I can't shake the allure of staying on site

[Lupeix]

You have to ask yourself some questions before deciding if it is worth the extra money or not for your family. In the end I think it is worth paying a little more to have what really makes a vacation special to you, provided it does not put you in a stressful financial situation.

- Are you really going to use the Disney transportation? We personally will likely rent a car anyway, the only exception may be if staying on a monorail resort or back door of Epcot. Buses take too long for us.
- Are you going to use the EMH? We have a 3 year old that won't stay late and DH will not get up early, so this is not a benefit for us.
- How much time do you plan to spend in your room? Do you value having extra space? If you spend all day in the parks, you may not mind coming back to a smallish room. We need a separate room besides a bedroom to vacation, so DS can go to bed early, and we spend a lot of time in the pools. DH requires a gym. Onsite only DVC villas/deluxe will work for us.
- Will you use the dining plan?

We rather stay offsite than have an uncomfortable vacation, so we are staying at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek next April, in a 2 bedroom presidential suite. As someone mentioned already, Bonnet creek is really one of a kind, and on property. Lots of different themed pools (7 ?) and activities to do in the resort (we pay for the maid service BTW). A very short drive to the parks (it is next to the Caribbean beach resort). Excellent restaurants close by. The ability to have a long leisurely breakfast in the room.

That said if the difference was 500$ for an equivalent experience (a 2 bedroom DVC villa) I will likely stay onsite. For us the difference is >3000$, and that is compared to a DVC rental. Paying for parking and magic bands, even adding a car rental it is still way less. So until we have a lot of money saved up we will likely not stay onsite. We know we won't enjoy our vacation in a moderate or value.

 

[puakinikini]

Yes! 100 times! It is so worth it to stay on site. We have only been to WDW 1 time and then have a trip in March 2015 - first time stayed at the cabins (I loved them) and for our upcoming trip we are staying at AKL (we rented DVC points). I hate to sound corny...but I will! It is so magical to stay onsite. It makes the vacation so easy and fun for everyone.

We stay off-site at Disneyland b/c of the prices at the Grand Californian for our family of 6 - and the other hotels would require us to get 2 rooms. But I really recommend onsite for WDW if you can swing the cost.

 

[pixiemama91]

As many people have posted, there are pros and cons to both scenarios. We stayed on site our first visit and off site for our second. For our upcoming trip will we will staying on site again. We find there really isn't much of a cost difference between offsite and onsite. The pros on staying on site for us include
-not having to worry about our luggage from the time we check in at our departing airport. Its delivered right to the hotel and with small kids that is invaluable.
- Bus ride to and from the airport just makes landing in MCO so much more exciting. I just feel as though the vacation really starts as soon as you land.
- Not having to rent a car. My DH and I both commute to work and not having to worry about it while on vacation just works for us. Sure sometimes it takes a little longer to get around, but we can spend the time talking about our day with our DD5 instead of paying attention to road signs
- The feel of being onsite at a disney hotel, just feels so different. Yes it is smaller than what we have offsite, but honestly between being in the parks, and hanging by the pool, we are not in the room a whole lot. Even with small kids we don't mind. Everyone is so tired by the end of the day that DH and I are not up that much longer than them anyway.
-EMH is a great advantage of staying onsite. We did miss this a little when we stayed offsite.

We are not opposed to staying off site and some years, I am sure that is what we will do, but honestly to us, the slightly higher cost ( for us anyway) is all worth it.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Seems like most of the perks of staying onsite really won't apply to us. We drive, so there is no need For The Magical Express or disney transit. Disney transportation is more trouble than its worth, with the exception of the monorail.

The kicker for me is the extra magic hours. I really think e would take advantage of them.

I also like the odder area at Carribean Beach. The condo we rent doesn't have anything like that, just a regular pool.

The condo is very big though, and very quiet. We can be at magic kingdom in less than 20 mins from our door. DD is familiar with it and knows the layout.

DH now says he wants to rent the condo again. So I guess that's what we will do.

 

[eeboo]

Sure, the resorts on Disney are quite pricey but remember that if you do choose to live onsite, you get to stay in the park during "Magic Hours" (before and after closing time) so there won't be much of a crowd.

 

[Feberin]

We used Disney transportation a lot even though we drove and had our car. We had park hopper tickets so we'd enter one park and leave from another one. I would have hated traveling back to pick up the car at another park to leave.

I also loved having the extra time for FP+. I was able to get pretty much everything we wanted at my preferred times.

 

[Fratthouse]

It seem you really just have to experience each for yourself, because so many people have differing opinions. I have stayed deluxe several times (twice club level). Last summer, I have stayed off-site for the first time in a condo off sky auction that I paid $275 for the week. And to my enormous surprise - I actually PREFERRED off-site!!!! Here's what I loved:

1- the space (obviously). It's a no-brainer for families.

2- the accommodations. While not a "themed", the rooms were nicer than most that I have stayed in at Disney.

