Is it worth it to stay off-site?

[mom2t]

After 10 trips onsite, I went offsite and we LOVED the space. In fact we are in the middle of planning another trip right now and we are heavily leaning toward being offsite after originally planning to go back to onsite. DD and I were just saying, we would choose onsite every time if we could stay in a one bedroom villa or larger. But we can't, and trust me when I say 2 adults and 2 teens in one small room for a week just isn't peachy. It's great for 4 or 5 days, then tension builds, nobody has any room to get away for a few minutes and the meltdown happens. Perhaps we are just a family with strong personalities but it never happens offsite because we have the room to breathe. It also saves a ton of money on food, because we eat out once a day instead of all day long. Bonnet Creek allows us to go back to the room easily to have a rest and lunch and go back to the parks for the evening.
I love the immersion and the theming and the feel of being onsite, but the reality is that we end up paying a whole lot more to be on top of each other and annoyed by the end of the week.

We pack a lot of things in during our days. My 14 yr. old DS is high functioning autism and ADHD. After a busy day, we like the luxury of spreading out and not dealing with restaurants. I plan easy quick meals. If we can get a good deal, we stay at a DVC. If not off-site in a condo or house. We are staying at Bonnet Creek next April. We balance price with comfort. There are amazing deals at VRB. We cannot rent a regular hotel room for two nights for what I am paying for BC for a two bedroom deluxe. Evidently someone really wanted to dump points and I booked months early which I am finding I get the better deals.

 

[Fintastic]

I'm still on the fence!

Having extra space would be nice, but we only use the room for sleeping and showering. We'll be in the parks all day. My kids won't need to come back for naps or anything and we are going in October/November, so while it'll probably still be warm, we won't be using the pools or any extra resort amenities.

 

[robinb]

I'm still on the fence!

Having extra space would be nice, but we only use the room for sleeping and showering. We'll be in the parks all day. My kids won't need to come back for naps or anything and we are going in October/November, so while it'll probably still be warm, we won't be using the pools or any extra resort amenities.

You have plenty of time to make a decision. I wouldn't decide until "Free Dining" comes out for that timeframe in the spring. That may change your mind, especially if you're planning to do a lot of character meals. One advantage of staying onsite is that your family is in the "sweet spot" for the Disney Dining Plan and it makes sense for a family with 2 kids under 10 even if you don't get it for free.

 

[Veronique]

I'm still on the fence!

Having extra space would be nice, but we only use the room for sleeping and showering. We'll be in the parks all day. My kids won't need to come back for naps or anything and we are going in October/November, so while it'll probably still be warm, we won't be using the pools or any extra resort amenities.

I would definetly stay on-site with those info. Learn about the free dining promo and mark the important dates in your calendar, follow the boards here for updates, etc. If you go to a Value, you get 2 quick-service meal + 1 snack free per night. If you go to a moderate, you get 1 snack, 1 quick-service, 1 Table service. I prefer to go to a value and budget for Table service (like character meals) we REALLY want to do (2 or 3 MAX in 10 days) and we'll use the money to buy tickets for the MK Halloween party and to spend on Food&Wine in Epcot (you will also have those events next year).

You can monitor price right now, look at last year price (http://www.mousesavers.com/ has a lot of info on prices) and plan accordingly.

To me, moderate and deluxe makes more sense if you go to Disney every year or more often and want more then the classic Disney experience.

 

[robinb]

I would definetly stay on-site with those info. Learn about the free dining promo and mark the important dates in your calendar, follow the boards here for updates, etc. If you go to a Value, you get 2 quick-service meal + 1 snack free per night. If you go to a moderate, you get 1 snack, 1 quick-service, 1 Table service. I prefer to go to a value and budget for Table service (like character meals) we REALLY want to do (2 or 3 MAX in 10 days) and we'll use the money to buy tickets for the MK Halloween party and to spend on Food&Wine in Epcot (you will also have those events next year).

You can monitor price right now, look at last year price (http://www.mousesavers.com/ has a lot of info on prices) and plan accordingly.

To me, moderate and deluxe makes more sense if you go to Disney every year or more often and want more then the classic Disney experience.

You can also stay at a Value resort and pay about $20 extra per adult and $4 per child to upgrade from the Quick Service DDP they would get "free" to the regular DDP that includes a table service meal (such as a character meal).

 

[mousefanmichelle]

I get you - The last couple of times we have gone to Orlando we have stayed off site at the Sheraton. For the price, you can't beat 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, patio, washer/dryer and fantastic pools. There is a lot to do at the resort. We just go to whatever parks we want. I don't like sharing my bed with my kids and I don't like sharing my space with them so putting 5 of us in a Disney hotel room sucks. We have done it but I don't like it. While at the parks I do miss the experience of staying on site but then I go back to my roomy condo and all is well.

Next year I am planning on going with my dd and myself for a week. I currently have CBR booked but I can't get past the fact that I want a balcony and a kitchen and a huge king bed but 2 bedrooms will be too big just for us. I keep going over it and back and forth - still don't know what we are going to do.... time will tell and so will discounts for March 2017

 

[tasha99]

We love our space, so I would pick a nearby condo over a hotel at WDW (Wyndham Bonnet Creek, etc). Then, I'd use uber to get back and forth, and figure the cost of a couple rides a day as part of the cost of staying there. We stay onsite because we have points. I like to be able to have a cocktail and walk back to the room, so it's the epcot resorts or BLT. I just discovered uber though, which might be a game changer for us.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

We did both last trip. Windsor Hills with a 3 bd/3 ba condo (about $900 for a week) and a Savannah view room at Animal Kingdom (about $500 for 2 nights through renting DVC points).

