Nervous About Staying Off-Site

[TXBelle]

We are a family of 6. Our youngest just turned 3 so we can no longer fit into one room at the GF or Poly. We have always stayed on-site at WDW, and we are nervous about moving off-site. However, we have read the reviews of villas here on the Dis, and I love the idea of having our own pool for our 4 DDs to enjoy. Did anyone who moved off-site from on-site miss the feel of Disney or were you close enough that you still feel like part of the action? We are very close to booking a 4 or 5 bedroom villa in Windsor Hills and want to make sure this is the right move for us. Thanks.

 

[TandCmum]

we are in the same position as you are, we stayed onsite last year and really enjoyed it, however as we are from the Uk we go for longer stays and 16 nights in one room was a bit too much, so next year we are staing in a pool home. I am reassured that most people who move form onsite hotels to pool homes say they will never go back to a hotel again.

I am sure your family will love the extra space and facilities you will get from a villa.

 

[FayeW]

May I shamelessly point you to another thread on this board entitled "Wanna Join My Offsite Support Group?". I was the OP, and it is a fine piece of literary work, if I do say so myself! Also, there are many people just like you who used to stay onsite, and then joined the offsite brigade. I think it will help to put your mind at ease. (FWIW, everytime I think about staying onsite, my wallet talks me out of it because there is really NO comparison you can make to a hotel room (onsite) and a multi-bedroom condo or villa. With 4 kids, just having your own laundry in your villa is going to make you a Believer!)

 

[PlutoLuvr]

Off site is great! We do it all, on site at both WDW, USO, but then we also have a timeshare not affiliated with any of the parks. Truly, our best times are at the off site timeshare. It's much more of a relaxing vacation because of all the choices you have. We just don't feel trapped like we do sometimes staying on site. Hitting a drug store or grocery store on the way back from the parks is a cinch -- and it's wonderful not being overcharged for all the things the hotels charge for basic items! Being able to do your own laundry, make a meal if you want to, having tons of room to spread out, big TVs with normal cable...awesome!

After being converted ourselves, we never want to stay on site anywhere for more than a couple days. By staying off site, you'll be able to easily experience all of the magic Orlando has to offer, not just one park's magic.

As for missing the "feel of Disney," we actually feel it more when staying off site. I love driving through the gates, taking the exit for a certain park, parking the car with other excited families, quickly getting our stuff together, watching the folks in the car next to us doing the same thing with big smiles on their faces, figuring out what row and lot we're in and finally getting on the tram -- the first ride of WDW! That's much more magical for me than walking a half-mile to a bus station at a WDW hotel and waiting, waiting, waiting with families in a hut...invariably there's always a tired kid, with commando parents, who's crying, "My feet don't work anymore!"

Have a wonderful time!

 

[Del]

We love having the extra room and the privacy and the freedom to eat out of the resorts. We haven't regretted moving off site.

Del

 

[Robinrs]

I've done both and since I cannot stand cramped quarters the magic is lost on me. I LOVE vacation homes and the space and privacy is MAGIC to me!

 

[DisneyMarathon]

Most of the condo owners are helpful. However, I have rented once from an owner who sent me a LONG LIST of Do's and Don'ts about the condo after I signed the contract. I felt extremely uncomfortable staying at the condo because I was afraid that I might break something! My suggestion is to ask upfront what are their requirements.

 

[crjack]

We're staying in a large pool home in Windsor Hills this July so I will post back about our trip. This is our third pool home and even though we are only a family of 4 we cannot stay in one room....it takes the "magic" away for us.

We need at least two queen size beds so that requires a deluxe. I know there are codes and discounts to be had but no matter what they are still $$$. I don't mind the money as much as I dislike the tight quarters. For less money we get so much more and our pool homes have always been a very short ride to the parks. We always rent a car so we dont use Disney bus service anyway.

Our kids love having their own pool right outside their door. We live in New England so that's a treat for them. I also don't miss trying to keep track of them in the large hotel pools. All of the kids look the same with wet hair and swim goggles! I thought mine might miss that but they actually like the space of having their own all to themselves. If they want a really big pool many of the developments have large community ones that you are welcome to use.

Only you can decide what works best for your family but the majority of us who have rented villas are hooked. We always tried to avoid the park with EMH anyway so our schedule of park visits really never changed by moving off-site. You pay $9 a day for parking but truly you save a lot more than that so for us that's never been an issue.

If you have any questions just ask. There are lots of people here who are very knowledgable and will help you through the process. Good luck.

