onsite or offsite???

[canadaman]

My fiance and I are planning on taking or three kids to disneyworld next summer. Me and my two boys have been there before and we stayed at all star movie resort and loved it. My fiance and her daughter have never been to disney. She is 5 years old and would absolutely love the themes at the value resorts.

Since we have a family of 5 a typical value resort room doesn't work so we have been looking at the family suites at all star music. The problem is during the summer season next year they are priced at $285 a night. My fiance has looked at some rental houses, mainly floridarentals.ca. These houses are priced at $137 a night. I just feel her daughter would miss so much "disney" that she could get at the resorts. Though if she doesn't know it is there she would never know the difference.

Lets here some pros and cons of both options.

Thanks

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I love onsite myself and I have three kids so I understand. We've done the family suite as well as the trundle bed at POR. I tend to go when there is some sort of discount code offered to me so I don't pay the full rack rates. Be sure to look into the discount codes and for some type of idea at what might be offered check out mouseavers as they keep a history of past years codes. We always fly so would have to rent a car if we stayed off-site plus I look forward to NOT cooking so I love the dinning plan. All reasons why we stay onsite. However if you decide to stay off-site perhaps you could just do 1 night on-site? That way you could have a small taste of it.

 

[Hemlock]

Have you considered 2 adjoining rooms at a value resort? It is generally a little cheaper than a family suite and you still get 2 bathrooms. For me, the best perks on-site are free transportation to and from the airport, as well as free transportation to the parks.

If you are considering off-site, make sure you factor in the cost of a rental car (don't know if you were planning on renting anyway), as well as the $14 daily parking rate at the parks. Many off-site hotels also charge $10-$15/day to park at the hotel.

I was also considering off-site, but when I factored these extra costs into the equation, it wasn't such a good deal after all. I would recommend staying on-site.

 

[sjsjbrook]

Parking is now $15 if you stay offsite.


I would look at what the best options for price is for you and decide.

There are rooms onsite that fit 5 people, though only one bathroom and it is a moderate room. The one thing about adjoining rooms/ connecting rooms, Disney will not quarentee that you get one. They will try their best, but you will not know for sure until you get assigned your rooms. 90% of the time it works out, but I never chance it afraid I would get caught in that 10% of the time. You are better in the family suite if two rooms is what you would like.

Also if you stay off-site you would need to rent a car, and pay for gas, so you would have to factor all that in as well.

If you look at dreamsvillas, they have a better deal than what you have found per night, and they cater to disney. They are not far from the park. We are staying there our next vaction, there are lots of good reviews from people in the guest book too.

 

[aristocat65]

I'm an onsite person. I agree that the little girl will enjoy the immersion you get from staying onsite. The POR rooms with trundles are a really good option. Another option is the Wilderness Campground Cabins. They definitely sleep 5, and Wilderness Campground is so great for kids. It is a short boat ride from the MK also. The prices are higher though. I'm guessing they are about 275 to 300, BUT if you are going in the summer you could work your dates around free dining and that would really offset your cost.

 

[bankr63]

As an avowed offsiter how about a few "pros" for the offsite (full disclosure; we own 3 weeks at 2 different Orlando timeshares).

Space: an offsite 2 bedroom villa is much larger than anything you are considering. FW Cabins are 504 sf, AS Family Suite is 520 sf. A typical Villa at a resort is about 1500 sf.

Price: you have posted rates for on-site. Current rates for decent offsite villas run a bit over $100/per night (January dates, pulled from a recent post on the Orlando Attractions and Accommodations thread). About half or less. Pays for a lot of rental car (figure under $20/day for a mid-size car on Priceline, sometimes well under). If you book places like Vistana through a travel service, you are still getting hotel service; full daily cleaning. Renting timeshares from an owner is a bit cheaper, but generally only includes a mid-week tidy and towels. Rental homes are an even better deal for the space, but there is often a bit more housekeeping that you are expected to do (cleaning and laundry before you leave).

Convenience: a villa usually has a full kitchen and laundry. That was what got us offsite in the first place. My DS has a severe food allergy and is petrified of eating out after some bad restaurant experiences. I understand that Disney takes a lot of care in food prep; but I can't convince him enough to eat out. So we NEEDED the kitchen! But when we realized how much we save by preparing our own meals, well it became a no brainer. We tend to eat a lot more prepared foods for the week, so it's not really cooking; but it is very convenient and a huge savings. Also a quick load or two of laundry mid-week makes packing much lighter; Canadians usually fly in, so weight can be an issue.

