I can't shake the allure of staying on site

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Try it. The allure is there because there is something about it that appeals to you and the only way to shake it is to see for yourself if it works out. I’ve always been in the camp that you don’t have to have a dedicated allegiance to one or the other, and can try and like both onsite and offsite and switch up between doing one or the other for different trips depending on your family’s needs and plans for each trip. This is certainly the case for my family because we like both options for different reasons and have had good experiences with both. For our first Disney trip four years ago we stayed onsite in a family suite at AS Music. Since it was our first time going to WDW as a family we really wanted the all inclusive experience (Magical Express, park transportation, dining plan, etc.) which is really nice when you are new to the Disney World experience and are still a little overwhelmed with all there is to do and see, all the options you have, and the amount of ground you have to cover within a short period of time. Since we are a large family (a family of six during our last trips), the allure to stay offsite for more space without breaking the bank was definitely there. So for our second Disney trip in 2013 we tried it with an open mind. Based on recommendations here on the Disboards we stayed in a beautiful 3 bedroom condo at Windsor Hills (cost us less than $600 for the week) which is a gated vacation home community that is ridiculously close to the Animal Kingdom resort area. I was so elated (and relieved) about it that I immediately posted here on the Disboards within minutes of us checking into the condo after leaving the Magic Kingdom. The drive to/from the condo to all the Disney parks was around ten minutes at most (even less for Animal Kingdom); and I have to admit that having all the space, separate bedrooms, patio, full kitchen, and our own washer and dryer personally feels like a bit of a luxury when you travel with so many kids . With a little research we got a really great deal on a minivan rental, and even with paying for gas and parking we came out ahead $$ wise and with what we saved on accommodations and food we were able to do a couple extra fun experiences that we probably would not have been able to do otherwise, including a day at Legoland.
This is probably why you are torn about trying onsite because it is tough justifying paying more for smaller, basic accommodations; but the primary reasons for staying onsite really aren't the quality/space of the actual rooms but the perks/benefits, just as the primary reasons for staying offsite aren't necessarily because of "not being able to afford" to stay onsite but the abundance of more spacious/quality accommodations you can get for the $$ (the Disney/Orlando area is truly overbuilt with timeshare/vacation home communities).
Well, now that we have a young toddler again (I was in my first trimester with our 5th child during that 2013 trip), all the reasons we chose and liked staying onsite before presented themselves again when deciding where to stay for our next Disney trip. Having Magical Express to handle our luggage, having the option to split up and utilize park transportation if me or DH need to get the baby back to the room for a break/nap while the rest of us stay in the parks, possibly taking advantage of morning EMH, and the 60 day FP+ advantage are all things we have strongly thought about so we are booked to stay in a family suite at AS Music again for our next trip (this will probably be the last time we'll be allowed to stay in a family suite at Disney since we are a family of 7 now ).
I know we are going to miss having the space and amenities of the condo, but I know we’ll surely stay offsite again at some point for future Disney trips; and due to my kids school and crazy activity schedules this next trip will be a slightly shorter, park heavy trip so hopefully we wont miss the condo too much . Good luck with your decision, but I definitely think you should try it!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I think this trip, we will stay off site. Next spring or fall I would like to rent an RV and try camping, and maybe in a couple years stay at the deluxe, when the kiddo is old enough to care.]

 

[poeticdiabetic]

This will be our 6th trip to WDW and we've never stayed off-site. The reason why is because when we go to WDW, we get totally immersed into the experience. We eat, sleep, drink, walk, talk and live inside that world. We don't leave. I don't hop into a car. I don't have my car keys with me. Nor my wallet. I have that magic band and my phone for the WDW app. That's it!

And yes- I know that I would save money staying off-site, but that's just how I like to experience Disney.

 

[cruisingtwins]

We datyed at CBR and we are never staying onsite again. We hated the buses, the long distance to the food court the cramped tiny rooms. If that is what they disney bubble is all about thanks but no thanks. I'll stay in a giant condo fir a fraction of the price.

We like BC it's inside disney gates and we made it to the parks ways faster than the buses.

 

[MandiC]

Is there a secret to finding these off site deals? I priced out a week at WBC and it came to over $2,500, during Disney's value season. Considering we'd have to pay for park tickets and food yet it would end up costing us more offsite than on.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Go through VRBO, WBC will.be MUCH ch eaper. I've been quoted as low as $1390 for 9 nights during late july/ early august.

