On-site vs Off-site

[millys]

Right - we are on the verge of booking our holiday (around 21st August 2004 for 2 x weeks).
We did an Executive villa at Highlands Reserve in 2002 with extended family -with 5 x day hopper plus and 4 x park universal passes and had a great holiday - this year - just Me, DW, DS(15) & DD(9) so we are considering an on-site hotel.
We need 3 x beds as DS & DD will execute each other if they have to share a bed! Port orleans offers a "trundle" bed for up to 9's which might be OK but AKL has double plus bunks which would be better.
I must say that I really fancy AKL and have found quite a good deal (under £3000 for all of us) but obviously with car insurance(@£350) and park tickets this will push price up considerably.
Anyone stayed at AKL? Thoughts/photo's would be most welcome.

10 day world pass at £189 vs Ultimate at £269 - Comments?

What sort of prices do the self service restaurant charge on-site as opposed to Ponderosa/Sizzlers etc.

We are on a budget and some of these things could make or break the whole experience.

Air Altlanta jumbo - anyone heard of them?

Wow - so much to ask - sorry! Please help!!!!

MILLY

 

[KayleeUK]

Hi there Milly

On-site V Off-site......Mmmm what a debate. I have never stayed off-site and can't comment on that side of things. I have stayed on-site before but not at AKL.

This resort looks absolutely lovely - we have dined here and explored on a number of occasions. Here is The DIS Animal Kingdom Lodge Page You will find lots of photo's and info as well as a video tour which gives you a great look around the Lodge

There is a food court at AKL called Mara....adn if you have a car you could still choose to eat some meals off-site.

I hope some of this helps you

 

[Hilary]

If you plan to spend most of your time in the Disney parks, then I would vote for on-site every time. However, if you plan to visit other parks for more than a couple of days, the advantages of being on-site are less applicable.

The trundle beds at POR are fine for a child, but they are a chargeable extra if you book direct with the resort - I don't know whether this would apply if you go through an agent. Last time we were there they were $15 per day (if charged), so you might want to factor that into the difference between the POR and AKL if you think it would be an extra you'd have to pay, depending on the arrangement between your agent and the resort.

Both POR and AKL are great resorts (I've only ever visited AKL, but have stayed in POR a few times) One of the reasons we like POR is because the food court suited us and we knew we could grab something we'd all enjoy without breaking the bank or going off-site for meals. The prices are still higher than Poderosa / Sizzler meals, but we are prepared to pay extra for the convenience.

It's horses for course on this - there are plenty of visitors who would say a villa wins hands down every time and others who swear that on-site can't be bettered. There's only one way to find out which suits your family best!

 

[vernon]

AKL is a great hotel , and if the bunk beds solution work for you it could be an answer. However if you're more used to the size of accomodation that a villa offers Disney does have a couple of other solutions.

1) DVC accomodations, but even with taking the cheapest option of renting points from an owner, I think that a two bedroom unit is likely to work out too expensive. The one bedroom units offer a kingsize bed in the bedroom and it has a separate living room and kitchen, but the bed there is a pullout double sofabed. Unless one of the kids would sleep on a blowup matress and a sleeping bag I don't think it's a solution that's gonna fly.

2) You might consider the cabins at Fort Wilderness. I know a lot of people turn their noses up at this option as they consider it akin to staying in a caravan park, but from the people I've spoken to that have tried this option they offer good sized accommodation with some privacy for those involved at a very good rate. You also benefit from the cabins having pretty much a full kitchen so you could at least have brekkie in your cabins. Here's a link to some information on the cabins. http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/resorts/FortWilderness/rooms.htm

Even eating at the cheapest restaurants in the Disney hotels is going to be more expensive than the cheaper diners, although there is a huge McD's near to AKL, it might provide an occasional cheaper option.

