Is it Really Better Staying On Property?

[Jennytoon]

Keep in mind your family is just now getting into the teen years. Right now you all travel to and from the parks together. As the kids get older, some might want to sleep late, or stay in the parks late, or ride TOT for the 50th time. Onsite buses mean they can do those things.

I'm not sure if this is enough of an advantage against saving money or a larger space. Just something else to think about.

We recently returned from a trip offsite (Wyndham Bonnet Creek) where our older girls stayed behind at MK a few times and we picked them up later. It was very easy to do. We had them walk over to the Contemporary after MK and we picked them up there.

It's true that this is an advantage of staying on-site. However ... we mostly always stayed off-site for all our trips prior to this year. Two weeks at a time, either trading in timeshare or renting locally for ~$1400 for the two weeks. When we were there in 2013, we bought DVC, enough points to give us the same experience as our off-site trips = two-bedroom villa for two weeks every other year. Ignoring the initial buy-in, our maintenance fees on those points over two years are about $4K. If you don't want to pop back later to pick people up, your kids can take a LOT of cab rides for $2600.

Other aspects may still make on-site worth it to some people (and we, after all, did buy DVC), but I find most logistical issues like this one that arise from staying off-site can be resolved with an application of cash much less than the difference in cost.

I have only stayed onsite once in 2010 and honestly I couldn't wait to leave. I felt like a prisoner. Others don't feel that way, I know. That's way i started and ended with the disclaimer that I am only talking about what worked for me.

I know exactly what you mean. I think this may depend on location though; when we traded from RCI into Boardwalk in 2011 it was so annoying to get to our car that I felt exactly this way. On our first DVC stay this summer we were in different resorts and I didn't feel it as much, especially since our kids were older and easier to get to the car with.

One aspect to this that I think is important though is the answer to the question: If you are staying on-site, do you remain on-site at all times or do you enjoy going off-site? We like to go off-site to take advantage of cheap[er] groceries to stock our fridge with, restaurants that don't need ADRs, etc. even when we stayed on-site.

One thing I would also comment is that of course everyone's mileage may vary, but in general the timeshares / rented homes that we stayed in off-site had more square footage for the same descriptor (2 bedroom, 1.5 ba or whatever) than the villas we stayed in at Disney. The living rooms were bigger. If you're just a family of four that likes to have separate bedroom and living spaces, then this might not matter so much, but for a family of 6 it will be noticeable when everyone is hanging out before dinner or whatever in the common space.

 

[epcotty]

I think it all depends on how often the shuttle would be if you were offsite (you could get there by lynx or taxi) or if you were willing to rent a car or not if the shuttle isn't as often as you'd like. I think onsite near Downtown Disney at one of the non-Disney owned hotels is a good option, still can use disney transportation and also use the hotel shuttle which is most likely more often at those locations. We liked it those times we stayed at a Disney resort however.

I really wonder what the percentage of people who stay onsite is, whether it's the vast majority of people who go there or not. All the hotels in the area seem to stay in business, so there must be a lot of people who stay in those too (surely couldn't be all of them competing for 5% of the people, could it?)

 

[dragitoff]

I think the space issue may grow as the family size grows, those with 1,2 or even 3 children don't seem to need it as much as those with higher numbers. I don't say seem to insult anyone but because I'm one of 6 kids, we never had anything bigger than a 3 bedroom 1 bath house while I was growing up. Space was not something we even considered, if there weren't 3 people in the bathroom at a time, something was wrong (5 boys 1 girl, me and I'm the youngest.) Even as the only girl I had to share a bedroom with one brother, the other 4 were in one bedroom. We didn't go on vacation very often but when we did it was either one hotel room with two beds and loads of kids in sleeping bags on the floor or camping (not in a cabin I'm talking tent and sleeping bag). As an adult with only one child, I can understand the issue others with big families have and certainly see the point and I think if we had been given the option of spreading out on vacation we probably would have taken it. My mom certainly would not have cooked nor done laundry, hello 6 kids, vacation means no doing chores. She wouldn't even eat at buffets on the rare occasion we got to go out to eat, she would say she could serve herself at home, if she was paying someone they better be waiting on her (a little bit of a diva my mom). I'm the same way, on the rare occasion we stay at condos while diving, I don't do laundry and we go out to eat (DH has been known to throw wet bathing suits in a dryer).

For us the space thing is really more for OUR sanity than the children's comfort! Lol. We stayed in an 9BR home labor day weekend. We only had our kids and 1 of my DD14's friends, but it was so nice having plenty of space. This was for a work thing and that's what I was provided with so I didn't necessarily seek out that size house, but we were thankful we had that extra room. It was nice that the kids had their own place to spread out, play and watch what they wanted to without bothering each other.

