Onsite "magic" vs offsite savings and space

[tarheelmjfan]

OP,
We've stayed offsite once, with our 2nd stay coming up next week. (We're only going for a couple nights to visit Comedy Warehouse & Adventurers Club, before they close.) We've stayed onsite too many times to count. We choose onsite for the transportation. My DH hates to drive on vacation, & I hate to drive anywhere. When we stayed offsite, we stayed in a condo. The houses don't really appeal to us, because we live in a FL home an hour from WDW. The big difference we saw with the two options is offsite offers a more relaxing vacation. If it weren't for having to drive, we'd stay off site much more often.

As a fellow DIS'er from back when we were all on the "radp" newsgroup (pre-DisBoards ), I would agree that this "Orlando..." forum has more of a willingness to poke a bit of fun at the all-Disney all-the-time mantra that is so prevalent on most of the other forums here. And I appreciate it!!! To me, it's not either/or; it's truly "I like both!" Some people actually prefer the slides at Wet N Wild ...or the theming at Islands of Adventure ...or the service at Portofino Bay or the Royal Pacific Resort (Univ) over the Polynesian ...or a great offsite resort over an onsite hotel or resort that costs the same or more! These voices are usually drowned out on other DisBoard forums. The few offsite-centered DisBoard forums are a more friendly place for those of us who like/love Disney World but who also like/love the other Orlando offerings too.

I agree! If any parks & their fans receive grief on here, it's Universal's. Some people seem incapable of discussing WDW, w/o putting UO down in the process. It's almost like they feel they'll be cheating on WDW (like a spouse), if they give UO a try & like it. They either won't try it, or won't allow themselves to enjoy it. Yet, they feel qualified to voice their opinion about it to all who will listen.

Case in point... One of my close relatives went to Universal last Thanksgiving & came home declaring she's never going back. All they saw was alcohol. Everywhere they looked, they were selling it or advertising it. (They're extremely anti-alcohol.) She's been to Epcot numerous times, & apparently missed the alcohol there. People often see exactly what they want to see. I love them both & think those who are too closeminded to allow themselves to also are really missing out.

Sorry, for going OT. I'll be quiet now.

 

[*disgal*]

i would never stay in a deluxe resort, i feel its a waste of money. we stay in a moderate resort. the cost for a moderate resort for 6 nights is about $900. the cost for me to rent a toenhome is around the same. i dont see where the savings would be. plus i have to pay for parking for 7 days at $77 for the week and then you have to pay fr gas.. im not going to compare staying in the resort to staying at a holiday inn, i would never stay off property just to stay in a hotel, i can stay in the same room on property. if i were staying off i would rent a townhome. so those are the only things i would compare.
the op is comparing staying on site to staying off at a townhome. she mentions nothing of a BW villa.

Well, let's see. We are going Easter, so it's peak rate and these are 2008 rates. I'm sure WDW will increase their rooms a little bit.

We are renting a high end 3 bedroom condo at WH. WH has lots of townhomes and the prices I compared with our 3 bed. condo were about the same. Our place during peak season is $745 cheaper than the POR room.

Our food prices are cheaper at the condo since we can at least have breakfast and a few other meals there instead of eating out so much.

When we do onsite trips, we still drive our van except to MK, so wouldn't save much there.

Parking was free when we had our AP's, now it will be $88.

So in all, it's about a $800 savings for our condo over a POR room.

eda: we just get base tickets and we don't fly so OUR biggest expense IS the lodging.

 

[*disgal*]

I feel kind of like you do, and go back and forth between on-site and off-site. I really "get" the benefits of both. We had a great compromise this last trip (June). We rented a stay in a 2 bedroom villa from an owner at Bonnet Creek Resort. It's entrance is ON DISNEY PROPERTY so I really felt like we never left. It is right next to the Caribbean Beach Resort. It was a gorgeous resort, and even after you figure in renting a minivan and paying for parking, it was WAY cheaper than staying in a comparable on-site DVC resort, and came out the same as one room at a moderate. It was so easy to get around, since we never had to leave WDW property. DTD is right down the road, as is Typhoon Lagoon. It is very close to OKW. We rented from vacationupgradesdotcom, but there are other website with owners that rent this property as well. Just something to consider....

