I got it out of my system

[floydfamily4]

We just got back from a wonderful week at WDW. We arrived on 11/14 and stayed until 11/22. We stayed at Windsor Hills in a 3bdr/3bath townhouse. While the house wasn't perfect it was nice. It was really nice to have the amount of space we had and the washer and dryer. I really enjoyed getting up and having coffee and quiet time before DH and kids were stirring. I loved that we could freeze our water/juice boxes and pack a few snacks to take with us in the parks. I loved, loved, that we had a AAA diamond pass and didn't have to fold up the stroller to get to and from the van. Now, on Tuesday my DH mentioned that he really wished we could stay another night and do another day or 2 at the parks. We were contemplating going to the MVMCP with a gift from my aunt but decided to use the $ to stay another night. So, we booked 1 night at Pop and took advantage of DME to return the van and have DH meet us later at Epcot. I have always wanted to stay onsite. I thought I was missing something magical by not staying on the property. Since I will not pay $250 a night anywhere, staying at a value is the most likely hotel option for us. I finally got my night at a disney property and now, I'm so over it. I could not believe how small the room was, that it opened to the outside like a motel, and how small the room was - oh, I said that Maybe had we not had 7 nights in the townhouse with so much space I wouldn't have been so shocked but I was not impressed. Yes, the outside theming is very cool. But, it took from 1:03 to 1:47p to get Epcot. From WH we were there in 20minutes door to door. And I didn't have to try to manage the stroller in the seat. It was too much for me. So now I am an off site convert. I like the space, the comfort, the ease of travel, the choices of meals, etc. I LOVE WDW. We had a great time and even DH was saying things like "when we come back" which of course made me want to kiss him! But being at WH for what was around $110 a night and being at WDW for $118 a night I just can't see the attraction. OK, now that is just my opinion and since I have learned so much from you Dis'ers that actually made my vacation awesome I wanted to share my trip experience with you. Not looking for a fight - just giving an opinion

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I hear ya'. We have done 3 onsite trips. We're at Windsor Hills this time and I don't know that we will go back onsite again. 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, washer/dryer, TV for everyone, plus full kitchen all for LESS than the price of a coffin-sized Value resort room?

 

[horseshowmom]

I agree completely. Once I learned about house and condo rentals many years ago, that was the end of our staying in hotels.

 

[indimom]

During our first family trip to Disney, we stayed at Pop and LOVED it. But, this time around we are staying for 14 days and the kids are much bigger. Since we can't afford the villa or cabins on site, I decided (with lots of reservations) to give up the perks (we loved the meal plan and EMH) of staying on site and risk staying in a condo off-site. We're staying at Lake Buena Vista Village Resort & Spa in June and every day I mull over whether this was a good decision. You've eased my mind a lot!!! Glad you had a great time! No flames from me...

 

[happymommy]

During our first family trip to Disney, we stayed at Pop and LOVED it. But, this time around we are staying for 14 days and the kids are much bigger. Since we can't afford the villa or cabins on site, I decided (with lots of reservations) to give up the perks (we loved the meal plan and EMH) of staying on site and risk staying in a condo off-site. We're staying at Lake Buena Vista Village Resort & Spa in June and every day I mull over whether this was a good decision. You've eased my mind a lot!!! Glad you had a great time! No flames from me...

I have actually looked into that condo place - it looks really nice! For the price and the space, it is very appealing.

I have always stayed onsite (or Downtown Disney) except for the first time with DH when our budget was super tight. Actually, that trip was one of the most memorable ones!

I'm also thinking as my kids get older of staying in a condo as well. If it's just me and my two kids, we can still do one hotel room. But all 4 of us will not work in one room. And two rooms - ugh the price!

I think the LBV village resort looks really nice - would love to hear how it is!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I've done on and off -site. It really depends on the circumstances. One reason I keep going to on-site is our family splits up. Teen son wants to join us at different times or go to Disney Quest. Disabled daughter may want to go back to the room. It's a lot about transportation for us and having 1 rental car to get back to the hotel would be difficult.

We usually plan 2 nights off-site and the rest of the trip on-site to get the best of all worlds.

I do think though when son is married and we vacation as a large family off-site will be the way to go.

 

[TrustedTraveler]

For us, the words "hotel room" and "vacation" just don't relate.
The fact that we save so much on accommodations and meals by staying off-site, is the reason why we can go most every year.
So happy it worked out for another DIS family.

 

[Brian Noble]

About half my trips are onsite, and about half off. So far, all of the onsite stays have been via II or RCI exchanges into a DVC 1BR or 2BR unit. If you add it all up (fees on my exchanged unit, exchange fees, etc.) it's a little more expensive than staying in an equivalent offsite unit, but that small difference is worth it.

If I had to pay market rates---even renting from an owner---I'd probably never stay onsite with my family again.

