On or Offsite, need help choosing!

[jenjen212]

ESPECIALLY since this is your first family trip to disney, i would definitely recommend staying on property. nothing beats it. everytime that we stay off property, it doesn't really feel like a "DISNEY" trip.

as others have said, it is not something that can be described but there is "magic" there. you just feel surrouded by the disney experience.

worth it for the benefits of:
**extra magic hour,
**transportation,
**having your purchases sent back to your resort so you don't have to carry them around the parks or downtown disney,
**charging to your room - we always use this, gives me peace of mind. i would rather charge to the room, and leave my cash and credit cards in the room. that way i don't have to worry about losing my credit cards and having to cancel and reorder them. if i lose the room key, they can cancel the missing card and reissue one right there at the resort. (no lost $$)
**disney customer service at the resort.
**disney themeing at the resorts and pools

as you can tell from my sig, we go quite often. we live in miami (about a 3 1/2 hour drive), we have family in orlando. if we are going to orlando to visit family we stay with them (as they always invite us), but if we are planning on doing disney during our stay, even if it is for just 1 or 2 days out of a 7 day stay, we will stay on property, and turn our family's offer down. we'll invite them to visit us at the resort.

the resorts can be so relaxing, or at least riverside. that is where we usually stay, which is very close to downtown disney. here are some pictures:

main entrance to lobby:

Lobby:

mansion-style building area:

more mansion-themed pics:

resort decor:

st.louis bayou-style building area:

food court area:

outside food court decor:

resort decor:

The resort boat that can take you to downtown disney, it comes every 10 minutes (also free):

resort decor:

main swimming pool with slide and water spouts, and 1 foot deep kiddie pool for toddlers:

bridge to lobby area:

Building for the lobby, food court, restaurant, bar, gift shop, and boat rentals:

 

[Lisa P.]

We won't have a rental car and my DH would find it a major hassle to deal with unfamiliar roads and traffic and etc.

If you are committed to going without a rental car, then stay onsite! Offsite shuttle services are simply too infrequent and you'll find them more frustrating than the waits for Disney's transport.

We find it sooo easy to get around by car at WDW because the roads all have huge signs. It's not complicated at all. If you are going in Nov/Dec but not during Thanksgiving or Christmas weeks, the traffic will be light. It's a relatively slow time then. If you are going during the major holiday periods, onsite will be simpler.

From some of your other posts, it seems that you'd really prefer:
-- room for your family to relax
-- easy transportation
-- convenience to DTD shopping
-- easy access to food, especially if it's rainy
-- budget-conscious pricing

A nice, nearby, offsite resort's 2BR condo with a full kitchen WILL provide for all of this but you'd have to get/drive a rental car. Don't try it without one.

A room or two at POR/POFQ has buses to the parks and a boat to DTD, but you'd have to go outside to reach the restaurants/bus stops/boat dock. It'd be a little pricier for a week's stay, even without the car rental, and you'd be together in a fairly small room, but it does offer a nice theme at the resort.

A room or two at Swan/Dolphin has buses/boats to the parks/DTD. It'd still be a bit pricier and has no real theme but the rooms are a bit larger and you could reach restaurants from indoors. It's more convenient to Epcot/MGM and a couple other resorts too.

FWIW, on our first family trip to WDW, we spent nearly ALL of our time at the parks. There was just so much to see and do. We went right after breakfast and played all day at the parks, eating there for convenience and to try the theme restaurants. When/if we returned to the resort midday, it was to sleep, on that first trip. The same is true for most people we've known. Napping midday at a nearby offsite place is as easy to do as breaking midday at an onsite place - as long as you have a car to get back!

So my advice to first-timers is to save your money where it won't matter as much and spend it where you will enjoy it. If you love to swim and hang around a pretty resort, stay at a nice one and plan to spend a little less time at the parks so you can enjoy the resort. If you really want to see all that the theme parks have to offer, then save on the room and plan to enjoy the parks to the fullest.

When it rains, go to the parks anyway. Or, if you stay in a suite or condo, you can relax there if the weather turns unseasonably cold and rainy. Otherwise, you can go to the movies or visit the resort's game room and lounge (both onsite and offsite have these). HTH.

 

[jenjen212]

also forgot to mention the new package deals that they have for free dining.

order your tickets when you make your reservation, and they can give you free dining for everyone in your party. very convienent...

one counter service meal, one sitdown meal, and one snack / day

can be a real helper.

good luck!

let us know what you decide!

jen

 

[Troy08]

They key sentence is "we are going for the first time". Definately stay inside the world. You will want the "whole" Disney experience, which really can only be obtained from staying on property. I' ve done both and their is NO contest.

A good bet would be a preferred building at a mod. CBR is a good bet(try for Martinique)very close to food court, shopping, bus etc. Plus, the rooms are very confortable for a family of four.

It is SO worth it to be able to use Disney transportation and be delivered back to your hotel with no hassles. US 194, or IDrive, 4 etc. can be very busy and very confusing if you are not familiar with the exhanges , exits etc.

Plus, I think offsite you spend much time trying to figure out where everything is you lose so much valuable time.

After you've been once or twice, then experience staying offsite, but if you are going first time, on site is REALLY the way to go.

