Onsite "magic" vs offsite savings and space

[Family Fun Mom]

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?

 

[Brian Noble]

I've done both---offsite first in townhomes/pool homes, then onsite in DVC villas. To be perfectly honest, I was a little anticipointed with the onsite stay. It was fun, I enjoyed it, but it wasn't leaps-and-bounds different from my typical offsite stay...it didn't quite live up to all the hype. Going forward, I'll be happy to stay onsite again but if the right deal doesn't come along, I'll still be perfectly happy offsite too.

Give the townhouse a try. Different people react differently. I know folks who have tried the townhouse thing and will never do it again. I know other folks who will never pay Disney's prices given the stones-throw options offsite. And, there are folks like me, who can hit from either side of the plate as it were.

I can tell you though that there is no way I would stay in a single hotel room with your travel party. I won't even do it with two kids, let alone three.

 

[calgarygary]

I personally find nothing magical about cramming 5 into a single hotel room with a single bathroom. We have stayed both onsite and offsite and I find that it is much more enjoyable where there is the space and the "facilities" to accomodate our family's size. By the way, what do you find magical about waiting for a bus?

 

[Family Fun Mom]

By the way, what do you find magical about waiting for a bus?

The wait I can do without but we had some bus drivers that really added to the magic of the trip. Plus, it was great to not have to worry about directions, getting lost, cost of gas, ect.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

I can tell you though that there is no way I would stay in a single hotel room with your travel party. I won't even do it with two kids, let alone three.

If we were to stay onsite we'd go with a Family Suite at ASMu or a FW cabin. But we can stay in a townhome and sleep in our own rooms (with the same set up we have here at home; boys in one room, daughter in one, dh and I in another) for less than the price of either of those.

I guess I'm just trying to figure out if the onsite "magic" is worth the price. My head knows it's not. I just need reassurance.

 

[imthatgirl]

i too am a family of 5. we used to stay out of the parks, but have recently discovered the joys of staying in the park. i will no longer stay off site again.
i also have found the savings of staying off site not all that great, especially now that you have to add gas to your cost. when i sit down and price out everything, down to eevn the smallest bottle of water i will buy i dont feel im saving anyhting. but by staying in the park i am saving my sanity.
i dont use disney bus transportation, never have would shot myself if i had to. so waiting for a bus is not an issue for us. if i had to stay off property i would need to rent, so i rent on property as well.
sure i suppose if you cut corners and never ate a sit down meal you could save money, but this is after all a vacation.
when we used to stay off property getting back and forth was a hassle. trying to get there by rope drop, forget it. using EMH, forget it because there was sufficient mid day breaks.
sure we got a private pool and own home, but how often where we there? not much. not enough to justify it.
what week in august do you plan to go? staying on property you could take advantage of free dining. cant beat free?
so all in all i dont find staying off property all that great of a savings, especially when you count that your 2 biggest expenses are tickets and airfare.

 

[madge]

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?

No one can tell you how you'll feel about your resort choice ... and no one knows your family better than you do. It sounds like the resort plays an important part of your vacation. If you feel like you can't have as much fun without that resort experience, then I'd plan on staying onsite.

we are a family of 5, as well ... 2 teenage boys and a 6 year old

we've stayed onsite, offsite, Shades of Green and the Swan/Dolphin. As the kids have gotten older, it's become harder and harder to stay in a hotel room. My kids are older, past the bed sharing stage, and 5 people with only one bathroom is a nightmare. It just makes sense to stay offsite. I've looked into renting DVC points, and while it's less expensive than deluxe resorts, it's still spendy.

Practicality aside, we enjoy the space ... we love having a whirlpool tub to use after a long day in the parks, having a fridge for cold drinks, a kitchen for snacks, more than one TV (some offsite resorts show WDW programming), and most importantly, more than one bathroom. LOL. The resorts we've stayed in have lovely pool areas and have a very tropical & vacation-y feel to them. The only time I don't feel like I'm on vacation would be driving between the resort and the parks, and that wasn't really a big deal. Especially when the drive is shorter and cooler/more comfortable than the WDW buses.

As far as feeling like we're on vacation in an offsite resort - we've always stayed in tropical resorts that feel like a vacation, not a roadside Hampton Inn. LOL ... I intentionally pick fun snacks to eat, things we wouldn't usually have at home. In fact, one of our favorite things to do when we leave the MK is stop at the candy store, pick out treats and enjoy them in our room. Keeps the magic going

Good luck with your choice!

