Need opinions...will we regret staying offsite?

[katyjeka]

The only regret we've had is staying onsite at CR. We paid $739.10 per night.(Yep, I kept the receipt to remind me to never do it again!!)We had two rooms, seven people, and a fantastic view. Our waits at the bus stop at AK were terrible the entire trip. We saw buses come for value resorts twice as we continued to wait!! The room was nice and like I said the view fantastic, but we still had to be quiet after the kids fell asleep and my dh and I had no privacy. The following year we spent 12 nights at Bonnet Creek in a 2 bedroom unit. The kids went to bed and we continued to enjoy our vacation. The space was fantastic and pool area was nicer than CR. I love having a washer/dryer in the unit as I can put a load in, leave, and dry in the evening. Less luggage equals less money at the airport. With our annual passes, we have no parking fees and find driving to the parks easy. What seals the deal for us, we paid 810.00 for the entire 12 nights at Bonnet Creek. Its truly a no brainer and definitely not a regret.

 

[CattailGal]

We prefer offsite. We usually stay in a townhouse but this time will have a pool home with a fenced yard so we can bring our dog (and dog sitter to walk her while we're at the parks). The kids (now 13 and 15) like to have a room of their own to relax after days in the park.

A big plus for ME is having a washer/dryer to do clothes daily. We have two sets of matching Disney tie dye shirts and wear them most days (I'm ordering a third set for this trip). In FL...there's no way clothes can be worn more than once w/o washing. We used to pack clothes changes for four people, ten days, and it was a lot of clothes.

We had a bad experience staying onsite one very rainy trip. Long waits for crowded buses...not fun. Easier to get in our own car and leave when we want.

KC

 

[KJWA]

Thanks again for the replies. I feel a lot better about staying offsite. I think we will enjoy the extra space and the freedom that comes with a rental car. And doing laundry in our room will be so easy and allow us to pack lighter. When it comes down to it we will be saving so much by getting free accommodations and can put that money towards splurging on other things!

I will have to continue to think about whether we should buy the magic bands or not. I am thinking we would not do a throwaway room. Is seems so complicated and then we would only get some the benefits for the length of our stay anyway.

 

[kathy884]

The only regret we've had is staying onsite at CR. We paid $739.10 per night.(Yep, I kept the receipt to remind me to never do it again!!)We had two rooms, seven people, and a fantastic view. Our waits at the bus stop at AK were terrible the entire trip. We saw buses come for value resorts twice as we continued to wait!! The room was nice and like I said the view fantastic, but we still had to be quiet after the kids fell asleep and my dh and I had no privacy. The following year we spent 12 nights at Bonnet Creek in a 2 bedroom unit. The kids went to bed and we continued to enjoy our vacation. The space was fantastic and pool area was nicer than CR. I love having a washer/dryer in the unit as I can put a load in, leave, and dry in the evening. Less luggage equals less money at the airport. With our annual passes, we have no parking fees and find driving to the parks easy. What seals the deal for us, we paid 810.00 for the entire 12 nights at Bonnet Creek. Its truly a no brainer and definitely not a regret.

I'm with you. I've stayed at the Contemporary a few times and loved it when we got the balcony room (view to die for), but DH was attending a conference, so his company was paying a conference rate, and cost for us was $0. There is no way I would pay for that out of pocket. My favorite option that fits into my vacation budget is the offsite condo.

OP -- Glad this post makes you feel better about your offsite stay. I think that the majority of people who go the offsite condo route really and truly think it's a great value and don't regret being offsite at all. Some people do miss it though, so be aware of that. Only by trying it will you know for you and your family. We personally only stay onsite if we are going to a convention or something where someone else is paying. I can even get a 60% discount on Disney rooms because my nephew is a cast member at Disney, but even that's not enough to sway me. I still find at my budget level that and for what I value, offsite to be the better option for me.

 

[dscott1996]

We're her for our first time off-site and I was very worried before we got here. At times I miss the immersive experience, but we just had a family subway dinner after relaxing at the pool. Dinner was $20! It's worth it. I felt like a. 2nd class citizen when reserving my FP+, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

My ticket has been more convenient then magic bands, watching people contort their wrists to get the machines to recognize them was quite fun. My family just held their cards next to the scanners and all was good. I guess you risk losing the cards, but we never have.

Te only time I'm annoyed is when I pay $17 for parking and only stay a few hours. The savings in food and lodging more,then made up for it.

 

[KJWA]

We're her for our first time off-site and I was very worried before we got here. At times I miss the immersive experience, but we just had a family subway dinner after relaxing at the pool. Dinner was $20! It's worth it. I felt like a. 2nd class citizen when reserving my FP+, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

My ticket has been more convenient then magic bands, watching people contort their wrists to get the machines to recognize them was quite fun. My family just held their cards next to the scanners and all was good. I guess you risk losing the cards, but we never have.

Te only time I'm annoyed is when I pay $17 for parking and only stay a few hours. The savings in food and lodging more,then made up for it.

Thanks for your input....that's interesting about the magic bands. I'll have to consider that. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[ashleyfallis]

I have never regretted staying off site - we love the room it gives us and all the PPs are totally spot on when they say it's nice to get away sometimes.

We stay in the Sheraton Vistana Villages usually and love it, only takes about 20/30 mins to get in and parked.

Staying onsite might be something you want to do with the kids when they're older but they'll love anywhere they stay knowing they're going to meet all their favorite characters - and you'll love it when you realise the savings. Plus the money you save can go on souvenirs

 

[Kay7979]

I have stayed at Lakeshore Reserve. There are much closer timeshares to WDW but it's a very glamorous resort. You can probably see photos on TripAdvisor. You also get access to the facilities at the nearby JW Marriott and the Ritz Carlton. Their pool is killer. Has a lazy river. Makes Disney pools look totally lame. Enjoy your stay!!!

 

[OtherScott]

We're her for our first time off-site and I was very worried before we got here. At times I miss the immersive experience, but we just had a family subway dinner after relaxing at the pool. Dinner was $20! It's worth it. I felt like a. 2nd class citizen when reserving my FP+, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

My ticket has been more convenient then magic bands, watching people contort their wrists to get the machines to recognize them was quite fun. My family just held their cards next to the scanners and all was good. I guess you risk losing the cards, but we never have.

Te only time I'm annoyed is when I pay $17 for parking and only stay a few hours. The savings in food and lodging more,then made up for it.

OP, keep in mind that you only pay for parking once per day. So if you go to MK and pay in morning, then go to another park later that day, you just show your MK pass.

Also, if you do the Chef Mickey character breakfast at CR, you can leave your car there all day ($17 for Valet!) and ride monorail to park.

Lastly, with 2 little ones you will appreciate that your average travel time will be less than Disney's "convenient" bus system.

 

[Sparkly]

Bus service at CBR really was pants. Only time I appreciated it was going to MK because you skip the TTC. But it's a long long ride back at night! We did have a rental car though so drove to most of the parks. So yeah, it's not that much of a bonus. Magic bands were cute to have, as was the 60 day FP booking window.

We've never regretted staying offsite. We had a fantastic value condo and ate at much better restaurants then Disney's very average ones.