On/Offsite conflict!

[primaknits]

We are an extended family of 6 (grandma, me and hubby, 3 children) going to Disney World in October of 2015.
Originally we planned staying at the Westgate Town Center because we can stay for free in a 4 bed condo minus the small fee for changing timeshare weeks.
However, this will most likely be our only time going to WDW as a family and if my 3 kids (8,7, and 5 at date of trip) will get a better experience staying onsite we are willing to try if we can save enough $.
We would need a room big enough for 6, or 2 connecting rooms for less than $300/night. Is it worth it?
The budget mom in me says stick with the condo, it's free and an AWESOME deal. But the magical kid still in me says it won't be the same like when I was there 20 years ago.
How far in advance do I need to cancel hotel reservations through Disney? I'm thinking about making a reservation soon based on recommendations on here, and then canceling it about 2 months out from our vacation date if I really have to.
Sorry if this is confusing, I am so confused myself as to what I should do.
Help!

 

[worm761]

We are an extended family of 6 (grandma, me and hubby, 3 children) going to Disney World in October of 2015.
Originally we planned staying at the Westgate Town Center because we can stay for free in a 4 bed condo minus the small fee for changing timeshare weeks.
However, this will most likely be our only time going to WDW as a family and if my 3 kids (8,7, and 5 at date of trip) will get a better experience staying onsite we are willing to try if we can save enough $.
We would need a room big enough for 6, or 2 connecting rooms for less than $300/night. Is it worth it?
The budget mom in me says stick with the condo, it's free and an AWESOME deal. But the magical kid still in me says it won't be the same like when I was there 20 years ago.
How far in advance do I need to cancel hotel reservations through Disney? I'm thinking about making a reservation soon based on recommendations on here, and then canceling it about 2 months out from our vacation date if I really have to.
Sorry if this is confusing, I am so confused myself as to what I should do.
Help!

You can have a magical trip not matter where you stay. It is all about your attitude.

That being said, you seem to be leaning towards staying onsite. We do. We tried offsite once and didn't care for it. But we enjoy an adult beverage with dinner and don't have to worry about driving if we have more than we should.

If you are making a room only reservation, you have until 5 days prior to the start of your reservation for a full refund. If it is a package, you have until 45 days prior to your reservation for a full refund.

My suggestion for you... October 2015 is more than a year away. There will most likely be discounts. Don't book until you have a discount. If rooms fill up at rack rates Disney has no need to release a discount. Look at the discounts for this year. Next year will most likely be the similar. I would add about 10% to factor in any increase in prices. While the increase probably won't be that much, I prefer to over budget.

And to help pay/save for your trip, go to the budget board and read all about Swagbucks and how we earn extra money for Disney.

 

[nugov2]

With that many I'd stay off. You will only be able to get 2 values for that price and IMO you are downgrading on your accommodations. Values are very far from the parks, have a very small basic room and only a pool with no waterslide. Also no restaurants, just a food court. Not sure where that timeshare is though in comparison. We stayed onsite, but now are a family of 5 so stay offsite so we can do a house. We stay at Windsor Hills which is really close to the parks though. Your timeshare is free so I guess unless it is really far, that is a huge plus. I don't think the kids will care where they are staying, like the pp stated it is all in your attitude. If it makes you feel better we visited a bunch of the resorts when we were there with the kids and I asked if they would want to stay at the hotel and they said no. They are used to vacation rentals though and can't stand being in a hotel room. You could take the budget and get a beautifully themed condo or townhome in WDW at Windsor hills. You'd have a resort pool with waterslide. Then you'd have the best of both worlds. Close proximity to the parks, disney theming and lots of space. I think they also have 5 bdrm homes that may be in the $300 a night range in October. Just another option!

 

[Lupeix]

Unless your free condo is too far away, I will go with that and use the extra $$$ to get some nice perks, like character meals, memory maker and souvenirs.

If you really want to stay onsite I will look into renting DVC points through the DIS DVC threads and getting two studios at AKV.

