Justifying onsite stay...

[thr33boys]

I currently have 2 rooms booked at CSR for our March break trip, 9 nights. We have always stayed onsite and we know this will be (if we actually go) our final trip with our boys, who will be 17. 14 and 13 at the time of travel. I have done very little planning for this trip as it's still up in the air if we are actually going, but since I have some time off work this week, and nowhere to go, I'm digging into things a bit more now. There is no other resort availability showing at Disney right now for our dates, so as it stands, if we want to stay on property, this will likely be our only option. Yesterday, I booked an offsite ressie at Sheraton Vistana for a fraction of the cost with many more appealing amenities.

Sheraton Vistana - 2 Bedroom Villa --- $2,066USD
1 King bed, 2 doubles
2 bathrooms
Full kitchen
Separate LR
Washer/Dryer in unit
Balcony
Free Parking

CSR - 2 Standard Rooms---- $5,445USD
4 Queen beds
2 bathrooms
Parking - $20/night

We will have a rental car regardless, and I know I will pay for parking at the theme parks, but with 4 days tickets, that's only $100 for the duration of the trip and is offset by having free parking at the Vistana vs CSR. The only things that I can see that I'm giving up is the 7am Genie+ booking options and the ability for my teens to use Disney transport if they want to travel on their own between parks and hotel. I'm just not convinced that $3.4K USD, is worth that. Our interests are in the Star Wars and Avatar themes, so I am worried a bit about most likely only being able to do those using the standby line.

Is there anything else I'm not thinking of?

Thanks!

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

You would also be giving up the 30 minutes early entry everyday/all parks. Being spring break and the crowds that draws that is huge especially for Star Wars and Avatar. Now you can always pay for the LL for the prime rides of each park, but again, availability opens up first to on site guests. I don't blame you at all as the price difference would be almost another trip for my family.

 

[CanucksRock]

Early Entry to the parks is the other on-site perk.

I stay off-site most trips (I have only stayed onsite once) and it is a significant savings. That room at the Vistana is great. We stayed there for a week in September. (Have a timeshare, booked it as a Getaway thru Interval)

 

[sjdrr1313]

I currently have 2 rooms booked at CSR for our March break trip, 9 nights. We have always stayed onsite and we know this will be (if we actually go) our final trip with our boys, who will be 17. 14 and 13 at the time of travel. I have done very little planning for this trip as it's still up in the air if we are actually going, but since I have some time off work this week, and nowhere to go, I'm digging into things a bit more now. There is no other resort availability showing at Disney right now for our dates, so as it stands, if we want to stay on property, this will likely be our only option. Yesterday, I booked an offsite ressie at Sheraton Vistana for a fraction of the cost with many more appealing amenities.

Sheraton Vistana - 2 Bedroom Villa --- $2,066USD
1 King bed, 2 doubles
2 bathrooms
Full kitchen
Separate LR
Washer/Dryer in unit
Balcony
Free Parking

CSR - 2 Standard Rooms---- $5,445USD
4 Queen beds
2 bathrooms
Parking - $20/night

We will have a rental car regardless, and I know I will pay for parking at the theme parks, but with 4 days tickets, that's only $100 for the duration of the trip and is offset by having free parking at the Vistana vs CSR. The only things that I can see that I'm giving up is the 7am Genie+ booking options and the ability for my teens to use Disney transport if they want to travel on their own between parks and hotel. I'm just not convinced that $3.4K USD, is worth that. Our interests are in the Star Wars and Avatar themes, so I am worried a bit about most likely only being able to do those using the standby line.

Is there anything else I'm not thinking of?

Thanks!

Have you looked into renting DVC? you might be able to get a 1BR suite that sleeps 5 and has laundry and a balcony and all that, plus free parking for similar or even less than the cost of 2 rooms at CSR

 

[pigletto]

You’ll hear a lot about the magic and being in the Disney bubble but for us there is nothing magical about spending $3400 more for onsite. That’s almost $4500 Canadian and in my house I have so many places I could put that to good use ( new patio furniture , another trip..etc).

