How do you justify the $$$$??

[all4fun]

We've stayed off site and on site. On our 3rd trip we checked out DVC and decided to buy and have never regretted it. I DO think there is a difference in the "magic" staying off site vs. on site, but like the pp said, that is just personal opinion. I love walking into our DVC resort and having the cm's say "Welcome Home" to me. I also love looking out my balcony at BWV and seeing the fireworks at night. I love resort tv.

We'll be at WDW in September also. We'll be staying at AS-M's in order to take advantage of the dining plan. We chose a value to save some money because we're also going in December (staying at DVC-Boardwalk that trip). I do understand the allure of staying in an offsite condo or rental home. But just looking at $$'s and cents, w/free dining, you could actually save money staying on site in September.

Btw, we booked through Dreams Unlimited and I have nothing but good things to say! Sue even booked all our ADR's for us and set us up on DME once we had our airfare booked. I wish we could use her services when we stay at DVC!

 

[clonetothebone]

Staying on site means you can forget about everything else going on outside of WDW and just enjoy the time you have with the family. I enjoy not having to fight traffic (although we have a rental car, driving around WDW isn't bad IMHO) , rarely catch the news the entire trip and just forget about the stress of everyday life. You can truly relax when you stay onsite. Once I get on Disney property, the magic begins and I don't want to turn it off!

 

[shellbelle1971]

I know that your numbers make sense, but it's not really comparing apples to apples! We are talking about a 3 bdrm home vs. one hotel room for a family of 4! Even with the dining plan, neither of the kids are covered since they are both under 3, so feeding them is still OOP. Being able to have breakfasts at home, and have drinks and snacks available, cuts down on the meal costs. I have occasionally given some thought to staying onsite, but I can't justify the expense and inconvenience of staying onsite ( cramped, one room/ rely on busses, etc) when the offsite condo's offer so much more for the money.

Just to throw another wrinkle into your plans...what if you rented points from a DVC member? Let's say you wanted to spend seven nights onsite in September at Old Key West in a 1 bedroom villa. You wouldn't get free dining, but you would have a separate bedroom and living room/full kitchen and a balcony to enjoy. Use of the WDW transportation system and extra magic hours would be available to you. If you rented points at $10 each, it would be $1600. If you wanted a resort with even better access to to the parks, Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk Villas, or Beach Club Villas would probably cost you about $2000 for the week. If you wanted to stay at OKW on rented points, but decided a hotel room was big enough for your family, a studio would only cost you $800 for the week if you rented points.

I guess what I'm saying is staying onsite doesn't have to be outrageously expensive, and also doesn't necessarily mean a tiny, cramped hotel room. It's all about having the experience that you will most enjoy--for some people that's being onsite, for some having space and a kitchen, for some saving $, and for many, some combination of those, and other factors. Only you know what you enjoy. But I'd urge you to give onsite a try, maybe by renting points to make it affordable. Then you'll know for sure whether it's for you or not.

P.S. I don't rent out my own DVC points, but I'm grateful for people who do. They've made onsite DVC vacations a possibility for some of my family members!

 

[tiff211]

I battle this constantly. I tell my husband if we took the value resort out of WDW it would be the equivalant of Red Roof Inn. And no way would we pay $100 or more a night for that. But we stayed at the POP for the first time this past April and the look in my DDs eyes the whole time was worth every penny. They love to stay in hotel rooms but this was different. The magic was really there. I liked EMH, I like not having to drive, I like the theming, I like the convenience of the food court, the list goes on. We stayed at a timeshare last year and while it was this beautiful 2 bedroom suite with master suite and jacuzzi, I felt "guilty" that we didn't take time to appreciate it. We were up early heading to the park and came back too exhausted to do anything but sleep. Of course you pay any extra $60 bucks for parking so factor that in.

I am not sold on the dining plan yet though. We are more eat and go type people, can't really enjoy a sitdown meal with DD's.

The rooms are small but if you are just sleeping and getting dressed, the size is just fine.

As the girls get older, I know we will have to revist everything because as it stands now, you could get me to pay $300 to $400 a night to sleep somewhere even if Mickey himself came and tucked my kids into bed, well, okay maybe then!

 

[HenDuck]

We've only been to WDW twice (both pre-child). We've stayed off-site both times, sharing a pool house with the extended family.

