Nervous about staying offsite

[dsmith72]

I am planning our 4th trip to Disney this May. We have always stayed on property but with me, DH, DS11 and DS9, it feels like it is getting too pricey. We have always had dining plan and I LOVE the all inclusive feel that everything is paid for ahead of time-we just show up and have fun. I know I don't want a house because my boys enjoy the pools in a hotel that include a slide and they meet other friends to play with but I worry if we stay offsite we will be sorry we aren't on property w/dining plan, extra magic hours, disney feel. Have you ever been through this and it turned out better than you thought?

 

[lisajl]

Yes, and it was fine staying offsite. There are people on this board that only want that Disney feel staying onsite, but it is tough for us to justify the cost.
We have stayed at a house and hotels both. This coming year we are staying in a timeshare. My kids are older so they are not so worried about the whole Disney experience. Maybe when it is just my Dh and I again, we will stay onsite. But, for now, it is just not affordable.

BTW-we stayed at Port Orleans and loved it...just not enough room for the five of us.

 

[rvchat]

I am planning our 4th trip to Disney this May. We have always stayed on property but with me, DH, DS11 and DS9, it feels like it is getting too pricey. We have always had dining plan and I LOVE the all inclusive feel that everything is paid for ahead of time-we just show up and have fun. I know I don't want a house because my boys enjoy the pools in a hotel that include a slide and they meet other friends to play with but I worry if we stay offsite we will be sorry we aren't on property w/dining plan, extra magic hours, disney feel. Have you ever been through this and it turned out better than you thought?

H

Honestly, I'm just happy to be NEAR the mouse. Aren't you?

 

[dgr1973]

We have never stayed onsite and I honestly dont think I ever will! I guess I dont have anything to compare it with so you may feel different but I personally like to be able to take a break from Disney for meals and all that! You will have a great time no matter what you do it's Disney afterall

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We've done both, on and off site, with our most recent trip being offsite at Windsor Hills. Honestly, we missed having the DDP, missed the extra magic hours, and missed being able to swim at the pool when we got back from the parks. (The pool at Windsor Hills closed promptly at 10 pm). We decided that we'd rather pay the extra $$ and be cramped in our room next trip than to have extra space offsite. Of course YMMV!

 

[maxiesmom]

We have done both on and off site stays. A trip off site at WDW is better than no trip at all!

However, only you can answer if you will be happy off site. If your budget is such that you couldn't go unless you stay off-site, then by all means stay off-site. if space is more of an issue than having extended park hours, and if you are fine withou the dining plan, then stay off-site. You can have a great trip without either of those things, but it truly depends on what is most important.

 

[Magalex]

We have a room at POFQ on HOLD for a few days but we like to make our Disney/Orlando experiences different. In June 2012 we like to visit Universal now that our DS is 11. So we are trying to decide to stay off-site. We know we still want to stay at one of DTD hotels(aiming for the Hilton) or now Sheraton Lake Buena Vista (the old Safari hotel now going under renovations). They will have two pools with activities & a slide. Having problems deciding which hotel.

 

[kmb584]

I've done onsite and off many of times and while I too love the all-inclusive feel of being onsite, I sometimes find it hard to justify the cost. On our most recent trip (October) I opted for the Sheraton Vistana in LBV and was thoroughly pleased. I stayed there twice before but I was 9 and 10 at the time and didn't have much to go by this time around aside from the reviews. Our room was huge and incredibly affordable ($169/night for 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen); the proximity was good and it only took 10 minutes to enter through the WDW gates. The only downside was transportation. I'm so used to either staying at a monorail resort or utilizing Disney buses in the morning that having to rely on a shuttle made me shudder, especially since it ran at such off times. Thankfully my aunt who lives in Palm Beach Gardens drove up to enjoy the trip with us and we used her SUV for park transport!

 

[BrerMama]

I'm torn about this as well and will confess that even though we have off-site reservations, I still check the codes and rates board every day. We stayed off property in 2000 and had an excellent time, but after staying on property the last two trips... it's hard to say goodbye to the boat to DTD, never having to drive, the atmosphere of Riverside. The rational part of me says that it makes no sense to pay thousands more to stay in a smaller room on property and I know we'll love the 2 bedroom, 2 bath villa at Sheraton Vistana.... but I still want that on property magic.

I have all our ADRs made and it's getting easier to accept that we're going to be on property. About the only thing that could change our mind at this point would be getting a free dining PIN. I haven't ever gotten one and we've been going to Disney every 3-4 years for 20 years, so I'm not holding out hope.

