposed to eating on property - just trying to stay longer by not staying on site and saving money somewhere.)

Then comes the question about the cost of parking.

This all still has to be cheaper than the all inclusive price we just got for the "Dine, Play, Stay" cardmember deal.

I am convinced, but now I have to convince my other half that it really is OK not to stay onsite?!!! HELP!!

OP, we are an offsite family - for many of the reasons in the thread. However, depending on your perspective, you won't be happy offsite if you regret it or wish you hadn't.

Here is my take on various subjects above?

1) transportation/buses
- onsite: Some love the buses ("its great, I don't have to drive"). Some hate the buses ("we wait *forever*". "no time savings here").
- offsite: rental cars? hate 'em ("the 'trek' across the parking lot") love 'em ("I'm at my car faster and out the door than waiting for a bus").


2) "magic"
- onsite: "you miss the 'magic' offsite"
- offsite: "there ain't no 'magic' with 5 people crammed in one little hotel room"

3) EMH
- do you use them and like them?
- or do you avoid those parks since they can get busier than other parks?

4) breaks
- onsite: "easier to take breaks throughout the day and go back." "more of an opportunity to 'do it all' "
- offsite: "leave at 3pm, go back to your resort, swim, have a calm night and relatively normal bedtime"

5) vacation 'chores'
- onsite: love not to cook or clean... "it isn't a 'vacation' if I'm doing those things"
- offsite: a few minutes of chopping fruit or making a pot of noodles outweighs the fact that we are 'crammed' into a hotel room or don't have to eat every meal out (my family gets tired of eating every meal out).

6) packing?
- onsite: laundry facilities limited and inconvenient
- offsite: full size W/D - can do laundry and therefore do carry on only.

7) cost
- onsite: no "value" in staying offsite
- offsite: too expensive to stay on site for amenities offered.


I'm sure others can chime in with more. I'm just trying to break down a few of the reasons to help guide your decision making. I think, ultimately, you have to make the decision that is right for your family. For us, staying offsite is best. I certainly understand why others make different decisions, but would rather explain our reasons for our decisions.

Everyone's experience is real to them. Doesn't mean it translates for the masses though. Figure out your traveling style. My guess is based on your post, that your husband would be unhappy offsite. Maybe, then, it really "isn't worth it" for your family.

good luck.

 

[Granny square]

Well said!!

I think for me it has little to do with on it off but trip duration. I will take two weeks over one any time!! Maybe you could split like we do. Staying akv on points first 5 days, $1100 for two studios. And then checking into silver lake in Friday, the week costing us $350 for two bedrooms. So we have just shy 2 weeks, for $1450. Having to get 2 rooms at akv stinks though.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I don't think there is one perfect solution to accomodations for everyone. People are different and their needs and wants are also different. Also, family circumstances and priorities are different for each person and affect whether an on-site or off-site accomodation works best for a particular trip.

However, I never felt that staying off-site ever diminished 'the magic' in any way. Usually, at the end of the day, I am so tired that I don't care if I am in a Disney resort or off-site.

I agree with this and I am always surprised how threads related to the onsite/offsite issue turn into heated debates and many of us feel we have to defensively validate our choice as the "right" choice when it isn't a one size fits all matter. There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to both options; and what those advantages and disadvantages might be vary from person to person and family to family. Also, staying onsite may be the best option for one family for various reasons for a particular Disney trip but may not be the best option for that same family for another Disney trip. Needs, preferences, vacationing style, length of trip, size of traveling party, budget, etc. are all factors that come into play. Isn't it great that WDW is a vacation destination where we have so many great options? The WDW resorts are wonderfully themed, one of a kind places; and the plethora of really nice and competitively priced offsite hotels, timeshares, and vacation homes that are fairly close to the Disney parks is truly fascinating. After all, regardless of where we all decide to stay, we all have the ability to visit the same parks, restaurants, character meals, etc. The "magic" is what you make it

 

[maggs1035]

See, I've stayed onsite 2x but never off site, but after this trip I am definitely considering it for next time. You guys say disney busses are great, but I just got back from an 8 night trip and only once, ONCE did I get to my destination in less than 1 hour. ONCE! We had two morning dining reservations and waited for a bus that never showed. It was so bad, people were hopping in taxis so they didn't miss their ADRs. Transferring from our home resort to another resort was never less than 1 hour 15 minutes. Instead of it being relaxing, I was constantly stressed. I think I only made our ADRs on time once, because we left 90 minutes before our reservation, which was at 4:30 pm. And I didn't go at peak times, neither opening or closing as my girls were asleep by 7pm. It seemed I always just missed a bus or boat no matter where I went. And of course, I have learned never take the monorail if you have an ADR anywhere. In case anyone is wondering, the September trip was at POR.