 

[yorkshiregirl]

Hi, We had very much the same dilemma re kids sharing rooms over the last 2 years. Our first year (02) we stayed for 1 week in the Fort Wilderness cabins and we all loved it. We had the murphy bed in the lounge and the 14 and 16 year old shared the bed and the bunk beds in the bedroom.
We found we could shower etc and have breakfast at separate times so we were ready quicker and because there was mousekeeping it was not like having to do the housework. They even stack the dishwasher for you. It also saved some money on meals although we did eat out for most lunches and dinners.
The golf cart which you can hire went down very well too. In fact forget the rides, they remember whizzing around in the golf cart more than anything especially DD who had a go coming up to our cabin late one night and got pulled over by the ranger. (we were with her). DS loved parking it.
Our second week was in Key West where we shared a room and they did have to share a bed which went down ok but may not have done for a fortnight.
Our second visit (03) we stayed in a villa for 11 days and then off to Clearwater for the last 5 where we all shared a room and if we had to do that again I would have 2 rooms as the rooms are not big enough for 4 adults sharing bathrooms etc. Or have a villa again which was great having a private pool.
This year just DH and myself are off to Dl California and then touring California and the canyons etc.
I did do a trip report of the first visit in 02 which may be still around.

 

[juliebro]

Have you considered staying off-site but at a resort, rather than in a private villa?

To be honest, we hadn't till this year, having had private villas in the past. There are only 3 of us, so having a whole villa with private pool seemed a bit of a waste - but we would feel too claustrophobic in one hotel room.

This year we have been offered a 3 bed apartment (privately-owned) at Windsor Palms resort. It has 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, washer & drier etc i.e. all the advantages of a private villa - but there is also an olympic-sized swimming pool, jacuzzi, clubhouse with gym, table tennis, pool and even a small cinema.

We are only paying less than £350 per week for this (high season) - which is quite a bit cheaper than a private villa - plus there is the opportunity for DS to socialise with other teens.

Another similar type of resort is Emerald Island.

Both resorts are conveniently situated for WDW - and there are the usual Ponderosa & Sizzler close to hand - and supermarkets etc

We are hoping it will be the best of both worlds.

Julie

 

[richard3330]

We stay on-site at both Disney & Universal every time - our first trip not staying on-site for the entire time is this October when we are renting a villa for a week as well as a week on-site.

For us, staying on-site makes the holiday perfect. With 2 young children now, the ease of being able to use the excellent Disney/Universal transportation (if you don't want to use your hire car) to travel back to your resort half-way through the day and have a break makes the holiday much less exhausting and much easier

Character breakfasts, amazing pools, superb CM service and excellent theming at the Disney resorts adds to the experience - when leaving a theme park to go to a Disney resort the 'Disney' experience doesn't stop. I'm not AKL's greatest fan, but most people I have spoken to that have been there love it, and with the bunk beds for your 2 children it sounds ideal.

Richard.

 

[duchy]

Lots of pros and cons with this one. You'll get lots of differing opinions and here's mine
I've stayed both on and off site and (as the Disney parks are where we spend most of our days) for us on-site works best..
If you are planning to be out and about almost all day every day the Port Orleans trundle bed would be fine for a nine year old-but you will be tripping over each other first thing in the morning. Of course you can always send the kids out to breakfast whilst you are getting up (get them to bring yours back BTW we weren't charged any extra for the trundle bed-it doesn't seem to be charged for the way rollaway beds are.
The AKL rooms I've seen but not stayed in...I'd say you'd have more space-but the rooms are not massive. Just a little larger than PO. And more floor space if you get a bunk type room of course.
Something that may be a deciding factor is if you are staying on-site you could probably give your 15 year old a little more freedom using the internal transportation. This may be a good or a bad thing depending on your particular 15 year old of course !!
If you want a little more room and on-site isn't a huge deal we've had good experiences at Homewood suites on Palm Parkway. Five mins to Disney about $80 for a one bedroom suite with 2 beds in the bedroom, a proper kitchen, double sofabed in the lounge and tv in both the lounge and bedroom and free breakfast.
Or maybe try a mix of both one week offsite and do the other park stuff mainly whilst you are there and then a week in a Disney resort? At least that way you'd know *definitely* what suits you when you return for your *third* visit !!

