Disney Property 4 days or off site for 8

[kencrane]

I am just starting to plan our 1st trip to Disney
Me my dw dd 4 and dd 5 will be driving form Texas in June of 08. We are working on saving money now for our trip we don't want to use any of our credit cards to pay for the trip. The way things look now we are going to be able to afford 4 days on property or 8 days off.
We are not at all opposed to staying at super 8, best western type hotels. All we need is a couple of beds in a shower. A pool and small fridge would be great but not required.
The only problems I have thought of yet are -
1. Are we going to spend hours fighting traffic getting in and out of the World?
2. Is our trip going to much less "magical" sating off site?
3. Where is the best area to look for our cheap hotel?
4. Any suggestions on a good hotel to stay at?
5. We would love to have any opinions On Disney or Off Disney?
Thanks

 

[LAS2AMS]

1. Are we going to spend hours fighting traffic getting in and out of the World?

Traffic flow around the Disney area is generally very good. Like anywhere els, it has its moments, but hey, you're getting several extra days (and I doubt the difference is significant anyway).

2. Is our trip going to much less "magical" sating off site?

Disney resorts have a special ambiance, but if you've never been to Disney & you're not opposed to staying in value hotels & you plan to spend most of your time out-and-about it's not that noticeable.

3. Where is the best area to look for our cheap hotel?

There's three main areas: Lake Buena Vista, Kissimmee/Highway 192-area & International Drive. All three areas have value lodging but the cheapest prices will come in the Kissimmee/Highway 192-area. However, the Disney area is so overbuilt that you'll be able to get a deal at a good hotel.

4. Any suggestions on a good hotel to stay at?

There are plenty of good off-site hotels. Since you're planning so far ahead, you should easily be able to find a deal -- especially if you're traveling in the first half of June. My pick: keep checking travelzoo's Orlando specials and see when the Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista pops up (usually once a month or so). Sometime early (February, March, April or so) you should be able to get it for $39.95. A good hotel in a good area w/breakfast.

Other options include Priceline and Hotwire.

5. We would love to have any opinions On Disney or Off Disney?

I agree with quality over quantity, but in this case, I'd take the xtra nights.

 

[tednvon]

Hi,

just my vote, but we have been to Disney at least 30 times in the last 35 years and never stayed on site...Would be a no brainer for me....8 days beats four any time...especially on a budget...

Use this board and you will be able to find a great home or condo for your family for less than the smallest Disney room and for about the same price as a "nice hotel" off property...You could get a nice 2-3 bedroom two bath house or condo(you and mom have a private bath in the bedroom) with lots of room, a great pool, and faster to Disney Parks than the buses on property...no kidding!!...

There are thousands and thousands of very nice homes and condos for rent in the area close to Disney...like 15-20 minutes from door to parking lot!!

Sometimes new folks here are overwhelmed by the number of properties that will appear on a search...so relax, have fun shopping for a place, and on this board we are strong believers in renting directly from owners and not from rental companies....better prices and you know exactly what you are getting...

Just to get started go to www.vrbo.com then click Florida, the central Florida Disney, then Kissimmee, then find where you can show by bedroom size (little arrows in the middle of the page) and look at Windsor Hills, Emerald Island, Windsor Palms, Villas at Island Club for 2-3 bedroom homes and condos...

You won't believe the choice and the quality of most of them for the price....

And for us "magic" is two bathrooms, Tv's in both bedrooms, and some room to spread out...plus 4 more days in at Disney or a day at the beach, or Sea World, or whatever your heart desires!!!

Have fun...Ted

 

[My WDW Happy Place]

I would agree with the above message. Rental homes at disney can be cheaper than a hotel. I just returned from a trip to disney and I paid $65 / night (including all taxes) for a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom home. During my next trip in February I'm getting the same home for $60 / night. In my opinion, a home with all the extra space, private pool and home appliances can't even compare to a small noisy hotel room.

 

[englishteacha]

We've rented a condo the past two years from $50-65 a night. We were only 10-15 minutes from the parks. We stayed in the Grand Palms complex in Kissimmee. Villas at Island Club have some terrific rates, too. You can definitely get cheaper rates offsite than onsite. With little ones, you might like a 2 bedroom condo so you can put the kiddos to bed and you and the DW can relax, watch some TV, etc. without disturbing the little ones. They'll be SOOO tired after a day at WDW!

