Disney Grounds or House !!!!

[Brown Family]

We are going next March. What are the pros & cons about staying on the grounds or renting a house

 

[Carolina Mouse]

GROUNDS, GROUNDS, GROUNDS!

I've been going to Disney World since it opened (according to my mom, three months after it opened and I was 6 years old). We had relatives in Orlando so we always stayed with them - year after year. That was great because we saw them maybe once or twice a year at most. Seeing them was almost as much fun as Disney itself.

It wasn't until I got married an joined DVC (1997) that I ever stayed on the grounds at Disney - and I haven't looked back! No matter where you stay, its just magical. If I didn't still have the relatives to go see in Orlando, I wouldn't even need a car. There is just soooo much entertainment around you wherever you are (SSR needs work, but at least its near Downtown Disney). They kids love it, too. And for some odd reason, even staying in the middle of Disney, we have yet to get "too much of a good thing" while we are there.

Now my cousins have children and we all get together somewhere in the World and its loads of fun.

THAT SAID, HOWEVER, since I spent most of my years off property, I've seen and done the Orlando thing - SeaWorld, Universal, Helicopter Tours, Wet 'n Wild, International Dr., Bass Pro Shop, etc. You may still want to do that type stuff, but its not far from the World.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Desnik]

Are you doing other Orlando attractions? Or just WDW? Will you be with kids? You can do a search on this and the resorts board about this topic. Eveyone has their reasons for liking to be on site and off. We are DVC members so it's on site for us! Even before DVC we stood on site after staying off site twice. With kids it is so much easier transportation wise to be right on property. The traffic in Orlando can get pretty thick! Also if you want to take an afternoon break, it helps to be close to your resort. Also the EE perks for resort guests and just being emersed in the magic 24/7!!!

 

[TravelinGal]

With a family...HOUSE!! The extra space is SO nice. Having a place to do what YOU want while kids are napping is priceless. And if you want or need 2 hotel rooms for your family, the home is less expensive.

We got a 6 bedroom/5.5 bath home for 9 nights/10 days in Emerald Island (just 1-2 miles south of WDW - so a VERY short drive!) for only around $1200 in May. That included pool heat, spa heat, and all taxes. 2 rooms at a moderate resort would have cost us about $400 more - so with a car rental it breaks even, but we have SPACE!! And our own pool! No fighting for a chair there! LOL No trudging down miles of pathways to get to a public pool. Just walk out the back door and there you are!

There are quite a few posts about this in the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board. (3 up the list from this forum)

By the way, if you have a rental car, you can usually get from a home to the parks in LESS time than a WDW bus takes from an on-site resort to the parks. (assuming you are within a few miles of the parks anyway.)

 

[crjack]

I'm of the opposite opinion.....house, house house! Actually, as much as we love renting pool homes, I think it works best under certain circumstances.

We've stayed on-site and off and although we enjoy both, we have outgrown the majority of on-site accomodations. We simply don't like staying in one hotel room with the four of us. We like having separate bedrooms and a living area to enjoy when the kids are in bed. The kids really need their own beds as well.

Renting points for DVC is one option but it is still expensive, especially Fri-Sun and we typically go for a week.

I think pool homes are a great, affordable option and work well if you have a car. Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms and Emerald Island are literally less than 3 miles from the Disney property line so we get back and forth in no time. We enjoy the tremendous space, the private pool and the fact that these developments all have community ammenities like clubhouse, gameroom, etc. so they offer a resort atmosphere.

You can rent a condo, townhouse or pool home so any size group can find something that works for them. I don't cook meals on vacation but I do like having the kitchen for snacks, drinks, etc. I also like having the option to wash & dry clothes since I can pack a lot lighter.

The new All-Star suites offer a new option and one that may be a perfect fit for a family that wants a little more space but wants to stay on-site. They definitely seem more affordable than the suites at BC, Boardwalk, etc.

If you dont have a car I wouldnt recommend a pool home. Shuttles are just not covenient or frequent enough. My children love pool homes and request them whenever we go now...for them just being at Disney or SeaWorld, etc. is magical enough.

If you have any questions on pool homes just ask.

 

[HACAM]

We stayed off site last year and a vacation home, although it was nice, I would not likely do it again. I say this because we spent all of our time at WDW. This year we stayed on site at POR and absolutely loved it. The resort is beautiful, and you can use all the WDW transportation, it was so easy. Even though we did not have the space that we did last year, we enjoyed our trip so much more this year because of all the convienences of being on site at WDW.

If you are planning on doing other attractions, such as Universal and Seaworld etc, perhaps a home would be best for your family.

Whatever you decide I know you will have fun!

 

[Schmeck]

If you need to go back to your rooms in the middle of the day, I'd stay onsite. If you have older kids that want to go off on their own a bit, I'd stay onsite too. If you have a large family, need a kitchen, don't mind driving to the parks (and not getting EMH) and don't plan on doing too much park-hopping or stroller renting, I'd stay offsite.