You need ~13 points a night per studio (standard view, values are cheaper but very hard to get) in October (~12 September 1-30 FYI). You may be able to get 10-11$ a point and will have the perks of staying in a deluxe for what it costs to get two rooms at a value. You should book this about 11-10 months in advance, and the downside is that it will be non-refundable.

The other option to look into will be a cabin at fort wilderness or a family suite at AoA. I believe the suites are 280 plus tax a night, and you may be able to get either 30% off or free dining on those dates.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

I agree with staying off site with the free rental. You can save so much which realistically gives you the extra to do a few character meals or events. We. Stayed off site before there was affordable available on site. I liked onsite for awhile, but now I am looking forward to our townhouse rental.

It was not a vacation being stuffed into four walls on site. The times we had suites, condo and now a town house are more about a relaxing vacation without everyone on top of each other. SPACE is relative.

Privacy, sleep patterns, the kitchen and a washer dryer at my finger tips, heavenly!

 

[powellrj]

We love off-site and free is ever better! Even if you don't want to use the kitchen or washer and dryer, they are still nice to have! The extra room, TVs and bathrooms are nice too!

 

[MandiC]

The cabins at FW sleep 6, plus have a kitchen. For us, staying onsite was magical and I don't know we can go any other way for future trips. I do believe the cabins are less than $300 a night at certain times a year and then you get free transportation and if you choose to bring/rent a car anyways you will get free parking at the parks. We've never stayed off site so I'm not sure I can truly compare the two but we enjoyed being 'in the bubble', Disney has magical touches everywhere.

 

[MandiC]

I just looked, looks like $330 is value pricing for the cabins but in October it is closer to $400

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We took what we assumed would be our only family trip (still may very well be) in 2012. Stayed 8 nights & barely spent any time at the room at all save for cooking (which wouldn't have been practical onsite) and sleeping.

Amount of magic I feel we missed? ZERO. In fact, if we would have stayed onsite, the extra cost would have dictated a much shorter stay. Nothing "magic" about that!

 

[MandiC]

The thing about 2012 is you didn't have the off-site disadvantage of scheduling FastPass+ an entire month after those staying at the same time on-site. You will not get any of the most wanted FP+ staying off-site (as it should be tbh, if you pay more to stay on-site you should get some benefits of staying on-site).
Honestly once I took into consideration renting a car, paying parking at the parks everyday and the fact that you only pay 'rack rate' for a Disney room if you are going during prime season (which we will never), plus the advantages of staying on-site...staying off-site no longer had any appeal to me, and we are a family of 6. Yes, it is harder, we can't just book a normal room at any resort...but we will go less often to enjoy the benefits of on-site.

 

[NinaBella]

I would stay at Westgate for free, then use any extra money in the budget for the trip on creating magical experiences for the kids. You can add more to your trip.

 

[primaknits]

Thank you for all your help.

After reading responses and looking at the Disney sight with hotel choices, we will probably stick with our offsite condo unless some magical deal happens between now and then.
We're ok with rental car/parking fees as we are planning on getting a car anyways to do some stuff besides WDW. Since October is traditionally a "slower" period I'm not going to worry to much about fast pass stuff. I like to plan, but in the end if the kids want to do something else or something doesn't work out I am ok with dropping the original plans to find something else that will work for us.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

The thing about 2012 is you didn't have the off-site disadvantage of scheduling FastPass+ an entire month after those staying at the same time on-site. You will not get any of the most wanted FP+ staying off-site (as it should be tbh, if you pay more to stay on-site you should get some benefits of staying on-site).
Honestly once I took into consideration renting a car, paying parking at the parks everyday and the fact that you only pay 'rack rate' for a Disney room if you are going during prime season (which we will never), plus the advantages of staying on-site...staying off-site no longer had any appeal to me, and we are a family of 6. Yes, it is harder, we can't just book a normal room at any resort...but we will go less often to enjoy the benefits of on-site.

