Do you ever regret staying off site? - Update! We're staying offsite!

[ParkHopperFan]

You are really cheating yourself out of some really fantastic attractions by not getting a car and soley relying on the shuttles or public transport.

There is so much to see and do in the area beyond the Disney bubble. We visit several times per year and always try to visit something new.

Get a car and see the area. You'll be surprised how much fun you will have by not standing in lines all day.

 

[JimMIA]

We are Wyndham timeshare owners, but will be trying to exchange our points with RCI for a DVC resort from here on out.

Not that hard to do if you go to school and learn how to use RCI. If you're not happy being offsite at WDW, that would be a good option for you. And a Wyndham/RCI/DVC exchange is a great value exchange!

TUG is a priceless resource for exchanging. If you're not already a member, I'd suggest going over there and joining ($15 per year) so you have use of the full resources of TUG, including the Sightings forum.

 

[katyjeka]

We LOVE Bonnet Creek!!! When we became a family of five, and now six, staying onsite became very difficult. I can't imagine spending thousands for a hotel room when most of our time is spent in the parks. Staying at BC allows us the chance to spend 12 or 13 days for the cost of 5 "inside" Disney. We do take a couple of days off and have always enjoyed our time at the resort. If you love the Disney bus system, you will not be happy at Bonnet Creek, but we are the type that likes to drive to the park. We hate waiting on buses when we have a tired, cranky child with us. Have a great trip.

 

[DanenRox]

So, do you regret staying off site and if you had the option would you prefer on site?

Yes. And Yes.

 

[kathy884]

As so many have said and IMHO Offsite is a great option if you don't mind driving and will have a car or be getting a rental car. // Even if I'm onsite, it sort of drive me crazy if I don't have a car for doing my own exploring whenever I feel like it. But for me as much as I love Disney, there are so many other things in Orlando that I like to do, so the Disney bubble is too restricting to me / not my thing.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We just returned from WBC after years of only staying on property and have to say.........sorry, but we hated it. We are the no-driving type of vacationers at WDW and rely totally on the shuttle buses for transportation and the WBC shuttle bus system was a total nightmare for us. Honestly, it almost ruined our whole trip b/c the whole process was such a hassle and so costly and inconvenient. We ended up having to use a couple of expensive cabs that also took forever to arrive, so an even bigger hassle. We also missed the "Disney Magic" of staying on property and found the staff of WBC, on the whole, not helpful and a couple of times just plain rude. It was very disappointing. We are Wyndham timeshare owners, but will be trying to exchange our points with RCI for a DVC resort from here on out. We missed the easy and free Disney transportation system, the free Magic Express airport transfers, use of the Disney Dining plan, Extra Magic Hours, and the friendly, helpful, and professional Disney CM's too much.....sorry! Yes, the extra space and washer / dryer were nice, the pools/hot tubs really nice....but not nice enough for the trade off the convenience, service, and "magic" of staying on property. Just different tastes and needs for different people, I guess....

I can see how not having a car would be a hassle offsite.

As far as helpful CMs, I haven't met too many of them during our DVC stays (thru Disney with cash). DVC very much feels like any timeshare where you are on your own. And for many of them, the bus service can be annoying as well. Even when you are supposed to get more service when you reserve thru WDTC, we have still had to do our own housekeeping on occasion when I get sick of calling them to "remind" them that we are not DVC stays.

 

[HopperFan]

Wow, someone didn't read this thread and others like it.

Rule #1 if you stay offsite: RENT A CAR. Hotel shuttles to the parks are notoriously terrible and should not be counted on.

If you are so set on not driving, you absolutely need to stay onsite. Yes, you'll be waiting for some buses, but at least you know they'll come.

Completely agree. We are there about 6 weeks a year, half on site and half off site. We would never consider an offsite stay without a car. That would be a deal breaker. Orlando has some of the most expensive "transportation costs" and just what it would take to get back and forth from airport to our hotel/resort would go a long way in renting a car.

We loved Bonnet Creek (and I didn't expect to) and have another week booked in December.

 

[VickiVM]

Wow, someone didn't read this thread and others like it.

Rule #1 if you stay offsite: RENT A CAR. Hotel shuttles to the parks are notoriously terrible and should not be counted on.

If you are so set on not driving, you absolutely need to stay onsite. Yes, you'll be waiting for some buses, but at least you know they'll come.

To be fair, WBC's shuttle service (when it was free, even) was much more reliable and ran more frequently.

 

[floridacrazy]

Hi everyone. I'll be staying at Cypress Pointe Resort for 3 weeks without a car. No one in my family drives so we have to rely on cabs.

If I had to stay on-site, I wouldn't be able to go away for 3 weeks. I would rather have 3 weeks offsite than one week at a Disney value resort. Last year I spent 2 weeks at Bonnet Creek in a 2-bedroom. It was 6 of us and after staying at BC I could never stay in a small room at Pop Century again.

This year I wanted to go to BC again, but I couldn't get a 2-bedroom for my entire stay and with 5 of us, a 1-bedroom wouldn't work. Cypress Pointe Resort doesn't sound great in a lot of reviews and I really don't think that too many people on this site go there, but it is in walking distance of a supermarket and restaurants.

We will be at the parks most of the time and I am going to have to rely on cabs for most of my stay. I am going to try and use the shuttle at Cypress Pointe, but it is an outside company and it gets very poor reviews.

The hard part of being at Bonnet Creek was going to a supermarket by cab. I used the shuttles to the parks, It wasn't the best, but it was a little cheaper than a cab - depending on how many of us were going to a park at one time.

