Offsite versus onsite hotel? And other newbie questions...

[vossjemi]

I'm new to this forum, so please forgive me as I'm sure this question has been asked a multitude of times. But, anyone willing to help me, please feel free to give me your opinions. Thanks!

I've heard you need to start planning early, so I am. We would like to go for my daughter's 6th birthday in May 2006 for a combo disneyworld/cruise vacation. There will be 4 of us, DH, me, DD, and DS who will be 4 at that time.

First, is this a good time of year...price, weather and crowd wise? If not, when is the best time to go?

Second, I've been reading fodor's and frommer's to give me some insight, and I'd like some real people's opinions on staying onsite versus offsite. If we stay onsite, I like the polynesian, the wilderness lodge, and port orleans. If we stay offsite, I've been looking at the Holiday Inn Family Suites. What are your opinions? Pros/cons? Which way is the cheapest and yet still convenient?

Your comments are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Straitlover]

HIFS is in the midst of a major remodel and changing to a Nickelodean (sp?) theme. Also the prices are going up. Didn't know if that mattered to you or not. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of it.

I've never stayed on site, so I can't make any recommendations on that. I'm sure someone else will chime in on that.

Welcome!

 

[Rpsemont]

I've stayed on and off and frequently hotel hop during a visit to balance preferences with budget. On site clearly has a better "feel" to it IMO.
I would stay at an All star resort for $60 night, before I'd bid on a resort level hotel on priceline for night. But I probably would do the priceline bidding before I'd spend $100+ a night for even a higher level on site. So much is dictated by budget and vacationing habits. The first 4-5 times we went, we were commando style touring with 3-4 character meals. We rarely saw our room (DD was 5 when we first went). We'd be up and out by 9 (at the latest) and often wouldn't return unitl 10PM except for the one day that we would actuallly schedule pool time. We were most motivated to try and stay on site when we knew there would be an e-ride night. We always rent a car- so the busses aren't an issue. While HIFS looks great, anytime we've gone, I would rather get onsite for about the same money, or other off site for less.

 

[vossjemi]

Thanks for the tips! Our basic plan is to do 4 day land / 3 day cruise. And, we are tempted to do 1 of those land days at Sea World, but are not sure. The cruise itinerary for 2006 isn't out yet, but I've heard you have to plan early to get a good cabin or a cabin at all. So, I checked out Fodor's and Frommer's Disneyworld for Kids from our local library to start figuring things out. Fodor's seemed very pro-onsite. Frommer's was a little more...here's the pros/cons of each. The main reasons I'm tempted to stay offsite is cost, the advantage of extra bedrooms in the suite hotels, and the freedom to come/go as I please. The main reasons I'm tempted to stay onsite is proximity to the parks, early magic hour, package delivery to the hotel, and possibly concierge service.

But, Frommer's did suggest that the disney transportation system isn't really all that fast, and with multiple stops, sometimes it still takes you a long time to get to the park. Frommer's also suggested the term "prisoner of disney" if you don't stay offsite and have a rental car to come/do as you please. And, from past experience, I didn't really like the "prisoner" feeling (an all inclusive in cancun, nuff said). Last year we went to oahu 4 days and maui 7, and stayed in a condo and a b&b. We had a rental car and went where we wanted when we wanted, not to mention watching whales breach out of the ocean while sitting at our own private gazebo overlooking sunset beach. Talk about a terrific vacation!

Anyway, I digress. We are a middle class family, and I'm sure this will be our most expensive vacation as we've never flown anywhere with the kids. With only 4 days to see disney, it may be better/cheaper to just stay on disney. Is concierge service worth the extra $? How much extra is that? And, although I've mentioned some hotels of interest, do you recommend others that you think are better?

And, if I stay offsite, say at HIFS, how far is it to MK, AK, Epcot, and MGM? Is it normally bumper to bumper traffic?

 

[disneymom3]

Personally, I think onsite is HIGHLY overrated and I stayed at the Poly.

Offsite I have stayed everywhere from rooms that go for around $190 a night to the Rennaisance worldgate for $35 a night via Priceline. Considering I got a bigger room there and had a fridge and coffemaker in my room for free, I would do that again before staying at the All Stars.

I like having my own transportation, so going to the MK was great from the Poly, but otherwise, give me my car. I would consider staying onsite again, but we would have our own vehicle. EMH is nice, but if it is worth the price difference would be an individual opinion. We now have 5 in our family. so that makes onsite pretty pricey and we would just rather spend our vacation budget on other things.

 

[LisaMM]

Hi. Good for you for planning in advance. We're doing a somewhat spontanious trip to WDW on June 5, and I still don't have my accommodations nailed down!!!

Anyway, I don't have tons of experience. I've only been there twice. The first time, way before kids and a while ago, we stayed at the Contemporary -- onsite -- and honestly, I remember it being enjoyable, but I don't have any specific memories of the hotel itself.

The second time we went was about 4 years ago. My daughter was 3 and my son was 4 mos. old. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Family Suites. Not a ton of living space, but very nice to have the two bedrooms in the KidsSuite. My daughter loved the pool and the themed room. They also have a kitchen area. Overall, we were very happy there and we were originally planning to stay there again this time around. The current rate I found was about $134 a night. As the other poster mentioned, they are doing major renovations; a new, very cool looking pool would be a big attraction to my kids.