I am definitely thinking of trying Bonnet Creek next time. They have a bus schedule. My kids are not able to wake up too much earlier or stay out late so EMH doesn't appeal to me at this age, and it would be nice to have a kitchen, as lots of the food was blah. I don't cook at home, so cooking on vacation wouldn't be bad for me. And the ability to put my kids to bed and close the door would be very nice. $300 for a week at bonnet creek v. $300 a night at AoA suite for a door is night and day.

Thank you!!! The prices at Disney are nuts, and the food isn't very good (with a few acceptions) I can't wait to stay at Windsor Hills 4 bdrm house with it's own pool! My hubby says he will miss the dining plan, but if there is no free dining in May we would be spending $6200 for 7 days??? Yikes, the house is $1300, and we can eat breakfast at the house and eat light in the parks. We are the type of people who forget to eat when we are busy, so when we are hungry we will just stop and grab whatever is nearby. Im exited about not having to plan out ADR's and having to stop what we are doing to go to an ADR. A lot of the time we were not even hungry yet. Im excited to try Off-site. And we always rent a car when we stay on property, we think the busses are a joke, and driving around disney couldn't be easier.

 

[chimilady]

Thank you!!! The prices at Disney are nuts, and the food isn't very good (with a few acceptions) I can't wait to stay at Windsor Hills 4 bdrm house with it's own pool! My hubby says he will miss the dining plan, but if there is no free dining in May we would be spending $6200 for 7 days??? Yikes, the house is $1300, and we can eat breakfast at the house and eat light in the parks. We are the type of people who forget to eat when we are busy, so when we are hungry we will just stop and grab whatever is nearby. Im exited about not having to plan out ADR's and having to stop what we are doing to go to an ADR. A lot of the time we were not even hungry yet. Im excited to try Off-site. And we always rent a car when we stay on property, we think the busses are a joke, and driving around disney couldn't be easier.

Funny there are two things I didn't mention with my earlier post (or shall we say rant):

1) I take public transit every day. 90 minutes in the morning, 45-50 minutes on the way home. So trust me when I say that I am sooooo used to public transit. Perhaps that is why I was frustrated, because I am used to a schedule. There is no schedule at Disney. Every 20 minutes may or may not be accurate. When I was waiting for AK, there were 10 MK busses that went by in 45 minutes. If I was told Busses ran every :00, :20, and :40, I would make sure to be there for a certain time. I can't sit by and just wait for a bus that never shows. That's sloppy to me. (and part of what I like about the Bonnet Creek schedule)

2) When I stay at Disney, I am staying on a Castmember family discount (which is very nice, along with a discounted dining plan), so I'm not even paying rack rate!!! So yeah, even WITH the discount, I'm considering staying off site. After this last trip, I have come to the conclusion that a door between me and the kids is key, as I don't feel like tip-toeing around my own room on vacation, just so they stay asleep! They went to bed around 7pm, I am NOT tired at 7pm. The one time I did go to bed at 7pm, I woke up at 4am and was bored out of my skull. Although I did use the time to do laundry and clean, it was not fun as there was nothing to do, and I didn't think to pack a book for downtime at Disney World. A week at Bonnet Creek will be about the same price as me staying at an Art of Animation suite for 2 nights with the discount. And I did buy the discounted dining plan this time around, and don't get me wrong, Disney is great for people with allergies like us, but that was still a lot of money when you multiplied it by 8 days, that is a lot of money. A quick trip to the grocery store could save us hundreds and hundreds. And I know the character meal argument is that it saves you time by not having to stand in line, I can say the interaction while waiting in line FAR surpasses the character meals, who stop by for 30 seconds. (not to say we won't do Lilo and Stich @ Ohana again) I made a lot of plans based on what people here recommended, and now that I've been on a long trip to Disney, I will definitely be making adjustments on our next trip. So don't feel bad to stay off site.