Off Site

[toyotaae86lg]

alright guys I need some major help from you. I plannned in november to stay at por and i was pretty set on it. i priced it in the package and seperate in which i was going to go seperate. then i got to thinking the last time we came to disney (about a summer ago) we stayed off site. This was just a little week trip. Well i just looked up some off site hotels in orlando and some are really nice and are cheaper then what i would pay for por. i know i would be missing out on alot of cool things like the buses and charging to my room but i wonder if it would be worth the savings. these saving are actually like a couple hundred dollars. i found this one place called Resort Quest Orlando, you have your own house, own private pool. i mean its nice and about 200 cheaper. i'm not sure what to do. keep in mind i'm on my honeymoon so i want it to be nice and it'll be in the first week of november. please give me some feedback. thanks experts.
chase

 

[twojo21]

besides the onsite benefits *which are great* extended hours, provided transporation, charging privelages, ticket options, housekeeping, quality disney experience. you also have to consider travel time from offsite to wdw themeparks, parking time & parking costs (the wait in line to purchase parking pass, the walk or ride to the park entrance) as well as driving back to your offsite hotel/house, the parking lots are jammed at closing.

although a private home & pool would give more privacy* a plus, but it might be more of a hassle. who wants to clean on their honeymoon or spend hours in traffic.

well theirs my 2 cents, hopefully you'll get some others. check around for the best deal & best honeymoon experience for you two. you might also want to consider renting dvc points for a disney vacation club villa, which give more space, privacy but same disney benefits. it could be cheapier than the POR rack depending on your dates. check the dvc board here on the dis.

hope either way you have a great wdw honeymoon!
twojo21

 

[JANNYANS]

Resort Quest is a letting company and you will be renting a home from them but you may not be able to say where you want to go as most of them are allocated on arrival .As for cleaning in a rental home -you don't have to I find that the homes don't get dirty or dusty all it needs is a bit of basic tidying just like you would do in a hotel .Depending on where you stay you may not be stuck in traffic at all .A rental home will give you far more privacy than a hotel room -no maids knocking on the door wanting to come in or you feeling you have to rush to get out of their way .It will come down to what you want from your stay ,lots of space and privacy with the fredom to do what you like when you like or a hotel room where you may not have the space but be able to get into the parks early and wait for buses .Its your call . Good luck and congratulations

 

[kaylajr]

It all depends on how you want to vacation

my family would go crazy with just one small hotel room

we rent a home with a pool when we go to WDW
it is a wonderful way to enjoy the parks but also have some down time

having the private pool is a very nice plus

also depending on budget needs
we always save $$$ staying in ahome
because we eat breakfast there
a lunch and late snack in the parks and then a late dinner back at the house

as for cleaning we found if we ran the dishwasher after breakfast while everyone was getting dressed and spent just a few minutes every night ( like 5 minutes) picking up the house stayed clean

Good Luck on your planning
any questions just ask

 

[MiaSRN62]

my family would go crazy with just one small hotel room

The OP mentioned she was on his/her honeymoon, so I think a hotel room (with daily maid service) would be fine.

no maids knocking on the door wanting to come in or you feeling you have to rush to get out of their way

Just put the "do not disturb" sign outside. We have never been bothered at Disney when we do this. They have always waited until after we left for the parks to clean our room.

The first week of November this past year was mobbed at WDW. I was glad to be on Disney property that visit. Apparently it was NJ Week (NJ schools are closed for the week). Also, crowds will be there for the Food & Wine Festival. I think staying on disney property would be a plus in this situation for having the Extra Magic Hour perk and the disney bus perk. To me, during this busy week, those perks are are worth the extra money---not to mention it's your honeymoon and if you haven't stayed onsite before, this would be the very occassion to give it a try ! Having the extra hour in the morning made a world of difference. We were able to get on an average of 3 attractions before the crowds came in and the lines got long. And we particularily enjoy the extra hours at night, after park closing, that they offer on some days.
But if you still can't justify the extra money, then I totally understand because you know your budget better than me. I don't know anything about Resort Quest Orlando unfortunately. If you'd really like like a place to cook to save money on meals, you could also look into a resort like Vistana and ask about 1 bedroom villas. You'll get a kitchenette area and with a 1 bedroom, you'd be placed in either the Lakes or Cacades which are the newer sections at that resort. http://www.starwoodvo.com/resorts/welcome.jsp?resortID=5 I mention Vistana because I'm very familiar with this resort, but there are many similar in the area.
Good luck with your decision and many congrats on your upcoming wedding !

 

[spiceycat]

difficult question.

is WDW the only theme park you are going to visit?

how much time do you want to spend going to and leaving the parks?

do you want a nice place to relax in - or do you want party central?

I might go with on-site because it is your honeymoon - however definitely look into renting points from a DVC member - Nov is off season using points (for the studios) - OKW would be the more inexpensive - but it offers 2 queen beds - the others BCV, BWV, VWL or SSR - have a queen bed and a double sleeper sofa - this is the studio - $80 to $120 per night depending upon resort you want.

now if you want offsite - I would go with a timeshares - they have some of the same stuff that the WDW hotels have - but they are definitely cheaper.

Sheraton Vistana Resort - has been named

there is also Hilton Grand Vacation Club, Marriott's Grande VIsta, Marriott's Cypress Harbour, Orange Lake - are all pretty nice.

if you want something less inexpensive - Silver Lake (it is very close to AK), Cypress Pointe (gets generally good reviews here and it is close to DD), there are ton more.

here are some sites
www.condodirect.com
II excess
www.skyauction.com
click on USA/canada
then Florida (right)
then hotels only (right down)

www.redweek.com

www.tug2.net - you can sign up without joining it and use their rental sites and their BBS (last minute rentals)

www.vrbo.com

also sometimes cypress points is here
www.hotelkingdom.com

 

[MiaSRN62]

might go with on-site because it is your honeymoon - however definitely look into renting points from a DVC member - Nov is off season using points (for the studios) - OKW would be the more inexpensive - but it offers 2 queen beds - the others BCV, BWV, VWL or SSR - have a queen bed and a double sleeper sofa - this is the studio - $80 to $120 per night depending upon resort you want.