 

[Lisa P.]

I agree with the others... take the longer stay offsite and stay at a condo or timeshare, with 2BRs or more, full kitchen, 2 baths, 2 TVs, etc.

The kitchen will save you money and stress on breakfasts eaten in PJs, and cheaper snacks, at a minimum, if not an occasional simple meal too. Offsite restaurants are often cheaper with less of a wait for a table.

You'll have time and space to actually relax and unwind on your trip. Most people don't find themselves getting into vacation mode for 3 or 4 days anyway. You'll sleep better when the kids have their own room(s). You'll go home at the end of the trip NOT needing another vacation to recover from your vacation.

With 8 days, you'll enjoy your resort's pools and amenities on some days instead of running around the parks all day, every day. The kids will be less likely to meltdown from the daily, all-day stimulation of commando touring that most people try to do on a 4 day trip. Young kids are often just as interested in the pool and playground as they are in the rides, especially when it gets really hot midday.

Have fun, whatever you decide to do. Don't worry about trying to see and do everything with young kids. Just enjoy what you do see.

 

[isla bonita]

The longer I get to go down the happier I am.

When there is more income in the vacation account then try onsite but to me 4 days any where is not a vacation. It will seem by the time you get there you will have to leave and trying to do things in such a short amount of time is very taxing on the body. If you stay off you can have down days to just hang. Truly those are some of the best for us. Being part fish and all the pool is our best friend.

 

[earthfaries]

I would vote for staying off site. Kissimme is different than any other city when it comes to hotels. They have larger, higher occupancy, nicer more affordable hotels than other cities because of Disney. They have so many nice affordable places to choose from right outside the Disney gates. WDW is big anyway, and unless you are staying at a Deluxe resort, you will have quite a drive anyway.
We stayed on-site the first few years, but as the kids got older last year and this year we needed more space. Something you don't get in a value resort on-site. You can get a 2 bdrm condo for 100-140 a night off site, or a nice suite for 70. off site. Last year was our first year off-site and honestly it was our best!!! We had a 2 bdrm. condo about 4 miles away. The washer and dryer was wonderful! 2 bathrooms were wonderful!!! We didn't have to stay up tired waiting for the shower! The kids had a relaxing breakfast watching playhouse disney on the couch, and nice dinners at the dining room table. We had a vacation at disney and at our condo! It was so great!

Check out www.tripadvisor.com they rate all the hotels in Orlando and kissimmee and show candid user pics and reviews also. We just booked a night at Comfort Suites Maingate for the night before we check into our townhouse rental in Jan. It was rated like number 7 out of 163 hotels in Kissimmee and is about a mile and a half outside the WDW gates and has free shuttle service to all the parks.
There is a lot of competition with WDW hotels there, so you will have a lot of nice choices to choose from.

 

[PhotobearSam]

Off-site...I can have a condo for $50 a night and make breakfast each day saving $$$ and having room to move around...

We love staying off-site. 8 days would be my choice...EASY

 

[spiceycat]

from Texas do you have 2 drivers so you can drive straight thru - not have to stop overnight (adds to the cost)

if you are stopping add that to your time and cost.

plus gasoline is not going to get cheaper - so be sure to have in your budget.

offsite vs onsite. depends upon how much time you have. If someone has to get back work on Monday - leaving on Sat (spend Sat night on the rode) - arrive early Sun - leave Friday (stay 5 days not 4) - stay Friday night on the road - get home on Sat - then go to the work on Monday.

well traveling eats up a bunch of time.

if you are flying then stay on WDW property - you don't need a rental car - WDW will take you back and forth to the airport and around WDW.

now if you are driving and have 2 weeks vacation (not a week) then offsite is just fine.

Cypress Pointe
which you can get on hotelkingdom and a few others - plus sometimes www.skyauction.com - if you don't mind bidding.

Sheraton Vistana - resort or village
which you can get near - at this link
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/totallist.cfm
plus sometimes this site has some nice discounts

http://www.mousesavers.com/

do you know anyone who owns a timeshare? they probably have excess to getaways - both RCI and II have them - these are extra cheap vacations.

just remember to wait until the last 60 days for these.
on RCI they are called final calls - on II - they are just with the getaways.

