Money saving

[daystar]

How many people on this website actually stay off property to save money???

 

[westjones]

We use to do this. Now we stay onsite, but for my first few visits we stayed off site. It is much less expensive to do this.

DJ

 

[Sandyincanada]

Thats hard to say because we could have booked a value onsite for 55.00 a night this trip ( Cdn sale) or a mod for around 100.00 instead we chose offsite in a condo for 75.00 a night because it had 2 bedrooms, washer/dryer, fridge, etc. So technically, it would have been cheaper for us onsite in a value but we really, really like our space and separate bedrooms. On the other hand, it would cost a small fortune to get the amenities we enjoy in a condo onsite so I guess it depends on how you look at it. Other reasons are that we also go to USF/IOA and we like to escape from the little kids (ours are older now), lol.

 

[onlyoneforme]

We stay offsite for just that reason...saving $$$. We go with another couple and we get a 3 bedroom condo/townhouse for under $70 (tax included) per night just 10 minutes from Disney the first week in February. The resort is VERY nice and quiet, with a great pool area. It also gives us that extra space I like with our young one rather than just a room with a bed and a bathroom. I love that we have a kitchen and find that we have breakfast at "home" before the parks each day. And with the Disney closing relatively early that time of year we can usually make it home for a late dinner too! Although I do miss the action and Disney feelings that I get from a Disney resort, we would not be able to go down so often if we stayed onsite.

 

[disneysteve]

We stay offsite for numerous reasons. The main reason is offsite accomodations are bigger and nicer with more amenities that matter to us. The cost is a very close second reason. The only choice onsite that would appeal to us would be the DVC rentals, but the cost is outrageous compared to comparable offsite accomodations.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

We mainly stay offsite b/c we can get a week in a timeshare for less than $200 a week.

 

[gsj]

Could you please also post which off site properties do you recommend?

 

[Siouxstone]

I'm a Priceline/Hotwire fan. I've stayed at the Comfort Inn LBV, Park Inn & Suites, La Quinta all several times. Comfort Inn & Park Inn had free breakfasts, so this adds to the value. I have used Priceline over 20 times for rooms around the country and have never been dissappointed. Last June, we stayed at the Comfort Inn for $35 a night. In September and May, I usually manage to bid between $17-20 a night.
It's the difference between staying for 4 nights or staying for 7 on our budget. I know the family will always prefer staying longer!

 

[tar heel]

We mainly stay on-site, but we always stay off-site the last night and usually the first night if we're arriving late. We try to make our on-site time really count by not checking in late or leaving early.

 

[meandtheguys2]

We can stay twice the time if we stay off-site. There is just something wrong with paying more for a night in one room than a week in a nice condo! My DH just can't do it!

If I were on my own, however, I would stay on property, so I guess there are several factors involved.

 

[macfamily]

So it makes it worthwhile cost-wise, even though you'd have to rent a vehicle to get there?

That's the current conversation my husband and I are having; whether it's more money-wise to stay offsite and rent a car or to stay on-site and use the transportation system there.

Thanks for the info!

 

[meandtheguys2]

So it makes it worthwhile cost-wise, even though you'd have to rent a vehicle to get there?

That's the current conversation my husband and I are having; whether it's more money-wise to stay offsite and rent a car or to stay on-site and use the transportation system there.

Thanks for the info!

We would be renting a car anyway. We are not the type to not leave the property for a week. We love exploring new cities, and intend to visit the Science Museum, Sea World and Universal while down there. We also hit the book stores (we have none here!).

DH is diabetic, so we need to leave to find a greater food assortment for him also.

 

[DD2Disney]

We stayed offsite to save money on our first trip. We personally had an awful place (Holiday Inn Maingate East). I think we could have found better offsite value, where we would have been comfortable, if we would have done a little research. Our second trip we stayed at Pop Century. We liked it a lot. We just bought into DVC so I don't see us staying offsite anymore. But driving around you see a lot of nice properties that I would love to see the inside of.

