Onsite for 7 days, or Offsite for 10 days.

[AshleyD1983]

Onsite for sure... I am all about the convenience.

 

[Danny K]

Danny- i think before you commit to a resort, you need to think about your travel plans. I remember that you wanted to return to the resort every day at lunchtime. If you still want to do this, will you have a vehicle? I have heard that offsite transportation is not as fast as Disney onsite service. And I worried about your lunch plans even then.

There is a happy medium between the the Poly and offsite, so crunch numbers and then see if you can have the 10 days if you consider a less expensive onsite resort. You mentioned POP, and while I have not priced it out, I do know the difference in cost between the two is measurable.

If I stay offsite, it will be at a friends house for free, not a hotel. If I stay offsite, no I will not return back to the hotel.

 

[Danny K]

This would be a good " off site" location while still being in wdw. I think I read they have park transportation too.


Sorry to disagree, but that's a bit of an exaggeration, no, they aren't Ritz Carlton, but they aren't motel 6 either!


That's a jump, Poly or Pop? For a 10 day stay, without knowing how many in your family, what about Por or POFQ? WL or AKL? They would all come in under $200 with a summer discount. Just an idea.

Well if I couldn't afford poly, I probably couldn't afford any other deluxe, but my second deluxe choice is fort wilderness lodge, and then AKL.

 

[Danny K]

Not knowing any other info, I would say on-site for 7. If you are flying definitely on-site. What are your options for staying on-site? The values only? How many are in your party? Ages of kids? If you are definitely driving, then maybe off-site. You will still have fun. But staying on-site in comparable rooms is definitely worth giving up 3 days.

I have many options for onsite

These are my first options (If I can find a deal for $220 or less per night, or if I can get free dining):

1. polynesian
2. fort wilderness lodge
3. animal kingdom lodge
4. contemporary resort
5. grand floridian
6. beach club
7. yacht club
8. boardwalk

If not: split the vacation up between art of animation and a deluxe resort.

If I need a value:

1. art of animation
2. pop century
3. all star movies
4. all star music
5. all star sports


I really don't want to stay at a moderate, because I herd that they have very little kid appeal, and aren't really that exciting.

 

[married2mm]

We have had onsite and offsite stays.
Love them all,but definitely prefer being totally immersed and emh.

However,if it comes down to length of stay-the longest vacation wins.
We had the same discussion for next year-2 weeks onsite or 3 weeks offsite-
3 weeks won,and is actually cheaper than 2 weeks!

If your offsite accommodation is free,why not have an onsite and offsite stay-the best of both worlds?

 

[Nancyg56]

I have many options for onsite

These are my first options (If I can find a deal for $220 or less per night, or if I can get free dining):

1. polynesian
2. fort wilderness lodge
3. animal kingdom lodge
4. contemporary resort
5. grand floridian
6. beach club
7. yacht club
8. boardwalk

If not: split the vacation up between art of animation and a deluxe resort.

If I need a value:

1. art of animation
2. pop century
3. all star movies
4. all star music
5. all star sports


I really don't want to stay at a moderate, because I herd that they have very little kid appeal, and aren't really that exciting.

Oh, I think you may want to check some of them out. I don't remember the ages of your kids, but my DGD is 11. Her favorite resort, bar none, is POFQ. She loves it there so much she asked if we could bring her Pa there last trip. We were staying at the Beach Club and for her, it was not that great.

CBR is also a nice resort. I loved it, my DD and DSIL not so much. It is large, but if you get a preferred room, you are in the center of everything. The pool is pretty awesome!

AKL is my personal favorite. It is gorgeous, has a lot for kids, has a zero entry pool, and animals.

For kids, I think that the GF may not be as much fun, but that is my own opinion. It is kind of stuffy, but you know that everyone is different.

It is pretty hard to say don't take a free offer, and pay to stay onsite, but I can share my own experience when we took Kady for the first time. My first husbands sister was coming with us and she had a very strong opinion to stay offsite to save money. My DD and DSIL were totally opposed and we supported their decision to stay at AKL. Yes, we could have saved money, but the entire experience of being immersed in Disney was worth every penny. We never had to drive anywhere, never had to reenter the "real" world for the entire time we were there. Kady was so enchanted, she wanted to live there

I think that you have an opportunity to compromise, if you don't want to use your entire budget on lodging, step away from the deluxe resorts and price the moderates. I am not saying to stay away from Values, but I have not stayed in any so I cannot give an opinion. I just think that you may want to do a little more research in regards to resort options before ruling anything out.

