Off property or AS Value Resorts

[AntFarm]

.....

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

OR Person A: OH, we had a wonderful trip to Florida, we stayed at this great place off 192 nestled between the Denny's AND the Burger King. Went to Disney a couple days and really had fun.

Person B: Sounds great! Glad you had fun. When we go we like to stay on WDW property. It's just something special and that's what we want on a vacation! You should try it on your next trip! I can give you some help if you'd like.



I'm sure there are some "status symbol" people out there,but frankly staying offsite is your choice and you DO get a different VACATION experience than staying at WDW.(AllStars up to DVC)
Some will overspend for that status and other won't put out an extra dime to stay on site.

No one was ever debating this. Yes, offsite is different. I felt the ridiculous part is that after being on the DISBoards for 7 years, I'm now reading that if you stay offsite, you shouldn't call it a Disney vacation. This is really the goofiest thing I've ever heard in all of these years. I just can't get past it.

FWIW, people don't necessarily stay offsite to eat at Denny's or Burger King so why on Earth would anyone mention that? We haven't had fast food in years. We enjoy having space & privacy. Mommies & Daddies need to stay married and 4 of us crammed in 1 room with 1 bathroom for a week is just too much for us.
Bonnet Creek is right next to CBR so don't act like offsite is always in a trashy place.

I'm outta here. This is like talking to the bathroom wall.

 

[purpledisneyprncess]

Hope you have a great vacation! ... and I'm sure you will.

Thanks so much!!! We are excited.

 

[nugov2]

OR Person A: OH, we had a wonderful trip to Florida, we stayed at this great place off 192 nestled between the Denny's AND the Burger King. Went to Disney a couple days and really had fun.

Person B: Sounds great! Glad you had fun. When we go we like to stay on WDW property. It's just something special and that's what we want on a vacation! You should try it on your next trip! I can give you some help if you'd like.



I'm sure there are some "status symbol" people out there,but frankly staying offsite is your choice and you DO get a different VACATION experience than staying at WDW.(AllStars up to DVC)
Some will overspend for that status and other won't put out an extra dime to stay on site.

I guarantee people off site spend just as much as off site. Granted we didn't spend $5000 on site to stay in a deluxe, but we spent way more than that giving the kids all kinds of experience on site and at the parks while still sleeping in our spacious off site location. We choose off site not because it is cheaper, but because we want space. I will not spend $5000 for a week for what I get at a deluxe, but would certainly not think twice about spending that on lodging alone. It is just WDW doesn't offer me what I need at their deluxes. So it isn't always about savings, just like some stay at values because they like them and not just to save money. Not my thing, but do what makes you happy.

And just to point out the values may not be a motel 6, but they are a motel. You can put blinders on all you want, but they are a motel and even described as that on different WDW sites. I've made this point before, but you can go to many a vegas motel and get "fun" pool and a few other perks...same thing in Clearwater. You will find that of most motels in any resort town. It isn't the same as staying at a seedy motel on the wrong side of the track. So no, it isn't a dirty no-tel motel, but still motel. Hard beds, minimal space. Cheap bedding and fixtures. Now I know some will post how comfy the beds are and how it is roomy, but again that is all in the eye of the beholder. I know many who have stayed(who love it there) and will still agree to them being motels.

And it may not be a WDW RESORT vacation off site, it is still a WDW vacation. I've also said this in other posts, but we spent tons of time at the resorts. Ate multiple times a day, did as many activities at the resorts as if we stayed on site, but just went to our house at the end. So split hairs all you want about Disney...Florida vacations. Again, it is in the eye of the beholder. We had an amazing WDW vacation off site while enjoying 95% of what the resorts have to offer.

 

[AntFarm]

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[lauradis]

The real question is if you didn't have to think about the money which location on site/ off side would you pick.

We always pick different place to stay when going to Disney. On and Off site.

Its just silly/rude to say staying off site isn't a Disney vacation, but then disboard is full of silly/rude people.(including me)

 

[Gumbo4x4]

The real question is if you didn't have to think about the money which location on site/ off side would you pick.