The biggest cons - no buses to the parks (but no waiting for buses), no delivery to your room, no Disney Dining Plan (but you can still eat at Disney and make reservations) and no Disney theming. Countering that - our resort has 7 swimming pools, 12 tennis courts, mini-golf, and lots of activities. I don't think that my kids are missing much, and they LOVE the space and privacy they get in the bigger space. Also, there are some excellent restaurants outside Disney that don't require ressies 5 months in advance.

I just got the latest PIN code offer from Disney and did a quick comparison. To get a similar sized unit (1500 sf/ sleeps 8) to what we own would quadruple our price over our annual fees. A few people have pointed out that there are cheaper ways to get that unit than through Disney @ 40% off, but even if I could get down to only triple the cost, I figure that staying offsite I can rent a car, pay for parking, and probably hire some personal services to replace those things we don't get and still have a chunk of change!!!

Whatever you decide, I am sure that you will have the time of your lives!

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

For the 1st-timer I would absolutely recommend staying on-site. You'll be completely immersed in Disney 24/7 - and for a 5 year old that's probably a good thing !!

My sister's family is a group of 5 and they rented 2 adjoining rooms at Pop Century - she even told me it was cheaper that POR (which has the trundle bed)....although I can't confirm the pricing

 

[snickerboo]

A die-hard off-siter here, too.

1) It's cheaper. Much cheaper. Especially when you factor in the cost of food. Buying groceries, making meals, packing lunch...so much cheaper.

2) Space: we get a 3 bedroom condo for $89 a night at a beautiful resort. Each kid has their own room. It has two bathrooms. Parents and kids have their own space. All equals less stress to me!

3) Convenience: laundry in suite, kitchen in suite, no arranging for fridge-swap, coffee maker swap, stroller swap (most ahve own strollers now).

4) Getting a break from Disney hoopla. Being able to leave the parks if the crowds get too much is soemthing I really appreciate. On-site, in peak times, I'd imagine you're not leaving that behind.

Cons:
-we rent a car (no Magic Express) but plus to that is we get it cheap & we can see other things besides Dinsey, outlet shop, whatever. This also means we pay to park which, to me, is no big deal. Some peopel complain about traffic. We like Windsor Hills and it's 5 minutes to Disney & the other way from the 'traffic'.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

There's really no right or wrong answer here - it's all a matter of personal preference. I'm sure they are lots of opposing opinions about whether to stay on or off site.

For me staying on-site is preferred because:

1. Magical Express takes me to/from the airport - no stress about traffic, directions, rental car costs, fuel, etc. No parking fees either

2. I'm on vacation and don't want to worry about making meals, packing snacks, doing laundry, doing dishes, making beds - I do enough of that at home !

3. Disney meal plan means I can take in a several expensive restaurants I wouldn't otherwise want to pay for out-of-pocket. Also, with the exception of tipping at TS restaurants, our meals are pre-paid and I don't have to worry about paying for meals. Plus - Disney meal plans are free during certain times of the year - nice cost savings there !

4. Extra Magic Hours for on-site guests

5. No big deal to take a mid-afternoon break and head back to the resort for a swim/nap and then back to the parks in the evenings- the Disney buses makes this convenient. Off site you'd either have to use a resort shuttle (less frequent) or your own rental car - I doubt many would want the hastle of doing that and heading back in the evenings for more park fun.

6. Evening's at the resort pool the atmosphere is awesome. Piped in music, movies by the pool, etc. Kids can take a day off from the parks and still feel they are @ Disney.

 

[irisesareblue]

We stay off-site every time we go to Disney.

The pros:
We often rent a villa (house) which has 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths which is located about 1/2 hour off-site. We love it because the house has its own private pool, which is awesome! We do groceries on the day of our arrival and we save tons of money as we only eat one meal out a day (typically our park meal). We often go for the morning to the parks, then return to the house for the afternoon, then back to the parks late afternoon and evening. We have a lot of room to spread out and a laundry room (great for our visit with my step-daugter and her family this summer - 4 and 6 year olds can get dirty!)

