Offsite during the holidays

[sarahrdh]

So next year, we are planning a longer, 10-14 day trip during Christmas break. I’m also off from my office during that time, so it’s a good time for me to go.

I initially intended to rent points for a boardwalk studio. But now I’m thinking of returning to Windsor hills for a 3-4bdrm home or condo, and saving nearly HALF the cost. We enjoy WH and the kids splash pad will be up then so hopefully we would get some warm days.

Knowing that’s a SUPER busy time, we wouldn’t intend on being in parks every day (we plan to have AP’s at that time). My only real hold up is the traffic driving to/from. We will have our own car. I just don’t know that Disney transportation at the holidays, is worth spending the extra cash to stay onsite. I feel like we have reasonable expectations, knowing the traffic will be nuts, and parks will be crowded.

Also- there are 5 of us, otherwise I’d get a standard value room. but cost is def a factor. For a longer trip, I feel like the extra space is a HUGE bonus so we don’t lovingly kill each other. Lol

Who has experience with offsite at Christmas???? Advice???

 

[Klayfish]

We are exclusively an offsite family, have utterly zero interest in staying onsite. We did Xmas in '15 and again this past season. This year, we were there from Dec 21st through Jan 1st, so about 12 days. We do go to the parks every day, because we don't see a reason to skip a day (we're there for Disney, not the condo pool) and are also AP holders. We had a fabulous time at Xmas. I guess traffic all depends on your perspective and tolerance. Personally, I don't think there's any real traffic to speak of, honestly. Sure, there are a cars at every red light and the light can back up a tiny bit, but it's not rush hour big city traffic by any stretch whatsoever. We got to the park and back efficiently. Even during Xmas week, we never said "Oh, this traffic is terrible", it really was a non-factor. Beyond that, staying offsite is the only way to go for us. We love having the space to come home to and relax. Having a full kitchen and laundry is a must, having the separate bedrooms is a must. There were plenty of days where we only went to the parks for a few hours, then came "home" and relaxed or went out to a gift shop or to get coffee or something like that.

 

[richmo]

I wouldn't worry too much about traffic. The most might be getting in and out of the Disney Springs area, but that is MUCH better than it was a couple years ago during construction. (and see Disney Vacation Club Way on a map as a bypass). The only other place you might run into traffic is the obvious: parking gates for the theme parks. I wouldn't worry about it too much..

Only other gotcha I can think of is if one or more of the parks reach capacity, then the offsite guests are the first to get the boot. I doubt that will be an issue for more than a day or so and probably only at MK, if it happens at all. (And make sure you have an AP for at least yourself, saving the $220+ on parking by itself will probably justify it)

 

[Klayfish]

I wouldn't worry too much about traffic. The most might be getting in and out of the Disney Springs area, but that is MUCH better than it was a couple years ago during construction. (and see Disney Vacation Club Way on a map as a bypass). The only other place you might run into traffic is the obvious: parking gates for the theme parks. I wouldn't worry about it too much..

Only other gotcha I can think of is if one or more of the parks reach capacity, then the offsite guests are the first to get the boot. I doubt that will be an issue for more than a day or so and probably only at MK, if it happens at all. (And make sure you have an AP for at least yourself, saving the $220+ on parking by itself will probably justify it)

I could be wrong, but I think offsite guests with an AP aren't the first to get locked out if the park does start phase closings. But like you said, if it happens, it's only at MK and probably only Xmas Day itself.

 

[pigletto]

We are exclusively an offsite family, have utterly zero interest in staying onsite. We did Xmas in '15 and again this past season. This year, we were there from Dec 21st through Jan 1st, so about 12 days. We do go to the parks every day, because we don't see a reason to skip a day (we're there for Disney, not the condo pool) and are also AP holders. We had a fabulous time at Xmas. I guess traffic all depends on your perspective and tolerance. Personally, I don't think there's any real traffic to speak of, honestly. Sure, there are a cars at every red light and the light can back up a tiny bit, but it's not rush hour big city traffic by any stretch whatsoever. We got to the park and back efficiently. Even during Xmas week, we never said "Oh, this traffic is terrible", it really was a non-factor. Beyond that, staying offsite is the only way to go for us. We love having the space to come home to and relax. Having a full kitchen and laundry is a must, having the separate bedrooms is a must. There were plenty of days where we only went to the parks for a few hours, then came "home" and relaxed or went out to a gift shop or to get coffee or something like that.

