On Site VS. Off Site

[Mermaid02]

Starting to plan for next January... I was thinking of staying off site but my daughter is adament about staying on site. I'm just not sure I can justify the cost differential. Tell me the pros and cons of on site and off site. We could get a bigger (much bigger) room for a fraction of the cost off site.....

 

[Gillian]

I hope you posted this on the Orlando board also. You'll want to get all sides of the story!

 

[peachgirl]

This question gets posted quite often. The link below is one of the best I ever read to anwer your question! Well, at least for the pros of staying on site. I can't help you with the cons, I don't know any!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=259397&highlight=reasons+to+stay+onsite;)

 

[pstepka]

We've done both and have never been disappointed. It's definitely a different experience being on-site and off-site, but there are pros and cons to both. I really don't think I've ever read a post that said "I stayed on/off site and wish I had done the other". Most everyone has a great vacation no matter where they stay, so don't worry too much about it. You just need to know what is important to you for this stay -- cost, transportation, room size, etc. and then see which works best for you. You can always do the opposite next time you go!

Pam

p.s.
Ditto about posting on the Orlando Board. Most people on this board stay on-site and those on the Orlando Board stay off-site. You can get opinions from both sides if you post there, also.

 

[Trekker]

I'm going to be the odd one out here. We stayed offsite once because we got such a good deal on the hotel rooms.

Well I'm here to tell you that I will never do that again. I can stay at a Marriot, Best Western, Days Inn, Etc. anywhere in the world. I can only stay at a Disney Hotel in a very few places.

When we stay on site we feel like we are on a Disney Vacation 24 hours a day - you never leave the place! Staying offsite, each day as we drove out of that gate it felt like the vacation was over and we were back in the real world.

Do not get me wrong most of the employees at the hotels we stayed at were great, but it was not the same. Eating at restraunts off property did not feel the same, swimming in the pools did not feel the same, watching TV (without the zip-a-dee-do-dah channel) was not the same.

I think it is all about a feeling - and we love the feel of staying on property - in "The Magic" 24 hours a day when on a Disney Vacation.

 

[dahess]

I agree with Trekker. Disney, Disney, Disney all the way!!!!

 

[Grumpy92]

It all comes down to personal choice. You need to weight the pros & cons and what works best for you. I have listed a link that has a great breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of both sides.
http://www.wdwig.com/onoff.htm

I will list one of the big advantages for us of staying on property is that it is alot easier to take a break during the day and go back to the hotel for a nap or swim, even a quiet lunch.

If nothing else take the extra money you would have spent on a WDW resort and set it aside for a future trip. Then try the offsite property and I am sure you will have an opinion when you return of which way is best for your family.

Either way let us know how it went when you return, so make sure to do a trip report

 

[KellyJ]

One of my cousins had been wanting to go to Disney for several years. She always said that they didn't care where they stayed, off-site would be fine. Her logic was that they could save some money, they were only in the hotel to sleep anyway, and they didn't need anything fancy or special.

Well, they saw an ad in our paper for a special rate at the Ft. Wilderness cabins and decided to go for it. It was just a tiny bit more than they'd figured to stay off-property. That decision saved their vacation for them. One of the family (2 adults, 2 teenagers) got sick with a stomach virus while they were there. Because they were onsite with the Disney transportation right outside their door, the other members were able to go on with the touring while the sick member rested in the room. When one teen wanted to go to one park and the other teen wanted to go to another, they were able to split up and do so because they didn't have to rely on one car for the whole family. The teens were also able to travel about by themselves, which freed up the adults for other things. She says she would never consider going again without staying on site...

 

[wdwphanatic]

If you're taking a Disney vacation, it just seems to make sense to make it ALL DISNEY by staying in a Disney resort. I have stayed off-site at some beautiful places, but it still isn't the same as being a Disney resort guest. There are little perks to staying at the Disney-owned resorts, as I'm sure you know, but really the best part is just being immersed in the Disney magic for all the days you're on vacation there. I guess if WDW were just another amusement park, it wouldn't matter so much where you stayed at the end of the day. To me, however, WDW is really a vacation destination -- and it just makes sense to stay in one of the on-site resorts to fully appreciate it.

Anyway, having said all that, I also should add that I don't think Disney is all that outrageous price-wise in terms of hotel accommodations. To me, the pricey thing is meals and souveniers!!! If you're going next January during value season, the prices are the most reasonable of any time of the year. You could stay at the All Stars for about $60 a night or one of the moderates for around $90 a night, which to me doesn't seem prohibitively high at all. Granted, these are not Disney's deluxe hotels, nor do they have loads of room, but you'd definitely be immersed in the Disney magic and be able to take advantage of the privileges of being a resort guest.

These are just my opinions (for what they're worth!), but I really do believe that it's extra special when you stay within the resort during your Disney vacation... As I say, I've done both and now won't ever go back to non-Disney properties during our family trips -- guess I'm spoiled!!!

Have fun planning your vacation,
Sarah

 

[aprincessmom]

I've done both and liked both. I even did an off-site with a 3 year old and had a good time.

I've never stayed in a hotel off-site, only condos or vacation homes and for the money they just can't be beat. We loved having space to spread out and, honestly, we were just as close to the parks as we were when we stayed on-site so the reality of long travel times never were an issue for us.

Also having your own pool to play in at the beginning or end of a day is really fun.

For the most part, the only reason I'll stay on site is because I get a good rate. Otherwise, off site is perfectly fine for me.

 

[EltonJohn]

I think it depends on what you're going to do while in Orlando. If I want to vacation exclusively at WDW, then I would probably want to go on-site. On the other hand, if I want to see other attractions such as the Kennedy Space Center, Universal Studios, Sea World, etc. then I would stay off-site. This is just what I would do though.

The first and only time I have been to WDW was in 1987 with my parents, and we did not focus entirely on WDW. So we stayed in an off-site hotel, and I still had a lot of fun.

diane