 

[horseshowmom]

More agreement with the others. Like Ted, I've been many, many times and have never stayed onsite. I've talked about it a few times but could never justify the extra cost and just didn't want to be crammed into one room with one bathroom (agree with him that that's not too magical for me!).

Also, eating all meals onsite at Disney is very expensive. As someone else said, you can save money by eating breakfast in the condo/house. There are SuperWal-Marts, so you can buy easy things to fix (frozen pizza, etc.), and lots of restaurants where you can eat better more cheaply.

As far as the commuting time, you'll find that it doesn't take any longer to get to the parks from many of the nearby offsite condos/houses than it does to ride the buses out to the onsite hotels. The Disney property is very large.

The others have offered some great ideas. I'll also throw in ebay. I've gotten a 2BR/2BA condo at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas (about a half mile from Downtown Disney) for $300 a week (three of them). Also, Bonnet Creek (beautiful condo resort) comes up regularly. While it's not technically on Disney property, it is surrounded by Disney, and you have to drive on Disney property to get to it. Just make sure it's somebody with great feedback, Paypal and SquareTrade verified, and I only use my credit card (for additional protection).

Good luck!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

Its a long way to drive for 4 days.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Keep in mind that you will have to pay $11 per day to park, if staying offsite. There's no parking fee, when staying onsite.

 

[momz]

You sound like us. we tossed around staying onsite (3 nights), but ended up booking offsite (6 nights) for the same price. We are going in January and will be staying at Ramada Inn maingate West. A chain hotel within a small budget!!!! It has your typical 2 queen beds, and a bath, but also has an indoor pool, which will be welcome in January. check it out, it is for those of us with smaller budgets, but want to have some idea of what we are getting (thus the chain hotel). good luck and have fun planning.

 

[Mainebound]

Keep in mind that you will have to pay $11 per day to park, if staying offsite. There's no parking fee, when staying onsite.

Yes, unless one of you has an annual pass.

I also vote for the 8 day trip.

We love our offsite stays, which, due to price, are twice as long as we could stay onsite. I would rather have 2 days in each park than a few nights in a WDW hotel.

While there you can check out some of the hotels on site and start planning your next visit to include them!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Yes, unless one of you has an annual pass.

Considering this is their 1st trip & they're trying to choose between 4 or 8 nights, I doubt they have an AP.

Personally, I'd definitely go for 8 days over 4 anytime. That's an easy choice. After that, the choices require research to see what works best for you. A code on a WDW Value resort could put the price close to a cheap hotel offsite + the price of parking. It's at least something to consider.

It seems to me that it would be hard to rent a home & pay parking & still beat a code at a WDW Value resort though. (Codes aren't always available, but if the OP is a bit flexible & keeps a vigilant watch for them to be released, he has a good chance of finding one.) I agree they'd have much more room, which is always nice, but the way I read the OP he's looking to go as cheaply as possible. Room size doesn't seem to be a top priority. Personally, I don't think the OP should discount either option. It's possible they could stay onsite for 8 days, if that's what they prefer, for as cheap as staying offsite.

I'm not advocating either option. My advice is to research them both thoroughly & go with the option that fits your needs best.

OP,
Check this site & www.mousesavers.com for codes to apply to onsite stays & discounts on offsite hotels. I'm sure you'll find something that works for you. Good luck planning your trip. I hope you guys have a wonderful vacation.

 

[kencrane]

Well I did it!! We found a 2 bedroom condo at The Grand Palms for 60.00 per night so we booked it for 7 nights!! I am VERY happy to find such a great deal.
Does anybody have any idea what kind of restaraunts are around the grand palms?? It is on 192 and Lindfield.

 

[tednvon]

Hi, you are fairly close to many restaurants just east on 192 about 1-3 miles...none in walking distance, however. If you go west, there are a few out that way.

One of our favorites is Beef O"Brady's Family Sports Bar...nice British flare with good burgers, fish sandwiches, wraps. It is just east (RIGHT) of the turn into 192 from Lindfields....look for the Vista Del Lago sign, turn in and BO"Brady's is right there in a little mall. It is kind of tucked in the corner...but we really like it and the price is right for a family.
If 192 is crowded, for about 25 cents or so you can hop on the new Toll 429 just east of Lindfields turn and take new Disney entrance just north on 429...no hassle, no stop lights, no traffic.

Good Choice, you are in a great location...

Have a great 7 days...Ted