Is staying on site really worth it?

[HarryLeg]

I wouldn't stay off site. Stayed offsite one night in '04 before checking into AKL. We decided to go to Downtown Disney just to get that 'feel' that we were there and we did, after circling the parking lot looking for a parking place. I couldn't get up early enough the next morning to check into the AKL, leave the car behind and feel like my vacation had started. My wife and I agree that we go to WDW for our Disney vacation not Orlando to visit Disney.

 

[JaxCon]

We just got back from the Sheraton Vistana and DH perfered the space but I like onsite better, even at Pop. SV was close and easy to get to disney, and I did use the washer and dryer often. But onsite is so much easier, no driving, no paying to park, etc. Just MHO.

Upside was that it was nice to eat off site.

Have a great trip.

 

[Luigi's Girl]

Since you asked - my answer is YES, YES and YES! With a family of six your best bet would be to rent from a DVC member if you can.

 

[kaabost]

I am certainly an "on-site advocate." I don't want to leave Disney until I go home (at which point I still don't WANT to leave BTW). We have always stayed at value resorts. I am afraid to try a mod or deluxe because I am perfectly happy at the value resorts. The theming is so fun!

That being said, I do understand that people with families (for us, it's just me and DH) would prefer to have some more space.....like a room that is not shared with the kids. I have always thought that Disney should build some suites in their non-deluxe hotels. Naturally, they would be more expensive than a singe room in any given hotel but, geez, they wouldn't break the bank.

Another thing.....we are commando. We go to the hotel to sleep. We don't generally pack in a day of lounging around the hotel. So, we don't need to stay in a fancy schmancy deluxe hotel.

Additionally, whenever we travel (to places other than WDW as well) we stay in clean comfortable rooms but not really super expensive places. Therefore, possibly our standards are lower. We think that the All Stars are great!

Finally, we have been lucky enough to go during value season. The lower rates plus the codes that I have found on mousesavers.com in the past have allowed us to stay in the Disney magic (All Stars) quite comfortably at $55-65 per night. We love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[damom2daboyz]

I had never stayed onsite until last summer and we stayed at CBR. When we came home everyone said, "Well was it worth the money?" (I am infamous at work for cheap hotel rooms via priceline and other budget cutting) and I replied, "Yes, definitely, if you have the extra money. But if it came down to staying onsite vs not going at all, I would have to say priceline it." I loved CBR. My youngest DS and I stayed at POP our last Mom and son trip and thought it was so cute. We are currently schedule to stay at POP again in January unless a good code comes out (my DH is going this time and wants to stay onsite-he didn't get a vacation at all this year ) and I would love to try WL. Eventually my DH would love to stay at the Contemporary and I definitely wouldn't mind there or any of the others, but that will probably happen after the DSs get thru college.

 

[myhandd]

We have stayed onsite once and offsite once. We stayed at the Grosvenor which was nice enough. However we blew approximately 1 hour in the morning getting to the park via there bus system An hour back for our DS's nap (he was 3 at the time) and then 2 more hours going back in the late afternoon and on the return trip. We decided for us, the added price of the 4 hours of lost time in the world was not worth the $75 a night at the Grosvenor.

Again, individual budgets and circumstances are different, but for my family to get the full experience, staying on site for ease of travel is the way for us.

Hope that helps!

 

[mikey13v]

We have stayed both on-site, and off-site many times.
The perks at the on-site hotels aren't all so great for us. The EMH have very heavy crowds, the magical express will not be free after the 50th celebration, and the buses can take quite a while to get you where you want to go, can be VERY crowded, and durring peak times you might have to wait for 3 or 4 before you can even get on one.
Sometimes the 'magic' doesn't really seem to be there at the value resorts. Don't get me wrong, I do love the theming, and services; but after many times being there, you just kind of get used to it, and a plain old hotel isn't much less.
We stay on-site when we either get a good AP rate, or a an actractive special incentive is being offered like the free dining. That was incredible!

When we have stayed off-site, I do extensive research and planning (like many of you DISers), and find hotels that are very close, with minimal traffic, good parking, and nearby restraunts.
Without having to wait for buses, and knowing the Disney proporty so well, we can get to the theme parks very quickly, with free parking (AP), and have the comfort of a rental car. The same thing goes for the afternoon nap/swim. If you know where you're going and are close by, at least where we have stayed in the past, it takes no more if not less than the Disney transportation system. The only exception is the Magic Kingdom. If you're parking at the TTC it does take forever to get to your car, and the buses are right at the entrance to the park.
There are many really fine restraunts near Disney. Having the freedom to travel by car to restraunts, fast food, groceries, ect... is very nice.

