Dissapointed "on-siter" having to stay off-site this summer... any suggestions?

[FutureCinderella88]

Hello! So, my mom and I are planning a trip this summer and we have usually stayed onsite . But this trip my mom suggested that I check out offsite hotels... I thought she had gone crazy . What about the Disney resort benefits? What about the magic ? Yeah, I was pretty bummed about it.... however, I do understand that my college tuition bills are kind of breaking the bank , so I'm not going to challenge her on this one because I'm lucky to even have the chance to go to WDW this summer....

ANYWAYS-- any suggestion on good off-site hotels

Thanks

 

[Mickey Rules]

Although they are not technically "offsite", the hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd are very good (shy of the Grosvenor which has gotten horrible reviews). These hotels offer most (im not sure if it's all) of the Disney benefits. You can send anything you buy to the hotels and they also have the bus services to the parks. I am also a college student, we are going down in August. We had the same problems with the money and stuff, but my dad got a decent deal at Caribbean Beach. We haven't really stayed offsite too much, but there are a lot of Holiday Inn's and Marriots in and around the Disney entrance (Apopka-Vineland Road I believe). I suggest that you go to the hotel websites and look up Lake Buena Vista rather than Orlando. Don't know if this helped too much. Good luck, have fun.

 

[Mickey Rules]

Hi again, I just found this webstie...it should help.

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/dreamsres/index.htm#boards-top-hotels

 

[MiaSRN62]

You can check here as well :
http://www.hotelkingdom.com/HotelSe...&children=0&location=1752614&offset=0&sort=hk


But unless the offsite has a pretty good shuttle service (most do not), you should really factor in the cost of a rental car and compare it to staying onsite without a rental and using disney transportation if you're looking at the overall budget.

Good luck !

 

[horseshowmom]

How many will be in your party?

You may be interested in a condo or a house (villa). You can get one of these (including a house or townhouse with a pool) for what you'd spend on a hotel room. It sure does make for a comfortable trip! Multiple bedrooms/bathrooms and a kitchen for much less expensive meals are a real plus.

Just a warning, once you try one of these, you may not see onsite as being so "magical" anymore!

 

[fla4fun]

When you stayed on property before, were you staying deluxe, mod, or value? If you were staying deluxe or mod, would you consider a value? You would still get all the Disney perks that way.

Keep in mind when comparing off property hotels, that the ones who advertise shuttles don't always tell you the whole story. They may only have one or two shuttles in the morning and one or two at night. They may drop you at one place regardless of where you are going (some drop everyone at TTC, some drop everyone at Epcot) so you can lose a lot of time in traveling. Some shuttles are complimentary, some you have to pay for.

Of course, there are also perks to staying off property. You generally have access to more reasonably priced restaurants and some hotels include a complimentary breakfast, which can help with costs.

 

[Brian Noble]

If you are looking for the lowest total overall bill, and you are flying, I think you'd have a hard time beating a Value resort, because ME + the onsite transportation is worth a good chunk of change in rental car costs plus parking fees.

Beating the cost of a Value resort can be done, but it's not easy, and it would be easy to end up in a dump at that price point.

 

[Anc96]

MouseSavers has the Hotel Royal Plaza in DTD on their site for a special rate plus the 4th night free and free breakfast buffet.
Here's the link to MouseSavers.com. Maybe there are other hotel specials too.
http://www.mousesavers.com/royalplaza.html

Bookit.com seems to have good prices also.

Good Luck

 

[5mins2disney]

Why don't you checkout offsite resorts?

You can rent a gorgeous pool home for less than the cost of many hotel rooms, in our case, we found the experience to be way BETTER than staying in small hotel room! We loved it so much we ended up buying a place there...and our home is less than 2 miles from the Disney maingate, closer than many of the offsite hotels, and FAR less expensive.

Check out:
www.windsorhillsrent.com

 

[nbodyhome]

The Hilton at DD is the only one with EMH. It is a lovely hotel, and worth it if you can get a good deal.

But otherwise, I'd just stick with an onsite value for a night with a AAA discount if you have AAA (and if the discount is available).

 

[BonnieA]

If you truly believe that magic is only onsite, you will be very unhappy offsite. Magic is what you make of it. Magic for me is getting a good night sleep, having plenty of space and a relaxing experience away from the disney crowds. Just got back from a magical experience at Windsor Hills. Offsite for me all the way.