3- the kitchen. We didn't do extensive cooking, but I can't handle eating out three meals a day for a week. It was nice to be able to have smaller, simple meal then go big for one table service meal a day.

4- convenience. This goes against common advice that it is more convenient to stay on-site, but I found just the opposite. While the drive to the parks may have been a few extra minutes, the walk from our resort to our car at many deluxe resorts is 10 minutes. At our off-site resort, we were able to park right by the back exit and were loaded in our car in no time. I found that it took the same amount of time to get to the park from our off-site hotel as from Animal Kingdom Lodge (if you count it by leaving from when you leave your hotel room).

5- the escape from the bubble. Many people rave about how great it is to stay in the disney bubble, and I really thought I would miss it on our first off-site trip. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed getting away from it all. It was awesome to come back to our quiet resort away from all the busyness and stimulation and recoup before heading back in. This is something everyone has to decide for themselves, but for us - we LOVED it.

We don't use a lot of the other on-site amenities. I have horrible luck with Disney transportation and much prefer to drive myself. I don't use EMH. I prefer to visit less busy parks on those day, and my 3 year old can't last late into the night to make park hopping worth it. So for us, we've been pleasantly surprised with how much we love the off-site experience

 

[shm_helene]

I have this battle as well! We have stayed both off and on. When we were off it was at a Hampton a few times, I forget where else. I do admit it, I love the Disney bubble...can't explain it.

Last time we stayed at Poly (also did split to AOK - LK suites). It was $$ but it was worth it. We had a 3 yo daughter and we were at MK at least 4 times on different days. It was like 10 mins there (door to door, not just to TTC), versus 30-40 mins from other locations. You could also take the boat, which I love as well. One thing with price is to watch Orbitz, I'm sure you've read about that. They will, reasonably often, stack a discount on top of Disneys discount. THEN use ebates to get further money back. I was nervous about using ebates but it is really simple, doesn't require anything other than one more click. I think it goes as high as 11% on Orbitz through ebates but it does seem to fluctuate a lot. Just food for thought

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

I really don't think I would ever consider staying offsite but that is just because I've been spoiled by the DVC villas. We always have a full kitchen and laundry room so many meals are cooked and many clothes are washed. We drive down and once the truck is parked it doesn't move except for the possible venture out to the outlet mall for DW. We take the busses to the parks and we take the boat to DTD. We come back to the room for a swim in the afternoon and go back out in the evening. Depending on what is on we may watch on movie under the stars. For me and my family it is the total immersion in WDW that makes our vacation.

 

[kmorey303]

We save so much money by staying value! We spend a ton of time at the parks so really te resort is a place to rest our heads at night. But seriously, I love the value resorts anyway! Great theming, fun, and I love the on site benefits!!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We've stayed off site once and would never do it again. Too much wasted time driving back and forth for one.

When we went in 2012, the LONGEST drive for us was 15 minutes 1-way from our offsite cabin to a Typhoon Lagoon. Epcot took 8 minutes from the time we locked the door on the cabin to parked in the front row. Other than being able to avoid TTC at MK, I cannot imagine being able to beat that time using Disney transportation from a Value or Moderate. The time it would take to walk from your room to the bus stop, wait for the bus, and then ride the bus would surely exceed that.

Obviously, the particular off-site location we chose was in very close proximity to the parks. But that was planned, naturally And yes, staying further away would change that. But, staying offsite doesn't "automatically" mean longer transit times.


For me, the "allure" of the resorts just isn't there outside of 1 - we would love to stay in one of the top rooms at AKL and be able to look out of our room & see the animals milling about outside. Even the monorail resorts don't "get" it for me as they only service a portion of Disney's parks.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Seems like most of the perks of staying onsite really won't apply to us. We drive, so there is no need For The Magical Express or disney transit. Disney transportation is more trouble than its worth, with the exception of the monorail.

The kicker for me is the extra magic hours. I really think e would take advantage of them.
I also like the odder area at Carribean Beach. The condo we rent doesn't have anything like that, just a regular pool.

The condo is very big though, and very quiet. We can be at magic kingdom in less than 20 mins from our door. DD is familiar with it and knows the layout.

DH now says he wants to rent the condo again. So I guess that's what we will do.

I do have to say EMH does sound tempting. That's really the one big perk that I feel we miss staying offsite. We drive down, so again no need for a car rental or transport to/from the airport. And we aren't into TS meals, so getting an ADR further out is of zero appeal. But, being able to be in the parks an hour or 2 with a light(er) crowd does sound interesting.

 

[lisski76]

Another off site Bonnet Creek fan here! I have stayed both on and off site and I love love love Bonnet Creek. No there is no EMHs, or dining plans but the extreme amount of amenities the resort offers is like nothing you will find staying on site.

