On-site-vs-Off-site

[jwsqrdplus2]

Not sure if this should go here or on the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board (mods, feel free to move). but...

I have stayed on-site in the past. I have also stayed off-site. Our family can afford on-site easily (OK, maybe not so easily with the deluxes, but values and mods, no prob!).

Now here is my dilemma: for the same as a mod on-site, I can book a suite off-site. I love the convienience and "Disney-immersifying" of on-site, but I truly have a hard time spending that kind of $$ for a single smallish hotel room (sorry Disney!!), when I can get a 2-room suite off-site for less. Even when I factor in a rental car and parking fees for the trip, we come way ahead off-site, at least $$ wise.

I really would like to stay on site for our next trip, but I am having a hard time justifying the $$. Any advice??

TIA.

 

[ciera321]

I think it's really a matter of personal choice. For us, we really love the 24 hr. per day magic we feel staying at a Disney resort, so that's where we stay. All the themeing of the resorts make the extra cost and the smallish rooms exceptable for us. I have friends who will never stay on-site because of the higher cost compared to some off-site rooms. It's nice that there are all options for all tastes. Have a great trip!!!

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I have to agree. In the past, my family has stayed both onsite, offsite, and with family. With offsite and with family, at the end of the day, you leave the magic behind you, and its back to reality. Staying onsite, you're immersed in the magic all the time.

Of course, it's really all up to you, what you feel you will be happier with. The questions to ask would be, would you take advantage of the suite? How much time will you spend in the room?

 

[BevS97]

I have had the same dilemma every time we have booked a trip - for the first 2 trips we booked, we spent at least half the time offsite, and then moved onsite for a few magical days at the end, this balance seemed to work well. On the third trip we had a new baby with us, so we decided that a condo offsite would be more practical, while it was practical, I really did feel like we left the magic behind and I returned each evening to laundry and cooking, I was not happy about doing "chores" on holiday - with a new baby having laundry and a kitchen was extremely useful but definitely not magical - I think if I travelled with a new baby again, I would make the same choice, but I would accept that we were losing something in the compromise.

On our 4th trip, just last month, we were planning on doing a week off and a week on, but I managed to get a discount code so we could spend all 2 weeks at French Quarter - I was really not sure how I would feel about 2 weeks in a small hotel room with a 1 year old and a 6 year old, but the price was right and I didn't fancy moving on this trip, so we decided to try it - We had the most fabulous time and I am now sold on staying onsite - although I may only ever go back to French Quarter, as I thought it was superb, and can't imagine anywhere else being as good.
We have used the buses on previous trips with mixed success and usually ended up driving to the parks, but on this trip the buses worked very well and so we used them a lot. The resort was beautiful and have everything we needed, and the only thing I missed was access to a washing machine - I did do some laundry one day while the kids were in the pool, and it worked ok, but the convenience of our own machine would have been nice (this is more relevant on a 2 week stay than just a few nights), but on balance, I found this onsite stay superb and it's made me want to stay onsite every time.

I can't argue with the space though, and maybe as our kids are older then space will become more of an issue - we were travelling with friends who had 2 teenage daughters with them and they stayed in a 2 bed condo just barely offsite and paid less than we did for our room at French Quarter - while I don't regret our decision, I could certainly understand why they made theirs, there are pros and cons to both - so I can't really tell you what to do, you need to decide which is more important space and facilities or 'magic', unquantifiable but definitely there.

Or do as we have done in the past and split your stay, allowing you the best of both worlds.

Bev

 

[WillCAD]

I stay onsite when I can afford it. If my budget is a little tight, I stay offsite and not only save money, but get twice the amount of space.

Last year I stayed at an AmeriSuites just outside Disney property. For $49 a night I got a two-room suite with a kitchenette, a comfortable desk and office chair for my laptop, king-size bed, and continental breakfast in the lobby each morning.

By comparison, the best rate I could have gotten at a Disney Value resort was $69 with a code, since I didn't have an AP last year, and that would have been for a room the size of the bedroom at the AmeriSuites, with no breakfast, no desk, no fridge, microwave, or coffee maker, and a double-size bed.

I hear people complaining about the 'lack of Magic' all the time, both at offsite hotels and at the Swan and Dolphin, but since I only have one vacation a year, staying in a nice hotel, Disney or not, is more than enough to give me that feeling of vacation peace and quiet that I so desperately need.

Maybe an AmerSuites has no Disney Magic, but that doesn't matter one tiny little bit if you carry the Magic in your heart.