 

[jbdreamer]

I grew up going to WDW and always staying off-site. We usually had a nice time share, and it was a 30-40 minute drive to the parks. We also always ate off-site, never at the parks.

Not until I was in my 20s did I stay at a WDW resort. To me it made a huge difference, I felt like I was always at Disney. And we didn't have to deal with traffic or parking lots. It was a huge time saver. I don't think I will ever stay off-site again.

 

[akfan]

We recently spent 2 weeks in a Windsor Hills home, with it's own pool. Although I am sure that we will stay on site again at some point, I would definitely stay at Windsor Hills again. The kids loved having their own pool, although they did use the main pool as well. For me, being able to have at least one healthy meal at "home" and having a washer/dryer made it all worthwhile.

 

[MaMa3Princess]

We are also a family of six and we stop doing on-site in 2000 after my third child. By staying off site we are able to go to Disney 2 - 3x's a year. Also for the reasons everyone else described we like privacy, the kids love having their own t.v.'s. I am able to cook and recently host a barbeque in the pool home. The kids were able to swim until 10:00pm at night. THis last trip the kids got into the pool after breakfast until 2:00pm stayed out until 5:00pm and then back in and swam until sundown. I was able to sit on the Lanai with a good book and d.h was able to "game" until his heart was content. Dont get me wrong we spend alot of time together but when we want some space everyone can do their own thing. When on Disney property the kids are bombarded by "oh, I want..., but when we are off-site we dont have the expense of the "Magic".

So for us, we dont miss the magic because we can take more frequent trips because off-site is WAAYY cheaper for us. Hope you enjoy

 

[minnie29uk]

Hi!
My first four times I satayed on site - great,enjoyed it.
But now I do stay at a villa.With two young children,having our own pool is great.We dont have to fight for sunbeds or worry about where to put our belongings by the pool when we want to swim etc.
Having own kitchen,all that space,TVs in all bedrooms etc.

If you got to Disney everyday,you are getting the magic there.
If you are going for two weeks,split your stay maybe to see what you think.

Go for what you can afford,either way you are in Florida - so you know you are gonna have a great time<

Lynn

 

[mumzie2three]

We are a family of 6. Our youngest just turned 3 so we can no longer fit into one room at the GF or Poly. We have always stayed on-site at WDW, and we are nervous about moving off-site. However, we have read the reviews of villas here on the Dis, and I love the idea of having our own pool for our 4 DDs to enjoy. Did anyone who moved off-site from on-site miss the feel of Disney or were you close enough that you still feel like part of the action? We are very close to booking a 4 or 5 bedroom villa in Windsor Hills and want to make sure this is the right move for us. Thanks.

We just got back from Windsor Hills and it was very nice. What I would never do again is book through Palm Tree Vacation Homes, as we did not get the unit we reserved. We stayed in a condo (as there was only 5 of us and I thought we would be pool side) but next time I would book a home directly through the owner. It was very close to Disney but know this, you need to check in at the gate on arrival to get a placard to hang from your rearview mirror so they check for that and use a remote to open the gates for you, and before trying to use the main pool you need to pay a refundable $6 to get a key card (unless the home owners leave one for you).

Another thing is different owners have different ideas of furnishing their units. We complained about our room location at arrival and the next day we were moved (still not the building we reserved but what were we to do?) and the next unit had things the first unit was lacking. They had lots of kid sized cups, bowls and utencils, books, movies, games, VCRs and DVD players in every room, laundry baskets, pool noodles, a stroller, extra pillows, blankets and pool towels, a small cooler BUT they didn't have ceiling fans. Oh well, can't have it all.

 

[Lisa P.]

Contrary to the experience of jbdreamer, we have stayed in many offsite timeshare resorts over the last decade, most of them within a 5-10 minute drive of Epcot, Disney Studios and/or Animal Kingdom - literally 10-15 minutes tops from our door to the turnstiles. While we have sometimes taken only 5-10 minutes to walk from a Disney deluxe hotel to the closest theme park, we've also taken nearly an hour to reach a further park from an onsite hotel using Disney transport - 20-30 minutes to wait on a bus or boat, 10-20 minutes to ride with multiple stops - ugh! So our experience has been that it can easily be FASTER to drive from a nearby offsite locations to the parks (except MK but including the water parks and DTD) than stay onsite and use Disney transport. Even the deluxes can have slow transport to whichever parks are not the very closest. If you choose an offsite location that's further away (say 10+ miles from WDW property), then naturally, you'll experience longer driving times. Choose wisely if this matters to you, as it does to us!

