On or off site???

[taylorcpa]

I have done my pricing comparisons and have figured that I can stay off site (Windsor Hills) for about the same price as in a moderate (CSR) - this is taking into account free dining for on site. Anyway, I CANNOT decide. I have two kids - aged 3 & 5. We would be taking a break in the afternoons. Here's my pros/cons for each:

PROS:
Stay onsite - transportation to/from parks - this is the biggest pro I see for onsite, delivery of purchases to room, dining plan (although my figures for offsite includes significant dining on site), EMH
Stay offsite - more room, kitchen (which could be a con), laundry facilities, a place to get away

CONS:
Onsite - hotel room & one bathroom, would rather stay Deluxe, being at WDW 24/7
Offsite - transportation to/from parks, cost of onsite meals.

Now I realize I COULD do offsite for less than onsite but want to do the character meals.

So, what would YOU do considering they would both be about the same price. I just cannot decide.

Editing to add that we would be driving so we would have a car. Also, my price comparison is for all meals with the onsite meals being free.

TIA

 

[Wile E coyote]

First a warning, you will most likely get many Disney Wackos telling you that you must stay onsite no matter what. But here is my opinion.

My backround - I have stayed onsite 3 times and offsite twice (windsor hills & Emerald Isle)

1) Transportation - This depends on how you look at things. Staying offsite requires you to rent a car, and also pay for parking (a crazy $14 per day). Expect to pay at least $300 for a compact + parking. The good news is you do not have to wait for the bus. One of my onsite experinces made me wait 45 mins for a bus that never came.

2) Dining - Free Dining is a Huge plus assuming that your price comparison did not have meals. We brought sandwiches to the park. Any other time we a hungry, we used the Disney Visa points to pay for drinks and snacks. Free Dining would likely steer me toward staying onsite, but I would likely rent a car still because while I expect ride lines, I do not like to wait just to get to the park.

3) Comfort - This is the best part of staying Offsite. I got a 3 bedroom townhouse at Emerald Isle for $500. It was maybe 1 min. further that Windsor Hills, and much nicer. Don't get me wrong, Windor Hills is nice, But I liked Emeral Isle better. Anyhow, you will be able to put the kids down, and relax. You will not have to go to bed the same time they do. You have a washer and dryer if needed. The pools are always less packd than the resorts.

4) Atmosphere - Offsite means little or no themeing at your resort. However, this does not make a lick of difference considering the time at the resort is mostly to rest.


The way I see it, If the cost is the same (including an estimate for meals offsite), I would choose Offsite just for the comfort. If your cost offsite without meals is the same as onsite with free dining, I would likely stay onsite.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

I vote onsite ~ if you had more children or they were older I might have a different opinion. My mom, my 2 kids & I stayed @ POP *with Free Dining which was wonderful* last Oct. everyone had their own bed! I brought 2 air mattress' for my kids *1 was an inflatable air mattress with attached sleeping bag ~ which fit in between the 2 beds and the other was an Aerobed for Kids. We took breaks most days even though I thought we wouldn't *it was so hot & humid. The buses were fine ~ although it's a bit annoying when a wheel chair or ECV shows up with a group right as the bus gets there and they get on 1st even though we had waited 10 min. or more!

 

[hinodis]

I think it is a personal decision. My opinion would be to stay onsite, especially if you can get the free dining. I have stayed offsite 4 times for the exact reasons you stated. Then I decided to do the free dining thing. WOW! I loved staying onsite! These are the reasons why:

No worries about transpotation or renting a car.

The disney bus system to and from the parks was great.

It was so nice not having to drive the entire time.

Free dining was wonderful

The resort was beautiful

I was worried about being crammed in a small room with the kids. We never felt crowded. We always get a suite or rental home when we travel so this is a big one for us. We spent very little time the room actually, but when we rented a home we spent less time in the parks and more time at the home, not sure why, I guess its the convenience thing onsite. If you have never stayed onsite you really should give it a try and then you will know what works best for you and your family!

 

[Lisa_M]

First a warning, you will most likely get many Disney Wackos telling you that you must stay onsite no matter what. But here is my opinion.

My backround - I have stayed onsite 3 times and offsite twice (windsor hills & Emerald Isle)

1) Transportation - This depends on how you look at things. Staying offsite requires you to rent a car, and also pay for parking (a crazy $14 per day). Expect to pay at least $300 for a compact + parking. The good news is you do not have to wait for the bus. One of my onsite experinces made me wait 45 mins for a bus that never came.

2) Dining - Free Dining is a Huge plus assuming that your price comparison did not have meals. We brought sandwiches to the park. Any other time we a hungry, we used the Disney Visa points to pay for drinks and snacks. Free Dining would likely steer me toward staying onsite, but I would likely rent a car still because while I expect ride lines, I do not like to wait just to get to the park.

