Off Site?

[battymum]

Has anyone ever stayed off site? Most posters on here seem to be of the school that "would only ever stay on site"

We are a family of five - dd16 and twin ds 14 - staying in one room and having two teens share a bed and one on trundle does not appeal to any of us, although we would like to take advantage of the free dining that is on offer when we will be there (Sept 17-24, 2011). Staying in a villa would be out of our budget.

I am keen on the Windsor Hills townhouses, I know we will have to rent a car and pay for parking, and even if we pay OOP for one meal each day I still think it will be cheaper. (although this is important to us, the main thing is space, laundry, kitchen). We dont need to return for nap time (although you never know how jet lag is going to affect us)

I guess I have made up my mind but would like some reassurance, thoughts anyone?

 

[Jade+3]

We stayed at Windsor Hills last year. We had a 3 bedroom condo and paid less that $100 per night, but, as you said, we then had to hire a car. I think we would have had a car had we stayed on-site too, as DH is not a Disney fan and he would have gone crazy not being able to escape. We are also a family of 5, but my kids were much younger (4, 3, and 8 months).

The pros for staying off-site would be the space. We had 3 televisions, 2 bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry (which was a godsend - I hate doing laundry). I also do not think we could eat Disney food for a long period. There were plenty of eating places nearby, plus Target (which has a supermarket too) and a Publix supermarket. Nothing is within waking distance though. The pool area was lovely. WH is massive so depending on where you were located you would need to drive to the pool, that is unless you have a townhouse with a pool.

The negative for me was the transport issue, but that is probably more to do with the ages of my kids. We would usually go to the parks in the morning and leave mid afternoon. There were evenings when my 4 year old and I would have gone back, but it was too difficult to get DH to drop us off then come back and pick us up - but this would not have been an issue if I was willing to drive.

Next time we go, we will probably do a split-stay. I would love to stay on-site, for the experience, then we would move to Windsor Hills for the room.

Happy to answer any questions for you!

 

[HappyFingers]

we will be there at the exact same time as you

to get the free dining plan you need to purchase the magic your way package
but im assuming you already know that

for me staying onsite is the only way as you get so much more
fastpass, atmosphere, nightlife, access to free buses and boats

however i realise that budget plays a major part

are you sure you cant afford a villa ?
are you really, really sure ?



we will be at the boardwalk inn (cool pool)
almost the exact same days as you

skip a house payment
make the kids get a paper round
make the husband get a second job (i may have to lol )
run a garage sale
organise a fake raffle and get your neighbours to fund the trip
tell all your family that all you want for christmas is

then book a villa

 

[PrincessInOz]

Battymum - I stayed off-site at in 2005. I was travelling with my parents at the time so we needed 3 bedrooms and at least 2 bathrooms.
I think I paid about $110 per night for the 3 bedroom/3 bathroom place.

My son was 5 at that stage and had amazing stamina. We were at the parks from about 9 am to 11 pm 8 days out of 10 days; which effectively meant that we were getting back to the off-site close on midnight.
We took a day out to go to KSC and DS chucked his only tantrum on day 7 when we went to DHS (which he found boring and hot). So we left at 5 pm....went back to the off-site....and at 7 pm, he wanted to go to DTD and we didn't get back till after 12 am!

With the ages of your teens and seemingly boundless stamina, you won't necessarily need to head back for an afternoon rest every day. So, you could think about staying off-site pending budget and space concerns.

You just have to work out the $numbers and see if it stacks up for you. FD can change the equation - particularly when you have 5 adults to feed.

 

[hjd0411]

I have only stayed off site, never on site! And I can highly recommend Windsor Hills. I have stayed in a condo and a town house, both of which were excellent - I loved the space, the kitchen and the laundry! Plus the main pool is great, and with a town house you have your own pool.
I think even if I stayed on site I would hire a car - I like to get out and about and do some shopping at the outlets etc. Plus, it enables you to eat out at places other than Disney.
As much as I love going to Disney, I can get Disney-ed out!! (Sorry, shouldn't mention that here, should I?! ) Which is why I love off site.
At first it was the cost which got me to off site, but I was won over by the space.
If you have any more questions about Windsor Hills please PM me - happy to help!!

 

[battymum]

Thanks for your reassurance - I think off site is for us - We are trying to squeeze a lot into this trip - 8 days disney, 7 night Freedom of the Seas and 3 nights Hard Rock Hotel (where we will squeeze into one room)I am now trying to tack on 3 nights in New York on the way home. (try pricing accomodation for 5 there!)
We like to have a car, to be honest my family might be a little disneyed out by the end of the day and need some quiet time in the evening- I imagine there is loads of little kids at those resorts.

Its the free dining that is tempting me

Thanks all

 

[PrincessInOz]

Food at the World CAN be expensive; especially when compared to off-site. So, when you are checking out the deal, it looks great because FD does save a bit per person per day based on Disney pricing.

But if you had your own house, you'd eat breakfast at home. Much cheaper than buying 5 lots of breakfast at the park.
You could pack lunch to take with you; but you are on holiday...and who can be bothered? So, you'd buy lunch at the park.

You probably want to factor in money for snacks; but you could take some snacks yourself and cut down on the number of snacks you buy at the park.

At the end of the day, you can save money over dinner by heading off-site and eating at the local restaurants. I remember that some of them offered great deals for buffets...just to entice you to eat there and not at Disney.

You could work out which Disney and DTD restaurants you really want to eat at and book those in for lunch. And then head on out back to the local shops for dinner. If you find that you can completely book up all your days and nights with restaurants and feel that you don't want to give anything up, then it may give you the case for staying on-site.

 

[kyl]

Yes I would really look into the whole dining thing, because with free dining it actually worked out cheaper for us to stay on site. Meals in disneyworld are expensive! But with free dining we had more food than needed. Just food for thought.

 

[shushh]

Let me start by saying that I'm not trying to convince you to stay onsite!

You mentioned that the villas would be out of reach but was wondering if you've priced out connecting room at All stars Music( or maybe Movies I can't remember). You then still qualify for free dining even though it would be quick dining plan rather than the basic. There was a thread recently with another family who also had 3 teenage children, I think it was started by tapdancer.

 

[bdoyledimou]

My family of 6 stayed off site at WH for 2 years prior to a stay onsite.. and to be honest, the onsite stay was worth it even without free dining...

we get connecting rooms at a Value (Pop last time), Save on the cost of a car rental and the $14 per day parking fee. If we want to "get out" DTD is there and it is a relief, but there is also the strip in Kissimmee that you can get to for about $20 round trip in a taxi.

 

[cola]

We've stayed on-site in villas and hotels and rented a car the whole time, and used it. I've stayed off-site in Marriott condos, and some other spots. Off site is so much cheaper, even with the car, the parking and without the dining plan, it is still cheaper.
Usually when there is the free dining plan (where you have to purchase a park ticket for each day of the stay), there is the alt offer of discount on room only rate up to 40% for Deluxe and Deluxe Villas at the moment. I'd go for that, but I don't do 7/7 days of Disney.


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