That's what I would like to do sometime. I've looked at their pictures and it looks better than the DVC resorts! A lot cheaper rent too when I checked into it.

 

[lisajl]

To the Op, we have crammed all five of us in the POR. As God is my witness, Never again!!
We have also stayed in a hotel near the park. It was fine, but we still need more room. Our DD is 22, soon to be 23. Our DS is 14 and 6'1" tall and our 11year old DS is almost 5' tall. So, yeah...we need room.

We are choosing to stay in a townhouse with a splash pool. We are also taking 7 days this time, instead of the usual 4.
Everyone has their reasons for staying onsite. While I know I would love to stay onsite again, I can't justify spending that kind of money.
I would rather spend it on ice cream and popcorn at the parks. But, again, that is just us.

Lisa

 

[Karrie Davis]

Last December we stayed at a house in Windsor Hills, the December before we stayed at OKW in a 1 bedroom, the year before we stayed at POFQ. The one we wll never do again is POFQ, with only 3 we were cramped and our son was ONLY 1 that year....

What we loved about the house was the pool, WOW, We LOVED it right out our door. We got the house for the pool and hot tub. It was larger then we needed but we really enjoyed our vacation - so relaxing. We did other things but mostly Disney. We did miss the ability or rening a boat at OKW but the pool made up for it 10 fold.

We really enjoyed the 1 bedroom at OKW too. We never used the pool becasue it way too far and we were too lazy I guess. I used the bud transportation 1 time to go to DTD on my own but we found we really liked having the car and used it, we would not want to ever go back to only Disney transportation EVER.

I could see that with older kids you could take advantage of the transportation with older kids if you let them go on there own but if you don't it is a hassle compared to having a car there.

We did not feel that we missed staying on property at all last year, we gave up the boat rental for an hour but had great family time swimming every night.... I would get a house again even if we have half the rooms empty again, I would also go with DVC again too but more likely the house because of the memories we made playing in the pool

Good Luck!

 

[*disgal*]

Well, yes, this has certainly gotten lively!

Hey, Brian, Mia(sorry, Maria ).......I have gotten SO much good info from you guys over the years (I changed my username to a shorter one, I've been on here for 9 years)...........I want to thank you for that.

I do feel that sometimes that this board "pokes fun" a little bit at the onsite WDW experience. I, for one, like all that little stuff.........the hidden mickey's, the Disney soap,etc. BUT, it's NOTHING compared to what the WDW Resorts board do to the offsite "conversations". Gheesh! It's fine to have an opinion but they make you feel like you're an idiot if you stay offsite........and I'm not an "offsite only" person. Imagine how I would feel if I were!!

Like I said in the other post (and I thought this subject has come up a lot recently also), you never know if you're going to like something until you try it.

I probably would have never done offsite trips if it was just DH and I, or us and one child. Having the extra room for a better price was our objective. But by pure happenstance, we realized we really loved having the space and amenities of condos/homes. Didn't plan it that way, it just happened.

For your first WDW trip, I feel it needs to be onsite. If you refuse to rent a car, I feel you should be onsite. Obviously, if you are doing free dining, you are onsite. And like I said, if it were just me and DH, I would be onsite (I think )

For all the categories left...........you never know..........you might be happier offsite and you'll never know it until you try.

tarheelmjfan.........I hope I haven't been one of those that gets on Univ. We went and didn't enjoy it but our kids were too young and to be fair, MGM (or DHS now) is also one of my least favorite parks. We will try IOA sometime, and we definitely want to go to SeaWorld (we've been to the SanDiego one). Just because one person doesn't like it, doesn't mean the next person isn't going to LOVE it. We're all different.

 

[Zeebs]

We are heading to Orlando for our first trip to WDW in October and are staying offsite. I had read a lot of information for both for and against staying onsite versus offsite. I was a little worried about missing that "onsite magic" that everyone talks about but the cost and space issue of onsite just wasn't pulling me hard enough to onsite. Maybe one day when I can afford two rooms, (and Disney figures out that it would be a good idea if they guaranteed connecting rooms) we might consider it. We have hired a condo at windsor hills to accommodate, my family of 4 and my inlaws. The kids room is decorated liked this and I think the kids will be so excited with this bit of Disney magic.