All said we are now DVC members, and that is a whole different story. We now have the best of both worlds. We will still get a rental car, but use the buses when we want to. There will still be the times where we may stay off-site when we can't book our entire stay at DVC (not enough points, conserving points on weekends, or other reasons), or stay at another Disney hotel.

Value, in our eyes, is not so much how much money is spent, but the freedom, conviencience, and enjoyment we have. Staying off-site with good planing, has usually been the best value for us, and we have never felt like the 'magic' was ever lost.

p.s. It really makes the day go well when driving the car to and from the parks to have our favorite Disney music on the cd player. Quite the opposite on a packed bus.

 

[2boyshere]

We have done both on and off site hotels. We are now hooked to stay on site and have stayed at many hotels. We will be staying at ASMusic this November for a quick trip. I'm sure it won't be our favorite but it will be Disney and the price was right!

 

[powellrj]

I think it really depends on what you want from a vacation. We have stayed on and off site, and with teen and pre-teen chidren, we love the room you get for your money off-site. On our trip last June we stayed off-site in a 2 bedroom timeshare with spa tub, full kitchen, washer and dryer, 3 tvs for $400 a week. We were 2 blocks from downtown disney and never had a issue with the traffic. We are also not commando people. We don't spend every waking hour in the parks. We didn't always use EMH, we always rent a car, and we don't shop in the parks so we don't need to charge things to our room and have them delivered, so those are perks that are really lost on us. We like down time to spend in the pool and in the room. We like to go on vacation to rest, while still enjoying park time.

Now, Universal is a different story. We are so spoiled from having FOTL that I am not sure we would ever go back and not stay on site.

If you are a family that uses the nice perks that come from staying on site, than thats the way you should go. If those things aren't important to you, than off-site is the way to do it. You will get so much more room for your $$$$'s.

 

[runner26.2]

While staying on site is convenient and provides Disney Magic 24/7 it is clearly not the only option. We've stayed both on and off site and have enjoyed both experiences tremendously.

Having said that I am likely in the minority here. Disney is not the be all and end all of Orlando and Florida (Please do not take this as a criticism, I love Disney, but there are lots of other options available). Unlike what I perceive to be the "norm" here of spending every day at WDW we do not. While we spend the majority of our time at WDW we also visit Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Centre, or Cocoa Beach to name a few during our visits.

With 2-3 days off site every trip the convenience and advantage of on site accomodation is somewhat lessened. Vistana is an AWESOME facility and the accomodations for a group of 6 is much better than any value or moderate Disney resort. You will love it. You'll have much more room for a Party of six than even two adjoining rooms at WDW.

Having said all of that when our trips have been planned with the intention of spending every day at WDW we have stayed on site. The conveniences of on site are significant and are well worth it, especially if your stay is less than a week where time is of the essence.

Enjoy your stay at Vistana and WDW

 

[cobbler]

I vote yes. I won't stay off-site. And now I don't have to

Anywho, the time it would take to drive, park, get the tram (if at MK), take the boat or monorail AND pay for parking and do that when you are done at the park. UGH! We do drive to Disney, we make the long 1200 mile treck from MI to Orlando (my hubby likes a good road trip, drives me nuts but we the airfare is killer) and once we park our vehicle, we leave it there the entire vacation. Its so nice just getting on the bus, boat or monorail to take you where you have to go and you can sit and relax and chat with hubby/wife or kids. So nice to sit and relax after the park closes to get back and get back probably more quickly than staying off-site. Of course I go during value season so this may make a difference.

Honestly if it came down to it, if I had to stay off-site, I probably wouldn't go. I haven't stayed off-site yet and now I don't have to.

 

[ainmama2001]

On site is the only way to go. Besides, the value resorts turn out to be a real deal if you factor in the free transportation to the parks!

 

[mjkaferle5]

This is the bottom line:

Staying onsite: From the day you arrive until the day you leave Disney - you are in "the magic"!!

Staying offsite: Everyday you leave the "magic" to go back to your room. Next day you return to the "magic" , only to have to leave it again!!

See what I am saying?!?!?

 

[beattyfamily]

YES, it's totally worth it to us. I don't think I'd go if I couldn't afford onsite. There are so many pros for us. I understand why some prefer the price and size of an offsite but we care more about the 24/7 magic and convenience of onsite.

I'll go one step further and also say that it's so worth it if you can afford Deluxe or home away from home as well. I'm a DVC member and have stayed at BWV, BC, Cont and GF. This past Sept/Oct I did a quick cheap free Disney dining trip with my girls. We stayed at the CBR and I was SO disapointed. I didn't like that the buildings were SO far apart and you had to bus it to food or the front desk. I didn't like that there were no pool towels. I didn't like my room. I didn't like that there is no room service. I didn't like the pool. I didn't like that there are no balconies, etc....

Thankfully, with DVC, I can stay onsite and even deluxe if I want and I do!!!!