3) Comfort - This is the best part of staying Offsite. I got a 3 bedroom townhouse at Emerald Isle for $500. It was maybe 1 min. further that Windsor Hills, and much nicer. Don't get me wrong, Windor Hills is nice, But I liked Emeral Isle better. Anyhow, you will be able to put the kids down, and relax. You will not have to go to bed the same time they do. You have a washer and dryer if needed. The pools are always less packd than the resorts.

4) Atmosphere - Offsite means little or no themeing at your resort. However, this does not make a lick of difference considering the time at the resort is mostly to rest.


The way I see it, If the cost is the same (including an estimate for meals offsite), I would choose Offsite just for the comfort. If your cost offsite without meals is the same as onsite with free dining, I would likely stay onsite.

I completely agree (I know nothing about windsor hills vs emerald isle). More space and not packed in like sardines on the buses. We stayed off site in a condo last summer and it was great. The only way I would stay on site is if it were significantly cheaper to do so. You already have a car, so if you figured in your food and parking costs in your off site total and it's still the same, then I vote for stay off site.

 

[Planogirl]

Both choices have their pluses. I prefer to stay onsite if the prices are reasonable but mostly because of the location. I drive so the transportation is irrelevant. (Unless we stay on the monorail line...) EMH is nice but we rarely get to those. We don't eat in full service restaurants onsite much but I can see that free dining is useful if you plan to.

I love having a full kitchen. We never cook but a full fridge and microwave is nice. So is having space to store snacks and fruit and maybe a pizza for those late night munchies. We also like drinks that you can't get at WDW and it's nice to have a place to keep those cold.

I also like having a washer and dryer. We like to travel light and washaterias are the pits.

But (always one of those) the WDW resort theming can be nice. It's a hard call.

 

[Teacher03]

I would stay onsite for the free dining. I love trying different Disney restaurants.

As for transportation, Windsor Hills is closer than many of the Disney resorts. I seriously couldn't believe how quickly we got to all of the parks. The cost of parking didn't make a dent in our budget, it was so much cheaper than to stay onsite (we have to get two rooms.)

 

[ceecee]

Onsite no doubt about it! No driving or parking, never leaving the magic!
Free dining is great! Certainly would be cheaper than eating offsite. We really don't think it's that expensive onsite anyway, I hear people complain all the time, but we have King's Island around here and Subway cost $14.00!

 

[lindsmom]

I vote for offsite, although the free dining would be nice. I agree with the other poster who said it's a personal choice. PERSONALLY, our family would not survive two days in the same hotel room

If we ever stay anywhere, (btw, two kids ages 8 years and 5 months) it would have to have at least a sitting area / pull out couch so we could all have space. The washer and dryer are really nice, as well; you can bring a lot fewer clothes with you.

We're not big on needing the "magic" 24 / 7. It's kind of nice getting a break from being "Disney" all the time. We would go back to our offsite resort and nap in the middle of the day, go back in the evening and it felt like two days at the park.

Kitchen is nice, not having to worry about keeping a gallon of milk and juices, breakfast snacks, etc... having to get ice from an ice machine to keep your fridge stuff cold is just an extra hassle.

Especially since you already will have a car so a rental isn't necessary, I vote for offsite, but it really is a personal choice. Good Luck!

 

[lisaross]

i vote onsite...just for the convenience of not Having to drive..the buses are a short commute - u might decide to skip a nap and just leave the parks prior to dinner and eat at teh hotel...not evertthing goes as planned.

I have done my pricing comparisons and have figured that I can stay off site (Windsor Hills) for about the same price as in a moderate (CSR) - this is taking into account free dining for on site. Anyway, I CANNOT decide. I have two kids - aged 3 & 5. We would be taking a break in the afternoons. Here's my pros/cons for each:

PROS:
Stay onsite - transportation to/from parks - this is the biggest pro I see for onsite, delivery of purchases to room, dining plan (although my figures for offsite includes significant dining on site), EMH
Stay offsite - more room, kitchen (which could be a con), laundry facilities, a place to get away

CONS:
Onsite - hotel room & one bathroom, would rather stay Deluxe, being at WDW 24/7
Offsite - transportation to/from parks, cost of onsite meals.

Now I realize I COULD do offsite for less than onsite but want to do the character meals.

So, what would YOU do considering they would both be about the same price. I just cannot decide.

Editing to add that we would be driving so we would have a car. Also, my price comparison is for all meals with the onsite meals being free.

TIA

 

[mommymeg]

Since you asked for opinions...

If the price is relatively the same, my choice would be on site. I'm a penny pincher by nature and having free dining eliminates my inner struggle of looking at the price of everything on the menu and making everyone choose the cheapest option. I personally don't mind Disney transportation...have never had to wait for more than 20 minutes. And sometimes by the end of a long day at a park I literally can't keep my eyes open for the drive back to the room (not good if I was behind a wheel)...