 

[amw]

If we were to stay onsite we'd go with a Family Suite at ASMu or a FW cabin. But we can stay in a townhome and sleep in our own rooms (with the same set up we have here at home; boys in one room, daughter in one, dh and I in another) for less than the price of either of those.

I guess I'm just trying to figure out if the onsite "magic" is worth the price. My head knows it's not. I just need reassurance.

I can't help you with your dilemma .. I have yet to convince myself to stay onsite. We love having the kids in separate sleeping quarters.

The ASMU family suites were a good idea, but after staying in nice hotels and condos, I can't see myself staying at Disney "value" no matter what.

HOWEVER, there are rumours of "pirate" family suites being added to CBR in their room renovations. Hopefully, there will be mention of these rooms when the 2009 rates are released. I have no idea what their cost would be ... but it's an option.

 

[madge]

The wait I can do without but we had some bus drivers that really added to the magic of the trip. Plus, it was great to not have to worry about directions, getting lost, cost of gas, ect.

the buses are mostly automated (talking, not driving ) now. Every now and then there will be a bus driver that talks, but that the exception rather than the rule.

 

[disneystacy]

We are a family of 5. We stayed onsite last year crammed into a hotel room and I will never do it again if I have a choice.
We priced a villa on Disney property. It was 3700 for the week(no tickets).
We are now renting a 5 bed 5 bath home in Windsor Hills with another family and its costing us 1600 total (800.00 each family) for a week. With our savings of 2900, I'll be seeing the magic in my wallet.

 

[spiceycat]

offsite or onsite.

since you have already tried onsite - why not go for offsite this time?

you might find you love offsite - or like some others hate it.

every family is different.

you won't know one way or the other until you try it. So definitely try offsite.

now if you were going for spring break, thanksgiving week or christmas week - then definitely stay onsite.

but for just a summer week - go for it - stay offsite and see how you like it.

 

[calgarygary]

No savings for staying offsite?? imthatgirl I don't know what you are comparing to but there are always savings to staying offsite if you compare apples to apples. That is, Disney value resorts to the most basic offsite accomodations. Disney mods to the major chains and WDW deluxes to luxury accomodations offsite. The higher up you go, the greater your savings. Last year we stayed at CBR as part of my dd's dance workshop. Afterwards, we changed to Worldquest resort. I paid less per night at Worldquest for 3 bedroom/3 bath, 1600 sq. ft. with continental breakfast and snacks than I did for 1 room at CBR while my family (6) required 2 rooms at CBR. That was a savings of over $1000 for a week. Had I compared Worldquest to a deluxe which is a more correct comparison, the savings for our family would have been over twice that. More than enough to pay for car rental, meals, gifts, etc. Now granted a more correct comparision of Worldquest is to DVC - I would have to rent sufficient points for a week in a Grand Villa to compare apples to apples, at about 2.25/point - do you know anyone who is willing to rent their points for 2.25/point - more like 8-10/point.

 

[imthatgirl]

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.

 

[davinakb]

I guess I'm just trying to figure out if the onsite "magic" is worth the price. My head knows it's not. I just need reassurance.

• Though I'm not sure about where you are booking (or what kind of deal you've found), many of the off site places have nice "Disney" themes to the decor, and nice resort pools. IME the on-site resorts do have a nice theme in the public areas like the pool/lobby, but once you're in the hotel room..unless you have a Savannah view at the AKL or something, it's a hotel room.
• More space/less $. Our last trip, we had planned on 5-6 adults and found a 4BR/3BA townhouse in Emerald Island, full kitchen, free internet, nicely appointed for $600. For a week. All that space makes for a more comfortable stay, an extra bathroom is worth its weight in gold IMO.
• Breakfast in the room/villa. A small thing, but it makes getting up in the morning more leisurely. And cheaper, not always eating out. Plus with a full kitchen, it is easy to freeze water to bring into the parks. TIP: don't go crazy with the grocery store run, just keep it to water, park snacks, and what you KNOW you'll eat at the place vs. in the parks.
• Driving ourselves is a convenience worth the $. We always have a car, drive to the parks, find it faster/easier than the buses, YMMV. Plus a car allows the freedom for off-site shopping, like buying more souvenirs at the discount Disney store at the premium outlets. TIP: Print yourselves some directions to and from each park, and you should be fine.
• Money saved is more Disney. We put our savings back into longer stays, shopping and more Disney dining (we always do at least one nice TS meal a day, usually at signature places with wine).

