Giving up on staying on property....

[TeresaWen]

I'm not picking on you, but when posters say they can't afford to stay on site, what I think they are saying is they can't stay on site and go as often as they would like.

I love going to WDW as often as I can. And if I had to choose between going less often and staying off site, I'm not sure which I would pick. But staying off site is a choice, we could all save up longer and take less frequent trips, if on site (or deluxe) is what we really preferred.

I for one have gotten spoiled by several resorts we have been lucky enough to stay out over this past year. I am getting accustomed to having more space - at least a living room in addition to a bedroom. It is hard to justify spending $500 or more a night for a 220 square foot room with barely enough room for beds. If I am not staying in an EPCOT resort I might as well be offsite since these hotels are the only places that would allow us to walk back to our hotel.

If it turns out that walking back to my hotel is worth the extra $4,200 (assuming a discount of at least 30% and a two week stay) and giving up all that space, I will go back to staying on site.

It seems the more well traveled I become, the less enchanted I am by "Disney magic" at the resorts - believe me I love Disney or we would not be going at all but at some point the price point becomes unjustifiable when you consider what else you could get for your money.

 

[Santa]

We have gotten AP's on several occasions over the years. Several years ago I began pondering if I was really getting the best bang for my buck from Disney. 5 or 6 years ago rack rate at POR was around $140. I usually found a discount to lower the cost to around $110 - $120.

I do not need Disney magic 24/7. We started this year (spring break) off site. I wont be staying on site again until Disney starts pricing their properties realistically. I have never been a fan of free dining just to make a higher profit on the room. In my opinion free dining has cost Disney more than what they make on rack room charges. They have lost good out of pocket paying customers. The menu's have been degraded to feed the masses and there are better options off-site if you know where to look.

Disney found in the 80's that people were spending a lot of money outside Disney property. So WDW started an aggressive build campaign to attract those dollars. The real world outside of Disney is now in that same process.

I can rent a 3 bed, 2 bath house 2 miles from Disney and travel back & forth in less time than most of my travel time inside the WDW property. 15- 20 minutes waiting on a crowded bus to stand on to ride to & from the parks is not a magical experience. In that same 15 - 20 minutes I can be in my car & back at the rental house with the private pool & full kitchen.