I'm actually trying a cash reservation in a Moderate for a short, solo trip this winter, with a nice discount. It will be interesting to see how that works out.

 

[isla bonita]

I stayed in the BC and I still do not think there is enough room for us.

OK for a night to experience it but more then that it would be crazy for me.

 

[indimom]

Well, I've got a while yet, but I'll be sure to post a review of the resort after our trip in June. Really the only thing that could sway me back to Disney now would be free dining. I'd have a hard time passing up that.
But, as it stands now, we're getting this "beautiful" (at least it looks that way in photos) two bed/two bath condo with washer/dryer and full kitchen for literally $1 less than staying in one room at Pop for the same time period.
This whole trip is a surprise for hubby for our 15th anniversary and I'm hoping I chose well. We both really loved the convenience of staying on-site last time, but I think he's going to love the jacuzzi and the privacy this time!!
Our kids are actually pretty close in age, mine are DS9 and DD12.

 

[happymommy]

Well, I've got a while yet, but I'll be sure to post a review of the resort after our trip in June. Really the only thing that could sway me back to Disney now would be free dining. I'd have a hard time passing up that.
But, as it stands now, we're getting this "beautiful" (at least it looks that way in photos) two bed/two bath condo with washer/dryer and full kitchen for literally $1 less than staying in one room at Pop for the same time period.
This whole trip is a surprise for hubby for our 15th anniversary and I'm hoping I chose well. We both really loved the convenience of staying on-site last time, but I think he's going to love the jacuzzi and the privacy this time!!
Our kids are actually pretty close in age, mine are DS9 and DD12.

That is funny - yes, as the kids get older, it is harder to share ONE ROOM! And the boy and girl definitely won't share a bed - he kicks, she grinds her teeth, we get no sleep. Good thing last time we stayed at the BWI there was the twin daybed!

Look forward to the review. I was actually looking into this place to go down with a friend and her kids some time - the prices look so tempting and the photos really seem like it's nice. I think I recall tripadvisor having good reviews as well, and isn't it attached to a mall? Even if you took taxis around, you'd save money!

OP: Sorry didn't mean to hijack your thread.

 

[twob4him]

We crammed into a POR room in 2007 with three kids for a week... Its no wonder my dh hates Disney...don't get me wrong...very nice accomendations but not a vacation. I think in my "old" age...I lOVE having a townhouse/house with kitchen, w/d and space!! The onsite dining plan is tempting and a great deal but only if its just me and my girls. For family trips...gotta be Windsor Hills. I also loved having a car. I hate waiting for buses wondering when they would come and how long it takes to get around and all of the stops they make...ack... I am so impatient. I found I had a lot more park time and wasn't late to any reservations when we drove to and from. Not to mention how nice it was to have space and room and quiet. OK I will stop...I LOVE Disney and hope we can return soon but onsight is out of our price range with a large family. (Just so you know price wise...our portion (we split it 4 ways) of the 6 bedroom, 4 bath, wonderfully decorated Windsor Hills home with our own heated pool and game room for 7 nights came to.......$400 total.....not per night). I have pics of it in my trip report if you are interested! See siggy below!! OK I will really stop now.

 

[Frothy]

We've done so many hotel rooms as a family and enjoyed them when the kids were very young. As they grew older it just wasn't a solution for us or them. We were so glad when we learned that you could stay in a vacation home. We now rent a 6 bed house and we have a great time. I love the house and it's view so much we've stayed there the last 3 or 4 years and have booked to go twice in 2010.

 

[cathy_s]

I have actually looked into that condo place - it looks really nice! For the price and the space, it is very appealing.

I have always stayed onsite (or Downtown Disney) except for the first time with DH when our budget was super tight. Actually, that trip was one of the most memorable ones!

I'm also thinking as my kids get older of staying in a condo as well. If it's just me and my two kids, we can still do one hotel room. But all 4 of us will not work in one room. And two rooms - ugh the price!

I think the LBV village resort looks really nice - would love to hear how it is!

Well, since two of you are wondering......

My family of 4 just returned from a 3 night stay there. I have to say that I have always preferred to stay on site. Because we live so close to WDW we take many short trips rather than any extended visits and we really aren't in the room long enough to let the small size bug us too much. I can see how the rooms could make you nuts on a long trip though.

DH really isn't a fan of being crammed in a small hotel room though (one guy, two teen daughters and his wife-no wonder!) and he planned this trip. He booked though Expedia and got a 2 bedroom. We were in building 5 and on the 7th floor. We could easily see downtown disney and the fireworks from Epcot at night.

The size of the place was amazing! The master bedroom/bathroom area was larger than any room at any of the resorts at WDW (standard room, not a studio etc.) and we've stayed at all but 3 of them!

