First timers -- should we stay on property or off?

[klcrawford]

Hi - we are looking to visit Disney this September with our 2 and 4 year old. I can't decide if we should stay on property or off (looking at Bonnet Creek). I really like the idea of having the extra space and being able to put the kids to bed in a separate room and being able to enjoy some time with my husband in the evenings. I'm concerned that we will miss out on the experience of it all though if we stay off property, plus no extra magic hours or Fast Pass reservations as far in advance. Thoughts? Advice?

 

[maxiesmom]

Can your budget afford any of the Disney resorts that offer suites or villas? With a family suite at either the All Star Music or Art of Animation you would get multiple sleeping areas. Plus a kitchenette.

 

[pooh4evr]

would you be renting a car? If you stay onsite you don't need to, but if off, you might need to. I know Bonnet Creek is within the Disney property, never stayed there myself so I don't know about shuttle service. Anyway, if you rent a car and drive to the parks being an offsite guest you would have to pay for parking. So consider those costs when adding up the $$ difference. As a first time guest the size of the entire Disney area can be overwhelming, I might consider staying onsite for the first time, (since you won't have to drive) then for later trips once you kind of know more about the area offsite might be good.

 

[MandiC]

We enjoyed staying on-site for our first trip. It really frees up your options IMO (if you are early risers or night owls you can get extra hours in the park. You can go to the parks using Disney buses and if someone wants to leave early...or go to the parks early...not a big deal they can catch a different bus. Not only that, all of the resorts just have that extra Disney touch. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and we could have spent a week there with no park days and been fully entertained!
If you feel strongly about a separate bedroom for the kids I agree with looking into either a family suite at a value or a cabin at Fort Wilderness.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

First question are you driving or flying to Disney?

 

[klcrawford]

First question are you driving or flying to Disney?

We will be driving. We are thinking of maybe doing 2 nights onsite and the another 4 at the WBC. Will that be too much of a hassle? I would sort of like to break up our park days and have a day to just relax and rest up for more days of the park. I feel so torn!

 

[MandiC]

Lots of people do split stays but personally I wouldn't. It seems like a waste of time and energy to me. If we can find a good enough deal we will eventually try an off-site stay to compare but as of right now the benefits of on-site are worth it for us, even as a family of 6

 

[100AcreWood]

I'm a big fan of staying offsite. The cost savings are wonderful and we enjoy having the extra space. The only downside for us is the ticket and transportation center. You have to park there to visit MK. I would love to avoid that!

 

[limpy]

DO Bonnet Creek! We just got back from a first time trip with our 19 month old and 4.5 year old. We had a 2 bedroom deluxe and loved the space. The kids loved running around the suite. We could have them napping in different rooms while we hung out in the living room or dining room and did laundry. It is closer to the parks than many of the resorts and I am so glad that we drove the whole time. We never had to wait for a shuttle or wrestle with a double stroller on Disney transportation. We occasionally valet parked at a resort and walked to the park, which was the most convenient with two small children.

I forgot to even mention the savings. The third of the cost of a suite onsite, even renting DVC points.

 

[kingmatt]

I love staying onsite. One of my favorite parts about disney is that once you are at your resort you don't have to drive your own car. You can take the bus, boat, or monorail depending on where you stay. I also like staying onsite for the dining plan. I am willing to pay a little extra for convenience, but I understand that it is not for everyone. I'm sure you will enjoy your trip either way so don't stress too much about it.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We will be driving. We are thinking of maybe doing 2 nights onsite and the another 4 at the WBC. Will that be too much of a hassle? I would sort of like to break up our park days and have a day to just relax and rest up for more days of the park. I feel so torn!

Having your own car makes offsite a lot more doable & the cost savings can be pretty big. I'd run the numbers & see how it shakes out

 

[MrInfinity]

Hi - we are looking to visit Disney this September with our 2 and 4 year old. I can't decide if we should stay on property or off (looking at Bonnet Creek). I really like the idea of having the extra space and being able to put the kids to bed in a separate room and being able to enjoy some time with my husband in the evenings. I'm concerned that we will miss out on the experience of it all though if we stay off property, plus no extra magic hours or Fast Pass reservations as far in advance. Thoughts? Advice?

If you're going to Disney World.... especially for your first time... stay in Disney World. Don't stay across the street and drive to Disney World every day. Seriously. It's hard to explain. Once you've been, you get it. Bonnet Creek is nice I'm sure, but given the choice, stay at Disney. It's such a different experience from any other park you've ever been to. It's going to a park every day for 7 days, vs being at a Disney resort for a week, completely immersed in the World. Not driving in your car, parking each day, etc. You park once, and begin your vacation. You do not look back at your car until a week later and the time has flown by too fast. If you're flying in, even better. Your transportation is covered then. It's hard to beat Bonnet's rate... they're more than a Value, but less than a Moderate... and I recommend at least a Moderate at Disney so there's the cost difference to consider.

 

[tink9702]

Depends on which is more important to you personally.

Off-site you can get more space for less money. We rented an entire house, around $100 a night but had a private pool, kitchen facilities, separate bedrooms. Another plus in my book of staying off-site is driving yourselves and not being stuck on the bus schedule when it arrives and having my personal space after a long day at the parks. We personally had a much more relaxing stay knowing the kids had a separate bedroom and we could relax once they went to bed. And with young children we knew we wouldn't be staying out past 8pm the majority of the days. If your kids are night owls this becomes less of a benefit of course! I also personally liked having a kitchen for breakfast.

