If you've stayed off site...

[Disney Mommy 3]

would you do it again? We looove being so close.But, I am trying to talk hubby n2 an Oct. visit b4 our Jan/Feb trip. This would be the only way, I think that he would do it. I was looking at the condo's at Windsor Hills. Is the $ savings worth not being at Disney? Also, don't you lose extra magic hours? Then you have to deal with driving--he drives all over @ work and I think he relaxes by us not having a car-give me some pros and cons friends
Be BRUTALLY honest- I have never done this b4 & I am an obsessive planner-I want to know what I am getting into.
I know I can count on ya'll to help me out!!

 

[klineyqueen]

We have stayed on site for all but one trip.....(as a couple)

We will not be staying off site again. My husband (like your husband) drives a lot at work. He loves not having to drive during the vacation. At the end of the day he does not feel like "fighting" traffic. That is his number one reason for not liking being off site.

Yes you lose the EMH.

When you are onsite you get the whole"package" you are in Disney all of the time...when you stay off site...you leave the magic behind.

Some people will do both. Honestly it is up to you...but as for me and my family....we will stay on property. HTH

 

[Debbie]

My sister has done offsite (Cypress Pointe, I believe) a few times, and would do so at any time....except for free dining. You should check out the Orlando board for some of the 'other' side opinions....and suggestions of some great places to stay.It's good to hear both sides of the coin.

 

[kimbac3]

We've done both and prefer staying offsite.
Here are some of the pros for us:
We stay at a rental home - top thing - more than one bathroom!! (There are 5 of us!)
Driving - I know what you're thinking but we were "home" from any park in 20 mins or less. We'd still be waiting for a bus if we were staying onsite.
Food - having breakfast at the house was such a cost saver. Also coming home and giving the kids a snack while we sit out by the private pool is wonderful.
More space for clothing and just to spread out. All 5 of us in one room got old fast! Plus it was nice to throw the laundry in and go relax on the sofa or by the pool. No quarters!

I'd be worried that we'd loose "the magic" but we really didn't. By the time we got back to the room we were exhausted anyway. It was a long walk to the food court and I really didn't feel comfortable letting my kids go there alone.

We didn't do the extra magic hours. Too many people all converge one 1 park. We actually avoided those parks!

Staying offsite is really more cost effective and my family prefers it. But it's up to you and what makes things easier or better for you. Try it this one time. Save some money. If you HATE it don't do it again. You might find you like it!!

Have a great time!!
Kimba

 

[bigbabyblues]

I think it's something only you can decide.

DH has stayed offsite, I have not. DH said if he had to stay offsite again, he would stay home.

However, I've read about and see pictures of some of the Windsor Hills condos, and they're really nice!

 

[kydisneyfans]

We stayed 3 years onsite, stayed 1 year offsite, and have never gone back onsite again. The cost savings is well worth the drive, depending on where you are at, may be quicker than staying onsite waiting for a bus.

The Orlando Attractions board has a great thread about this topic. Basically I can get 3 times the room at 1/2 of the cost.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I have stayed off site and would do it again in a heartbeat, but Im usually talked into staying onsite by others traveling with me.

I went once with, at the time, DS10 and DS7 and stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree / LBV. I think we paid about $90 per night (7 years ago) for a 2 bedroom suite!! We were 5 minutes from the parks and had no problems driving back to/from the hotel a couple times per day. I think I used 1/2 tank of gas for a week stay...longest driving was to and from airport.

Im not a huge fan of Disney transportation, a lot of unneccesary waiting time. The car was perfect. Our hotel had a "kids eat free" program for anyone under 17!! There were nightly activities (we didnt go because we were mostly at the parks), on site mini market and plenty of places to eat nearby if we didnt want to eat in the parks. It was a last minute vacation (I took advantage of the post 9/11 airfares to get people flying again) and had a blast. I have stayed at most moderate/deluxe hotels in the World and enjoyed this just as much.

I have also stayed on International Drive a couple of times...Quality Inn....nice room for sleeping! Not any fluff, but nice for adults. I only wouldnt bring kids here because there was really nothing..no game room, no kids pool, no scenery etc...but the rooms were clean and property was kept up. I also saved a ton of money by not eating on Disney Property. Some times we just swung by Pizza Hut, Denny's, Olive Garden etc...

