four day at disney resort vs 6 days offsite

[mickeyfan83]

would you prefer 4 nights at a disney value resort or 6 nights at an offsite resort that includes breakfast and good shuttle times. once i add the price of the regular tickets it comes out to the same price basically. Dh wants to visit sea world and do their shark program which is either expensive or out of the question if we stay at disney. but we will loose in park time but we can spread things out more. also a question about the park hopper - if we have dinner and chew mickeys can we only get there if we have a park hopper pass or are staying at one of the resorts? i started doing some math and if we pay for everythiing ala carte with AAA its actually cheaper even when u take into account 88 bucks for mears transportation. does anyone know if u can make paymentss with AAA or only disney? also does disney have any specials right now? i had quoted 1800 for one week with tickets and dining be4. i am going to try again w/o dining and think about it but i know it wont take it down to what i want to pay. btw we are going in may unless Dh gets a job at cedar point

 

[mickeyfan83]

eta at chef mickeys

 

[JenAusty]

I would prefer onsite over offsite. I would just recommend renting a car or taking a taxi or something to sea world. Because while you are at DWR you don't have to worrry about driving and such. I guess it all depends on how much time you want to spend at Disney World. If its not a lot then maybe offsite is the best. Either way- you said it is the same price. Then again.. 6 days is better than 4.

 

[torinsmom]

I would not stay offsite unless I had a rental car. We did once and the shuttles were just not convenient at all. I think they ran once in the morning(arriving after the park opened) and then once in the evening.

If you stay offsite, be sure to add in the cost of parking at the parks each day. Once I did that, I decided that the $10 or so difference per night was not much to pay for being in Disney magic 24-7.

Marsha

 

[Silver Queen]

I've stayed both offsite and on site and I definitely prefer the onsite experience. The resorts are comfortable and attractive and seem to have a little bit of the magic that's in the parks. The cast members in the resorts have always been excellent. Another advantage is that if you like it's easier to hop on a bus and take an afternoonn break back at your resort for a nap and swim. That being said I do understand the attraction of six days verses four. Our first two trips were off site because that was before the moderate resorts and that was what we could afford. Either way you will have a wonderful time so use your best judgement and enjoy your trip.

 

[torinsmom]

When are you planning to go? How many adults and kids?

There are different rates and discounts depending on the season. Value season is cheaper-with AAA, I can get $66/night rates at a value. With AAA,if you only book the room, you can only go through Disney and if you book a package, you can only go through AAA. If you go during late August-late September, you may be able to do free dining, but would have rack rates for the room. Free dining is usually released in April, and you would have to watch for it.

There's always the possibility of a general discount code. If you go to the resorts board, there are threads for the different months. Once they are released, someone will post the code. you have to really watch for these too, because there are only a certain number of rooms.

I wouldn't do the paid DDP if you will be visiting places outside of Disney. Plan a few character breakfasts-they are cheaper than the dinners. Chef Mickey's is good and has a lot of characters.

You don't have to have a ticket to have dinner at Chef Mickey's. You can take a bus to MK and then take the monorail to the Contemporary. The monorail is not inside the park, so you wouldn't need a ticket.

If you want to save money, I would not get hoppers on your tickets. That will save $45 per ticket. You can easily spend all day in one park, whether you stay onsite or not. AK closes early, but that is a good day to relax by the pool or do DTD.

Marsha

 

[john2u]

I would only do onsite vs offsite. Everything is soooo right there for you.


Have a disney day

 

[amsyw]

We always stay offsite... we have a timeshire so that makes a difference I know. But we love it. We either rent a car if we fly or we drive down, so we always have a car. Don't know if that is a budget breaker or not. But we love being able to have breakfast at the condo a couple of days which saves us money, plus we have a fridge, stove, washer and dryer.

I would give up staying onsite in order to have the extra days, but that is just me! To me, 4 days is like getting a "trial size" package! Just not enough!