We plan to go in another year or two when DS is 7 or 8. We will probably stay between 10-14 days.

I soooo want to stay on-site. We are in better financial condition now and could afford to stay on-site if we want to.

BUT...my family (DH, DM, DF) all loved staying at the pool house together. They liked the convenience of having their own pool and jacuzzi, laundry, cooking facilities and space, space, space. We always rent a car no matter where we travel to, so we would have one at WDW too. We would also go to Sea World and possibly Universal and Kennedy Space Center.

I personally don't want to cook on vacation so I don't care about having a full kitchen, although I'd like to have a microwave in room if possible.

Having said all that, and with money not really being an issue, I still don't think staying in a conventional hotel room (even if I got two rooms at ASM) can compare to a house. You do have to drive, but when I looked at the WDW map, it doesn't seem like any one resort is convenient to all the parks. In reading the reviews of the different resorts (here and at Allearsnet) it seems like each one is FAR from at least one park. They each have good points and draw backs.

I, of course, want to stay on-site for DS (well, and me too! ) Plus, I think this may be our only opportunity to do this with my DM and DF as they are getting older and I just don't know what the future holds.

For me, I'll have to see what shape my family is in when we set the date. Me, DH and DS have many years to go to WDW and do it "our way". But if I have to choose, I'll make sure my parents are comfortable. (Of course, they can surely be comfortable at GF concierge, right?)

Your opinions have been very helpful to me as well.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[CindyBella]

When I go under the WDW arches, I do not want to leave. Everything Is perfect around WDW. I feel like I am in another world. If we ever have to go out of WDW (TARGET) I feel depressed! All of the fast food chains & motels jumping out at me are just to much!!

A 3 bdroom townhouse does sound nice though. I just like to be all disney all the time during a WDW vacation! It is the only reason we go to Orlando!

Try it next time you will love it!

 

[CindyBella]

Oh and, TIF211 you have the cutest kids ever!

Love the before and after pictures.

 

[sara74]

I don't justify anything about my annual Disney trip. I used to spend my life analyzing savings/budgets, etc... Until my mother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at age 59, 1 year ago.

Now I live for enjoyment and what makes my family happy. Yes I still plan for the future, put away for retirement, etc... But I have a very keen realization that life can disappear in an instant when you least expect it.

Whenever I consider my life and our family activites now, I do everything possible to make sure my family has fun. Because that is what life is all about. It's really much to short to not have fun and enjoy yourself to the fullest extent.

So I say what the heck, unless it's going to cause you severe financial hardship, stay on-site, have concierge level, go to a really fancy off-site. Just as long as you do whatever makes you happy, it can never be the wrong choice.

AMEN to that! I knew we would go to WDW some day, but I'll admit too, that the loss of my father in an accident at the age of 57 the year before I booked our trip was a big deciding factor in the 'the heck with it' decision that led us to book the trip and go deluxe without even pricing offsite. Like my dad, any of us could wake up, head to work and never come home again. Depressing, yes, but not nearly as much as living a life without fun. Go ahead, book whatever makes you happy. If that's having the space of a house - do it. If it is being onsite, go nuts! Just give your family a hug and remember you love them today...

 

[queenarmadillo]

We started staying onsite when my parents seperated and mum took us on her own. She isnt confident driving in foreign countries, so not having to get a car was a big thing for her. She was also worried about having to find the way to the parks from offsite without a grown up to navigate for her. I think the "security" of being on disney the whole time without ever venturing out into real America scared her as she would be on her own with two young children. Even though money was fairly tight at the time, it was the only way she felt she would be able to relax and properly enjoy the vacation, so well worth the extra cost. 13 years on, I am now old enough to handle the driving or the navigating, but we stay on site because now we are used to the disney convenience, have afternoons by the pool as part of our routine and it wouldnt feel like a disney holiday staying anywhere else.

Having said that, 3 years ago my parents got back together and dad came with us to Disney. He couldnt stand the non-stop disney cheeryness of the resorts (or 2 weeks of nothing but disney parks either I think) and got bored with the food choices in the hotel very quickly. I think if you want big rooms and some Disney "off time" then staying onsite is not worth it. Now dad stays home and looks after the cat whilst we go to florida.

