On-site/off-site...how did you decide?

[Lupeix]

We book through the resort first. The price with them is still half the price of a 2 bedroom disney property. Closer to the date we get in touch with the couple we usually rent from and make our reservation. We still have plenty of time to cancel our first reservation. The secret to super low prices at bonnet creek is to book close to your arrival. Once we pay I give them 24 hours and then call bonnet creek. This assures us we have a reservation.

You may want to know that vacation upgrades has the policy to re-check within the 60-day arrival window (when it is cheaper at WBC as you said) and guarantee that if there's availability for your type of unit closer to the date of arrival they will re-book you at a lower price. You will only have to pay 1/3 down as a deposit, and your balance is due 30 days before you go. They try to lower the price between 60-30 days and let you know if they can or cannot. You can also cancel and get you money back as long as it is 20 days before arrival. Presidential units are rarely available within the 60 day window, but on low season you will likely end up paying less than the originally quoted 125 a night for a deluxe. This is one of the reasons I liked renting from them in the past and will do so in the future.

 

[sweetlike]

We are staying on site with our little ones for the ease of splitting up. If one kid or adult needs to head back we don't have to worry about dragging everyone else with us.

 

[nugov2]

I think you'll love off site with a little one. We have done both but with kids off site is the only way I'd go. I like lots of space and the great theming we get off site. We don't save money by doing it, but the private pool and hot tub that we can use while the little ones are sleeping and the resort pool with water slides make the expense with it. We always do a home so that we have the private pool. I actually find the themeing off site superior to what you get onsite and my kids love that, but if we were on it is deluxe only and IMO they lack the fun themes for the kids. We find getting back and forth easy, especially from Windsor Hills. I think you'll be more than happy off site.

 

[katyjeka]

Thanks, I never knew that. Sounds easier than what we r doing, although we love the couple we rent with. We believe Bonnet Creek is the biggest bargain in the Orlando area. We LOVE everything about it. I guess we've been so many times that staying offsite has become easy and in a way a welcoming escape from the crowds. Extra bonus, my dh loves it when less cash leaves his pockets and I love being able to stay twice as long as we could onsite.

 

[joannamet]

For us, the accommodations are part of the overall spirit of the trip. For a beach trip we get a condo or beach house and we prepare our own breakfasts and lunches. For the annual trip to the lake, its a cottage in the woods and we cook all of our meals. Hotels and restaurants for everywhere else.

For Disney, we always stay onsite because a condo or hotel off site just wouldn't feel like Disney to us. Would we save money with a kitchen? Yes. Do I want to make my own sandwiches or actually cook at WDW? Nope. I'll let the Mouse do the cooking and the driving and save money in other ways. I want to spend 24/7 in the Bubble!!!

 

[julie1072]

Thanks for posting this question! I literally just logged in to ask the same thing. I am driving myself crazy trying to choose.

 

[katyjeka]

We agree on one thing, I will not cook while at wdw. It is nice to have the full size frig. though. With the money we save we r able to enjoy a lot of expensive dinners and private firework cruises. We sure felt part of the Disney bubble last December while watching fireworks from a huge balcony. Perfect view for a fraction of the cost.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

For us, the accommodations are part of the overall spirit of the trip. For a beach trip we get a condo or beach house and we prepare our own breakfasts and lunches. For the annual trip to the lake, its a cottage in the woods and we cook all of our meals. Hotels and restaurants for everywhere else.

For Disney, we always stay onsite because a condo or hotel off site just wouldn't feel like Disney to us. Would we save money with a kitchen? Yes. Do I want to make my own sandwiches or actually cook at WDW? Nope. I'll let the Mouse do the cooking and the driving and save money in other ways. I want to spend 24/7 in the Bubble!!!

We cook at Disney,but not at the beach or the lake. Interesting how different we all are

 

[nugov2]

We agree on one thing, I will not cook while at wdw. It is nice to have the full size frig. though. With the money we save we r able to enjoy a lot of expensive dinners and private firework cruises. We sure felt part of the Disney bubble last December while watching fireworks from a huge balcony. Perfect view for a fraction of the cost.

Exactly. I never understand that logic. Just because there is a kitchen you don't have to use it. We ate almost exclusively on site, but it was nice to be able to store cold beverages and other items. We wouldn't use disney transportation on or off site as public transportation isn't my thing, but I know some enjoy that perk. Plus many off site locations are just as close if not closer than on site. I also as someone who has done both feel that the bubble isn't burst by staying off site. As I stated previously the themeing is better and we are so close I feel no different.

