on-site vs off-site

[disneysteve]

MsMulan - We stayed at Orbit One Vacation Villas last month. 2-bed, 2-bath with full kitchen. We booked with SkyAuction for $261 for the week, just over $37/nite. Last year, we rented a 3-bed, 2-bath condo at Windsor Palms for $90/nite (and you can get those cheaper than that). There are lots of great properties available out there for the same or less than a Disney Value resort. Check vrbo.com or closesttodisney.com for some ideas.

 

[skiwee1]

I used to stay offsite for years. I finally broke down and stayed onsite and will never go offsite again. Even driving and having our own car makes no difference to us. I just don't like the condo feel of a villa. It makes me feel like I'm in an apartment. When I go on vacation I want to be in a room, not a condo. I think onsite is so much better that I wouldn't even go to WDW again unless it was onsite.

 

[disneysteve]

I think onsite is so much better that I wouldn't even go to WDW again unless it was onsite.

And that's what keeps Disney in business. Different strokes for different folks, as they say.

Bottom line is you need to look at your accomodation needs, your likes and dislikes, if you want a kitchen, housekeeping, etc. and decide what fits your needs best. For us, offsite wins hands down. For others, onsite is the way to go. No right or wrong answer - just depends on what you are looking for.

 

[spiceycat]

I do both - alot!!!

If you want to stay off-site for a week - then check out www.skyauction.com - if you don't mind an auction - this is RCI timeshares exchanges.

Cypress Point, Sheraton's Vistana, Silver Lake is very close and nice.

Otherwise you can look at II site
www.condodirect.com

Cypress Point is close enough to walk to several restuarants in the area. Sheraton's Vistana is BIG.

Oh I also own DVC points for my onsite stay.

this last trip I have 2 timeshares offsite - and for my WDW fix - I stayed on site - OKW and VWL for one night each week.

Epcot and Studios are fairly easy onsite or offsite. the MK is NOT.....

the AKL well I have only driven to it - but I really think the buses were alot closer.....

if you are mainly going to the MK - stay onsite. If the other parks - off site will be fine!!!!

 

[Kellydelly]

We have little ones (4yrs, 2 yrs and 10 month old twins) so for us staying offsite for the last three trips has been the best plan for us. With milk to warm up and crawling babies it's so much better to have a rental house! We've rented from Alexander & Associates three times now and have been so thrilled with the houses we've stayed at! Private pool and a bedroom for everyone plus full kitchen, two bathrooms and washer and dryer! I won't deny that staying on property is great, we did that 5 yrs ago when I was pregnant with our first. It was wonderful (Port Orleans)! Just not practical with a family of 6 now. I can't imagine how much it would cost for a suite or whatever it would take to accomodate us all at Disney? For a rental home we pay $94 per nite including tax. I think that's a darn good deal! We don't mind driving ourselves around at all. I don't see us staying on property again till it's just me and hubby visiting ourselves. Or if we win the lotto !

 

[ptrbryant]

On our first ever WDW trip (May 2002), we were skeptical about the whole on-site "magic" phenomenon. Actually, we were skeptical about the whole WDW experience and thought if we just did it once for our DS (then 6), we'd be off the hook and could go to "better" places for other vacations. To compare on-site vs. off-site, we'd booked 2 nts. at WL and 3 nts. at the Marriott Residence Inn, I believe on Palm Parkway---very close to WDW. The 1 BDR suite at Residence Inn was going to be about $50 cheaper per night. As fate would have it, DS arrived at WDW with a fever and an unexpected heatwave (each day was in the 90's...in EARLY May!) hit as well. We walked into the lobby at WL and, like many others, were completely blown away. DH and I have traveled enough to know that sometimes the hotels with the best lobbies have the worst rooms. We went to our Woodsview room and very so pleased. Yes, the rooms are on the small side, esp, for a Deluxe, but we loved the balcony overlooking Bay Lake, the Electric Light Parade floating past, the boat ride to MK...in short, it really WAS more magical. After 2 hours, I called the front desk to see if we could extend our reservation for our whole stay, then cancelled at Residence Inn. Since then, we've been back twice and will go again in 2005.
As someone else said, staying off-site has it's advantages, but you could be at Anywhere, USA.

Take care,
Karla B.

 

[skiwee1]

Nope, just saying that it's "easier" for us to just hop on a bus and head back to the room, then hop back to the parks later. If we had to actually drive back and forth we probably wouldn't do it. But yes, I know it can be done.
Sorry for not being clear on this.

I agree. We have done both and onsite was much easier to hop back and forth to the resort. Especiallly when one of you would like to go back to the resort and the others hang at the park a little longer. You can easily break up and not have to worry about needing a car to get back to the hotel. Our offsite hotels were always within a mile of WDW but it is still not comparable to hopping the monorail and getting to your resort. Any drive outside of WDW is a pain whether you are right next to WDW or 2 miles from it.

 

[MsMulan]

We have stayed at Vistana resort and Vistana Villages as either time share exchanges through a family member or weeks we have won on SkyAuction. We have also stayed at several places through Hotel Kingdom. The $85 a night was on Hotel Kingdom at Cypress Pointe, just up the road from the Crossroads shopping center. It was a two bedroom two bath, full kitchen, living room, the whole deal.

