Off property or AS Value Resorts

[kiki02]

ASsuming that either option is about the same price, what would you prefer?

we've never stayed at an All Star Value .... which one is best or are they the same? thank you.

 

[powellrj]

I would always pick off-site over a value. I like the extra room, extra TVs, washer and dryer and full kitchen I get off-site over any room at a value, but YMMV!

 

[ceecee]

I would choose Values over staying offsite everytime!!! The transportation is nice, no getting into a hot car and no driving. The Values are clean and not that small. We don't need a kitchen, we eat out on vacation. We use the laundry room at the resort and have never had any problems there. Nice pools too and it's MAGICAL, especially for kids! We like the POP Century the best and we have stayed at the ASMovies as well many times. We do stay at the moderates now because we like the queen beds and they are a little larger. But if we had to choose valve vs offsite, it would be value.

 

[tloveswdw]

Always on site if possible. Transportation, and EMH win for our family

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I am offsite...

The hotel rooms are nicer, the perks are often nice (free breakfast, real rewards programs etc..)

I wouldn't pay that much money in the "real" world for an exterior access hotel with thin walls... putting a Disney character in front only adds a little value not twice the going rate

 

[dixonismydog]

Always onsite! To us, it's the difference between a Florida vacation and a Disney vacation! POP is our favourite value...

 

[momto2inKC]

Definitely on site!!! We love the value resorts, you feel totally immersed in Disney!

 

[star72232]

Off site. 4 kids means we would need 2 rooms, so the cost won't be the same, it will be double for us. I'd rather have room - I don't want to go to bed when my kids do, and multiple kids + adults sleeping in one room seems like torture, not a vacation, to me.

 

[GadgetTheInventor]

The AS are pretty much all the same besides the theme of the decor. The food courts are in the process of complete overhaul, starting with Sports and then maybe Music then Movies...but I am not sure.

I would stay on-site for the same price because of reduced transportation time, regular busing, EMH, and food options without needing a car. The biggest perk for me now is that I have safe and enjoyable jogging options early and late in the day.

Tipping the scales to staying off-site would not require much though. It really comes down to what perks you prefer on your vacation.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

Always onsite! To us, it's the difference between a Florida vacation and a Disney vacation! POP is our favourite value...

I said this same thing(Florida vs Disney vacation) on a thread last week and got skewered. However you are CORRECT !!!!

 

[ICF]

I've done both - and without question would stay Off - site, especially if you have more than 2 people in the room. The values are very small, will little storage space or extra room.

You can't beat the all the space and easy of travel from to and from the parks at places like Silver Lake or Windsor Hills.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Onsite for us, but I have no desire to and will not stay in a room with a kitchen at Disney. I know that is a big factor for some people, and I understand it, but it just isn't for us.

 

[sharonmickey]

OP - how many people would be staying in the room? Are there any children and what are their ages?

If you stay off site then you either have to depend on a hotel shuttle or drive yourself and pay for parking. Some of the hotel shuttles may not run as often as you would like. Rooms are usually larger than the value resort rooms and may include breakfast.

That said, I enjoy the value resorts. It's convenient to use Magical Express from the airport and not have to use a towncar or rent a vehicle. Buses run frequently from the hotel to the parks. I usually leave the hotel early in the morning, have a quick breakfast in the food court then stay at the parks until late evening. I'm only in the hotel to sleep so it does not matter to me that the rooms are small. I'm in the room to sleep, that's all I use it for. When I purchase something in the park I can have it sent back to the hotel and not have to carry a bag around all day. I also enjoy the convenience of charging my purchases in the parks to my hotel room which is another perk of staying on-site.

 

[peigirl]

We usually do a split stay but we were in Florida for 4 weeks. I love the convenience of onsite with the EMH and me not having to drive to the theme parks but love offsite because we spend alot of days driving to various shopping malls, etc and we mainly eat offsite even when we stay onsite.

I like both onsite and offsite for various reasons. On our next trip, I decided that we would stay strictly offsite but lately have been thinking about another split stay.

Paula

 

[Shmily1]

Definitely on-site. I love the All Star resorts and often pick those just because they are so much fun. I love the decor and the convenience of it. It is convenient because when I'm tired after a long day in the parks, I don't have to find my car then drive to the resort, I can go to EMH, I don't have to pay parking, and the Disney transportation is much cooler than getting into a hot car. I've stayed off-site and will not do it again. If I can't stay on-site, I won't go. I can stay at Holiday Inn anywhere, but there's only one place to stay at an All Star resort.