Vistana is so close it barely feels offsite. We really enjoyed our stay there and having room to spread out for our family was priceless. Don’t get me wrong .. I love onsite. But if the difference was that much I would chose Vistana or Bonnet Creek in a heartbeat.

I don’t belong exclusively to the onsite or offsite camp.. we’ve done both many times. They both have distinct benefits and drawbacks.

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

I would also check out Doubletree Suites at Disney Springs. It's a bit closer than Vistana and feels more onsite. There are shuttles for the parks and parking is free at Disney Springs. Not sure about parking cost for the hotel. It is even walkable to Disney Springs and from there you can take any bus to any resort to tour or eat or visit the Boardwalk. Just a thought.

Edited: I believe Disney Spring hotels are eligible for early entry to the parks as well.

 

[thr33boys]

You would also be giving up the 30 minutes early entry everyday/all parks. Being spring break and the crowds that draws that is huge especially for Star Wars and Avatar. Now you can always pay for the LL for the prime rides of each park, but again, availability opens up first to on site guests. I don't blame you at all as the price difference would be almost another trip for my family.

Thanks for this, that's a good point. However, we really aren't morning people and have never attempted park opening. I don't know how much use we would even get out of early entry.

Early Entry to the parks is the other on-site perk.

I stay off-site most trips (I have only stayed onsite once) and it is a significant savings. That room at the Vistana is great. We stayed there for a week in September. (Have a timeshare, booked it as a Getaway thru Interval)

The Vistana looks great, and has a lot of positive reviews. I just can't see giving up that much space at such a significant savings vs onsite.

Have you looked into renting DVC? you might be able to get a 1BR suite that sleeps 5 and has laundry and a balcony and all that, plus free parking for similar or even less than the cost of 2 rooms at CSR

Yes, I have looked at renting points for this trip. With 3 teen boys, I really want them to have proper beds and we definitely need 2 showers. Therefore, I'm looking at 2 bedrooms and it's more expensive then 2 standard rooms. I also am worried about committing to renting points without being able to cancel. We've rented points in the past for our first two trips, and it was wonderful!

You’ll hear a lot about the magic and being in the Disney bubble but for us there is nothing magical about spending $3400 more for onsite. That’s almost $4500 Canadian and in my house I have so many places I could put that to good use ( new patio furniture , another trip..etc).

Vistana is so close it barely feels offsite. We really enjoyed our stay there and having room to spread out for our family was priceless. Don’t get me wrong .. I love onsite. But if the difference was that much I would chose Vistana or Bonnet Creek in a heartbeat.

I don’t belong exclusively to the onsite or offsite camp.. we’ve done both many times. They both have distinct benefits and drawbacks.

Bonnet Creek isn't showing any availability right now for my dates. I will keep my eyes open though. Yes, there's a lot of other things I could do with $3,400USD.

I would also check out Doubletree Suites at Disney Springs. It's a bit closer than Vistana and feels more onsite. There are shuttles for the parks and parking is free at Disney Springs. Not sure about parking cost for the hotel. It is even walkable to Disney Springs and from there you can take any bus to any resort to tour or eat or visit the Boardwalk. Just a thought.

Edited: I believe Disney Spring hotels are eligible for early entry to the parks as well.

Thanks for the suggestion. I just looked at the Doubletree Suites and it's about $1,000 more than the 2 CSR rooms

 

[damo]

We stayed at Grand Beach Resort a few weeks ago. It is directly across the street from Vistana. We enjoyed it just as much as the Vistana and it is probably even cheaper. We had a 3 bedroom that had two kings and a room with two twins and a huge screened balcony. A 3 bedroom is about $300/night. We didn't want to be taking any buses during covid times.

