Never thought I was be having the onsite/offsite debate with myself

[canadiandisneyfamof4]

We were all set to stay at Caribe Royale for 4 nights before our DCL cruise this August. We were not planning to do any WDW parks, but were planning to visit Legoland, Kennedy Space Centre and maybe Sea World.

Then my husband made a comment about it not feeling like a Florida vacation without a trip to at least 1 park. I've gotten past the astronomical price to do WDW for only 1 day. The entire family watched the planning DVD and decided to do Animal Kingdom as our 1 park - we did MK last year, but haven't done any of the other parks since our WDW vacation in 09. (we have been busy cruising)

This led to a discussion about onsite hotels. We are expecting room only discounts to be avail when we go (Aug 26-30) so we can get a room at ASMu for approximately $100 less for the 4 days than our suite at Caribe Royale. The room is obviously smaller, however we have stayed in a value resort before with no issue and the room will feel giant next to our cabin on the Fantasy the following week. The kids want to stay at ASMu b/c they think Caribe Royale looks boring - they are 5 & 8.

The best day for our to go to AK is on Wed b/c they are open until 7 that day, it is also EMH that morning from 8-9.

It no longer makes sense to stay at Caribe Royale since we should save the money to put towards park tickets for the day and I'm not sure I would want to go to AK on am EMH if we couldn't partake b/c the park would be extra busy.

After spending so much time on this forum and getting excited about my first off site stay I'm worried I am making a mistake, the alternative would be to stay at Caribe Royale and probably do DHS instead of AK so we could take advantage of their 9am-10pm park hours on the Tuesday.

Ok that was a really long rant, not sure if it even makes 100% sense - any thoughts?

Just realized that I made a typo in the title - can't edit so my apologies.

 

[shalom]

Ok that was a really long rant, not sure if it even makes 100% sense - any thoughts?

I was thinking I'd hate to go from a suite to a tiny cabin. Maybe staying onsite first would lessen the contrast. OTOH, maybe it'd be easier to take the cramped quarters on the cruise if you had more room right before.

We really value our space, so it's hard to imagine not weighing that more, but if you guys honestly don't care, then I would stay onsite because that's where the kids want to be and because it's cheaper.

Just realized that I made a typo in the title - can't edit so my apologies.

My brain corrected that before I noticed... until you pointed it out.

 

[canadiandisneyfamof4]

Thanks for the feedback.

We have never stayed off site before so I have never experienced the extra room so in the regard its that we don't know what we would be missing.

The flip side is that the off site resort is really nice looking and I think the part I was looking forward to was the business class feel of it compared to the WDW value resorts - the exact reason my kids want to stay onsite lol - they want a Disney feeling.

 

[nichanda]

Have you considered staying at the Downtown Disney area hotels? They are on Disney property, but not Disney hotels. The rates are usually quite good.

I've stayed at one of these hotels the last three times I've been to Orlando. They are walking distance (5-10 mins, nice sidewalk path) to Downtown Disney, which is free to go to. There is alot of entertainment at DTD in the evenings and a ton of shopping & dining locations. Also about a 5-10 min walk to a shopping plaza that is off property.

Plus they have a great busing system that is comparable to Disney's own buses. They run every 30 mins and are very reliable.

The only one that has the EMH is the Hilton, which is directly a crossed the street from Downtown Disney (amazing location), but was a bit more expensive than the other hotels in the same area. The last time I was there we stayed at the Holiday Inn, which is the newest of the hotels in this area. It was next door to the Hilton, and was very nice.

The main reason I'm suggesting this is if you wanted to do a park day, you wouldn't have to worry about transportation to the park, as you could use their great busing system. Also, with DTD so close, you could go there to still get more of the Disney feeling without paying more for another day at the park. I personally prefer this area over the value Disney hotels because it's so close to DTD and offsite dining/shopping that you can walk there whenever you want without having to wait for buses. We never get a car, always rely on the busing system. The walking sidewalk/paths to both DTD and the shopping plaza to me, are nice, and seem quite safe.

Oh - and these hotels still have a small Disney gift shop in the lobby, a restaurant, pool, and you can buy park tickets right at the front desk.

Here is a website to the DTD area hotels: http://www.downtowndisneyhotels.com/

Enjoy your trip.

 

[sharadoc]

Just realized that I made a typo in the title - can't edit so my apologies.

You can edit the title - just go into Edit mode, then click on "go advanced" and it will let you into the title to make changes.

In the past, I have found that there is NO room discount available in the week or two before free dining starts. The time you are going is the week before free dining this year, which is supposed to start first week of September. SO, I wouldn't count on that room discount. We had to use a AAA discount last year, that was the only one available for our dates of 8/15 through 8/24.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

In the past, I have found that there is NO room discount available in the week or two before free dining starts. The time you are going is the week before free dining this year, which is supposed to start first week of September. SO, I wouldn't count on that room discount. We had to use a AAA discount last year, that was the only one available for our dates of 8/15 through 8/24.

Disney's late summer room-only discount has been announced. You can find it here:

http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-dis...orld-vacation-package-discounts/#dvlatesummer

Disney’s Visa Late Summer Vacation Package Offer

Disney’s Visa cardholders can get discounts of up to 30% on the accommodation portion of your vacation package at select Disney resorts for stays between 8/15/13 – 9/28/13. The discounts only apply to the specific dates in the range: if you check in on 9/28/13, only that night will be discounted.