 

[khertz]

Ever since buying into Wyndham, we pretty much always stay at Bonnet Creek on our Disney vacations, and we LOVE it there! We love having all of the space so that DS can go to bed before us. We don't have to worry about waking him when I am blow drying my hair at night, or if we go out to the kitchen for something to snack on or drink. We have gotten bigger units too when the grandparents come and all stayed together. We find it so hard to share a normal hotel room with him now that we have been spoiled to staying Wyndham!

We also love having the full kitchen. Plenty of space in the fridge for drinks, and we have even gotten ice cream cakes from Cold Stone a couple times we have been there for DS's birthday and kept it in the freezer to eat off for a few nights. We don't always cook, but it's nice to have the option. We have had a taco night when we planned to be in early, and whipped something up on our rest day for lunch when we spent the day at the pool and splash pad before going to MNSSHP that night.

Driving to and from the parks from WBC is a breeze. We can get to the gates in just a few minutes. MK is the only one we have to add in a lot of extra time to take the boat or monorail, but we just factor that in ahead of time and give ourselves plenty of time. We have also had several times been lucky enough to get a fireworks view room to enjoy Illuminations from our balcony, with Wishes going off in the distance. Some buildings (I know at least the main building where the check in desk is) have rooms set aside on the top floor for fireworks viewing at night. I guess they are the show rooms so no one is staying in them. So nice to be able to watch the show and then head down on the elevator back to our room within minutes!

Last year, we stayed for a long weekend trip at Wilderness Lodge. I absolutely loved it because I have been wanting to stay there forever, but it was tough having to share a space for those few nights. It was really hard to get DS to take a nap most days because he just couldn't settle down knowing we were both right there. Next year we are planning to stay onsite since we are going with a lot of family who will be and we all want to be able to take advantage of the EMH together. But we have already decided the only way to do it will be a suite at AoA so we can still have our separate spaces, especially since we will have a 6 month old DD with us by then.

 

[bbak30]

We stay onsite, family of 4 with 2 girls ages 5 and 9.

For us it's really about 3 things:

• Extra Magic Hours
• Disney Transportation to parks
• Ability to make FP reservations 60 days out

We are a family that LOVES EMHs. Especially MK at night. Some of our best park experiences have been during EMHs. We also like the morning ones as well. This is all in conjunction with park hoppers, because we will hop away from the EMH park because it does get really crowded.

Even though we usually drive to WDW, we like taking the busses once we get there. We have had pretty good bus luck and find it easier than driving. We have never stayed at a monorail resort.

With the changes to the FP system, it seems like offsiters are having a hard time getting a FP to Mine Train or Anna and Else. My 2 princesses adore the Frozen sisters, so unfortunately that is a must for us. And I really don't want to wait in a long line for that. Everything else can be worked around, even Mine Train probably, but we need that FP for Anna and Elsa.

I would LOVE to stay offsite and have some more room and save some money. But for us, right now, it's better for us to stay onsite.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[skuttle]

We always stay onsite. Never really considered staying off-site as we like to be completely immersed. We drive to WDW but never drive once there for the same reason. We take WDW transportation everywhere. Once on a trip several years ago we drove to an early character meal at AK and just hated getting into our car for that. It was like going back to reality. I know we could save so much money and/or get more room for our money offsite, but I'm just not interested. We usually take advantage of EMH, and now, with FP+, that's a nice perk too.

However, several years ago we stayed at a value resort. Never again. If I had to choose between a value and offsite, I'd pick offsite without hesitation!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

1. I don't want to drive
2. I love Coronado Springs
3. Money's not usually an issue. If we can afford to go, we can afford onsite.
4. There's only four of us.

So, yeah. That's pretty much it.

 

[katyjeka]

We hate buses, LOVE Coronado Springs, but 17 nights for 2 rooms is more than my tight dh is willing to pay(so money is an issue), and there is six of us. Kidding aside, Coronado Springs is a beautiful resort and our #1 pick of Disney resorts. With Wilderness Lodge and Poly a close second.

 

[joedplumber]

We decided by trying both and realized about 3 years ago that hotel rooms don't work for our family no matter where the vacation.

For Disney, here is our/my experience.

1) Whether onsite or off we always drive to the parks.
2) We use crowd calendars for our planning which always suggests avoiding parks with MH. We do however, arrive at rope drop and leave at closing.
3) We did the dining plan and realized the only reason we were eating so much was because we paid for it. We never get desert when we dine out never mind having a desert with lunch and dinner. We definitely would of saved money if we had paid out of pocket. Live and learn I guess. lol
4) DW hates coming home from vacation and having tons of laundry to do so she does a load here and there while on vacation. Usually runs a load first thing in the morning or at night while we are unwinding. This also reduces the amount of clothes we have to pack.
5) The kitchen is for breakfast only. lol I am an early riser 5:30/6:00 so I typically will make breakfast for me and the kids as the DW only has a shake for breakfast everyday, smh. I don't get to cook often and I like to so I usually put on some tunes and find my happy place flipping pancakes or frying some eggs.
6) Didn't have any issues in 2014 booking FP+ and being offsite but then again it was still very new. Not sure if it is impossible anymore.
7) Always enjoy a glass or 2 of wine on the balcony to decompress from the day.