To me, I would rather be going to Disneyworld, staying offsite than not to go at all.

Kirsten

 

[Family Fun Mom]

OP here again...

We had a very long family talk. We weighed it all and we've decided to give offsite a try. Dh really likes the idea of extra space. The kids love the idea of their own pool. We all love the idea of using the savings to stay extra days. We also want to give US, IOA, and Sea World a try. So, we're gonna do it. Offsite for 2009!

We decided on Windsor Hills but now I need to choose townhouse vs villa, and which one... Good thing I love planning

Thanks for all of the help!

 

[*disgal*]

We decided on Windsor Hills but now I need to choose townhouse vs villa, and which one... Good thing I love planning

Thanks for all of the help!

That's what I always say.......and when I come back depressed from my WDW vacation (because it's over) I always say the only thing that cures it is planning the next trip!


I had the same choices you have. I didn't know whether to do condo, townhome with splash pool, or getting a home with our own pool even though we didn't need THAT much space (I really wanted my own pool).

Next time I think I will want that home with a private pool, but this next trip we have to pay peak prices, which I'm not used to paying. So we just got the 3 bed. condo. It does overlook that awesome pool so my kids won't have to walk far. But I still wanted that private one, darnit!!!

Have fun deciding........there are so many nice ones, it almost starts to make you crazy.

 

[olbear]

I'm about a month away from booking our August 2009 trip. I was all pumped up for our first offsite stay when the doubts started setting in. Our only other Disney trip was onsite and we were charmed by the experience. I LOVED it. Seriously, I fell in love with Disney.

We are a family of five. That limits our affordable choices onsite. The kids will be 12, 11, and 7 when we go. An offsite townhouse makes total sense. Bigger rooms, more rooms, seperate bathrooms, full kitchen, splash pool, and savings that will allow us a longer stay giving us a chance to try Universal and Sea World... it all seems great. However, that little voice in the back of my head won't stop. I love the feeling of being saturated by the Disney magic. I love the busses, the Top 7 shows, the resort theming, the restaurants, all of it.

The thought of cramming all five of us in one room doesn't seem so magical, though.

If we stay offsite will I just feel like I am on a normal vacation and not a "Disney" vacation? How do you keep the magic going?

Hello there,

We live in the Daytona Beach area, and visit often as we're annual pass holders. We go for alot of weekends, and have stayed both on and off property.

We just got back from a 1 night stay. We stayed off property at a wonderful resort, Orlando Point. It was a 2 bedroom, with two full baths, one had a jacuzzi tub, huge step in shower. Full kitchen w/everything you would need for cooking etc. Living room area, total of three TV's, washer dryer, just wonderful. Loads of room.

Now 3 weeks ago we enjoyed a 5 night stay on property. We stayed at Pop Century. It was absolutely wonderful! We were on the delux DP. So I didn't worry about cooking at all. Isn't that what a "real" vacation is for us women? Hello!!

Comparing the 2, they were both such wonderful trips. Absolutely. But last night as we were coming back to our resort from DTD, hubby said, "You know it really is nice staying on property. We don't have to hassle with all this traffic. If we were staying on property, we'd be at our room right now instead of sitting in traffic." He was so right. Another thing I compared was the thought od having enough room, comparing the 2. For us, it really doesn't matter. Because staying at both, we spent so little time in the rooms. We came back for a quick nap in the afternoon. But space didn't matter for that. We just needed a bed. And both had wonderful pools for refreshment.

Price wise, hotels are not inexpensive as some once were. I remember years ago I went on priceline and stayed at the Best Western, DTD for $25 a night. Yes, you read right...$25!! Now it's average rate is somewhere around $129 a night.

Now you can stay on Irlo Bronson for as little as $40-$45 a night. But I wouldn't recommend it. I am a referring travel agent, and I have read and wrote reviews on some of these...they are horrible to down right GROSS!! It's true, you get what you pay for. I like to pay as little as possible, but not at the expense of my health. Know what I mean.

So in short, well, not really, but anyway.. Consider all the good and bad of both, and make the decision that will make you and your family the happiest. Either way, You'll be at WDW!! And that's allllll good!!