On-site you get EMH (which I realized our family wouldn't use, so look at that critically. The morning ones were way too early and the evening ones our young children wouldn't have made it to), bus transportation so you don't have to drive if that's important to you & the Disney bubble/theming.

As far as FP+ goes, the three things that are hard to get during the time of year you are going at the 30 day limit (off-site people) are Anna&Elsa, 7Dwarfs Mine Train & a mid-day time frame for Toy Story Midway Mania. But you can always Rope Drop all of them if you need to. We did RD for Mine Train and walked right on easy! I know TSMM is also easy to RD, not sure about A&E.

Good luck deciding which works better for you!!!!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

It is funny what's a priority for some means zero to others. I found driving around Disney easier than picking my kids up from school, so being able to "avoid driving" isn't even a perk at all for me. EMH on the other hand would be nice.

 

[sueliz]

I think offsite with kids your kids ages- esp if they take afternoon naps. It is sooooooooo nice to put them in another room than you. We would put ours in separate rooms for nap as they slept in same room at night but would have played for naps. This way they got a much needed nap and this was on a MK day. We drove our car and didn't think it was a big deal (TTC and all) and really it is nice at night when your kids are tired to drive up so close to your room and park which is not the case with buses at onsite resorts. Our offsite stay was in dec 2013- before fp + so that is the only part I may feel sad about- not getting to book as early. We didn't miss EMH at all. Also, my kids LOVED where we stayed and loved running around it playing hide and seek. I don't think they missed disney decor. The owner of the townhouse we stayed at had a huge minnie and mickey stuffed animals on the bed and my kids (4 and 5 at the time) had such a fun time playing with them. So just an idea if you want to disney up your room a bit- get some stuffed animals- free shipping at disney store.com today. I am not against onsite- staying onsite this june- just think offsite and the space is perfect for age of your kids. Also BC sounds wonderful to me.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We've stayed both onsite and offsite and are fans of both for different reasons; but for your very first WDW trip, I vote for staying onsite if you can. There is so much to take in on that first trip (especially a trip with young children) that the all inclusive aspect of staying onsite makes things easier for a newbie IMHO. I think a successful offsite stay requires some additional research that is easier to deal with once you've learned the ropes so to speak. We're a family of seven, and as much as we're enamored by the Disney resorts, we prefer the space and amenities of an offsite condo or house; but for your family, I think it would be beneficial to perhaps look into a family suite at Art of Animation or All Star Music or even a DVC villa if that is an option within your reach. Happy planning

 

[HockeyIsLife]

This may be crazy, but I think staying on property spoils you. And keeps you from exploring what the area has to offer. The convenience of staying on property and being transported at no cost to all that WDW has to offer is great. But you miss some awesome attractions.
The first two times we stayed in a rental super close by. We saw the Orlando Science Center (AWESOME!!!), Universal and Sea World. We also went to Magic Kingdom. And then we stayed for the first time on property and never went back. It is so convenient. But now that Lego Land and Harry Potter exists, we are going to have to venture out....
You wont be disappointed by staying on property. Your children will love it and you will catch the Disney bug, but it will spoil you!

 

[klcrawford]

Thanks folks -- this has been helpful. Does anyone know how the FP+ works if you do a split stay? Can I book FP+ 60 days out for just the days we are on property or for our whole trip? Also, maybe a silly question -- but as long as we use all the tickets within 14 days, we can do like 2 days at the parks, 1 day off, and then go back -- essentially, I would like to break up our last few days in the park. I can do that, right? I feel like I had to do less research to write my final thesis for college, than prepping for a Disney trip! LOL!

 

[tzolkin]

Thanks folks -- this has been helpful. Does anyone know how the FP+ works if you do a split stay? Can I book FP+ 60 days out for just the days we are on property or for our whole trip? Also, maybe a silly question -- but as long as we use all the tickets within 14 days, we can do like 2 days at the parks, 1 day off, and then go back -- essentially, I would like to break up our last few days in the park. I can do that, right? I feel like I had to do less research to write my final thesis for college, than prepping for a Disney trip! LOL!

You can book FP+ for the days you will be onsite (including arrival and check out day) at 60 days and would have to wait until 30 days to book the rest.

Yes, you are correct, you do not have to use the tickets on consecutive days. You can do 3 days, take two days off, and then do another 3 days.


As for the onsite/offsite advice... We always choose to stay on site. We do make use of the EMHs, we love to use the Disney transportation, and we feel it gives us the most flexibility (we always get Park hoppers and occasionally like to split up).

It really depends on your family and your priorities. For many the extra space you can get offsite is worth more than anything. My family has plenty of personal space year round and we get along well, so we do not mind having the five of us sharing one room at Disney (and we usually go for 10-14 days).

We think the morning EMHs are a huge benefit. A few years ago they were offered every day and when my kids were younger we attended EMH every single morning. Some like to sleep in or don't have park hoppers, so this isn't a benefit they choose to take advantage of.

Staying onsite also gives us flexibility with transportation. Although we stay together most of the time, it's nice to have options. For example, my oldest and I had a mother-daughter tradition of a late night at MK our first few trips. Once DS got sick, so DH took him back to the room. Now my kids are older, so maybe they want to hop to a different park while DH and I go back to the resort. If we were staying offsite we wouldn't have the option of going two places at one time since we only have one vehicle.