disney resort lover convert to off site,30 day FP experience

[yeheyprincex2]

We have a tripped planned for December 4-10. Party of 7, four adults, three kids ages 6 and two 4 year olds. We have stayed on Disney property the last 6 trip but now are considering staying off site to help keep cost down for my sister. There are a few option that appeal to me(Winsdor Hill, Holiday Inn Orange Lake resort) but my top concerns are time it will take to get to and from the parks and what will be available to use at the 30 day mark for FP. If we stay onsite it will probably be AKL two standard rooms.
What was your experience at the 30 day mark? Is your trip heavily affected my staying off site? TIA

 

[Carlnne]

In June I will be staying offsite at Windsor Hills for the first time after 20 years of onsite stays. I was able to get fastpasses for everything I wanted at the 30 day mark including the new frozen ride and soarin. Most days I logged in at 7am but a few times I forgot and didnt try until late morning- still got want we wanted.

 

[disneysteve]

my top concerns are time it will take to get to and from the parks and what will be available to use at the 30 day mark for FP.

We've stayed offsite many, many times (see my sig) and will do so again in July for the Mega Meet. Stop worrying about the time to get to and from the parks. From somewhere like Windsor Hills, you are actually closer than you would be from many onsite Disney hotels. One place we've stayed several times is Orbit One. I once timed the drive from our unit to Animal Kingdom. It took 4-1/2 minutes. Try getting a bus from any Disney hotel and getting to AK that fast.

As for FPs, we don't book them in advance so the 30 vs. 60 day thing doesn't bother us. We do them the night before.

 

[Carolina Beth]

We stayed offsite in April. There are 4 of us- was able to get all FPs I wanted except Mine Train, but we had a BOG breakfast so that was ok. I would say getting FPs at 30 days was not an issue for us. The drive from Windsor Hills was easy, maybe 10 min? On an Epcot day we took a mid-day break and it worked out great.

 

[greenclan67]

Orange lake is wonderful and 1 light and you are on Disney property

 

[disneysteve]

Orange lake is wonderful and 1 light and you are on Disney property

The same is true for Orbit One. All you do is turn left out of the lot, cross 192, and Sherbeth Road puts you right on property by Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

[HeatherC]

Look into renting at Bonnet Creek Resort...can rent from owners via myresortnetwork.com or vacationupgrades.com. It is literally "onsite" just not Disney owned. It is next door to the Caribbean Beach Resort. Cannot beat the location and amenities for two, three and four bedroom villas.

Have fun planning!

 

[crusoe2]

When we stay offsite, we usually stay at Windsor Hills. The drive to the parks is super easy. Finding your way back to Hwy 192 coming out of the parks can be a little tricky at first. But it will help if you study google maps and images before you go to get a better idea how things are laid out.

As for fastpasses at 30 days, the only thing we've never been able to get a fastpass for is 7DMT. I think some of the meet and greets can be tough to get too but our kids are older so we don't usually bother with fasptasses for those.

The comfort of offsite accommodations and the amount of money we save more than make up for any issues with finding our way around or getting fastpasses.

 

[disneysteve]

Finding your way back to Hwy 92

That should say 192.

Depending on where on property you are, it can be a little tricky, but once you've done it a couple of times, it's easy. You can take I-4 to 192. You can also head toward Animal Kingdom Lodge and make the left just before the resort on Sherbeth Road which takes you to 192. So you have several options.

 

[crjack]

We just returned last night and we stayed at Bonnet Creek. We had no trouble getting our Fast Pass+ at 30 days including Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We were literally beside Caribbean Beach Resort so our time to AK & HS were very quick. We had great timing getting to MK as well.

The only thing we weren't successful with was getting new fast passes after we used them but that was a problem for everyone there - nothing to do with staying offsite.

 

[100AcreWood]

We were not able to get 7D last October but waited in line anyway. Staying offsite is great and for big families it is a huge money saver. Have fun!

 

[crusoe2]

That should say 192.

Depending on where on property you are, it can be a little tricky, but once you've done it a couple of times, it's easy. You can take I-4 to 192. You can also head toward Animal Kingdom Lodge and make the left just before the resort on Sherbeth Road which takes you to 192. So you have several options.

Yes, thanks for catching that. My computer has been giving me fits lately everytime I try to post. It can't seem to keep up with my typing which causes lots of typos. I've corrected it now tho.

 

[quagmire0]

We're going this Sunday and staying at Windsor Hills. Here's the trick on Fastpasses: even if you can't find what you want at that 30 day mark, things change. When I first booked @ 30 days, I got pretty much everything I wanted EXCEPT for Test Track. The best passes I saw were late afternoon at that point. It was crazy. BUT, I've checked just about every day since then and was not only able to land a 9:30am Test Track, but I've also been able to bump up several of our FPs to earlier times, which should let us add more Fastpasses same day after we use the first 3. So, the lesson learned is that if you strike out at first, always be keeping an eye out all the way up until the trip starts, and even during the trip. Things open up.

EDIT: I also wasn't able to get a decent time for 7DMT, but we also got an 8:00am ADR for BOG, so that took care of needing that 7DMT FP.

 

[akaler2010]

We LOVE Orange Lake.

We did FP+ at 30 days over New Years, and we were able to do almost everything. I think the only thing we couldn't was the Anna/Elsa M&G, but that was the height of Frozen-mania. Unless you are going to these super-peak times, I wouldn't worry!