The cons:
The only true problem we have is with the transit to the Magic Kingdom - the parking lot/tram/monorail or ferry combo is a pain - it can take from 30 to 45 minutes from the parking lot to the gate.

We rent a car, which enables us to visit the whole area, not just Disney and we can go to IHOP or whatever restaurant we feel like. We can shop at Walmart, which has a great Disney souvenir area or we go to the Disney Character Outlet and we can pick up Disney items off-site much cheaper than onsite.

You still get the "Disney" experience, except you can't charge park items to your hotel room (or have them delivered). You can, however, load a Disney gift card for your budgeted amounts for meals and souvenirs and use it around the parks. You can also get the stores to transfer your purchases to the front entrance area so you can pick them up on your way out of the park.

EMH are good when you stay on-site, however, if you are off-site, you can go to a park on non-EMH days and see the difference in the crowd levels. I'm not sure which is the better deal on this one.....there are always good sides to everything.

 

[Sue M]

We stayed off-site our first time, and decided after that we'd stay on site. We had a very nice hotel room at a Marriott, but really like the convienience of on site. It is a totally different experience. And our pref.

We like the Extra Magic Hours
Dining Plan
Airport Transportation
Not driving
Resort parcel delivery
Disney Bus/boat/monorail transportation
And most importantly, like to be able to take a mid day break back at our WDW resort for a swim, relax by the pool, then have dinner, and go back to a park having EMH at night.

A family suite or 2 adjoining rooms at a value resort would be good for you, or you can all fit in 1 room at POR. In the Alligator Bayou section they have rooms with 2 double beds and 1 trundle. So 5 can fit. The bathroom has 2 sinks, and the room has a small fridge.

mousesavers.com has a chart of Historical Discounts. You can look up your travel dates and see if any or what discounts WDW released and when they came out. In late Aug, WDW typically has free dining. As a matter of fact, WDW has released free dining promo dates till Sept 2011. It's on the WDW web site.
http://www.mousesavers.com/historicalwdwdiscounts.html#codechart

 

[tmac]

We've stayed both on site and off site, and for a larger family off-site is really the way to go. Having teenagers, they really liked their own space and the townhouse that we stayed in had tv's in every room that the kids really enjoyed. For most kids the favorite part of their vacation is going to the pool and swimming, my kids loved having our own pool at the townhouse we rented. I think your kids will get the "real Disney experience" just by visiting the Parks, seeing the Characters, eating at the Character meals, etc. Personally I don't think staying on-site adds to that experience other than the convenience of having shuttles to the Parks. Its also really nice to be able to do your laundry and have a quick breakfast before heading to the Parks! If you would like to know where we stayed, send me a private message and I will let you know.

 

[AndyMcV]

First off I think it depends on your personality and your family needs whether you stay on-site or off-site. Budget and money is one for sure but really high on the vacation scale is convenience as well. You can stay off site cheaper for sure and there are tons of hotels to stay at around Disney. However for my family and myself we find that we'll pay that extra for the convenience and the extras that come with it.

I think offsite hotels are great if your focus is not Disney or perhaps you’re planning on spending maybe a day at Disney and the rest of your time at other places in the Orlando area. However if your focus is Disney and you’re planning to be at the parks most or all the days you are there then on site is really the place to be no question.

On our second last trip we came back in June from a 2 week stay. We stayed off site for the first week at the Gaylord Palms as I was at a conference for work. My DW, DD4 and DS8 came with me and we made a family vacation out of the 2 weeks. I remember I said to my DW a few times that it’ll be nice on the second week where we don’t have to drive everywhere. On the second week we stayed on site at the WDW Dolphin. I found a huge difference in convenience regarding Disney between off site and on site. With staying off site you are always outside and you do truly feel it. You simply can’t beat the convenience of being on site.

Here are a few things that just come to mind.

Off-site:
- Paying for parking at the hotel, paying for parking at the theme parks, parking at the theme parks, taking trams to the TTC from the parking and then taking mororails to the parks are not fun. At the end if the day when you’re exhausted, doing the above in reverse and trying to find your car and driving back to your hotel. This is especially not fun with little ones every day.
- If you decide to take the hotel shuttle to WDW... to be honest, gererally off-site hotel shuttles back and forth to Disney suck. No reallly, they suck.

