Is it worth it to stay on Disney property now?

[EasinEpcot]

We are planning our first post-pandemic trip for February. Because there will be six of us, we need either a suite or two rooms. Previously we've always stayed at AoA and been happy there because of the free transportation, Extra Magic hours and the ability to book Fast Passes but now all of that seems to be gone. When we were there in Feb 2020, the bus transportation was soooo slow, we seriously considered renting a car to make it easier to get around, and the Skyliner was only helpful the day we went to Epcot.

I love staying on property, but given the prices we are being quoted, I'm just not sure it's worth it.

Thoughts?

Where would you stay off property that would be more affordable, but still magical?

 

[Marionnette]

We are planning our first post-pandemic trip for February. Because there will be six of us, we need either a suite or two rooms. Previously we've always stayed at AoA and been happy there because of the free transportation, Extra Magic hours and the ability to book Fast Passes but now all of that seems to be gone. When we were there in Feb 2020, the bus transportation was soooo slow, we seriously considered renting a car to make it easier to get around, and the Skyliner was only helpful the day we went to Epcot.

I love staying on property, but given the prices we are being quoted, I'm just not sure it's worth it.

Thoughts?

Where would you stay off property that would be more affordable, but still magical?

The onsite perks have certainly dwindled to almost nothing. You would get a 30-minute head start over offsite guests in any park you choose each morning if you're onsite. That's about the only perk being offered for all onsite guests and that doesn't even begin until Oct. 1.

Disney is going to have to sweeten the pot because a half hour of extra park time isn't enough incentive for most guests to pay Disney resort prices. So, you're not alone in your thinking.

There are a lot of wonderful offsite resorts but you also might want to think about renting a vacation home as well. Lots of options when you leave the Disney bubble.

 

[shh]

i recommend staying offsite - there is no value anymore to an onsite stay, just in my opinion.

 

[kanerf]

If you are paying your way, yes I would agree, stay off-site. I can recommend the Hilton Grand Vacation Club (various locations) and Wyndham (various locations). These will give you a suite with a full kitchen, living room and so on. Many of them are quite close to either WDW or Universal.

 

[shoegal9]

We really enjoyed the Gaylord Palms and it's really close to Hollywood Studios and that area of the resort. The World Center Marriott is also a good choice with lots to do- and very close to Disney Springs etc.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I struggle with this all the time ( and did before Covid, too).
I come in on an airplane so I have to factor in rental car cost and gas (although convenient!), the extra parking costs, and the time spent walking from any parking lots into parks and I end up staying on property every time.
There are so many variables to account for each family.
The last time I did not stay on official property was 9 years ago and then we were at a Grand Hilton Vacation property. The main reason then was: the husband

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I hear Wyndham Bonnet Creek is pretty good. It's a full on resort with a great pool complex.

If I have to stay offsite or it gets to a point where I would rather stay offsite I will vacation elsewhere. I go to Disney for the entire bubble. It's part of the vacation for me. Not just the parks. If I'm going to stay at a nice Hilton or Wyndham I'll go to Vegas or NOLA or DC, etc.

Right now there aren't many perks to staying onsite but I'm hoping by the time we go next year there will be more onsite perks. And I do believe there will be.

 

[jujubiee4]

I suggest you keep a VERY close look out on the upcoming changes. Seems to be a fluid situation.
Evening hours are suppose to come for deluxe/villa guests but no further details. Also seems
like there might be changes to Fast Pass and now dealing with park reservations. We have several reservations now and most depend if any changes justify the price. If not we may jump ship.
I personally have stayed at Bonnet Creek Swan and Windsor hills and enjoyed it.

 

[OpieDoodle]

So here's my take. I love staying on site, specifically at AoA. The suites make it so nice because we can fit so many people in there. The amount of people we fit in 1 suite there we'd likely have to do 2 rooms in other hotels.

We end up renting a car while we are there. There actually have been some REALLY good deals I've seen on Costco lately where it makes the car be less than $200 (that was also for a van). Only downside is if dinning is offered down the road we likely won't be able to keep the car bundle deal AND get the dinning but we shall see.

We really enjoyed the skyliner last trip. It was super convenient and the kids loved it. It really helped for HS and Epcot. I don't like that you can't get into Epcot as early as you can in the front so that's a bummer. The rest of the time we drove to the parks but having the free parking at the resorts really helped.

Just remember if you stay off site you have to pay parking each day, get into the parks 30 minutes late (which not everyone cares about but we always rush in and ride 2-3 big rides that normally have huge lines during the day). Then we save a lot on drinks with the resort cups.

We ended up booking our Feb 2022 trip in Pop Century for the first time. We normally do AoA because of all the disney characters in the resort and the kids love it. They just redid Pop Century and it now has characters so we are going to try that one out!

 

[BrotherCraig]

I highly recommend staying off-site. We enjoy both and do both but off-site gives you a way better resort for the price, better amenities, and bigger rooms. Some of these off-site resorts are beautiful and you can get them for around $200 a night or less.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

As an AP ticket holder if I didn't stay at the onsite resorts I would only be able to make 3 park reservations and then hope that parks are available to keep booking as I use my first of the three and so on. So by staying onsite I get to book park reservations for my length of stay. Since I live in Wisconsin it is important to me to have my park reservations lined up. If Disney eventually gets rid of park reservations then I might look into off site.

 

[jameybano]

My vote is “No”
The lack of amenities ( no mouse keeping, room service, or resort delivery ) resort dining options and slooooowww bus transportation just aren’t worth the extra price.