Tricia

 

[pjlla]

We stayed onsite our last two family trips.... both times at the Homewood Suites in Kissimee (not Orlando) for $59/night.... 1 bedroom suite with small kitchenette, free hot bkfst in the morning. We really like being able to put the children to bed and shut the door, rather than sit in the dark until they fall asleep!! While I would LOVE to stay at the Poly or AKL, I just cannot justify spending $150+/night for just a room when I can get a suite for $59/night.... I know, I know... we're missing out on the MAGIC, etc. And that is a VALID point! But it takes us a long time to save the $$ for each trip and I would rather go every two years for 7-8 days, then every 4 years for fewer days... see my point? While I have stayed onsite in the the past (pre-kids), it is just not a practical option for us right now. As far as the rental car issue goes.... it cost approximately $100/rd trip for transportation (town car) to and from the airport. For just a tiny bit more I have been able to rent a mid-sized car and have freedom to see things other than Disney (like SeaWorld) and eat in places other than Disney (to save more $$). ...............P

 

[diznee25]

"How many people on this website actually stay off property to save money???"

Not us. Staying at the Disney Resorts is such an important part of our Disney vacation experience. In fact, our first trip out we almost stayed off property, but then stayed at POFQ because Disney was offering a discount. After we got back my husband mentioned that our WDW vacation wouldn't have been the same if we had stayed off site. I totally agreed. So now staying at the WDW Resorts is our first priority when planning a vacation. If we need to save money we'll split our stay between moderate/deluxe, or value/deluxe.

Keep in mind there are other areas where one could save money besides resort stay. Food, tickets, travel, etc. We actually plan to drive out next time to save us money.

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[momto4obkids]

We stay off site. With four kids we could never afford it!

We used skyauction in 2004 and got a condo for $215!!

We have also stayed in a four bedroom villa and loved it.

This year we are spending 7 days in a villa at Eagle Pointe(www.vrbo.com) and a few days in a 2bdrm. condo at Cypress Pointe(www.hotelkingdom.com)!

 

[raven3517]

I've never stayed offsite, and I don't think I ever would unless it was the difference between staying offsite or not going at all.

I love staying onsite for a lot of reasons - first, it really helps keep you in the spirit of being at Disney. When I would go with my family when we were all younger, my younger brothers would be really tired by the time we would get back to the hotel at night. Instead of being cranky, though, their eyes would light up at the larger-than-life-sized football helmets, etc at All-Star Sports and they would run to go play on them. Kept everyone happy. Also, when we stayed at the Poly the first time when I was 6, I could SEE the Magic Kingdom. I was nearly bursting out of my skin by the time the monorail actually dropped us off.

It's also really convenient. You don't have to drive if you don't want to; if you need a break in the middle of the day or want a swim, it's just a quick bus or monorail ride back to the room - and older kids can go off and do their own thing without you having to worry about them getting safely from spot to spot.

I know it can be cheaper to stay offsite - I stayed with a friend once on I-Drive and the hotel was only about 30 bucks a night, and it was a great room with lots of pools.

Not sure if that was helpful or not! But those are some reasons for staying onsite

 

[wearegoingtoDisney]

To quote my brother "Leave the park leave the magic"


That being said there are still some very real economic pros to leaving especially if you want separate bedrooms or are a family of more than 4 so that you have to stay in Disney's more expensive hotels. I love staying on site and will stay at the All Stars for the lower rate but as my family grows I can't see us being able to afford the more expensive hotels especially if you can get a condo off site for sooooo much less.

 

[crisi]

We are also onsite fans, but I always recommend to others that they should consider offsite (then they say "yes, but where do YOU stay." And I say, we own a timeshare on Disney property). Offsite can be a ton cheaper, and for some people "how much money" is a much bigger consideration than "how much magic." For us, WDW is a resort destination, not a bunch of theme parks.

wearegoingtoDisney - have you considering connecting rooms? You can stay in a much less expensive hotel in connecting rooms.

 

[estherhead]

This is SO personal preference. If you are more a pampered, "I want to be taken care of on my vacation" person you should stay on-site. The rooms are not necessarily more money but you are at Disney's mercy for any needs, food or other-wise.

If you are a total freedom, "I want to be in control of everything" person off-site might be a better choice. We almost always stay off-site as we like to do other things like outlet malls or Universal or just relax in our own pool with no other children around. We also like to go with friends and family. For us we do the parks as a foursome (my husband and two daughters) and then meet the rest of the family back at the house for dinner and swimming and games. That way we aren't dragging 15 people around Fantasyland but we are still on vacation with our family.

When we go as a couple, staying on-site makes a lot more sense than off-site. When I'm with kids I'm not going to be pampered anyway so I might as well be in control!

Esther