in side the WDW or outside

[Ags96]

I don't know if I should stay insdie or outside the park? we are leaving in Nov. after the Thanksgiving with 3 kids (11, 7,3). Any suggestions?

Thanks

Ags96

 

[buzz2400]

We have stayed both inside and outside. I just came back from staying at the Hampton Inn Lake Buena Vista and Pop Century. I will never stay onsite again. We always have a car and the parking is terrible. The walk to the lobby is always a long walk. I hate the bus transportation because it is more waiting in line. If you want to stay offsite I highly recommend the hampton inn lake buena vista which is exit 68 off I-4 (route 535). There is a little shortcut to get to disney marketplace right by the mcdonalds. Also there is a lot of places to eat in this area. You do get very tired of eating at disney. Also the Hampton Inn has a free hot breakfast. The hot is eggs and bacon or ham which you can make an egg mcmuffin. they also had bagels, bread, cereal, coffee, juice, fruit and muffins. The place is also very clean.

 

[meb]

Stay onsite. I like staying onsite but we have never stayed offsite it is great b/c you get to use the buses and your close to everything. We stay in a moderate usally like this last time we stayed in Port Orleans French Quarters. Awesome pool

 

[blue_eyes5212]

I have never stayed offsite and don't intend to! I like being close to everything and being surrounded by Disney 24-7. I like parking my car at the beginning of the week and not returning to it until i am ready to leave for home. I have never had a problem with Disney transportation and enjoy the break of not driving myself around. It makes for a more relaxing experience for me and makes me feel like I am truly "on vacation".

 

[DebCatLady]

I first visited WDW 8 months after they opened and have gone back no less than once a year since. We've stayed just about every place you can think of. By far, onsite is the best. Whether we fly down or drive, Disney transportation has never failed us. And it is wonderful to be totally engulfed in Disney every minute of your vacation. We haven't stayed offsite in the last 6 years.

Deb

 

[DisneyTeasers]

We've stayed off site twice and had a great time, but never again! If you are traveling with small children and plan to rest at all during the day it is so much more convenient not to have to leave the property. Plus, there is something about being "on campus" (as DH calls it) that makes our vacation just that much more magical. If you can swing it, I'd recommend staying onsite!

 

[beattyfamily]

Another big vote for onsite.

There's nothing like being fully immersed in the Disney magic. I especially love staying on the monorail near Magic Kingdom like at the Contemporary or the GF. If you prefer MGM and Epcot, then I LOVE the Boardwalk or the Beach Club.

Nothing like being able to walk to a park or take the monorail.

Staying onsite has it's perks and I LOVE it.

 

[la79al]

your two oldest kids will probably not want to take breaks from the parks and your littlest will probably sleep in the stroller. this being said, i would recommend staying offsite. we just got back last weekend and we stayed offsite. it took us 10 minutes to get to any park and 15 minutes to park the car and get to the entrance gate. compared to the time i have heard it takes the buses to get to the parks, this is not bad. plus, you will get sick of disney food and staying offsite puts you very close to a lot of other choices.

 

[WINTER]

I am staying onsite this trip but I can honestly say I love staying at the Fairfield Inn in the Marriott Village. It has a good breakfast included, a nice pool and nice rooms with frigs. The only downfall is that now there is a charge for park transportation but I would stay there again in a heartbeat. There is also a foodcourt and gift shop. We have stayed there 4 times.

 

[sk8bug72]

I used to stay offsite and thought it was great, but then I stayed onsite, and loved it. I will probably never stay offsite again. Disney hotels add to the atmosphere and magic of Disney. I also think that they are very convenient. The monorails, boats, and buses are great. The theming is really fun. Also, many of the hotels have great restaurants and food courts.

 

[f7prez]

We have stayed onsite and offsite and I personally don't think that either one is better than the other. We like both. It is fun to stay onsite, and we will usually stay at a Disney hotel when we are staying 3 or 4 nights and doing nothing but Disney stuff. If we are in Orlando for a longer period of time we prefer to be offsite. There are so many nice places to stay and other attractions to see offsite, and the dining options are MUCH better offsite in terms of choice, quality and price. It really depends on which Disney resort you are staying at. The value resorts are typically so far away from anything, you feel like you have left the property anyway. We are not big fans of waiting for public transportation either. If you want to travel to another resort, a ten minute drive by car will usually take 40 minutes by Disney transportation. If this is your first trip to WDW I would reccomend staying onsite no matter how long you are staying. You will be having so much fun, you won't want to leave.

 

[blessedby3]

We have stayed both on and off site, with this next trip being our first at a private vacation home. I dont like staying offsite at a hotel, but I might like this vacation home because of the privacy and room. We much prefer a Disney onsite hotel to an offsite one. I would rather have one room on property than one room off. Guess we will see how the house thing goes this fall. We have such a big party this time and I didnt want to stick my mom and her husband with my teenage DD and her best friend in a value. Someone would be losing their mind and I dont think it would be my DD!!

 

[AlaskaMOM]

We have stayed off site 2 times but NEVER again.
The 2nd trip was at xmas time we left mid day to take naps (kids were 7,5, & 1) and went back later in evening to see osbourn lights and the park was filled to capacity and we could not get in, even though we had already been in! I know that is an extreme circumstance, but it has made our decisions much easier. Stay on site using a combo of dis transportation and our own rental car. Car for those early entry morns at all but MK and buses/ boats/ monorail for every other time especially MK

Also just the resorts themselves are magical, you feel wrapped up in a big disney cloud!