 

[Masonmj84]

One of the reasons we love staying on-property is that, due to the fact that Disney is such a crazy busy place, we value maximizing convenience and relaxation much more than, say, having more living space. Once in Orlando, want our vacation to involve the least amount of effort/stress as possible. It's part of the reason we're not commando types (spend a lot of time at our resort).

Along those lines, all of the advantages of renting an off-property house or a condo don't do much for us if they it means sacrificing convenience and relaxation. And, for us, convenience and relaxation means no driving, no grocery shopping, no cooking, and no cleaning. We don't even like food courts. Too chaotic.

I will say that since we typically do trips of at least 10 days, it would be nice to have a washer/dryer in our unit. But if we ever went that way, we'd probably rent points for a DVC villa.

Even having a private pool doesn't float our boats because we like the vibe of the Disney resort pools.

 

[Baklava]

This is one of those things that's very individual. We tried the buses on our first trip and I felt the exact opposite. For me, waiting for a bus, being crowded in with others, standing on the bus after a long day in the parks, is not vacation. I love the freedom of having our own car and I find WDW very easy to navigate.

Exactly. And if you're not the sole driver in a family of four with home schooled kids with a million activities, driving may not even be on your radar. Everyone's decision has to be weighed considering their own situation. That's a big factor in my choice, though.

 

[goofyernmost]

One of the reasons we love staying on-property is that, due to the fact that Disney is such a crazy busy place, we value maximizing convenience and relaxation much more than, say, having more living space. Once in Orlando, want our vacation to involve the least amount of effort/stress as possible. It's part of the reason we're not commando types (spend a lot of time at our resort).

Along those lines, all of the advantages of renting an off-property house or a condo don't do much for us if they it means sacrificing convenience and relaxation. And, for us, convenience and relaxation means no driving, no grocery shopping, no cooking, and no cleaning. We don't even like food courts. Too chaotic.

I will say that since we typically do trips of at least 10 days, it would be nice to have a washer/dryer in our unit. But if we ever went that way, we'd probably rent points for a DVC villa.

Even having a private pool doesn't float our boats because we like the vibe of the Disney resort pools.

You see, that is something I just do not understand. I cannot imagine a more relaxing situation then sitting by my private pool, or lounging in my villa with no one fighting over what TV shows to watch. Not waiting for a bus to arrive and take me too a park or area to eat my dinner, sometimes walking substantial distances to do so. Being able to go out and buy a few "special" things for snacks without having to walk to the food court to get my precious "free" drinks in my mug. Just because we have a full kitchen doesn't mean that we use it unless the mood hits us. Going out to a restaurant of my immediate choice without having to be there at a specific time is far more relaxing to me. And above all, paying a fraction of the cost for everything that I touch is far more convenient then anything else you can mention.

As for transportation, due to the fact that on several occasions I have proven that I can be to my car, on my way and back to my villa in less time then my friends spent just waiting in line for the bus at closing, tells me that driving is anything but inconvenient. So, it really boils down to affordability and mind set that makes people feel like they are getting something special to stay onsite at an inflated cost. Personally, it never had any appeal for me and I love WDW and what it has to offer, but, I do not ever want to feel like an indentured servant to the mouse.

 

[mmafan]

Seems like the OFF property crew is more into a FLORIDA vacation than a DISNEY one....doing more off site things and needing more space and seclusion..for me its always on property. I find it more relaxing to stand squished in a bus than have to find my HOT>>>car and fight traffic all the way to my rental house

 

[married2mm]

I prefer staying on WDW property, but we did stay at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek a couple of times, and really enjoyed it.

Just returned yesterday from a split stay in cars suite at aoa and Wyndham bonnet creek.
I really enjoyed the mix of both.

However; as much as I love emh-I prefer the space, kitchen ,bedrooms, laundry, etc facilities in either a resort such as WBC or an offsite villa.

As a pp stated-if money was not a consideration-it would be onsite all the way in a 3 bed villa-preferably in a Magic kingdom area resort.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Nope to me there is no advantage of staying on site outside of paying more. I'm never in the resort anyway always at the parks plus I do NOT want to experience the buses again. Plus the food outside of property is way better - and cheaper.

Again I'd recommend to do it once, but then live and learn.