 

[ekball]

So I thought I'd just update you all quickly....

I just booked us for 7 nights at the WL. You did it - you convinced me to take the plunge!!

I a bit nervous, but I'm more excited! ADR's are booked (a bit of a challenge at this late date, but I think we've got some good choices), and we're already excited about eating like kings for a week. Fun! All I need to do now is lose those last 15lbs from DS so I can get ready to put them back on at WDW!!!

Thanks for your help all.

 

[HenDuck]

Good for you! Have a great time and let us know how it all went!!!

 

[ducklite]

Bottom line, I don't feel the need to "justify" anything in regards to my personal spending. If I want it and can afford it, I buy it.

That goes for anything from hotel rooms to cars to groceries.

I don't think anyone should ever beat themselves up about wanting to splurge on something--as long as it's within their means.

Anne

 

[ekball]

ducklite - I hear your, I really do.

That said, I'm a bargain hunter by nature. I always try to get the best deal I can whether it's on rooms or cars or groceries. We work hard for the money we have, and I want to feel like I'm spending it wisely. I want the biggest bang for my buck! Yet, at the same time, we are fans of the finer things as well. We don't mind paying for something that's worth it, ever (and especially on vacation). And that's a personal choice.

This time, with free dining, we decided that onsite will work. I feel like we will get our money's worth for what we will spend. Next time, offsite may be the best choice. I'm glad I asked about "justifying" the cost of onsite because it made me look at things differently and now we're at the WL! Yay!

 

[robinb]

Have a great time!

 

[ekball]

Thanks Robin - you especially made me really look at staying onsite during free dining. Thanks for the nudge.

And by the way, your girl is adorable!! What a beauty.

 

[Luvchefmic]

So I thought I'd just update you all quickly....

I just booked us for 7 nights at the WL. You did it - you convinced me to take the plunge!!

I a bit nervous, but I'm more excited! ADR's are booked (a bit of a challenge at this late date, but I think we've got some good choices), and we're already excited about eating like kings for a week. Fun! All I need to do now is lose those last 15lbs from DS so I can get ready to put them back on at WDW!!!

Thanks for your help all.

Good For You!! I'm glad you made a decision to go for it, as many posters have said, life is too short...just do it, have a great time

Ruthie

 

[robinb]

Thanks Robin - you especially made me really look at staying onsite during free dining. Thanks for the nudge.

And by the way, your girl is adorable!! What a beauty.

You're welcome and thanks for the compliment .

 

[wrldpossibility]

I haven't read all the responses but I thought I'd add my opinion, since like you, I debated for a long time which to do. We have three boys, and could use the space, so off-site was tempting. But we decided whatever we gained in spaced we'd lose in convenience. We fly, and didn't want to rent a car, carry car seats, etc. We wanted to nap during the day, and not drive anywhere.

Disney is not cheap either way. So for some extra money, we wanted the "whole" experience (IMO). Either way you're forking over serious money, so we decided to go all the way. Maybe not the best budget philosophy! But we were going in invest $$$ either way, so decided time was money and the convenience and experience was worth it. I think it also depends on how often you get to go and what kind of trip it is. For us, we fly from the West Coast, and it'll be MAYBE be every 5-10 years that we go. After airfare, it's not a budget trip anyway! If we could take more shorter cheaper trips, we'd probably stay off site.

We'll find out if we made the right decision in Dec! I still stress over our decision whenever I see how much we could save offsite. But I know my family wouldn't enjoy it as much.

 

[MickeyNicki]

DH and I used to stay at the Ramada Maingate just off 192, minutes from WDW. With the AAA rate we spent about $45 per night. One year, about 4 years ago, Disney was running a great Florida Resident discount package, room, and tickets for 3 nights and 4 days for $199 per person (at a value resort) so we stayed at ALMu and loved it so much that DH said "from now on we are staying onsite, no matter what!" I guess the transportation to the parks was the kicker for him. For me it was just being onsite!

Since then we have stayed at CBR 3 times, POR once, POP once, Contemp once and we are staying at ASMo this Oct and WL this Dec.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

To our family, the resorts and restaurants are part of the total Disney magical experience. It's pricey but it's worth it. I don't think I'd feel the same staying off property.