Part of every trip we would spend part of one day exploring some of the other resorts. they are a more relaxed fun

On site we have stayed at PO and CBR and the buses were a great time saver(you don't have to walk into the parking lot to look for your vehicle; and then get in a very hot and sticky car), I don't know if the buses are as good time wise from the value resorts though. But we will be let in if arriving on a bus (even though it might be so crowded you don't want to go in)

 

[ccw]

AS DVC members, our preference of course is to stay on-site...especially love OKW because it gives you a chance to GET AWAY FROM THE MAGIC (sorry if that sounds like heresy! Just enough theming for us and even was a good choice when our children were younger. BUT, once we did have a night to stay off-site and really enjoyed DOUBLETREE GUEST SUITES in the Downtown Disney area. We had a car which made that easier. Did not use their bus service but it seemed reliable and prompt. The stay there was in mid-December (VERY slow at the parks...yippee!!!!) and got a HUGE suite for just over $100. We had already been to Disney and stayed on the property about 8 times before that which perhaps makes it easier every now and then to stay off the property. I would never recommend off site for a first time visitor or for folks who only go every few years.

 

[kizmac]

I don't know if I should stay insdie or outside the park? we are leaving in Nov. after the Thanksgiving with 3 kids (11, 7,3). Any suggestions?

Thanks

Ags96

If you don't plan on coming back anytime soon.....and with the ages of your kids...........I say stay on-site and enjoy the full Disney experience, no doubt!
If you plan on coming back every year like some of us do, and with a bigger family, then you may consider off-site better for your budget. I would price out both options and see which works for you.
Things to consider.....are you driving or flying? Flying, I would definitely stay on-site. Use Magical Express and Disney Transportion. You could get 1 room at POR with a trundle bed.
If you're driving then you have to determine what's important to you. Budget or full time Disney magic. You will definitely find a bigger room for less $ and probably free breakfast off-site. Lot's off good priced, nice hotels to choose that are only minutes away from Disney. We have always done the offsite, but will be staying onsite this Sept. so I'm sure I will be part of the NEVER off-site again crowd.

 

[Piglet54]

I totally agree with f7prez..if it is your first time, an on site property is the way to go. We traditionally stay at a value resort and the magic, theming and convenience of staying on property is great. But like kizmac said, if you plan on returning every year (or in our case-twice in one year), you might want to stay offsite. We have found that renting a car and driving to the parks & restaurants is the best way for us too, f7prez. We purchased annual passes this year and free parking and Disney Transportation is included. We got a good rate on a Hampton Inn ($49 per night with breakfast) less than 2 miles from the Animal Kingdom, great prices on airfare and a nice rental car for $125 per week. With our admission already paid for, I can save for some great Disney meals! We won't be included in extra magic hours, but I plan to fill the evening hours with visits to some great resort/park restaurants and entertainment at Downtown Disney.

 

[Thinktinknpixiedust]

I would love to know how the vacation house works out for you... it is something we have been toying around with as well. We have stayed both on and off site, but our biggest downfall is that we have some friends and a couple of family members that live in Florida and inevitably end up coming to visit us in Disney for the day... we were thinking a house would work out well for us next time around. If it weren't for the "extra" people I would definatly vote for onsite with the dining plan and leave your car keys in the safe!!

We have stayed both on and off site, with this next trip being our first at a private vacation home. I dont like staying offsite at a hotel, but I might like this vacation home because of the privacy and room. We much prefer a Disney onsite hotel to an offsite one. I would rather have one room on property than one room off. Guess we will see how the house thing goes this fall. We have such a big party this time and I didnt want to stick my mom and her husband with my teenage DD and her best friend in a value. Someone would be losing their mind and I dont think it would be my DD!!

 

[Honeybehr1]

We have stayed both off and on site. The last time was our first onsite and that is the only way we will go from now on. There is alot less hassle, closer to the parks and surrounded by Disney.
We have only stayed at the value resorts but heck we only sleep there.

 

[katebeth]

I think that there are advantages to both staying on and off site. We like staying offsite mainly because we like to get a suite (like Embassy or Residence Inn) we go during off season and the prices are much more managable then a WDW suite. Luckily, there are plenty of places in Lake Buena Vista that can accomidate us. It is very close to leave the parks and go over to our room. I think it is just a personal preference

 

[hkite]

I would love to know how the vacation house works out for you... it is something we have been toying around with as well. We have stayed both on and off site, but our biggest downfall is that we have some friends and a couple of family members that live in Florida and inevitably end up coming to visit us in Disney for the day... we were thinking a house would work out well for us next time around. If it weren't for the "extra" people I would definatly vote for onsite with the dining plan and leave your car keys in the safe!!

We have taken 3 family trips with our entire family (14 people) and we have always used private rental homes. We've never had a bad experience. The houses have always been large, with a private screened in pool and all the comforts of home. The last time we stayed at Emerald Isle subdivision, through a company called villa direct http://www.villadirect.com We rented the Music Cabana and Oasis Retreat. It was only about a 5-10 minute drive, depending on the traffic, from the parks. I've never stayed onsite, but we've had some wonderful Disney vactions over the years!