Onsite or offsite? Family of 5...$2500 TOTAL to spend...

[kangareaux]

Ther are 5 of us so it limits which hotels we can stay in. I want to stay onsite, but it really starts getting expensive. Is it that bad staying a little ways offsite and driving in every day? There are some really good rates for those willing to stay offsite.

What are your opinions? What have you done? What do you recommend or not recommend? Is it worth it to stay onsite? Or would I be better off taking that money and applying it towards the dining plan and staying offsite?

If you've stayed offsite and liked it, where did you stay, what did it cost, and how long was the commute to WDW?

There's SO much to DO! And DH finally agreed to let me tell the kids at Christmas if I book the hotel by then. (Time's running out! LOL!) We will be going in November (most likely)...the week before Thanksgiving break...if it makes a differance.

I'm gettting alittle overwhelmed and DH is NO help. He's leaving it up to me. (He's not a Disney nut and is sick of hearing about it...LOL!)

HELP!!!

~Kanga

 

[java]

First off you can't get the dining plan if you are staying offsite- so take that out of your equation. You will be paying for food. You also will be able to eat in your room more if you stay someplace with a kitchen.
I am an onsite person- I love the early morning hours. I think that is the best way to see the parks. That alone is worth the cost to me. If you are not an early riser- staying offsite might be a better way to go if you want to save $. But not my idea of a disney vacation- but others love staying offsite. check out the offsite boards for deals.

 

[perdidochas]

Ther are 5 of us so it limits which hotels we can stay in. I want to stay onsite, but it really starts getting expensive. Is it that bad staying a little ways offsite and driving in every day? There are some really good rates for those willing to stay offsite.

What are your opinions? What have you done? What do you recommend or not recommend? Is it worth it to stay onsite? Or would I be better off taking that money and applying it towards the dining plan and staying offsite?

If you've stayed offsite and liked it, where did you stay, what did it cost, and how long was the commute to WDW?

There's SO much to DO! And DH finally agreed to let me tell the kids at Christmas if I book the hotel by then. (Time's running out! LOL!) We will be going in November (most likely)...the week before Thanksgiving break...if it makes a differance.

I'm gettting alittle overwhelmed and DH is NO help. He's leaving it up to me. (He's not a Disney nut and is sick of hearing about it...LOL!)

HELP!!!

~Kanga

Well, I've never stayed onsite, and we've usually had good luck with priceline.com. The last time it was $35 a night for a Day's Inn. Not a great hotel, but clean enough with comfortable beds and a shower that worked. It took about 15 minutes to get to Disney (located close to Old Kissimmee) in the morning, and about 20 minutes in the evening (depending on how badly I got lost--they were working on the road I needed to get to, and I had to take detours).

 

[deedeed]

Hi,
We have only stayed on grounds (just because we are spoiled with it). A Value resort is not a bad way to go because of the price, but depending how old the kids are the room size may be an issue. Last time we went in May, we stayed at Port orleans riverside and that has a trundle bed under one of the beds so it would fit 5 but again depending on the age, may be a little scrunched. All of the resorts are great to us. What about a family suite that they now have at the all stars. I think they are 175 a night but if they have a kitchen, that would save a lot of money! Anyway whatever you decide, off or on grounds, it will be great!

 

[jodifla]

Ther are 5 of us so it limits which hotels we can stay in. I want to stay onsite, but it really starts getting expensive. Is it that bad staying a little ways offsite and driving in every day? There are some really good rates for those willing to stay offsite.

What are your opinions? What have you done? What do you recommend or not recommend? Is it worth it to stay onsite? Or would I be better off taking that money and applying it towards the dining plan and staying offsite?

If you've stayed offsite and liked it, where did you stay, what did it cost, and how long was the commute to WDW?

There's SO much to DO! And DH finally agreed to let me tell the kids at Christmas if I book the hotel by then. (Time's running out! LOL!) We will be going in November (most likely)...the week before Thanksgiving break...if it makes a differance.

I'm gettting alittle overwhelmed and DH is NO help. He's leaving it up to me. (He's not a Disney nut and is sick of hearing about it...LOL!)

HELP!!!

~Kanga

I've been to WDW countless times, many times offsite.

With that limited a budget, I think offsite is your best bet. (And I pretty much only stay onsite these days.) Someplace with a kitchen. I think you could probably rent a vacation villa offsite that would even have a pool.

Driving back and forth isn't so bad, depending on some variables.

How old are your kids?

 

[pweyl36]

We stay off site,our own pool,jacuzzi,more then one bathroom,and only 10-15mins to the world.If you stay on site the buses take longer.

 

[HeatherC]

Here is another vote for offsite. I say this because we are also a family of 5. We go once or twice every year for at least 10 days and I have never been able to justify the cost (for us) to stay on site. We are also a family of 5.

