Help me see the ups and downs of this.

[shelle94]

I know everyone is probably tired of the onsite/offsite debate, but I really need some help. My best friend and I are trying to plan a trip to WDW. We have no idea how long we will be staying. Atleast a week, but maybe longer. We have tentatively set a date, but we aren't even sure about that. She is in the Navy, so we are excited about the discounts. Our biggest hurdle right now is whether to stay at one of the All Stars for I believe $52 a night including tax or to grab a condo through one of the military discount sites for possibly $250-300 for a week.

I would prefer to stay onsite. I know the rooms are small, but it will be just the two of us and I love the convenience of being so close. That way if one of us wanted to go back to the room for a break we wouldn't both have to go. She is looking at condos because of the kitchen and laundry facilities. She thinks we will save money by staying there. She also mentioned some of them have shuttles. I think if we stay at a condo we will have to rent a car and we will have to pay for parking. That right there will eat into any savings. The toaster and microwave in the AS food court is good enough for me and we can use the town car grocery stop to grab some snacks.

Help me see the advantages and disadvantages please! It sounds to me like the only reason she wants to stay offsite is to save money and usually staying offsite is cheaper. But with the military salute discounts, I don't see the savings.

 

[ILOVEDVC]

Even though I've stayed off-site many times, I still prefer to stay on-site, for the very reasons you've mentioned. Fighting the traffic, paying for parking (if you have an annual pass you don't pay), the ability to go back and forth to your room easily, just the ambiance of it all.

It's a personal decision, tho....in the past I've saved some $$ by doing off-site, but I always felt like I've "missed" something and added to by inconvenience by doing so.

 

[chatty]

What about staying at the Shades of Green where all the service men and women get a great discount. If this is too pricey what about trying the Swan/Dolphin for a discount. And If all those ideas don't work the moderates and values are just Great on property, plus you can;t beat the WDW transportation. I always say that I would sleep on a park bench as long as it was in WDW. Good Luck and you guys have a great time.
Chatty

 

[georgina]

I would not want to rely on shuttles from off-site places. We did that our first time. There were shuttles to the parks in the morning, and shuttles back from the parks in the evening, but it would be very difficult to go back to the room in the afternoon and get back to the parks in the evening. We had to take a taxi. If you are going to the parks and staying all day, it would work.

We have taken a collapsible cooler with us for breakfast foods, used ice from the hotel to keep it cool, and had breakfast and snacks in our room. This would be a way to save money in an on-site room.

 

[crusoe2]

If you are only looking at staying off-site for the savings, in this case it doesn't look as if it would be worth it. Based on the rate you quoted for All Stars, it would cost you about $364 for 7 nites on-site opposed to about $250-300 off-site. As others have said, it isn't a good idea to rely on shuttles from off-site accommodations since they don't usually run as frequently as the on-site buses and many make several stops so take longer to get to the parks. Car rental, parking fees and gas will probably cost more than the towncar service so will eat into your savings on your accommodations. As for the kitchen and laundry room saving you some money, unless you're going to do an awful lot of laundry the cost of doing it in the resort laundry room shouldn't be that bad. And I would think that running back and forth to the condo to eat would use up so much valuable park time that it would not be worth the savings. I agree that you can probably save just as much by having a cooler in the room with some breakfast foods, snacks and maybe some quick and easy meal items like sandwich fixins. Also, the All Star foodcourts and the counter service places in the parks are pretty reasonably priced, imo, so I don't think you would spend much more on food there than if you went to a fastfood place off-site. For me, if there was no way we could afford on-site or if we really felt like we needed or wanted the extra space then I would go with off-site accommodations. But we just did on-site with 2 kids, one of whom is only 6 months old, and we did not feel cramped even with all the baby stuff in the room. I have also found that no matter how much I'm saving, I won't be happy off-site if I know that I could have afforded a Disney resort. I love the themeing and we almost always split up at some point so the transportation is a big advantage for us. Hope this helps and that you guys have a great trip whatever you decide.

 

[shelle94]

Thanks everybody. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being closed minded or spoiled about it. I really don't see the advantages of staying offsite in this case. I told my friend I would look into the condo thing and let her know. We have been communicating pretty much through emails because we live all the way across the country from each other. We both keep throwing out ideas and then saying, "It's up to you". It's driving me crazy. I read these boards every day and even though I have only been to WDW twice (once when I was very young and once last year) I know I could plan this trip myself with no problem. But I don't want to leave her feeling left out. I believe she has been there once at a young age and hasn't been there since. I don't want to come across as a know-it-all.

I'm having a hard time not taking charge of the whole thing and planning everything the way I want it.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Don't tell her "It's up to you." Just let her tell you that, so this way your response to her would be, "Thanks, thanks for letting me take charge on where to stay. You will enjoy the ASR, the atmosphere is very Disney and you get a lot of perks for staying on-sight."

Do a light grocery. Buy bottled water, some chips or any nik-naks (snacks), so you guys can have something to munch while at your room, buy a lite "on the go" breakfast. Buy a styrofoam to put any cold cuts in there and maybe milk for your cereal. Use the ice from the resort.

Would you guys actually have time to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner? Probably by the time you guys get back to the room (condo), you guys will be too tired to cook. And taking a mid-day break back to your condo, you will loose time by commuting. You have to also give yourself an extra time to get to the park cause the shuttle is not going to drop you off right at the entrance of the parks.

 

[epcotfan]

Definitely stay onsite. I stayed offsite once and it was horrible relying on shuttle service.

 

[ceecee]

Another vote for on site. $52.00 is a great rate and the food court is inexpensive enough. Who wants to cook and wash disnes on vacation anyway. There are two laundry rooms at the AS as well. Not having to drive is one of the things we like best. Don't forget the Mickey wake-up calls!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DrTomorrow]

We both keep throwing out ideas and then saying, "It's up to you". It's driving me crazy.

I know how you feel. Every two years a group of guys from high school (we're in our 40s now) go to Las Vegas. Everyone tosses out ideas, but since I'm the resident LV expert, I usually just say that I'm going to make the decisions, and they're happy not to have to decide. It's important to take others' needs/wants into consideration (price is a big one for some), but you need someone to step up and make the decisions - I suggest that, in this case - that someone should be you. Plus, you've found the DIS board, so how can you go wrong?

 

[shelle94]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts about this. It has helped.

Ok, I'm giving my friend only today to decide and then I'm going to just start booking. I'm taking control. She still has not given me anything to work with. I've given it much thought and I think I have a plan. I'm thinking about booking the Courtyard by Marriot for 5 nights at the $20.03 rate and then booking another 5 nights onsite, but I haven't decided where. I sent my friend an email early yesterday about the $20 rate and told her she better reply but she hasn't yet. I know those reservations are set in stone once they are made, so if I book and then she decides not to go for those days or not to go at all then I will just go by myself! I don't think she understands how fast discounted rooms get snatched up. I explained to her that we need to book rooms with her military discount NOW because they only set aside so many rooms for that and when they are gone they are gone.

Am I being too pushy? I know she has many things going on in her life, but I really don't want to be paying more to go because we waited so long.

Michelle

 

[cindyfan]

Just present it to her this way.........
Tell her you found this great message board....the DIS!!!
And tell her you have learned so much!! Lots of info you never knew before!!! Give her the web site & have her look herself!!!

Let her know that with all the research you have gathered here that it just seems that you will actually save more money and time by staying on-site!!!

Believe me....there are lots of us here that have already "done the math" to decide which is better!!
IMHO.....and I would bet most people here would agree.......staying on-site is the way to go!!!!!