For me a Disney vacation is one that is completely special, and I want it to be as much of a vacation as it can be. Meaning, no cooking, cleaning or driving people around...since these are things I do in my every day life non stop.

Having said that, I think you'll probably find alot of good arguements on both sides, so it all depends on your personal preference. Our most recent trip was in May in a family suite at ASMU, DDP, Park Hoppers, water park and more option. I think it was the best vacation we ever had and well within our budget. I would not have done one single thing different, and cannot wait to do it again!

Whichever you choose, I'm sure you'll have a magical time!

 

[Shmily1]

I may be a Disney Wacko, but I've stayed many trips on-site and off-site. All of my trips will be on-site from now on. I usually go with DS19, DD18, and DD's BFF and now adding in DGS6 months. Sometimes DH goes too. We've stayed at most of the WDW resorts and have favorites in all the categories. Even going with teens (who have been going since before they could walk) I still prefer to stay onsite.

The reasons we stay on-site:

• no parking fees
• no driving back to the resort when I'm exhausted from a big day in the parks
• the pools are designed with so much fun in mind
• many food options that are easy to get to/ walk to
• love the resort theming, especially with little ones!
• I'll do the laundry when I get home and am not on vacation
• I will NOT be cooking on vacation!! If a kitchen is present, someone may misunderstand this point!

Have a great trip!!!

 

[robinb]

My vote would also be onsite, especially if you are staying at CSR. You will be able to stretch your Counter Service credits to the maximum at the Pepper Market. You can literally eat steak and grilled tuna for the "cost" of a CS credit. It's a real bargain and the food is (IMO) very good.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

Onsite.

Just came back from CSR. Check out the CSR thread on the resort page. Having dining linked to your room key card is nice, no worries. Bus transportation is fast, easy. I love parking the car and not getting in it again until we leave.

That said, if I got some amazing deal for less, maybe I'd stay offsite someday, but you said same $...

BTW, it's *Mrs. Disney Wacko* if you don't mind

 

[dd50]

If it was me and my kids were that young I would do off site for the room. I did that for years and only stayed onsite last year and will this year. It works for me because I have a 12, 16 and 18 yr old and if they (2 older) want to stay in the park they can get home.

When they were young I liked them to stay in a different room so they could go to sleep. My DH needs the TV on and would have had a fit if we had to turn it off.

When we did have a kitchen I didn't cook. Would bring a few things for breakfast and if we weren't at the park I would stop at a store and get some subs or a pizza. No cooking on vacation.

 

[DisneyShannon]

I stayed on site for the first time two years ago and if I can afford it I will always stay on site. I stayed at hotels directly across from Disney thinking I could just catch the bus that the hotel provided. Well what should have been a 5-10 min bus ride took about 1hr and a half. That is Disney time that you can not get back. That bus stopped at every hotel along the way and some that was not along the way. I felt like I missed allot because you had to rely on the bus and it only had two pick up times from the parks. I said never again would I stay off site if I could afford it.
That being said I think the hotels outside of Disney can be nice if you take your own car to the parks.

 

[HeatherC]

If your kids will sleep good with all of you in one room, then I'd stay onsite. But if you don't want to all go to bed at the same time, I'd stay offsite. My kids don't sleep well together and particularly if they have to share a bed. That means they are cranky and tired and we don't have a fun time.

For our family of 5 and having all of us in one room is no vacation. Other families don't mind it.

Figure out what will work best for your family and then decide.

 

[taylorcpa]

The vote so far is 10 onsite, 4 off, and 2 undecided. In general, my kids don't do well with hotels. However, when they are tired they go to sleep with some coaxing. On the other hand, DH and I would rather have some room to ourselves to watch TV, get snacks, etc. We usually stay in houses when we go on vacation so a hotel room would be REALLY small to us. But the free dining really appeals to me!!!

Decisions, decisions!!

 

[LSchrow]

also consider what you would do if one person gets sick, or cranky/tired, etc at the park (and yes, it happens fairly often)
if staying on-site, a parent with can go back to their resort easily, while the others stay to enjoy their very pricey passes.
off-site would require everyone leaving, or one parent leaving, then returning (sick or with sick child) to wait, and wait, then pick up the family.

we've stayed both off and on.....now, we would cancel if our only option was off-site.
enjoy

 

[ohanaMAMA]

Im mixed on the offsite/onsite debate. I have done both.I like both for different reasons. I can USUALLY do a trip offsite for cheaper.. unless I can get free dining. in which case its TOTALLY worth it to be onsite. (for us anyway)

that said. If it were me? Id go onsite. There is nothing like that magic. AND we love parking our vehicle and then walking away from it until we go home.
The convenience of being so close especially when you need to take a midday break is AWESOME. It takes AGES to get back to your offsite hotel.