Offsite Advice

[MablePines24]

Hi everyone!

I’m starting to plan and budget out my next trip to WDW, yay! I’m beginning to see that staying offsite may save some money that I can use on other aspects of the vacation, but I have no idea where to start.

Please let me know any tips or recommendations you may have for me.

 

[jameyh]

I used Vrbo and rented a 2bed condo at Windsor hills for our January trip. I had been looking at Sheraton vistana resort but I found something cheaper thru Vrbo

 

[brooke789]

Up to this point we've been onsite only. However, this next trip we found we could save $2000 by booking offsite. We're also staying at Windsor Hills. It's practically onsite (just without the buses) so I think it's going to be a good way to try it out.

 

[HopperFan]

Hi everyone!

I’m starting to plan and budget out my next trip to WDW, yay! I’m beginning to see that staying offsite may save some money that I can use on other aspects of the vacation, but I have no idea where to start.

Please let me know any tips or recommendations you may have for me.

- Will you have a car?
- What is your party makeup?
- What is your nightly budget?
- What are your approximate dates?
- Do you have preference; hotel, condo/timeshare or house?

 

[MablePines24]

- Will you have a car?
- What is your party makeup?
- What is your nightly budget?
- What are your approximate dates?
- Do you have preference; hotel, condo/timeshare or house?

We’ll likely rent a car, I saw that it could potentially be under $200 for a week.

I’d like my nightly budget to be around $100.

We’re planning on traveling July 21-27 of 2019.

The group will be myself, my son and my father.

As of right now, no preference between hotel or condo.

 

[Magical2017]

You have to decide what your priorities are. Is it worth it to give up extra magic hours, early FP booking, MDE, and Disney theming/being in the Disney bubble?

For our bonus trip (12 days away!) we decided to stay off site and have more space. We used a company called Vacation Strategy to book a one bedroom at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort, which is located near Caribbean Beach Resort. I just started reading the Orlando Hotels and Attractions Threads for ideas. So glad Disboards is around. Staying offsite means we needed to choose between using Uber or Lyft or renting a car, and pay to park at Disney Parks (WBC does not have a resort fee or charge for parking). We are looking forward to using the lazy rivers, multiple pools/slides, included mini-golf and kids activities, full kitchen, washer/dryer, and over 900 square feet of SPACE for the same price as standard room at Pop Century.

We will continue to go back and forth between on and offsite for future stays.

 

[Magical2017]

We’ll likely rent a car, I saw that it could potentially be under $200 for a week.

I’d like my nightly budget to be around $100.

We’re planning on traveling July 21-27 of 2019.

The group will be myself, my son and my father.

As of right now, no preference between hotel or condo.

If your budget for accommodations is around $100, then off site is definitely the way to go. You could try to use Hotwire or Priceline to get a mod for that price. There is a thread about it with strategies.

 

[starvenger]

I’m staying offsite as I type this. Found an airbnb (4bd, 3ba) at Lucaya Village Resort for $1600CDN ($1225USD) /7 nights. We have 8 people, and it fits us quite comfortably. Basically 2-3 miles from the park, have Vineland Rd north of us and Irlo Bronson to the south of us. 24 hour Walmart is right on the corner and Publix nearby as well.

Some of the things I find with staying offsite is that if you want to do character dining with princesses, it’s going to be tough to book a time. FP+ seems to be a bit easier to navigate, unless you’re looking for something like Pandora or the Mine Train.

 

[Magical2017]

I’m staying offsite as I type this. Found an airbnb (4bd, 3ba) at Lucaya Village Resort for $1600CDN ($1225USD) /7 nights. We have 8 people, and it fits us quite comfortably. Basically 2-3 miles from the park, have Vineland Rd north of us and Irlo Bronson to the south of us. 24 hour Walmart is right on the corner and Publix nearby as well.

Some of the things I find with staying offsite is that if you want to do character dining with princesses, it’s going to be tough to book a time. FP+ seems to be a bit easier to navigate, unless you’re looking for something like Pandora or the Mine Train.

I think you can book ADRs 180 days out, even if you don't have a reservation. CRT is a tough one to get, but it is possible to get something like Askerhus @180 days out.

 

[starvenger]

Last time I did princess dining I did 1600 Park Fare... which if I’m being honest is a better meal than Askerhus. Yes, you only see Cinderella, but if you get one of the sisters it’s actually pretty fun.

 

[Klayfish]

We’ll likely rent a car, I saw that it could potentially be under $200 for a week.

I’d like my nightly budget to be around $100.

We’re planning on traveling July 21-27 of 2019.

The group will be myself, my son and my father.

As of right now, no preference between hotel or condo.

You'll also have to decide how you plan to spend your trip. If you're going to nothing but theme parks all day, every day or if you have any interest in other things. There is a lot of love here for Bonnet Creek, and I'm sure it's a nice place. We've stayed offsite a ton of times but Bonnet isn't for us. The fact that it's basically "on property" is a major deterrent. That means it's inconvenient to grocery stores, offsite shops, restaurants, etc... After a long day in the parks, we enjoy going to Dunkin' Donuts or a gift shop or something like that. So we prefer to be off property. There are SO many really nice places along Rt. 192 that are within 10-15 minute drive of WDW property, have tons of fun things around them and you can get a 3 bedroom condo/townhouse for under $100/night. However, if you want to mimic being onsite and stay physically closest to WDW, then I'd definitely look at Bonnet Creek as it may be a great fit.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Here’s a comprehensive article on the value of the DSprings Hotels:
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/best-disney-springs-hotels/

 

[bigbabyblues]

Up to this point we've been onsite only. However, this next trip we found we could save $2000 by booking offsite. We're also staying at Windsor Hills. It's practically onsite (just without the buses) so I think it's going to be a good way to try it out.

We stayed offsite for the first time in June. We stayed at Windsor Palms, which is about a mile further than WH. We used Sherberth Road to get anywhere on Disney property, and our furthest trip was 23 minutes to MK, parking lot to parking lot. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. We are offsite people now

 

[disneysteve]

We stayed offsite for the first time in June. We stayed at Windsor Palms, which is about a mile further than WH. We used Sherberth Road to get anywhere on Disney property, and our furthest trip was 23 minutes to MK, parking lot to parking lot. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. We are offsite people now

We stay at Windsor Palms all the time. We'll be there again in October. We love it there. Nice development and conveniently located to everything.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

You have to decide what your priorities are. Is it worth it to give up extra magic hours, early FP booking, MDE, and Disney theming/being in the Disney bubble?

For our bonus trip (12 days away!) we decided to stay off site and have more space. We used a company called Vacation Strategy to book a one bedroom at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort, which is located near Caribbean Beach Resort. I just started reading the Orlando Hotels and Attractions Threads for ideas. So glad Disboards is around. Staying offsite means we needed to choose between using Uber or Lyft or renting a car, and pay to park at Disney Parks (WBC does not have a resort fee or charge for parking). We are looking forward to using the lazy rivers, multiple pools/slides, included mini-golf and kids activities, full kitchen, washer/dryer, and over 900 square feet of SPACE for the same price as standard room at Pop Century.

We will continue to go back and forth between on and offsite for future stays.

Have you previously stayed at WBC? Ya just might not want to go back to onsite stays...

 

[Magical2017]

Have you previously stayed at WBC? Ya just might not want to go back to onsite stays...

I sure hope that is the case. We are sooooo excited to travel there tomorrow!