On-site:
- Being able to get into the parks early way before most of the crowds outside Disney come in
- The Disney resort theming and the special treatment from the CM’s you get at a Disney resort (as we’ve always been treated awesome).
- Being immersed in that magical Disney feeling. To me it reminds me of being a kid again and watching “The Wonderful World Of Disney” on Sunday nights.
- Being tired at 2:00 in the afternoon and being able to go back to your resort for a swim or a rest and come back later that afternoon or evening. Trust me being off site you do not want to do this.
- Being exhausted.at the end of the day at a park with exhausted kids and knowing you can just step on a bus or boat and be dropped at the front/back of your resort. This is so nice as I remember carrying my asleep DD from within the park to the resort a couple of times.
- Being able to go to Epcot and then visit the Disney Boardwalk or Beaches and Cream
- Being able to stay late in the parks
- Seeing the fireworks from within your hotel room or just outside
- Watching Disney movies on the beach at your resort after having s'mores over a campfire

These are just a few that came to mind and I’m sure there are many many more. Again for us it boils down to convenience. If I were you and if your focus is Disney then stay on-site. As well for your little 5 year old, it'll be a memory for them that will last forever. I think you’ll regret it if you don’t stay on-site.

 

[Kat&Dom]

I absolutely agree with the PP that said it is totally personal preference. We did a split stay on-site at All Stars Music then off-site in a condo.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how spacious the rooms at All Stars are - I expected them to be quite tiny but they were sufficient for our needs. I found the food court to be very loud although it was only 1/4 full and it was very slow service. We used the bus to MK - there was 12 people on the way to MK for EMH and we were the only people returning to resort at 11am. I found the pool to be warm our first night and unpleasantly cool the second night and there is no hot tub at All Stars. It was quite a hike to everything because the resort is so large - we stayed at Rock Inn and were on the 3rd floor. It was very quiet in this location. Although we had a pleasant stay and fairly good experience, I would not stay on-site again. I just don't find it relaxing.

For the rest of our stay, we had a 2 bed/2 bath condo with full kitchen and laundry in the unit. The space was incredible. We could park just outside our condo so only had to walk 20 feet after a long day of walking at the park. The pool with an awesome hot tub was out the back of our condo - maybe 30 feet from our condo. I loved having the laundry in the unit and having clean clothes to wear and to pack for trip home. Being able to relax in the hot tub at night made the trip so much better - it revived me and made the trip that much more enjoyable. Our condo was 5 minutes from Downtown Disney and I did not find the traffic to be a problem at all.

The other bonus with being off-site and having a rental car (car cost $183 for the week including fuel and taxes), is being able to go to the Disney Outlet store. I bought an awesome sweatshirt with matching fleece knapsack for $19.95 (ticket price on it was $67.95) - I also picked up some inexpensive soveniors for family and friends at about 1/4 the cost of buying in the park. I got T-shirts for $7.99 that had a ticket price of $34.95 on them. I am super happy with all the great deals that I found at the outlet store. I even bought a set of super cute Tinkerbell socks for $3.99 that I saw in the parks for $12.95.

I think that the majority of people that are so pro off-site are staying in a condo/villa that has the kitchen, laundry, separate bedrooms and extra bathrooms which is completely different from staying off-site in a hotel room. If my choice was on-site at All Stars or off-site in a hotel room, I would definitely go for on-site at All Stars but if my choice is staying in a condo/villa off-site versus staying at Disney, off-site in a condo wins.

 

[bankr63]

I think that the majority of people that are so pro off-site are staying in a condo/villa that has the kitchen, laundry, separate bedrooms and extra bathrooms which is completely different from staying off-site in a hotel room. If my choice was on-site at All Stars or off-site in a hotel room, I would definitely go for on-site at All Stars but if my choice is staying in a condo/villa off-site versus staying at Disney, off-site in a condo wins.

Bang On K&D!

The fact is that we lose some of the Disney benefits for a HUGE gain in space and (IMO) convenience. As owners of resale timeshares, we pay WAY less per week for some very swank accomodations than others would pay for Disney Basic accomodation for a week. Renters at these timeshare resorts often pay more than we do as owners (but in this economy, sometimes less!), but it is still very cost competitive to staying on site.

We have some very personal reasons why we bought offsite, but don't miss staying on-site one bit. The one caveat is that if you want to stay off-site and save, you do need to do a little bit of work to find and snag the best deal. There are lots of tips here on DIS how to find these deals.