onsite or off?

[dolphincrazy]

Which is better and cheaper? I'm sure staying onsite has more pros than cons but, Is there anywhere that sells packages cheaper than Disney?
Thanks, Maryann

 

[crisi]

Well, I'm an onsite snob. But offsite is definately cheaper.

AAA often has packages that have discounted rooms at Disney. Or you can look for codes on rooms and buy your tickets from a broker. That is often cheaper - to put the cheapest pieces together. Check out www.mousesavers.com for a whole lot of info.

Onsite:

Disney Transportation runs regularly and is usually pretty darn good. You may be able to get by without a car (although a lot of people still get them).

If you do have a car, parking will be free.

Disney themeing is around you constantly.

You know you are getting Disney quality. Occationally there are problems, but generally speaking, the staff is great, the rooms are in good shape and clean, the pool areas are kept up.

You are on Disney property. Some offsite hotels are pretty close, but keep in mind that getting from one end of Disney to the other can take fifteen minutes - so there is an advantage to starting on property. Some offsite hotels will have you drive half an hour before you even get to property.

Onsite guests get a few perks, like Early Entry mornings.

Offsite:

Generally speaking, you will get a lot more room for your dollar. There are some really nice, reasonably priced, offsite hotels. However, do your research - there are some dumps out there as well.

Often offsite hotels will offer a continental breakfast. Disney hotels don't.

Staying offsite will probably mean you need a car, which gives you a lot of freedom to do something other than eat at Disney restaurants, go to Disney parks, and buy things at overpriced Disney gift shops.

 

[chirsty'smom]

Watch what time of yr your heading to WDW - staying off-site and having to drive to WDW during peak/holiday hours, waiting to pay the parking, waiting for the tram into the parks

vs. using Disney Transp. and NOT waiting at tolls,parking tram etc...

Plus you may have more patience than me but I CAN'T handle drivers without common sense or an ounce of courtesy so I'm better off letting Disney handle it for me.

Oh yeah and I love being able to have Mickey give me my wake up call!

 

[4greatboys]

We stayed onsite and off our first visit and while offsite was def cheaper we prefer onsite. You dont have to get a rental if you dont want one. Yes some offsite places have shuttles but you go by their schedule not yours. We loved staying onsite so much we are now DVC members. Its so great to check and out and not hand over any money or cc.

 

[Schmeck]

And don't forget, during extremely busy times of the year, the parks may close to off-site visitors later in the day, so you'd have to plan to get to the parks early.

 

[stacy6552]

On site! On on on! With Disney.

We always book our trips a la carte, because its cheaper to grabs the deals as you find them.

 

[snoopy]

I prefer on site, if its a DVC with a full kitchen, other than that, we stay off-site. My family is the type that does not tour the parks commando style, we like our down time, and we need some room to spread out. I also have gotten to the point where I will not stay anywhere without a kitchen, my kids are just too picky for restaurants 3 meals each day. I also like the other amenities the larger units provide, the last place we stayed - Cypress Point Grand Villas - had a jacuzzi and a lovely, large screened in porch, a VCR, all the amenities of home plus some.

As far as WDW property, we have stayed at PO Riverside (when it was DxL, which is our favorite of the WDW resorts); the Poly and AllStars, and the Swan and Dolphin numerous times. All are lovely resorts, and as someone else mentioned, rooms tend to be cleaner and the staff better in Disney resorts. I've also stayed onsite at Universal, both Portofino and Royal Pacific and had even better service than at Disney. Both of these resorts are beautiful, and so well run, plus they offer the front of the line perk at the parks.

Its really a personal choice - for us, it was just more logical to give up the Disney magic and the perks at Universal for the extra living space. We were NOT happy campers cooped up in a hotel room for extended periods of time. DVC is not an option for us (DH has no desire to commit to it), so for now we stay offsite. We don't mind the drive, in fact our last trip we were 15 minutes door to door driving our car, can't say that our WDW transportation has ever been so reliable. The only thing is you do have to pay to park, but not if there is an AP holder in the group. I have stayed offsite in the summer, and the traffic has never been bad, but I stay in lake Buena Vista rather than Kissimmee, where the traffic is less. Then again, I live in D.C. so any traffic that is not D.C. traffic is no big deal to me. Other people just prefer not to have to rent a car, and to let WDW take care of all the driving.

That is the great thing about Orlando, you have all sorts of choices!

Have fun!

 

[BevS97]

we just got back from Windsor Palms, we had a lovely apartment about 10 minutes door to door from Animal Kingdom, for less than the cost of a room at the All Stars - since we had a baby with us, and really need the kitchen for making bottles, and the laundry facilities cause we can't carry 2 weeks worth of clothes, we thought it was fab. I do love the theming at the Disney hotels, but for the price/facilities I can't fault Windsor Palms.

The driving isn't a big deal anywhere except Magic Kingdom (where the monorail/boat was starting to annoy me), but at all the other parks, we parked close and just walked in anyway

Bev

 

[HaleyB]

First- Snoopy- That is the cutest picture!

Okay- We stay on and think it is a better value, if not cheaper over all. We drive from where we live now, but when we flew we never used a rental car.

Price both options out and see. I think if you are going for a short visit and only will have 3 or 4 days in the parks it changes the balance some.

