Looking for extra costs associated to staying off property.

[stwestrox]

We have stayed on site as a family each time (4 times) and enjoyed 'Free Dining'.
We pretty much exclusively eat on property since my son has a lot of food allergies and this makes it the closest to 'vacation' having all of his food restrictions taken care of.

We have always used Magical Express and the shuttles.
I've never done the water parks before nor have we had to deal with a car.
This next trip we are considering staying off property and I'm getting a spreadsheet together to go over all of the costs.

What are the costs that I don't know about?

$15 for parking - what exactly does this mean? What if we park hop? Do we pay $15 for each park? What about parking at the water parks?
When you leave a park and go back, do you pay the $15 again?

Do you end up saving time going from hotel to parks by having a car vs the buses? (I hear that the car lots can have long lines)

 

[chalee94]

$15 for parking - what exactly does this mean? What if we park hop? Do we pay $15 for each park? What about parking at the water parks?
When you leave a park and go back, do you pay the $15 again?

$15 per day (assuming they haven't gone up to $16 or so).

you can leave a park and go back...or drive to another park...and your pass is still valid for the day for any disney park.

Do you end up saving time going from hotel to parks by having a car vs the buses? (I hear that the car lots can have long lines)

you probably save time except for the MK. at the MK, you have to park at the TTC and then take the ferry or monorail to the MK, which adds time.

not sure of any additional costs for offsite. if you eat offsite, there might be additional savings.

 

[stwestrox]

$15 a day includes the water parks, parks and Downtown Disney?

 

[Ametista]

There is no charge for parking at DTD or the water parks (unless they plan on charging for the new garage at DTD, which I have not heard of happening).

Where are you planning on staying offsite? I have worked the numbers many times, trying to justify an onsite stay, and it has always cost much more to stay onsite. Plus, according to many who have tried both, the lines/wait times for the Disney transportation take longer than driving a car. I know we can be at the AK parking lot in 15 minutes from when we walk out of the house to when we exit the car. I have never heard of that with a Disney bus.

As far as dining, Disney dining is some of the most expensive there is. There are tons of excellent restaurants that are inexpensive offsite. I don't know what your son's allergies are but if you started a thread specific to that I bet a lot of people will have insight. One of the reasons I like staying offsite is that I can control what my family eats and make sure they are eating healthy by using the kitchen in a villa/townhome. Nothing worse for a kid than adding a bunch of unusual food to their diet when they are already in a stressful/exciting environment. And don't even get me started on how nice it is to have a washer/dryer in the house

Finally, if you haven't tried the water parks then you absolutely should. They are an absolute blast!

 

[stwestrox]

My son has allergies to all nuts, wheat, dairy, and oat - a tricky combination to get kid friendly food. It is very unlikely that we will easily find restaurants that come close to Disney for how they deal with allergies - Disney is widely known in the allergy communities for being incredibly accommodating. (I actually have posted this question on this board and follow disABILITIES for this type information...)

Disney is the only place where we feel 'normal' and can just go out to eat without getting him just a burger/dog without the bun and plain veggies... or us packing all of his food for the day.

(We do still do cereal and sandwiches in the hotel room for easy quick food...)

Thanks for the parking information.

Anyone know how to score great deals on car rentals?

 

[Ametista]

Anyone know how to score great deals on car rentals?

Costco usually has the best deal for car rentals.
Have you ever tried Sweet Tomatoes? There is one right by 192/429.

 

[mjmcca]

Honestly you can probably get a nice enough room off site at a rate that would more than offset the costs of renting a car and the parking fees. I hate Disney transportation and used to drive everywhere even when staying on property.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Anyone know how to score great deals on car rentals?

That would depend on when you are visiting, the length of time you require the vehicle, the size of vehicle you require, and if you are a member of any special programs (AAA, Costco, etc.) that would qualify you for discounts.

Follow the specific car rental thread for your travel month over on the transportation board. Lots of Disers will be posting their rates and deals so others can also snag a great price on their rental, too.

KLM's Flying Blue program (which is free to join) also offers a very good rate for members. You can read more about it in this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2878667

You are almost certain to still be way ahead in offsite savings, even after a car rental, fuel and parking are factored in. Those are really your only variables to consider, since you plan on eating all your meals at Disney anyway. We have compared our offsite accommodations (2 bedroom, 2 bathroom villa) to similar accommodations onsite, and the savings are staggering....we are paying about $125 per night (taxes included) for our room. Saratoga Springs is $600+ per night for the same time period for a comparatively sized villa. For that kind of savings, you could take a taxi to and from the parks everyday and still be in money.

 

[skw444]

We are a family that had always stayed onsite and got free dining until our last trip. I got an amazing deal on a 3br condo. We still ate on Disney property because we were there. Food was expensive but the lower cost of the condo brought the total price equal to staying onsite. There was also the added expense of parking. Even when we stayed onsite, we always drove our car to the parks. My daughter also has allergies (peanut and treenut) and like you, we enjoy the great way Disney deals with allergies, plus the convenience of not having to leave the parks to go eat.

 

[4forMe]

My son has allergies to all nuts, wheat, dairy, and oat - a tricky combination to get kid friendly food. It is very unlikely that we will easily find restaurants that come close to Disney for how they deal with allergies - Disney is widely known in the allergy communities for being incredibly accommodating. (I actually have posted this question on this board and follow disABILITIES for this type information...)

Disney is the only place where we feel 'normal' and can just go out to eat without getting him just a burger/dog without the bun and plain veggies... or us packing all of his food for the day.

(We do still do cereal and sandwiches in the hotel room for easy quick food...)

Thanks for the parking information.

Anyone know how to score great deals on car rentals?

The transportation sub forum on this board has great information. I find the thread related to the month of my trip and see what deals people have found. I've always been able to get a minivan for under $300 for 8-10 days. Also, the mousesavers website has a section regarding car rentals and deals.