The place we usually stay, Caribe Cove, we buy through Bookit.com, usually for $80-$90/night.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Is there a secret to finding these off site deals? I priced out a week at WBC and it came to over $2,500, during Disney's value season. Considering we'd have to pay for park tickets and food yet it would end up costing us more offsite than on.

We stayed here: http://www.tropicalpalmsresortfl.com/ in June, 2012 - $586 for 8 nights in a cabin with a loft. We rented from a private owner through VRBO, though somewhere in between the time I made the deal & our trip, the owner sold the cabin to the resort (they honored the price). Location for accessing the parks could not have worked out better (I studied the map a LOT before booking), and we would gladly stay there again.

 

[soar2014]

Good thread!

 

[nugov2]

For us it isn't just b/c it is cheaper to stay off site b/c it really isn't if you compare to mod or value(even a deluxe standard would be cheaper), but it is more luxurious. We get a 6bdrm home at Windsor Hills. We have our own pool and hot tub plus the huge resort pool with waterslide. We are in and out of the parks and back to our house faster than if we stayed mod or value(the lines just to get on a bus at the end of the day are longer than our ride back). Even midday breaks are a breeze. We always rent a beautifully themed home where all of our kids are happy with their room. Beautiful princess room with Cinderella carriage bed for dd, Toy story room for my one ds and Mickey for my youngest. The rest house has lots of theming too. We had never wanted onsite perks b/c for us they aren't perks. DME...no thanks, not a fan of public transportation, onsite buses or boats..again no public transportation(though I don't mind the monorail). EMH, nope not for us and I have never had an issue getting ADR's b/c the 10 day advantage doesn't make a difference IMO. I was able to get every ADR we wanted including 2 BOG on the day our ADR's opened. Now b/c of MB I will admit the FP booking does give on site an advantage, but for us that problem is solved with a throwaway. It is worth the extra money to book one. We get MB, early booking and even free parking for 2 days with the one night. We also eat almost all of our meals exclusively on site(though having a full kitchen is nice), so just b/c you are offsite that doesn't prevent you from eating on site. We did tons of resort activities free and paid for as well. Really there isn't anything you miss if you don't want to.

I have been on and off site. For us, there is no Disney bubble and there would be no magic for our family if we were smashed in a small room for 7-10 days. We will only stay deluxe when we were onsite and honestly they have no theming(not like what we can get in the off site house). Values and Mods do not have the amenities we need/want on a vacation so those aren't an option, but the mods are just eh and the values are not my style at all. I find them to be tacky. I agree with the pp that they are motel 6 calibur, not seedy dirty motel, but motel nonetheless. None of the WDW hotels IMO warrant the price tag, but the location of the deluxes do add some appeal and will pay for the nice location. Maybe when my kids are older and we can do 2 rooms, but for now a week or more on vacation we need lots of space. I would really decide what is important to you. With small kids when they are asleep I want to enjoy the evening with dh(swim in the pool/hot tub and enjoy a drink), I can get up in the morning and drink coffee without tiptoeing around. Nothing can replace that after a fun, but hectic day at the parks. Either way you will have a nice vacation, but just know you can have just as much magic offsite if you plan your trip right!!

 

[nugov2]

Thought I'd add a few pics of some really great rooms you can get renting a house. I don't think people realize how nicely themed they are.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Wow Nugov, those are some great rooms! Do you book directly with windsor hills?

 

[nugov2]

Wow Nugov, those are some great rooms! Do you book directly with windsor hills?

We usually go through VRBO or All Star also has good selections. Those pics are just the tip of the iceberg really. Also all the houses we look at have game rooms to boot which my kids love!! I still have young kids(oldest 10) so they get burnt out on parks after so many days and love to hang by the pool. On those days we did an activity like a Pirate Cruise and Character Meals and then spent the rest of our day by the pool. We did the Chip and Dale campfire our first evening there and the kids went did pony rides another day. Honestly the drive is so short it is so easy to pop over to a resort and valet your car. Enjoy a meal and some activities and then head home to relax. That is true magic Some people like to make offsite seem like a chore...you must cook meals, tons of wasted time in the car, miss out on onsite magic. It is just not true. You can enjoy everything at a resort that a guest can besides the pool(and unless it is deluxe Windsor Hills is just as nice) and the room(which you wouldn't want anyway). You still get the same friendly smiles, same joy in the gift shops and can rent bikes, fish, dine or whatever else the resorts offer. It really is the best of both worlds when you are offsite!!!

