Justifying onsite stay...

[deedubb]

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

I still have a set of tickets. When they were selling the non-expiring tickets with the Canadian discount many years ago, I bought a whole bunch. Looking back, what a great deal they were. With the discount, and adding in all the price increases over the years, the tickets were about half the cost compared to buying them today at full cost.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

I still have a set of tickets. When they were selling the non-expiring tickets with the Canadian discount many years ago, I bought a whole bunch. Looking back, what a great deal they were. With the discount, and adding in all the price increases over the years, the tickets were about half the cost compared to buying them today at full cost.

I have 2 of those. I kick myself for not getting more at the time.

 

[wildpony]

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!

I stayed off site in November (the week before US Thanksgiving) for the first time. The only thing I found as a draw back was transportation. If you have a rental car I would say go for it.
We bought Genie+, used the paid ILL and did rope drops. We thought we might be behind the 8 ball because of our off site hotel but we were not.

 

[alohamom]

We have stayed at the Sheraton Vistana twice and LOVED both times.
The units are spacious and we had a screened in balcony both times which made for such a nice place to eat any meals we had in the unit, my kids still talk about how nice that was!

The only caveat I would say is that the pools are on the colder side.
If I were going in March that might be an issue for me.

 

[Chickinvic]

I stayed off site in November (the week before US Thanksgiving) for the first time. The only thing I found as a draw back was transportation. If you have a rental car I would say go for it.
We bought Genie+, used the paid ILL and did rope drops. We thought we might be behind the 8 ball because of our off site hotel but we were not.

The parking at the parks is very expensive IMO. If staying close enough to the resort (where I rent a villa is only a few miles away) it can be worth it just to Uber to and from the parks - or at least do that some of the days.

 

[mevelandry]

I love WDW hotels but they are not worth spending 3000$ more just to stay there.

 

[Jrb1979]

I love WDW hotels but they are not worth spending 3000$ more just to stay there.

Universals hotels are much cheaper and a lot better.

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

Universals hotels are much cheaper and a lot better.

We stayed at Royal Pacific and it was nice but I didn't think it was better or even equal to some of the WDW deluxe resorts. Our room was filthy though which didn't leave me with the best impression. We've talked about trying out the Hard Rock in the future as we've heard great things from friends.

 

[mevelandry]

Universals hotels are much cheaper and a lot better.

Hard agree. I’ve tried Royal Pacific and Cabana Bay… I loved both but Cabana Bay was a wonderful value.

 

[frapdawn]

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.

Were you able to walk to Disney springs from this resort?

 

[Genie+]

WDW no longer charges for resort parking. They tried it for a year or so and then decided to go back to free onsite resort parking.

If you’ll have a car, onsite gets free theme park parking. Sheraton/offsite will add $30 for each day you visit the parks.

 

[frapdawn]

WDW no longer charges for resort parking. They tried it for a year or so and then decided to go back to free onsite resort parking.

If you’ll have a car, onsite gets free theme park parking. Sheraton/offsite will add $30 for each day you visit the parks.

That is good to know. I’m just a nervous driver, so I was hoping to find something in the springs area I could use the walking bridge I keep hearing about to use the buses if need be. Definitely a reason to stay on property the rooms are just so small and with a potty trainer it’s nice to have the washing machine

 

[Uk145081]

Dude, $3400?! That's insane. Unless those 7 AM Genie+ bookings are absolutely crucial to your trip (and for Star Wars/Avatar, standby lines might be brutal), I'd jump on that Sheraton deal in a heartbeat.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

You have to decide for yourself but if I was in you position It sounds like a no brainer to save the $3400 and stay off site.

My main reasons are that you are only going to the parks for 4 day and You won’t use the 30 extra minutes in the morning.

I would take the cash you are “saving” and do some fun things around Orlando on your non Disney park days.

 

[Genie+]

Would you be interested in renting DVC 1BR? This is high commitment vs the flexibility to cancel/reschedule with cash rooms, but there is still March availability at a few resorts for 1BRs that are either near the cost of CSR or less.

Below is not actual availability, just ballpark of patterns booking March around 4 months out. Each week that goes by from here availability will get tighter and tighter so the sooner a decision is made the more options should remain.

AKV and BLT below. Typically you can find rental around $18-$20 per point here, but there’s been a few at $16pp lately which can be a really great deal! It is possible to find something exciting for under $600/nt even at this late stage.









There is a Rent/Trade board here on the DIS which I’ve had much success over the years. We finally bought DVC after renting so often. It’s not for everyone but we found the trade-off of stricter terms worth getting deluxe accommodations at or under moderate pricing. Just be careful because it can spoil you lol. I can help with any questions.

 

[damo]

Were you able to walk to Disney springs from this resort?

Not really.