 

[dmonroe]

I'm an onsite snob too! I just like to be totally immersed in the magic!

Honestly, I think you can get a great value if you rent someone's DVC points. It may not be as cheap as staying off site; but it's great!

To me, it's always worth it to stay on site. It's our biggest trip of the year. We look forward to it more than any other trips we take, so we think it's worth it go all out!

 

[Texowl2]

I really think it comes down to one decision. Whether or not you take advantage of early entry. If yes, stay on site, pay the extra, get the smaller room. If no stay in Kissimmee in a bigger room, barely farther than many of the WDW hotels-closer than some. Beware the $7 parking per day....

 

[swilphil]

Onsite! The Dolphin has some great rates. It's not Disney, but it's on property and a deluxe in the Epcot area. You can walk/boat to MGM and Epcot. We didn't need a rental car. We went during July 4th, and were able to do 4 parks in 3 days with an afternoon nap/pool break each day. We had so much more time in the parks, and so much less time in transportation that we could get it all (for us anyway) done in much less time.

 

[dolphincrazy]

The idea of staying onsite is great as we haven't done that yet but, it's so darn expensive, my biggest worry is the amount we spend on food and souvenirs in the parks we are a family of 4, the kids are 6 and 8 and don't eat much(probably get meals for them to share) I was hoping to get a room offsite but close to the park where you can get a complimentary breakfast and possible transportation to the parks ,am I a dreamer or what? lol. I was also hoping to get a rental car to eat some meals offsite I know I'm being picky but, the less we spend for the trip the more we can spend on the trip, does that make sense? my husband likes the fact that you only have to put a deposit down to book your trip through Disney and we can pay it off by the time we get there
the biggest expenses booking seperate are tickets and airfare
I played around a little and found that if we drove to Boston from CT. that would take a huge chunk out of air $800. and change verses $1070.00 of course we'd have stopovers and such ugh!
it's fun to plan but, it's definately ALOT of work
Thanks, Maryann

 

[sdamico71]

That's my vote. You can stay in a studio at Wilderness Lodge, Old Key West, Beach Club, or BoardWalk for a reasonable price. You will have a kitchenette also so you can have breakfast in the mornings, and even snacks at night.
In addition, I read on the Budget board, that car rentals are as low as $7 per day (not including taxes).
So look around, shop around. You should be able to get a decent deal.
BTW, my parents and two siblings (17 and 18) did Disney during the summer through Priceline. Excluding Disney admission, staying off site and flying from Phila (rental car included) they paid less than $900 for 4 nights. They did book, though, one week from when they were leaving.

 

[C.Ann]

If you're going to have a rental car anyhow - if you don't want to be cramped into one tiny room - and you want to save more money to spend on tangible goods, I'd say off-site..

On our last trip we were there from Sept. 9th till Sept. 23rd.. We rented a lovely cottage off-site and saved enough money that we were able to spend freely on all sorts of other goodies - not to mention trips to Universal and Sea World as well..

 

[AreWeThereYet]

Our first two trips we stayed offsite - one just DW and I, and once with the kids. Then I had a convention at WDW and stayed onsite - family came with me. WOW!!! What a difference it made. We were so much closer to everything we wanted to do - it was much more convenient to get to the parks or to Downtown Disney from where we stayed (it was Carribbean Beach that time) than it ever was when we stayed offsite (even though those were "close" resorts), and it was much easier on the kids because we could sleep a little later, get back to the room mid-day if we wanted to give them a nap and then go back to the parks at night.

We never thought we'd want to spend the extra money to stay onsite, but after staying the first time we were hooked.

Either way you'll have a great trip!

Enjoy!

 

[crisi]

My first trip was offsite as well.

Then I stayed onsite at at the old Golf Club Resort (now Shades of Green) which was Disney's moderate back before they had moderates. So convienient.

Then we stayed at CBR when it opened. Also very convienent.

But the amazing thing was discovering that as convienent as the moderates are (don't know about the value resorts), the Deluxe resorts are that much more convienent to their "home" park(s). Yep, you pay through the nose, but there is nothing quite like walking to Epcot or MGM from the Boardwalk or having a quick monorail ride to the MK from the Poly. (AK is not as convienent, as you still need to bus to the "home" park. and WL involves a boat ride to the MK).

I know there are a lot of people on these boards who fit in three trips for what I will spend on one. And a lot of people who will only go once or twice ever and need to do that on a tight budget. But we'd rather go every few years, stay onsite in a Deluxe hotel (we are DVC members now) - and still be able to eat well and buy a shirt or two - than go twice a year, stay offsite and watch where we eat and what we spend.

There isn't a right answer though - its where you put your priorities.

 

[hannahryan]

We stay onsite only now. We rent a car & don't make use of EE (kids are late risers). We have stayed both offsite & onsite. The trips onsite have been immensely more pleasurable for us. There is no comparison as far as the "magic" goes. It becomes a 24hour experience when you stay on Disney property.

 

[jpd3]

I prefer onsite. More specifically, I prefer onsite on the monorail. My DD's (6,4, 4mos) need a nap during the day. The ease of hopping on the monorail to go back for a short nap and a swim to recharge can make the difference between a good and a great day (I believe every day at Disney is at least a good one no matter what!).