My kids were sorely disappointed with the cramped Disney room. My daughter kept teasing me about our view being a bunch of cows (we own cows) and asking if the extra money was worth it. The kids *loved* having not only their own room, but their own bathroom at the condo. They also preferred the restaurants by the condo vs Disney.

So, if you were to ask my 2 teens, they would unequivocally vote for off site.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We did both last trip. Windsor Hills with a 3 bd/3 ba condo (about $900 for a week) and a Savannah view room at Animal Kingdom (about $500 for 2 nights through renting DVC points).

My kids were sorely disappointed with the cramped Disney room. My daughter kept teasing me about our view being a bunch of cows (we own cows) and asking if the extra money was worth it. The kids *loved* having not only their own room, but their own bathroom at the condo. They also preferred the restaurants by the condo vs Disney.

So, if you were to ask my 2 teens, they would unequivocally vote for off site.

See, that's the thing. For the OP, I can see why she's waffling, based on her kids' ages, their preferences, and how they'll use their room. Onsite may well work best for her. But, for my herd, offsite was so, so much better! My older two (teens at the time) each had their own bedroom with a king bed, free wi-fi, and a private bathroom--pure luxury to a 15yo girl! There was a Playstation included with free games, that we put in older DS's room. I swear, if they had room fridges, we wouldn't have seen them all week! But at home, they're very busy and have to share a lot. OTOH, my younger two loved sharing a bedroom--they're boy/girl, three years apart, so normally they don't share at home, but they're very close. And hands down, the favorite feature was the private pool. If my kids could pick one favorite thing, that would be it.

But, again, it very much depends on a family's needs/wants/vacationing style. I don't fault anyone for wanting to stay onsite and take advantage of the perks it provides.

 

[jkh36619]

I am a Whyndham owner and they don't pay me to advertise but I love staying at bonnet creek. The amenities are outstanding and seem to have the most comfortable beds and pillows I've ever slept on. Close enough to come back for mid day breaks because you are a few minutes from all the parks. We cook easy meals at night and able to do laundry. It's hard thinking of going back to a hotel room. I'm spoiled. If you aren't an owner, you can rent rooms for not much over $100/night. Staying offsite and eating at your room can double your vacation easily.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Having vacationed a lot, I would take the extra room in a heartbeat. If you've never had a trip where someone got ill, you don't understand the enormous blessing that having an extra bedroom and an extra bathroom for the sickie to use is. Yes, you could probably get a value for the same price, but as someone mentioned, $20 (aka the parking fee) to preserve sanity is unbeatable.

 

[DawnM]

I can't imagine staying in a place without a kitchen. We get sick if we eat 3 meals out per day. We love having a full kitchen and multiple bedrooms. We have used SkyAUciton for most of our stays and pay $250 per week.

 

[Imagineer07]

We stayed off-site in May, 7 adults in a three bedroom condo. I was able to get the whole condo for $61/night and we rented two cars for $400. It seems like a good idea and money-saver, however it turned out to be more troublesome with 7 opinionated people wanting to go in different directions at different times. Also, we didn't really spend a lot of time at the condo. So after paying for tolls, gas, parking fees and eating out most of the time, I didn't really come out to the good.

 

[kathy884]

About 40 percent of Disney park visitors stay onsite with 60 percent offsite. Except for the deluxe properties which are really well located and have really cool theming, but are super expensive, I personally prefer offsite. And given that I'm looking for value and on a budget, I almost always go for offsite. I for week long trips often will do a close by offsite condo rental on TUG2.net or Redweek.com (the Sheraton Vistana and Cypress Point are two places I have stayed at frequently). Some like the Disney bubble, but me I'm almost the opposite. I want to escape from all the marketing and expensive food. To be the Disney Magic of staying onsite is just good marketing. Many feel differently. Disney's ability to get almost 40 percent of guests to stay onsite is staggering to me, but that's because personally I just see offsite as a much better value for my vacation dollar. I like to do parks other than Disney too, though, too.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I have stayed both offsite and onsite including AKV and I can tell you my off site homes were much more themed. They were over the top Disnyfied! I personally prefer offsite, for the room with 3 kids and the fact that my transportation is just steps away from the door! I had to walk almost a mile from our room to our busstop at AKV only to wait up to half an hour for the right bus to come along. When you have a car at the house, you just step from the house right into the car and you are off! I would say getting to the park can be much quicker. And no waiting in line for the bus at the end of the day with thousands of other hot, tired, and cranky people. And then get on a overcrowded bus and have to stand. Or when the kids fall asleep on the bus. I remember when the kids were younger they all 3 fell asleep on the bus. So we had 3 sleeping kids and a stroller to take the long walk back to our room. Not fun!

This is exactly why I said that it really depends on the ages of the children. Onsite with little ones can make things more stressful. In our instance, the issue wasn't so much the transportation (it was in 2001, 2.5 months after 9/11 attack and it was a ghost town. We had an entire bus to ourselves.) Our issue was that ds16 was only 1.5 and getting him to sleep in a pack n play while we were still awake and TV or lights on was difficult. His bedtime was 7 pm and we couldn't exactly sit in the dark waiting for him to sleep. That's when we switched to offsite rental homes. Now that are kids are teens and more independent & night owls, onsite EMH and Disney transportation (or being close enough to walk such as BWV/BC/YC) really works best for us.
Both ways have pros & cons. You just have to find what's most important to you.