These packages include the following discounts off rack rates:
•5% off – all Deluxe suites, All-Star Movies, Animal Kingdom Lodge (savannah view and Club Level), Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, Bay Lake Tower, Contemporary (theme park view & Club Level), Port Orleans-French Quarter
•15% off - Art of Animation (family suites)
•20% off – All-Star Music, All-Star Sports, Contemporary (standard rooms), Grand Floridian, Pop Century, Polynesian
•25% off - Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans-Riverside, Ft. Wilderness Cabins
•30% off – Animal Kingdom Lodge (standard/pool view rooms) Beach Club, Beach Club Villas, BoardWalk Inn, BoardWalk Villas, Old Key West, Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Saratoga Springs, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club

Ft. Wilderness campsites, 3-bedroom villas and Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation Resort are not included in this offer. As with all Disney promotional discounts, some resorts, room types and date combinations will not be available. It’s important to be flexible if you want to book a discounted package.

Your package must include tickets. (There is a room-only version of this offer, without tickets.) With the package version of this offer, you can add a Dining Plan at full price if you wish.

This offer is expected to become available to the general public on 5/9/13.

Note that this offer is during PEAK HURRICANE SEASON, so I strongly recommend buying trip insurance!

Book by 7/31/13. A $200 deposit using your Disney’s Visa card is required at the time of booking.

 

[wiigirl]

Wow...pretty good discounts.

 

[bankr63]

Now price might be your biggest factor, and having an affordable vacation may trump all, but IMO I think staying onsite but only doing one park in 5 days is kind of like spending your vacation with your nose pressed up against the glass at the candy store. It's right there, but you can't grab it! The kids should get their fill of Disney magic on the Fantasy, I think enjoying a few days of adult luxury and pampering should be a fair tradeoff for all.

 

[HopperFan]

We spend about 4-5 weeks a year at the Mouse and we stay ON and OFF site. Every trip has different needs whether price, number going, parks etc. I leave in a couple weeks for 10 days off property at the new Embassy Suites (points = free) but all of us (5 adults) are going so we need space.

That said I have stayed at Caribe and ASMu. ASMU is not a favorite but you are right there by Movies and how fun that one is. Caribe is very well appointed, has a large pool that is very adult like and I would return - but there is nothing Disney or kid like about it. You are likely to get more adult time enjoying the amenities on the cruise than at the hotel. Having grown kids it was fine, but, maybe it's just me, but there will be plenty of time for adult hotels and I would much rather see their faces as they explore all the cool stuff at the Allstars. Check out all the different pools at the three resorts, movie nights, pool games. Plenty of WDW stuff to do that is free for nonpark days, even at the other hotels, downtown disney etc. That age goes by so fast.

 

[sharadoc]

Disney's late summer room-only discount has been announced. You can find it here:

http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-dis...orld-vacation-package-discounts/#dvlatesummer

Disney’s Visa Late Summer Vacation Package Offer

Disney’s Visa cardholders can get discounts of up to 30% on the accommodation portion of your vacation package at select Disney resorts for stays between 8/15/13 – 9/28/13. The discounts only apply to the specific dates in the range: if you check in on 9/28/13, only that night will be discounted.

These packages include the following discounts off rack rates:
•5% off – all Deluxe suites, All-Star Movies, Animal Kingdom Lodge (savannah view and Club Level), Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, Bay Lake Tower, Contemporary (theme park view & Club Level), Port Orleans-French Quarter
•15% off - Art of Animation (family suites)
•20% off – All-Star Music, All-Star Sports, Contemporary (standard rooms), Grand Floridian, Pop Century, Polynesian
•25% off - Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans-Riverside, Ft. Wilderness Cabins
•30% off – Animal Kingdom Lodge (standard/pool view rooms) Beach Club, Beach Club Villas, BoardWalk Inn, BoardWalk Villas, Old Key West, Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Saratoga Springs, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club

Ft. Wilderness campsites, 3-bedroom villas and Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation Resort are not included in this offer. As with all Disney promotional discounts, some resorts, room types and date combinations will not be available. It’s important to be flexible if you want to book a discounted package.

Your package must include tickets. (There is a room-only version of this offer, without tickets.) With the package version of this offer, you can add a Dining Plan at full price if you wish.

This offer is expected to become available to the general public on 5/9/13.

Note that this offer is during PEAK HURRICANE SEASON, so I strongly recommend buying trip insurance!

Book by 7/31/13. A $200 deposit using your Disney’s Visa card is required at the time of booking.

Okay then, never mind!

 

[daytondisney]

Every time I catch myself second guessing, I look at this:

 

[canadiandisneyfamof4]

Now price might be your biggest factor, and having an affordable vacation may trump all, but IMO I think staying onsite but only doing one park in 5 days is kind of like spending your vacation with your nose pressed up against the glass at the candy store. It's right there, but you can't grab it! The kids should get their fill of Disney magic on the Fantasy, I think enjoying a few days of adult luxury and pampering should be a fair tradeoff for all.

I would normally agree, but last year we stayed at ASu for 3 days and only did one day at MK. We did one day of pools and shopping, one we went to Cape a canaveral for the day and the 3rd we did MNSSHP at MK.

This year we will still be doing theme parks on the other days, just not WDW parks.
We got Legoland tickets at a huge discount.