 

[goofyernmost]

Seems like the OFF property crew is more into a FLORIDA vacation than a DISNEY one....doing more off site things and needing more space and seclusion..for me its always on property. I find it more relaxing to stand squished in a bus than have to find my HOT>>>car and fight traffic all the way to my rental house

I will admit that for me, that is indeed part of it. As much as I love Disney, I cannot deal with it for more then three days in a row. I love exploring other parts of Florida, even if it's just to take a ride. Have any of the onsite people seen the West Coast of Florida, Legoland (once Cyprus gardens), Boc Tower, Silver Springs, Gaterland, Sea World, Universal. Visited the orange groves or gone to Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach? Anyone taken a three day side trip and driven down through the Florida Keys. (if not, to bad, what a glorious trip on a clear day) And Key West is worth the trip all by itself. It's a long drive, but, worth every minute of it for me. I have gone many times and just spent time at WDW (during the day and evening), however, my most memorable trips have been when I had the time to wander about and see the real Florida, which is just a few miles away from WDW.

Spoiler

I also don't ever remember having to "fight traffic" or had trouble "finding my car. And it wasn't any hotter then standing in line with a crowd of sweaty people waiting for a bus. But, to each his own.

 

[loves to dive]

I will admit that for me, that is indeed part of it. As much as I love Disney, I cannot deal with it for more then three days in a row. I love exploring other parts of Florida, even if it's just to take a ride. Have any of the onsite people seen the West Coast of Florida, Legoland (once Cyprus gardens), Boc Tower, Silver Springs, Gaterland, Sea World, Universal. Visited the orange groves or gone to Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach? Anyone taken a three day side trip and driven down through the Florida Keys. (if not, to bad, what a glorious trip on a clear day) And Key West is worth the trip all by itself. It's a long drive, but, worth every minute of it for me. I have gone many times and just spent time at WDW (during the day and evening), however, my most memorable trips have been when I had the time to wander about and see the real Florida, which is just a few miles away from WDW.

Spoiler

I also don't ever remember having to "fight traffic" or had trouble "finding my car. And it wasn't any hotter then standing in line with a crowd of sweaty people waiting for a bus. But, to each his own.

Yes, to most of those not Legoland cause not interested and not Boc Tower cause didn't know it existed (just saw it on the trip podcast the last week and evidently a number of natives don't know about it either). I have been to the West Palm Beach/Boyton Beach area too many times to count, it's great diving and have have been to the keys at least 5 times and Key West twice. Staying on site doesn't necessarily have to mean you don't go to other places, sometimes we start our trips for a few days at Clearwater Beach or stop by St. Augustine for a couple of days on the way home. Even when staying on site and not leaving Disney property doesn't mean we spend our entire trip in the parks, its not all about rides for us. We've been diving in the Living Seas 3 times, we've done the Wayama Safari at AKL , we have rented boats and ridden them around Crescent Lake, we've taken a day off in the middle of just about every trip we've taken and just lain around the quiet pool or resort hopped.

 

[T00dles]

I've often lamented over the occasional long wait for a bus and the rides over to the parks, but none more than after this latest trip. Each day, we waited at the bus stop for a minimum of 10-15 minutes. Most days, our bus ride was another 15-25 minutes (depending on which park we headed to). The same was true for our return trip, and sometimes longer depending on what time we left the parks (if we had to wait for a 2nd bus to arrive since the 1st was full). Obviously, if you're staying at the Contemporary or BLT, then there's no question here, but most other resorts those stats hold true.

Perhaps the OP tried the wrong DVC resort for quick bus transport. AKV is very far away from everything, besides DAK and having stayed there, I agree that the buses are exceedingly slow. But I wouldn't necessarily rule out DVC for a large family, Old Key West is fairly centrally located, very spacious and very economical points wise. If you get a hospitality house booking the bus situation is not too bad. I would say that going to AKV for a park visit could be frustrating. Perhaps that's why people do split stays so much in the DVC community. They move closer to the park they want to go to and either walk (BWV, BCV, BLT) or take boats etc. But to each their own, good luck OP!

 

[dashofsunshine]

My husband and I never stay on site. We literally save hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. We don't have kids and it's simply not worth it to pay $250-$600 PER NIGHT to sleep in a room. We drive our own car, or a rental, and don't have to worry about buses at the end of the day. It's glorious

 

[Nancyg56]

I lost all of my quotes somewhere so forgive me if I am a jumbles mess here.

For my family onsite is the best option, but it comes with compromise. We share rooms, and that means we really need to remember our good manners. We use disney transportation so we are nto all stuck with each other all day every day, and as others mentioned, especially with teens who can branch out on their own a bit, this is a nice perk. My DGD is not yet 14, so she was with us the whole time, but as she gets older, my DD will allow her some freedom to tour alone. She would not agree if there was no transportation available.