Everyone's different obviously. I don't know if the extra FP+ window will really impact us or not. Frankly, the notion of having to book them even 30 days out has us rethinking whether we want to go back or not, but that's another topic altogether And we drive to Disney, so the rental car doesn't come into play. And parking is pretty cheap compared to spending $1,200 more for a smaller room with no kitchen



For us, I do think EMH is something we'd enjoy

 

[rt2dz]

We do both, as a family of 6. Once upon a time, I was all about onsite. But, quite frankly, the prices have gone up 300% in the last 10 years and, imho, the service and perks have declined. We much prefer to stay in a 4 bedroom house with a full kitchen, living room, game room, 3 bathrooms, private (heated) pool, where everyone has their own bed for our 10 day trip for less than 2-3 days at a value resort.

We are actually staying onsite this Thanksgiving and my kids are complaining. They want to stay offsite. The area where we rent is actually closer to the parks than most onsite resorts. It's definitely more comfortable. The only reason we are staying onsite is because it's Thanksgiving week and the FP+ is going to be needed. Any other time of the year (minus Christmas or Easter) and we'd be offsite.

When we do stay onsite we do it one of 2 ways. Rent DVC points (generally look for distressed points, otherwise just use the broker) or we stay at the campground and rent a large, luxury RV. Both are cheaper than values, usually.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

We do both, as a family of 6. Once upon a time, I was all about onsite. But, quite frankly, the prices have gone up 300% in the last 10 years and, imho, the service and perks have declined. We much prefer to stay in a 4 bedroom house with a full kitchen, living room, game room, 3 bathrooms, private (heated) pool, where everyone has their own bed for our 10 day trip for less than 2-3 days at a value resort.

I agree, the value just isn't in the values anymore. With free Internet and the fridge, the price went up. Before it was comparable to off site paying for parking. But for $600-$700 we get a town house with a Disney theme. We've stayed off site in the early years and I just don't think there are any perks worth the extra cost now.
You pay $330 a night for that many people, for two nights stay you get a week off site.

 

[ParkHopperFan]

We have done both and will never stay onsite again. We stay at Windsor Hills mostly and for around $200 per night (with taxes and fees) have a big, fully equipped house with our own private heated pool and 4 bathrooms along with the resort amenities. Being able to cook breakfast and prepare lunches and snacks to take with us to the parks is a huge money saver. The down time is great too because everyone can have some privacy in the house after a full day of "family time."

The Disney bubble really isn't that magical. Waiting in lines and riding the bus with 50 other exhausted, sweaty people and cramming yourself into a hotel room(and sharing a bathroom) loses it's appeal pretty quick.

 

[brymolmom]

Didn't read all the responses so maybe this was already stated....

We stay both on/off site depending on the deals available. One thing I LOVE to do when we stay offsite is to stay at the Staybridge Suites Lake Buena Vista. I love the price of condos...but to me it just doesn't feel 'vacationy' enough to me. At Staybridge - you have someone cleaning up after you...Making your bed...And, best part, an INCLUDED, HOT, FULL BREAKFAST buffet! My 12 year old loves that he can just head down and start eating while I finish getting my bag ready for the park.

You can usually find deals in the $130 - $150 for the 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite! Nice king bed for the parents with separate room!

IMO - gives you the 'best of both worlds' and the location is AWESOME. There is a kitchen so you can save some cash by having a meal or two in your room too.

 

[bigmamimia]

Sp what did you end up choosing? We are going in October and staying at Westgate Town Center October 5-12.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

We used to be all about staying onsite only but with 2 teenage girls now and the prices going up, up, up, we've decided to stay offsite in a 3 bedroom/2 bath WH condo. The extra bathroom alone will be priceless. We are paying under $600 for the week. So free would be a definite no-brainer! Your kiddos will love your vacation no matter where you stay! We did decide to add a day to our vacation so we're going to stay one night onsite because our condo only rents Sat-Sat. Have a wonderful vacation!!

 

[mymickeyfans]

The first year we went to Disney my kids were 8 and 3.5 yrs and we stayed onsite. It was great, the kids loved it. The next year we went with friends and cousins so we rented a large house with it's own game room, splash pool, resort pool etc. at Paradise Palms Resort, which was fantastic. We're heading back in November and I gave them the choice as to where they wanted to stay, they both chose off-site because they loved having their own pool and space to run around so we're going to try Windsor Hills. Either way, both experiences have been magical. You can't go wrong no matter which way you choose.