 

[deedubb]

Having gone from many years of only staying off-site, now to many years of only staying on-site, I said I would never go back to off-site. That said, now with the Magical Express gone, I will probably go back to renting a car. I love using Disney transportation, especially for MK, as using a tram and then having to using the ferry or monorail gets old really fast. The first time it was a novelty, then it just became a chore. Due the virus and from what I have been reading about unreliable buses, I would probably drive to the parks now. So far, these are all factors in favour of staying off-site. Add in the extra room and significant cost savings, I really see no reason to stay on-site, as you already pointed out that you would likely not use the extra morning half-hour.

Too bad for Disney, but I think a lot of people will have the same mindset as me. The changes that their bean counters think are in their favour are likely going to cost them in the end.

 

[Mjmdiva]

Just got back from the Vistana, it was such a nice room. So much space for our family. I would not pay that much extra to stay on site.

 

[thr33boys]

We stayed at Grand Beach Resort a few weeks ago. It is directly across the street from Vistana. We enjoyed it just as much as the Vistana and it is probably even cheaper. We had a 3 bedroom that had two kings and a room with two twins and a huge screened balcony. A 3 bedroom is about $300/night. We didn't want to be taking any buses during covid times.

I just took a look at the Grand Beach, and you're right it's roughly $300/night. I'm paying about $205/night at Vistana. We haven't taken the buses since our first trip.

 

[thr33boys]

Too bad for Disney, but I think a lot of people will have the same mindset as me. The changes that their bean counters think are in their favour are likely going to cost them in the end.

I also believe their poor decisions will hurt them in the long run. I had never considered off site before but they've just taken so many perks away, that it's just too difficult to justify continuing to pay the inflated prices. If I didn't already have tickets purchased from 2017, I wouldn't even consider going back. I hope we can go because I just want to use up these tickets but I really have no excitement about planning this trip. Genie+ and ILL hurt my brain.

 

[Average Joes]

You could easily go to Volcano Bay or somewhere else fun for the food savings alone with the kitchen.

 

[vegs1]

We just had this exact discussion tonight saying we will probably not stay on site any more as we really enjoyed the Vistana. So close, much cheaper, fabulous pools, more room and we really enjoyed it.

We didn’t feel we lost out on anything by staying there.

 

[Jrb1979]

I'm surprised many are going back considering the amount of complaints there are. I said in another thread, why not try other parks? Instead of just staying off site why not visit Universal, SeaWorld or Busch Gardens?

 

[torontominnie]

I have stayed off property at a bunch of places near the parks and would not recommend vistana. When we were there this summer it was dark, dirty, and loud. The Marriott properties (especially Sabal or royal palms or cypress) are consistently better maintained and would still save you a ton of money. However if the choice were onsite or saving 3400 usd I would have the money every time.

 

[thr33boys]

I'm surprised many are going back considering the amount of complaints there are. I said in another thread, why not try other parks? Instead of just staying off site why not visit Universal, SeaWorld or Busch Gardens?

We will probably look at planning other things. I do have to use up these Cdn tickets, which is the only reason for going to Disney. They are only 4 day tickets + Water Parks and we have 9 nights, so we'll have plenty of time to add other things.

 

[deedubb]

I also believe their poor decisions will hurt them in the long run. I had never considered off site before but they've just taken so many perks away, that it's just too difficult to justify continuing to pay the inflated prices. If I didn't already have tickets purchased from 2017, I wouldn't even consider going back. I hope we can go because I just want to use up these tickets but I really have no excitement about planning this trip. Genie+ and ILL hurt my brain.

I feel the same way. We are planning to go next year because I need to use up the Westjet travel bank funds before they expire, but for once in my life, I am not excited about the trip.

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

I'd go with Vistana. We are DVC now but stayed at Vistana in 2019 and enjoyed it. Driving to the parks was quick and easy. Getting in line for Flight of Passage and ROTR at the end of the night is a great way to get on those rides. Don't believe the posted wait at the end of the night, it's always less in my experience.

 

[Jrb1979]

I feel the same way. We are planning to go next year because I need to use up the Westjet travel bank funds before they expire, but for once in my life, I am not excited about the trip.

If you're not excited why not go to Orlando and visit the other parks instead?