on or off site???

[Andreas Mom]

Is it worth staying off site to save a little bit of money or is the magical express and transportation to and from the parks worth the extra $150-200????

thanks

 

[disney_me]

I say off site. We have stayed off site everytime we have been to WDW. I love being able to come back to the house and relax!!! No one running in the hall ways for tired kids crying. Also nice to come home and use the pool in peace.

 

[GoinToDisney]

On site for sure!!! We used to stay at Days Inn Suites, but we got a code that made it cheaper to stay on-site. We requested a quiet area and got it. The hotels are so much nicer and more magical, transportation was great. We will stay on-site from now on! Plus we saved $$ on food with the dining plan and got to have a ton of character meals. For us, it was cheaper to do dining plan than it was to eat cheap counter service meals with just 1 or 2 character meals. Oh, and we saved also by not renting a car.

 

[Bloomingbeauti]

Staying offsite you either have to rent a car and pay for that and $10 per day parking, or pay for Mears (airport transfer) which is like $31 per adult and $23.00 per child, and deal with shuttles to the parks that are much less frequent. If you have small kids Id say stay onsite!! It is so nice to be able to catch the shuttle back and take breaks. It will be worth the extra $

 

[Princess_Michelle]

I vote for off site, especially Windsor Hills, all the way, 100%, you can even consult my On-site vs. Off-site Trip Report.........

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1611826

 

[Dawn414]

For us...it depends. We have stayed on-site and off-site. There are positives and negatives to both.

Positives of onsite include the magical express and not having to rent a car. If you have the dining plan or even the dining experience (for FLA residents or season pass holders) helps defer some of the food cost. Then there's obviously the transportation on the buses, monorails, etc. And the cost is comparable to off-site...especially if you're staying at a value resort. Aside from a value resort, it can get expensive.

We have a vacation club through Marriott and have stayed off-site as well. In this case, we had a 1-2 bedroom condo versus the value resort so much more space...we were able to eat at least one meal in the room. We had a rental car in one case and are driving in the second case. Since we have the season tix, we don't pay for parking anyway. Room is much bigger, but obviously not as convenient.

I do think with small children, staying on property is nice for the convenience of coming back to the hotel to rest just because if you're driving there and going back, you end up parking really far away when you come back.

So, I lean toward on property, but off property can be really good too!
Dawn McG

 

[merfsko]

We've done both, so I'll give you what we considered the good and the bad, so you can decide for yourself!

ONSITE
Pros
-You're in Disney! (Feel the magic)
-The room card is VERY convienent (it's your room key, park pass and money all in one- so you don't have to carry anything else)
-Access to Extra Magic Hours!
-Because of the buses, we could easily split up and re-meet where ever and whenever (we had a group of eight with four teenagers)
Cons
-We did not have a car, and therefore had to remain on-site
-The buses were not as frequent as advertised. Not even close.
-Choices (food) are more limited

OFFSITE
Pros
-Afford a condo with seperate bedrooms and full kitchen (extra space) (basically more for less)
-Rented car also provided more eating and sight-seeing options
Cons
-Paying for parking
-Not having access to extra magic hours

In the future I will personally stay both on-site and off-site depending on the length of the trip, the time of the year and who I am going with. For longer trips, I might even stay both on and off!

I hope your trip is as magical as mine!

 

[momto2inKC]

Onsite...it's just so convenient

 

[rk5798]

I wouldn't stay on-property just for the parking. We have done both as well as staying with friends in the area and with us it just depends on the trip. It is definitely worth staying on-property to have the non-stop magic which is why we stayed on-property the last time as well as for our upcoming trip at Christmas. Our lo's are 3 yrs. old and 6 mos. and while they are little it is just so much fun to see them so excited the whole trip with all the magic. Now that is not to say that they wouldn't enjoy it off-property but we think it is worth it while they are young. It is also nice on-property being able to have things that you buy in the parks sent back to your resort when you have a stroller filled with the kids things already. It is just nice to not have to carry extra bags around. But we have stayed off property many times also and it is not bad at all. Just do your research because you don't want to end up at a "hole in the wall" hotel. Also, we have found that we stayed at one hotel one year and loved it and stayed at the same place the following year and it was terrible(changed ownership or something) so just really do your research!

Sorry this is rambling so much. I am just writing thoughts off the top of my head!

 

[PoohsFan1]

In years past we have always stayed off site, but let me tell you, after this last trip we are never doing that again. This past trip we decided to stay at POR for a couple of nights, just to feel the "magic" that all the other guests get to feel while staying on property. There is no comparison plus the perks that you get for staying on site is worth every cent more than staying off site. We love how we can just park our car and not care about it until we leave, plus the EMH was so convient especially with 2 little ones. Even if we wanted to use our car, we didn't have to worry about paying for parking because we got to park for free. When we were at POR it really felt like we escaped from reality for 3 days, but once we left, reality seemed to set in real fast....very depressing, especially while on vacation.