 

[FLParadisevilla]

You can check out homes at www.indiancreekflorida.com

 

[CoralCayTownhome]

You will have your pick of condos and townhomes off site - check out some of the major home rental sites like www.vrbo.com or www.greatrentals.com etc. I'm sure you will find something for your budget

Tracey

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

How many will be in your party?

You may be interested in a condo or a house (villa). You can get one of these (including a house or townhouse with a pool) for what you'd spend on a hotel room. It sure does make for a comfortable trip! Multiple bedrooms/bathrooms and a kitchen for much less expensive meals are a real plus.

Just a warning, once you try one of these, you may not see onsite as being so "magical" anymore!

YOu took the words right out of my mouth (isn't that a Meatloaf song?), once you stay off site you will never want to stay on site again. The resorts are beautiful AND they are much less expensive as compared to a comparable resort onsite. This means you will either have much better accomodations if you spend the same money OR could even afford staying longer. I do not know many people who have "bitten the bullett" and stayed offsite who were not infact much happier.

 

[5mins2disney]

YOu took the words right out of my mouth (isn't that a Meatloaf song?), once you stay off site you will never want to stay on site again. The resorts are beautiful AND they are much less expensive as compared to a comparable resort onsite. This means you will either have much better accomodations if you spend the same money OR could even afford staying longer. I do not know many people who have "bitten the bullett" and stayed offsite who were not infact much happier.

Ha! ME being a big one! I was SOOO convinced I wanted to stay onsite when we first took our kids down, having done so for years growing up. My DW dragged me to Windsor Hills kicking and screaming, to the point I told her if I didn't like it we'd be checking out and going to find an onsite hotel room! LOL (fun discussion we had there! I can be a bit stubborn sometimes! LOL) BOY was I wrong! LOL We absolutely LOOOVED it! So much we went back, unplanned, a year later. Loved that trip so much too, we bought a place there!

This will sound funny to those of you on the DIS, but I was not a total Disney nut before any of this, in fact, I'd never even been on any of the DIS or Disney boards before any of these trips, we just stumbled upon it! I've since become more and more attached to it, but we never considered ourselves to be hardcore Disneyphiles, we just had a wonderful time and vacation experience there. We loved our vacation just SO much, and our overwhelming reaction was "who on earth wouldn't want to stay here?". We went home and raved to everyone about what a great place we'd found, with plasma TVs everywhere, pool, incredible resort clubhouse / waterslide, etc, all at well under $1000 for a whole week!

OK, now maybe I'm a little nutty!

 

[FutureCinderella88]

Thanks to everyone who has given me ideas, websites and what not! As for the on-site vs. off-site showdown.... I'm not intending to bring out the arguments as to which one is better than the other, this is just me asking for ideas since my mom asked.... also, more background info:

-It's just my mom and myself. so 2 adults
-We normally stay at deluxe/ value resorts..... my mom is picky
-we've stayed onsite for the past 10-ish years because my parents had a bad off-site experience.
-we rent a car... always, despite magical express option, I don't know, it's a control thing.

Basically, thank you for all your help..... I should be able to figure it out now!

 

[MiaSRN62]

-we rent a car... always, despite magical express option, I don't know, it's a control thing.

I can totally understand this !
We often rent a car ourselves even when staying onsite. But it's nice that it is an option for those not wanting to deal with rental cars or on a tight budget. Lots of luck finding a nice place offsite. There's definitely tons to choose from. You have alot to work with with all the info provided. Have a great trip

 

[FutureCinderella88]

I can totally understand this !
We often rent a car ourselves even when staying onsite. But it's nice that it is an option for those not wanting to deal with rental cars or on a tight budget. Lots of luck finding a nice place offsite. There's definitely tons to choose from. You have alot to work with with all the info provided. Have a great trip

Yay!! Someone who understands! haha, a rental car is a nice luxury to have, even on-site.

 

[Dreaming WDW]

No matter where you go....there you are! Make the best of your visit and make it memorable. Enjoy the moments with your family, and later you will never regret it, I promise you.

Later on in life, when you are footing the bills, and paying Peter Pan, you will also have choices to make. We all hope we can make the most magical visit ever for our loved ones, and one day I hope you are able to do so for your family, thanks to a college degree, and people who have helped make that happen.