 

[Julylady]

I think the decision to stay on-site/off-site depends very much on the individual situation. Based on the information the OP gave, I think staying off-site is the right choice for them. We have visited WDW several times with between two and fourteen people and from two to ten days. When staying with four or fewer people and for short stays - on site works best for us. When staying with more people including teens who do NOT like sleeping with siblings for a week or longer, staying off-site in a vacation home was perfect! Both on-site and off-site have their pros and cons and each family needs to weigh these and make the decision based on what is important to them.

We are DVC members and still stay offsite for some trips!

Also...each family needs to determine how much money they feel comfortable spending for a hotel. Some people can spend $380 per night and feel it is worth every penny. Others wouldn't think it a good use of money even if Mickey himself brought them breakfast in bed.

These types of posts always remind me of my Grandmother. Having lived through the Depression, it was actually painful for her to go to a nice place for dinner. She thought it a huge waste of money ("I could have feed my family for a week on what this steak costs.") and she could not enjoy the experience no matter how good the food was. I think the cost of WDW deluxe hotels is the same for some people. Since they cannot justify the cost, the experience is not "magical" for them.

 

[DVCJEN]

I would only stay offsite if there was absolutley no way to stay onsite. We tried it once --had a larger accomodation for much less but we really truly missed the "immersion" of being in the World. DH has a high stress job and when we vacation it is escapism. Staying onsite does that for us.

 

[BankBunny]

I vote to stay on Disney property every time.
DH and I go to Disney every 3-4 years so I have time to save the money while still being able to go on a vacation ever year. We've always stayed at a moderate resort. I'm spoiled and have no desire to stay at a value and can't see spending the money on a deluxe. Here are my reasons for only staying on property:
-Disney transportation. We drive to Disney from eastern PA (which we very much enjoy). Once we are there I don't want to get in the car again until we leave to go home. Also, not having to waste time in the morning driving to the parks or worry about driving back when you are sooooooo tired at the end of night. We also like to go back to our resot in the afternoon to swim and/or rest.
-EMH. It lets you get and early start or have a late night so that you do have more time to rest in the afternoon or just take the parks at a slower pace.
-Package delivery. It is so great to be able to buy whatever I want when I see it and not have to carry it around all day. Or not buy it and try to remember where it was when I want to buy it at the end of the day. I also do not have to worry about buying something really big either.
-Linking a credit card to my resort account. It's so nice to not have to carry any cash or credit cards with me. Just the room key. Less to loose and less to get stolen.
-Most of all....the extra MAGIC from being surrounded by all things Disney.

I usually work very hard to find the best deal I can get (my DH says that I'm cheap), but when I go to Disney I go all out. I save long and hard to be able to this. It's the one vaction that we go on where we really,really treat ourselves.

 

[dizneekim]

Mommau4, this was my response to another thread about this subject last Summer. Don't know how to link to it, but the title was: Onsite vs. Sheraton Vistana Villages and Sheraton Vistana resort. It was decidedly more in favor of offsite; you should read both kinds of threads before you make a choice.

"We stayed at Vistana Resorts last Feb and are now offsite converts! (Thanks, MiaSRN62 for your helpful posts to me last year.) For all of the reasons swilshire mentioned, I think it would be painful to squeeze the 5 of us back into an onsite room, even a deluxe. We were VERY pleasantly surprised with the commute! It took less than 10 mins. The Disney parking staff waves you right into your space, the tram picks you up at the end of your row, and drops you off at the gates. I believe it is actually faster than most onsite transportation, other than the monorails. Have a great trip!"

I'd also add that you don't pay to park if you have an AP. We paid less for 7 nights at Vistana Resort than we did for 1 night at Poly concierge (which I loved, but come on!) Staying offsite enables us to be more comfortable and go more often. On and offsite both have their perks-try them both!

 

[phisigprincess]

I stayed offsite once and hated it. We didn't stay too close to Disney though and it eliminated our midday breaks and such. It was tough. Though, if staying offsite is better for you, then go for it! Whatever gets you to the World!

 

[Disneyorbust05]

I agree with you Dizneekim!! To the original poster - try them both! Offsite and onsite offer a completely different experience. Remember though, if you are staying offsite...that doesn't always mean more inconvenient than onsite. When we stayed at the Poly, we had to wait for a long time (with small kids) to catch the bus to take us to AKL. Once the bus came, it was packed and very uncomfortable. So, just because you are onsite doesn't mean easy. However, onsite hotels are a lot of fun and we really enjoyed our Poly experience. We are looking forward to our offsite experience in a couple of days and look forward to having our own transportation this time. But this trip is totally different in that our needs and expectations are completely different.

Either way, you are taking a magical vacation - no matter where you stay. HAVE A GREAT TIME!!