 

[spalady]

I would never stay off-site. Why go to Disney and not enjoy all the magic. If money is the issue look into staying at a Value Resort.

 

[Disneylush]

For all the reasons stated above..On site at a value (POP) nothing else compares. I even like POP better than AKL savanna view!!!

 

[powellrj]

it really depends on what is important to you. We have stayed both on-site and off-site and prefer off-site. We never charge things to our room, never use the buses and always rent cars, and really like to kick back and relax on vacation.

If you think you would use the on-site perks and think you will be spending most of your time in the parks, than on-site would be a good fit.

If you would rent a car anyway and don't plan on spending all your time in the parks, than off-site would be a better fit because for the price of a value at disney, you can rent an off-site condo or pool home with several bedrooms, a kitchen and a washer/dryer and have lots of extra room to kick back and relax.

We stayed on-site last trip to take advantage of free dining, but the kids decided that unless we went for free dining again, they want to go back to staying off-site because of the extra room.

 

[Gillian]

For 3 people I'd say onsite.

The best option if you want to go to sleep after your child is to rent points from a DVC'er (see that board) and get a room with a balcony. Depending on what time of year and what days of the week (sun-thurs are much less than fri-sat), a DVC studio can be a fantastic deal. It also comes with a mini fridge and microwave, unlike the value resorts. Old Key West is the least amt of points.

We like offsite too, but when we were 3 people we enjoyed the Beach Club villas studio the most (compared to the Polynesian and a 3 BR condo in Windsor Palms, both of which were also nice).

For offsite check out Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms, and Cypress Pointe.

 

[PrincessAlways]

I hated renting a car, following directions & fighting traffic. So when ME came along, it was a no-brainer for me!! While some people might say Disney transportation leaves a lot to be desired, I still find it better than driving myself to & from the parks. Paying to park, forgetting where you parked & trying to remember how to get back to the hotel, I don't need that hassle! I'm on vacation people!!! Besides for me, when you're onsite, it's a "magic" feeling. It's part of the experience. That's just me! Having stayed in value through deluxe, they're all great.

 

[Mickey Red Sox]

For us, onsite -- no question. We come from the west coast, so are in Orlando strictly for WDW and don't need a car for anything else. Our kids are 2 & 8 yr old. I love the convenience of the transportation and the freedom to change our plans -- kids getting tired? Forgot the camera? Bad diaper accident? No problem -- hop on a bus and in 15 minutes we're back in our hotel room. MK too crowded? jump over to Epcot. For me, it is much easier to just go with the flow when I don't have to think about parking, car seats, etc.

For us, also, having the DDP and the combo room key/ticket really made it feel like vacation. We don't generally charge stuff to the room, but I love being able to just order whatever on the menu and know it is already paid for (or will be once we get the Dis visa paid off LOL).

 

[nictodisney]

We'd thought the on site transportation was a big plus. No hassle about traffic or being too tired to drive home (we were at all-star sports).

Has any one mentioned fast pass? Saved us so much time waiting in line. The kids only wanted to do spash mountain so they'd get a fast pass, hit Thunder mt rr. then go back to splash with little wait (may hit something else in between). We always keep a fast pass in hand for the next big ride.

ME made ride to airport simple - no worries.

Morning EMH were great. We'd do more in 2 hours than in 4-5 later in the day.

We won't try anything but on site after feeling the Disney magic!

 

[Donald Duck Dad]

It appears that you will be flying??

We have always driven and have stayed @ POR.

Question? Are you renting a car? If not what are your
transportation needs.

Off site buses USUALLY call on more than one resort and
wait times may be longer than Disney resort transportaion.

I vote for On Site just because of the magic and ease
of getting to and from the parks.

 

[Christel]

Is it worth staying off site to save a little bit of money or is the magical express and transportation to and from the parks worth the extra $150-200????

thanks

I have to say it is great that the bus takes you everywhere you need to go but sometimes it is a pain in the but waiting for the bus at the end of the night with little kids.

 

[my3disneygirls]

We are staying off site for the first time. It's a timeshare through my paremts so it's free. It's a two bedroom with a kitchen and a washer and dryer. We rent a van. The first year I didn't I hated feeling at the mercy of the busses. especially at the end of the night. People that we knew who rented a car got back to the resort a good half hour before we did using the buses. Being a family of five I'm looking forward to being able to stretch out at night and not be on top of each other.