disney property vs. offproperty - really worth it?

[rhazz]

I personally can't stand the thought of sharing a room with my 5yo and 3yo for more than a few hours since they go to bed at 8:00. I need to have a separate br when we all travel together....there just doesn't seem to be a affordable solution on property at Disney. Is it really worth the EE to stay on property....it seems that there are many better choices that are minutes away. What am I missing?

 

[perd]

When I was considering Beach Club, one person suggested spending the money on two rooms at a moderate instead, and another person suggested renting a two bedroom villa from DVC member instead. I should have listened. There were five of us in one room and three are teens! I will never do that again.

And...if we had gotten a renovated room and gotten a nonsmoking room like we requested I might feel differently, but I just don't think we got our money's worth at the Beach Club. For what we paid I expected it to be much nicer. The lobby and hotel itself was very nice. The location was perfect. But I've had better hotel rooms at Holiday Inn Express as far as the quality of the room goes!

A year or so ago I was looking into Marriott's two vacation club resorts in Orlando. Both very nice from what I hear, and a two bedroom villa was very reasonable to rent. If i were doing it again I would choose one of these options: 1) A 2 bdr villa off property. 2) Rent from a DCV owner. 3) Get two rooms at a moderate instead of going with a deluxe.

 

[Mortlives]

Originally posted by rhazz
Is it really worth the EE to stay on property....it seems that there are many better choices that are minutes away. What am I missing?

Better choices depends on your definition. The following are the reasons I prefer staying on property:

• Disney buses means not having to rent a car and drive while on vacation
• Ability to charge almost everything on the room key eliminates worries about carrying cash and credit cards
• Having purchases delivered back to the resort is so much better than lugging them around, or even picking them up at the gate
• Being able to just nip back to the room for a short rest, before carrying on.
• Walt Disney World tv channels
• Early entry
• Wake up calls from Mickey

There's probably others I'm not thinking of at the moment, but those are most of the high points.

If you need to get out while your kids get an early night, you can hire a sitter, while you spend a few adult hours at PI. Just a thought, you may need your own room to have a good vacation, and if that outweighs the above, than that's what you should do. I'm just real fan of the Disney resorts, so consider me biased. YMMV

Ciao,
Mort.

 

[jennymouse]

To me it's worth it. Have you ever stayed on site before? To me it just makes a world of difference. It's like you're living in the magic instead of just visiting a park. I have relatives that used to live in Orlando and we would stay with them and visit WDW. We would get to the park about 10 or 11am, get tired around 4, go back to my aunt's house to rest with full intentions of going back to the park for the evening. We never once went back to the park. Too much hassle getting to the car, traffic, blah, blah. We stay on site now and it's just soooo much easier to take that break and get back. I really feel like we get more for our money because on site we take advantage of what's offered more. You should check out the DVC rent/trade board & see if you can't rent points for a 2BR Villa. It's lots cheaper than renting a Disney Villa through Disney and you'd be right in the middle of the magic.

 

[QuickGold]

Here's a breakdown of pro's & cons

 

[Dsnygirl]

I can't say enough about staying on property. I have stayed off-site several times, and once we stayed on-site (We started with the moderates- Port Orleans) there was no turning back. It adds 1000% to the experience. It's worth it even if you have to cut corners on something else, or wait a little longer to go so you can save more. One plus- you probably won't need a rental car. We don't get one anymore. The only real problem is if you want to go off property or drive to multiple hotels. The Disney busses and monorail add to the "magic" and every last detail down to mickey soaps and mickey wake up calls make the whole TRIP Disney instead of just getting Disney once you arrive at the parking lot. Good Luck with your decision and I hope it's a great trip!

 

[The Sybah Shelstah]

I wanted to add that even though I have never stayed onsite- I am choosing to do so this time and have been researching as well as I could to find out the benefits of doing so.
I decided to do so mainly because I wanted to stay onsite for various reasons and was able to get the AP rate for my stay at ASMu for just $15 more per night than the cheapest I could find offsite!
Anyway- one of the things I noticed also (in addition to things already mentioned on this thread/etc) is that I have seen many comments on websites about how guests of any resort can go to OTHER resorts and apparently use their ammenities also. (pool, food, etc) So apparently the only advantage to staying at the higher priced Disney resorts is just that you don't have to go to/from that resort- you are already staying there in a room. To me, going solo, that wasn't a big deal. I think that's totally cool that I can resort hop and check out places that I might want to stay in the future.
Also... if you are staying on a resort but driving your own vehicle- you don't have to pay the parking fee for the parks, right? Or is that a benefit of the annual pass and I'm confusing the two?

 

[Kallison]

You can go to other resorts to eat but you can't use the pool at other resorts. The only pool hopping that can be done is between the Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter resorts.