 

[RLW15]

Ughhhh... we have been twice now, and both times stayed off site at a very nice resort about 15 mintues drive from the gate. It is roomy and reasonably priced, and I would certainly not mind staying there again. However, the Port Orleans resort are so intriguing to me. I have never stayed onsite. I think I would love the perks, the magic bands, the free parking, the extra magic hours, the beautiful grounds. But to stay on site would cost us an extra $500, for a much smaller, less luxurious room. And before anyone mentions the values, I just can't. I haven't been inside one, but the photos online make me cringe.

Is it really worth the extra for on site? Really? $500 would buy a LOT of character meals.

We are planning on going July 30-Aug 8, so I doubt thy'll be offering any discounts while we are there.

We are leaving Thursday and evaluated the costs and saving hundreds on car rental $30 a day on parking and even more if you have to pay shuttle, then talk about all that wasted time traveling to adn from it really makes sense to stay in the park. Since we are doing a cruise and park that shuttle is also paid. Hove a good one.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

I personally like to be immersed in the Disney bubble. We are DVC members so stay at the Beach club villas. My kids love walking over to the Boardwalk bakery in the AM .. You can use international gateway entrance for Epcot...and boat (or walk) to Hollywood studios. We have even walked thru Epcot to hop on Monorail for MK. very limited bus travel. Dinner in Epcot, fireworks and then just walking to your hotel...nothing like it.

You may want to look at renting points to make it cost effective.

 

[luvmy2babies]

We have been four times and have always stayed on site. We usually fly and I don’t want to add on the expense of renting a vehicle; but even the one time I drove to Disney from home, we stayed at Pop and I didn’t move the van until we left to come back home.
I’m a single mom to two children and having Magical Express service taking care of getting us from the airport to the resort and back plus taking care of the luggage has been wonderful. I don’t mind the busses once we are there. I have a 40 minute commute to work each way and I of course drive us everywhere we have to be so any trip I take whether it is Disney or not, I try to go where I will have to drive as little as possible.

I can admit that I sometimes wish we had more space. We have stayed in Values only. Everywhere else we go we generally have a suite with at least a couch to sit on and more floor space; but we spend less time in our room at Disney between being in the parks and playing in the pool. Were I married I might feel differently.
For us, having access to extra magic hours (mornings) and Fast pass plus and dining reservations further out are worth it because all of our trips are at busier times because of school. That isn’t something you have to deal with right now. My daughter is in 6th grade and was in 2nd grade when we started going to Disney. I don’t take her out of school unless I’m involved in or want to be involved in something I can’t schedule. So we are there in the summer. Our only trip outside of summer was our first trip during Thanksgiving week which was even busier. I also prefer some type of meal plan. I like that it’s paid for before we get there.

The one trip we drove instead of flying was actually so I could afford the onsite resort instead of an off site one. I think for me though it was more an uneasiness about the unknown. It was our 3rd trip and I'd been happy onsite and was uneasy about ending up unhappy with our accommodations. You already know you'll be fine off site. I wish you the best with your decision.

 

[billnye97]

We are doing a split stay. I have a ton of Hilton points so we are staying the first 4 nights at the Hilton Bonnet Creek. We then will check in to the WL on Wednesday and stay 3 nights. We are doing this mainly so our daughter who is turning two during the trip will have easy access to the room for naps. If she was older we would probably stay offsite to save the money but being able to get to our room quickly for naps is a deal breaker for us.

 

[Disneyaddictz]

Yes yes yes!! I started out staying offsite, approx 8 vacations, all the downtown disney hotels. First time we stayed on site we were sold, I agree with the previous poster, part of planning my budget is planning for the room, I'd save a few more months or not go at all Piet Orleans riverside btw is spectacular resort, just so lovely to walk around, in fact the grounds are just as beautiful as the deluxe imo. We stay on site for two reasons. #1 we love being indulged in everything disney 24 hours a day, it adds to the excitement for our family. #2 I don't want to cook, clean, pick up, wash clothes, drive around... I want to escape on vacations-somethjng different from the everyday bustle.

 

[mco65]

Well, if you haven't stayed onsite and think you might enjoy it.. you should do so. Everybody has their own reasons for staying onsite or off but for me, staying on site is a no brainier. To be honest, I have not even thought about staying offsite in forever.. I don't particularly enjoy driving and parking and fighting traffic. Even though, you can stay within a few miles of most any park, I simply abhor that hassle. I have stayed off site before and certainly had a good enough time but the extra cost of staying on site and not have to pick up my car keys is worth it for me. Of course there is the extra perks like EMHs and the dining plan which we have used the last half dozen times we have gone and a couple of those were free!

 

[klo1335]

We are doing our first big family Disney trip in August this year. At first we were going to stay off-site at a condo. We had it all rented and ready to do, and the owners emailed us a month ago and said that they were selling the condo. So we had to readjust all of our plans. We decided to go with POR and try the onsite this time and if we HATE it, then we will know to stay off-site next time. My biggest issue I had with staying off-site is the whole parking situation. I felt like we basically would be tied to stay in the parks all day or we would loose our parking spot if we tried to leave and go back. Everyone I talked to said that it is easier to stay onsite with little kids and stay offsite when they are older and you need more room.