Having to drive to MK would drive me nuts, and then, if you wanted to go anywhere else (except EPCOT) you'd have to take the monorail/ferry back to your car, then drive to the other park, unless you wanted to leave your car in one lot and backtrack by bus at the end of the day.

I've only stayed offsite once, but that was at a motel on Int'l Drive. Waiting for the motel's shuttle bus was way too tedious for me!

 

[TravelinGal]

If you need to go back to your rooms in the middle of the day, I'd stay onsite.

We are staying off site with the awareness that we WILL go to the pool home in the middle of the day. What this means to us is that we don't have to sit in a dark room and be quite while DS naps! We can sit at the pool or watch tv or play a game or... (We could even have a drink(s) in the privacy of our own home - but we're not drinkers.)

We've stayed on site - we've stayed in pool homes. If you're close by, I'm serious here, you can get to and from the parks FASTER with a car from a home than by the bus system from the resorts. And I'd rather have a tired fussy baby in a private car than a bus full of people glaring and groaning because my kid is fussing. (or having to deal with THEIR fussy kid yelling in my ear!)

 

[Schmeck]

I'd think it would take much more time by car if you were leaving MK - you still have to wait for the ferry or monorail, walk from there to the tram area, then wait for the tram. MK is pretty far from the entrance to WDW property, unless you come in from the back side, but then you have to loop around to get to the toll plaza.

If you are going during a busy time, then staying onsite can get you access to EMH as well.

 

[challada]

We love the house thing and are on our way TODAY to our house! We love, love, love having more than 100 sq feet of space for a family for LESS than the price of staying onsite. The kids love the pool and family room and GAMEROOM in the house; us parents love the separate bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, having a kitchen to make breakfast and dinner in; and more.

This time we are staying in the Windsor Palms subdivision which also has a community pool, playground and movie theater in it so I may have trouble getting the kids to even leave for the parks!


AND yes, your own car IS faster than the Disney bus...if you do a house, I would suggest getting AAA for the priority parking (you get parked right up front).

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

Stay on site for one reason only: TRANSPORTATION! IMO, the road signs and directions are so confusing and quite honestly, terrible. Using the Disney transportation was so easy and effortless. Only been there once, but even DH said he will never stay off-site (unless they put up better road signs)

 

[isla bonita]

I think it depends on what you want from your vacation. We have decided that as long as our children are vacationing with us we need our privacy for us to enjoy each other.For us the next 15 years we will enjoy our rental home. After that maybe a single hotel room will be just what we need. Not sure because we might need a larger home for the grandkids. LOL
With a home we can all have our own space. We also stay in Florida for longer periods of time then a week. OUr last vaca was 17 days. Imagine all of us in one room for that amount of time. I can not imagine the cost for a Disney stay for that long $$$$$ We also travel and explore the other parks and attractions. I would not be a sane person if I had to stay in one hotel room as my whole family.
If you do try it and it is not your thing you never have to do it again. It is not for every one. I still am amazed that people feel the way they do about disney transportation. Even when I was on site I will never again be with out a car. For 17 days I got a rate of not even 500.00 For me that is also how I stay sane. I could not be without my rental car.

 

[Chris]

We like the house. We rented the same house we stayed at last year again for this June in Sunset Lakes. We love it!! The kids can't wait to go back and see *there* rooms!! LOL

 

[Gillian]

If you need to go back to your rooms in the middle of the day, I'd stay onsite. If you have older kids that want to go off on their own a bit, I'd stay onsite too. If you have a large family, need a kitchen, don't mind driving to the parks (and not getting EMH) and don't plan on doing too much park-hopping or stroller renting, I'd stay offsite.

Having to drive to MK would drive me nuts, and then, if you wanted to go anywhere else (except EPCOT) you'd have to take the monorail/ferry back to your car, then drive to the other park, unless you wanted to leave your car in one lot and backtrack by bus at the end of the day.

I've only stayed offsite once, but that was at a motel on Int'l Drive. Waiting for the motel's shuttle bus was way too tedious for me!

Actually it can be EASIER to go back to your offsite location than to use disney transportation! Often you can park close to the entrance of the park (AK, epcot, mgm).

We do the same thing as many people onsite. Go to one park in the morning, go "home" for a break, then go somewhere else in the evening. Parking in the evening is a breeze!

We like to take our own stroller, but renting one is the same as if you're staying onsite.

International drive is pretty far away. There are a ton of closer places!!

 

[Pir8girl]

I'm a DL vet planning a first trip to WDW. Is there a website that lists these pool homes for rent?

Thanks

 

[wdwpjs]

vrbo.com has most of the closest condos and neighborhoods. Have fun trying to decide!!!!