Money no object, I'd choose neither of the options OP asked about. I'd stay onsite at AKL and look at the giraffes off my balcony

Of the two options listed, if money were indeed equal, it'd be a tough choice for me. EMH vs private bedroom & a kitchen. Dunno.

 

[aubriee]

The real question is if you didn't have to think about the money which location on site/ off side would you pick.

We always pick different place to stay when going to Disney. On and Off site.

Its just silly/rude to say staying off site isn't a Disney vacation, but then disboard is full of silly/rude people.(including me)

Yep it's cheaper.....sounds like a nice Florida vacation. When my family goes we do a WDW vacation.
Why do all the offsiters say "I can jump in my car" ???

Actually I have stayed at three of the Values, all of the Moderates many times, Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge (several times), Yacht Club, and Boardwalk. In fact, we stayed in an Arusha Savanna room at AKL just last Sept. I have friends who can afford the Grand Floridian easily, but choose a Value, simply because they think they are cute. I can afford to stay where ever I want, but had pretty much settled on the moderates, just because they fit what I wanted in a resort and I loved the theme of CSR and POFQ. That is until I discovered Wyndham Bonnet Creek. I can get a one bedroom villa with a fully equipped kitchen, washer/dryer, seperate bedroom with king size bed, jacuzzi tub, walk in shower, balcony, six pools, several pool slides, a really nice kids water play area, two lazy rivers, a free mini golf course, and really nice game room, several onsite dining options within easy walking distance, etc, at an Italian themed Deluxe resort, cheaper than I can book even a Value room, much less the Moderates I prefer. Plus Bonnet Creek is inside the WDW gates just next to CBR, so is pretty centrally located. It is closer to the parks than alot of the 'onsite' resorts. We don't use EMH and prefer driving over using the buses. However, if I didn't want to drive, BC also has regular scheduled buses to all the parks and DTD, so I wouldn't have to 'just jump in my car'. The difference is whereas at a WDW resort you don't really know when the next bus is coming by, at BC they are on regular schedules, so you know exactly what time the next bus is due. I happen to like spending a couple of days over at Universal, but if I didn't I could stay inside WDW the entire trip. Since BC is within the WDW gates, I could take a shuttle or town car to BC, spend the entire week at the WDW parks, and never go back under those WDW gates until I'm ready to go to the airport, just like any 'onsite' guest. We could stay inside the Disney gates for the full week, spending every day in the parks, so why wouldn't that be a Disney vacation? We'd be inside the WDW gates the full time, going to only WDW parks and resorts. Since we don't use EMH, refuse to use the crowded standing room only buses, have no interest in the DDPs, never did use pkg delivery or charge back to rooms, get free parking at the parks with our APs, and have a handicap tag that allows us to park closer to the park gates than most of the bus stops (except at MK), I can't think of one benefit of staying in a tiny onsite WDW resort room. No thanks, give me a nice villa at Bonnet Creek anytime, no matter the price (although I'll be laughing all the way to the bank with the extra thousands of dollars I saved).

Money doesn't even play into our decision. We just like all the space and the amenities at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and that it's right there inside the Disney gates, fairly centrally located, closer than alot of the onsite resorts. If the price was the same as a WDW resort, we'd still choose Bonnet Creek. In fact, we'd pay more to stay there, but am happy that instead it is a Deluxe resort priced less than a Value resort. Out of curiosity I just checked the dates for our Dec 6th-16th trip. If we stayed at Wilderness Lodge again, the only category room we'd be interested in would be a courtyard view, which is showing $452.70 per night (or $4527.60 for the ten nights we'll be there). The best discount we could even hope for would probably be the AP discount. But if you figure what the AP discounts have been running the last year or so, it'd only save about $1358.00, so we'd still be looking at paying around $3169.00. On the other hand we are paying just $60.00 a night (or $600.00 for the ten nights) for a much large one bedroom villa at Bonnet Creek. No thanks, I'll laugh all the way to the bank with the $3927.60 (or possibly $2569.00 with an AP discount) I'm saving, while staying at the resort I prefer anyway.