 

[NancyIL]

I much prefer staying onsite, and I LOVE the Swan and Dolphin! But if you need budget accommodations, consider the Sheraton Safari for $59/per night when booked by August 5th: http://hotels.travelzoo.com/orlando-hotels/198941 However, if you do that, get a rental car.

 

[mikesmom]

For the time the OP is traveling (late November, early December) renting DVC points is probably not an option. That is a very popular time of year for DVC, and from the DVC boards chatter, looks to be pretty much sold out.

 

[FARMGIRL]

Have you thought about getting two rooms, connecting, at one of the value resorts, we are looking into that, it was $63 a night for each room. I asked to be sure the rooms would be connecting since we have two kids, I was told that would not be a problem. I won't even think about it otherwise. I don't want to stay in a small room, so read this idea from some others on this board. We are going in Jan and these are AAA rates.

 

[Jackie H.]

If you can afford it.... -which I know at rack rates (full price) is really expensive....I would suggest the Poly.

The rooms are large in comparison to other WDW resorts. Over 400 square feet with 2 queen beds and a day bed as large as a single bed. A large bathroom and plenty of walking around room.

As for not wanting to wait around for buses....well the Poly has everything else beat there too. You can ride in a boat or the monorail to the MK. You can walk to the TTC (it's right next door) and catch a monorail to EPCOT. You do have to ride a bus to AK, MGM & DTD. Every resort rides a bus to DTD except POR & POFQ....but they take a bus to everywhere else.

BUT! I know the rates are really high right now....can you believe we paid $189 just a couple of years ago!!!

Honestly we did not enjoy our stay at Dixie Landings (now POR). But we are one of the very few. We were a LONG WAY from the main building and it seemed we spent a lot of our bus rides circling the resort.....but as I said, most people really like this place.

Now the Beach Club is where I really want to stay.....but I can never find a good deal on it! The rooms are not as large as Poly, but you can walk to EPCOT (or take a boat) and you can take a boat to MGM...buses everywhere else. The rooms are not as large as the Poly, but still larger than the mods or WL or AKL.

Good luck and I know you guys will have a great time!!!

PS.. I agree about NOT staying offsite. We moved offsite once to go to Sea World. After staying at Disney it was such a let down! My husband won't even consider it (and I'm glad! )

 

[ali-n-disney]

I've always found that staying off Disney property is just fine. As other people have mentioned, you can get a bigger room for less money. I had family members actually start out at one of the Disney All-Star Resorts, and ended up checking out after the first day because the room was too crowded. They ended up going off property to a hotel where the room was more of a suite, and they were paying less than they did at the All-Star.

If you're overwhelmed with the idea of choosing a hotel to stay at, I recommend HotelmartUSA...they help you find the hotel that meets your wants, needs, and budgets. We booked with them last time, and they were great. We ended up staying at the Comfort Suites Maingate East where they had gotten us a great price. The hotel was wonderful...we'll probably book our rooms there on our next trip.

Your first trip to WDW is going to be great, I'm getting excited for you! I hope you have lots of fun, and make tons of memories!

 

[HANDYMOM]

Personally, for the first time I would DEFINATELY go onsite for the magic. Being totally engrossed in all things Disney for our entire stay was sooooo great.

Port Orleans (Riverside and French Quarter) are great. The room size could be an issue but Riverside Alligator Bayou rooms have trundle beds for extra sleeping space.

Port Orleans (both) offers free riverboat rides to and from Downtown Disney. The ride is short, beautiful and relaxing.

 

[Aisling]

The convenience of being able to come and go is too much of a plus not to mention being able to attend EMHs.

To the OP, you said you'd rather not have lines. The EMHs really make a difference. When we did MK EMH, it seemed practically empty. As was mentioned, only onsite guests can have this experience!

 

[indigoxtreme]

Having stayed at both off site and onsite. I will never stay off-site again. I think POFQ fits your bill exactly. Boat to DTD from resort, small resort, nice rooms just refurbished and you are the 1st bus stop not long ride at all to any of the parks.

 

[Kitcat]

If you can it's just so much better all around.

 

[billwendy]

hi,

i have also done both, and when we do stay off site, its always a different sort of trip. we just feel that we miss some of the disney magic - dealing with the traffic, highways, non disney restuarants (not that they are bad at all) is just a different feel. We honestly dont spend that much time in our room - wake up early, come back late. the theming of the resorts is just what we need to make our trip special. we have definately stayed at offsite resorts that were also very very nice, they just didnt have the magic. when im at disney, i want to go all the way with it!! disney soap in my room, hidden mickeys on my wallpaper, giant playdough can outside my room, gift shops full of disney stuff,,,,,,i just love it all!!! really, i think you would have fun either way though,,,,,

 

[iliketoby]

I think the biggest advantage to staying in a Disney hotel is the Extra Magic Hour program. Since you're going at a time when it won't be super-busy, you really don't NEED the Extra Magic Hours.

I'm voting for a hotel on Hotel Plaza Boulevard. Although people often refer to Disney-owned hotels as "onsite" and non-Disney as "offsite", the Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels actually are on Disney property. They're extremely close to Downtown Disney. When you stay in a non-Disney hotel, you always get a bigger room than you would for the same price in a Disney-owned hotel.

The shuttles aren't as great as Disney transportation, but shouldn't be too crowded at that time of year.

Have a great trip whatever you do!