Is staying on site worth it?

[AWholeNewW0rld]

Hey DIS-ers I just have a quick question. My wife and I are thinking of traveling in December to see the Christmas lights this year. Its just her and I and we have no kids. So my question becomes would it be worth it staying on site if its just us? Or should we stay off site where its still close by, but a little cheaper. Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

In my opinion it is worth it - especially for a couple's trip! Staying on site makes things all the more magical! There is much to choose from when looking at Disney resorts - so if I were you I'd take a look at staying on site and see what you think.

 

[Koz]

Hey DIS-ers I just have a quick question. My wife and I are thinking of traveling in December to see the Christmas lights this year. Its just her and I and we have no kids. So my question becomes would it be worth it staying on site if its just us? Or should we stay off site where its still close by, but a little cheaper. Thanks in advance for the input.

I would say yes, just because based upon my experience, you "Stay Disney" throughout your trip. Granted, I have two younger kids so my opinion might be biased a bit, but there's something to be said about arriving and then being a part of Disney for the duration of your stay, as opposed to enjoying a particular park and then becoming a commuter, heading back to your nondescript Mariott or other property. The visuals, the sounds, all presented by Disney simply can't be replicated.

 

[bluejasmine]

For us defanitelythrre is just something about staying in the magic plus we tske afterniin breaks at our resirt pool then go back to tge oarks and using disney tranportation is so easy and its nice not having to get in our car for a week. I didnt think it woukd matter until i stayed on site and now its the only way for us

 

[HANDYMOM]

The convenience of the transportation and the little extras like extra magic hours and enough dining options always available makes it worth it.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

I will continue to stay on site even when traveling w/o the kids.

The convenience of Magical Express, bus transportation, EMH and being in the centre of it all is all worth it to us. Combine that with the dining plan and we're sold on staying on-site every time we visit.

 

[Missytara]

I go the week after Thanksgiving just about every year; and I did an all resorts, no parks solo trip back in 2010 and it was one of the most memorable trips I ever spent.

Definately plan on visiting the resorts by grouping them together by proximity or transportation; make dinner reservations in the deluxe resorts each night where the decorations are the most elaborate.

Plan evenings back at your resort in the lounge or by the pool or taking in some sort of evening activity.

You won't regret it; there is nothing better than being immersed in the experience 24/7 during the holiday period. You are getting the best bang for your buck; between all the holiday decorations and activities - you won't go wrong.

 

[*Fantasia*]

One of the many reasons why we prefer staying on-site is the atmosphere. The Disney resorts are all themed. If I want the feel of tropical island, I can stay at the Polynesian.. Pacific Nortwest, I would stay at Wilderness Lodge.. New Orleans, Port Orleans French Quarter.. etc.

We definitely take advantage of the Extra Magic Hour and their continues bus transportation to all the parks, Downtown Disney, and both water parks.

If you're flying in to MCO, there will be a bus that will take you to your on-site resort and back to MCO.

Once you stay on-site.. You'll probably will keep staying on-site! You're going to want to try all of Disney's resort!

 

[monami7]

We try and go on an adults only trip once a year. We love bw or Bc for this. I love staying on site!

 

[mickeynut1]

For us, it is definitely worth staying onsite. Staying onsite has its perks such as EMH, Disney transportation, and being surrounded by Disney 24/7 .

 

[k3chantal]

Definitely worth it! Disney resorts have many features that only adults appreciate; especially the deluxe accommodations like the architecture, some restaurants, etc. In addition, you do get extra magic hours and can use their transportation system.

My husband and I believe it is so important to stay on site that we purchased a Disney Vacation Club membership to insure that in the future we could stay on property.

Have fun either way!

 

[Missyrose]

I think you need to take into account the audience in which you posted your question. Many (not all) of the people on the Disney Resorts thread are die-hard onsite advocates. They love it and are unabashed about that love. Heck, I'm one of them, I just bought into DVC.

But I've done many offsite trips and still managed to have plenty of fun. If it's in your budget to stay onsite, try it. The Christmas decorations will be great!

But I'd also suggest you give a look at the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board, it will give the other side of the onsite/offsite argument.