Blessings,
Winnie

 

[angelmav]

The difficult thing about asking for advice on this forum isnt that a few folks drink the kool-aid, its that they bathe, gurgle and water their lawn with it!

OP, you obviously saw that your family needed the larger accomodations that you cant get at anywhere near that cost on-site. If for what your paying for park tickets doesnt grant you enough 'Diney Magik' then cramming into their hotels and waitng for their busses isnt likely to help the matter.

Their both great options for different folks under different circumstances. In your case, I say go with your gut and enjoy the space and savings that offsite offers this trip!

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

we've done both, I recommend on-site to anyone if they can swing it financially. I find I can relax a little more when I stay on-site. one thing people need to realize is that Orlando is a high crime city, away from disney you need to take the necessary precautions and be aware of your surroundings at all times. the last few trips I have seen reports on local news of violent crime at area hotels outside of disney.

I like on-site so I can experience the "magic" during my entire stay not just when i am in the parks. I am aware that crime can still happen on-site, but the odds are greatly reduces with the way access is set up on-site.

 

[madge]

I think with the economy and so many people concerned over next year's heating oil bills and gas/food/inflation hits to their budgets, we're going to see even more people looking for ways to afford their desired Disney vacations. Even longtime devoted onsiters may consider their offsite options if it means not having to cancel their trips.

I think you're probably right about that.

While we enjoy a lot of the aspects of staying offsite, the price really is our main motivator. We've gotten some great deals over the years at some lovely resorts, which has allowed us to take yearly WDW trips

 

[FayeW]

I think the majority of the people who want to be "immersed in the magic 24/7" are also not ever going to set foot in any of the other great attractions that Orlando has to offer.

We like Disney. We love Universal. I feel so sorry for all of the people who will never give the other parks or offsite accomodations a try. I really have to wonder why they are so myopic.

I guess I will just enjoy that I get to have great memories from these other parks, and outstanding accomodations at a fraction of the onsite cost, because millions of people who make the pilgrimage to the mecca that is Disney World won't give them a second thought.

 

[Brian Noble]

You and I have clashed several times over the past year or two.

To tell you the truth, I can't remember any of them. Other than last week's SSR busses, which was a simple misunderstanding.

 

[MiaSRN62]

To tell you the truth, I can't remember any of them. Other than last week's SSR busses, which was a simple misunderstanding.

Well that's cool Brian. I'm glad. I say that sincerely. Because that means "no hard feelings". I, for one, have always enjoyed and respected your posts even though sometimes we butt heads over a couple things. None of our clashes have ever been any big deal.

We like Disney. We love Universal. I feel so sorry for all of the people who will never give the other parks or offsite accomodations a try. I really have to wonder why they are so myopic.

Faye,
We have very often ventured out to Sea World. When my kids were little, Universal wasn't as much of a draw. They didn't like those parks. IOA doesn't have a whole lot to offer younger kids.
Even now, as teens, only my son really loves Uni/IOA. My dd's only like a couple attractions here and there at Uni/IOA. They hate all the big thrill rides. My dd's can barely stomach Spiderman. They won't touch any of the coasters or Dr Doom. I feel WDW is better overall for younger kids....while UNI/IOA is better for older/teens.
They love WDW. Everyone is different and Orlando has something to offer everyone. But I can tell you....even when we stay onsite, we do sneak off a day or two to offsite attractions. But only on our longer trips. Anything 5 days or less we stick with WDW. I do agree that Orlando has a vast array of attractions for a variety of vacation needs.


Family Fun Mom ! Thanks for checking back in. So glad you all came to a decision---now the real planning can begin. Have a fantastic time at WH !

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I've done both on and off and love them equally. The trick to avoiding traffic is to get an...Osceola (?) county map and use alternate routes if available...but only if you have to. The only times I've found traffic to actually be bad is at Christmas. Generally speaking I always avoid I-4. You don't need to use it to get between Disney World and Universal.

I don't know about the town homes. Other people love having their own pools. For myself a really nice tropical pool ambience is what I'm looking for. So I do timeshares or hotels. The town homes sound nice for a big group.

Disney does NOT contain enough magic to convince me to shoe horn in five people in one room. If you aren't in a deluxe you don't have the easy access to additional bathrooms or sitting areas to help alleviate the crowded feel to the room. No you wont have EMH but you can turn that to your advantage as well. Make sure you go to the non-EMH parks, you'll be glad you did.

