Is going to Disney worth the Money?

[Grand Canyon]

We have never stayed on sight. The drive from our hotel or house never took more than 20 mins. We always stay on or near 192 and can often make it to Epcot in 10 mins. I do not see the attraction to riding around in the Disney Busses. When we go to TL or BB I see people waiting in long lines to get on the bus. It take about the same time to get to the car as is does to the bus stop (except for MK but most of the time we park at Epcot and ride Monorail to MK). We like having the convenience of being able to come and go freely (by car) and the ability to stage things in the car for long days at Epcot or MGM. Also we take a large double stroller with us (this year we will take 2 jogging strollers). It would be more difficult to bring our strollers on the busses than in or SUV. And finally we can afford a nice long vacation in a House or Condo for less than a hotel at Disney. It is nice to have a washer and drier and a privet pool. This year we have a 4-bed room 2-bath house with pool for a month of June for $2000. I would like to do the EE day but I have more time than money.

Pics from out last trip.
http://michaelmartin.mystarband.net/

 

[Debbie]

Sorry, Dennise, it's not me. I can't think of the site/person that you are looking for. Good luck, though, and WELCOME to DIS!

 

[Grand Canyon]

The DW of Grand Canyon says:

Our two sons live in a house. They have no understanding of acceptable noise level in condos/hotels. We find staying in a house so much more relaxing because we don't have to get on them to 'keep it down', 'be quiet', etc when on long vacations (last year and this year it's for a month).
I mean, that's not the reason we get a house - but it certainly is a nice perk.
DH and I have discussed the pros and cons many times of staying onsite vs staying off site. Maybe when the DSs are, say, 30-something we'll get a room for the two of us But right now we enjoy having the space to spread out, fix a breakfast or late night snack, whatever.....

Who cares where I lay my head - as long as there are clean sheets and a shower

 

[crisi]

GC (and family)

For you guys it doesn't make any sense to stay on site. A month in a hotel room! Ugh! You'd need a 2 bedroom DVC unit - and that just isn't cost effective.

But as to the noise level - few kids at Disney know what "appropriate" noise in a hotel is. We haven't had many troubles - but if we go to bed early, we are certain to get disturbed by people returning after fireworks, and if we sleep in, we are sure to get disturbed by families leaving for park opening. But I know what you mean - we don't dine "fancy" at Disney because my kids don't behave at a level I'm comfortable with.

 

[crazymomof4]

When we stayed onsite we had great experiences with the resorts themselves but not with the transportation. Maybe it has changed, but back then riding the buses was horrible. Very often the buses were full and you had to wait for the next one and then the stops seemed endless! The last time I swore it would have been quicker to drive our own car to and from an off-site hotel. Well, now we have 2 more kids than then and the cost of 2 WDW rooms is just way out of our range. In '94 we got a poolhouse for 2 weeks and it was great!! We are doing the same this Sept. The price works for us, just $525/week inc. tax for a beautiful, 4 bdrm home! It is nice to visit some of the other Orlando attractions. Also, we like to spend a whole day just relaxing by the pool and refueling for another whole day of WDW.
I can honestly say we don't enjoy Disney any less.

 

[Popsicle]

We've gone every year (in August, so you know we're fanatics) since 1992. We've never stayed on site.

At first it was cost. The All-Stars didn't exist in 1992.

We're a party of five. Husband, wife, 2 sons (5 and 2, at the time,) and spinster aunt (that's me.) Our first stay was at Holiday Inn Main Gate East. We thought we we're in heaven with all the activities for the children and Holiday Hound tucking them in. We had all we needed. Enough beds (and a crib,) a little refrigerator, a little microwave and a coffee machine.

As the children grew older, we needed to branch out (space wise,) but we still didn't want to invest a lot in a hotel room. We started staying in condos around 1995. Had the luxury of separate bedrooms and bathrooms, full kitchen (eating at Disney can get expensive,) washer/dryer and, again children's activities.

Over the years we discussed seeking accommodations at Disney, just for what everyone calls that extra touch of MAGIC, and inquired about the facilities at All Stars. At the time, there were no connecting rooms and a limit of 4 people to a room, so back to the condos.

Well, last year we decided to try the home away from home resorts. After I picked myself off the floor at the cost of a 3 bedroom unit, it was off to off-site condos again.

We always get a rental car and now have a good grasp of International Drive and 192 and some of the other roads. Though the transporation system is one of the major features of staying on-site, it's like being held captive... You come and go on their schedule.

Bottom line, it doesn't matter where you stay. You're going to be with people you love, you're going to see everything you want to see, and do everything you want to do in the parks.

The biggest thrill of every trip to me is seeing the purple and red Disney signs and not being afraid to start screaming out loud when the words "Magic Kingdom" come into view. Everyone, on-site and off-site, gets to have that experience.

Have fun!!!!

Popsicle

 

[mickeysaver]

We don't have kids and we have stayed both offsite and at ASMu.
I offer you my insights. I know that you are going to hear alot about onsite vs. offsite. Some folks are just addicted to staying onsite. I can fairly say, they each have their strengths and weaknesses.

