I need a sounding board for Pros V Cons onsite/offsite...

[Momof4girls]

We are considering two options and cannot make a decision (but need to - quickly).

Option 1:
Onsite, two rooms, value resort for free dining

PROS:
free dining
paid for LONG before leaving, no last minute financial stress
slightly cheaper

CONS:
smooshed in rooms, small beds
kind of tight financially to pay for it on short notice by paid in full date
hotter that time of year

Option 2:
Offsite, vacation rental home for Halloween week (which we've done in the past)

PROS:
four bedroom, three bath, with inground private covered pool
spread out, cooking in the house, save on meals in that aspect
slightly cooler that time of year

CONS:
out of pocket for dining
have to save money aside and cannot prepay

 

[GoinToDisney]

It would be a no-brainer for me. I prefer on-site. For a beach vacation, I prefer a house with a pool. However, when we go to Disney we would not want to feel like we had to go back to the house for meals. We only sleep, shower and maybe eat breakfast in the hotel room, but we usually go in Nov.-Feb. when it's cooler.

So how many of you will be crammed in the 2 rooms?
How much time do you plan on spending in the hotel/house?

 

[minkydog]

No question, on-site. We like to be close to the action and it's no unusual for us to need to go back to our room after only a few hours in the parks. Much more convenient than staying off-site. We keep breakfast items in our room and carry healthy snacks with us at all times, so we usually one eat one restaurant meal per day. Works for us

 

[Rylee]

On-site at a Disney resort with free dining!


*If you are looking to book at the Value resorts, during free dining, you need to call as soon as possible. The Values are sold out for many dates during free dining. Also, you should make your ADR's soon, too.

 

[RyJMom]

We have only been to Disney 2 times. The 1st was on site at Port Orleans with the dining plan (we paid for it). 2nd time was Windsor Hills in a rental home. I don't think even free dining could get us back onsite. We really enjoyed having tons of room and a pool to ourselves. It really felt like more of a vacation. Good luck on trying to decide what is best for you guys.

 

[tammy1210]

I've been struggling with this myself for our next trip - I think we've finally gone with off-site - (also Windsor Hills) - I was afraid of losing the "magic" of the whole trip, but dh and both kids are all for the townhouse after seeing pictures. I've gotta admit that individual bedrooms/kitchen - and washer/dryer would be great. Good luck!

 

[powellrj]

I'm not even sure free dining is enough to get me back on-site. LOVE the room you can get off-site.

 

[katied]

I LOVE to stay onsite (and that's about all I do). BUT, Sept is SO HOT! Also, you really need to plan you're meals out far in advance, as everything gets booked with free dining. On the plus side - light crowds and free dining...

If I had to chose, I would go during a cooler time of year and stay off site. I think the space, the kitchen, the private pool are all really nice perks, but the key thing for me is the cooler weather.

 

[5 crazy kids]

I've been studying the boards and it sure looks like everyone recommends staying on-site. I would think it would be easier, smoother, and you get the "extras" like the dining and the extra hours.
We, however, cannot fit comfortably into an on-site hotel/villa, etc. You need to do what works best for your family!

 

[eeyoregon]

Onsite.

For us it's all about Free Dining (totaled $1,020.00 in food receipts last year and didn't pay a penny out out of pocket...good old days when tips were included!) + the room was only $90 a night (Value) and only had to buy 1 day MYW ticket (had free admission remaining days) + free airport transfers.

Our favorite perk with onsite stays is the Extra Magic Hours. You can accomplish more in the 3 extra late magic hours in the cooler evening hours than you can in 8 hours during the hot day!

 

[Darcy03231]

Since you need two rooms you must have a larger family. I would definitely go in October and stay off-site. September is really hot and I know my family would hate to be squeezed into 2 hotel rooms.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

No question for me either. Definitely offsite in a vacation home. I agree, not even free dining would convince me to stay onsite when I can get the benefits of a vacation home.

 

[dspads]

I'm not sure how the crowd levels compare but I would consider that. Plus cooler in October.

Did you factor in the cost of renting a car? How old are your kids? On-site is great unless you know you want the off-site break.

Also the DDP is not for everyone. You have to schedule alot out ahead of time. That may be hard with 4 kids, depending on the ages. What about staying on-site in October with no free dinning?

 

[Disneygirl26]

I'm going with off site in October, we always go the first week of October and stay in a rental home the park hours are shorter so its good to come home to a house where everyone can swim and do there own thing with out being crammed into a hotel room

 

[trivial]

I think the only time I would considering staying off-site is if I was with a group of people. Otherwise, it seems that you either have enough money for it to not be an issue (and you choose to stay on-site), or you go during free dining, because you're not going to find a better way to save money than that (family of 4 for a week: $700 saved). (I realize that assumes you would otherwise purchase the dining plan, but that's a given for us; we're not interested in preparing our meals on vacation and going back and forth to the resort to eat.) On the other hand, I can understand not wanting to go at such a hot time of the year; in that case, I would go another time during value season and stay on DVC points.

 

[whirledPeas]

I'm really on board staying in a larger vacation home. The cooking and spreading out is great but just to be able to sleep without waking everyone up is a blessing.

 

[thegrimdwarf]

I vote October/off-site, too. My biggest issue when traveling is being cramped in a hotel room with 2 young kids - there are no 'perks' good enough for me to be willing to do that. Off-site gets you a better room for your money, too. If you rent a condo, you can save a bundle on dining costs, too. Breakfast before you leave, pack some snacks....

 

[bama-mom]

Keeping in mind that every family is different...I vote off-site in October, hands down!! That is just what works for our family. We have a timeshare (not DVC) just five minutes from MK and it has over 1500 sq ft. I cannot imagine being cooped up in hotel room with my dh and the kids. We just got back from the beach yesterday and rented a one bedroom condo with bunks in the hallway...........we were running out of room within 2 hours of being there

Also, as much as I love and obsess about WDW, even I need a break from it while we are there. I don't want to get too burned out (not that I think that could actually happen, but I guess it could).

Sure, I would love some of the perks of staying on-site, but for us, the off-site perks are more important. There are several places off-site that we like to eat and we like having our own car. Our kids are 4 and 2, so I like being able to just drive to the drugstore or Wally World for whatever we might need, like diapers, etc. Plus, they just can't handle ALL day and night at the parks every single day, so we come back to the resort to rest. When they get older, on-site may take more of a priority, but we LOVE OFF-SITE

 

[3DisneyGals&1Grumpy]

We usually do both! I highly recommend it!

We start our vacation with a night or two on property soaking up the Disney magic and taking advantage of the extra park hours. Even though we don't spend much time in our room anymore since the kids are older ( We like to open and close the parks.) we are more than ready to spread out in our timeshare after a few days in the same room. The other posters are right .........it is extremely nice to have an extra bedroom to put the kids in, a kitchen for snacks and meals, and your own washer and dryer right in the condo available whenever you need it.

As Hannah Montana says "Its the best of both worlds."