Our favorite is Vistana Resort. (By far!!) Check out the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board here on the DIS for offsite resort reviews and tons of info.

Thanks disneymom3 for the info. I would love to stay at the Vistana. Unfortunately, the auctions on SkyAuction do not fall into the dates that we need. I will do a search on Cypress Pointe to see how it rates. I am not going until August 2005, and I want to spend part of my stay on-site. I just feel better if I have something reserved early.

 

[Amirah95]

"For us, the thought of all of us sharing one room with 2 beds is horrifying, lol." SandyinCanada

That's our problem. DH and DD are in better moods when they have more space to breathe. I don't mind either way but if we stay on Disney property we wouldn't be able to go on other week long trips every year to the Carribean and overseas becauseit MUST be a mod or better for at least 7 nights for me to be comfortable. DH and I really don't like tracking down discounts and deals and re-adjusting our plans (what a headache) so he'll end up spending whatever it costs at the time of booking. As far as the buck goes, offsite rules for us. I will have the time of my life getting to be on-site two times next year. WOOT!

 

[crisi]

We are onsite snobs. Worse yet, we are deluxe onsite snobs. There is just something about Mickey soap and wake up calls that appeals to us (so we bought DVC). Fortunately, we have income to allow us to be onsite deluxe snobs.....and recognize that we are lucky. Vacations are one of our few luxury splurges.

But you can stay in very nice hotels (and condos) offsite for less money. One word of caution is to do your research if staying offsite. One of the reasons I like onsite is because I know I'll get Disney quality and a good location. With offsite, make sure the resort is reputable and in good condition and the location will be convienient.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I totally agree that it depends on what kind of vacation you want, what time of year you are going, how many are in your group.

We have stayed at value, moderate, deluxe, offsite 2 bedroom. I loved all of them for different reasons.

We can't do the value anymore because we have 5 in our family. And to be honest, we were quite cramped. Love the overall resort though. The rate of $59 a night or so sounds great for one room, but there's no way I'm paying $118 a night for my family at the Value resorts. Someone said they won't stay at a condo because it feels like an apartment. Well, we felt like we were in a sardine can at the Allstars. lol. And does that mean that you would never stay in a Disney Suite at a deluxe resort?? I don't know anyone that would turn that down if they could afford it.

We loved onsite and were pleased with the resorts (except maybe for space). I think all of them look great and I want to stay at all of them someday. But we just came from having almost 1300 square feet offsite. I think it might be hard to go back to onsite unless it's just a hubby and me trip. I would like the two of us to try more deluxe resorts when we fly and don't rent a car. (It's hard to beat the WL for romance)

And length of stay is also a consideration. We will be staying 13 nights in Dec/2005, 9-10 days in May/2006 and 14 nights in Oct/2006 (hopefully all will go as planned) That's 36 nights in one year to be at WDW. But that could only be done with offsite for us (and AP's lol). So.............would I pick one trip for 5-7 days onsite or 36 nights offsite. Hah! What do you think??

But.............we also drive down when we have the kids along, so we have a car to get around. And we will be getting Ap's so parking will be free. If it were just 4 of us again, and we were flying and not renting a car, I think I would opt for onsite. If money were an object, than I would go with Value. (but can I say I really hate double beds and sleeping with my 11 year old instead of my DH!!) If money weren't an object, I would go deluxe and try to get a discount. At least we would have queen beds.

Good luck in your decision. WDW is a great place, onsite or off.

 

[steveknj]

I think if you want to do disney on a shoestring, then staying offsite saves you a lot of money. That's the boat we are in right now. We are going in Feb. and we looked into the AS vs. an offsite suite type hotel. There was no comparison in costs. For the same amount of money per room, we are getting a kids suite, free extended continental breakfast, free cookies and coffee anytime, and the kids room has PS2, a VCR, and obviously it's own TV. Also the room has a fridge and microwave. The way my DD (5 yrs old) goes through milk, I'd be spending my life savings at the food court. Since it's right outside of Downtown Disney, I'm going to see if I can park there and then take the bus into the parks (anyone know if this is possible?) and save parking too Plus, I can now eat outside the parks and save probably 25% off my food costs as well. We'll probably do one or two disney meals while we are there, but otherwise, we'll eat outside.

Yes, I know I won't get the complete Disney Magic. But I figure, it's better to get SOME than none at all

 

[DMRick]

Since it's right outside of Downtown Disney, I'm going to see if I can park there and then take the bus into the parks
**********

Only if you go to a resort first and then take their bus to the parks. If time is important to you , that won't work.

I know we have stayed both on sire and off. We usually go off times, and stay value or mod ($49-$79 with AP), and definately time is more important to us, as is being waved through when visiting other Dis resorts ('cause we have that paper on our dash!). We have stayed right outside the gates, five minutes to Dis from our room..during the middle of the day. A way different story in the morning, trying to get in or the evening trying to get out. Our grandkids drop into bed at night, so entertainment in the room isn't neccesary, and the closeness doesn't bother us at all. We are paying more during winter break, than we usually do (still a bargain with the codes, and waiting on AP rates) but if they close the park because of crowds, we'll still get in, plus we get the early morning (and now maybe late nights) that only people staying on site get.
The best for us is, if just one of our party decides to go take an afternoon nap..our room is just a bus ride away...at the times we choose (since the bus runs all the time)