On Site or off?

[docmcstuffens]

Do you recomend on or off site for WDW?

 

[donaldude]

ON ON ON. Did I mention ON.

 

[docmcstuffens]

I guess the transportation on site would be good, but not sure the other + of on site?

 

[mrsklamc]

We're offsite people. We need our own bedroom!

 

[disneymom443]

I only do the onsite resorts. Just think of all the extras you get my staying on prop.

My vote is on site. Did I mention on site is the best.

 

[docmcstuffens]

Other than the free on site transportation, what are the +'s of on site? I just don't want to pay $300 per night for motel 6?

 

[Marionnette]

Other than the free on site transportation, what are the +'s of on site? I just don't want to pay $300 per night for motel 6?

Well, for $300/night I don't think that you will get the Disney version of Motel 6.

 

[docmcstuffens]

I was not trying to be snarky, we are Disney newbys, my husband and I have never been, even as kids.

 

[semo233]

That's a loaded question!! You will get many different opinions. It really matters what you are looking for. Tickets cost the same no matter where you stay. There are benefits to both. From what I've read, here's a quick summary......other posters please add onto the pros and cons of each:

On site:
Pros: No car rental needed with magical express and transportation, extra magic hours, Disney experience, choice of hotels

Cons: Must rent car or taxi to do anything off property, some people claim the transportation is a con, If you have more than 4 people traveling, you will sometimes need more than one room, which can be $$$$,


Off property:
Pros: Can be cheaper, many condos/homes available with more room and full kitchens, save money cooking (good for those with lots of food allergies too),

Cons: No extra magic hours, paying for parking, must rent a car,


This is just off the top of my head....
I have found that for the 3 of us, staying on property is less stressful and more convenient. BUT, we only stay on property for the Disney portion of our trip and then move on....

 

[ICF]

This question...and a long thread about it, come up every few weeks.

If the search is working for a change, you might want to check out the other threads.

There is no Right / Wrong answer.....it's all up to what you and the family want out of it. Some people want disney 24/7, others want all the space (at a cheaper price) that a condo offers.

We're off - site people.....we like having 3 bedrooms, a full kitchen, private pool, family room and all the space that a condo / townhouse provide. We drive down anyway, so it's not as if we have to rent a car or anything while there.

 

[mrsklamc]

To paraphrase a poster named Brian Noble who I think summed it up best, you can have two of three:

Be on site
Spend a reasonable amount of money for the accommodations
Have a reasonable amount of space

We save a fortune cooking our own meals, find driving to Windsor Hills faster than park transportation, and like having laundry facilities. But some people don't want to cook or do laundry on vacation.

 

[XYSRUS]

As you can see in my siggy there's six of us. We have stayed on and off site. I 100 % prefer onsite. Offsite is just like at home-cooking,laundry,driving-UGH-in my book. We usually get 2 rms at a moderate or a family suite with the dining plan for my hungry dudes.

 

[TiffanyK]

We've done both and I never thought we would like off-site, but we love it. The space is great and so is the savings. That said, I'd stay on-site again too under the right circumstances. Off is more relaxing though, I think.

 

[budafam]

I've now done both and honestly, couldn't tell that much of a difference.

Onsite is of course nice because you're IN the magic all the time but the limited space is horrible. I know you spend most of your time in the parks but it's still nice to have a little more room, a full kitchen is nice & how can you beat a balcony with a few of the fireworks everynight?

That is what we got at Bonnet Creek... a 2 bedroom condo for less than $100 a night. It was wonderful!

Most resorts that are NOT Disney, still offer free shuttles to all the parks so I don't get why people say you NEED to rent a car. You really don't. We did just for simple convenience (I had an AP so parking was free anyways) but the shuttle would've worked for us if we didn't.

The only bummer is that you can't take advantage of extra magic hours which , wasn't that bad. We just avoided the parks that had those each day.

I guess if I were going again with 4 people or less, I would stay on property at a value. If it was with 5 people or more, I would stay at Bonnet Creek again.