The master bedroom had a king sized bed, two nightstands, dresser, TV, GIANT walk in closet with safe, whirlpool tub, shower (larger than my entire bathroom at home), two sinks and a small room with a pocket door for the toilet.

Just inside the door there was a dining area with 6 chairs at the table. The living room had a couch, two chairs, two end tables, coffee table and a large flat screen TV. Off the living room was the balcony with a table and 4 chairs...sat out here in the morning drinking coffee and watching the world go by.

The kitchen had a full size fridge, there was a dishwasher, stove, microwave, full set of dishes/pots and pans. In a closet was a stacked washer/dryer.

The second bedroom had two beds, one dresser, another TV and a decent sized closet. The second bathroom was also very large. It had one sink and a regular tub/shower.

The only drawbacks we found were: parking in the garage (first two levels of the building) is way too tight. I wasn't able to park inside because I was afraid of hitting another car or the wall. There is limited parking outside for the number of units in the building but we always did manage to find a spot.

Another drawback....the water tasted funny. We used bottled water in the coffeemaker after the first pot.

The last drawback was the constant delivery of flyers through the door! Oh my gosh. We must have gotten 30 different flyers shoved under the door in 3 days. I'm not so sure that the hallways are all that secure! There is LOTS of soliciting by local businesses.

There is a "mall" that kind of shares the entrance to the place. It's a typical outlet mall. DD did get a great deal at the Claire's outlet and we had to buy jackets at the Old Navy outlet because the weather got really cold!

Keep in mind, this place has no maid service and if you plan to stay for long periods of time, you will need your own soap, shampoo, tp etc. or pay the fee for maid service.

All in all, the place is EXACTLY like the photos on line, great location (but not listed on my gps-maybe too new?) very quiet, amazingly big and well worth the money IMHO.

 

[indimom]

There aren't a lot of reviews available on this place, so it's good to know your opinions! Thanks much. How did you find the driving (I'm guessing you went to Disney parks), was it pretty easy, any traffic problems??

 

[cathy_s]

There aren't a lot of reviews available on this place, so it's good to know your opinions! Thanks much. How did you find the driving (I'm guessing you went to Disney parks), was it pretty easy, any traffic problems??

Glad to know I could be of help to someone!

The driving to and from the parks was very easy...it was around 5 minutes or so to the HS parking lot from the hotel.

The only driving issue was actually being able to find the place the first time. If you do plan to stay there, make sure that you don't rely on a gps, have a really good map or at least the phone number of the place so you can call for directions (like we had to).

 

[indimom]

And to the OP, I too apologize for hijacking your thread...
I've been known to derail a conversation or two in "real life" also...
I really appreciate hearing from folks who have stayed on-site in the past and made the decision to go off-site. That's been my biggest concern while planning this trip. I think we'll like the resort I chose, BUT I was afraid that it wouldn't outweigh staying on-site if the driving and parking is a pain, we feel like "second-class" citizens at the parks, etc... (If that makes sense?)
But you all have made me feel a lot better about my decision!

 

[dyna]

We used to only stay onsite until we stayed offsite last summer now I don't know what it would take to get us back onsite....funny we now rent condo for a week now that we always travel kid free.

I love the extra space put my stuff in 2nd bedroom an shower in 2nd bath allowing both dh an I to shower an dress at same time without falling all over each other. LOVE the washer an dryer which allows us to pack much lighter....sometimes we travel on a harley allowing for 3 changes of clothing for disney...with the washer an dryer I found that 3 changes is all we need anyway.

We stayed at Fantasy World once...very easy drive to the parks once we figured out all the short cuts. Windsor Hills very easy drive both was close think WH was a little closer tho.

When in our van we did not have AAA parking but did not need it never ever waited on a tram opening an closing tram was always right there an not overly crowded like disney buses are. When we took our daily afternoon break we took tram out to van sometimes sittin in tram a couple mins before it took off but not 5 mins. When returning we usually got a parking place close enough we did not even need tram usually in 1st couple of rows if tram was there waiting we took it if not we walked.

 

[DisneyNutzy]

Even though I am a DVC owner I still love staying offsite in rental homes. My favorite vacations are split stays. We are going down to VWL for 3 nights in December and moving a a Vacation Home in Formosa Gardens when our extended family arrives for the holidays. The extra space and having your own pool is great! That said I don't think we could ever give up staying onsite altogether. On and off site stays both have their advantages...we choose both.

 

[Zeebs]

We stayed off site on our first (and so far only) trip to WDW. We loved it.

I think it was because the place was bigger than our own home.

To us coming from the UK the whole experience of staying off site was exciting we even loved our trips to Walmart.

Maybe one day we would like to stay onsite, but given we are expecting another child I think our chances are going to be slim, we can't justify the price for 5 people jammed into a room.


I know people love staying on site and I think that is great but at the moment it certainly isn't for us.

Kirsten