There are several onsite options for 5, but they are all very expensive in relation to what I feel you get for your money.

Here are a couple examples.

1. You can rent DVC points and stay in a DVC resort. But these are usually around $10 a point. (Sometimes you can get lower, but this seems to be the average.) When I have done the point calculations (for our trips) , it is always at least double the price of staying offsite. For our timeframe and length of stay, the cost was always at least $2500 and up. We've never paid more than $1200 max for lodging and we go a minimum of 10 days.

2. You can stay in one hotel room at a Deluxe Resort. But that means 5 people sharing beds and one bathroom. That to me is just not a vacation. In addition, my kids are tall and would hate sharing a bed. Don't get me wrong...these are gorgeous places. I just prefer putting the kids to bed in their own rooms and relaxing in the other rooms. I also like to get up and make coffee in my jammies. We are just not get up and go to breakfast people.

3. You can get two adjoining rooms at the All Stars, or Moderates. But...they are basic rooms and the transportation is not necessarily the greatest.

Just as an example....we usually stay anywhere from 10 -12 days and have never paid more than $1200 for lodging the entire time...including taxes. Some of the resorts we've stayed at include Orange Lake, Silver Lake, Marriott's Grande Vista, Regal Palm, Sheraton's Vistana Villages and Vistana Resort, and Cypress Pointe to name a few. The smallest place was a 2 bedroom with full kitchen, multiple bathrooms, jacuzzi, washer/dryer and all within a few minutes of the parks. The largest was a 4 bedroom for $105 a night...including taxes at Regal Palms.

Our best deal was Orange Lake through SkyAuction. We paid $260 for a week for a two bedroom. For the timeframe you are thinking of, there is usually pretty good deals to be found since it is before the Thanksgiving rush.

We don't get free dining by staying offiste, but what we save in lodging allows us to stay longer, go more often and have the flexibility to spread out and relax when we do go back to the resort. We also budget for several nice meals. We also like renting a car to come and go as we please. I can't imagine waiting for buses when my kids are tired and cranky. That's when I get tired and cranky.
We have seen all the resorts and I know people love staying onsite. But after seeing the resorts and the rooms, they are all nice, but for 5 people it does cost you a lot of money.

I am not trying to put anyone down by posting this. I certainly understand why people love staying onsite. I just wanted to share our experience as a family of five and what our expenses usually are so you have a comparison to work with.

If you don't feel like your vacation would be the same, then by all means stay onsite. The worst thing would be spending your whole vacation regretting where you stayed. The right decision is what is right for your family and budget and where you would be happiest.


Hope this info helps you. Happy planning!

HeatherC

 

[Whosemom]

camp!!! we love to camp!!!! If you do at all, you mightcondider it. Fort Wilderness is grand. We did it two trips ago, then the last trip we all really missed it.

 

[runwad]

We're a family of 5 and the first time we went to Disney we drove down had a AAA package w/the dinning plan stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and probably spent 3k for everything!! We loved it! Next time we went we won a condo off of sky auction at Cypress Pointe Resort for 263 for the week (this was last april) We loved that even better!! Honestly I don't think we'll stay on site again I just can't justify the cost and Cypress Pointe is right outside downtown disney took maybe 5 minutes to get there. The resort was beautiful and had lots of activities for the kids, a couple days we just hung out there we liked it so much. Check out hotelkingdom.com for rates at Cypress Pointe it really is a great resort. This april we're going down again and staying at Sheraton Vistana, I hope we love it as much as Cypress Pointe. Happy Planning.

 

[kangareaux]

Thanks so much! I didn't realize that oyu couldn't do the meal plan if you stayed offsite. I thought I had heard that they opened that up to everyone. Oh well! No biggie!

You all gave great info and I'm leaning towards offsite. The only Value Resort open to me is All Stars Jazz....and well, for 5 we may as well stay at a moderate. (Which totally blows our budget....) I found a hotel that I stayed at (About 25 years ago! ) that is a decent price. Has anyone stayed ath the 'Royal Celebration on Lake Cecile'? I don't recall it taking foreer to get to WDW from there, but then, I WAS only 7. The address is: 4944 W. Irlo Bronson Mem. Hwy.
(US Hwy. 192)
Orlando (Kissimmee), FL 34746

Maybe someone familiar with the area could tell me how long that takes in the morning to get to MK?

I didn't find any super deals on houses yet, so I'm leaning towards this place. (Even though it's a standard hotel, the price is SOOOO good! $270 for 6 nights!) But I'm going to keep looking at the houses.