I think Offsite is not necessaritly a Florida vacation to a lot of people here, but for my family that is when I woul book a Florida Attractions vacation and not a WDW vacation. It would mean i need to include a vehicle and so we would choose to visit area attractions, stay in a house with a pool, and have food onhand for breakfast or snacks. I stil would no cook. I cook and clean at home and refuse to do it on vacation.

For us, not needing a vehicle is a plus. I must say that my family is not a fan of my driving.....and perhaps they have a little reason....so for everyones peace of mind, DME to the resort and Disney transportaion after is a plus if I travel without my DH or DD. But my DH drives for a living. He move heavy equipment for a construction company and he looks forward to letting someone else worry about the road for a little bit. WDW is the only place he turns over the keys, so to speak, but for a short time he is relaxed as well.

In the OP circumstance, I don't think onsite is a good option because adjoining rooms are not okay with her. The villas, unless she rents points (which I would consider) are pretty expensive.

 

[Rosebud123]

I think it depends. We've done both and once we discovered WBC, I thought I'd never stay onsite again. WBC is so beautiful, big, close, and inexpensive. However, we just returned from a 10 night split stay (Poly/YC) that we got for a "magical" price ($210 night/$190 night) and we loved both resorts.

I'd never choose a value or a moderate over Wyndham Bonnet Creek, but if I got that great deal again I'd choose Yacht Club.

 

[720L]

"My husband and I never stay on site. We literally save hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. We don't have kids and it's simply not worth it to pay $250-$600 PER NIGHT to sleep in a room. We drive our own car, or a rental, and don't have to worry about buses at the end of the day. It's glorious "

___________

You can get a room at the values for around $100 a night usually. We've even paid less than that. Don't have to pay for car rental you can use Disney buses. (but I'm guessing you don't like the buses?)

 

[dashofsunshine]

"My husband and I never stay on site. We literally save hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. We don't have kids and it's simply not worth it to pay $250-$600 PER NIGHT to sleep in a room. We drive our own car, or a rental, and don't have to worry about buses at the end of the day. It's glorious "

___________

You can get a room at the values for around $100 a night usually. We've even paid less than that. Don't have to pay for car rental you can use Disney buses. (but I'm guessing you don't like the buses?)

We go every year, usually March/April, and I have never found a value room (or any room) for $100 maybe we don't plan far enough ahead? Or...maybe I'm missing something? They are always at least $150 minimum and go up from there

 

[720L]

We go every year, usually March/April, and I have never found a value room (or any room) for $100 maybe we don't plan far enough ahead? Or...maybe I'm missing something? They are always at least $150 minimum and go up from there

I just looked on Disney website & it says starting at $98 (ASsports). My DH always does the reservations so I don't know his tricks.

 

[momimouse27]

Interesting thread, I enjoy hearing others' opinions on this.

When we were growing up, I never stayed on site. We just couldn't afford it, of course there was only the Poly and the CR when I was little and that was way out of our price range. When my kids were born in the early 90's, it was still out of our league. It was when values came along that we were able to finally afford it and then later we could afford some of the deluxe resorts.

We now stay almost exclusively on site. Disney has made it so advantageous to do so, that its difficult not to. We have also looked into those rental homes everyone is talking about. Some of them are very nice, and I wouldn't turn them down if one was offered to me! Having a private pool, all that room, etc. But then I get to thinking about not having EMH, about having to pay $30 per day in parking fees(we drive every trip). But the thing that really gets me every time is not having that Disney Magic. My favorite part of staying in Disney is the feeling I get when I check in that first day and I know my vacation has started! We are going in November, with a free room because my dh is having a conference. I'm excited about going, love the FREE room, but I'm going to miss staying on property...it makes me sad. I feel guilty because I know its silly, right? But there's just nothing like a Disney resort.

Logistically, you may do better, money-wise and with elbow room, staying in a condo or rental home. My opinions are coming from a totally emotional point of view and probably not very rational.

 

[dashofsunshine]

I just looked on Disney website & it says starting at $98 (ASsports). My DH always does the reservations so I don't know his tricks.

Apparently that means it's $98 per night if we go tomorrow next March/April, the pricing as of now is anywhere from $112 to $172 per night depending on what day it is. It may go up the closer you book to arrival date, I'm not sure. We generally only book 4-5 months out, so that may drive the price up, because I've seen the value resorts even more expensive than that. There are only two of us, no kids, so we can stay somewhere fairly nice off site for $90/night. Last time we got a beautifully renovated room at a golf resort, complete with all the amenities and a kitchen, for like $80/night. I WISH Disney were that affordable, but it just never has been in the six years we've gone.