First time!

[karenf74]

After serving in the AF for 20 years, my husband has retired and we are now living close enough to WDW to drive! I'm researching and planning our first trip! We used to go to Disneyland several times a year, but from everything I've read, this is a whole new ball game! Help! We are going with another family and plan on being there nov. 22. - nov. 29. We will buy out tickets through the military and do 4 days in the parks and 1 at universal. Help me explain why we want to stay on site and not some value motel. Why do we want to spend thousands instead of hundreds? Thanks so much!

 

[Heidi K]

Do you have kids? Ages? For us, the kids are one of the major reasons we're planning to stay on-site (at a value) this August. I LOVE using the park transportation and not having to worry about car seats & driving while we're there. I also am looking forward to splitting up easily, with one of us staying with our DS 8 at the park while the other returns to the resort for naps with the two littles.

 

[karenf74]

We will have 5 kids total ranging in age from 9 to 17.

 

[Heidi K]

If my kids were teens, the option of splitting up occasionally would be an incentive to stay on-site. For ex, if a couple of the older ones want to stay later at a park, it's very easy & safe for them to ride resort transportation back to your resort, if you'd be comfortable with that.

However, I definitely understand the draw of saving some money off-site! It can be a lot cheaper.

 

[little miss minnie]

For our upcoming trip we were also considering off site vs. on site. The off site price was awesome.. But we felt the on site perks outweighed the off site price. We are the type of people that like the whole "disney experience.". We love being immersed in it, from the room, to the parks, to the buses! So that's something you should decide of its important to you or not. Another big reason we chose on site was the transportation. We are flying in, so we didn't want to deal with rental cars, parking or a car seat situation for our daughter. Plus, you can't beat the Magical Express, which not only transports you to your resort from the airport, but it also takes care of your luggage by transporting it and delivering it to your room. Also, if you dont stay on site, I don't think you can take advantage of the magic bands. Those were something we definitely wanted to be a part of. And, if the Dining Plan is something you are interested in, you need to stay on Disney property. The off site hotels are gorgeous, and the prices are amazing... But they have to be in order to compete with Disney. I suppose the first step is deciding which aspects of your trip are important to you... What kind of experience do you want to have? Each has their perks, you just need to figure out which perks better suit your family and situation.

 

[RHMH]

Dis friend Sending your way.

 

[Kristina4109]

My two cents - or more counting for inflation.

When we go to DisneyLAND, we often stay off site. We'll stay on if we can afford it because it's just super cool to do so, but we can have a totally good time staying off.

When we go to Walt Disney WORLD, we stay on property. WDW is HUGE. And the drive from the gates that say "Welcome to Walt Disney World" to the actual theme parks is significant. There is no such thing as walking across the street from an off property hotel into the parks.

Also, if you stay on property you can make your Fast Pass + assignments 60 days in advance of your trip. If you stay off property you can make those assignments the day of your trip. This is still in the "testing" phase so it could change, but as of today that's what's going on.

Don't know if the Dining Plan is something you're thinking about, but only on-site guests can get it. Also, if you stay on site you can make dining reservations 10 days earlier than the general public.

On-site transportation is quite good, as well. Some off site places charge for their transportation, and some of them have buses or vans that do not run very often.

Just my thoughts!

 

[Irish Piglet]

Welcome to the Dis. You will get a ton of good information from this site.

 

[Aliceacc]

One of the biggest arguments for staying on site right now is that you can book FP+ 60 days before the start of your vacation. For now at least, that's not a perk open to off site guests.

And Disney transportation means that you can split up. If, say, the younger kids need some down time and you want to go back to the resort, your 2 oldest (or they and your husband) can stay behind and get back easily a bit later.

 

[JMADgrad]

For our upcoming trip we were also considering off site vs. on site. The off site price was awesome.. But we felt the on site perks outweighed the off site price. We are the type of people that like the whole "disney experience.". We love being immersed in it, from the room, to the parks, to the buses! So that's something you should decide of its important to you or not. Another big reason we chose on site was the transportation. We are flying in, so we didn't want to deal with rental cars, parking or a car seat situation for our daughter. Plus, you can't beat the Magical Express, which not only transports you to your resort from the airport, but it also takes care of your luggage by transporting it and delivering it to your room. Also, if you dont stay on site, I don't think you can take advantage of the magic bands. Those were something we definitely wanted to be a part of. And, if the Dining Plan is something you are interested in, you need to stay on Disney property. The off site hotels are gorgeous, and the prices are amazing... But they have to be in order to compete with Disney. I suppose the first step is deciding which aspects of your trip are important to you... What kind of experience do you want to have? Each has their perks, you just need to figure out which perks better suit your family and situation.

I agree with everything above - but even if you are driving to the World as we do when we visit from out of state, the Disney transportation system is one big reasons we love on site. Once we park the car, we can just relax/enjoy the magic of Disney. Time savings is a big plus, too, when you combine the Dis Transport with the EMH and fast pass perks. I also can't imagine missing out on some of the signature dining - and having the dining plan makes this affordable for us. For our trip this summer I seriously considered staying off site to save money, but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to do it - and I don't think my teenage DDs would have allowed it, either!

Two years ago we did Universal instead, and to my surprise our teens preferred Disney! If you do plan to do Universal and you don't decide to stay at Disney, I would recommend staying at least one night at a Universal hotel if your budget will allow because the "fast pass" perk there is definitely worth it (especially with the new Harry Potter attraction opening this year), as is the convenience of Universal transportation (much like Disney).

 

[wiigirl]

 

[karenf74]

Thank you for all of the comments! My boys are going this summer with their father so we've decided to take my daughter this summer too. Almost as a scouting trip! We will be staying onsite for this trip, and doing the dining plan. Now, we need to figure where to stay!