Thanks again guys. And keep the opinions coming! Ya can never be TOO informed about these things. (Although DH is starting to think that it IS a possibility...hehehe... )

~kanga

 

[horseshowmom]

I'm at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas right now in a 2BR/2BA condo that I got for $300 for the week from an ebay seller. This place in GREAT -very spacious and only about 1 mile from Downtown Disney (check out the Orlando Hotels and Attractions Board for more inro).

In the past I've rented houses, but I think I'm going to stick with this place from now on if I can get it from the same person.

 

[kangareaux]

I'm at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas right now in a 2BR/2BA condo that I got for $300 for the week from an ebay seller. This place in GREAT -very spacious and only about 1 mile from Downtown Disney (check out the Orlando Hotels and Attractions Board for more inro).

In the past I've rented houses, but I think I'm going to stick with this place from now on if I can get it from the same person.

Can you pass on the sellers ID so I can look them up? Feel free to IM (Or whatever it's called here! ) me if you like.

 

[themudd4]

All Star Jazz? I think you mean all star Music. They do have family suites that do sleep more than the 4 of the other value resorts but cost more than the moderate resorts. Some posters have already told you about POR. It was very nice when we stayed there in June and I would recommend it to anyone.

I am a onsite kinda gal. I stayed off site as a child and now that I take my family we wont do that. We try to get down there a day early to visit some of the other sites around town but once we pull onto disney property that is where I want to stay.

Having kids...it might pay you to stay onsite and use the dinning plan. Don't know if you mentioned the ages of your kids but for kids 9 and under it is only $11 a day...so it is worth it! (Adults are $38 a day).

Regardless of what you decide have a great trip!!!

 

[HeatherC]

If you are leaning towards offsite, check out www.hotelkindgom.com for Cypress Pointe. They usually have very good rates.

Also check out the condos at either Windsor Hills or Windsor Palms. They are really nice and really close to Disney. My sister is staying there for $500 for a week in February in a 2 bedroom. There are so many great condo deals out there that you may not even have to stay in a hotel offsite. Also...skyauction is an awesome way to go...you probably just can't book it yet through them since the availability gets better the closer to your actual dates.

Have fun choosing!
HeatherC

 

[ilovejack02]

check out mousesavers.com. I have no advice for you in regards to onsite, offsite, but that is a nice site to check out for good deals and lots of good info regarding hotels in the area.

 

[kellia]

We are staying off site in a 3 bedroom condo. The thought of all 5 of us for a week in a hotel room does NOT sound like a vacation to me! Plus, there is a kitchen, playstation, washer/dryer, etc. And it is only 3 miles from Disney. We are staying in Windsor Palms, I had heard nice reviews from people on this site. Go to http://www.windsor-palms-florida.net and fill out the availability request form. We are going off-season and got tons of offers from owners for LESS than their rates on the website. We got ours for $400/week, but after we sent the deposit, got another offer for even lower.

 

[kellia]

Oops, sorry, I thought it didn't post the first time.

 

[scraptoons]

Another option, in which we do...

Put off the trip for a few more weeks, maybe up to 6 more months so that we can save up the extra cash to stay on site.

I got spoiled with the come and go luxury of staying on site and relying on the dining plan to be "on vacation from cooking"

It made all the difference in the world for us.

Plus my DH and I enjoyed playing with and holding our tired cranky kids on the bus waits rather than yelling at them in the back seat while driving and watching road signs.

We got lost and drove in circles right there on Disney property. I was relieved to let the Disney transportation handle that stuff while I stared out the window and vegetated. That alone was a big vacation for me!

 

[MATTERHORN]

Just a quick question? If you fly down instead of drive, I notice that everyone says the room is cheaper but from what I have found it ends up being about the same price after I figure in the $300-$400 to rent a van for 8 days to fit all five of us, 2 strollers and all our luggage.

Are those of you that say staying offsite is cheaper not having to rent a car down there? I can see where it would be then! But if I have to rent a car and pay for parking/gas, that would eat up all my savings so I might as well stay onsite, right?

 

[tanyaandallie]

I have done both and both were fine. Our first trip was with my entire family. We stayed at what used to be the Holiday Inn Family Suites but is now the Nickalodean (or however you spell it) Hotel. It was really close to WDW but it was not all that cheap. We got a senior rate b/c we had some seniors with us and it was $100 per night. The advantage was that there was a mini kitchen in our room.

Our most recent stay was onsite and it rocked. We have 2 small children and I didn't want to go unless I could stay super close to the MK. We stayed at the Contemporary and it was awesome. But, it is NOT cheap. I am still shocked at how much our trip cost overall.

If you are on a budget and need a decent sized place, I'd probably stay offsite. The all star rooms only fit 4, right? We stayed at one with friends years ago and it was tiny!!!