This is a very good suggestion Pat.....I was just concerned about it being Food & Wine Festival. Could be difficult to secure BWV or BCV ? But the other resorts would def be worth a try. SSR might be nice because it's so close to DD. The honeymooners might enjoy having the convenient proximity to all the shops, restaurants, PI etc.

 

[spiceycat]

this is still within the home resort preference - so if he could find someone who owns BWV or BCV - I think they could get those resorts.

 

[MiaSRN62]

This is true....and I wish him luck. I just felt alot of Members booked that week right at the 11 month mark---but I'm sure not all do.
That would be a great place to spend a honeymoon with the Food & Wine festival so close. He'd have to jump on this within the next 60 days.

 

[Sandyincanada]

To me, the money savings comes from not having to eat every meal at DW and not so much from the accomodations but we don't chose offsite to save money. I agree, the big question is are you only doing DW or are you going to the other parks as well, ie Universal? Do you want somewhere quiet (which is one of the offsite perks we like) or do you like alot of people around? Do you like making PS's or are you the type that decides day to day what you are doing? Renting DVC points and going with the meal plan is definately a nice option if you are sticking to DW the whole time and make PS's.

But I do have to say, if offsite, you will NOT be spending your vacation cleaning...Why would you? lol. And we left Cypress Pointe at 8:30 in the morns for 9:00 opening times for both DW parks (except MK, we left at 8:15 but waited around for 15 min for opening) and Universal and always got to the park gates before they opened. When onsite, we left the resort at 8:30 as well so we gained no time in that respect staying onsite. The only time we were ever stuck in traffic was during rush hour coming home from Tampa Bay.

You have to decide what kind of vacation you want and the parks you want to visit and then think about where to stay. Either way, you'll have a great time

 

[MiaSRN62]

To me, the money savings comes from not having to eat every meal at DW and not so much from the accomodations but we don't chose offsite to save money.

True, but I know with us, we usually only eat breakfast in our room. We stay either at Vistana or with DVC resorts, so we always have a kitchen. It's just so hard to leave the parks for lunch and dinner and go back and cook. I feel you have to be really disciplined to do this. We will cook meals if we're taking a day off from the parks & just lounging by the pool.
But that's why renting points from a DVC Member was brought up by Pat. This would allow the couple to eat in their room and still have the perks of being onsite. Even with POR, I understand a mini fridg is complimentary with the room now----so at least they could have yogurt or cereal in the morning.

 

[toyotaae86lg]

Wow, thanx for all the feedback. Alrighty I have looked at the vistana and it was in my vision. For my honeymoon I will be going to island of adventures, seaworld, and medieval times at different days. But i did like the idea of staying on disney property for the first time. i was pretty stoked about charging everything to my room. I am driving to WD from panama city so i'll have my own car and won't have to rent one. I think i'm leaning on staying in good ole disney but your opinions are still welcome. thanx so much
chase

 

[spiceycat]

if you aren't going to WDW property - then staying at WDW is silly - no offense - WDW is too expensive to stay at to visit other places.

Hilton Grand Vacation CLub - is also the street from Seaworld and much, much closer to US/IOA than any Disney property.

I would try for one of them.

there studios (efficiencies) are small compared to their 1-bedroom - but plenty of room for 2 people.

if this area also is Marriott's Cypress Harbour, Marriott's grande vista, and Horizons of Marriott - all very,very nice.

Sheraton's Vistana Village is over in this area, too.

 

[toyotaae86lg]

I should have made it more clear. i will be in orlando for 8 nights. 4 of them will be at disney and then divided up for islands, seaworld, and medieval. So for 4 days i will be at DW.

 

[spiceycat]

then I would either move from Disney to off site - or just stay off site.

with half of your trip offsite - I don't think the WDW resorts would be worth it for you.

Now if you are doing 6 days at WDW then 2 days off site - then I might say differently.

but with half/half - you are going to be driving alot.

besides with the Universal hotel - you get front of line entry - which is a very nice perk.

these are Loews hotels
http://www.loewshotels.com/hotels/orlando/default.asp

Of course with Disney you get the early morning and late night
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/earlyentry.htm

just depends upon which you want the most.

In your situation I would do half at Disney, and half at Us/ioa. Or all at a offsite timeshare - HGVC, Sheraton, etc.. the offsite timeshare will cost around 1/2 (or even less) than Disney and US/IOA.

 

[Sandyincanada]

True, but I know with us, we usually only eat breakfast in our room. We stay either at Vistana or with DVC resorts, so we always have a kitchen. It's just so hard to leave the parks for lunch and dinner and go back and cook. I feel you have to be really disciplined to do this. We will cook meals if we're taking a day off from the parks & just lounging by the pool.
But that's why renting points from a DVC Member was brought up by Pat. This would allow the couple to eat in their room and still have the perks of being onsite. Even with POR, I understand a mini fridg is complimentary with the room now----so at least they could have yogurt or cereal in the morning.

ooohhhhhhhh, I didn't mean we cook, lol. other than toast in the morning, we never cook ick, lol. I meant the prices of the restaurants themselves and not having to make PS's to get a good meal, etc. I also agreed with renting points IF she was going only to DW

 

[MiaSRN62]

Thanks for clearing up the cooking issue Sandy !