One key thing that helps is to take the occasional break at midday and go home. Have a nice lunch (there is all kinds of take out available), enjoy the pool. Return to the parks at dinner time when the dining plan people are having their sitdowns. Make sure you go ahead and enjoy eating out if you want but since you aren't in a hotel you aren't forced into it. I find the whole cooking thing to be a non issue if you start with the assumption you won't be making anything from scratch.

Savings... For me staying offsite runs about $100 a day but I'm getting a two bedroom for that. Since I'm not a fan of the values for me its a definite difference. I drive my Vibe down so gas isn't a big factor...when I had a rental I chose to get an econobox so it still wasn't a factor. In the Vibe (GT) gas locally is $4.50 a gallon for premium. That's maybe an extra $25 on my trip including rambling around for the fun of it. In a sense the lady who was saying there is no savings is right...what usually happens is that you redirect your funds into other entertainment. I can't quite see how it could be the same with a family of five & having to feed them all the time unless you are in a DVC.

 

[Red-Snapper]

I think the majority of the people who want to be "immersed in the magic 24/7" are also not ever going to set foot in any of the other great attractions that Orlando has to offer.

We like Disney. We love Universal. I feel so sorry for all of the people who will never give the other parks or offsite accomodations a try. I really have to wonder why they are so myopic.

I guess I will just enjoy that I get to have great memories from these other parks, and outstanding accomodations at a fraction of the onsite cost, because millions of people who make the pilgrimage to the mecca that is Disney World won't give them a second thought.

Agreed 100% but..I guess everyone has their own opinion and to them, its not wrong.

For me its not so much the space - its the fact I can get a Deluxe hotel for a much smaller $ amount, which isnt crowded with guests and at the end of the day I can go back to a Disney free zone. Plus coming all the way from England - there is just so much more to see and do in Orlando and Florida than just WDW. I always smile when I see people posting "we might try Seaworld or IOA this year" as if its a huge step to take. For us those things have always been a part of the Orlando holiday experience.

 

[dunkie7557]

i have been to Disney at least 25 times. I usually always stay off property. it is definitely much cheaper with more space. The bus system at Disney is not good. If you try it in the summer, you may be waiting for over an hour with a lot of other people in the very hot sun waiting. The car is worth it. I put in maybe 3/4 of a tank each trip-that's not a lot of gas and i go to other places like the outlets too. there are beautiful villas to be had through Sheraton, Hilton and Marriott or other timeshare resorts that your family will love. Why do you want to spend at least $350.00 per night in a one bedroom villa on site at Disney? They are small. Try to put 4 people in them with luggage. i have. no room with all of our "stuff" And on top of it we are barely in the room. So you are paying big bucks and not even in the room because you are in the parks all day. You need to try of fsite at one of the better places and see. i love the convenience of having a local supermarket to stock up and a nice big kitchen and tv area. don't get that with DVC . The only way you get that is by getting a DVC villa which will cost you huge bucks.

Read some of the reviews here on the really nice villas off site or condo complexes. or go to tripadvisor.com.
you won't be disappointed. you have just fallen for the "Disney" marketing ploy. there is so much "magic" in having extra money in my wallet to spend while I am there or to just save it. with the airline rates going way up to get there, it's nice to save somewhere else like the accommodations and still have a great time.
BTW Disney theme parks are real easy to get to driving. And offiste has so many more restaurant offerings to save. A lot of people are now complaining on the cost to eat at downtown Disney restaurants for example. They post the menus outisde of the restaurants. Look at the prices One nights dinner for a family of 4 can set you back $150-200.00 if you get any wine or desserts etc..too much. Epcot restaurants pricey too

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Wherever you stay - it's what you make of it You will have a great holiday regardless.

We have been many times - staying both off and on site. At present we prefer to stay offsite - but then we are staying for 20 nights this time & taking MIL. Couldn't face 3 weeks all in the same room

A TH was a much better option & the one we go to at WH suits us just fine. A couple of years back when we visited for 6 nights as an 'add on', we stayed at WL as we knew it would be better for a short stay.

Hope you have a great time