Off Resort (Windsor Hills) v. Resort? (first time trip for us)

[2sproutsmom]

Thank you, thank you to everyone -- lots of great advice!

Experience has, once again, been the best teacher for me--my husband and our two little "rays of sunshine" : ) just returned from an unexpected 2 day trip out of town where we (all 4 of us) stayed in a hotel "suite" -- not sure we could have made it one more day in such close quarters! From issues at bedtime to fights over the television -- not to mention 1 bathroom and 1 mirror (with 3 girls!!) NO THANK YOU!

We got back on Sunday and on Monday I paid my deposit on a lovely 3/3 in Windsor Hills!

 

[hbsprite]

During a 3 week trip last year, we stayed on site for a week and off site (Windsor Hills) for 2 weeks.

Having done both, I definitely preferred Windsor Hills.

We paid less per night for a 1500 square foot, 3 bedroom townhome with a private splash pool than we did for a teeny hotel room at Pop Century.

The convenience of having a kitchen, washer and dryer, and private pool far outweighed the benefits of staying at pop century (location and "Disney" feel).

FWIW, we always rent a car and drive to the parks, so transportation didn't factor into our decision.

 

[Zeebs]

My kids were 11 months and 2.5 when we went. It was our first trip and we also travelled with my inlaws.

We stayed offsite at Windsor Hills in a condo, it was fantastic (some pics in my trip report linked at bottom of page)

We didn't do breaks, but we also didn't do late nights. We would get up at the kids normal get up time and be at the park after breakfast at the condo on or just after rope drop. We would spend the day until about 3.30 - 4.00 at the parks before heading back to the condo.

We might venture out again for dinner or eat in the condo and the kids were in bed on our around their normal bed time. We had one late night at MNSSHP and we watched the fireworks that night.

Our next trip I have been looking at onsite but as there will be 5 of us by then and the thought of spending more than 2 nights in the one room with 3 small children fills me with dread. The cost of onsite extra rooms is too expensive we will probably go with Windsor Hills again.

We love just getting in the car at the end of the day, turning air conditioning on and just relaxing for the trip back to our accommodation. We never found the walk/journey back to the carpark any bother. Except the day it was just hubby and I and we left MK at closing that was terrible, although I would hate to have been trying to get on a bus at that time as well.

Kirsten

 

[snowangel72]

We have done three years offsite in a vacation home with our own private pool and hottub. The main reason is it's mega cheaper. The second reason is, we are not good in crowds. I hate lines. I hate waiting. And and living in a hotel room with our crazy kids is nuts. We wouldn't survive LOL. We LOVE putting the kids down and having the evening to ourselves. And the private pool is awesome. Plus, we like to drive to the ocean for a day or two because our kids never see the ocean and that is worth it to me as well.

We are going back for our fourth trip this summer. We will stay at Emerald Island again most likely. I love it there. We have stayed at WH but honestly we don't need all the amenities there. We simply don't use them so there is no sense in paying for them. I found WH to be noisy too. We had noisy neighbors. It wasn't loud but not quiet. I like the quiet of EI and they are so darn friendly there!

And there is the food issue too. I like having fresh food on hand. I hate the idea of my kids eating burgers and fries all week long, but that's just me.

I have debated staying on site, but the vacay home always wins out financially. If I stayed on site it would only be on the monorail or on the boardwalk (we LOVE the boardwalk so so much). I would never stay at a value resort, ever. If I stayed on site it would be Boardwalk, Yacht Club or Poly hand's down.

 

[sk8jdgca]

Have done both. We are a little family of 3 Me DD11, DS7. I always rent a car so the transporation system is not a big deal.
I really didn't like Windsor Hills.
Here are my pros/cons
Cons
My kids like to join in activities and there aren't any at Windsor Hill.
Having to drag all of our stuff upstairs to the bedrooms in the townhouse
I was the only adult so my vaction consisted of cooking and cleaning-not my favourite things
The time it takes to come and go
I got lost a few times when off of Disney property
I like the little towel animals and coming back to a clean room
It didn't seem welcoming or friendly
Pros
The splash pool was great- I could be making dinner or relaxing and the kids could swim.
Cheaper
Kitchen and laundry-but see above

 

[ICF]

I paid my deposit on a lovely 3/3 in Windsor Hills!

I think you made a great decision...

 

[AllesonWonderland]

Thank you, thank you to everyone -- lots of great advice!

Experience has, once again, been the best teacher for me--my husband and our two little "rays of sunshine" : ) just returned from an unexpected 2 day trip out of town where we (all 4 of us) stayed in a hotel "suite" -- not sure we could have made it one more day in such close quarters! From issues at bedtime to fights over the television -- not to mention 1 bathroom and 1 mirror (with 3 girls!!) NO THANK YOU!

We got back on Sunday and on Monday I paid my deposit on a lovely 3/3 in Windsor Hills!

Congrats on your decision! I know you'll be happy. We stayed at a Windsor Hills Townhome our first visit to WDW when our kids were 6 and 9. I don't feel like we missed out on any magic, and it was so nice to all have our own space! We're going back in 2 weeks with more family and staying in a 6 br house in Windsor Hills this time. I CAN'T WAIT! hee hee

Now, keep an eye on the sales at the disney store/outlet online and stock up on Disney things ahead of time. You can give your girls a special treat each day. I got swim suits, towels, pajama pals, plush toys, tshirts, polos etc. for the whole family and brought something new out each day. (I spent under $100 on around 20 items!) Have a great time planning your trip!

 

[2sproutsmom]

[Now, keep an eye on the sales at the disney store/outlet online and stock up on Disney things ahead of time. You can give your girls a special treat each day. I got swim suits, towels, pajama pals, plush toys, tshirts, polos etc. for the whole family and brought something new out each day. (I spent under $100 on around 20 items!) Have a great time planning your trip![/QUOTE]

GREAT IDEA! Thanks for the tip--I'll definitely do that--that would really make my girls day!