Anyway, since you are leaning towards a once in a lifetime kind of trip for your kids, I would leans towards onsite. No matter how much your hosts will say that you should do whatever you want to do, you may feel that you must share your time with them. Not saying this is bad, but there is something very special about Disney, and your options are more open if you do not need to consider anyone but your family. After that first big family trip to WDW with Kady, there was a major mutiny in my family. If sis il came, no one would go. Not one of my family would vacation with her again, and even though she was very accommodating during the entire trip, she really got on everyone's nerves. I had to plan an extra trip because she was so upset. We learned out lesson.

 

[jaykorf001]

If I stay onsite, I will stay at Polynesian if I can get the price $220 or less per night, otherwise I will stay at Pop Century.

Holy cow. The Poly for $220 or less? Does that happen?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Onsite!!!

My first two trips were offsite. We enjoyed them.

Then we stayed onsite and didn't have to drive.

Never again will we stay offsite! It's too convenient to stay onsite.

 

[nkereina]

I'm all for making vacations as long as I can but in this case, I'd rather be onsite. No driving is huge for me on vacation so I love the bus systems and DME. Plus, we like to make it as "all inclusive" feeling as possible, so we always go with the dining plan. Plus, since your off site accommodations would be at a friend's house, it wouldn't feel much like a vacation to me. The money savings would be great of course, but I can never make myself comfortable in someone else's house. I'd rather be at a hotel.

 

[Nancyg56]

I'm all for making vacations as long as I can but in this case, I'd rather be onsite. No driving is huge for me on vacation so I love the bus systems and DME. Plus, we like to make it as "all inclusive" feeling as possible, so we always go with the dining plan. Plus, since your off site accommodations would be at a friend's house, it wouldn't feel much like a vacation to me. The money savings would be great of course, but I can never make myself comfortable in someone else's house. I'd rather be at a hotel.

Me too.

Danny- I love the Poly, it is gorgeous. I would not take it if it meant that my vacation would need to be shortened. In fact, that is why we typically choose a moderate, I get some amenities and still get to save a substantial amount of money. i also need to mention that I have sen your itinerary and there is no way I would pay Deluxe prices under that circumstance. In my experience, if you are not going to be spending a lot of time at your resort, you may be paying for something you are not utilizing. I also wouldl not bother with a split stay, because the reason for that is generally to experience multiple resorts. You are going to be running from RD to close most days, so I would not add packing up to move into what is going to be an already busy trip.

If you are dead set against looking at a moderate, I have heard that kids really like POP. With the exception of Art of Animation, POP is the newest value and folks here generally have positive things to say about it.

 

[Danny K]

Me too.

Danny- I love the Poly, it is gorgeous. I would not take it if it meant that my vacation would need to be shortened. In fact, that is why we typically choose a moderate, I get some amenities and still get to save a substantial amount of money. i also need to mention that I have sen your itinerary and there is no way I would pay Deluxe prices under that circumstance. In my experience, if you are not going to be spending a lot of time at your resort, you may be paying for something you are not utilizing. I also wouldl not bother with a split stay, because the reason for that is generally to experience multiple resorts. You are going to be running from RD to close most days, so I would not add packing up to move into what is going to be an already busy trip.

If you are dead set against looking at a moderate, I have heard that kids really like POP. With the exception of Art of Animation, POP is the newest value and folks here generally have positive things to say about it.

yeah maybe a moderate is a good choice then. I am actually not much of a value, mainly because the rooms are really small.

 

[DanInMN]

Most of your selections are Deluxe, which are staggeringly expensive... like $400+/night! You may get 30% off, which is still expensive. The Values are much cheaper, but feel like a cheap motel with garish decorations... not our preference. The Moderates are a nice compromise, beautiful grounds, pools, food, and your kids will love 'em.

With that said, free is a huge plus. The kids will get very tired at WDW and likely sleep well, so the accommodations may not matter much to them. If the house is nice and has a pool you will be in great shape. I'd go for 10 days free.