I totally sympathize, but know that it's still a Disney-centered vacation. Thinking of fun things to do like bring Disney music for the car, maybe buy a cooler to keep in the car so we always have cold drinks when we get back to it, buy some cheap/fun decorations for the condo....

 

[Macprincess]

I have so been where you are. The 1st time I had to plan an offsite trip I was a wreak! In our case in one year we went from a dule income family to one income and baby #3 turned 3. It was either offsite or no Disney that year. I was convinced I was going to hate it and we were in for a nightmare trip. BOY WAS I WRONG!

That first offsite was in a condo for a fraction of the cost. We loved the space to spread out. I can't begin to express how nice it was to put the kids to bed in their own room. The full kitchen saved us both money and time. We still did a few ADR'S for some meals but not struggling through the the foodcourts with 3 kids in tow was not missed at all. The in room washer and dryer was a gift from heaven. I love the offsite experince so much that it was a few years before I ventured back on site.

We have since moved to FL. Money is not as big of an issue as in those days. We now do some trips on and some offsite. Both have their perks. My advice is to try it. If you don't find it enjoyable you can always go back to staying at Mickey's house next time.

 

[Brian Noble]

I have done both. About half my trips are offsite, and about half my trips are on.

For our family, there isn't a huge difference between them. We don't care about pre-paying for food, and usually spend about the same as or less than the DDP costs just eating what, where, and when we want. We avoid EMHs whether we are onsite or off, and find the crowds to be lower that way. We always get a rental car, and drive ourselves to most rope-drops to avoid the uncertainty of the buses.

There are two differences we notice. First, it is sometimes nice to let someone else do the driving---usually on Epcot nights when we want to have a second margarita in World Showcase. Second, for *some* Disney resorts, the location is really nice. For example, I liked BWV's Epcot-area location. I also liked VWL's spot on Bay Lake. On the other hand, OKW could have been anywhere, and was comparable to Bonnet Creek.

That said, when I travel with my kids, we absolutely require separate sleeping spaces for the adults and the kids, preferably with a locked door to the adult space rolleyes1). We definitely want (but don't absolutely require) a living area that no one uses for sleeping, so that night owls or early birds don't disturb everyone else. The cost to do these things onsite is about 2-3x the cost to do them offsite for most people. We can use our (non-Disney) timeshares to stay in DVC units for close to our "offsite cost". But, if that were not available to us, we'd stay offsite every single time. Being onsite is a little nicer. It is not a couple-thousand-dollars-for-a-week nicer.

 

[jjjmranch]

I've stayed offsite many times and I love it so much better than staying on-site. I like the quiet afterhours unlike the crazy screaming kids at the pool at WDW hotels. The price difference lets us stay at WDW longer too.

 

[canopynut66]

I am planning our 4th trip to Disney this May. We have always stayed on property but with me, DH, DS11 and DS9, it feels like it is getting too pricey. We have always had dining plan and I LOVE the all inclusive feel that everything is paid for ahead of time-we just show up and have fun. I know I don't want a house because my boys enjoy the pools in a hotel that include a slide and they meet other friends to play with but I worry if we stay offsite we will be sorry we aren't on property w/dining plan, extra magic hours, disney feel. Have you ever been through this and it turned out better than you thought?

we have done both over the 59 trips we have taken and on property seems the best to us. The free dining is a plus for us over any room discount and we used to stay at deluxe and moved down to moderates and then to values and then someone I worked with said try POP and we been there for last four trips now and really like it. Is a lot for kids of all ages to do bus service best on any resort property. rooms smaller but we get two--connecting---as we do not like the suites...with kids under 18 has to be adult in each room to get the connecting..is cheaper than a suite as well.

 

[lotus14]

We are staying off site for thr first time and we are SO excited about it. We never jse EMH anyway and while free dining an be fun, it isn't always there, it's way too much food, and we are excited about options outside the park. We have never rented a car but it's allowing us to use a cheaper, smaller airport and explore more of Orlando. Not to mention avoiding the hour+ long lines at park closing. We looked for a townhouse that had Disney decorations to keep that park feel. Vacationcentralflorida.com condos have that. More theming than inside our room at POP. Plus. There are 5 of us this time which makes staying onsite too expensive, not to mention the 3 generations would like to have a little space from each other!

 

[myladyisatramp]

I have done both... I love staying onsite...but it does come with a price what about using the DVC rental.. and renting a condo on disney...OKW, Saratoga, BCV u sometimes can find great deals with them. We stayed at BW in 2008 with a 2 bedroom for a week and it cost us 1800.00 for the week..check the disney website down the bottom for special offers.... they sometimes have the free dining which is what I just got for 3 nights in feb... and then we are doing Orange Lake for 3 nites....( got a great price there) good luck let us know what you decide

P.S I have rented on this DVC website a couple of times...