HOWEVER, with the help of so many great posts on this board, we have now reconsidered our accommodations. You can rent in some of the timeshare places for almost half the cost of HIFS and the places look just as nice, if not nicer, and the rooms seem like they might even be bigger. Most don't require you to do a timeshare presentation. (And, I just found out today, that if you live in certain states, such as Ohio, they CAN'T require you to do one!) The two that we are narrowed down to are the Sheraton Vistana Resort (2 bedroom with full kitchen for about $700 per week) and Cypress Pointe Grande Villas (also a 2 bedroom with full kitchen for about $88 per night). I'm understanding that both of these are only about a mile from WDW. You can find photos and more info by searching on the internet or by searching on this board. I've seen a few negative comments about the cleanliness of CPGV, but I think most of them might be older, and I've seen so many positive comments that I'm convinced it would be a pretty nice place.

Hope this helps a little. Happy planning!

--Lisa

 

[Gillian]

May is a wonderful time to go! We just got back from spending the first 2 weeks of May in Orlando and at the Gulf beaches and had a fantastic time.

I think that you have lots of time to research. Don't feel rushed to make a decision! 3 day cruises seem to be less popular these days than the 4 day or 7 day, and it isn't really difficult to get a good cabin.

Since you don't visit Disney often, I'd suggest staying onsite. It's so easy, and you really feel a part of things. You probably won't have time to explore much offsite anyway. To us, the main advantage to staying offsite is additional space, but for 4 nights we could handle a hotel room. If you do the cruise first, a hotel room will feel like a palace compared to your stateroom!

Check out the Passporter series of books. Spend time on the cruise board and the resorts board to figure out what you want to do. I don't think you can go wrong with either the Polynesian or Wilderness Lodge. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is nice too.

I would avoid the Disney land/sea package because it limits your options and is not (usually) a good deal. It's often possible to get discounts on the land part of your trip when you book within 6 months, but you'll want to book the cruise part before that. And don't use Disney air!

Have fun planning! It's almost better than the trip.

 

[vossjemi]

disneymom3, lisamm, & Gillian

Sorry I'm not up on all the lingo yet. What is EMH?
Its funny. Since I decided to start researching this trip, every other day I'm convinced I'm going to do the opposite thing. One day I think we'll definitely do onsite, the next I'm thinking i'll save tons of $ offsite. I realize i have lots of time for hotels/cruise/air/transfers etc... and imagine I'll learn so much over the next 2 years on this board. Thanks for helping me get started!

 

[disneymom3]

EMH is Early Magic Hour. Each day onsite guests are allowed into one certain park an hour before official opening. Not all rides are open, but in Magic Kingdom for instance, it's a great time to get all of the Fantasyland rides done before there are big lines.

May is generally not too crowded and the weather is fantastic. You are smart doing all of this research so early. Who knows there may be a new hotel that everyone is raving about before you go! (That would be offsite of course.)

Keep asking questions--this is the best place I have found to get them answered!

 

[Rpsemont]

vossjemi,
Given your additional information, you may also want to look into renting points. In all of our stays, except the first, we have never "averaged" (per stay) over $100 night. I know alot of people love Poly, WL, AKL, and off site suite hotels, but I've found that usually means $120-$150 night or more, and as I said, we went 3-4 times before we started slowing down from commando touring and I just couldn't justify what was sometimes an additional $50 - $70 more per night for the place I would put my head. If your four days are Sun - Thurs, you can usually rent points and stay at a "home away from home" resort, sudio unit for right around $100 night. Check out the DVC Board for more info. A studio isn't much bigger than a hotel room, but they do have fridge, microwave, coffee maker. Keep in mind when you're comparing costs, that if it's 9 points a night and $10 a point, that's $90 TOTAL. No more, taxes, resort fees, etc. We love central location of BWV, but stayed at OKW last Feb and really liked being able to park almost right outside our door and the rooms were bigger. If you watch the Rent/Trade Board for awhile, you may be able to find someone who's from you city or state. The first time I rented, I kinda checked up on the person, (Made sure they were listed in the phone book, etc. and made sure they were close enough to me that if anything happened I felt like I could follow up legally without too much of a hassle - not that I ever really had to worry about it. I've rented from the same person 3 more times! LOL!
Good to start researching now, but look out, planning WDW vatations becomes addictive!!! LOL!!

 

[thumperjr9]

You have plenty of time to research and decide which accomodations are right for you. Just keep reading these boards.
We have stayed at HIFS for the last 2 years (in May). IMO early May is a great time to go. Never had a problem wth traffic getting into the parks from HIFS. It was very easy and quick to get to the parks. Several years ago we stayed on route 192 in Kissimmiee and that can get quite congested at times. There are pros and con of staying on or off-site. If you think this will be your only WDW trip or you won't be going again for a while staying on-site might be a better choice. The ages of you kids make it perfect to be surrounded by the magic. One of the moderates like POFQ should be fine for the size of your family.

 

[skeletor40]

I would say that staying onsite is better than staying offsite. It's true that Disney transportation can be slow and crowded but I went last year during August (hot and humid!) and was impressed how well they handled the crowds. Just the same a car would probably be best for you and your family.

As for being a "prisoner of Disney" you and your family will be having so much fun, you will wish you could stay longer at the end of your trip. Believe me the time will go by too fast.

And just think by the time you start your trip, you will probably have read the equivalent of five War and Peace's. I read a ton of information for my last year and am reading more this year.

Welcome to the board!

 

[Gillian]

One more thing we consider that seems kind of stupid but does really help us is a room with a balcony. We can get the kids settled in & turn down the lights. Then we go outside and relax for a while before we crash.

We have also rented DVC points for a studio. We stayed at the beach club villas. A studio there is hotel room size with 1 queen bed and a double sofa bed. miniFridge, toaster, microwave, glasses. Balcony or patio. Access to the best pool onsite - Stormalong Bay. It cost us (in september) about $60 less than a room at the Beach Club resort (sale price), right next door.