hotel vs. vacation home

[armyfam5]

Hello Disney Fans,

We are a family of 5 (3 girls aged 16, 14 and 1, at time of vacation). We are trying to decide whether to stay at "Shades of Green," the military hotel, or rent a vacation home. My husband likes the convenience of the hotel, its proximity to everything, and the shuttles. I like the idea of more room and a kitchen. We have found the prices to be somewhat comparable. However, we are concerned with the time and hassle of transportation and parking if we decide on the vacation home (We will have our own van, so need to worry about renting a vehicle.) We are going the first week in April. Any suggestions/advice? This will be our very first trip to Disneyworld.

 

[DVCLiz]

Absolutely Shades of Green. You are making your first trip during one of the busiest weeks of the year, so you want to be able to take advantage of the onsite perks, especially the Extra Magic Hours for onsite resort guests. You can always rent a vacation home on future trips, but this time I'd definitely suggest SOG!!

 

[amyhughes]

And I never will again! It just wasn't a vacation for me at all. Laundry every day, making our own beds still, cooking 2 of our 3 meals, keeping the place picked up contiuously so we didn't lose our deposit etc. I was so scared my kids would break something and I would lose $200 b/c of our rental agreement.

No matter what anyone tells you, you will not be any closer to property than actually staying on proerty. We were told several times Oh it's a 10 minute drive. If you have no traffic and hit the lights perfectly. It was more like 30 minutes just to get on property and then the ROAD RAGE Of picking our way through traffic both on and off property.

I know this sounds super negative, but I thought I would save some money etc. I think I really missed out on part of my vacation by not staying on property. For Moms there really is no COMPLETE vacation, but having the beds made, new towels, your food prepared for you for just one week, is a nice change. Plus, it really is stressful getting back and forth without benefit of DIsney Transportation when you are off property and DEAD tired at the end of a long day.

My husband loved it b/c of the privacy, but I just felt out of the loop.

Some other recommendations I would give is to rent DVC points. That is what we are doing next time and the rate is comparable to what we spent on the house we rented. There are quite a few DVC members who rent our their points on this forum and can usually work with you to establish ground rules you and your family are comfortable with. Best of luck and if you need ANY more advice just ask!

Have a Magical Trip,
Amy

 

[blessedby3]

I agree- staying on property is the best. It is so convienent to the parks and you can use Disney transportation the whole time. If you stay off property there is fighting the traffic to and from the parks, no EMH, and parking fees per day (I think it costs $10-$11 per day now to park). I understand that SOG has very big rooms- its not the same as a whole rental house, but much bigger than value and moderate size rooms. I wouldnt want to stay off property ever again. We did that in 1999 and I said no way. We are on property people all the way!!

 

[electric.wormwood]

The rental thing is definitely not for everybody. My parents didn't mind the actual accommodations but gave similar feedback to you guys -- transportation was a killer.

 

[Loriannf]

We've stayed on-site and off-site each of the last 3 years; almost all during the busy July/August time period. Personally, as long as you plan on getting there early, the traffic's just not that bad. I don't think I got to sleep in any later on-site - we still had to go somewhere for breakfast; while off-site at least I could eat in my pajamas.

The longest it took us to get to MK on any morning, driving from off-site, was about 15 minutes; most of that spent driving around on Disney property. It took 25 minutes or more on the bus from on-site because there were so many stops.

If you like the convenience of a washer/dryer (so you don't have to pack as much), choosing to cook healthier food for your children, and don't mind spending 15 minutes in the car early in the morning, stay off-site. If you want someone else to do the housekeeping, you want to eat in food courts and restaurants the entire trip, and want to use a crowded laundry room or take home dirty clothes, stay on-site.

"Traffic" is always relative; if you're used to a 45 minute commute in the mornings, you'll be pleasantly surprised at Orlando traffic. If you're used to driving everywhere in 5 minutes or so, you'll be upset. The worst traffic I've ever seen in Orlando was the northern part of I-drive north of the convention center. Bumper to bumper for miles - but south of Sea World, hardly any traffic. Stay off I-4, too, as it can be backed up.

Just my 2 cents.

Lori

 

[durango kid]

Onsite is the ONLY way to go. It enhances the entire experience tremendously! Besides... parking was just increased to $11... that can really add up.

 

[durango kid]

Almost forgot... you might find these helpful as well. They worked great for us!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220148964197&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=012

 

[Loriannf]

Ok, but that's maybe $77 for the week; if you're letting your on-site off-site decision rest on the cost of parking, I don't think you should be going to WDW.

Based on our experience, and I know everyone is different, we like off-site better. And it's not just the expense, it's the SPACE!!! Our recent August trip was off-site with me, DH, DD5, SIL, BIL, Nephews 10 and 7, and Niece 18 months. Everyone had their own space, no one had to share, and being able to do laundry and feed our kids what we wanted, not what was available at the parks, was PRICELESS.

Just our opinion, we've stayed on-site, too, GF Conceirge.

Lori

 

[mexican-mouseketeers]

With the age of your children, I would definetly stay onsite, either at SOG or at a Family Suite in the All Star Music. The reason is that if your DH and you want to call it a night with the baby, the teenagers can stay and use the Disney transportation.

Staying offsite would be a PITA if the entire party is split at some point.