Offsite- Never Again!!!!

[travelfanatic]

Isn't just like us Americans though? We always want bigger. Bigger houses, bigger cars bigger meal and look where that has gotten us.

What does this have to do with anything?? It sounds like you are insulting those of us who choose to stay off site because we prefer more room. I can respect your choice to stay on site so please respect our choices to stay off site. Everyone is different and has different needs.

 

[saysay]

Yes but for others saving $$$ isn't an issue when you don't want to rent a car, drive, or cook. So while you may be saving a few pennies I am saving myself stress and headache which to me is priceless.

We still save $$ when we rent a car, though have also driven there and had own car and we don't cook while on vacation. We do enjoy snacks, cold cereal and real coffee that we buy and store ourselves.

Your stress and headaches are not ours....DH doesn't like to deal with the buses, he likes to have our own wheels. And we save way more than a few pennies - actually quite alot.

Our headache and stress is a small space with 3 adults and one child. Having the extra rooms eliminates that stress...I can't imagine all of us in one room sharing a bath...even if its just to sleep and shower between park visits.

I would love to get 2 rooms and stay on the monorail or at boardwalk, but its just not in our budget plain and simple. We still can go to WDW and have a stress free vacation by staying offsite AND save a ton - that is what works for us. To each their own.

 

[saysay]

Well when you're trying to put 7 people in one room yes, of course it may be cramped but as a 3 person family, we no issue. I don't need a private pool, I have one at home. I'm not cooking and if i need water it's free and I can bring a nalgene or camelback to fill.

Isn't just like us Americans though? We always want bigger. Bigger houses, bigger cars bigger meal and look where that has gotten us.

I dont' think me staying at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek with 2 bathrooms can compare to mortgage problems we have had in the recession where banks were letting people buy homes they could not afford and people feel the need to order the supersize meal. Stay onsite if you want I really don't care...but be nice to those of us who choose not to for whatever reasons. Glad to hear you have your own pool though that must be nice perk in your house! Enjoy!

I

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

What does this have to do with anything?? It sounds like you are insulting those of us who choose to stay off site because we prefer more room. I can respect your choice to stay on site so please respect our choices to stay off site. Everyone is different and has different needs.

No, sorry if you took my statement as an insult. I just find that when people talk about off site staying the FIRST thing mentioned after money saving is more room. My question is so you really need "more room" or is it more just liking the idea that it is there to have. I personally don't care either way how people vaca when it comes to Disney because it is a personal choice and more than likely your decision is based on the size of your family and how frequently you go to Disney. More frequent trips you are more inclined to spend less on hotels stay less frequent you want toe bubble. We are only two adults and one child so for us staying offsite really isn't something we ever want/need to do. We don't always stay at GF but I personally don't think there is a single hotel offsite out there with better themeing than Disney resorts.

My issue was with the poster who felt that because the OP was a teen they had no right to their opinion. That should make no difference.

 

[HJV]

JMHO, but I would always rent a car if staying off site. Even if a resort offers free park shuttle, I don't want to be confined to someone's schedule.
Car=Freedom!

I really do get the car thing, but then there's the 3 margarita thing. The only Margarita's we like are in Epcot in Mexico. We have a saying, "The Margarita's are worth the trip!" So no driving for us!

 

[scoopmorgan]

After reading several posts from folks who stay at off-site houses, I looked into it myself. I'm booked at Pop, and am happy with that arrangement, however, if I had known about these homes and condos, I think we might have gone that route ourselves. I think we could have saved a ton, because we had to rent two rooms. The houses were much less than the combined total of the two. Next time we'll try that.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Well when you're trying to put 7 people in one room yes, of course it may be cramped but as a 3 person family, we no issue. I don't need a private pool, I have one at home. I'm not cooking and if i need water it's free and I can bring a nalgene or camelback to fill.

Isn't just like us Americans though? We always want bigger. Bigger houses, bigger cars bigger meal and look where that has gotten us.

I have always said (check my past posts!) that the benefits of offsite are much less if you are a party of 4 or less. We're a party of 6. So, while I freely admit that we CHOOSE a 4BR house versus a 2BR condo, and pay an extra few hundred $$ a week, because we like the additional space. Once, we all stayed in a 1BR at VAKL--youngest was under 3. DH and I found that it was too cramped and the kids were getting on each other's nerves, we were tripping over each other, etc. So, yeah, more space is a vacation perk we're willing to pay for.