 

[bookem]

Immerse yourself in Disney! Stay onsite. Anywhere else I like to be in control, but Disney is about the MAGIC! Even the bus rides, take the time to meet people from all over the world. And the smiles on the kids faces as the Disney bus pulls up to the Magic Kingdom and that special welcome music comes on ......(dream sequence) ....... I can hear it now!

 

[tigger51276]

I've had 3 trips offsite and about 20 on site, once I went on site there was no going back! I love the convenience of staying on site, the magic express and being able to do airline check in at the hotel is fantastic. But for me aside from the hotel and feeling a total immersion into Disney, the magic hours are amazing. I love being in the parks when there aren't tons upon tons of others. There have been trips when I've almost felt like we had the parks exclusively to ourselves, just about all rides were walk ons!

 

[leebee]

For me, it comes down to the money. Spending the extra $500 for a Comfort Inn quality room (because you said Moderates, right?) with barely enough space for sleeping would be a deal breaker. I can use that money to buy 2 park tickets, or the 3 of us can have four (or more) TS meals for that $500. No brainer for me. I don't even compare what I would "get" staying offsite vs. onsite. We've done both over our 25 trips to WDW, including values, moderates, deluxe (renting DVC points), offsite hotel rooms, suites, and private condo/home rentals. If $500 can make a difference in the quality of our trip, I save the money and stay offsite. The only time it's worth it for me is if DD21 and I are the only travelers and we can stay at a value with upgraded free dining (so the regular DDP not the QSDP). With the way the prices on the values are going, I am not sure if that would be a bargain anymore.

(And for the record, just so you don't think I'm an endless tightwad, we've stayed at OKW for as little as $70 a night, and just recently DH, DD21, and I stayed at BWV for $209 a night- a HUGE splurge for us, but we loved it!)

 

[disneyseniors]

Hi OP! Boy, I've read all the great responses both for and against onsite! I'll just add another thing to think about if you can stand it We've stayed both on and off site, and since our onsite stay we have never gone back to offsite. That is for the multitude of reasons you have had listed on here by other dissers.
But I guess you have to sit down, make a list of What Actually makes a vacation a vacation for YOU! For me, I don't feel like I'm on vacation if I have to cook meals, clean up, do laundry, etc, all the things I have to do in everyday life. I want to escape for a while and eat at nice restaurants and be pampered, I guess. For my husband, he hates to drive in Florida! He doesn't like fighting traffic and finding parking, get on a tram, then on a boat/monorail, etc, then to the park. Too much time wasted according to him, and he has to drive, soooooo. That sort of sealed the deal for us. We love getting picked up by ME and taken to our resort with bags delivered later. We love being immersed in the Disney bubble and forgetting the outside world for a while, and all the perks of staying onsite.
I guess you have to really think about what a vacation meals to YOU, take all this into consideration cause there is no ONE right answer, and go with it! I know you will have a great time anyway!

 

[nugov2]

Hi OP! Boy, I've read all the great responses both for and against onsite! I'll just add another thing to think about if you can stand it We've stayed both on and off site, and since our onsite stay we have never gone back to offsite. That is for the multitude of reasons you have had listed on here by other dissers.
But I guess you have to sit down, make a list of What Actually makes a vacation a vacation for YOU! For me, I don't feel like I'm on vacation if I have to cook meals, clean up, do laundry, etc, all the things I have to do in everyday life. I want to escape for a while and eat at nice restaurants and be pampered, I guess. For my husband, he hates to drive in Florida! He doesn't like fighting traffic and finding parking, get on a tram, then on a boat/monorail, etc, then to the park. Too much time wasted according to him, and he has to drive, soooooo. That sort of sealed the deal for us. We love getting picked up by ME and taken to our resort with bags delivered later. We love being immersed in the Disney bubble and forgetting the outside world for a while, and all the perks of staying onsite.
I guess you have to really think about what a vacation meals to YOU, take all this into consideration cause there is no ONE right answer, and go with it! I know you will have a great time anyway!