 

[raidermatt]

Besides the busses, the deluxes (except AKL) have Monorail and/or boat service as well. Some are within walking distance to some parks.

If you're a golfer, on-site guests can make tee times 90 days in advance vs. 30 days otherwise, and get a free taxi to and from the WDW courses.

Enights, if they are being held during your stay, though it doesn't sound like your children will be up for that! However, since they are in bed by 8:00, I'm guessing they are early risers, which could make EE, especially at MK, very valuable for you.

Besides those tangibles, we enjoy the "all encompasing" vacation we get by being on-site. The outside world goes away (except for the busses and cars!). No parking worries, good service, save time, etc, etc, etc,

Now, all that said, you still might be better off staying in a 1BR offsite if its a much more affordable option than a 1BR on site (2 separate rooms in a moderate or value on site wouldn't work for you since your oldest is only 5). If you really are going to be miserable after 8pm every night, that might outweigh the other benefits.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Rhazz, personally, I can't justify staying at a Disney resort. I get my Disney fix at the parks, and that's enough for me. You didn't mention what time of year you were going, but if you're going during the off-season, early entry is NOT an issue because the parks are so dead to begin with.

There's a couple options for you either way. As many have suggested, you could check into renting DVC points. (DVC rent/trade forum is here). You can use a DVC points calculator to find out how many points you'd need for a specific place, and then look on the DVC forum for people that are renting points and how much each point will cost. If it sounds confusing, there's an FAQ on the forum that explains exactly how everything works.

Another on-property option is hotel plaza boulevard. The Doubletree suites are reasonably priced and they have a seperate bedroom. Either of those options will allow for mid-day breaks.

And like you said, there's the off-property option. Staying off-property doesn't bother me in the least. I go during the off-season, so like I said, early entry isn't an issue for me. And I wouldn't use the charging to the room privlege. It's way too easy to just keep spending money that way for me!!!! Many off-property hotels have free shuttles to get to the parks, (Double check...some have shuttles that go direct to each of the four parks, some have shuttles that only go to the TTC, and some don't have shuttles at all) so you don't have to drive even if you stay off-property.

 

[K P & J's Grandma]

How about getting 2 connecting rooms (door between) at one of the All Stars. Your kids will love it there!!! With the codes that come out, you could get them both for around $100!! This past December we took our 2 - five year old Grandchildren & stayed at Music in one room. At home they go to bed around 8:30 - but not at WDW - you seem to run on a 'vacation schedule'. Whenever we got back to the room - they would be out like a light in no time. We would watch TV without any worry of waking them up. Staying on grounds is so much more convenient - it isn't just about doing the EE days (which this trip we did not use). Just using the bus to the parks & not having to worry about driving & paying for parking which can add up - is worth staying on property! If you do stay on property - set you phone for the morning wake-up call. When the phone rings - have one of the kids answer it!!!! They will love having Mickey tell them it is 'time to get ready'!!!!! We would have the call set for a time that we knew we would already be up & getting ready for the day - so it actually wasn't a 'wake-up' call. It was fun seeing their faces when they realized who was calling them!! I hope that you have a great vacation where ever you decided to stay. Your kids are a good age - it is a 'Whole New World' seeing Disney through the eyes of a child!!!!ºoº ºoº ºoº ºoº

 

[yasuern]

I am not sure what your budget is but have you ever considered renting pts from a DVC owner and staying in a 1bdrm unit?
Here is the link to the rent/trade board
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&forumid=29
Remeber in a 1bdrm unit there is a shower and separate Jacuzzi tub a MBdrm, full kitchen - stove/oven, microwave, dishwasher,coffee maker, patio or balcony, and of course you are on property and have the WDW tranportation!

 

[Gillian]

If you post this same question on the Orlando hotels board, you will get a very different response. Just call it the offsite board!

I've done both, and there are benefits to each. I'm going in March with my mom, and although I would prefer to stay onsite because there are just 3 of us (2 yo), she wants SPACE! so we are looking for a condo or house. If we finish the trip still liking each other, it'll be worth it! We will have our own car. I have an AP, so paying for parking isn't an issue. EE would be nice, but e-nights are out because DS will be asleep.

When DH & I went with our toddler, we opted for a room with a balcony. This means going with a deluxe or a DVC resort. We recently did AKL & beach club villas (studio rented from owner, which was an excellent deal!). After DS went to bed we had a place to relax & talk.

And by the way, at home he almost always is asleep by 8:05, but at WDW 9:30 was more normal for him. We could see the Illuminations fireworks from our BCV balcony, so we'd watch those & then get him ready for bed. It was great for us!