As to vacation frequency--believe me, I'm envious of people who can throw a toothbrush in their back pocket and jet away for a spur-of-the-moment cruise or mini-vacation. Or even plan a vacation a few months out. I don't have that luxury--a Florida vacation requires slightly more planning than the invasion of Pearl Harbor, what with accomodating sports schedules, scouts, music lessons, on and on. Not to mention, 4 kids over an 11-year span, with wide-ranging interests. So, we go every other year, and stay for 2 weeks.

Now, your situation is different, with 2 adults and one child, and certainly, you're entitled to stay wherever you like. But I can't resist pointing out that once, I had only one child, too.

Your comment about Americans and wanting "bigger" is just plain silly. Heck, I have a "bigger" family, but 100 or so years ago, my family would have been considered small to average. It has nothing to do with anything, except personal choices.

And as to the OP--I don't think people really care that she's a teen, so much, as she comes across as a know-it-all. That's an unattractive quality at any age.

 

[Lewisc]

People have valid reasons for staying onsite. Other people have valid reasons for staying offsite.

People who want to take advantage of EMH, but stay offsite, have no business complaining. People who stay offsite have to accept traffic and accessing the MK via the TTC. I don't have any sympathy for people who got the exact experience they should have expected.

Elevators are inspected. The fact that the elevator isn't fast doesn't mean it isn't safe.

Most of the room in Sheraton Safari have interior corridors. The rooms have queen size (or king) beds. The hotel has a sit down restaurant. It sounds like some of the rooms were renovated and some weren't. You can frequently book the hotel for less then even the cost of a value resort. Disney doesn't even have interior corridors in their moderate resorts.

What this thread is saying is book what you'll be happy with. Don't put a family of 4 in one value room but then complain about not enough space. Don't book the Sheraton Safari but then complain about not being able to take advantage of EMH or having to access the MK via the TTC.

 

[starsweeper]

Sorry you had such a bad experience. It depends a lot on where you are staying. My DH travels internationally for work often, so he gets tons of Marriott points. In early May 2009, my mom and I took the kids to WDW. We got two connecting king-bed rooms at the Marriott OWC near WDW for free with points. I put one 3.5-year-old in my bed and she had the other one. We had tons of room for everything. The hotel rooms, food, and service were great. Since we saved on the room, we took taxis instead of the slow hotel bus service to the parks. We only had trouble getting into MK for a before park opening Crystal Palace reservation our first day, but the ferry at TTC was nice enough to run early for us and radio ahead to tell someone to hold our table.

It was very pleasant offsite, but I do prefer onsite for the early transporation to the parks, theming, and convenience.

 

[Brian Noble]

My question is so you really need "more room" or is it more just liking the idea that it is there to have. ... Isn't just like us Americans though? We always want bigger. Bigger houses, bigger cars bigger meal and look where that has gotten us.

I'm not sure someone whose location is listed as "Grand Floridian" has much standing to lecture anyone on "wants vs. needs", even if you "don't always stay" there.

But, for me, sharing a single room with my children simply is not vacation. This is a non-negotiable point for my wife and I. Somehow, much of the rest of the world manages it, but it's just not for us. Do we "need" our own space? Not in any reasonable sense of the word "need". But, it makes my vacations qualitatively better. At that point, it's just a matter of how much I want to spend vs. how important "onsiteness" is. When I can get an exchange into a DVC Villa with my non-Disney timeshare, I often will take it. If not, I'm just as happy to stay on one of the many offsite resorts---some of which have condos that are significantly nicer than most DVC units.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Well when you're trying to put 7 people in one room yes, of course it may be cramped but as a 3 person family, we no issue. I don't need a private pool, I have one at home. I'm not cooking and if i need water it's free and I can bring a nalgene or camelback to fill.

Isn't just like us Americans though? We always want bigger. Bigger houses, bigger cars bigger meal and look where that has gotten us.

I'm not sure someone whose location is listed as "Grand Floridian" has much standing to lecture anyone on "wants vs. needs", even if you "don't always stay" there.

 

[JoShan1719]

What this thread is saying is book what you'll be happy with. Don't put a family of 4 in one value room but then complain about not enough space. Don't book the Sheraton Safari but then complain about not being able to take advantage of EMH or having to access the MK via the TTC.