If I could drive or someone else in my family I would definitely rent a car, but some of us just can't. I just can't see the price of a Disney hotel just to use their buses. I still have to pay to get to SeaWorld and Universal.

 

[greenclan67]

You will love Cypress Pointe. We have stayed at BC as well. We have went nack to Cypress many times but never BC. We like the smallness of CP the rooms are a great size. We do rent a car and have never used the shuttles so cant comment on that.

 

[powellrj]

We have stayed at Cypress point many times over the years and have always enjoyed it. The pool is nice and the kids used the mini golf. It is really close to many things you can walk to.

 

[Brian Noble]

Yes, as others have mentioned: if one isn't willing to drive, staying offsite is just about a non-starter.

But, having stayed at Bonnet and several of the DVCs (OKW, BCV, BWV, VWL, and BLT) I don't find the staff at the Disney resorts to be all that "magical." Disney staff are very good at smiling and chatting you up, but they're not quite so good at actually helping you when you need help. Case in point: we needed to ship something to BLT, but the Cast Member my wife called to get the resort address gave her CSR's by mistake. Not a big deal, it's just one line down from Contemporary on the alphabetical list.

But, when we went to the front desk to figure out what happened, the CM there not only had no idea that that was CSR's address, she was convinced it was offsite somewhere. She was pleasant and apologetic all this time, but not at all useful. I ended up having to take care of it myself. Luckily, I had a car, so it wasn't too hard to go get the package.

 

[kathy884]

Hi everyone. I'll be staying at Cypress Pointe Resort for 3 weeks without a car. No one in my family drives so we have to rely on cabs.

If I had to stay on-site, I wouldn't be able to go away for 3 weeks. I would rather have 3 weeks offsite than one week at a Disney value resort. Last year I spent 2 weeks at Bonnet Creek in a 2-bedroom. It was 6 of us and after staying at BC I could never stay in a small room at Pop Century again.

This year I wanted to go to BC again, but I couldn't get a 2-bedroom for my entire stay and with 5 of us, a 1-bedroom wouldn't work. Cypress Pointe Resort doesn't sound great in a lot of reviews and I really don't think that too many people on this site go there, but it is in walking distance of a supermarket and restaurants.

We will be at the parks most of the time and I am going to have to rely on cabs for most of my stay. I am going to try and use the shuttle at Cypress Pointe, but it is an outside company and it gets very poor reviews.

The hard part of being at Bonnet Creek was going to a supermarket by cab. I used the shuttles to the parks, It wasn't the best, but it was a little cheaper than a cab - depending on how many of us were going to a park at one time.

If I could drive or someone else in my family I would definitely rent a car, but some of us just can't. I just can't see the price of a Disney hotel just to use their buses. I still have to pay to get to SeaWorld and Universal.

I haven't been there recently, but we have enjoyed several stays at Cypress Point over the years and are staying there again next December in a two bedroom. You are correct that there are a few places that you can walk to from there. We think it's a very nice property, a great location, and that most people would really like it. Just mentioning that we're very comfortable and happy about getting to stay there again.

 

[floridacrazy]

Hi everyone. I'm glad to hear that some people have stayed at Cypress Pointe and have enjoyed their stay. I was really beginning to worry about staying there because of all the mixed reviews on Tripadvisor.

I usually take reviews with a grain of salt, but when Cypress says that the rooms and areas around the resort are renovated and people say the rooms are outdated. Another question I posted on Tug2.net and on this site was to see how the air conditioners at Cypress are. Over 200 people on Tug read the question and I didn't get one answer.

I read a lot of reviews where people say that the AC's are set at 75. To me that's not cool at all. They also say that the AC's can't be changed and that the cool air doesn't go into the bedrooms. It will drive me crazy sleeping in a hot bedroom for 3 weeks.

Is there any truth to that? Can the AC's be adjusted at all? Does the cool air go into the bedrooms? Can the AC be left on all the time so when we come back from a park or from the pool, the room will be cool?

Are the air conditioners at Cypress set to go off when there is no movement in the room? I've read somewhere that if you leave some helium balloons in a room that the AC (ones that are motion sensored) will stay on.

Thanks for any info about the air conditioning at Cypress.

 

[powellrj]

I honestly don't remember anything about the air conditioning, so I can't be of any help there.

 

[Phillips Family]

Marriott World Center is our favorite off-site hotel

Also, the JW Marriott is amazing. If you are on a budget, the Renessaince Sea World has two Queen beds per room, so you can comfortably sleep two adults, and two kids

 

[Magalex]

We stayed off-site for the first time from June 20th-June 28th. But still very close in our comfort zone of DTD. We stayed at the newly renovated "The B Resort" Just opened. It was very nice and staff was very attentive and friendly. Enjoyed our stay! But we are returning to the Disney on-site resorts for future upcoming visits.

 

[Grumpy92]

I will caution you about the view of the fireworks as well. The resort is a little bit away from the EC & MK so your view is going to be limited. Plus you have to make sure your room is on the correct side of the resort to see as well. I have stayed at some of the DTD hotels and you have to be on a higher floor and on the right side to take full advantage of the view.

I can say we have stayed at Pop many times and been able to walk out our room door and watch the EC fireworks easily. Location is the key.

Do what makes you feel comfortable. IF you are worried about staying offsite then look into some of the DVC properties. There are good offsite resorts and some bad ones. Everyone brings different expectations and experiences.