I’ve seen trip reports and read accounts from posters I trust that traffic can be horrendous. I am not discounting what you are saying, but I am wondering if it all depends on where you stay and what roads you are using? I know some of the photos I saw would have been trying to get from Universal over to Disney .. I can’t remeber what else I saw.. but maybe if you stay close (like the Vistana ) it makes a big difference?
I would definitely reconsider offsite over the holidays if that were the case.
I would expect traffic for sure, but some of the reports I saw were madness.

 

[Klayfish]

I think it really becomes subjective. What's a persons' definition of traffic "madness"? For some, it would be gridlock for hours...for others having 3 cars at a red light is "traffic". It's sort of like crowd calendars in that respect. No right or wrong, just different views of it.

For our Christmas trip, we stayed at a community called Regal Palms, in Davenport. It's right off Rt. 27, to the west of WDW. To get there, we went north on Rt. 27 about 2 or 3 miles, and then east on Rt. 192 (the main tourist road running near WDW) about 7 miles. We did it at all different times of the morning, noon and evening. Yes, without a doubt, we encountered "traffic", but to us it really wasn't any big deal. For example, when leaving WDW to return home, when we exited onto Rt. 192 from WDW, sometimes cars would back up at the merge point because of a traffic light up ahead (I Googled it, it's the light at Rt 192 and Reedy Creek Blvd). But that would mean we'd wait maybe one extra traffic light cycle...at the worst. Often times we'd be what seemed like pretty far back, but when the light turned green, all cars made it through, including us. We were never in a spot where we'd call it "gridlock" and we just sat there. We always moved ahead when the light cycled. I suppose the worst traffic times added 5 or 10 minutes to the ride because we hit a few red lights with cars backed up, but really never anything to cause us anxiety. Then again, I commute in a very large city during rush hour, so the "traffic" around WDW seems minimal to me. That's not bragging about what I do, just my own perspective of traffic. There were a lot of traffic lights on Rt. 192 between our house and WDW. The best way I could describe congestion was a lot of cars on the road, but all moving as the lights cycled through.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We've gone over Christmas and New Years for the past four years with APs and have stayed offsite each time (at WH Resort and Grand Beach Resort). There's plenty of traffic everywhere, but not enough to justify the cost difference between staying offsite and onsite. The only time we were truly stuck sitting in traffic for hours was trying to leave Epcot on 12/31. The next year we spent more time making our way out of the park after closing and even took a small nap in the car before attempting to head out. Be sure to pack your patience and curb your expectations about how much you can accomplish in the parks and you'll have a great time. We have never been locked out of the parks because they've reached capacity because we have APs. In 2015, there was a phased closure at MK but we were not affected. For us, it's all about experiencing the (usually) warm weather and being together at Christmas. Everything else we can accomplish is gravy. Have a great trip!

 

[richmo]

I’ve seen trip reports and read accounts from posters I trust that traffic can be horrendous. I am not discounting what you are saying, but I am wondering if it all depends on where you stay and what roads you are using? I know some of the photos I saw would have been trying to get from Universal over to Disney .. I can’t remeber what else I saw.. but maybe if you stay close (like the Vistana ) it makes a big difference?
I would definitely reconsider offsite over the holidays if that were the case.
I would expect traffic for sure, but some of the reports I saw were madness.