 

[brucerob62]

I usually stay offsite...because even with free DP..the cost of the offsite lodging at Bonnet Creek..more than offsets the free DP..and has a lazy river..3 pools..open late till 11 i think...have rental car..so dont need ME..use hotel shuttles to get me to the parks..and DD..so if on a budget definitely stay off site and Bonnet Creek is on site by the way..w/o the disney prices..had fireworks view of illuminations sat on balcony of 14th floor of tower 4 ..awesome....its a half mile from epcot..and next door to carribean beach resort..enjoy!!

 

[suebedo]

I usually stay offsite...because even with free DP..the cost of the offsite lodging at Bonnet Creek..more than offsets the free DP..and has a lazy river..3 pools..open late till 11 i think...have rental car..so dont need ME..use hotel shuttles to get me to the parks..and DD..so if on a budget definitely stay off site and Bonnet Creek is on site by the way..w/o the disney prices..had fireworks view of illuminations sat on balcony of 14th floor of tower 4 ..awesome....its a half mile from epcot..and next door to carribean beach resort..enjoy!!

I totally agree about the Wyndam Bonnet Creek. We have stayed onsite at Deluxe (Poly and CR) and value at Pop. I LOVE disney onsite but sometimes I need a little more room. We LOVED LOVED LOVED Bonnet Creek. The location is awesome.
Disclaimer: We always have a car because we dislike using the buses. The first time we drove to the world I was amazed at how close everything REALLY is. When using the bus system, it takes so long to get from place to place. But having a car really makes everything so much easier...for us. I know there are die hard disney transportation lovers out there.

Anyway, Bonnet creek is awesome. We rented from Ken and Denise Price at vacation upgrades. They were wonderful from start to finish. The resort is beautiful and we will definitely stay there agin. You are actually on Disney property and right next door to CBR. You actually feel like you are right in the thick of things.

 

[jlevis]

We own at Marriott's Grande Vista and we drive to the World. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the park and having a car gives us the freedom to go where and when we want. We have AP's so parking is free. The resort has 4 pools plus a lake, golfing, boat and bike rentals, tennis, ice cream parlor, pizza - everything you could want. I know that some want the full immersion into Disney but we enjoy the break.

 

[dtum]

We had a pool house at Windsor Hills for 6 of us (DH and I, DS, & DD w/her family) and loved it! There was no issue with WH pool closing because we had our own pool. Nice being able to get our own breakfasts and lounge around if we wanted to. We will NEVER go back to on property because the cost can't be justified. We didn't do EMH hours because we try to avoid those parks on those days and the drive is much, much shorter than waiting on DW buses. In 2013 we are going to try Emerald Island (Puffs Vacation Home) because the house there has a huge game room and older kids really enjoy that.

 

[eliza61]

I am planning our 4th trip to Disney this May. We have always stayed on property but with me, DH, DS11 and DS9, it feels like it is getting too pricey. We have always had dining plan and I LOVE the all inclusive feel that everything is paid for ahead of time-we just show up and have fun. I know I don't want a house because my boys enjoy the pools in a hotel that include a slide and they meet other friends to play with but I worry if we stay offsite we will be sorry we aren't on property w/dining plan, extra magic hours, disney feel. Have you ever been through this and it turned out better than you thought?

We love both onsite and offsite.

Personally offsite has really made disney dining less and less attractive. So here are my likes and dislike.

Disney transportation is not all that great IMO. Sorry unless you are on a monorail line, IMO the bus system leaves a lot to be desired. I hate the end of the night fiasco, I hate the 1 hour or more if you want to go resort to resort

everyone says how with disney transportation you can go back to your room to take a break. Oh nay, nay. It takes me less time to get to my car, drive to bonnet creek then it ever did trying to get back to Wilderness lodge or Ft. Wilderness.

Dining plan has gotten ridiculously priced. for my family next year it would be over $200.00 bucks.

We do love the epcot resorts and I love having the emh especially since my kids are teens we can do the evening hours

But when we are on a budget or simply don't want to pay disneys outrageous prices we have had brillant vacations.

Heck last October Dh &I stayed at the new Waldorf Astoria for the same price it would have ran us to stay at WL. And believe me it far surpasses any "luxury" the mouse world has. this was an anniversary trip so we were looking for alittle luxury and romance.