I just want to point out that when you stay off site their are no people that come to your house and force you to cook or do laundry. I also didn't clean anymore than I would in a hotel room. Honestly the 5 minutes the hotel maid is in your room doesn't really do a whole lot. Lets be honest unless you are checking out they do the bare minimum unless you are club level and have turn down. Quick making of the bed and wipedown of the bathroom and empty the garbage. I am one who keeps even a hotel room picked up so I don't mind spending less than 5 minutes to make up the bed and dh took out the garbage at the house(which took all of 30 seconds). Other than that no cooking or laundry to be done unless you want to(and some want to even in the disney bubble, but at least offsite I can do laundry while sipping coffee or a drink at night and take a dip in the pool while I'm waiting for the load to finish). I'd imagine doing laundry on site is a huge PITA. I just don't feel that b/c I am offsite I all of a sudden have to do all these tasks people associate with being a must when you are off site.

We also stayed off site peak season and I can gurantee we were back at our house relaxing before people even got on that bus or ferry to their hotel. The lines at night were so long. I can't imagine waiting in that after a long day at the park. There was no traffic, but b/c of the helpful people here we were advised of the quickest routes and to take advantage of valet at MK to make in and out a breeze!!

 

[clori]

For my family on non Disney vacations we usually stay in a 1 bedroom suite with a full kitchen or at least a 1 bedroom with free breakfast. At Disneyworld since getting married I've always done value hotel stays. Next trip I will be looking at 2 rooms or offsite whenever that ends up being.

For us being onsite:

Magical Express - we love not dealing with luggage
Refillable Mugs - one of us may go get drinks for breakfast to bring back to the room, we use on off park days and again when we return
Package delivery - we will use this if we buy something but not something we care about
Dining Plan - we did it when app/dessert/tax/tip were included - nice but not something we care about doing again
emh - we love doing early morning extra hours and do those every park day we can but we don't worry about late night
bus transportation - doesn't bother us at all but we are city people who take public transportation at home if needed, we love not needing to rent a car and do our own driving, we have been on busses where the bus driver gets us all singing etc which we enjoy
MB, FP+ brand new for us will need to research when planning a trip

Offsite -

extra space and perhaps private pool etc
close parking, ease of driving on own schedule
laundry without going outside perhaps in room
may have free breakfast
may have free kitchen if you want to cook some meals
may be cheaper

Our most recent Disney trip was Disneyland. We stayed onsite the first night and was upgraded to 1 bedroom suite. The remaining time we stayed off site in a 1 bedroom suite. We found we loved both but the price of onsite wasn't worth it to us. Of course at Disneyland we walked to the parks 10 minutes from our offsite hotel, magical express, refillable mugs and bus transportation wasn't available, MB, FP+ hadn't started, no true dining plan. Onsite had a much nicer pool but it was constantly closed for cleaning. Offsite had a basic pool/hot tub but always open

Basically we can stay offsite or onsite and have a great vacation but we do have a preference for onsite at Disneyworld since we like and use many of the benefits. for us having free wifi for a few minutes a day I nice but I'm assuming both onsite and offsite offer this

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'm always amazed how many people brag about ME after reading OP mention they DRIVE to WDW

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Refillable mugs: We are water drinkers. I might occasionally have a soda with a sit down dinner, but not enough to to get our money's worth from refillable mugs. How do stay hydrated and feeling well after drinking mug fulls of sugary chemicals?

Magic express: not a benefit for us since we drive down.
Car rental: Also not and issue. See above.
Dining plan : We aren't big eaters and therefore just won't get our money's worth. I rarely eat breakfast, and our meals are typically more healthy than what's offered in park.
Package delivery:not a service I would use.

I don't understand why people hate on having laundry facilities and a kitchen? I don't cook big gourmet metals 3 times a day on vacation, but it's nice to have some quick healthy options on hand. And maybe twice a trip I'll cook dinner in the room. I can't handle a week of deep fried fatty stuff.

As for laundry, I don't mind doing a load or two on vacation. I can pack much lighter if I know I can do laundry on day 4. Plus, with a young child, I can tackle stains as they come up. Laundry is easy to do and not a big chore, takes maybe 10 minutes while DH is in the shower. Much more convenient than lugging it all to a laundromat.

The big appeal to me is the following:

1) the landscaping and rooms are POFQ look amazing.
2) EMH. I am 100% sure we would enjoy evening EMH.
3) magic bands. They seem so convenient. But I refuse to pay for one since my ticket does all the same things.