Did anyone who moved off-site from on-site miss the feel of Disney or were you close enough that you still feel like part of the action?

When we first moved offsite, we noticed the difference. I wasn't sure how I felt about it but the rest of our family loved it!!! DH felt less of the constant Disney marketing machine, which he finds shamelessly self-promoting and money-grabbing. The kids relaxed more, enjoyed the pools and other activities more and didn't feel like they were just waiting for the next chance to go on rides. They napped/slept better too without so much overstimulation. I wanted a bit more Disney back then so...

I made sure we had Disney music for the car ride, Disney bubble bath for the condo jacuzzi, Disney t-shirts from the outlet stores in advance and Disney snacks in the fridge. That all pretty much took care of it for me. As we all enjoyed the offsite resorts and other area attractions more and more and we could afford more restaurant dining and character meals , we also found that we cared about the minimal "difference" less and we now prefer offsite. It's just a more relaxing, better overall vacation for us. To each their own.

 

[isla bonita]

Mumzie2three

All of the units are individually owned so not likely to have the same items. Some people are more accomidating then others. I think this is where it is wise to rent directly from the owners. You can get an amenities list and then ask about particulars. If you rent off gen rental sites I am not sure you are given exactly what you see on the website. You get the gen. 3,4, or what ever bedroom size and anything else is just gravy. Not I am sure how you want to take your vacation. Ask more questions of the rental office or owner before renting. The better the fit for your family the better the vacation.

 

[mumzie2three]

Mumzie2three

All of the units are individually owned so not likely to have the same items. Some people are more accomidating then others. I think this is where it is wise to rent directly from the owners. You can get an amenities list and then ask about particulars. If you rent off gen rental sites I am not sure you are given exactly what you see on the website. You get the gen. 3,4, or what ever bedroom size and anything else is just gravy. Not I am sure how you want to take your vacation. Ask more questions of the rental office or owner before renting. The better the fit for your family the better the vacation.

Yes, like I said in my post I would highly encourage people to rent directly though an owner which is what I intended to do but as I said, when their unit didn't cover all my dates the owners said they were also rental agents and offered me a unit on the same floor in the same building.
I posted the amentities to let people know the level of difference from owner to owner. I don't think I gave much thought to an owner providing a stroller or booster seat (of course I didn't need those item as my kids are older).
As far as asking questions of the rental office, on check in I asked if the address they gave me (which was a street name and number) was building 8, first floor and the guy said "Yeah". It wasn't until I got there that I realized he had lied.
My post was partly to encourage people away from rental agencies, especially the one we used, and give some general info about what you can expect at Windsor Hills.
Overall we had a great vacation, but check-in was stressful when we realized we had fallen victims to "bait and switch" and there was no recourse.

 

[zalansky]

Why don't you just buy into DVC? Problem solved!

 

[mumzie2three]

You know we actually thought of that for about 2 seconds, but my inlaws have a timeshare and all they do is complain about it. When we booked a resort in Aruba, where their timeshare is, they were totally jealous because our unit was way nicer than either of theirs. So, I've had very good luck being my own travel agent so far and tend to do a lot of research and learn from my *mistakes*. Liked Windsor Hills, didn't like my experience with Palm Tree Vacation Homes.

 

[Gillian]

I grew up going to WDW and always staying off-site. We usually had a nice time share, and it was a 30-40 minute drive to the parks. We also always ate off-site, never at the parks.

Not until I was in my 20s did I stay at a WDW resort. To me it made a huge difference, I felt like I was always at Disney. And we didn't have to deal with traffic or parking lots. It was a huge time saver. I don't think I will ever stay off-site again.

Offsite is different now. There are many places that are closer in, a very short drive away. Parking at MGM, AK and Epcot is easier than the busses in many cases.

Disney tranportation is ok, and sometimes fun, but when you want to get somewhere when you want to get there, your own car/rental is best. We even use ours when staying onsite, because it is EASIER with little kids. We've done both, and I much prefer our van to the busses, boats or monorails.

On our last trip this April, we saved time by taking our own car. Only when we were not at all in a hurry did we take disney transportation. We knew this was the right decision after one night sitting waiting for a boat from the MK to FW/WL. 2 hours to get back to our camper?? No way could a car ride take longer!

Staying offsite does not mean you can't eat in the parks or resorts. Usually you have more money to do so. And having a fridge/freezer for water and snacks is great.

 

[Jrabbit910]

I think its always nicer to stay onsite. Did you check out the prices for the new suites at POP? They will fit all of you.