Bottom line: this is a worthwhile experiment for you; you should save money and see how well you and your family like the off-site experience. FWIW.

 

[madge]

I agree with Gary - here are some of our offsite expenses:

This is from October 2007:
lodging: 1 week in a 2BR villa at Vistana Villages: approx. $400-425/week (I don't have the exact amount)

rental car: $102.69
we would have rented a car, regardless

gas: not sure. another expense we would have had, regardless

parking: $60

I used my weekly grocery budget at Publix, bought our food, snacks, and drinks for the trip. I have no idea how much we saved over buying food had we stayed onsite - our park food budget was $75/day and I came home with money left over.

If we'd stayed onsite, our lodging would have been at least $770 (at SoG - our cheapest onsite option) plus parking at the resort ($5/night?)

that's a minimum savings of approx $300 (without factoring in the food savings). I think that's pretty substantial.

 

[MiaSRN62]

You would definitely save money at the same time you get larger accomodations---that's pretty certain. Maybe you could do a bit of both ? Rent some points from a DVC Member (but only for Sun through Thurs nights because the points really jump for the weekend). Old Key West has the lowest points---as do the standard view rooms BWV and SSR. And book an roomy offsite place for the weekend ? Not sure how long your stay is for.

We stay both on and offsite during our trips so I can fairly give opinions on both. For us, when we stay at our offsite villa we feel like we're at a nice FL resort. We feel a bit disconnected from the disney experience (for some people this would be great). But for us, we like the feel and immersive experience of being onsite. That said, we do usually stay in roomy DVC villas so we're not crammed at all. We have stayed in many of the various value/mod and deluxe rooms on disney property, but never for more than 3 days straight. That's my limit for tucking 5 into one hotel room. This is why we bought DVC. Roomier accomodations and still maintain onsite perks. I have rented from Members before when I ran out of points. You might want to explore the possibilities with that ? But offsite will most likely come out cheaper for you. Just not sure if you are more concerned with saving money or having bigger rooms onsite ?

Onsite, we can save in car rental fees, parking fees and we get to utilize the EMH (which we find invaluable). If these things aren't a budget buster, and you don't really use the onsite perks, then offsite sounds like the way to go for you.

 

[tammy1210]

I wish I could offer you some great advice, but I can't - just wanted to say that I'm in the same boat. We're going June 2009, and I was back and forth - finally, I let the kids look at pictures of the townhouse we were considering - they loved it - they were so excited about all of the room and their own splash pool! So, we decided to try it - and now that it's actually reserved, I'm feeling more excited about it - but, you'll never know unless you try it yourself. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Lucky'sMom]

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....

 

[Lisa P.]

the buses are mostly automated (talking, not driving ) now. Every now and then there will be a bus driver that talks, but that the exception rather than the rule.

Yes, they're mostly canned touristy schpiels now... in sugary, cheery and chipper Disney voices. After you've heard these things a few times... on every boat ride, monorail ride, shuttle bus... to the parks, between the parks, back to the resorts.... whew!

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.

Actually, you could do much better. There are less pricy 2BR timeshare week rentals by owners and pool home rentals. Are you spending 6 nights in a single, small hotel room with a single bathroom and a single TV, with a family of 5 people, including two preteens, like the OP? More power to ya! Our three kids did fine with this kind of thing on vacations when they were littler, but there comes a time when hormonal mood swings and too much togetherness don't make for any fun at all. Also, DH and I really appreciate our privacy (and a nice double jacuzzi) in our master suite - it's our vacation too, not all about the kids, for us! Of course, YMMV.

 

[calgarygary]

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.

This is exactly what I mean about comparing apples to apples. If you are going to compare staying in a townhome, then the comparison in $ should be to a DVC unit. If you stay at a mod., then compare the $ to a Hampton Inn or a Wyndham where you can often score an offsite comparable in amenities of a Disney mod. for $300 - $400 for the week. Now maybe it's me but a savings of $500 is substantial but if staying onsite is worth the $500 to you then great. However, to say that there is no savings is incorrect.