 

[disneymarie]

would you do it again? We looove being so close.But, I am trying to talk hubby n2 an Oct. visit b4 our Jan/Feb trip. This would be the only way, I think that he would do it. I was looking at the condo's at Windsor Hills. Is the $ savings worth not being at Disney? Also, don't you lose extra magic hours? Then you have to deal with driving--he drives all over @ work and I think he relaxes by us not having a car-give me some pros and cons friends
Be BRUTALLY honest- I have never done this b4 & I am an obsessive planner-I want to know what I am getting into.
I know I can count on ya'll to help me out!!

I am like you and did like staying so close, but for a budget trip for fun I wouold do offsite again. We stayed at Quality suites Iro Bronson Dr in Kissimee and also at the Someplace that had the word Blue in it, invited to the time share.

These both stays are like two bedroom apartments, the pool, and admenities like breakfast were great and did have shuttles if you want to do that. But I found the 15 minute driive no problem and convience of the dishwaher, ability to make food, onsite fun time really great. The places were very clean, friendly, and gave some oppertunities to do non Disney things. I loved dinner at Picinos and there is a $5 Internet coupon for them too.

Suvoniers are less expensive, Once parked yopu can travel the buses or trams around Disney Parks. THe most we paid was in May $80 a night for 7 of us. Lots of packages online with air and car are even less like $49 a night for the same site.
The real convience to onsite is the buses, but the lack of a car for emergencies even for a medical or bottle of asprin and case of water is worth the cost. I had once at Disney gotten a weekend rental for Enterprize and it was only $55 for the weekend for a Nissan Sentra.

You do lose the MAgical Express, but last trip we got a mini van at Alamo for $150 a week and got to got to whattabrger for dinner, Walmart, stopped at a pharmacy one night, ate at Crackerbarrel everyones fav.

I loved being able to hope in and drive downtown Disney when we stayed at the Blue something, it was minutes away and had a minimart there. We just loved shopping and eating at the Earl of Sandwich. The lego land, bug Disney store with Potatoe heads.

for a great buy, it is well worth it. But d te package searches like on Hotels.com to find really great buys, it is sometimes worth the packages for the savings.
Just our PA experiance.
di

 

[MN_Gal]

Last October we stayed at LBV Resort Village & Spa. It was AWESOME! We were to the parks in under 10 minutes and we were right by the outlets.

 

[gladstoneganderfan]

We have allways stayed offsite. I would love to stay onsite, but right now, I can't justify it. For the same price as a value room, I can get a 4 bedroom condo at Regal Palms. This includes a full kitchen and a seperate mini-suite for the parents if they come with us. They also have an amazing pool (think mini-waterpark) and a restaurant that has gift certificates on restaurant.com.

Between making our own breakfast & getting dinner at the hotel's restaurant, we saved a good bit on our food budget. We did 1 character breakfast & 1 character dinner on a 7 day trip. Those 2 days felt like the longest.


As far as EMH, we haven't missed them. We are the type of folks that get to the parks early & stay until it closes, so we are worn out at the end of the day.

 

[gladstoneganderfan]

I will recommend getting directions to the parks from the hotel staff instead of trying to figure it out from the road signs. We spent the first 3 days taking 30-45 minutes to get to the parks. We were taking with the waitress in the restaurant & she told us another way to get there that took 10 minutes.

 

[Kellydelly]

When you are onsite you get the whole"package" you are in Disney all of the time...when you stay off site...you leave the magic behind.

I manage to take magic with me wherever I go . We are a large family (four kids) so staying onsite would not be fun. Being cramped with that many people in a small space is not so great. We have loved the three different private homes we have rented. The driving is no big deal, and staying offsite allows you the freedom to visit other places besides just the World.

 

[crisi]

We are DVC members, and I always say I'm an onsite snob.

For the past few years my husband and I have attended conferences and business meetings in the Orlando area (seperately) - never staying on site. Sometimes we will swing by Disney while we are there.

There are lovely hotels and condos offsite, and if you have access to a car and choose a hotel within a reasonable distance, staying offsite can be quite nice. You have some disadvantages - its harder to get back to the resort for a quick swim or change, no DDP (don't like it anyway), no EMH, no room charges or delivery of packages, you'll pay for parking (unless you have an annual pass) and no Mickey toiletries. But I think the value - the room quality for the price - can often be better. You have more opportunities to do non-Disney things (there are other restaurants in Orlando than Le Cellier!)