 

[tinkerbella16]

Onsite without even thinking about it! I've stayed off-site once and that was years ago, and since then its been on-site all the way. I love being completely immersed in the disney magic from the time we arrive until we leave to go home. We love using disney transportation and think its part of the whole magical experience. Just being on property is easier and makes it more fun.

 

[ssawka]

There is another option that provides space and is on-site...

Rent DVC points from an owner.

When I was growing up, my family always stayed off-site because Disney offered very few options at that time and there was no way my parents could afford to take my three siblings and me, not to mention my siblings' boyfriends and girlfriends when we got older.

Now that I can afford to take my family and stay on-site, it is a world of difference. We now own DVC and one of the greatest things about our vacations at WDW is the fact that I don't have to drive for an entire week, or face reality. I can just escape to a fantasy world for the entire stay of our vacation. I don't even turn on the NEWS while we are there for fear that I will have to face the real world!

 

[surfgirl]

budget? time of year? touring style? number of people in your group? ages? first time visitors vs. every-year'ers? visiting only Disney parks or other stuff? driving or flying? do you prefer someone else to do all the cooking and cleaning or do you prefer the extra space and lower cost?

We're an off-site crew - I just can't justify the expense of staying on-site with the cost equation. We like the space and honestly, after being immersed in the magic all day, I'm ready for a break. After we get back from the parks, we all find a different corner and de-compress for about 30 minutes before we are ready to go again. Can't do that on-site (not enough corners!) I also hate being committed to eating out every meal, but many people want to be waited on every meal (I take that back, I like being waited on, I just get tired of the waiting). We do a lot of takeout for convenience.

good luck. no bad decisions... only bad decisions for YOU.

 

[Marionnette]

I was not trying to be snarky, we are Disney newbys, my husband and I have never been, even as kids.

Nor was my answer intended to be snarky. I answered your question. At $300/night, you're in the range of what many refer to as the "deluxe light" resorts: WL and AKL. I don't considered them on a par with Motel 6.

• The moderate and value resorts have more of a motel feeling. Their room doors open to the outside and there are numerous buildings in each resort.
• There is no room service in the moderates and values.
• The hotel soaps are of a lower grade.
• Value resorts do not provide towels at the pool.
• Moderate resorts have a slide in at their main pool but the values do not.
• Value resorts do not have a table-service restaurant. Moderates have one. The deluxes have at least two.
• Value resort rooms do have two full size beds. Moderates have two queen-size beds with some king-size rooms available for a fee.
• You carry your own bags at the value resorts.
• Most of the deluxes are conveniently located near one or more theme parks. You can actually walk to a park from CR, YC & BC, and BWI. Poly, CR and GF are located right on the monorail line. WL, CR, GF and Poly are a boat ride away from the MK.
• In moderates and values, the sink is located outside of the bathroom. Values only have one sink.
• No coffee maker in the value resort rooms. Pod coffee makers located in all of the others.

Some of those things are important and some of them are just minor little details. I prefer to stay onsite and at the deluxe resorts or at the DVC resorts. If my budget were more in the value resort range, I would stay offsite. I am unimpressed with the value resorts for the money that Disney charges.

 

[TnTWalter]

I see you're a family of 3 with a small child.

In that situation, I would do onsite. Check the Resorts Codes and Rates thread for discounts. If you book during free dining or when there are discounts, the deals are pretty good. Not as good as offsite, but you're immersed in the Disney Magic. The dining plan is nice with little kids to take advantage of character meals. Forgot to add...sign up everywhere on disney's website...order DVC info, cruise info, maps, vacation DVD....in the hopes you might receive a coveted pin code which sometimes offers significant savings.

As your family grows and/or your child gets older, then offsite will start to appeal to you. when that happens, there's a great board called offsite where you can learn about all the options.

You could also rent a DVC studio for an affordable option if you want a kitchenette. There's a rent/trade board here too. The person you rent from could also hook you up with a dining plan.

Best of luck and enjoy!!

Trish

 

[uscgmouse]

We are staying off site. We have never actually stayed onsite but it is cheaper to stay off site and get a rental car than it is to stay on property for us. I also like being able to leave the area if we want to.