 

[eliza61]

Hey DIS-ers I just have a quick question. My wife and I are thinking of traveling in December to see the Christmas lights this year. Its just her and I and we have no kids. So my question becomes would it be worth it staying on site if its just us? Or should we stay off site where its still close by, but a little cheaper. Thanks in advance for the input.

1) Remember you are asking this on a dedicated "Disney" board. Sort of asking is Disney a cool place. You can pretty much guess what the answer is going to be.

2) Depends on what type of vacation you want. I love disney but sorry the deluxes are ridiculously over priced and not worth the money IMO. If I am not using my points I never stay onsite.

3) Not a little cheaper, but maybe a lot cheaper. We like deluxes so that's the price I used. You can stay at the Waldorf Astoria. A true 5 star hotel that will blow the grand floridian out of hte water on it's best day. We were also looking at a quick trip 12/9-12/14 the polynesian wanted $435 a night for it's cheapest room. Disney must be high!! Waldorf is at 221/night. for my 5 nights that's 1000 bucks cheaper.

Now it's probably a good bet that discounts will come out later in the year so that 435 may go down. I'll see. truthfully the only perk I miss is the EMH. Waldorf has excellent transportation to the theme parks and sorry riding on a bus is definitely not worth 1000 bucks extra. I could rent a car for 1/3 of that and still have dough left over.

I agree with MissyRose, if you want objective views post this on a few other threads.

 

[mlittig]

For me, it definitely is worth it for all the benefits already mentioned by previous posters And I love the EMH

 

[a1tinkfans]

Hey DIS-ers I just have a quick question. My wife and I are thinking of traveling in December to see the Christmas lights this year. Its just her and I and we have no kids. So my question becomes would it be worth it staying on site if its just us? Or should we stay off site where its still close by, but a little cheaper. Thanks in advance for the input.

Not even a question
Stay Onsite and take it all in, beautiful time to visit!

 

[P00H1010]

Hey DIS-ers I just have a quick question. My wife and I are thinking of traveling in December to see the Christmas lights this year. Its just her and I and we have no kids. So my question becomes would it be worth it staying on site if its just us? Or should we stay off site where its still close by, but a little cheaper. Thanks in advance for the input.

My personal opinion: staying on site is well worth it ! Honestly, I wouldn't advise anyone to stay off site unless only a small portion of your trip will be spent at Disney and the bulk of your vacation will be spent elsewhere. If you are planning on going to Disney and not to "Florida" so to speak definitely stay on site. Disney has several different options for staying from a money standpoint and from a personal style standpoint....there is something for everyone. When staying onsite you completely immerse yourself in the magic no matter where you are at. And the perks are great, EMH are nice and the transportation is great. If you are flying and do not wish to rent a car you can basically let Disney take care of everything (which is exactly what we do). Take ME from MCO to your resort hotel and then take Disney transportation all around Disney property...then when heading home take ME back to MCO.

 

[reiella]

It depends on you. We did an adult couple trip, and stayed at POR. It was wonderful, cost per night wasn't too high, and it took care of a lot of worries.

Disney Resorts are pretty expensive. I can contrast it against the cost to stay at the Omni [in Orlando], and it's close to the same cost per night.

Something to consider at least, is look at the non-Disney owned resorts on property [Swan and Dolphin comes to mind really].

Consider why you're thinking of staying onsite, for which benefits. And decide how important they are to you [and price a few different options to try to gauge the cost].

 

[cajunprincess]

Hey DIS-ers I just have a quick question. My wife and I are thinking of traveling in December to see the Christmas lights this year. Its just her and I and we have no kids. So my question becomes would it be worth it staying on site if its just us? Or should we stay off site where its still close by, but a little cheaper. Thanks in advance for the input.

It is just me and my husband and I insist on staying on-site. I love the extra perks as mentioned by other posters, but I also find that it can be just as affordable in value or moderate as staying off-site

 

[maryj11]

Well we have stayed off site and on site and I will never stay off site again. I love the Disney resorts. I say stay on site and see if you can find some sort of discount.

 

[Trollingforthimbles]

We always stay on site. But I agree, the deluxes are extremely overpriced. Moderates or even values can really be the way to go sometimes.