 

[Jillp600]

I love sSheraton in general. However, Sheraton Safari is the worst Sheraton I have ever stayed. I asked for a quiet room and they put us in the back building where pets are allowed. There are several dogs going up to our floor and barking all night long. I will never stay there again.

 

[Mysteria]

I'm not sure someone whose location is listed as "Grand Floridian" has much standing to lecture anyone on "wants vs. needs", even if you "don't always stay" there.

What an odd post that was. This was more polite than I could have answered it so I'll just agree with you.

 

[shalom]

I don't need a private pool, I have one at home.

[CLIP]

Isn't just like us Americans though? We always want bigger. Bigger houses, bigger cars bigger meal and look where that has gotten us.

I'm surprised you didn't list "bigger pools."

I think that's a false generalization. Speaking for my family, we only want a certain kind of bigger. Part of the reason we don't like DVC units is that they tend to have big master bedrooms and baths, but tiny "family spaces" -- the dining room table is too small for the family to sit around, the living room too small to comfortably accommodate all of us, etc. We like a lot of family time on vacation, so we want bigger space for the family. We are not interested in getting separate bedrooms for everyone or the like. So even though we definitely prefer "bigger than onsite," that doesn't mean we consider bigger an absolute ideal.

In a less personal sense, I think the popularity of the on-site resorts refutes the "Americans like bigger" thing, too. Most on-site units are considerably smaller than comparable off-site units, but there are still plenty of Americans clamoring to stay there.

 

[doclegler]

I just wanted to add that YES Disney DOES let its resorts fall into disrepair!!
We found out the hard way in June at POR. The room was so bad, that after complaining on-site to no avail, I emailed Disney when we returned home. My email was sent to the offices at WDW where I dealt with a wonderful CM who completely understood my disappointments and offered to give us another 3-4 nights at either POR (when refurb'd), POFQ, or a value resort completely free. WDW wants to make things right, and that is a very amazing concept in today's world.

So, in short, Disney has just as many "problems" as other resorts/hotels do. Luckily, they are very willing to fix the issues you have to make it a truly magical experience, whether its your first or 101st visit.

*BTW, this was our very 1st stay on-site. The past 10 years have been off-site and we have never run into any problems at a hotel that weren't quickly or easily taken care by hotel staff.

 

[debbs0723]

What an interesting little thread. We have been to Disney twice as a family of four and both times stayed onsite. This will be our third visit with just the four of us and it did not even phase me to book offsite. In fact I'm much more excited about it. We have stayed at CSR, which was nice and then stayed at POP and I would almost gouge my eyes out before staying there again but again I would never judge all Disney property by our experience at POP. Thank god that was only a 4 night stay. The walls were thin and the beds were total crap and I'm really not a hotel snob.

My husband insist on having our own car for all disney trips, whether we are on or off property so I'd rather have the room and stay off site. In reality if you are driving yourself I can't really see where staying 1-2 miles offsite would make a difference. I never thought any of our onsite rooms were that great of a disney theme. I'd also like to make note that people who stay off site don't always do it just to save money or because we can't afford a deluxe resort. I'm not paying for a deluxe resort based on principle alone. I've been to them to eat, hang out and whatever and with the time we spend in the parks, it makes no sense to me.

I'd also like to say that it is ridiculous to post such a negative comment on a thread that is dedicated to people finding information to stay offsite. Someone replied that this is where people like me come to find out good information and we shouldn't be scared to book due to one comment. I never once visited this forum when I stayed onsite. There was no reason to. Now I'm so glad it is here. I did extensive research on the disboards as well as trip advisor and anything I could find. In a city like Orlando where tourism is what drives the city there are going to be tons of hotels that are pure crap as well as tons that are pure gold. Be smart, read reviews.

Debbie

 

[Planogirl]

In a less personal sense, I think the popularity of the on-site resorts refutes the "Americans like bigger" thing, too. Most on-site units are considerably smaller than comparable off-site units, but there are still plenty of Americans clamoring to stay there.

That may be so but there are still units available in two weeks. I just booked our last minute trip and most of the WDW resorts were available which probably drives Disney crazy.

 

[Brian Noble]

It might not, actually. Disney has been very public about wanting to wean people off of discounts. If they are getting higher overall room rates this summer, a few extra empty rooms might not be a problem.