The offsite perspective...
March 2001, regular season, Quality Inn arcross from FAO Schwartz, $30/nite. I hated using my bank check card everywhere. I was worried the whole time about losing it or just spreading the number around so often. But, the purchases went through without a hitch, until the 3rd day when I was forced to call my bank and explain that I was at WDW and it was ok and I was the one charging up a storm. lol I came prepared with cash for the cart vendors and only had to use the ATM once. The other downside was that we had to carry around all the goodies that we bought. We are avid disney collectors, so this became a bit of an issue. We were forced to rent a locker and actually ship some packages home and/or to the front of the park for pick-up on our way out. The line at the package pick-up was an hour long about 45 minutes before the park offically closed. So, at the end of the day, we were more tired and a bit more cranky than I would
have been if I had stayed onsite. The shuttle busses from our hotel did not run as often as I would have liked, so we drove to the parks. The food was cheaper to an extent because we ate offsite more often, but the drive in the traffic was not much fun at the end of the day either. We had to pay for parking. Our family and friends that we met up with on the first night also had to pay to park and it was a bit of a coordination nightmare. We couldn't do EE or an e-night because we were offsite. I was a bit bummed, but you do what you can. We had lucked out on the room cost and they gave us the use of a fridge for free, but it was still offsite. Now, I will say that this was my first trip as an adult and I didn't know how great it was to actually be onsite. I would have told you that it was ok before I actually stayed onsite and had the chance to enjoy the perks.

Onsite perspective.....
September 2002, value season, ASMu, king room with fridge(not charged for it), $49/nite(GA resident rate). We set up my bank check card on the room key. The check card and all other cards lived in the safe during our stay. I carried a bit of cash each day for cart vendors. All purchases went to the hotel gift shop for pick-up at the end of the next day....except of course for the last day's purchases, but we were able to plan so that we didn't buy much that last day. Busses took us to most of the places we wanted to go. We drove only a couple of times, but it was so nice to not have to pay to park. We had additional family coming for the last day of our stay to do MK and the CM at ASMu gave us 2 additional parking passes to allow them to park for free.....Jose was such a nice guy. Pizza delivery to the room was awesome! There were no e-nights and no EE when we were there, but the low crowds made it unnecessary in my opinion. Overall, this trip hooked me into wanting to always stay onsite. I don't know if we will be able to aways do it, but it's what I budget for now.

Finally, yes, it's often times cheaper to stay offsite in respect to the hotel and food. But there are definate perks that make staying in a value resort onsite a better deal for us. Room key charging, package delivery to the resort, free parking, room service, EE & e-nights all make for a very appealing package. In the end, your wallet makes the decision. Mickey

 

[hogie1]

Although I we have never stayed off property, we think it is worth it. At the swan or dolphin, if you can get a good rate like the govt one, it really helps. Plus, we've always been a fan of the free transportation (bus, boat, monorail). We did stay at the GF for our honeymoon last Sept, and although it was a fabulous resort, we spent way more time trying to get from place to place. S&D is much better as far as being centrally located, and each time we went somewhere it was only about 10-15 mins for the trip. As far a saving $$, we enjoyed the plan where your meals & recreation activities are included. We saved money on our honeymoon while doing more activities such as fishing, boating, etc plus we ate like a king & queen at every meal. If only the S&D could be part of that package, then we'd be there right now!!
As for only being there the past 3 yrs, we never got to try the EE nites, early entry, or any of the other perks, so we don't know any better. But we enjoyed the closeness of our hotel room and letting Mickey be our designated driver, cause when we're on vacation, we want to be able to have a few drinks in every country!!!

Dolphin/Disney Cruise Dec 2000
Swan Oct 2001
GF Sept 2002 (honeymoon)
????? Aug 2004

 

[bigs1923t]

We usually stay on site but have stayed off site for part of some vacations. There is alot of non disney things to do in Orlando. There are also some very good deals off site. We stayed at Vistana Villages last March for a week with a one bdrm condo at a rate of $89.00 a night and got the 7th night free. When we checked out of there we move to Disney on site and visited the WDW parks. So whatever it may be go for it!

 

[hotcarib]

We always stay onsite in CA since I can usually find great deals; no such luck in FL:-(
Staying in FL is all new to me. I agree the "Disney" experience is worth the extra $$, but in my case (my daughter is 12) we could afford only the All-Star Resort. I would want to at least stay in a moderate class and that would add another 700 to my 8 night hotel bill. We opted to stay at Grosvenor because my daughter wants to be w/in walking to D.Quest, it was amazingly $(thanks expedia), we won't be in the room much and it is on Disney's land. Hope I made the right choice. Actually I am still vacillating on staying at All-Star Sports. If anybody has input please let me know~or coupon codes for disney hotels (03/28/03-04/05/03)<----I have typed those dates in so many times my fingers ache! We have res. for the Hoop-di thing, Brown Derby/Fantasmic Sci-Fi and Coral Reef. Any suggestions are most welcome! We live in Las Vegas so the chains like Hard Rock and Rainforest don't hold much allure.
Thanks,
Janice