I'm not sure of the ages of your party, but if you have smaller children, I would do Movies. If you have mostly older people, like tweens and up, I would do Music.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We always stay on-site. I don't like leaving my "Disney bubble." We prefer to use the Disney transportation, we like the conveniences of charging to our room and having our purchases sent back to our resort.

I've said for years exactly what a previous poster said: it's the difference between an "Orlando vacation" and a "Disney vacation."

 

[Fab4@disney]

We prefer to stay On-Site because of these reasons:

Magical Express
Free Transportation to the parks
Immersed in Disney "magic"
Clean and happy resorts with friendly staff
Just being close to everything

Before our last trip I never thought I would like the values but we tried Pop Century and had a blast!

However I will say we have done off site(hotel and Bonnet Creek)and it's really not that big of a deal to rent a car and drive yourself around. We just prefer the convenience of the Disney Resorts.

Good luck and just have fun with it!

 

[kimmyann]

I think it really depends on your situation. We have only gone to Disney once & stayed onsite. While it is just a basic hotel room to me, my DH totally loved the fact that once we arrived we did not have to even look at our vehicle until we left.

We are planning a trip next August with our two girls & I am staying onsite (Pop) simply because my oldest is now old enough to take off with the youngest if they feel like it. We won't have to worry & everyone can kind of do what they want, when they want. It just boils down to what would work best for your family.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Offsite for sure.

For our upcoming trip, we are paying the same nightly rate for a 1200 square foot two bedroom, two bathroom villa with a full kitchen, laundry facilities, three flatscreen TV's, and a private screened in balcony as we would a 260 square foot room at POP. The resort has seven pools, multiple hot tubs, onsite mini golf, basketball courts, and multiple playgrounds.

We save so much by staying offsite (a two bedroom, two bathroom villa at Saratoga Springs is $5562 for our dates according to the quote I just ran....our villa at the Sheraton Vistana Resort is $120 per night, for an 8-night total of $960) that a car rental is easily affordable. We much prefer renting a car to squeezing onto a standing-room only bus next to a plethora of hot and sweaty strangers, and grabbing our vehicle and departing directly for our resort sure beats waiting to take the Magical Express from the airport. In addition, the car rental means we're not held hostage to Disney for dining and shopping, and can go exploring the Orlando area for other fun things to do (yes, we are one of the oddballs that believes there's a worthwhile world beyond the Disney parks). We get to do a beach day, visit Tampa, hit the outlet malls, whatever we want. With a $4600 savings over similar accomodations at SSR, we easily pay for our vehicle rental, parking charges, and gas......and our airfare, meals, attraction tickets, and souvenir shopping. So very much more for your money.

We don't enjoy being crammed into one tiny room with a single bathroom. We don't do that at home, and I want my vacations to be as comfortable as (or better than) life in the "real world". While we won't use our full kitchen for cooking (another thing we don't do on vacation) it sure is nice to have a full sized fridge for keeping water and other drinks cold and for stashing leftovers from our dinners out.

Strangely enough, having laundry facilities in the room (rather than making the pilgrimage to the guest facilities at the Disney resorts) is one of my favourite perks. Coming home with all clean clothes is pure indulgence. Its hard enough dealing with the end of a much-anticipated vacation, but its worse when you have to come home to a week+ worth of dirty clothes.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We've done both.

A few years back, I would have said offsite.
Now it's onsite.

The cost difference isn't that much, even through Skyauction. Once gas and parking costs are figured into the equation, it's a wash. The time factor weighs toward onsite.

Like the dining choices onsite. The food courts are great, there's something to feed everyone in the group. Eating offsite adds time and we end up eating at places we eat at home anyway, it may be a few bucks cheaper, but not enough to matter. I am not cooking on vacation.

With a suitcase full of shorts and tshirts, doing laundry at Disney is $8, that is nothing in a $2,000+ vacation budget.

Like Disney's pool hours, if I want a swim after a day ends early at the parks, I can head out at 9-10:00 and do that. We've stayed at the Fountains and Silver Lake, those pools close at 10:00.

As for TV's, we can do that at home. After a long day at the parks, the TV never usually even gets turned on. If I want to watch a sporting event, there are places onsite to do that.

Basically we found that the luxuries of staying offsite are just not worth the time as staying onsite. The onsite stay is very convenient, with everything within the resort boundaries, a 3-5 minute walk to the bus, food and swimming is within a few steps, and the locations are clean.

Add free dining to a value room and there isn't even a discussion....