 

[hearts8701]

don't forget disney parking fees $11.00 a day

 

[RyJMom]

We will never stay onsite again. We have only been twice - 1st time was Port Orleans French Quarter and 2nd time was a rental home at Windsor Hills. No comparison. We did not feel like we lost any of the magic by staying offsite. Being stuck in 1 room with 2 double beds and 1 bathroom for the 4 of us was not magic. We spilt the house with my sister in law and her family. $80 a night per family for a 5 bedroom house with its own pool and hot tub. I say give offsite a shot - I'll bet you'll never go back. Good luck making your choice.

 

[2Blue1Pink]

We went last July and stayed at Windsor Hills. It was absolutely beautiful! We are a family of 5 and stayed in a 2BR condo with a large common area, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, dining area and washer dryer in the unit. There is a zero depth entry clean pool with a 2 story waterslide, a mini mart and I think maybe pool tables/game room? It was gated, with security there every time we went through and it was very quiet. NOW...I will be honest. We definitely had way more room to spread out. My DD was 2 at the time and I had crazy notions of leaving the park after lunch and going home for quiet/nap time and then back to park for late nights. It never quite worked out like that because we were having so much fun! I also thought we were saving money this way, and we were, but only on the hotel and meal aspect. Because once you add in the price of a car rental (we needed a minivan - a few hundred dollars even on priceline), and daily onsite parking ($10 a day I think??) it was no longer such a bargain. This trip was a gift and if I had been paying I would probably stay onsite because I think it might actually work out to be cheaper??!! Not sure, but if you are an obsessive planner like me you can easily figure it out!! I liked it a lot for the comfort factor but I'm not so sure how much we actually saved. And on another note, there is a "shortcut" from WH to Disney and it was literally 5-10 mins. to some of the gates. Traffic wasn't an issue that we noticed. As far as Windsor Hills, I would recommend it without hesitation though I know they can vary in quality from what I've read.

 

[mum4jenn]

We LOVE staying off site. At Christmas we stayed at a condo near the back entrance and it only took us about 5 minutes to get to the parks AND we had laundry facilities in the room,a full kitchen, 2 bathrooms,2 bedrooms and we were near several restaurants. We had much more privacy staying offsite and never had to stand in line for a bus. There were 3 TVs,playstation,dvd player,free high speed internet. Also the kids room was decorated in a Disney theme.

We have also stayed offsite near downtown disney and have also had really short commute times because we use the back roads that most people do not know about (or can't find out about when they are on a Disney bus!!)

 

[mafibisha]

There are nice resorts ALLLL over the world.

But "When in Rome".....

Or when at the beach, we want oceanfront and not parking lot view 3 miles inland.

When in WDW, we want WDW and not some "nice" resort. We want Disney Immersion.

And like others have said, it's DHs vacation, too. He doesn't want to drive, fight traffic, pay tolls, so we use Magical Express and save tons of $$ by not getting a rental.

Bottom line, our 3 have said it just doesn't *feel* like a real Disney vacation when we're not staying right there on-site amid the *MAGIC* !!!

(and we all know kids know EVERYTHING! LOL LOL)

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Thank u Disney friends! I knew I could count on you to give me the real scoop on things. I will talk to dh and see what he thinks. I can see it may be cheaper- I think Windsor Hills is offering free car rental for a while. This may be the way to go.Iwill have to go to work with #s and see what I come up with. I just love that ya'll responded so quickly! Keep those opinions rolling in folks!

 

[Kycha]

In 2004 we went for 2 weeks. The first week we stayed onsite at Pop Century. We rented 2 rooms. The second week we rented a 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom home with a pool and jacuzzi. We paid the same rate for each week. We always rent a car whether we are on or offsite. So, we don't have to factor that expense in to our budget. I loved staying offsite. I am a light sleeper so when sharing a hotel room I don't sleep well. Also, having everything I want within just a few feet is great! If I want to take a dip in the pool, I just step out the door. Or if I want a snack, just a few feet to the kitchen. If I need to do a load of laundry, just down the hall to the washer/dryer. The last couple trips, we have been doing the free dining. But, I will be planning a December trip soon. And I will definitely be looking at offsite homes.