I based my answer on traffic based on the OP's mention that they might stay at Windsor Hills. From there, you can get onto Disney property by crossing US-192 and taking a back road that brings you in by Animal Kingdom Lodge. I doubt there's much traffic difference doing that 365 days a year. If you're talking about coming in from the Universal area, getting I-4 involved, especially with all the construction there, I can see where it could be a different situation. If staying offsite, I'd certainly encourage staying fairly close to property. There's many options that allow you to do that and even if you don't, you should be able to avoid most traffic by choosing what time of day you go to or leave the park. I-4 (and parts of US-192) can be a mess any day, not just around holidays. I'd say do a little homework on alternate/parallel routes and you can pretty much stay out of trouble.

 

[sarahrdh]

Thanks for the responses! I know the reedy creek/192 area you’re talking about backing up, and yes it does move. I feel so much better about this now. I don’t think I’d plan to be in ANY park on Christmas Day; we are doing this trip bc we want to NOT run all over on Christmas Day!! We want a relaxing day for once on Christmas. But maybe a resort dinner. We’ve been offsite a couple times, and enjoyed it. We have stayed at Windsor hills twice and like it. The cost savings is just so substantial, I don’t think I can justify spending so much onsite for that time. Thanks everyone!!

 

[pigletto]

Great responses on the traffic and it gives me a lot to consider. I’ve often dreamed of surprising the kids with a trip Christmas morning and I know we have been enough that we would be a-ok with navigating our way through the crowds and adjusting our expectations. But the onsite price is just an absolute NO for me (never mind being sandwiched into one tiny room). IF we could do Vistana/Windsor Hills/Bonnet Creek/ Silver Lake and not sit in gridlock that’s a game changer. I would expect delays and sitting through a light or it taking twice as long.. and we would manage. Gridlock was my worry, and it sounds avoidable.

 

[sarahrdh]

I am considering bonnet creek as well; though it would a little more than what we’d pay at Windsor hills. I’m going to compare the amenties.

 

[ParkHopperFan]

We have spent the past four years at Windsor Hills for Christmas and New Year's and will be returning again this year. We love it there. Especially around the holidays. Traffic is really no worse around Christmas and New Year's than other peak times. You know going in that you should avoid MK on Xmas day or at least be out of the park by noon. The rest is pretty easy. I would also avoid Disney Springs on Xmas Eve, Xmas day and New Year's Eve and New Years Day. We use those days to either relax at the resort or get out to a movie or Gatorland or another area attraction. But as other have mentioned, you can't beat the space and "just like home" amenities of staying off site.

 

[sarahrdh]

We have spent the past four years at Windsor Hills for Christmas and New Year's and will be returning again this year. We love it there. Especially around the holidays. Traffic is really no worse around Christmas and New Year's than other peak times. You know going in that you should avoid MK on Xmas day or at least be out of the park by noon. The rest is pretty easy. I would also avoid Disney Springs on Xmas Eve, Xmas day and New Year's Eve and New Years Day. We use those days to either relax at the resort or get out to a movie or Gatorland or another area attraction. But as other have mentioned, you can't beat the space and "just like home" amenities of staying off site.

Yeah I think I’m going to go with Windsor hills. I found a great condo on VRBO that fits into our budget. Bonnet creek is still more than I care to spend after checking both VRBO and vacation strategy. Plus I do really want to see/use the new kids splash pad at Windsor hills that is supposed to be ready for this summer. My kids would really enjoy that, the concept art looked amazing.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

Offsite traffic is manageable, IMO, except when I'm trying to get back to a hotel/resort after park closing/fireworks/night time shows.

Last March and July 2017, we stayed over in the Maingate West area and evenings were stressful for me especially merging onto 192 from the Disney roads. I almost got hit multiple times from people with bad driving habits who think that you should yield to them when they don't want to wait at the end of the line and instead race up to merge right at the off ramp.

Last December, WBC was easy peasy and never stressful for us no matter the time of day/night.

We're trying Vistana in the fall to compare to WBC but DH has said no more offsite like before. He'd rather pay the prices than deal with it.

Everyone has a different tolerance level though.

 

[Macprincess]

We have done tons of visits over the traditional Christmas breaks. The traffic around the outlet malls can be brutal. Avoid staying in this area if possible.