For us its all about space we just can't do 2 kids and 2 adults for a week in a hotel room. Even if WBC was the same price as a moderate hotel onsite I would still choose WBC. However, the price as we all know is significantly cheaper.

Anyway, just my 2 cents!

 

[Lupeix]

Driving to and from the parks from WBC is a breeze. We can get to the gates in just a few minutes. MK is the only one we have to add in a lot of extra time to take the boat or monorail, but we just factor that in ahead of time and give ourselves plenty of time. We have also had several times been lucky enough to get a fireworks view room to enjoy Illuminations from our balcony, with Wishes going off in the distance. Some buildings (I know at least the main building where the check in desk is) have rooms set aside on the top floor for fireworks viewing at night. I guess they are the show rooms so no one is staying in them. So nice to be able to watch the show and then head down on the elevator back to our room within minutes!

Last year, we stayed for a long weekend trip at Wilderness Lodge. I absolutely loved it because I have been wanting to stay there forever, but it was tough having to share a space for those few nights. It was really hard to get DS to take a nap most days because he just couldn't settle down knowing we were both right there. Next year we are planning to stay onsite since we are going with a lot of family who will be and we all want to be able to take advantage of the EMH together. But we have already decided the only way to do it will be a suite at AoA so we can still have our separate spaces, especially since we will have a 6 month old DD with us by then.

Last time we stayed at Bonnet Creek we Valet parked at the contemporary every time we went to MK, it is only $4 more and worth every penny (you can use it all day also, coming in an out of any deluxe resort) . Saves you lots of time, the walk from the contemporary to MK is 5 minutes. At the end of the day with little ones it is great to just have someone pickup your car and not have to wait in line for the monorail or ferry.

I am with you that a separate space for kids is generally a must. But it is different for different families and depends on the situation. If you are going to stay onsite next time, you may want to check our renting DVC. It may not be that much more than a suite at AoA and likely better (you will have a full kitchen to start). I will only stay onsite with the whole family the day I can comfortably afford to rent a 2 bedroom DVC villa. Ideally on the monorail. DH does not do buses or waiting and does not stay in hotels without fitness centers or sit down restaurants.

I have a work/vacation trip planned for next year, 1 week conference at the Swan/Dolphin and 1 week vacation after, taking the grandparents to babysit while I work. Still debating whether to do 2 weeks at Bonnet creek, rent DVC at the boardwalk 1 week and 1 week at bonnet creek, or take advantage of the conference pricing and get 2 connecting rooms at the Swan and Dolphin the first week and then move to bonnet creek. DH is not going, I am not going to be dealing with naptimes/bedtimes, I have per diems for all the meals and lodging covered for the first week (I do have a limit per night, so it won't cover the whole price of renting DVC). I may forgo the extra room for a week in favor of being able to be at the conference hotel and make it easier for me to work and grandma and grandpa to take the kids to at least Epcot and HS while I work. Not sure.....may leave the decision up to the preference of the grandparents, I think that may be fair

 

[Sunshine25]

We are planning a trip in Jan 2016 with our 3 yr old (4 at the time), first time as a family. We've always stayed off property but cost and clean beds were the only factor. We can't decide whether we want to stay on-site or not, what are the REAL perks that might not be listed on any website? We'll be driving from NC, so transportation isn't a huge priority, but if we are on property I would rather it be easier. With the little one, I am guessing Magic Kingdom will be our main park. Off property, any reco's? Last time we used Regal Palms and loved it, but the reviews of it now are a bit scary.

I have never been interested in any character meals or visits before , and admit to knowing nothing about them. Do you have to stay on site to go to them? Does it make it easier to try and get reservations? The last time we were at Disney, the old FastPass was just introduced...it has been that long and wow has it changed

Regal Palms has 600 townhomes all individually owned - its hit & miss when you book through a tour operator as your home is allocated on arrival and you don't know what your getting. There are plenty of beautiful townhomes on there if you feel comfortable renting through an owner directly (VRBO/Homeaway/Ownerdirect etc)- you will know exactly where you are staying. The resort itself is lovely with pools, slide & lazy river at very reasonable rates.