 

[brittsmum1998]

Definately on - site for reasons posted above. Have you thought about the FW Cabins? I swear they are Disney's "best kept secret". Our first trip with DD when she was 18 mos. was the cabins and it was absolutely wonderful! there seem to be some great discounts on those.

 

[TreeOfLife]

I've done both too, and could even start a debate on this topic.

In my opinion and based on my experience, I will not stay offsite ever again because of the following experiences:

1. A bugdet hotel (Ramada Limited) used poor judgement in creating the codes for those room keys, assigning the same to alternating rooms in their floors. Therefore, if you do not use that security latch on your door you could have any stranger come in at any time when you are in teh room, as it happened to us. Now, there's nobody out there to secure that latch when the room is empty, is there?

2. The transportation provided by offsite resorts is uncomfortable, irregular and unreliable, dropping you off very far from the gates. There are plenty of posts covering that topic already as well.

3. Staying offsite and renting a car aggravates me when it is time to play musical chairs in those trams. Who says you can't miss your exit after a full day at the parks and end up somewhere else too?

So, in my opinion if you care about the convenience of transportation, security of your site and having merchandise delivered to your room from your parks and the convenience of early entrance privileges that give you the chance to ride the most crowded attractions virtually unrivaled, then stay onsite!

Disney can be done offsite too, there's not question about it. But I am willing to spend a little more for the convenience provided by an onsite visit. If well planned and researched, your onsite stay could be very affordable according to your situation.

 

[ZachnElli]

We've only stayed offsite (4 times). We are planning to go again in May and are going to try onsite to see if it's worth it for ourselves. I think that's the only way to really decide for yourself, try both. I've never had a problem staying offsite and our last trip (July 2001) was just great!! We stay at Holiday Inn Family Suites, so the kids had their own room and that was soooo nice! I have since discovered many other offsite options with more space and full kitchens for MUCH less than renting DVC, so if onsite doesn't work for us, we'll go back to offsite in a heartbeat. My dh has to have a car wherever we go, so we'll still be getting one.

 

[susy]

One thing I've learned about Disney with my 5yo is that sleeping schedules go right out the window!!!

We did six trips last year ( for the first one he was 3yo).

He did not go to bed at 8 (regular bedtime) because we were in the parks.

He did take a nap during the day -something he would NEVER dream of at home. Face it- after running around a theme park all morning and swimming,the bed looked real good! We woudln't even tell him he was napping. He would just lay down with my DH to "watch tv"-love that toon disney!

Onsite allows for a break. I do consider DTD onsite if you have a car and don't have to depend on the buses. We did take breaks while at the Courtyard.

If you are looking for "more for your money", then the suite hotels offsite probaly have the edge. Some offer free breakfast and I know Calypso Cay even has a slide. You can get that place for around $60 on valuetrips.com. It is three minutes from Disney propety -by AK- I timed it!

I personally don't need any "adult" time in the evening- I am WIPED OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We all go to bed around 10.

 

[Bichon Barb]

This will be our first time staying off site. We chose this route because:

1. Budget, Budget, Budget. We were able to get a three bedroom townhome with community pool, exercise room, etc., for under $100 a night.

2. We are going to Universal for one day. DH has a business meeting one day in Orlando. Full size rental was about $170.

3. We like to get to the parks early, stay all day, then go back to our room and relax and swim and not have to get ourselves and our two tired boys dressed and out to a restaurant again if we don't feel like it. This also helps immensely with the budget.

If it were just DH and I, it would be a different story.

Hope this helps.

 

[LSU Tigerfan]

I think the question of whether EE is worth it or not depends entirely on what time of the year you are going.

If you go in the offseason, then EE is totally unnecessary unless you simply like getting up early. You could probably do just fine with staying offsite. However, staying at Disney isn't nearly as expensive in the offseason. Any of the solutions mentioned here (staying in 2 rooms at the All-Stars, renting DVC points for a 1-bedroom, staying at a FW cabin) wouldn't be that expensive in the offseason.

On the other hand, if you are going in the summer or during a holiday time, I would not even consider staying offsite. The summer heat means that you will want to take a mid-day break, and the traffic jams trying to get out of the parks when they close will be maddening. In peak travel times, EE will be the only way to actually get to see many attractions.

 

[crazelion]

The number one reason I stay onsite is when I get there I won't have worry about getting lost on the way back from the hotel. Trust me I don't care how well label those signs are I still get lost and end up at the wrong hotl. It's too many Hoilday Inn in Orlando.

I would stay offsite if I had a great sense of direction and able to follow signs real well. Also I would visit the Orlando board to read about any bad stays at the hotels I am looking.

I'm doing that because I going to IOA for day and stay offsite for that part of my trip.


That was my reason to stay onsite because it was right for my family.


Where else can see big huge surf board at.

Do what's best for family go with it.