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Hi Milly - AKL - it's a really great place, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there two years ago and will definitely be back in the future.

We've stayed on-site (AKL and Poly) at Disney and USF (Hard Rock Hotel). IMHO there is NO comparison between on-site at Disney and USF - USF wins hands down because their hotels really do feel like they're on-site (and are significantly cheaper).

But we tend to spend more time in US than in Disney, so we split our stay. Given we're only ever in Orlando for a week max (head down for some R&R and sightseeing down to the gulf coast for the rest of our time), this arrangement works really well for us.

We've also stayed offsite and for us it's not a problem, probably because we tend to spend time split between the parks and visiting Sea World, Busch or KSC.

Our first trip was at a DTD hotel using the Disney transportation. It was so appalling we've never made use of these buses again, we prefer to drive, or had the luxury last year of the Poly and rode the monorail to the only two parks we visite - MK and Epcot.

AKL we did enjoy because we drove from the hotel each day and night to wherever we wanted to go, but I've read good reports of the transportation system there.

It shouldn't be too busy when you go because all the US kids should be back in school and it's heading into their quiet time

 

[marv]

We have booked at double tree resort villas at maingate Kissimmee for a two week stay. This is off site and about 10 min from parks.
Havn't been yet but its a resort that has good facilitys: pool,shop,gym,resaurant, and is part of the hilton group.
Its also a Disney World official holiday site. We have a party of 5 me,DH/DS,10/2 DD,12,10.
All flights, 2 bed villa , car, inssurance for car and travel cost £3,350. We are staying the last 2 weeks in April, so we had to take the kids out of school, this did make a difference on the price, alot cheaper!
The villas are not very big, but are big enough for us. We wanted are own home from home, but with the facility's on hand as this is are first time in Florida.
This resort does 2 & 3 bed villas, the 2 bed has a sofa bed, kitchen dining room, 2 bathrooms, own balcony.
I chose to stay off site as after a day at the parks we would prefer just to relax and unwind, Also we have had lots of feedback from friends and family that have stayed on site and would prefer off site, as they say staying on site can be abit like staying at a glorified butlins.

 

[KayleeUK]

on site = glorified butlins

LOL

 

[millys]

Well - thanks for all your replies......I think I'm totally confused now!!!

It does seem a long way to go to "Butlins" when I can get to Bogner Regis in under two hours by car!!!!

I guess it does come down to personal preference and having no reference of an On-site stay - the only way to find out will be "suck it & see".

I am leaning towards Port Orleans as I like the idea of being able to take the boat to Downtown Disney in the evenings. Anyone know how long this trip takes?

I understand that there is a shotcut from AKL to the 192 - is this correct - as this may solve our "eating on site expenses".

Anyway - thanks for all your replies - I will watch the boards for more information over the next few weeks.

Milly

 

[Found Nemo]

Only thing with the POR is that the trundle beds are very small, and they do make the room very cramped.

Some hotels like the SHeraton Safari do suite upgrades for a reasonable supplement. The ones at the Sheraton have 2 double beds in the main room, and a lounge area with a double sofa bed. It's a Virgin flagship hotel.

Or the Staybridge Suites in either Lake Buena Vista or I Drive. They also have full kitchens, so that might help the budget as far as eating out goes??

 

[liferiley]

10 day world pass at £189 vs Ultimate at £269 - Comments?


i would go for the ultimate as you can sell any remaining days?? left on ebay,and im sure you could get em cheaper than £269.

 

[duchy]

If there's any prospect of another trip within the year an Annual Pass or Premium Annual pass is better value than either of those.
Of course it means to *have* to return......what hardship !!!